From October 21 to 23, Swami Ishwaranandaji led a spiritual retreat for CHYKs titled “Finding Your Purpose.” The camp, held in Palm Springs, California, helped the CHYKs plot their futures and understand how to incorporate Vedanta into their fledgling professional lives. The retreat was generously supported by CMLA members, especially Jyoti and Jay Mainthia, and the Hindu temple of the Desert.
Swami Ishwaranandaji conducted discourses for the CHYKs, whose ages ranged from approximately 15 to 30, on harmony in relationships, the types of personalities in the world, and tips for how to improve one’s life. In between the discourses, the CHYK coordinators led interactive workshops that elucidated the meanings of the discourses. One workshop had attendees sketch meaningful experiences in their lives on a movie storyboard, and another workshop had campers trade their virtues and vices via games of rock-paper-scissors.
The young campers particularly enjoyed the retreat, since the general atmosphere was one of relaxation and joyful learning. On the final night of the retreat, Swami Ishwaranandaji joined the campers for a screening of “Kung Fu Panda 3” and tried to spot instances of Vedanta throughout the movie. The last session was a debrief about the camp where some CHYKs who organized this retreat shared their journey from being a participant in the last Memorial Day CHYK retreat to an organizer in this one. They emphasized on getting involved with CHYK activities to transform the retreat “an event” into a sustained quest for self-development “a movement”.
Overall, the weekend was one of spirituality and blissful learning, filled with bhajans, a temple visit, and exciting games that hammered home Swami Ishwaranandaji’s message of the importance of finding one’s purpose.
