By the divine grace and inspiration of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the annual Bal National Summer Camp took place at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, San Jose, CA from July 6 - July 14, 2011. Sixty selected balaks from across North America were invited to attend this year’s National Summer Camp, entitled “Dradh Priti.”
The 2011 National Summer Camp was comprised of interactive workshops, activities, and discussions aimed at enhancing the attendees’ satsang depth and skills. Four classrooms were held throughout the camp.
The Leadership track comprised of the Essential Skills Class and BAPS Ambassador classrooms. In these classes, balaks refined their public speaking skills, and learned the traits of an effective leader.
The Priti and Virtues classrooms made up the Satsang track. They aimed to help balaks establish a deeper relationship with Satsang and the Satpurush. Through the Priti class, balaks learned the importance of dradh priti with the Satpurush and learned how to develop it with Swamishri. The attendees learned about the qualities of the Satpurush, such as Stithpragna, through the Virtues classroom.
During the camp, the attendees also participated in various activities. Some activities included teambuilding in which the balaks we required to work together to accomplish various tasks. Attendees actively participated in evening programs and took home important messages. One such message was the importance of satsang reading, which is crucial to developing dradh priti. Outings such as hiking and sports allowed the balaks different mediums by which they could grow, interact, and have fun.
The camp proved to be a great success as participants departed with enhanced abilities, increased motivation, and an enriched understanding of our culture and satsang. With these experiences and memories by their side, these balaks will undoubtedly rise to greater heights in their education, their personal Satsang, and become the future karyakars of BAPS.