‘Tapovan’: An Indian Heritage Camp, Vraj, Pennsylvania
To a sincerely inquisitive person or Jigyasu, Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta instructs ‘Know this: through your submission, through the questions you ask, through your service; those who have knowledge, who see things as they are, will teach you knowledge’. To provide such an opportunity to all the inquisitive individuals, Pushti Margiya Vaishnav Samaj (PMVS, USA) and Sanskruti Parivar (USA) organized an Indian Heritage Camp at VRAJ, Pennsylvania from July 1 – July 5.
The camp was presided over by the world renowned revered sage Shri Rameshbhai Oza (‘Bhaishri’) who has dedicated his life to spreading the gospel of Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma) by way of delivering discourses on several of the scriptures and by establishing an educational institution called Sandipani Vidyaniketan. A well-known venerated sage Shri Chidanand Saraswati (‘Muniji’) who is driving and guiding the Herculean task of compiling and publishing an Encyclopedia of Hinduism and a distinguished scholar and teacher of Yoga Yogacharya Shri Amrit Desai were reverentially invited to grace the camp and to impart their knowledge to the camp attendees.
The campsite was built with an intention to revive an age-old tradition of ancient India where the knowledge-seeking students (mumukshu) went to their Master’s (Guru) abode called Ashram or Tapovan. These were located in a serene natural environment away from the rush and noise of the cities. An auspicious presence of a Guru when combined with such a tranquil ambience, prompted an individual to devote all his/her emotional and intellectual resources to seeking spiritual upliftment. Creating an encouraging atmosphere of a Tapovan, at Vraj Temple surrounded by picturesque blue hills of Pennsylvania, delightful green trees and placid lake, was not difficult but it did require an understanding of traditional ways of imparting education in ancient India and vivid imagination. Vraj’s Tapovan reflected both in an exquisite manner.
On the first day of the camp, over 1500 devotees attended the camp’s inauguration ceremony conducted by Yogacharya Amritji in the auspicious presence of Pujya Bhaishri and Pujya Muniji. Trustees, Committee members and volunteers of Vraj as well as Sanskruti Parivar greeted everyone with much enthusiasm and love.
For the next three days, the camp’s typical day combined the various paths of God Realization – path of devotion, path of yoga and the path of knowledge. The day commenced with Prabhat Pheri – a morning walk by about 300 camp attendees in the company of the sages, filling the space around them with melody of the devotional chants and hymns and flooding their inner space with their love for God.
The morning walk followed by lessons in Yoga by Yogacharya Amritji. The master of Yoga, diligently taught Yoga to the aspirants by way of instruction and performance, showing them the proven path to attain tranquility and bliss in life, to be spiritual and to connect to the Supreme Being.
The exploratory morning sessions, presided over by Pujya Bhaishri and Pujya Muniji, provided all attendees, adults and children alike, an advantageous opportunity to ask simple and complex questions about metaphysics, spirituality, religion, philosophy, scriptures and rituals. Knowledge Seekers’ sincere inquisitiveness and eagerness to satisfy it was commendable. The sessions demonstrated reflective thought processes of individual minds as well as an infinite range of sages’ knowledge.
The enlightening afternoon sessions provided the attendees a precious occasion to listen to the discourses on various subjects and think about things that really matter in life. Pujya Bhaishri and Pujya Muniji covered a range of topics without preaching any single doctrine. The sessions gave everyone something to relate to and something to reflect upon The informal evening sessions with sages permitted all attendees to enjoy a kind of closeness with the sages. These sessions filled with folk and devotional songs and folk dances ended each day with blissful moments one would cherish forever.
In additions to these sessions, all attendees immersed themselves into love filled devotion by having daily glimpses (darshan) of Shrinathji of Vraj. Pujya Bhaishri offered his devotion to Shrinathji by singing hymns in His praise.
The last day of the camp was Guru Purnima – a day to pay respect and offer love to one’s Guru. The attendees offered their obeisance and reverence to Pujya Bhaishri and Pujya Muniji. At the respectful behest of the attendees, Pujya Bhaishri sported a regal turban (safa). Devotees’ love and respect brought tears of joy in Pujya Bhaishri’s compassionate eyes. He gave a fruit, as a token of his love for all, to each devotee. Pujya Muniji, as token of his love for all, gave every one an empty notebook to fill it with a Mantra of one’s choice. The sages addressed the gathering that engrossed everyone with love for God and Guru.
The farewell session, during the last afternoon of spiritual togetherness, brought tears into everyone’s eyes. Pujya Bhaishri and Revered Muniji blessed everyone and advised all to carry home what they have earned during the five days of the Heritage Camp.
The attendees took their leave feeling grateful to camp’s organizers, Shri Pramod Amin, Shri Dharmendra (Gopal) Shah of Vraj and Shri Arvind Patel of Sanskruti Parivar; the many volunteers of both the organizations; the sponsors of the camp, namely, Shri Atul and Shrimati Tina Patel, Shri Bharat and Shrimati Trupti Patel, Dr. Bindu and Shrimati Neeta Kansupada, Shri Hasu and Shrimati Hersha Shah, Shri Kenny and Shrimati Trupti Desai, Shri Rajendra and Shrimati Nayana Gandhi and Shri K.D. and Shrimati Rekha Patel. Everyone took with them a copy of souvenir ‘Tapovan’ prepared by Hasmukh Shah and Navnit Shah to commemorate the Indian Heritage Camp.
