SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN

Observed through traditions such as Shraddha, Tarpana, Pinda Daana, food offerings, charity and acts of service, Pitru Paksha is a fifteen-day observance in the month of Bhadrapada, falling this year between 26 September and 10 October. It is dedicated to remembering the ancestors, and is rooted in the Bharatiya understanding that an individual life is part of a much larger chain of family, culture and memory.

A traditional observance of the fortnight is to perform charitable works on behalf of one's ancestors: giving food to people in need, honouring sannyasis, giving money to support the education of children and young people in need, and carrying forward, or giving to, the charitable works the ancestors themselves performed.

Gaya in Bihar is one of Bharat's most important centres for Pinda Daana and ancestral rites. Traditional accounts associate Gaya with the Pinda Daana performed by Bhagwan Rama for his father.

On 18 September, RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat inaugurated the sixth edition of the Yuva Dharma Sansad in Ujjain. The inaugural programme was attended by Sevagya Sansthanam patron Acharya Mithileshanandinisharan Ji Maharaj, Central Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor Prof Srinivas Varkhedi, Sevagya Sansthanam National President Ashish Kumar and other dignitaries. 

Around 1,600 young participants from 25 states, along with more than 300 academicians, teachers, researchers, scholars and Dharmacharyas, took part in discussions on Dharma, culture, education, technology, social responsibility and nation-building. In his address Dr Bhagwat called upon young people to understand Dharma as a guiding discipline shaping conduct, responsibility, social harmony and progress.

On 19 September, Dr Bhagwat inaugurated the Sangh Anubhavshala in Indore, which offers visitors an immersive experience of the Sangh's hundred-year journey. Designed as an exhibition of international standard, the centre presents the journey, ideas, organisational method and the many dimensions of social service of the RSS through artefacts, digital content and multimedia.

It has been conceived not merely as an exhibition but as an experience centre, where visitors understand the Sangh beyond books and written accounts by experiencing its journey, its work and its atmosphere.

On 23 September, Dr Bhagwat visited the Pujya Kanchi Acharyas at Orikkai, took part in Vedic rituals, prayers and traditional ceremonies, and saw initiatives promoting Vidya, Veda, Vaidya and dharmic values. Special worship was offered to the divine padukas of Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya, accompanied by the recitation of the Totakashtakam. A traditional Dampati Puja was performed, at which sixty elderly couples were honoured by an octogenarian couple who have completed sixty years of married life. Dr Bhagwat also attended the certificate ceremony for the first batch of students to complete the Charity Management course.

RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale delivered the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Memorial Lecture on Ekatma Manav Darshan, organised by the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smriti Samaroh Samiti at Dhankya on 25 September, the occasion of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's 110th birth anniversary.

Hosabale said that Deendayal Upadhyaya distilled the many aspects of Bharatiya culture and the Bharatiya way of life, and through Ekatma Manav Darshan provided a foundation for living in the modern age — not merely a philosophy for Bharat but a guiding vision for humanity. He stressed its practical application in social life, technology and rural development.

Several researchers and scholars were honoured for their work on the ideas and contributions of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Padma Shri awardees Tagaram Bhil, known for his contribution to folk art and music, and the Bhapang artiste Gafuruddin Mewati were also honoured for their contributions to folk art and music.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad has announced year-long worldwide programmes to mark the birth centenary of Ashok Singhal. Addressing a press conference, senior advocate and VHP International President Alok Kumar said that from 27 September people would pay tribute to the inspiring life, visionary thought and unparalleled contribution of Ashok Singhal to the nation and to society. Through the year, programmes of service, social harmony and public awareness, seminars and exhibitions will continue across the world.

The inaugural ceremony, organised jointly by the VHP and the Ashok Singhal Foundation, was held on 27 September at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi. It opened with a shankhnaad and the chanting of Vedic mantras by a hundred ritwiks. An exhibition on Ashok Singhal's life, spiritual values, organisational work and role in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement was mounted for the occasion. A highlight of the evening was the release of the coffee-table book Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Ke Divya Padchinh, which presents the life-values, ideals and enduring cultural influence of Bhagwan Ram. A replica of the Shri Ram Stambh was unveiled, and the gathering saw the digital launch of the Shri Ram Stambhs to be installed along the Ram Vangaman Path, connecting the public with the memory of Bhagwan Ram's journey and the sites associated with it.

