NNew York, May 28 (IANS) About 30 students sat barefoot and cross-legged as they chanted Sanskrit verses and did yogic postures in an exercise conducted by the Hindu Students Council at North Carolina State University this weekend.
"It's a concentrated dose of culture, friendship and a lot of learning together," said Kanchan Banerjee, one of the founders of the Council, after the event.

It has been 17 years since the Council first organized the camp in the US.

Banerjee said he and fellow founders were inspired to form a new student group because Indian cultural groups on college campuses tend to avoid the spiritual aspect of culture.

The organization reaches out to Indians and non-Indians who have an interest in studying Hinduism.

"Ill-informed professors, well-meaning friends and even some Indians unfairly associate Hinduism with poverty, or cows running in the streets or castes instead of acknowledging Hindu's contributions to the world, such as yoga," Nikunj Trivedi, 28, a Rutgers University MBA student who serves as president of the Council's national organization, was quoted as saying in the News Observer.

A couple of weeks ago, graduating students of the University of Nevada were blessed with verses from the Bhagavad Gita during their second annual interfaith baccalaureate service.    


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