Empowering youth through service and spirituality

Working for the welfare of all living beings is bhakti, or service to God, and there is no greater reflection of this sentiment than the one expressed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata. It says, “One who is beyond duality and doubt, whose mind is engaged within, who is always busy working for the welfare of all sentient beings, and is free from all sins, achieves liberation in the Supreme” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 5.25). “Manava Seve Madhava Seva” (service to humanity is service to God) is therefore one of the key principles of Hinduism, where all forms of worship and rituals end with the chanting of the mantra for the welfare and happiness of all (Sarve Jana Sukhinobhavanthu). “Hindu temples, which are filled with positive vibrations from the chanting of Vedic mantras and devotees whose hearts are filled with surrender (Sharanagathi), are therefore the best places to instil human values of togetherness, love, and service beyond self, especially among children and youth,” opines Suresh Swamy, the chief priest at the Shivalayam (abode of Lord Shiva) in the Chilkur Balaji temple, where the deity, famous as the ‘Visa God,’ is thronged by hundreds of students planning to pursue higher studies abroad.

“Where are the students?” Suresh Swamy asks as he smiles at devotees gathered to pray and greets them with words of encouragement. He asks them what they are studying and what they aspire to be as he distributes pens placed before the deity, wishing them a bright future. He has been following this ritual for a major part of the 17 years spent in the service of the temple. “We have to attract youngsters to temples and make them understand that these places are full of our architecture, literature, culture, and human values, and that Daiva bhakti (devotion to God) should co-exist with Desa bhakti (devotion to our country) to have a society free of strife,” he feels. In February of this year, he distributed 2,50,000 pens freely to students of government schools across Telangana before the board exams. Many devotees who want to make voluntary offerings to the deity buy these pens and offer them to the temple, and these are given for distribution to students.

Supplying gingelly oil to more than 50 temples across Telangana from the offerings made after meeting the temple needs, the priest spends his off-duty hours undertaking programs for the elimination of social evils. From organizing regular meetings with priests from various temples across Telangana and honouring them, to helping youth overcome addiction to drugs and alcohol through padayatras in the village, he has organized a plethora of programmes aimed at awareness and empowerment of youth. A padayatra from Tiparasapalle village in Narayanpet to an ancient 2000-year-old Shiva temple in the area, where thousands of youths took a pledge to stay away from drugs and vowed to take up proper employment, is one of the powerful programs that yielded positive results according to Suresh Swamy. Similar programs are organized in the vicinity of the famous Kondagattu Anjaneya Swamy temple every pournami (full moon day) with youth as the target. In the future, Suresh Swamy hopes to honour artisans and craftsmen in every village with the dual purpose of recognizing their work and, at the same time, encouraging the younger generation to take up vocational education to prevent traditional arts and crafts from becoming obsolete. Apart from prayer and blessings to devotees seeking relief from various afflictions, Suresh Swamy’s tireless efforts to empower youth and help them emerge as responsible citizens of our country without expecting anything in return is a commendable service. “One should never dwell on past achievements but keep working towards progress with zeal and enthusiasm,” says Suresh Swamy, who is a unique amalgamation of Work and Worship.