Entrepreneurial Attributes - 3 must haves, and 10 behaviors to avoid

Being an entrepreneur is one thing, and being a successful one is another. Ms. Anchal Gupta, a resident of Boston, MA sees entrepreneurs as people with “a vision, and zeal to achieve it…”. Besides the traditional track of having a defined goal, process, plan and evaluation criteria, there are certain personal traits of a human being that make them a born entrepreneur or not. You may have the best business plan and the best sales process in place, but what differentiates one businessperson from another is his/her charisma, the ability to captivate, inspire, and influence people.

Optimism: One of the most attractive qualities of any person is Optimism, the ability to see the positive in any situation and to be able to move forward. People, as well as business tend to gravitate towards someone who has a positive attitude towards life in general. Not only externally but internally as well, the most powerful mover is positivity in our attitudes. Clients, and employees are equally influenced by the attitude of the business owner. Most successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to this aspect in their personalities. Also, entrepreneurs more than anyone else, take risks. They employ time and resources towards something they believe in. It works, and at times it does not work. Even with the most calculated, thought out risks, and back up plans, situations arise when their own optimistic attitude is what they can rely upon to take them beyond and pull them forward. Along with the attitude, a disciplined approach includes discussing options, evaluating them and most importantly implementing them with the right team of people. People who you can lean on, people who trust your judgment and believe in you. As summarized by Mr. Karan Bir Singh Sidhu, Joint Secretary at Government of India, “The key elements of entrepreneurial personality are: Optimism, Discipline and Ability to get along with others”.

Uniqueness: Another core quality that dictates entrepreneurial abilities is “to be able to look at everything differently,” Ms. Roopam Arora, a business owner in Boston, adds, “They (entrepreneurs) always try to find a problem to solve, a puzzle to finish”. We all know there are millions and millions of businesses that sell similar products and services. What clicks with the human mind is not a product or a service, but a solution. As a customer, anytime we choose to buy something, we are essentially trying to solve a problem. An entrepreneur who is able to see it the same way as us and present a solution to us is the one that gets our attention as a consumer. As the business owner, this involves knowing your competition, developing and knowing your own uniqueness as a business as well as be able to communicate that to potential clients. As Mr. Ram Dhan Yadav Kotamraja, the CEO and President at Novedea Systems Inc puts it, “The uniqueness lies in being able to challenge the status quo all the time” as it relates to processes, presentation, and delivery.

Utilize the Power of People : According to Mr. Sanjay Mazumder, the CEO at Veristorm, “From my experience as a serial entrepreneur in high tech industry, the success is in the team you build. The right kind of partners, employees, investors will like to associate to the high integrity person. You absolutely need to possess this to have "real" success as an entrepreneur.” And rightly said, though most entrepreneurs come with a “just do it” attitude and the enthusiasm of “do it yourself”, one of the most neglected skill of successful people is “people skill”. It is not important to have a perfect person as a team member but it sure is important to have perfect skills to make a perfect team. Not one person can do everything. It is almost disastrous to believe that one CEO can manage the Operations as well as  Sales aspect of business. Though this may be an established fact in large enterprises, it is easily overlooked in smaller ones. A person can either be internally focused or externally to say the least. A complete team, of course, includes visionaries, ‘executionists’ and well as those who possess the skill to sell, expanded to investors, and partners as well. But as a basic skill, an entrepreneur knows how to select complementary team members as far as skills are concerned and also knows how to utilize these skills to the maximum potential without burning out people resources. Ms. Hannah David Paramanadam, agrees 100% as she spells out her three essential ingredients of a smart entrepreneurial mind “Good negotiation skills, people skills and the willingness to take risks.”

In addition, as Mr. Mazumder touched upon, the integrity of an entrepreneur is the fortress of all attributes which dictates long term relationships and in turn, long term success. Though there are many other characteristics that can be listed out for smart entrepreneurs, these came out as the top three. Interestingly, one of our respected community members chose a non traditional and less ‘sugar-coated’ path to emphasize and warn new entrepreneurs against attractive impulsive practices that seem to attain immediate perceived success but in the long run fizzle out quickly as clients, investors and employees are able to see through these pretty easily. Here’s a list from Mr. Jay Srinivasan, who recommends staying away from these short term quick-winning-charm attributes, which are commonly seen being associated with success in this competitive world:

·        Back stabbing

·        Being Selfish

·        Me Me Me attitude all the time

·        Excessive praise, ( lots of it - More the better)

·        Make money at any cost, Charge for every thing !

·        Use others when needed

·        Be an opportunist , Need not be always a WIN WIN situation. 

·        Claim success, even if the venture was total failure and most of the shareholders lost money . But who cares ! 

·        Kick the ladder which helped, once the person reaches the top, forget the old friends and move in a new circle, now that the entrepreneur has made his money !