Param Pujya Yugpurush Mahamandaleshwar Swami Parmanand Giri Ji Maharaj graced the occasion. Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah was the Chief Guest, and RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale the Special Guest.

Saksham's three-day National Executive Council meeting in Jodhpur, held on 4–6 September, brought together senior functionaries and representatives from across Bharat to review the ongoing work for Divyangjan, deliberate on emerging needs, strengthen the organisation and shape the way forward. RSS Sah-Sarkaryavah Alok Kumar and Akhil Bharatiya Sah Seva Pramukh Rajkumar Matale were the chief guests at the inaugural ceremony.

Innovative initiatives from different states were shared, along with case studies, success stories and notable achievements. Souvenirs and magazines showcasing Saksham's activities, line of thought and service work were released during the meeting. Karyakartas from different parts of the country shared their experiences, learnt from one another and discussed new possibilities for the future.

Thousands of people gathered on the banks of the River Thames in London on 13 September for the first-ever Ganga Aarti in the UK, a traditional Hindu ceremony of light and thanksgiving. It was organised by Chinmaya Mission UK in collaboration with the annual Totally Thames festival. Titled 'Ganga Aarti on the Thames: A Ceremony of Light', the event was part of the global celebrations marking seventy-five years of Chinmaya Mission.

It recreated the ethos of the traditional Ganga Aarti performed on the banks of the Ganga in Bharat, bringing together members of the British Hindu and South Asian communities as well as people of other backgrounds. Set against the backdrop of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, the evening featured traditional music, chanting, prayer and large multi-tiered oil lamps.

Brahmacharini Shripriya Chaitanya, Resident Teacher of Chinmaya Mission UK, said the ceremony carried the same spirit of gratitude associated with the Ganga Aarti in Bharat, and that the London ceremony celebrated the organisation's legacy of knowledge, service and gratitude flowing beyond boundaries. The ceremony was attended by senior spiritual leaders and representatives of Hindu organisations and communities from across the UK.

Ganesh Puja was celebrated on 13 September at the Terrazza del Circolo Armida on Viale Umberto Cagni, organised by the Italian Hindu Union (Unione Induista Italiana) with the Bharatiya Telugu Samithi Torino and the Sanjivani Torino Association. The programme included the Ganesh Puja, a cultural segment with traditional Bharatiya dance, and the Ganesh Visarjan in the river Po.

Devotees used a murti of traditional clay mixed with natural pigments, rather than plaster, so that the form of the deity dissolves naturally back into the elements and leaves no artificial residue.

On 12 September, the Bharatiya diaspora in Belgium came together in Kortenberg for a charity fundraiser — an energetic one-hour Garba Steps Workshop in support of families affected by the floods in Nepal. The initiative was driven by Sewa Belgium volunteers, with professional instructor Karishma Chanodia leading the workshop.

Participants of all ages learnt traditional Garba steps, enjoyed the rhythm and contributed to a humanitarian cause, raising funds to strengthen Sewa Europe's continuing relief work in Nepal.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Capital Vibhag (USA) celebrated Ganesh Utsav with enthusiasm and devotion on 20 September, bringing community members and families together to promote unity, cultural values and community participation.

The celebration began with a Samuhik Pooja, at which devotees gathered to offer prayers and seek the blessings of Bhagwan Ganesha. It was followed by a grand Ganesh Visarjan procession, with traditional Dhol-Tasha performances, devotional music, dancing and chants of 'Ganpati Bappa Morya!' Community members joined wholeheartedly, and the procession became the memorable highlight of the celebration.

On 20 September, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Cincinnati, with the Hindu Mandir of Greater Cincinnati and the Hindu Community Center of Greater Cincinnati, hosted the 'My Ganesha' event at the Hindu Mandir. After a lively Ganapati procession to the rhythm of Dhol and Tasha, more than seventy-five children from the greater Cincinnati area made Ganesha murtis while their parents and grandparents watched. The event drew more than 225 participants.

The programme began with a recitation of the Ganapati Shloka by children of the HSS shakha. The children were then divided into eight groups, in which teachers guided them through making Ganesha murtis from clay. Once the murtis were made, the children performed Ganesh Pooja under the guidance of the mandir priest Vaibhav Pathak, who explained the significance of the worship and encouraged them to meditate on Bhagwan Ganesha for blessings.

As they worked, the children learnt the significance of each feature — the symbolic trunk, the wise eyes, the long ears — and some joined in reciting shlokas, which enriched the experience further.

