September 2020

Highlights

Program Updates
TSI Internships
Upcoming Events
Food for the Soul: Featured Recipes
Bulletin Board
Media Recommendations

Program Updates

Camp Ignite Update

At the end of August, we had our first Virtual Camp Ignite Gathering! It was a great reunion of campers, counselors, and organizers that left us even more excited to attend Camp Ignite next year. We reconnected through meaningful ice breakers, interactive team building activities, and a brainstorming session for making Camp Ignite an even better experience! Please contact us at campignite.tsi@gmail.com to receive updates and info for Camp Ignite 2021. Read below for testimonials from our very own campers :)

“Camp Ignite was one of the best experiences in my life. Whether it was preparing prasadam, doing Kirtan, hearing from our speakers, or playing sports, I truly enjoyed every second of it. Not to forget the devotees that have showed me endless love and care. Camp has inspired me to further engage myself in service for Krishna and His devotees. I can’t wait for next year!!”

-Anisha A.

“My name is Gauranga and I have been and attendee at Camp Ignite for some time. It was a very wonderful experience and would recommend for anyone thinking about doing it. It is such a peaceful atmosphere and it’s a great time to socialize and make new friends and the leaders and counselors always have activities for everyone to do. Everyone is cared for properly and the prasadam is always amazing, no doubt about that. Hope you take advantage of it and hope to see you next year.”

-Gauranga V.

Summer Retreat Update

From July 17-19, The Sanga Initiative hosted its first ever online summer retreat! Although the organizers were devastated that the retreat attendees could not meet in person, they used all their creativity and energy to host a very successful online retreat! So huge thanks to the organizing team which comprised of: Yash Tyagi, Aditi Bhatt, Brinda Raval, Samsundar Seal, and Aravind Ithikkat. The retreat was split into guest speaker presentations, breakout sessions, sanga groups, and more! Huge thank you to all the sanga leaders, kirtan performers, and everyone who attended the retreat to make it an incredible success. We had an amazing line up of guest speakers including: Bhuta Bhavan Das, Bhakti Gamya Devi Dasi, Ananda Vrindavan Devi Dasi, Rtadhvaja Swami, and Sacinanadana Swami! The guest speakers were so inspiring in their relevant discussions which ranged from Self-Esteem, Servant Leadership, Principles of Bhakti, and a crowd-favorite Japa session lead by Sacinandana Maharaj! Everyone at TSI was so incredibly happy to re-connect with old friends, make new lasting connections, and once again dive deeper into their Bhakti ❤️ See below for some retreat testimonials!

“2020 has been a strange and depressing year as the excitement for the turning of a decade has become interjected with a real-time compilation of unfortunate events. I’m among the many young adults who are now more unsure than ever about their future and how to go forward. As someone who could probably be labeled “socially dependent as a devotee,” it's been a lonely journey to attain spiritual progress this year. For the first time ever there’s no Sunday program. For the first time in a decade I’m not traveling the whole summer. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to attend TSI.

My expectations weren’t high for a three day online retreat where everyone knew each other except for myself. I was honestly prepared to log off if it wasn’t my thing. Luckily for me, it only took moments to get hooked. Once it started, there were no more doubts. The topics, speakers, and schedule were strategically organized better than I could have imagined. The breakout sessions with the individual Sanga groups really helped carve out details from the speakers’ classes and dovetail them into real life application. I particularly learned a lot from Bhuta Bhavana Prabhu’s discussions about leadership and Sacinandana Swami’s segment on chanting. On the last day of the retreat when the groups were separated into girls and guys, the level of intimacy and openness in the men’s conversation was intensely refreshing because so many unspoken struggles were brought to light. The organizers of TSI are worthy of a shoutout for putting together the best thing that ever happened to Zoom. Thanks for organizing the first thing that positively exceeded my expectations this year. I’d bet Lord Caitanya is proud of the internal preaching this retreat has given to the youth of ISKCON.”

- Giri Y

“For many years, I struggled to find the right sanga I could be vulnerable with! My local community has always been amazing, but there were few people my age to engage with on a consistent basis! The Sanga Initiative has been instrumental in me finding my closest group of friends over the past few years!

This year's TSI was personally my favorite TSI retreat of all time. While I missed the physical aspect of the retreat, the organizers did an AMAZING job finding topics relevant to the youth present! The content of the retreat really enabled our sanga to delve deeper into our struggles with Krishna Consciousness and explore topics which are often overlooked in our communities. This year's retreat empowered me to reflect and understand what my role can be in Srila Prabhupada's movement and how I can best serve him. I can't wait to see what the TSI team has planned for the future! 😊”

- Yash G.

TSI Internships

As summer comes to a close, so does our very first go at the TSI Internship Program in partnership with ISKCON at the United Nations! Our four interns, Ayushi, Keshav, Darshina, and Aditi, did an amazing job and we can’t wait to share some of the outputs with you all! In the meantime, here are a few snippets of their experiences:

“Developing an honest rapport with seniors in ISKCON as well as the UN (through the speaker series, or as a part of our individual research on projects around the world) was definitely a highlight. It's rare to find people who can help you develop both spiritually and in our careers.”

-Darshina D.

“Having a chance to serve at ISKCON at the United Nations gave me a broader insight into the possibilities of pursuing a career that aligns with my values and beliefs. Being provided with the opportunity to speak and converse with devotee leaders from around the world gave me a glimpse into all the amazing efforts ISKCON is conducting to do its part in helping the global community. The internship gave me an opportunity to expand and improve on my skill sets as well as meet ISKCON and UN leaders who I personally learned a lot from. I am so glad that I was fortunate enough to receive this service, and hope that other members of the youth will be inspired by movements and institutions like these to play a larger role is moving ISKCON forward.”

- Keshav A.

Upcoming Events

We hope you’re staying safe and healthy during this unpredictable time. We are excited to be continuing our webinar series that will allow us all to stay engaged through discussion and association! Please check our social media pages for upcoming webinar dates:

Past webinars can be viewed here

-Food for the soul-

Snicker Doodle cookies

Ingredients: Cookie Dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup applesauce or vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Ingredients: Sugar Coating

4 Tbs. granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly butter two baking sheets.
Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl until fluffy. Add in vanilla extract.
Add all of the dry ingredients to the sugar and butter mixture. Mix very lightly until just incorporated.
Add in applesauce/ vegan mayonnaise and mix again until no dry clumps remain. Do not over mix!
Make 2 tbsp sized balls of the dough and roll them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a baking sheet and ever so slightly flatten the balls.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden around the edges.
Offer these delicious, delicate cookies to Krishna and enjoy warm!

Bulletin board

Note: This board will be used to highlight exciting events happening in the larger Bhakti community! Please check them out and support these incredible organizations!

Update from Jiv Jago, ISKCON Toronto Youth:

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“I am excited to share some updates on our youth program in Toronto Canada. Our initiative is called Jiv Jago- Awaken your Soul and the mission is to create an environment for them to feel connected with themselves, others, and ISKCON through Prabhupada’s teachings to help their spiritual growth. Our vision is to inspire them to awaken their consciousness by developing, uplifting and promoting their souls highest potential.

Due to Covid, my co-lead Atmadarshini DD and I have organized zoom meetings to continue motivating the enthusiastic devotees with various topics. We had Bhakti Marga Swami join us, different game nights and practical activities where we encouraged positive opportunities to share reflections. We remain hopeful in expanding our members and growing together. We plan on having other special guests giving seminars to empower the youth. I welcome anyone that has any questions- I am happy to be of services.”

- Jessica Flagiello -Toronto Youth Leader