Photo from Dr. Farhana Loonat, via Zoom.
By Jennifer Juniper
The South Asian Student Club hosts meditation, Hindu cultural information sessions, and Reiki healing training led by Guruji RK Sharma intended to help improve the quality of people’s lives. The Sunday morning meditation event is fast becoming one of the best-attended SVC club activities and it’s free!
A recent Sunday event began with a message from the Military Club Vice President Charles McNeil proclaiming the benefits of meditation and Reiki training for veterans. McNeil shared a poignant message that the VA’s direct counseling and medicinal regimes were not helping enough veterans thus, the suicide rate was rising.
In response to this problem, the VA has been exploring the benefits of meditation by hosting yoga retreats and the results are quantifiable. McNeil said, “The participants have reported a reduction in stress, fatigue, and insomnia.” He stressed that these ancient techniques have been used to improve the quality of life for thousands of years and expressed the importance of selfcare by saying, “Everyone should know how to change a spare tire… and everyone should also know how to meditate.”
Next, Guruji RK Sharma took center screen guiding the group of between 30-40 participants in Samyog meditation starting with Om chanting. He explained the technique as breathing in through the nose and saying Om while trying to extend the breath and sound as you exhale. This is repeated 11 times before moving on to natural breathing meditation.
The origins of Samyog meditation are as ancient as Hinduism itself. Guruji RK Sharma states, “this teaching is found in the Bhagavad Gita, as taught exactly like this by Lord Krishna to his devotee Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra thousands of years ago.”
This exchange of knowledge happened thousands of years prior in Dwapar Yug (the age of duty) that began in 867,102 BCE and had a duration of 864,000 years. The oral tradition was eventually recorded into the Bhagavad Gita, a primary scripture of Hinduism, by a man by the name of Ved Vyas in Kali Yuga (the age of evil) about five thousand years ago.
These events are thanks to the South Asian Student Club, which was founded in 2017, under the leadership of Gary Singh. They are also one of the few SVC clubs to host regular events for students and faculty since going remote.
Current club president Harkaran Sandhu shared that in their short history they have, “proudly hosted two Bhangra events, two Vaisakhi’s, two Reiki trainings as well as the weekly meditation sessions followed by information sessions on a range of Indian knowledge.”
Club member Priya Kumar shared their motivation for hosting the meditation and Reiki training. She said, “many students at SVC come from marginalized backgrounds and due to the COVID19 pandemic, many of the pressures in their lives have intensified. By introducing them to meditation and Reiki, we hoped to alleviate some of their stress and teach techniques that they could continue to use outside of the instructional sessions and after the end of the pandemic for the betterment of their holistic health.”
Kumar shared the additional purpose of their events by saying, “these events expose the student body of SVC to a different culture and way of thinking and are benefiting the members of the community as well.”
The club’s advisor Dr. Farhana Loonat has been meditating regularly since last summer and has seen positive results. She shared, “I have seen a marked improvement in my concentration and sleep quality. I am also far less easily triggered by the gendered racism I encounter in my work.”
The meditation session is followed by a Hindu cultural information segment by Guruji RK Sharma. Examples of past topics covered include dream analysis, face reading, and body language. The attendees are encouraged to participate as the Guruji offers his expertise by doing personalized readings and his observations are spot on!
Guruji RK Sharma shares his motivations to teach when he says, “As we know, the whole world is suffering from miseries, for which there are no solutions. My intention is to lead people towards Moksh (liberation), and relatedly, to an end to their suffering. Miseries will undoubtedly come into your life but through meditation, it is possible to cultivate detachment from these miseries, and gain the state of equanimity.”
The club is also hosting more Reiki training sessions with Guruji RK Sharma starting May 1st where he will teach the theoretical foundations of this ancient Japanese healing technique that is effective for helping with pain, addictions, and emotional imbalance. Guruji RK Sharma says, “If students have friends, family or pets with them, they will have an opportunity to practice the Reiki on those loved ones during the training.” Attendees will be able to use these skills to help themselves and their loved ones for a lifetime.
Guruji RK Sharma shares that although there are many other benefits such as improved mental and physical health, concentration, and memory the real purpose of Samyog meditation is to achieve a state of equanimity. He says, “meditation is meant to release us from being susceptible
to the extremes of pleasures and pains that we encounter in life’s path.” He went on to share that, “Personally, as a result of years of practice, I am now beyond being affected by profit or loss and am in an enviable state of equanimity.”
If you would like to learn more about Samyog meditation and Indian culture while improving your overall health and wellbeing, then join the South Asian Student Club on Sunday mornings at 10 am via zoom https://zoom.us/s/4571870466. Also, keep an eye out for the next round of Reiki training signups.
