Saturday, April 7, 2012

A Samaiyo Recipe

This past Sunday marked Swaminarayan Jayanti, the first of five days where we defy our body with a waterless fast.

Sitting in on some post-samaiyo feedback really got us thinking - at least on something other than food.

What makes a great samaiyo?

Many point to dances, dramas, and kirtans.

Dramas engage us with comedy and suspense.
Dances enamor us with vivid costumes and fast music.
Kirtans involve us with melody and lyric.

Few point to the speeches; they only have words.

Conclusion: Great samaiyos have more singing, acting, and dancing.

And that's where our formula falls apart, for what empowers a program is a message. Shriji Maharaj's purpose behind encouraging samaiyos stemmed from their ability to inspire countless individuals to a life for the better only because they walked away with that message.

Dances, dramas, and kirtans may entertain us, so let's enhance their effect by combining them with a central message. If the elements of a program cannot connect back to a core theme, what we have is a lifeless list on a cue sheet.

Just as a speeches without SUS will inevitably lose the audience, let's craft a program with a punch the next time it's samaiyo season.

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