NHSF's Annual Conference is back

Date: Saturday 8 November 2008
Time: 9.00 am - 5.30 pm
Venue: De Montfort University, Leicester

Click here for further details and to register.

Navratri is celebrated during the first nine days of the Hindu month Aashwin (September – October). It coincides with the rainy season in India; with new buds and blooms and hence considered by many to be a good time to begin new ventures. The festival is dedicated to the worship of the Divine Mother, also known as Durga or Shakti, which is the supreme power in the maternal form and creates, sustains and withdraws the cosmic order.

The nine nights celebrate the feminine divinity: Parvati (Goddess of Valour), Laxmi (Goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge). The first three nights are devoted to the worship of the goddess of valour, energy and strength, Shakti, and her different avatarams (forms) as Kumari, Parvati and Kali. The next three nights are spent in celebration of Laxmi; goddess of peace and prosperity, with whose blessings one may gain fulfilment. The final three nights Goddess Saraswati is worshipped with hopes that she might bestow us with the knowledge that may free us from the materialistic wants that bind us to the world.

By Amal Lad
NHSF Queen Mary

Our exams are finally over and the summer has arrived! Whatever your plans are for the coming few months, whether it be a holiday in the sun, travelling, working, volunteering or even just hanging around at home, recital of Hanuman Chalisa everyday will help you feel energised and uplifted.

The Hanuman Chalisa is a forty verse praise to Lord Hanuman, written by Goswami Tulsidas in the Avadhi dialect of Hindi. Lord Hanuman has many attributes which we can learn from and incorporate into our lives and personalities. The Hanuman Chalisa has been a very popular prayer in our family and I have been hearing it from as far back as I can remember. My parents always told me that reading Hanuman Chalisa will help me and I should do it every day as it is good for me. However, I never really understood it so I found it difficult to put so much faith in to a bunch of words I did not understand. From my involvement in Queen Mary NHSF, I had to research about the Hanuman Chalisa to lead a discussion about its meaning at our weekly recitals. This is when I began to understand the power within the Hanuman Chalisa and I will share what it means to me.

Pramal Lad
BSc Economics, LSE Alumni, Currently PwC M&A Tax

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the Sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." - Mark Twain

With a sigh of relief, I emerge out of a barely roadworthy taxi to receive a warm welcome to my hotel in Karol Bagh, Delhi. My journey to my home land had begun. It was 2am, and the early morning transfer from Delhi Airport tested my faith to say the least!

I had embarked on an adventure to discover the 'real' India, coming alone with an intention to join a group of fellow travellers sharing the same passion (Intrepid Travel). I was to visit many common places in the North as well as the hidden gems of this vast nation.

As with most people who have the opportunity to travel, there is immense joy in sharing experiences. Below, I have given a brief whistle stop tour of a few favourite pilgrimage-worthy destinations of mine.

Swami Vivekananda – Vikesh Vadukar
After travelling across half the globe without adequate shelter or food for days, and constantly in the jaws of danger, he stood before an audience at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1883, to unveil the greatness of Vedanta to the Western world. After rising to the stage, this Hindu monk of simple yet splendid appeal, wearing the traditional saffron robe and turban, smiled to the crowd and uttered these affectionate words. "Sisters and Brothers of America" – these famous five words detonated a standing ovation so grand amongst a crowd of over a thousand, that it shook the auditorium and touched the hearts of all its spectators. The protagonist of this momentous occasion was non other than Swami Vivekananda.

To date 25,577 schools have been set up with a total number of 767,310 students.

Click here to read the full Ekal newsletter including further details of the Ekal Vidyalaya programme.

Pranayama, as traditionally conceived, involves much more than merely breathing for relaxation. Pranayama is a term with a wide range of meanings. Patanjali defines Pranayama as "the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention." It is to be practiced only after perfection in asana (yogic postures) is attained. Pranayama also denotes cosmic power, or the power of the entire universe which manifests itself as conscious living being in us through the phenomenon of breathing.