When a person grows from childhood to adulthood, there is a shift in perspective, and during that "in-between' stage called 'youth, the focus is more on thinking and becoming. Values are as important as they were in childhood, but it is now time to strengthen those values through inquiry. That is why the Chinmaya Yuva Kendra's work is so important.
Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK) is the youth wing of Chinmaya Mission, started by Püjya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda himself, in 1975. It is for youth between eighteen and twenty-eight years of age. Gurudev gave CHYK an apt motto, that perfectly sums up what the wing has to achieve inspired through action in the right direction:
Harnessing youth potential through dynamic spirituality.
Gurudev believed in the potential of youth and he saw them as being the hope of the nation. They have a social responsibility, and society, too, has a responsibility toward them to support them in succeeding in life. The youth ask a lot of questions, which need to be answered. The Chinmaya Yuva Kendra was started to kindle the spirit of inquiry in the youth who could find answers to their questions in the weekly Study Groups, enabling them to develop a holistic vision of life.
Gurudev stressed on dynamic spirituality. Unless we have a spiritual vision as our altar of dedication, better things will not manifest from us. When we look at the word 'potential, we find that all of us have the potential to perform, but interestingly, we do not perform to that potential. Most do very little, thinking we have done our best, although we could have done better. That is the reason why we don't always achieve success. We should ask ourselves, "If this is my best, what would be my worst? Is this all I can give?
Gurudev Swami Chinmayananada used to share a parable about two space birds that can be likened to CHYK. In this story, there was a man space bird and a lady space bird, living high above the earth, flying in space, content and blissful with their existence. One day, the lady bird hatched thousands of eggs and she felt a joyous wonder watching them float about in space, waiting eagerly for them to hatch. The father bird was more detached; he knew that in the harsh conditions of space, all the birds may not survive, and so he watched at a distance, as the eggs floated about.
One day, the first crack appeared on a shell. Soon all the chicks popped their heads out of their shells, but only their heads. Their bodies remained in the warm cocoon of their shells. The mother bird was ecstatic and brought the birds close to her bosom. The birds chirped happily, enjoying the presence of their mother, so comfortable and content to stay in their shells.
Slowly, the gravitational force of the Earth started sucking the eggs to earth, much to the mother bird's dismay. She spoke to her children, calling to them, "You are falling, you are in danger! Break the shell that you are in and come out. Save yourself!
The chicks scoffed. How could they be in danger when they were so safe in their shell? What could possibly harm them?
The mother called, begged, and pleaded with them to break their shells: "Look at me, I am your mother! You have the same form as I. I have wings that help me fly. You, too, have the wings; you must simply break the shell and find out.
But they refused to listen, and slowly but surely they started falling closer to Earth. Minutes away from the chicks being shattered by their descent, father bird went to the mother bird and bade her to stay back. If she followed the eggs, she, too, would crash on earth. With sadness, mother bird looked on as her brood was slowly sinking to their doom. But there was hope. Two chicks who had been quietly listening suddenly started struggling. They kicked their limbs and thrashed and flailed until, with a mighty kick, they broke their shells!
The father bird flew to the side of the two young chicks. He guided them to open their eyes and look at the wonder around them. He carefully showed them how to spread their wings and, lo and behold, the wind rushed beneath their wings and they flew!
CHYK is the perfect forum for those who are ready to break their shells and come out of their comfort zone. Once they have done that, they are available to gain knowledge and experience from the world. One has to be available to receive the grace of the Guru, and only then will He come and open one's eyes to the wonder that has been missed by remaining inside the shell. With this knowledge, He then guides the Chyks to spread their wings and explore their own strengths, thereby giving them the ability and the push to fly high.
Vedas (1292)
Upanishads (480)
Puranas (609)
Ramayana (832)
Mahabharata (330)
Dharmasastras (163)
Goddess (471)
Bhakti (241)
Saints (1289)
Gods (1273)
Shiva (341)
Journal (143)
Fiction (48)
Vedanta (324)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist