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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SANGH IN THE UK SPECIAL EDITION sev yam ak a Sa w n S g u h d U n i K H • • m S ymve gº Ne ¥t a Sv | n n a s th k Est. 1966 a a¯ g r • n Sewa¯ • Sa FIFTY YEARS OF CONTRIBUTION 1 2 taking you through 50 years... 3 Contents Invocations Bob Blackman (MP) Praises HSS Activities Golden Jubilee Geet – Jay Ghosh Sanskriti Ka History and Relevance of Sangh Geet Editorial Important Sangh Departments Goodwill Messages Images from 1996 to 2006 Images from 1966 to 1976 Glimpse of Activities of HSS UK Sanskaar Sewa Sanghathan Evolution of Shakha in UK Before the Formation of HSS Empowering a Child – Balagokulam Early Days of Sangh Work in the UK Hindu Sevika Samiti UK How Ilford Shakha Started The Role of Hindu Women and Samiti Welcome to the 60’s Sewa Activities of HSS (UK) Founding Trustees of HSS (UK) Community Champions Present KKM of HSS (UK) Expansion of HSS UK – Vistaarak Yojana A Few Veterans of the UK Sangh Work Sangh Karyalayas Images from 1976 to 1986 Publications of HSS (UK) Milestone Events Sangh Inspired Organisations Prominent Persons at HSS Events Images from 2006 – 2016 HSS Shakhas on UK Map Experience of Sangh Pariwar Landmarks in the 50 Year Journey Sangh Prarthana of HSS (UK) Sangh Influence on my Life My 26 Years Sojourn in UK Vishwa Dharma Kee Jai! Sangh Shiksha Varg (SSV) Leading through Innovation in UK Sangh Work 4 5 Invocations Invocations asato mā sadgamaya tamaso mā jyotirgamaya mrityormā’mrataṃ gamaya असतो मा सद् गमय तमसो मा !योितग’मय मृयोमा’|मृतं गमय O Almighty, lead me from the untruth to the truth. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality. sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ sarve bhadrāņi paśyantu mā kascit duḥkhabhāg bhavet सव भवतु सुखन: सव सतु िनरामया: सव भािण पयतु मा कचत् दखभाग् भवेत् Let all be happy. Let all be healthy. Let all see the good in others. Let no one suffer from unhappiness. ॐ saṃgacchadhwaṃ saṃvadadhwaṃ saṃ vo manāṃsi jānatām devā bhāgaṃ yathā pūrve sañjānānā upāsate ॐ संगछवं संवदवं सं वो मनांिस जानताम् देवा भागं यथा पूव स!ानाना उपासते May we move in harmony, speak with one voice; let our minds be in agreement; just as the ancient gods shared their portion of sacrifice. 6 Jubilee Geet Jay Ghosh Sanskriti Kā Jay ghosh sanskṛiti kā, hum āj mil karenge Hum dharma ke pujārī, jag ko sukhī karenge Vignyān ke paroṃ mein, de shakti sanskṛiti kī Adyātma nīṃva hogī, samriddha vishwabhū kī Hum vishwa ke vibhava kī, vyākhyā naī likhenge Murajhe hue hṛiday kā, fir hāsya lauṭa lāyeṃ Ulajhe hue pathik ko, sanmārg fir dikhāyeṃ Sewā swabhāv apanā, hum nitya hī smarenge Hum garv se kahenge, hindutva prāṇ apanā Sahayatna se ho pūrā, apanā mahān sapanā Yah sangh shakti daivī, hum sādhanā karenge kāsha mein ninādita, ekātma swar hamārā Varshoṃ kī sādhanā kā, swarṇim ye parva pyārā Hai drishṭi lakshya path par, vijayī charaṇ dharenge We are here today to sing the praises of our glorious culture. We are devotees of dharma. We will bring bliss to the world. The wings of science should be powered by ethics and culture, while spirituality will be the foundation of our vision of a “prosperous Mother Earth”. Through our SANSKAAR (good character and qualities) we will give a new definition of a “better world”. We will put smiles back on the faces of those who become downhearted. Like the traveller who becomes lost, let us bring them back to the right path again. We will always remember that SEWA (selfless service) is an inherent part of our life. We can say with pride that Hinduness is in our soul. We will achieve our great vision through our collective efforts and have lifelong dedication for this divine SANGHATHAN (Sangh work). The skies are resounding with our collective voices. Through our many years of dedication and practice we are now celebrating this “golden year”. By keeping our focus on the path to our goal, victory will be ours. 7 Editorial Namaste Putting together this special edition of Sangh Sandesh, as part of the commemoration of 50 years of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in the UK, has been both an interesting and inspiring assignment. It gave us the reason to reach out to front rooms, back gardens and public parks to get swayamsevaks and sevikas who have the organization off the ground as a meeting of hearts been active over the last five decades and minds above everything else. As the organization to understand their motivation, situation grew organically, the need for structure and uniformity and contribution. We wanted this was met with the modification of our Sangh Padhiti edition of Sangh Sandesh to be a stake (style of working) to meet the unique demands of in the ground – a record of our many the UK. Our veterans admirably managed the task of