·        Learn to hype even the minutest stuff 

The Foundations TV would like to thank all those who contributed to this article and made it an interesting read for our viewers.

A dozen reasons to "Unfriend" on Facebook

Social Media sites like Facebook take off so well for an individual and the first couple of years of being on it is super exciting for everyone as they connect with old buddies, high school friends, college mates, even old and current neighbors and find out what’s going on in each other’s lives. The friend circle expands to “Friends of  Friends” with a click of a few buttons and impulsive ‘friend acceptances’. On-line friendships develop. The vision expands and elaborates. Eventually, it starts to take over. Deep connections are formed and emotions flow through the digital world as well. Emotions, with all their depth and variety start spilling out as words and pictures. Re-using them out of context becomes easier. The bigger your ‘friend list’ the more repetitive your newsfeed becomes. If you’ve been on Facebook for a couple or more years with an expanded friend list, you’ve seen it all. The charm starts to fade away. The quotes and jokes are copied, repeated without credits, pictures flaunted, businesses advertised, news shared from popular channels, and an over doze of similar comments is seen flowing across. While the number of “Likes” being the most gratifying experience of the day, becomes increasingly competitive; sensitivity towards human behaviors also becomes more prevalent. And then comes a stage of ‘digital awareness and realization’ , a time to know that it’s ok to cut down on the noise in the friend list. Though ‘Unsubscribing’ to a friend neatly removes  friends’ posts from your newsfeed, ‘Unfriending’ is a more popular click to remove the ‘annoyance’ from your newsfeed. Some choose to do a regular ‘Spring Clean Up’ while others are forced to do it when they reach their 5000 friend list mark. Here’s a few characteristic behaviors that are linked to an ‘annoyance factor’ and trigger being  ‘Unfriended’ on Facebook.

1.   Display self- obsession with regards to moods, pictures, selfies: Unless there is common interest, personal relationship or another worldly motivation to keep these people in your list, those who post too much on facebook are the first to go.

2.   Send game invites: Though there is a setting in our account to disable game invites, not many users are aware of it and end up receiving irritating game requests. Those who play the games probably are not even aware of the invites being sent through their account and sometimes get unjustly unfriended on this regard alone

3.   Tag unnecessarily: To attain visibility, some users tag ‘popular’ bloggers on  their general posts. This misleads people to the posts as those from the ‘popular’ user as well as clogs timelines of those tagged. Untagging manually is an additional task and hence ‘unfriending’ or turning tag reviewing on becomes an easier way out.

4.   Ill-mannered or indecent comments : Thankfully deleting comments, messages and even accounts from your  friend list is a mechanism easily applied to types who use indecent or rude FB etiquettes. Blocking abusive, and blunt behavior out of your lives is as easy as blocking an account.

5.   Impertinent messages or jokes in inbox: Though it may seem private, an inbox can be very intrusive as well. What comes through an inbox reveals more than any comment or post does about a person and hence it immediately raises a red flag. Consistent nosiness, and ungracious or vulgar jokes or messages certainly lead to unfriending

6.   Stalking to flirt with you or your friends: Light flirting seems to be a common behavior on FB. The cross over from appreciating to exaltation is visibly obvious. As a human being, no one minds the magnified appreciation coming their own way, but its expansion towards ones friends or family members is intolerable. When your facebook friends start digitally toying with your real friends and family, the unfriend button is the first to be clicked.

7.   Pessimistic or orthodox attitude in life: Most people hop onto facebook at the end of the day wanting to take their mind off the regular days work and for de-stressing. Entertainment is what they are looking for. Those who constantly post negative or strongly opinioned posts filled with critic and their despairing judgments about various topics will get unfriended by these recreation seeking individuals

8.   Disliking or unfriending in real life : Altered relationships in real life will immediately get reflected on social media as well. Any friction in your relationship leads to unfriending, sometimes even expanding to close friends of people who you are unfriending as well.

9.   Business promotion: Some only use facebook for promoting their business and those users are more likely  to get unfriended by those who don’t anticipate using their services anytime in life.

10. Inactive or minimal participation on your wall: This reason may be less related to the ‘annoyance factor’ and more to keeping a manageable friend list. But some will unfriend you because you do not like their post or comment on them. For some, this is also an act of failing expectations and causing disappointment specially if these users are seen commenting on other peoples posts.

11. No response: When people send you a message, they expect a reply. A no-response from you would be considered an impolite behavior and will call for unfriending specially when you are actively participating on your own wall and other walls as well.

12. Stay private: Though there is setting to ‘restrict’ in general and also restrict the audience per post, ‘unfriending’ is used by some to not share their own personal pictures and stories with those who are in the outer circle of friends or those who copy, or misuse their personal information.

Reading at this list again, it may seem like no matter what you do, you are bound to get ‘unfriended’ by someone sometime in your facebook life. Though there are a few somewhat likable post trends like jokes and preachy quotes, but those users too are not regarded as gurus and too much of such posts can be just as annoying. In fact there is no fool proof way of preventing the ‘unfriending’. But, interestingly we also found that this was a mutual criteria. Most of the time it is both parties who dislike each other and one is just glad that the other pulled the plug on this. As in real life, we move on. In facebook as well, this list should not stop us from being who we are. It is a great medium to express yourself and sometimes even define yourself. Some will love you and some will not. That should not stop you from being your unique self. Enjoy the journey, know that things like “restricted”, “blocking”, “unsubscribing” and “unfriending” will continue to happen, and know that there is no benefit in taking offense to it or holding a grudge against someone who unfriended you. Facebook is a tool and just like you cannot blame a spoon for making you fat, you cannot blame a digital tool for exposing you to the bragging capabilities of others. And just like you cannot blame the spice in the food for not being able to resist it, you cannot blame the capacity of others to annoy you. Choose well and enjoy the ride.

Contributing thoughts for this article were provided by: Hitant Vohra, Jagdeep Singh, Vandana Midha, Rajiv Lochan, Suneet Kheterpal, Anandini Chandreshekhar, Sukhpreet Brar, Filza C Filza, Simrat Parmar, Mukesh Kumar Sagar, Leigh Nicole, Reena Kharkwal, Nishi Jaswal, Ragoo Raghunathan, Amardeep Singh Sehgal, Karan Bir Singh Sidhu, Anant Barbadikar, Rohini Iris Pola, Sona Sara, Braj Cals, Reeta Tuli, Amritha Mangalat, Shaadi bazaar, Sharda Jha Prabha Srinivasan, Tarseme Singh, Anjana Mangalat, Madhupurna Sen, Vika Soni, Nalini Krishnan, Nitima Pangasa, Milind Deshpande, Sidhartha Roy, Parminder Irvine, Kapal Minhas, Kanti Sharma and Sanjay Sood

Hindu Heritage Day 2014 ~ UTSAV

O Parvati, you who makes all desires possible, the most auspicious of the auspicious;
My refuge, Triambika, Gauri, Narayani (sister of Lord Narayana), Salutations to You.

PRESS RELEASE : World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) organizes Hindu Heritage Day. This year it was celebrated on May 24 at Marlboro Middle School in Marlboro, MA. The Governor of Massachusetts as well as the Mayor of Marlboro proclaimed May 24, 2014 to be the Hindu Heritage Day. On this day, over 2,000 Hindu Americans came together to celebrate a rich common heritage and culture, a precious inheritance passed down from our Vedic scientists called Rishis. This is the 18^th consecutive year that a team of volunteers from VHPA led by Sanjay Kaul has organized HHD which is an inclusive event connecting almost all Boston area organizations, large and small.

It turned out to be a lovely get-together of like-minded members of Hindu community in Boston area. The ambience was beautiful. With decorated tables, flowers, Natraj, and tastefully decorated stage for musicians and little children greeting guests by applying kumkum tilak created a warm atmosphere.

The program was started with a traditional sounding of the Shankh Naad (participants: KG Narayanan & Samir Asthana). A specialty of the shankh is that the vibrations emanating on blowing it destroys the disease causing germs in the atmosphere. That is the reason it has an important place in all group gatherings and auspicious occasions.

After the auspicious start of the program, evening festivities began with “Deep Prajwalan.” The lighting of the ceremonial lamp was done by Mr. & Mrs. Tej & Prem Tanden (Prominent community activists), and Dr. Abhaya Asthana (National President, VHPA). Lighting the lamp symbolizes the movement from darkness to light, in the spirit of the common Hindu prayer: Asato Ma Sad Gamaya, Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya, MRatyorma Amratam Gamaya which means: May we go to the path of good, from light to darkness, from death to immortality.  As they light the lamp the children recited this shloka.

This was followed by recitation of Ekta Mantra and the Bahv Geet by the children from Southboro Bal Vihar and Bal Vidya Mandir. The idea that the whole is one family – this vision is the one of the great thoughts that emerged from Hindu civilization, culture and heritage.  Thousands of years of Hindu traditions have provided invaluable lessons to all and has served as a source of inspiration, reflection, and contemplation for the millions of individuals who look upon Hinduism for spiritual guidance.

Our culture and values of reverence to elders, affection for families and young children was evident in the manner the four MC’s Apeksha Tripathi, Padmini Narayan, Chitra Kumar Subramanian and Archana Garur conducted the program.

The theme of this year’s mela was Utsav or Festivals – Celebration, which was in abundant display at the mela. An Utsav is a festival - an exuberant expression of enjoyment (Kama) and prosperity (Artha) bound by duty (Dharma). Festivals are at the heart of Indian culture and lives. Their seasonal occurrences provide a periodic opportunity to remove (“ut”) worldly sorrow (“sava”), and break up the monotony of day-to-day life by infusing excitement to look forward to, fun to be had, and hallmarks to be made. The occasion was marked by an extensive poster display of all the festivals that make up the colorful landscape of India.

