Youth Satsangs, Narayana Seva and Dental Services
With the coming of cold weather, the youth team over the last month cooked a variety of nutritious and hot meals. With fewer and fewer organisations in Greece receiving funding from the European Union or other private sources and with the number of homeless Greeks on the rise, the Narayana Seva undertaken by the youth continues to be an important form of service rendered. This was evident in the fact that the homeless would often instantly eat one or even two whole meals within the few minutes that the youth team would be serving them; showing that they had not eaten in one or two days. The youth try to cater their favourite foods as much as possible and the homeless have shown gratitude repeatedly.
Furthermore, there were interesting developments in the weekly Satsang organised by the core youth members for the purpose of strengthening the spiritual foundations of the newcomers. The newcomers are usually people who attend the service activities at the Nectar of Love Seva Centre. They often have basic gaps in their spiritual knowledge or Sadhana, so this Satsang serves to fill this gap. This youth Satsang begins with Agnihotra Homa; this powerful ancient ritual leaves a strong silence in everyone’s hearts and minds; thereafter an extended meditation in silence follows naturally. This has proven to be a good start for a productive Satsang afterwards. During the rest of the hours, the team often studies various spiritual teachings (currently studying Bhagawan’s “Discourses on the Bhagavad Gita” – this book helps to instil basic foundations of spirituality). This includes discussions and sharing understanding and experience; it also includes the core youth members answering the questions of the newer members. Furthermore, the class includes studying in detail the most important mantras and prayers such as the Gayatri, Brahmarpanam, Ganapati Prarthana and so on. Finally, blissful Bhajans follow at the end. The newcomers have given very positive feedback so far and are grateful for this opportunity.
Not far away from Greece, the Cypriot youth team came together to distribute food to people and families who are living under the poverty line. This Narayana Seva serves almost 200 meals every week. Apart from this, the youth give basic foods such as flour, olives, cheese and sandwiches. In addition, one of the team members who is a Dentist by profession schedules teeth cleaning appointments for free every week, for those who cannot afford it.
