SEVA (Karma Yoga)

SEVA

“If I rest, I rust”—Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanada’s life was a ceaseless journey on the path of “lok-sangraha”. Every moment was an uncompromising commitment to serve humanity. Seva or service is a practical means to spiritual growth and happiness. CMTC therefore offers many such opportunities for kids, youth and adults.

1.     Presidential Award: CMTC is an authorized center to nominate its members for the Presidential award certificate. All the hours earned by seva are eligible for the Presidential award certificate.

2.     Seva Opportunities: at CMTC sevas can be divided into three main categories:

  i.        Ashram Seva:

o    Teaching

o    Study Group Moderation

o    Participate in different teams listed below:

§   Executive Committee: The following team leads constitute the Executive Committee that’s responsible for the day to day functioning of the Mission:

·         Public Relations & Registration: CMTC is known for forming long term connections with the attending members.  Since wide buffet of activities are offered at CMTC, it can get overwhelming for members. The Public Relations team is always available at the front desk to answer any questions, share past experiences, receive feedback, help members figure out how to participate in the activities etc. They also host a beautiful welcome dinner for all new members each year. Annual registration formalities are completed by them.

·         Publicity: Inform the Greater Twin cities area as well as CMTC member and friends base regarding all the upcoming programs and encourage them to attend.

·         Web Design: Manages and updates the website for all activities as well as closure announcements

·         Maintenance: Responsible to keep the ashram clean and good physical condition. They manage all the rental agreements. They are also responsible for safety and security as well as fire drills. CMTC hires a Carver county police officer weekly on Sunday during Bala Vihar hours.

·         Yagna & Bhiksha: One of the hallmarks of Chinmaya mission is the spread of the knowledge of Vedanta through Jnana Yajnas. We are blessed to have several Swamijis visit CMTC to hold week long evening and morning lectures, throughout the year, on various Indian scriptures. Apart from listening to the lectures, attendees also have the opportunity to cook and serve the Masters of this knowledge, considered a rare opportunity elsewhere is the norm in CMTC. This team plans and executes these Jjnana yajnas and Bhikshas.

·         Cultural: Responsible for all cultural activities in the mission, weekly as well as sporadic.

·         Puja: Organizes all pujas at the ashram. They often work in conjunction with the Utsav team. Please refer to our puja page for details of the pujas.

·         Utsav: Organizes festivals and celebrations throughout the year including the prasaad lunch and dinners.

·         Audio Visual: Responsible for all the audio visual equipment and their operation for activities in the mission as well as mission activities outside.

·         Publication: Chinmaya mission has a large inventory of publications. This team manages the book store which is open every Sunday (10AM-Noon) and during special occasions.

·         Bhajan Sandhya: Members can sign up to host Bhajan Sandhyas at their homes every 4^th Friday of the month, to celebrate special occasions or simply to have a divine evening with friends and family.

·         SEVA: Organizes all the ashram seva as well as the community seva activities and keeps track of the Presidential award service hours.

·         Jr CHYK and CHYK Activity: This team is responsible for planning and executing all leadership and volunteering activities as well as to come up with new ones. The team has a representative in the executive committee to seek out volunteer opportunities for youth in other activities held in the mission.

·         Gita Chanting: This team arranges the Gita chanting day/competition which includes sign up and training of Gita chanting judges. They also are responsible for arranging the chanting of the entire Bhagawad Gita on Gita Jayanti day.

·         CORD: Chinmaya Organization of Rural Development (CORD) is a top rated nonprofit in US dedicated to serve underprivileged women and children in India and Sri Lanka. This team is responsible for conducting the annual CORD walkathon fundraiser and to provide information to the congregation regarding various CORD projects that they can participate in. Please visit our CORD page for further details.

§   Shiksha: This team is responsible for maintaining the quality of the Bala Vihar cultural classes, assembly and overall discipline. They are also responsible for teacher’s training and teacher’s selection on an ongoing basis.

§   Study Group/Class Team: Study groups/classes are the core of Chinmaya Mission. Please visit the study group/class page for details. This team is responsible for conducting the study groups/classes, quality of the study groups/classes, expansion of study groups, as well as training study group Sevaks.

§   Language: Responsible for conducting Bala Vihar Language classes, Language teacher selection, Language syllabus and Language teacher selection

§   Vedic Chanting: Classes are held for both children and adults at CMTC. This team is responsible for conducting these classes, quality of the classes as well as training new teachers.

§   Extracurricular Activities: Weekend Bala Vihar runs on a fixed schedule. Extracurricular activities are arranged to allow the parents and students of each class to interact together as a family and get to know each other outside of Bala Vihar classes to form lifelong friendships.

                                      ii.        Community Seva (Youth & Adult)

                                     iii.        International Seva

3.     Youth Volunteering & Leadership Opportunity

CMTC has many leadership opportunities for Jr. CHYKs (Grades 9-12) and CHYKS (Young Adults between 18-30 years). They volunteer during every CMTC event such as pujas and festivities as well as plan & implement some of the events listed below: