A number of senior and junior Proutists, including
myself, attended the recent Proutist Universal Sectorial
Seminar, Aug 10, 11 and 12, in Pennsylvania, USA. The
setting was the Master Unit of Ananda Vratii. Not only
was the location beautiful, naturally uplifting and
hospitable but the event was a great launch for the next
round of local seminars around the sector for remaining
2007. The group of participants was small, roughly a
dozen, split between adult and youth members. Rainjana,
the youngest present, spent more than a day to get to
A number of senior and junior Proutists, including
myself, attended the recent Proutist Universal Sectorial
Seminar, Aug 10, 11 and 12, in Pennsylvania, USA. The
setting was the Master Unit of Ananda Vratii. Not only
was the location beautiful, naturally uplifting and
hospitable but the event was a great launch for the next
round of local seminars around the sector for remaining
2007. The group of participants was small, roughly a
dozen, split between adult and youth members. Rainjana,
the youngest present, spent more than a day to get to
the program from Detroit. One family made the trek from
North Carolina. My family came from Washington, DC. I
was inspired to see the youngsters in the programs.
They were there voluntarily and very eager to learn
about PROUT, a tiny representation of the enormous youth
movement with interest in progressive social change
through the Proutist organizations.
Since so many of us were travelling late into the night
on Friday, the seminar began the next morning, after
breakfast, with Trainer Dada Shubhacetanananda leading
with an introductory class on PROUT with a well crafted
presentation from his PC. Later a presentation on the
history in brief of Proutist Universal in the sector
was outlined. At noon, following quiet time for
reflection and meditation, a gourmet vegetarian lunch was
served and enjoyed by all. Jyoti, the food-in-charge served
up another exquisite meal.
The Saturday afternoon program was a mix of high level
discussions and learning, including “coming out of the
closet as Proutists” and then, later, free-time for
hiking the mountains, exploring the nearby tree house, and
playing volleyball. The evening program was a
presentation by Madhusudan and Dada on Samaj, socio-economic
groupifications. Later, a few of the youngsters said
they thought the presentation was good, that the
conversation that followed got a little tense for them but that
they learned a lot, very quickly, about this important
and complex subject. Amazingly, everyone was so
captivated that they realized it was past 11:30 and time to
do avarta kiirtan before going to sleep for the night.
The final program on Sunday morning was used primarily
to focus on where, how and when to plants the seeds of
knowledge and action gained in the seminar. Future
seminar dates were set for locations around the area.
Dada Shubhacetanananda, the trainer, gave his final
farewell presentation, encouraging us to continue to learn
about PROUT and to have the courage to bring our program
to the world around us.
Thanks go to the seminar organizers, Devika, Nirainjana
and Madhusudan, and to Dada Vimaleshananda for hosting
us at Ananda Vratii. Personally, I let the event
rejuvenated and with renewed commitment, resolve and
inspiration to carry forward this essential and important
Mission. I highly recommend each and every Proutist, and
otherwise interested person, to attend a seminar in
your area in the near future. I am sure you too will
carry away seeds of knowledge, action, courage, and hope to
serve our struggling and suffering world.
