Veterans Honored by Chinmaya Youth

For Veterans Day 2025, Chinmaya Mission Brea Bala Vihar came together to create a service project to honor the men and women who have put their lives on the line to protect and serve our country. We had a simple idea to be able to show how much we value and appreciate our veterans, which was a big declaration of our gratitude towards them. These service projects help us practice our core Hindu values that we learn at Bala Vihar.

For our project, we created heartfelt cards that expressed our appreciation through meaningful messages, and we prepared goodie bags containing snacks for the local veterans. The teens at Bala Vihar participated in creating these packages with sincerity and gratefulness. Our messages and bags not only show our gratitude towards the sacrifices that the veterans have made for our country, but also our thankfulness for the blessings we have received through their courage.

One of the core principles taught and reiterated in Chinmaya Mission is “Seva”, which refers to selfless acts of service, an important aspect to embed in your life. By showing our appreciation to our veterans, we acknowledge their “dharma”, which is another important teaching that emphasizes the importance of upholding our own duty, discipline, and dedication. The veterans portray qualities that are highly respected, like their bravery and sacrifice. By appreciating them, we are practicing another teaching known as “karma yoga”, which is acting with purpose without expecting anything in return. Overall, this project has helped us put into practice the teachings we have been taught.

As the Chinmaya Mission community, we are deeply grateful to have had this opportunity to express our appreciation through acts of service. Through honoring veterans, we can honor the teachings of Chinmaya Mission, which we hope to continue sharing. Our Yuva Kendra (YK) class is blessed to receive Gurudev’s blessings and Swami Ishwarananda's guidance in every opportunity that comes our way.

We are grateful to the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 652 of Rancho Cucamonga, for helping us deliver the packages to the Veterans. 

- Anushka Nambiar