The SCVP Samayika event was held at Kingsbury High School on the evening of Friday 22nd June in a hall filled with eagerness from approximately one hundred attendees, both young and old, with the youngest group being 5 years old.
The event started with a melodious stavan, which created a calm and spiritual atmosphere. Rajeevbhai then introduced the concept of Samayika by drawing an analogy of Samayika being a holiday, not a typical holiday consisting of sun, sea and sand, but one where you can experience internal happiness and a mechanism to allow you to connect to your soul.
The Samayik event started with a recital of various sutras by children and adults with an explanation in English of their beautiful and deep meaning. The Navkar Mantra was recited by the youngest students of SCVP.
The Samayik itself consisted of 48 minutes during which participants were able to experience various different ways in which to nurture equanimity and internal peace. These were delivered by teachers at the School and included the reciting of prayers and mantras; narration of the story of Aimutta muni (a young prince who took diksha and demonstrated the importance of bhav (feelings) and intention when reciting prayers); an explanation and demonstration by various postures of the Shri Atmaraksha - Shri Vajrapanjara Stotra, which was described as building an invisible, diamond cage around oneself to protect yourself from all external forces; the Ananupoorvi, an ancient Sudoku style of reciting the Navkar in a different order each time, which stretches your mind and sharpens your focus - it was amazing to see how well the young children concentrated; Shree Sankeshwara Parshvanath mantra was recited 21 times which infused the room with radiance and calmness; and the singing of stavans including children aged 7 to 10 reciting and explaining the meaning of the Khamemi Savve Jiva Sutra expressing universal love for all living beings.
Some comments from the attendees are:
"Excellent contribution in the samayika by everyone - Children to adults. Clear explanation and nicely presented through the samayika…."
"Very clear and easy to understand and take part. I felt calm and peaceful afterwards and everything ran very smoothly. A very good experience for all…."
"An inspirational programme. Certainly took my mind off all the stresses and was excellent for everyone to enjoy…."
"I have been doing Samayik for many years, but for the first time understood the importance and meanings of sutras…" (Adult)
"My child is fidgety and cannot sit still. Was really amazed at how he managed to be captivated and interested during the entire Samayik..." (Mother)
Many thanks to everyone who attended this special event.
This has become an annual event for SCVP. If you would like to find out more about the event or attend the children or adult classes we run at SCVP, contact Bakul Shah on 0791 7708370 or Kishore Shah on 07880725023.