The Raksha Bandhan Utsav of HSS Kenya was held at Shri Kenya Brahma Sabha (KBS) on 29 August. The Chairman of KBS, Parulbhai Bhatt, chaired the utsav and spoke on the importance of unity and the need to protect our heritage. Key members of various institutions, including the Chairlady and Secretary of the Hindu Council of Kenya and officials of the Bharatiya High Commission, attended.

The keynote baudhik was given by Divyesh Parmar, former Karyavah of Kenya, who urged the Hindu Council of Kenya to facilitate solutions to the challenges faced by Hindus in Kenya.

The Yuva Games 2026 of HSS Kenya were held at the Cutchi Gujarati Hindu Union School ground on 27 July. The focus of the day was Kabaddi and Kho-Kho, with mini-khels — tug of war, Jiski Laath Uski Bhains and CricFootball — adding variety. After lunch came a workshop in which the yuvas worked as teams to answer questions from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Yuvas and yuvatis attending for the first time were surprised at their own ability in games they had thought they could not play.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Taiwan celebrated Raksha Bandhan Utsav at Guruji Golwalkar Shakha in the Guishan area on 6 September, bringing together forty-seven participants, children among them. Anil Narang, a business owner in Taiwan, and Dr Vivek Walia, Research Fellow at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, were the chief guests. Participants tied rakhis to one another, expressing affection, respect and a sense of responsibility towards each other.

Dhananjay Joshi, HSS Sharirik Pramukh, spoke on the significance of Raksha Bandhan and how the festival goes beyond the tying of a rakhi: caring for one another, accepting responsibility, building trust and strengthening the bonds that hold society together.

A memorable part of the celebration was the Raksha Bandhan with officers of the Guishan Police Department. The children tied rakhis to the officers and presented handmade cards in appreciation of their service to the community — the wider spirit of the festival, extending care, respect, friendship and responsibility beyond the family into the community. Raksha Bandhan was also celebrated at Swami Vivekananda Shakha on 13 September.

On 19 September, the Edogawa Intercultural Center organised a morning community clean-up. At the centre's request, thirty-five volunteers of Rashbehari Shakha — Sevaks, Sevikas, Kishores and Bals — joined the wider community, forming eight teams to clean the areas around Funabori Station in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward.

The drive was full of enthusiasm, teamwork and cultural exchange: Japanese participants learnt commonly used Hindi words and Bharatiya volunteers practised Japanese phrases as they collected litter, and the morning ended with a large collection of rubbish. A similar clean-up took place in July with volunteers of Nishi Kasai Shakha. HSS Japan sees these drives as closely aligned with its annual Sewa Diwali campaign, in which volunteers lead community clean-ups across Japan.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Japan held its eighth annual Shri Ganesh Murti Srijana. In-person workshops in Yokohama and Kawasaki drew more than fifty participants, while the Tokyo shakhas hosted online sessions for around a hundred children, and this year a shakha in Nagoya took up the activity for the first time.

The children impressed everyone with their creativity, using cloves to pick out the eyes and small beads for garlands. The initiative gave children a joyful way to connect with Bharatiya cultural tradition while expressing their imagination, and brought families and volunteers together in a warm sense of community.

Three Bangkok mandirs celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with worship from 14 to 25 September and visarjan rituals in Kanchanaburi and Chonburi. Hosted by the Hindu Samaj Association, Wat Thep Monthian held daily worship leading up to a grand visarjan on 25 September at the Baan Chor Chang Chara Foundation in Kanchanaburi.

Wat Vishnu, managed by the Hindu Dharma Sabha Association, conducted daily prayers and special evening aarti, and devotees gathered for a procession from Bangkok to the Koh Koi Pier in Chonburi, where the Ganesha murtis were immersed. Wat Phra Sri Maha Uma Devi in Bangkok also marked the festival with special worship and a display of the many forms of Bhagwan Ganesha, brought out from the inner sanctum and specially enshrined for devotees to pay their respects.

A free community programme of the Hindu Council of Australia (HCA) Queensland chapter brought people together on 13 September for conversations about emotional wellbeing, spirituality, relaxation and social connection. Titled 'Chanting for Mental Health – Vishnu Sahasranamam', it was held at Coopers Plains Library as part of HCA's Hindu Spiritual Care activities, open to people of all backgrounds, with no prior knowledge of chanting or meditation needed.

