In December 2023 and January 2024, over 4000 youth volunteers and Swamis across North America came together for regional leadership conferences in six regions.
These annually recurring conferences serve to refresh and reinforce the mission and vision for BAPS North American youth activities. Through these conferences, volunteers representing local BAPS Mandirs are given a chance to meet their peers in neighboring cities, exchange ideas, share experiences, and gain inspiration from each other on improving within their seva (service). While new volunteers are oriented to their roles and responsibilities, experienced volunteers take a step back to reflect on the past year and learn best practices. The goal of the conference is to equip all attendees with the knowledge and tools they will need to successfully execute the upcoming year’s projects and initiatives.
This year’s event commemorated 50 years of Satsang in North America since the first visit of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1974. The theme of the Regional Leadership Conference was “Eni rite rit” - following in the footsteps of our gurus, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj. Attendees learned about the way the gurus had done seva and were inspired to imbibe those same methods and values into their lives.
Through various keynote speeches delivered by Swamis, three specific values from the lives of our gurus were discussed. The first was ahnik – their discipline and commitment in performing the prescribed daily Satsang rites and rituals, no matter how busy their day was. The second focus value was atmiyata – their ability to foster camaraderie and togetherness amongst all devotees, enabling all to unite towards a common goal. Finally, attendees learned about their dhanipanu – their unflinching sense of personal accountability and ownership in their seva.
In addition to these values, senior volunteers also presented on several key pillars of BAPS North American youth activities, including discussing local and regional priorities for improving traditions and culture, presenting annual project goals, refreshing policies for youth activities, and focusing on mentoring priorities for the target audience.