achievements over the past 50 years for establishing themselves and their families in a new future generations to learn about and country whilst at the same time ensuring that the connect with. Sangh has not traditionally Sangh was also established on a secure footing in been an organization that has projected this country. its manifold achievements, preferring to work silently to develop persons of great As Sangh grew, so did its positive interactions character. The need of the hour, however, with the society, reaching out to all parts of the UK is for this work to be recognized and community. Visits by many dignitaries, all the way projected, to allow the organization up to the then serving Prime Minister Margaret to build upon these exceptional Thatcher in 1990, were instrumental in introducing achievements and reach ever-greater not just the organization, but positive Hindu values heights. to the wider society. Large scale events such as the annual Hindu Marathon, the Virat Hindu Sammelan in We were enthused to hear about how 1989 (remaining until today the largest gathering of the first shakhas were started by inspired Hindus outside of Bharat), and the Hindu Sangam in swayamsevaks pretty much as soon as Bradford in 1984 served to provide a positive vision they stepped off the plane from East of the Hindu society to both those within the Hindu Africa or Bharat (India). They started community and the wider mainstream society. meeting with great enthusiasm in their 8 The organization inspired its members to start to publish only a small sample of these moving service projects in the community in different illustrations. Their inspiration has come from spheres. These include temple management, the close association of many great characters, elderly centres, language classes in Gujarati, and they themselves continue to inspire future Hindi and Sanskrit, Yoga and Hinduism classes generations. around the country and fundraising for natural disasters and charitable causes. Youth leadership Sangh has worked through the guiding principles development through the annual Sangh and of Sanskar (life values), Sewa (selfless service) Samiti Shiksha Vargs has been an important and Sangathan (community spirit) for the last contribution to the organization of the society, 5 decades and will continue to do so. It has training dedicated workers who successfully provided the necessary impetus to work towards balance working for the society with the family its vision as stated in the Sangh Prarthana (prayer and career life. Vishwa Dharma Prakashena As Sangh has grown, it has inspired its members Vishwa Shanti Pravartake to form organizations to work in different areas according to the needs of the times. These We hope that you, the reader, will enjoy and be include the development of National Hindu inspired by this record of the journey of HSS Students Forum (organizing Hindu students (UK) so far. We further hope that this record will activities in University and beyond), Sewa UK provide a springboard for greater achievements (supporting charitable activities around the at an individual, local, national and international world), Sewa Day (encouraging volunteering) and level over the next 50 years and beyond! Friends of India Society International (worked to restore democracy in India during the period of Editorial Team Emergency rule in India in the late 1970s). Sangh Sandesh Special Issue As well as this exposure to Hindu values at a mass level, there has been the influence of equally (if not greater) importance at the individual level. We have been fortunate to hear from Swayamsevaks and Sevikas working in important positions in their professional life, who have told us about the life changing influence Sangh has had on their lives. There are boundless such examples, and we are able Dhiraj D Shah, Yogish Joshi, Piyush Mistry, Ajay Mistry, Deepti Mistry. Vakra-Tunda Maha-Kaaya Surya-Koti Samaprabha | Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryeshu Sarvadaa O Lord Ganesha of Curved Trunk, Large Body and with the Brilliance of a Million Suns, Please Make All my Works Free of Obstacles, Always. 9 Goodwill messages 10 ॐ jk"Vªh; Lo;alsod la?k iz/kku dk;kZy;% Mk- gsMxsokj Hkou] egky] ukxiqj & 440032 nwjHkk"k% ¼0712½ 2723003] 2720150 QSDl% 2721589 e‐mail : [email protected] ljla?kpkyd % eksgu e- Hkkxor ljdk;Zokg % lqjs’k ¼HkS¸;k½ tks’kh I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartiest congratulations to Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK (HSS UK) on marking its golden jubilee, Sanskriti MahaShibir. I am delighted that HSS UK has achieved a significant place in Hindu Samaj and British society, with its contribution across a range of fields from sewa and education to inter-faith dialogue and women empowerment, to name a few.