Swadhyay has been a part of my life for 13 years. What is Swadhyay? It is a place where we learn about ourselves. "Sarva dharma svikar." All religions are accepted. Reverend Pandurang Shastri Athavale founded this phenomenon in 1954. He also goes by the name of Dadaji, which in Marathi means big brother. When I was at a tender age of four years old, my family was introduced to the Swadhyay Pariwar. This Swadhyay "family" welcomed mine with open arms. For thirteen years, my weekly Sunday attendance to this school of ethnic philosophy, spiritual thought and history molded me into the person who I am today: a proud Indian living in America.
Through Swadhyay, my eyes have been opened to Indian culture in America. As a young Hindu with immigrant parents, I was first confused about what being Indian was all about. School could not give me these answers, but Dadaji's teachings did. Not only did I learn some of India's history from Dadaji, but I learned that God is inside everyone, and that we are all equal. I took this into consideration, that he even mentioned how God is inside animals, which influenced me to become a vegetarian. Swadhyay is a family of millions of people around the world, and I'm fortunate to go to Swadhyay Summer Youth Camp every year to spend two weeks with 600 of my brothers and sisters from the east coast.
The diversity in my small town is limited, but when I am with my fellow Swadhyayees, I feel enriched because of the culture that comes at hand: the dance parties, the camps, graduations, reunions, and Thanksgiving weekends. I gain so much knowledge about my culture and about God. By attending school at Rutgers, I will already feel blended in with the variety of people in the New Brunswick campus. I would benefit so much from being a student at Rutgers because it holds a myriad of opportunities. My interest in clubs is very high; I was the Vice President in DECA business club, involved in Class Government, and I volunteered at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. During my JV Football season, we sold flowers and raised lots of money for a bake sale. Joining such clubs as The Association of Indians at Rutgers is a certainty. Giving back to the community is an apex in God's work, according to Dadaji, which is why it would be decorous for me to pledge for a fraternity and help public service.
Swadhyay has been a major factor through my years, considering that I lost my fear of public speaking when I recited verses from the Bhagavad Gita in front of hundreds of people in Washington DC. The same Elocution competition was held at Rutgers back in 2004. Even trying out for a Bhangra or Raas team at RU are activities I have of much interest. As an Indian, cultural dance is in my blood. With Rutgers, there seems to be an infinite amount of possibilities to find my niche. My contributions to Rutgers would be tremendous, and hopefully my legacy here would begin with the staff of RU helping me achieve a degree in pharmacy. Opportunities are everywhere. They are most rewarding when you are surrounded by different kinds of people. With great programs provided by Rutgers, the tasks are worth the challenge.
Essay: Rutgers University is a vibrant community of people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. How would you benefit from and contribute to such an environment? Consider variables such as your talents, travels, leadership activities, volunteer services, and cultural experiences. Only personal essays submitted via our website will be considered.
Good overall. You might want to expand on this, though:
My contributions to Rutgers would be tremendous
At the moment, you say you would join the Association of Indians and pledge for a fraternity. While these are perfectly good things to do, "tremendous" seems a bit of an overstatement. And what exactly would you do as part of either the Association or the fraternity that would actually make the university a better place? These are the sort of questions you want to make sure to answer to fully address the prompt.