The cultural program organized around the theme of “Utsav” held the audience captive by its excellence, variety of programming, and educational content. Almost all the dance schools and master teachers of the greater Boston area were represented by their best students replete with creatively designed colorful costumes. The cultural program covered items representing "Kashmir to Kanniyakumari and Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.” It was a feast for the mind and the senses, keeping the audience virtually glued to their seats, taking in all the production. Also, there were bhajans and plays that enthralled the audience.

The green rooms and the corridor leading to the stage were abuzz with excitement as the parents and coaches prepared the participants/performers of all ages for the stage, ensuring all costumes and make up were in place. This in itself was a sight to behold. There were families everywhere.

In the 37 booths placed in different corridors there was information available on virtually every aspect of life that a Hindu American may need. There was information on VHPA’s children’s camp held in Tolland, Massachusetts every year. There were booths selling a variety of children’s books, including difficult to find educational comic books and spiritual children’s books introducing dharmic concepts. The books geared towards adult readers were just as numerous. There was information on three greater Boston area Bal Vihars (schools) operating in Newton, Southborough, and Lexington, where children learn and discover their heritage while playing. There were numerous booths displaying a myriad of jewelry and clothes of every color, hue and description, a feast for the senses. It was possible to get just the right jewelry and clothes being sold in many booths.

The cafeteria was a hub of activity all the time, first serving snacks and then dinner. The snacks of samosas and pakoras were most popular in the afternoon. To keep the children in the cafeteria entertained, there were educational videos played on a large screen on the Ramayana and life of Sri Krishna. In spite of the larger than expected number of people, the food vendor was well prepared with extra supplies of prepared food. A big hit of the day was Kulfi in exotic flavors. This was a favorite with young and old alike.

Volunteers including Dr. Charu Patel accompanied by Mr. & Mrs. Nimesh & Sangeeta Singh sold chai (tea) to raise funds for VHPA’s Support-A-Child program. There was kite flying activity organized outdoors by Shri Brij Garg for enthusiasts, with kites and dori provided. Even the sporadic rain did not dampen their enthusiasm. VHPA’s membership desk was managed by Shri Vishwanath Khaitan. Many non-members took this opportunity to find more about VHPA’s activities in the greater Boston area and some signed up for membership there and then.

Due to the large attendance, many people reconnected with acquaintances after a long interval of time. For the newcomers, HHD event come as a pleasant surprise providing a glimpse of their heritage away from home. For most families, it is difficult to participate in all the varied activities going on simultaneously. However, the nice part of this event is that this traditional get together is organized every year so there is always an opportunity to engage in different activities each year.

On behalf of VHPA’s Boston and Merrimack Valley Chapters, this event was organized by Sanjay & Bela Kaul as the event convener who thank all supporters, volunteers and media partners (The Foundations TV, Lokvani, Sounds of India and Gunjan Radio) for making this event possible. If you missed this annual event, then look for it next year in the month of May. For participating in the cultural program, please plan early and contact Smt. Jaya Asthana at jasthana@hotmail.com. For securing a booth, please contact Mr. Kaushik Patel at ck8288@gmail.com. For volunteering, please contact Mr. Sanjay Kaul at sanjaykaul@hotmail.com.

VHP of America is a national organization which has among its objectives to unite Hindus by instilling in them devotion to the Hindu way of life, to cultivate self-respect and respect for all people, and to establish contacts with Hindus all over the world. For more information please visit http://www.vhp-america.org/ 

Memorial day weekend - Synonymous with FUN!

By Gauri Chandna

Memorial Day in New England marks the beginning of summer family activities. Surrounded with the best National parks, New England states are a treat during the spring, and summer months. While those choosing to stay at home bring out patio furniture, grills for their first barbecues, and house plants, and entertain guest in their back yard; many travel to their favorite summer destinations releasing themselves from being snagged indoors through the winter months. This three day long weekend with longer days comes with so much to do. A lot of families are the most enthusiastic around this time to kick off their summer activities, make wonderful memories and spend a lot of outdoor time. Towns hold spring parades to celebrate the weather. Swimming pools start to get cleaned and ready for exciting times ahead. Summer in New England is synonymous with FUN!

