LMAD Jamshedpur Regional Youth Conference - 2018

 

Foreword

The Jamshedpur Youth Conference (JYC) started on 29th November at Kerala Public School, Kadma. A total of 608 students had registered for the conference. The Conference was organized by IofC’s ‘Lets make a difference’ team with invaluable support of the Mr. Sharat Chandran, Director of Kerala Public School, Kadma and the school staff. The JYC was started in 2011 by the local residents of Jamshedpur who are a part of Let’s Make A Difference Youth Conference at the center of IofC, Asia plateau, Panchgani. The conference is conducted annually for the youth in Jamshedpur under the guidance of Mr. Rajiv Agarwal and Mrs. Shraddha Agarwal for past 8 years. The organizing team consists of volunteers from Jamshedpur and other parts of the country. A total of 22 volunteers joined the conference of 2018.

The team of volunteers in Jamshedpur Youth Conference.

29th November, Inauguration day

The inauguration started with a prayer song ‘It’s better to light a candle’ which seemed apt to the purpose of the conference. The hostess for the evening welcomed the guests and students which was followed by a quick introduction to the idea of the conference and lighting of the lamp to mark the start of the conference. The guests who were invited at the inauguration were:-

• Chief Guest, Mr. Shubhenjit Chaudhuri, Managing Director TATA Pigments.
• Mr. Sharath Chandran, Director, Kerala Public School
• Mr. Amit Mukherjee
• Dr. Srikant Nair
• Mrs. Manorama Nair
• Mr. Rajiv Agarwal

The brief introduction was followed by a talk given by the guests. Mr. Sharat Chandran addressed the students, acknowledging the past conferences that happened in the school. He also spoke of the founders of KPS and his father’s vision of making a sustainable and moral value governed institution which will help students have a strong foundation of life for a better future. Following that address Mr. Amit Mukherjee shared his experience with IofC and how following the teaching and standards of IofC he lived his life to the fullest. He ended his talk on a high note with a famous poem - ‘Kon hai jimmedar’. Mr. Rajiv Agarwal spoke about his experience since his first youth conference at Asia Plateau. The idea of Let's Make A Difference has touched many lives across the country and the reason for having a regional conference is make a positive difference in life of many more.

The event moved forward with sharing done by the volunteers. They shared their experiences after getting associated with Let's Make A Difference conference. They also spoke of how regional conferences has helped them reach out to many more young students all over the country and bring about a positive change in their lives. Let's Make A Difference has groomed some of the finest young people who have taken greater responsibilities and are successful in their professional and social life. Some of the volunteers who are still students shared how association with teachings has helped them academically and made them work harder to achieve what they aim at.

The inauguration ended with a vote of thanks to the chief guests and dignitaries. Volunteers discussed the dos and don’t s with the students. They were then divided into 8 different groups and they headed for group discussion hence marking the end of day 1.

Lighting of the lamp in the Inauguration ceremony.

30th November

The conference started with prayer ‘ Aye Malik Tere Bande Hum’. The session started with introduction to the heart of the teachings of Let's Make A Difference - Quiet time. Morning is a perfect time to sit by oneself in selfretrospection. In the everyday chaos in cities like Jamshedpur it is the morning time that is silent and serene where one can focus on their inner voice. In the conference, students had to do just that. They had to sit and introspect during the quiet time. The introspection is always about the 4 pillars of MRA, the ideology that Let's Make A Difference follows - Purity, Honesty, Unselfishness and Love. Here the diary was brought in the picture

The students were introduced to idea of quiet time which followed with session on the 4 principles of IofC. They were given live examples on Purity. Purity is not only related to cleanliness of the space around us but also constitutes purity of vision, purity of thoughts and purity of words. Thoughts define the way we lead our everyday life. All these thoughts are related to all the things that we see and hear. So purity of vision is an important factor in our life. Misuse of technology for adultery has driven students to do unthinkable deeds. Impurity in vision leads to impurity in thoughts. Our everyday life revolves around communication with others. Our language could be used to appreciate things and people but the same can break relations. We need to be careful of the words that we use.

Honesty is another important aspect in life. Quiet time works only when one starts being honest with oneself. Only when we are honest to ourself and ready to see our true nature, can we work towards betterment of our inner self. Honesty starts form our conscience and moves on to our family and the society. When ones thoughts and actions is governed by ones conscience, the outcome will always be of honesty and integrity towards family.

Unselfishness speaks of the virtue of sharing and being selfless. Greed drives men to act against his own conscience and do bad deeds but a simple act of giving can help one heal one’s own conscience. The final and most important principle discussed is Love. Love is one of the most misused term in our lives. In the demography and age of the students that are present at the conference love is highly misunderstood for infatuation and attraction. The session discussed various forms of love for parents, friends and close relatives. As we advance into the depth of quiet time as days pass it becomes easier to understand the 4 principles and practice them in our daily chores.

