Teacher Appreciation Event in South Brunswick

Pranavananda Chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (Hindu Volunteer Organization) celebrated Guru Vandana Utsav (Teacher Appreciation Event) on Sunday, May 20th, 2018 at Bharat Sevashram Sangha in Kendall Park, NJ. Pranavananda Shakha includes families from South Brunswick, North Brunswick, Plainsboro, Montgomery and surrounding towns.

The Mayor of South Brunswick Mr. Charles Carley attended the Utsav as the chief guest accompanied by Councilman Mr Kenneth Bierman and South Brunswick Board of Education members Mr. Deven Patel, Ms. Azra Baig and Ms. Joyce Mehta.

Eighteen teachers from South & North Brunswick, Plainsboro, Rutgers University and Montgomery school districts attended the Utsav.

Keeping up with the Hindu tradition of lighting lamp to mark the start of any auspicious event and its significance explained to the guests, the Utsav was inaugurated by lighting of the lamp by the Mayor followed by other guests and teachers. The Utsav was started by incantation to Shri Ganesha and Mother Saraswati followed by a short yet effective presentation on the significance of Guru in Hinduism. A group of ten children recited the Guru Ashtakam, a collection of eight verses sung in praise of the Guru.

The display of Yoga asanas and Surya Namaskara was received well by the guests. Kids between the age group 5-12 impressed everyone with a short play based on the classic tale of the swan, peacock, crow and parrot comparing themselves to others and finally realizing that happiness is what matters. A brief introduction on Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA was presented by Yelloji Rao Mirajakar.

The main Ritual, i.e. Guru Vandana was performed by the students to their gurus. The students applied Tilak on their gurus, performed Aarthi, and the gurus blessed them with Akshatha while the students touched their feet. The guests were given mementos as a small token of appreciation. The guests including the Mayor, Board of Education members and teachers talked about how appreciated they felt and the happiness this event brought to them. They shared the importance of upholding the values and morals in our society, and how we are imparting them to our children.

An exhibition pertaining to our Festivals (Holi, Diwali, Rakshabandhan & Sankranthi), Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedic Math, Architectural Wonders of India and Inventions of India were nicely done for the guests. A photo booth was set up for the guests to take pictures with a range of costumes and jewelry from various parts of Bharat. The Utsav concluded with a delicious and sumptuous lunch.