Sharda Jha a resident of Massachusetts made the most of this weekend with her extended family.  “This Memorial Day weekend, we decided to spend time with family and cherish sweet memories of those who are no longer with us. We picked a hidden gem in Boston area with historical significance that we had never visited. First of all, we hiked a small nature trail in Fellsway Crystal Spring area. Climbing rocks was real fun. We then visited Castle Island in South Boston which is dog friendly too. This visit gave us a glimpse of Boston under British occupation. We highly recommend friends to visit Castle Island, take a tour of fort and enjoy taking pictures of low flying planes landing in nearby Logan airport. Being in New England, nothing beats a visit to Maine to have lobster dinner. After all, it is the home of world renowned lobster. We had a fabulous fun-filled lobster dinner in famous Pirates Patio in Wells, Maine. The rest of evening was dedicated to playing cards and dumb chareds. In spite of a gloomy weather forecast the next day, we managed to visit Salisbury beach and took advantage of low tide to enjoy beach soccer. This brought us in a summer mood as well as prepared us for the upcoming Soccer World Cup in Brazil. Of course, the day could not be completed without hard fought battle in tennis courts. We enjoyed it so much in newly laid tennis courts in our hometown, Wakefield. It was indeed one of the best Memorial Day weekends with family. Not only we went back to bygone era in our memory lanes, we also build memories to cherish forever.”

This is also a time of parent visits for many South Asian families. The weather is simply perfect to welcome parents/grandparents who come and spend time with their children and make summer extra special. It is a time for building of family bonds through spreading joys in each other’s lives through pre-summer and summer activities together. Sandhyashree Padmanabhan , another resident of Massachusetts shared with us ,”This summer is extra special for me as my parents are visiting. Since Memorial Day serve as an official kick-off to summer activities, we went on a pre-memorial day weekend shopping to get ready for the season. On the weekend, upon my dad’s suggestion we visited Walden Pond State Reservation to learn more about Massachusetts’s very own thinker Henry David Thoreau. Weather co-operated well for our trip."

Nikita Rao , a resident of New Hampshire shared her family tradition. “We have been spending our Memorial Day weekend with our friends since last 2 years In Waterville Valley Resorts in New Hampshire, one of the best places to hangout with unlimited bike , hike , swim, boat , absolute adventure retreat with friends in a great gateway !!! We love it and look forward to it every year !!”

Whether it is trips to the beaches or mountains, or travel to International destinations, New Englanders get about 14 weekends between Memorial Day and the day schools re-open for the next academic year, to fulfill their ‘outdoor wishes’ that they savor all year round. We wish you all a great summer of 2014.

2014- Celetial Minds New England Junior Open Chess Championship

PRESS RELEASE

Celestial Minds is proud to bring 2014-New England Junior Open Chess Championship to Chelmsford MA.   Event is USCF rated and all players will play a total of 4 rounds regardless of win/loss/draw.  Since Celestial Minds is  affiliated to USCF,  playes  get a provisional official rating from United States Chess Federation. They move from provisional to regular rating after 24 games. 

Event also offers programs for Chess enthusiasts who are not taking part in the tourney. It is Free and Open to all ages. All are welcome to be a part of Simul Chess Display and puzzles sessions. It is also a good opportunity to come and play with players and Chess experts.

Celestial Minds hopes that NE community encourages the effort in creating more Chess players and supports the Chess fraternity.

Date and Time :June 8th 2014,  1pm 

Registration Required : Only for Tournament Players

Eligibility: New England players ( K-12) 

Fees: $30 before Jun2 2nd 2014, $40 after June 2nd

Prizes :

Top 8 prizes ( K-12), Best K-7 Player Prize  

Top 6 prizes ( K-3)

Chess related prizes for Top-3  in both sections

Best Female Player Prize ( K-12, K-3)

Medals for all participants

Parallel Programs : Free/Open to all Ages:  Chess Simul, Games  and Puzzles sessions 

email: info@celestialminds.net

Like to sponsor a Prize ?

email: volunteer@celestialminds.net

Ramjeet Singh (Romy) talks to The Foundations TV about Gongs as sound healing

By Gauri Chandna

Q: Tell us something about your background
A: I was born in Manila, Philippine Islands to a family that had a strong religious orientation.  Both my grandfathers were protestant ministers and both my parents went to religious schools from elementary through high school and college.  I was raised in my parents' faith but as a sophomore at the University of Vermont, I began my own exploration of Eastern thought and religions as a comparative Religion major.  It was there that I became enamored with Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. 

I was fortunate that the Department of Religion at UVM was rooted in phenomenology of experience and cultural anthropology because was able to experience spiritual practices from great masters at the time.  It was my exposure to Carl Jung in the Religion Department that I became interested in psychology. I spent a brief time in the PhD program in Religious Studies at McGill U.  Then moved on to Master's program in Clinical Psychology at Central Michigan U. after which I went on to a PhD program in Counseling Psychology at Michigan State University.  After I received my Ph.D., I was fortunate to have been accepted to clinical training program at Dartmouth Medical School,
Department of Psychiatry and then to a postdoctoral clinical training program at Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry.  I was trained by the leading theorist and researchers in the world.

