Twelfth Graders’ Visit to Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center, New York
(May 22, 2005): In keeping with the Vidyapith’s yearly tradition, the Twelfth Graders (Graduating Seniors) of the Saturday and Sunday Schools decided to go to the Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center of New York to attend the Birthday celebration of Lord Buddha. These students were fortunate to listen to and be inspired Swami Adiswaranandaji in person when he had visited the Vidyapith in the past. Some students had also visited the Center with their parents during its regular services. But on this day they were excited to the Center with their peers. After the Vidyapith’s morning prayer on Sunday, all the students got into the vans and cars which were waiting for them. A few teachers volunteered to drive them to the Center. Students were very much impressed by the spiritual environment of the hall and enjoyed the music played on the organ. The celebration began with special music sung by the choir of the Center which thrilled the students. The music was followed by Revered Swami Adiswaranandaji’s much awaited talk. Revered Swamiji talked about Lord Buddha’s life and teachings, connecting them with modern day problems and their solutions. The talk also had several humorous anecdotes which made everyone laugh. The students were greatly inspired by the spiritual atmosphere of the hall and felt that it was their good fortune to have had such an opportunity to listen to swamiji’s spiritually invigorating talk. After the talk, Revered Swami Adiswaranandaji took time to talk to the students in the hall and each one was given a special pen as a momento of their class visit to the Center. All the students saluted Swamiji and received his blessings. Swamiji was also very pleased to have the students at the Center and praised them for taking advantage of the character building education that they receive at the Vidyapith. While returning to the Vidyapith all the students could talk about was their memorable visit to the Center, the appealing points of Swamiji’s talk, and the music compositions sung by the choir that they liked. It was an unforgettable experience for all the twelfth graders.

Alumni Visit to the Vidyapith (June 4, Saturday & June 5, Sunday, 2005, 9:00 am.) On June 4th and 5th, the Vidyapith celebrated Alumni Weekend. A recent addition to the activities at Vidyapith, Alumni Weekend is an opportunity for graduates of the Vidyapith to strengthen the bond with the Vidyapith by taking over partial responsibility to conduct classes alongside the teachers. With a team of approximately fifteen volunteering alumni, students in both Saturday and Sunday schools were pleasantly surprised by a visit to their classes by one of them. This year’s volunteers were: Anil Shah, Ashini Shah, Astha Khanna, Shekhar Krishnan, Pooja Bhatt, Amit Rajani, Meera Rajani, Rajiv Venkataramanan, Nithya Nathan, Achyuta Adhvaryu, Tanya Chadha, Jayinee Adhvaryu, Karishma Parikh, and Arpan Parikh. Overall, Alumni Weekend was a great success. Working together with the teachers and helpers, Vidypith alumni had a unique opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences and offer new perspectives. (Report written by Meera Rajani)

Graduation Ceremony for Twelfth Graders (June 11 & 12, 2005) June is typically the graduation season for many high schools and colleges. The Vidyapith is no exception to this norm. On Saturday, June 11th and Sunday, June 12th 2005, traditional graduation ceremonies were held for the Vidyapith’s twelfth graders. The ceremony commenced with Pranam Mantras and Veda Mantras. After prayer, the 23 graduating seniors (12 on Saturday and 11 on Sunday) held lighted lamps while a portion of the Taittiriya Upanishad (Adesha Mantra) was recited. This chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad is a message traditionally given by the teacher as the student leaves the gurukula. It reminds the student to remain on the path of righteousness and to always perform his/her duties. After Uncle read the meaning of the shlokas, the graduating seniors offered the lamps to Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda. This was followed by the distribution of graduation diplomas. A gift of books and a laminated copy of the Adesha Mantras of the Taittiriya Upanishad were also given. As the students received their diplomas, Aunty beautifully correlated the meaning of each student’s name to his or her qualities and characteristics.

The students then received invaluable advice from many of the teachers who spoke of their own experiences and reminded the students to always keep the teachings of Thakur, Holy Mother and Swamiji in their hearts and minds. Filled with emotion, the graduates expressed their gratitude and indebtedness for everything the Vidyapith had given them. They talked about their fond memories, their love for everything they had learned, and their hopes and aspirations for their own future as well as the future of the Vidyapith. For many of the graduates, the Vidyapith graduation does not mean the end of being its student. It is simply a transition to the outside world, the ultimate, practical classroom. All in all, it was a bittersweet day as it held the excitement in anticipation of the new college life, at the same time, the sadness in leaving the Vidyapith, a place that has become a second home for many of the 2005 graduates. (Report written by Jasmine Gadhavi)