• 42 youth participate in a two-day huddle aimed at building capacity
• Dialogue initiated with a collegium of external and internal speakers
• Topics touching aspects of self-help, organizational expectations, biography of leaders, educational philosophy and techniques, introduction to other social movements discussed, Yog session conducted for balance in life

Mamnoli, 25-26 January

The diamonds are naturally found beneath the earth but a lot of work is required to unleash true potential lying in them. "Abhyas Varga” or "The Foundation Workshop" is a two day workshop that attempts to unleash the diamonds lying within the volunteers of VSMandal. This is an annual huddle to prepare the next generation volunteers as well as sharpen the saw for the elder ones.

The Abyas Varga instills zeal among the volunteers and guides, motivates them for desired outcome of Mandal's work and equips them to derive maximum satisfaction from their personal lives. It’s a forum to discuss organizational issues and challenges and train them in the philosophical and practical aspects of VSMandal's work. It also tries to answer queries of volunteers pertaining to ‘why’ and ‘how’ of serving the society and the mother earth.

AbhyasVarga-2015 was scheduled on 25th and 26th January2015 at a tribal hostel in village Mamnoli, Kalyan with a count of 42 Karyakarte of Vivekanand Seva Mandal. The flow of event was as follows:

Sessions conducted on 25th January, 2015

• Self-Introduction by every karyakarte
• A session on “Adversities are Opportunities” by Ketan Bondre, President, Vivekanand Seva Mandal and journalist & communication professional  
• A session on “Actual meaning of Education & Way Forward for Indian Education System” by Vivek Ponshke, Renowned Education Advisor and Educationist, Dnyan Prabodhini, Pune
• A session on “Sangathan and Karyakarta” by Abhay Jagtap, President, Bharatmata Seva Pratishthan and water supply engineer.
• A session on “Maintaining Balance between personal, professional and social life” by Dr. Prasanna Gandhi, Professor, IIT-Mumbai and Yog Teacher, Art of Living
• A session on “Mandal’s Philosophy” conducted by Vinod Deshpande, Sanghatak (Organizer), Vivekanand Seva Mandal and Director, Dhruv IAS Academy
• A discussion forum conducted by Ravindra Warang, Vice President, Pragnesh Lodaya, Saha-Sanghatak (Co-organizer), Vinod Deshpande, Sanghatak, VSMandal.

Sessions Conducted on 26th January, 2015

• Yog (Asan and Pranayam) Session conducted by Dr. Prasanna Gandhi
• A session on “Biography of Dr. K.B. Hedgevar” by Ashirwad Bondre, Secretary, Abhyuday Pratishthan, Dombivli and entrepreneur  

• A session on “Insights of Leadership” by Shri Milind Thatte, Convener, Vayam, (a movement of local people in tribal tehsil of Javhar) 
• A session on “True meaning of Patriotism” by Prof. Suresh Nakhare, Founder member of VSMandal and Associate Professor (Rtd), VJTI College of Engineering, Mumbai
• A concluding session with feedback of participants by Prof. Suresh Nakhare.  

AbhyasVarga-2015 was VSMandal’s forum to equip its Karyakarte, to face the challenges they come across in their personal and social life and help them grow and develop from within. Below is a representative feedback received from the participants of this workshop:

Attendee Feedback:

1. Dinesh Iyyer, student, third year, computer engineering and volunteer from IT Development Centre team of VSMandal (first time attendee for the AV2015)
   
   “Generally, I spend the 26th of January watching the republic day parade, but I have to admit I enjoyed this 26th much more. All the sessions were insightful and never for a moment in the last two days did I get bored. It was an event where I got the opportunity to meet many other Karyakartas from the other teams as well. Our website correctly defines Abyaswarga as "food for thought and fuel for the spirit. 
   Kudos to the Karyakartas who were involved in the topic selection.The topics were all different yet there was link between the topics. You learn a lot of things by reading books, but there are some things that you learn only by hearing to it directly from an experienced person and this event gave us an opportunity to do just that. I am really glad that I chose to attend Abhyaswarg over the holidays.
   P.S. My favourite session was that of Milind Thatte Sir's.So whoever thought of arranging his session, thank you so much.”
   

 
2. Prathamesh Khandkar, student, third year civil engineering and volunteer from Events team of VSMandal
   
   “Abhyaswarga for me, means a great value addition and recharge sessions. I attended abhyaswarga last year also. But I was then new in Mandal and I couldn't capitalize on it.
   This time I was present there with some work experience. I had lots of doubts which had caused some problems in my work. But this abhyaswarga surely solved them and filled my mind with maximum positivity it can hold ,like a fountain of spirituality.
   We need energy to run our body. Abhyaswarga is like recharging session, to our mind and soul. I always wonder whether my turning point of life will come? But I can say this year's abhyaswarga is a bit turning point in my life. The positive energy I got over two days is huge.
   The circle is starting now. But I am sure whenever this circle will be ending, whether it'll be big or small, abhyaswarga will be its longest arc.”
   


3. Sushmita Valecha, student computer engineering and volunteer from IT Development Centre team of VSMandal (first time attendee for the AV2015)
   
   “AbhyasVarga 2015 (25th and 26th January), a mindboggling session has enlightened my consciousness. It was a spark which will help me on personal front to mould as an individual in the time to come.”
   

Speakers’ Feedback:

1. Prof. Suresh Nakhare, Associate Professor, (Rtrd) VJTI Engineering College, Mumbai and founder member and mentor of VSMandal. 
   
   "Yesterday (Abhyas Varga 26 Jan 2015) was an inspiring day for me. The efforts taken by you all got reflected in the feedback of many new members. This is because of your meticulous and near-balanced work." -


2. Shri Milind Thatte, Convener, Vayam, (a movement of local people in tribal tehsil of Javhar) 
   
   “मलाही खूप मजा आली. हेवा वाटावा अशी तुमची टीम आहे. इतके तरूण तुमच्या सोबत आहेत आणि  तुम्ही त्यान्ना योग्य दिशेने नेताहात याचाही फार आनन्द झाला. आमच्याकडून मन:पूर्वक शुभेच्छा.”
   


3. Ashirwad Bondre, Secretary, Abhyuday Pratishthan, Dombivli and entrepreneur
   
   “विवेकानंद सेवा मंडळाच्या प्रशिक्षण वर्गाला उपस्थित राहाण्याची मला संधी दिली याबद्दल आयोजकांचे आभार. एखादी सेवाभावी संस्था कार्यकर्ता प्रशिक्षणासाठी किती जागरुक असते याचं आदर्श उदाहरण म्हणून या उपक्रमाकडे बघता येईल. मंडळाच्या सर्व उपस्थित कार्यकर्त्यांचं कौतुक मला या करता वाटतं की सुमारे दीड तास विषयमांडणी झाल्यावर सर्व कार्यकर्त्यांमधे पुन्हा प्रश्न विचारण्याइतका उत्साह शिल्लक होता. प्रश्नही अगदी नेमके आणि विषयाला अनुसरून होते. अशा प्रशिक्षण वर्गामुळे मंडळाला प्रशिक्षित कार्यकर्ते उपलब्ध होतील व मंडळाची वाटचाल अधिक जोमाने सुरु राहिल.”