Q: When did you get introduced to Kundalini Yoga? 
A: Throughout my training, I continued reading a practicing being in contact with people interested in meditation and alternative forms of change other than psychotherapy.  During the Men's movement, I was introduced to the Native American Vision Quest rites of passage and worked with a group called Soulstice Journeys for many years leading Vision Quests wilderness retreats.

About 10 years ago, I was  introduced to Kundalini Yoga as taught Yogi Bhajan.  I experienced such profound emotional/spiritual/psychological transformation from this type of yoga that I believed it was important to do some research in using it as an adjunct treatment to PTSD.  I was able to work with a group of very bright and talented yogis and reasearchers from Harvard Medical School, the Guru Ram Das Center and U. of Toronto.  We developed a Kundalini Yoga protocol that is being tested now in U. of Toronto.

Q: Tell us something about your involvement with sound healing.
A: My interest in sound healing began as a child since I came from a musical family. I learned early on the power of the voice through singing.  More recently I was introduced to Kirtan and helped form the Kirtan Wallah called MANASAA. In addition, through another teacher, I was introduced to the Sufi Dances of Universal Peace, which is another form of sound healing.  

However, it was through Kundalini Yoga that I was introduced to the gongs.  And it was throught the grace of God and Guru that I was given my first 2 gongs.  About 2 years ago, I decided to ask the UNIVERSE for a gong since I did not have enough money to buy one.  I posted a request on FaceBook for a gong and within 30 minutes, a musician acquaintance of mine said that I could have a gong that he had.  Fifteen minutes later, another post appeared from another musician acquaintance who told me that she had a dream the night before that she was suppose to give her gong away, and, she believed I was the one she was to give it to.  This is a very special gong handmade many, many years ago by an indigenous gong maker in Indonesia.  She gave me a photo of the gong being made.  Not only did this happen, but I was blessed to be teaching at Open Space Yoga, Nashua, NH where the coordinator of the studio also has a love for the gong and talent for playing them.  We now have a total of 9 gongs at Open Space Yoga.  As part of our SEVA, we have a GONG MEDITATION every Sunday night from 7p - 8p and all that money goes to a non-profit organization in need.

Q: Tell us something about sound healing. 
A: Most recently, I have been blessed to study formally about the gong and sound healing through Mitch Nur, Ph.D. who is one of the world's most renowned authority on indigenous sound healing instruments including the gong. I have also began studyinig with Don Conreaux who is known as The Gong Master. He was one of Yogi Bhajan's first students. He was given the directive from Yogi Bhajan to develop gong healing. He has written about the vibrational healing through the gong.

To me using sound makes the most sense in healing. Fundamentally, we are made up of atoms that are vibrating at certain frequencies and when our vibrational energy is awry, then sound can be useful in the healing process. It puts us in harmony with the Universal sound current called the Naad. When we use sound as teacher (Shabd Guru), we are truly on the path of harmonious healing.
I am doing individual sessions using a technique that I have developed called Healing Into Wholiness through vibrational harmony with the Infinite. I am also in the process of starting weekly Healing Into Wholiness group sessions. 

As you can see, I live in two worlds which I am bridging.  The world of traditional psychiatry/medicine and the other world of alternative ways of healing through sound and movement.  Both are important and need each other to help us make changes in our lives that are positive and long-lasting.  It is important to remember that our world (including us) are all made up of vibrating atoms and thus, does it not make sense that we would use the vibration of sound to heal whatever ails us?

Young Voices Day 2014 Celebrated by JagoWorld Inc

By Gauri Chandna

JagoWorld Inc celebrated the uniqueness of every single child through diversity in presentation of various topics on May 17th, 2014 at Walpole Public Library.  During the Young Voices Day 2014, many families gathered for an educational and entertaining event that included hilarious skits, impromptu, debate, fun games, and speeches covering variety of topics such as art of public speaking, leadership, inspiration, science, music, arts, history, management, communication, and education, all packed with learning, sincerity, entertainment and laughter.

President Arun Chaudhary welcomed everyone and then children walked up confidently to share their ideas and thoughts on various topics, and also presented skits to highlight certain values that make a good human being such as patience, good listening and effective communication.

The Chief Guest and inspiration speaker, Dr Balram Singh [PhD Executive Mentor, School of Indic Studies Professor and Director, Botulinum Research Center Institute of Advanced Sciences] presented the importance of Indian values in upbringing of children in the US. He specifically highlighted the importance of a mother and child bond and how that is so significant in building  the self-esteem and development of a confident individual.

Jonathan Monterecy, another Chief Guest, COO at Ripple Funding, spoke on the relevance of positive attitude in life. He made interesting analogies with cartoon characters Tigger and Eore to highlight the effect of attitude in our lives.

Gauri Chandna, Chief Guest and motivational speaker [ President and Founder ATFS Learning Center, Co-Founder and Host, The Foundations TV and Author of Book SPARKS] in her speech elaborated on effective learning, and related it to serving the community and emerging as a leader.