The programme opened with a recitation of the Vishnu Sahasranamam, the Sanskrit hymn of the thousand names of Bhagwan Vishnu. Psychiatrist Dr Sanjeev Ranjan, a visiting medical specialist at Pine Rivers Private Hospital, gave his professional view on mental health and wellbeing. Dr Noel Kanagaraj — philosopher, psychologist, author and motivational speaker — spoke on personal development, purpose and approaches to a meaningful life. A Reiki session followed, and the morning ended with food and refreshments and informal conversation. Participants said they had benefited and would continue to attend HCA's programmes.

In Dubai, the Bharatiya Consulate is organising a series of programmes for Seva Pakhwada, to promote the spirit of service, community participation and national commitment. On 27 September the community came together in strength for the Viksit Bharat Run 2026, a fitness run near the Dubai Frame organised by the Consulate General of Bharat with the Indian People's Forum (IPF). Consul General Dr E. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy flagged off the run, which drew around 3,000 registrations and expressed a collective commitment to the vision of a Viksit Bharat.

The Consulate also ran a camp for Bharatiya workers in Dubai on financial and medical literacy, and on the Consulate's services and helpline numbers. Earlier, Consulate officials visited the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara in the city and took part in Langar Seva as part of the observances.

Sewa International Nepal and its partner organisations have handed over the first phase of twenty-one essential items — food supplies, fuel, vegetables and kitchen utensils — to support the students of Shri Shahid Jagat Prakash Jung Shah Sanskrit Secondary School in Devighat, Nuwakot.

With the Nepal C.M.A. Association, Sewa International is also running a free health camp for families displaced by the Bhote Koshi floods. The camp is held at the temporary tent settlement in Swara Dara Forest, Nuwakot, where 187 households from Betrawati market are sheltered in nineteen tents.

Sewa International Nepal has also reached some of the hardest-hit communities in Bidur Municipality, delivering relief supplies and running free health camps. So far it has reached 270 households with solar lighting, provided 140 families with shelter tarpaulins, and 500 people with clothing and rain protection.

Sewa International USA's President Srikanth Gundvarapu spent two days in Nepal to see at first hand the impact of the floods, meet affected families and relief teams, and assess how Sewa can best support both immediate relief and the longer journey of recovery. The visit began in Kathmandu with discussions with officials and local response leaders on rescue, recovery and the challenges facing affected communities.

The following day the Sewa team travelled over difficult, mud-covered roads to Nuwakot, Betrawati and Devighat. They met families still searching for loved ones, children who had lost parents and siblings, and a school principal responsible for nearly 800 students whose own home had been washed away — and who continues to care for her students.

On 19 September, Bharatiya Mandir, which serves the Greater Philadelphia region, presented a donation of $100,000 to Sewa International to support relief and rehabilitation for the communities affected by the recent disaster in Nepal. The contribution will strengthen the ongoing relief work and support the affected communities.

Building on the relief materials dispatched two weeks earlier, HSS Japan handed over a cash contribution to the Embassy of Nepal in Tokyo for the Nepal Relief Fund 2026, on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Sewa International USA honoured the victims by turning remembrance into service to communities and the environment. On 6 September, around a hundred LEAD youth, seniors, adults, community members and dignitaries gathered at National India Hub in Schaumburg for an afternoon of remembrance, wellness, environmental action and hands-on service. Participants made sandwiches, assembled hygiene kits, painted bags, sorted plastic bags and supported recycling. The community passed its annual goal of collecting 1,000 lb of plastic bags, the milestone for the TREX Sewa Bench, inaugurated by State Representative Michelle Mussman and other dignitaries. Six Schaumburg firefighters were recognised for their service.

On 12 and 19 September, more than seventy-five volunteers, veterans, first responders, city leaders, community partners and LEAD youth of the Bay Area prepared more than 300 burritos for the homeless.

Sewa International Atlanta hosted its 9/11 Commemoration and Remembrance at the Newtown Park Veterans Memorial Walk. Councilman Dilip Tunki, Dr Sreeni Gangasani, members of the Johns Creek Veterans Association, firefighters and members of the Johns Creek Police Department joined; keynote speaker US Army Captain (Ret.) Tommy Clack spoke on service, sacrifice and volunteerism. Sewa donated a bench to the Veterans Memorial and planted gardenias in the Veterans Garden as a lasting tribute.

