A different kind of get together!

This summer when I visited my grandparents in India, I learned about a special kind of get-together called ‘Satsang’. In this get together, a lot of people gather at someone’s house every day. They do yoga, sing songs, and listen to knowledge from the leaders. My grandma and grandpa are both leaders in Satsang. Earlier, I thought they make money by imparting knowledge, but later I learnt that they are volunteers.  I couldn’t understand the knowledge because it was in Hindi language. Though I understand and speak basic Hindi, the language they used was way too advance for me and I found Satsang really boring. I still accompanied my grandparents few times in the morning at 5 AM to make them happy.

There’s also Kid’s Satsung where kids share stories written by them or sing songs. I thought this was interesting and helped the kids improve their speaking skills in front of audience. I and my brother sang English songs, and also prepared one Hindi song.

When I was 1 year old, I stayed with my grandparents. My grandma told me that I regularly attended Satsang with her. She also shared all stories with me about the funny things I used to do when I was little – like sitting on people’s lap and making sure their eyes were closed during prayer, or their hands were folded in ‘Namaskar’ form the right way. They thought that was really cute, and now when I was there, most of those people are still a part of Satsang. They recognize me, and treat me like a celebrity, talking about all the things I used to do. I celebrated two of my birthdays in India – birthday #1, and #2, and since then they have continued to celebrate my birthday each year in Satsang even when I am not there. My grandmother brings a big cake, the leader cuts it, and they sing songs. I am surprised and touched with their love and remembrance of me.

When I was in India, I was ready to come back home and get started with my school and schedule. Now that I'm home, I miss my grandparents. They do not like to come here, I hope they will change their mind one day.

-Writing Girl (WG)

Bring your palms like this together to do a Namaskar, also called Namestay! A way to say 'Hi' in India.