Sridhar Singh, Leader of Young Voices USA, another Chief Guest and speaker, now headed to Carnegie Mellon for his College, spoke on the value and usefulness of optimism in a student’s life.

Jagoworld Inc, through this event not only created an opportunity for every student to listen to excellent speeches, as well as deliver speeches, but in effect this was a great learning experience as the kids did research on various topics and thought through the topic to effectively present and showcase their public speaking talent. The skits were hilarious and entertaining and yet, educational.

Jagoworld also presented its own mission and projects that they have participated in throughout the year including their popular fundraising and gift drive during the Holiday season.

In all this was an educational, entertaining and celebratory event. The Foundations TV was present there and has captured these special moments in pictures. Please visit their facebook  www.facebook.com/TheFoundationsTV page for pictures

Natya Tarang Festival of Arts, Rahul Acharya and Anindita Nanda

By Gauri Chandna

On May 18^th, 2014, Soortaal and Milan Organization, as part of Natya Tarang Festival of Arts 2014,  presented Odissi Classical Dance Recital by World Renowned artists Rahul Acharya (India) www.rahulacharya.com) and Anindita Nanda (USA) (http://www.soortaal.org/natyatarang/) at the beautiful Edmond Town Hall, in Newtown Connecticut.

Rahul Acharya is one of the most loved and popular Odissi soloists in the International arena. Since the age of 4, Rahul has been training under Guru Durga Charan Ranbir in Orissa. He tours the world extensively and is trained in Hatha and Raja Yoga. He is a recipient of Junior and Senior Scholarship from Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India. He is an Empanelled Artist of the Indian Council of Cultural Relationships, an honorary member of Sacred Dance Guild , USA, Member of International Dance Council, CID UNESCO; has collaborated with Sutra Dance Theatre , Malaysia, is a member of the World Movement of Fine Arts Italy, Graded Artist of Doordarshan India, First male Odissi Dancer to be awarded the Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natya Academy, New Delhi , has been honored by the Orissa Society of America and the Jagannath Society of America

Such accomplishment is achieved by hard work, dedication and precision. The audiences at Newtown CT witnessed perfection through dance as Rahul performed individual items as well as joint presetations along with Anindita Nanda, a rare combination of dancer, teacher, classical vocalist, choreographer and a scholar. Anindita is an accomplished artist of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Gharana of dancing. She has a Masters in India classical dance and Vocal from ABGMM, India. She is the disciple of Guru Kishore and Guru Pranab Biswas in vocal music. She has also trained at the Odissi Dance Academy, India. She is the recipient of several awards like “Nrtiya Shree”, “Nrtiya Visharad” and “Nrtiya Praveen” in India. She is a recipient of Junior and Senior Scholarship from Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India and “Human Greatness Award” from the city of Danbury, CT. She was recently invited by the Indian Embassy to open for the Festival of India , Buenos Aires, Argentina and has also completed her Suth American tour. She is the Founder of the NTFA, which was started in 2011 and is in its 4^th year of presentation. 

As part of this presentation, Anindita opened the show with Nabadurga through which she projected emotions and expressions of the divine warrior Goddess Durga as she demonstrated sensationally , the destruction of the tyrant forces of the earth. This was followed by a pure dance piece Sthayee, a joint performance by Anindita and Rahul, which was perfectly orchestrated to embody the nuances and grammar Odissi dance. This performance truly highlighted the extensive postures and poses of the dance that took its cues from the sculptures that decorate Orissan temples. Next, Rahul depicted a story that is believed to have been penned by Lord Krishna himself. This “Priyacharushila” was an exquisite representation of fondly amorous interactions of Radha and Krishna. Other presentations included Hanswadwani Pallavi, a pure dance piece ; Chandana Charchita, an excerpt from the 12^th Century Sanskrit literacy classic ‘Geeta Govinda’; Shakarabharanam Pallavi, Patdeep Pallavi, and Ahenila Shail, one of the most famous Oriya poem in praise of Lord Jagannath.

The grand presentation of the evening was the famous Ashtasambhu presented by the talented and accomplished Rahul Acharya. This special dance marks the period of destruction when creation meets dissolution. Shiva is the creator of dance. He is the cosmic dancer. In these eight seminal verses, Venkatmakhi alias Venkataramana Dikhshithat, describes him as the supreme benevolent lord who holds the daughter of Himalaya, Parvati on his left. He is the one who destroys the demons. He drinks the ocean of poison for the sake of the world. He performs Tandava. This extremely vigorous and heavily accentuated dance left the audiences mesmerized and awed. This was appropriately selected as the final piece of the festival.

The Foundations TV was present at the location and was privileged to interview both artists back stage. These will soon be available on our channel. 