The session was followed by group discussion where students went back to their respective groups and shared their experiences of the morning quiet time and their thoughts on 4 principles of Purity, Honesty, Unselfishness and Love. Students shared their experience, some felt relaxed and connected to their conscience. They shared events of dishonesty and selfish acts. How some students were disrespectful and rude to their parents and feel guilty now.

Post lunch the pyramid of life session was held. This session focuses on some important aspects of one’s life such as Career, family, habits, health, hobbies etc. In this session students were major focused on career, exams and hobbies. They could create a systematic road-map to achieve their goals. In this session students could identify their longterm goals, how these goals can only be realized if they have short-term goals set for themselves. It is also vital to have daily goals that end up becoming good habit. It is important for the students to write these things and have them constantly in their vision. Similar to ones career, ones health and hobbies are also important to have a complete life. Hobbies refresh the mind and help us explore ones creative side. Health is another important aspect of a students life. For him to have a continuous phase of studies it is important to be in good health.

Hence setting goals for ones hobbies and health is equally important. Habits make us who we are. Habits that we inculcate decide whether we are capable to achieve our goals. Its is difficult to inculcate good habits hence one needs to plan for the same. In student life, the habits that we develop end up making or breaking our careers eventually. Students also shared their thoughts and realizations regarding their good and bad habits and what actions they will take to nurture good habits and get rid of their bad habits.

This session was followed by group discussion which took the students deeper into the aspects of Pyramid of life. They then wrote down their long-term and short-term goals and which daily actions they would take to realize their goals. To sum up the day students wrote down their negative qualities that they realized throughout the sessions and quiet time and burnt them symbolizing their first step towards getting rid of their negative qualities and bad habits.

Students doing their quiet time in the premises of Kerala Public School

1st December

The day began early with all the students seated in the auditorium. The session started with a prayer song. They were already introduced to the idea of quiet time. It was time that they start diving deep and introspecting more about themselves. The institute of Let's Make A Difference is 24 years old. The reason it could sustain this long is because of it is governed by morning quiet time. Quiet time must be an anchor in everyone’s life. Humans journey outside their conscience but during quiet time they start a journey within. This session urged the students to take a step within and see if they could find something within their conscience.

Human mind is like clean water. When we are young our conscience is clean. But as days pass by and we start interacting with people and things we start taking many ideas and habits with us. Some things that we get from others might be good but what makes our conscience contaminated is the bad habits that we develop with time. It is possible to clean our conscience at any point in time but the quality that keeps one from doing this is our ego. Larger the ego lesser is the change going to happen in our life. Students earlier had shared about the addictions that they had developed. A number of students are addicted to smoking and drinking. A larger number was addicted to pornography. Many students had troubled relationship with their parents, family and friends. Though one needs a change for the good but ego stops us from making amends and quiting on our addictions. In the Session a jar filled with dirty water that symbolizes the status quo of the students minds was shown, and a constant on-pour of clean water that symbolizes quiet time was done that cleans ones conscience and gives the strengths to make necessary changes.

Post session students had a brief quiet time and sharing after which they moved out for breakfast.

Post breakfast a session on family was conducted. Family is an anchor that keep one’s life grounded and stable. Family is the one place we go to in time of sorrow and despair. Our family provides us with a safe and comfortable life but seldom are we grateful to them. The lack of empathy towards our family members drives us to ignore them, be rude and sometimes hurt them. Only a lose shows us the importance of a family. The session was open to students to share their experiences and thoughts on family.

Few students shared their experience and quiet time thought. A student shared how rude he has been to his mother for stopping him from going to late night parties. He realized during his quiet time that it is time that he apologizes to this mother. Another student shared of the lose of his mother 8 years ago and how he misses her presence in the important moments of his life. A student shared his hatred for his father and how his ego has kept him from mending their relationships. One of the students shared her story. She had traveled far from home for her studies. She shared with a heavy heart that since her birth she was looked upon for being a girl. That was one of the reasons why she wanted to leave home and go away. The misunderstanding and lack of communication caused her to drift further form home and she has not been able to share or have a quality relationship with her family back home. There were instances where she lost the the interest to live. There were many such sharing that moved the crowd from within and made them to reflect on their relationship with their family.

All the students that shared their stories showed a will to make a positive change in their relationship with their family.

Group Discussion session in progress

A silent lunch was followed by an interactive session regarding ones relationship and realizing the effort one needs to take to amend them. Through this exercise students came to realize that some relationships were clouded due to the mis-communication and ego barriers that they had built over the years and they had to make efforts to mend those relationships. The students were then displaced into their respective group for better understanding and doing the exercise governed by quiet time. The session was concluded with a chant ‘Om Mani Padma Hum’ played for relaxing the students.

Post tea break students got back together for a short letter writing exercise. The art of writing a letter is lost in time and with excessive use of technology, students have given up writing them. This letter the students wrote was to themselves. The letter consists of the commitment they made today in the conference with the future in mind.