Sewa International Houston held its 9/11 Day of Commemoration and Remembrance on 11 September at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4010, bringing together elected officials, first responders, veterans, community leaders and Sewa volunteers to honour those who lost their lives and the spirit of service that emerged from one of the darkest days in American history. Keynote addresses came from Sugar Land Mayor Carol McCutcheon, Stafford Mayor Ken Mathew, Missouri City Deputy Police Chief Jazton Heard, Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Sabrsula, Fort Bend County Judge Christian Becerra and mental-health coach Sujan Shah. This was Sewa Houston's third year in the 9/11 Day of Service programme.

Last year, at the sacred confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati, over sixty crore pilgrims walked into the holy waters of Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh. For those forty-five days, the unique identities that critics insist divide us — jati, community, region, language, income — revealed their deeper harmony at the ghats.

A farmer from Bihar took his dip beside a software engineer from Bengaluru. A youth from Jharkhand stood shoulder to shoulder with a trader from Rajasthan. Nobody asked which community or Samaj the other belonged to. Everybody belonged to one Samaj, the Hindu Samaj.

This was not an accident; it is the unique architecture of our civilisation at work. One need only look to Dharmasthala — where the presiding deity is Bhagwan Shiva, the chief priests are Vaishnavas, and the Mathadhipati is a Jain — to see this living synthesis. It is a reminder of something Hindu society has always known and, only in recent decades, begun to forget: unity is not something we need to invent; it is an inherent bond we need to rediscover.

Our scriptures articulated this civilisational truth millennia before modern sociology even had a name. Acharya Panini, in his Ashtadhyayi, described communities as bandhu, formed to foster brotherhood. This was never a call for uniformity. It was a reminder of inherent unity and harmony, many communities sharing one civilisational spirit.

Look at how Hindu society actually organised itself through history. Hindus organised around essential commonalities — shared attributes, professions and vocations — to form communities like Maheshwari, Lohana, Patidar, Agarwal, Kshatriya, Reddy, Kamma, Maratha, Kunbi, Kurmi, Yadav, and many more. Each of these samajas carried its own professional duties and social obligations, yet all of them understood themselves as limbs of one larger body.

These Samajas undertook essential social duties such as promoting education, supporting marriages, advancing economic upliftment, and initiating social and structural change as the needs of the time required, while safeguarding the overarching interests of Hindu society. The Bisa Agarwal Samaj still manages the Nigam Bodh Ghat in Delhi with quiet diligence. Institutions such as Hindu College in Delhi, Hindu College in Sonepat and the RV group of colleges in Bengaluru were built by Samaj leaders who saw education as a duty to the whole of Hindu society, not merely to their own community.

This is what makes the Samaj system remarkable. It was decentralised, yet it never fractured Hindu society. This well-established system functioned effectively for centuries, contributing to the development, protection and defence of Hindu society. Messages flowed seamlessly across Samajas — from the head to every member — and in moments of true peril, this network could self-organise into an army.

When Timur's forces devastated Delhi in December 1398 and later advanced towards other nearby areas, there was not a single ruler or army that rose to answer him. Raja Devpal Rana convened a Sarvajati Mahapanchayat at Doghat, in present-day Baghpat district, and out of it came a united Sarvajati Sena of eighty thousand men — Jats, Rajputs, Gurjars, Ahirs, Tyagis, Valmikis, Pandits, Nais, weavers, potters, every community contributing its share. Timur was wounded in that final battle and forced to retreat to Central Asia. That is what Samaj unity looks like when it is tested.

The same Samaj network stood as a quiet wall against conversion for generations, and when families sought to return to the Hindu fold, it was the Samaj that opened its arms without hesitation.

Today, that same network is under strain — not from foreign invaders this time, but from something subtler. Political actors have learned to approach Samaj organisations and community leaders not to strengthen them but to use them, offering short-term gains in exchange for a loyalty that fragments the wider Hindu society from within. A leader who trades the trust of a Samaj for a seat at someone else's table does far more damage than any external force ever could.

In the twenty-first century, Hindu society faces new and increasingly subtle challenges. But our response must remain rooted in time-tested principles: the same spirit that built Sarvajati Senas, that established schools for the whole of society, and that opened its arms to welcome back our own. Today, community elders and leaders must recognise opportunistic political machinations designed to fragment Hindu society, and choose, repeatedly and decisively, the path of unity and collective resolve.

The Kumbh showed us what is possible when Hindu society remembers itself. The task before us now is to carry that spirit beyond the ghat, into every Samaj, every gathering, every decision, so that we move forward together — with dignity, with honour, and with the self-respect of a civilisation that has always known how to act as one.

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