Hindu Heritage Day being celebrated on May 24th

PRESS RELEASE

Please come with your family especially children.

Governor of Massachusetts and Mayor of Marlboro both Proclaim May 24 as Hindu Heritage Day.

18^th Hindu Heritage   Day

Saturday, May  24, 2014; 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Marlboro Middle School, 25 Union Street, Marlboro, MA 01752
http://boston.vhp-america.org/ 
Dance - Drama - Music - Songs - Skits – Exhibition; Chaat - Dosa - Bhelpuri - Dinner - Samosa - Tikki – Lassi; Kites - Mehndi - Games - Movies

The town of Marlboro is gearing up for a an entertaining day on May 24th with lots of dance, drama, music, songs, skits presented by local talents from various cultural schools in the area. A number of local restaurants will be putting up their stalls for food including dosas, chaat, bhelpuri, dinner, samosas, tikkis, and lassi. There will lots of fun activities for families such as kite flying, face painting,raffle, Rangoli mehendi, games, and movies. It is a whole day of fun and celebration of our culture and heritage.
Exhibition will include clothing, jewelry, Children's books, Charity organizations, Businesses, Summer camps, and Spiritual Healing

Entry Fee: Adults $5.00, Students: $3.00
Saturday May 24th from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Marlborough Middle School , 25 Union Street, Marlborough, MA 

'Harmony in Relationships' talk on May 27th

PRESS RELEASE

Would you like to maintain harmony in your relationships?  Is a life rich with connection, wholeness, and value appealing to you?  Come explore “Harmony in Relationships” on Tuesday, May 27, in a special program with dance, music, words of wisdom, candle lighting ceremony, meditation experience, and refreshments.  During this inspiring evening, we will explore how we maintain loving and compassionate feelings for all.  It will take place at the ATFS Center, 433 South Street, Shrewsbury, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and is being hosted by the local Brahma Kumaris.

Keynote speaker and facilitator BK Sudha has a wealth of experience from more than 45 years studying and teaching human values and spirituality in India and around the world.  She has presented in many international conferences on a range of spiritual themes and appeared multiple times on radio, TV and media.  She is the author of the Russian publication Unending Treasures and co-author of Moral Values.  Currently, BK Sudha acts as the General Director of Brahma Kumaris (Moscow), and Chairperson of the Council of Trustees of Brahma Kumaris Centres in the territory of Russia, CIS, and Baltic countries.

An experiential meditation and an opportunity for conversation will close the evening, followed by dinner.

What:  Harmony in Relationships: a journey to explore ways to maintain harmony in relationships
Where: ATFS Learning Center, 433 South Street, Shrewsbury, MA  01545
When: Tuesday, May 27, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
RSVP / To pre-register:  Please kindly RSVP to
by telephone: 978-436-1285
by email: bkshrewsbury@gmail.com
On-line: harmonyrelationships.eventbrite.com

Event Highlights include Dance, Music, Words of wisdom, Candle Lighting ceremony, Meditation, Refreshments

About the hosts:

The Brahma Kumaris Shrewsbury is the local branch of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization (BKWSO).  Managed by volunteers in the community, the Brahma Kumaris work internationally to promote peace and positive change in society.  They conduct a range of educational programs in 8,500 centers in 126 countries. As a non-profit organization and worldwide community, the Brahma Kumaris teach people to re-connect with their most positive energy, discover their spiritual strengths, and live by their deepest personal values.  Courses lead to self development and inner transformation so that one feels enthusiasm and attains happiness in life in all situations.  Courses encourage positive values, offer a fresh vision of the future, and bring out the best in people.  Self knowledge and inner power can be acquired by learning to manage one’s thoughts, emotions and behaviors.

Raja Yoga meditation and philosophy of life allows us to emerge our inner resources, giving us the power to face challenges intrinsic to our society. Classes in Shrewsbury meet on Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30 am.  Programs are offered free of charge for the benefit of society in the spirit of social service. 

A new Shri Sai Temple Opening May 24th in Canton MA

PRESS RELEASE

A new Shri Sai Chavadi is having an opening ceremony during the Memorial Day weekend of May 24^th – May 26^th 2014 in Canton, MA. The name of the temple is significant to Shirdi Sai devotees. The name ‘Chavadi’ means village office, a place where taxes were collected, village records were kept and official meetings were held in Shirdi. Shirdi Sai Baba used to sleep in the Chavadi on alternate nights during the last decade of his life. And thus offering regular arati to Baba became the tradition at the Chavadi. Following Baba’s mahasamadhi, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust acquired the Chavadi and kept it as a shrine open to all Sai Baba devotees.   

Temple invites  everyone to join with family and friends to participate in the Sai Murti Pranprathistha ceremony on May 24 to officially open the temple.

To register in Maha kumbh Abhishkam / For more information, please visit www.shrisaichavadi.com or call (774) 27-MYSAI.