2nd December

The final day started with morning quiet time. The quiet time was focused on positive changes that came about during the past few days, the amendments that one needs to do in broken relationships and the habits that pull you back. Students shared the positive changes that they wish to make. Quiet time had connected them to their conscience and they were much more focused on their careers. In the past days they had got more clarity regarding their studies and habits.

Post breakfast students wrote one positive commitment they made during the conference that they will take with themselves for the rest of their life. The commitment is a personal choice that one has and believes in. They were then introduced to the Pledge. The Pledge bares the idea of sustainable living and for students who will be the future of the country it is necessary that they understand the responsibility that they carry towards the resources of the nation. The pledge states that on signing to the pledge one abides by the rules of it. One shall refrain from wastage of natural resources like water, food, fuel and daily usage commodities. On failing to do so one must punish himself by satyagraha, fasting or refraining from doing anything that gives him peace. The pledge was distributed among the students and they voluntarily accepted it.

The session also touched on topics of infatuation and lustful behavior. In an age of Internet it has become easier for students to get distracted from studies and being infatuated towards the opposite sex. There were instances where student shared how such distractions had affected their studies and they had failed to perform in their exams. Students end up misunderstanding the concept of love and derail from their path.

Later students had group discussion for personal sharing and discussion regarding the entire conference. Students wrote about their takeaways and commitments they were making regarding every aspect of life. A feedback was also taken for the future conferences.

The day concluded with the closing ceremony. Sourabh Roy TATA steel Urban Services (CSR) was the chief guests. Mr. Sharat Chandran was also present during the ceremony. The Staff members of the school were felicitated by the chief guest for the help that they provided during the course of the conference. Later few of the students shared about the life changing experience they had during the conference.

Conferences like this surely bring about a positive change not only in the academics of a student but also their social life. Here, with help of the Sponsors, KPS school staff, volunteers and teachers the Jamshedpur Youth Conference was a successful conference in its true sense.

Chief guest interacting with the audience during the closing ceremony

Annexure 1

The participants had undergone some changes in the first 2 days of the Conference and hence they took an essential step by noting them down. One positive commitment which they are going to do just after they leave the venue. Some of these positive commitments are mentioned below.

Positive Commitments:-

• I will study hard and get good marks.
• I will not fight and argue with anyone and I will not use abusive language.
• Be honest, positive and use PHUL in my life.
• I will always respect my parents.
• I will do quiet time everyday.
• I will quit alcohol and stop smoking.
• The commitment that I want to make myself is the daily use of the quite time and work hard to make my body and my soul with absolute, purity, honesty, unselfishness and love.
• Will follow quiet time every morning.
• Will try to listen to others as listening is more needed rather than speaking.
• Will lesser the use of mobile phones.
• I will live a healthy and disciplined life.
• I want to practice quiet time every day.
• I will not waste my time and money. I will not eat junk food.
• I will surely spend time with my father.
• Being honest and polite.
• I will not think about suicide again.
• I will get rid of all my dirty and bad habits.
• I will not be lazy and do my work on time.
• I will be honest to my family and friends.
• I will keep my room clean.
• I will control my anger.
• I will think before speaking anything.
• I will never talk rude to my parents.
• I will go home and talk to my sister and clear the misunderstanding.
• I will go home and touch my parents’ feet and ask them for forgiveness.
• I will go and call the person whom I have hurt the most but haven’t apologized as yet.
• I will say sorry to my family.
• I will go home and help my mother in her work right from tonight.
• I will not waste my time and money. I will not eat junk food.
• Being honest and polite.
• From today I will not lie to my parents and friends and I will say sorry to my parents and friends.
• Will try to listen to others as listening is more important than speaking.
• I will spend quality time with my parent.
• I will pass in per-board exam and make my parents feel proud.
• I will not say anything wrong about anybody.
• I will study 4 to 5 hours from today.

Annexure 2

Participant’s Feedback

To read each and every feedback form and analyze certain key points that would be addressed while conducting the 2017 Jamshedpur Youth Conference

Feedback Summary based on the Feedback form is as follows:-

Related to Conference:-

• Conference should be increased to more number of days
• The registration information should be made available earlier.
• Quiet time should be increased
• Parents should be invited along with the children.
• Activities along with the conference and repeatable videos should be more.
• Increase in number of Groups.
• Smaller Groups so individuals can open up.
• Have Conference in Winter Vacation for 10 days.
• Peer relationship should be made understandable.
• Some physical or group activities are required in between the sessions.
• More topics like Suicide, molestation should be taken up.
• More examples or instances through which they can connect.
• Speeches should be short
• Time should be given to interact with the coordinators
• There should be a gap in between sessions
• Letter to self should be longer

Regarding the Venue and Management:-

• The members on the back of the auditorium were unable to see or hear
• Meal times should be extended
• All schools should be included
• Writing board should be given for exercise.

The Volunteers that made the Jamshedpur conference possible,