Skip to main content

WINTER CAMP OF DENZONG BAHA’I INSTITUTE OF SIKKIM

 by Sanjay Agarwal




21-day Winter camp organized by Denzong Baha’i Institute of Sikkim began on 20th December 2009 at Baha’i School, Tadong. The camp will go till 9th January 2010. The participants are from Sumbuk (South Sikkim), Pachey (Pakyong) and Gangtok. A camp of this kind was first started at Saramsa (Ranipool) in December 2000 by the Denzong Baha’i Institute of Sikkim. The participants were from Bhutan, Darjeeling, and Sikkim then. But in the later years to make it convenient and manageable the Institute decided to decentralize  it and have it in different centers. For the past three or four years, for the people of Darjeeling, it has been organized in Darjeeling itself and for Sikkim in Sikkim itself.
This is a spiritual empowerment program. Here, participants are taught to be tolerant and encourage fellowship among the people irrespective of caste, creed, color, religion, race, and nation. They get insights into the concept God is one, man is the creation of one God, and the source of all religion is one. In the camp, classes are conducted using a participatory method. The participants are divided into different groups. For each group, one tutor is appointed to coordinate the class and help the class get ahead on the right track. Each group has to go through a systematic sequence of courses from level 1 to level 7. The materials they study are designed for different subjects. They are as follows:
Level 1: Reflection on the life of the spirit.
Level 2 : Arising to serve.
Level 3 : Teaching children’s classes, Grade I
Level 4 : The twin manifestations.
Level 5 : Teaching children classes, Grade II
Level 6 : Teaching the Faith.
Level 7 : Walking together on a path of service.
These materials represent the experience gained by the institutions in raising up individuals capable of working for the benefit of their families and society.
Mr. Samir Pandey, Mr. Ramesh Pradhan, Mr. Nikhil Rai, Mrs. Hemlata Pradhan, Mr. Rohit Chettri, Mr. Binod Pokhrel and Mrs. Devikala Lama are helping as tutors in the winter camp of Sikkim,2009. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sikkim Mahinda Thero: A national hero of Sri Lanka

Sikkim Mahinda Thero BY SHITAL PRADHAN I first heard about S Mahinda Thero in 2005 while in Kolkata when I was asked by one of the stamp dealers whether I was interested in a 20 paisa stamp of S Mahinda Thero issued by the Sri Lankan Postal Department in the early 1970s. I collected philatelic items on Buddhism, but I never understood who he was talking about. He told me, as I was from Sikkim, I might be interested to know more about the person, and he went on to add it was Sikkim Mahinda Thero, a Buddhist monk who is regarded as a national hero, a famous poet in the Sinhalese language whose poetry promoted patriotism and the revival of Buddhism to this part of the Island. He promised to send me the stamp of S Mahinda Thero from Colombo through the mail, but I have never heard from him since then. However, regarding my limited concern, it was enough to know that such a person keeps the name Sikkim with honor and pride in Sri Lanka. I had the name...

JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT

This was a national song of Sikkim sung in the Nepali language during the monarchy system. During the merger with India, the song got banned and later re-released. Two words on the 8th para, which earlier said 'Rajah rah Rani,' were replaced with "Janmah bhumi."     This song was dedicated to the King and Queen of Sikkim. The song lyrics were penned by Sanu Lama, and the music was composed by Dushyant Lama.  The song was first sung on the birth anniversary of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal on April 4, 1970, at Gangtok by Aruna Lama, Dawa Lama, and Manikamal Chettri.    JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT,  JAHAN KANCHENDZONGA SEER   YEHI HO HAMRO DHANA KO DESH,  TAPAWAN HO PYARO SIKKIM     INTERLUDE     PHULCHAN YEHA AANGANAI MAA,  CHAAP , GURAS, SUNAKHARI   SWARGASARI SUNDAR DESH KO  HAMRO PYARO PYARO JANMAHBHUMI     JANHA BAGCHA……     BATASHLE BOKCHAA YAHA,  TATHAGAT KO AAMAR WAANI ...

Pandam Garhi and its surmise

--> RUINS OF PANDAM GARHI BY SHITAL PRADHAN The stories of the legendary ruined walls at Pandam, a 16 km uphill climb from Rangpo, as I had heard from old folks a few seasons back, had ever since excited me to visit this place. Never in the pages of a history book do we come across its talk about when it was built or how it was constructed at the top of the hill? Over the years, many theories have evolved regarding its origin. Some theorists associate the fort with some Lepcha legends, while few disagree with it and have their own adage.  They make us believe one of the Chogyals constructed it to stop the approaching Bhutanese army from entering Sikkim. The last theory to add up, already baffling and controversial, says it was one of the Gurkha Generals from Nepal who constructed the fort along with the Kalika Mandir, also called Nishani Mandir, just below it. With each theory making questions over my mind, I decided to have my second trek to the Pandam Garhi. I had ...