Bal Samagam

With the grace of His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj, the Montreal Branch of the Sant Nirankari Mission, held its annual 7th Bal Samagam on Saturday November 8, 2014.

The theme of this year's Bal Samagam was "HARMONY IN ONENESS" and the basic motive behind this event was to encourage the little foundations of our mission to become strong and to stay attached with the mission. All the children under 16 years of age took part in various activities and aspects of the event. The children spread the message of Harmony in Oneness; God is one who dwells in all human beings and which can be attained through the blessings of the perfect master of the day Satguru Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj.

The opening ceremony of the Bal Samagam was performed by all the participants of the Montreal Bal Sangat. All the children walked the stage in unison to a song about peace and love with lit candles in their hands. This item was very emotional and touched the hearts of many.

One of the key attractions of the event was the question and answer period in the form of "Antakshari "and which was based on the Sampuran Avtar Bani. The sole purpose of this item was to make the kids aware of their duties and making them learn about the art of respecting others. The bonus aspect of this item was that all the children were also able to learn various Shabads for the Sampuran Avtar Bani . All the children of the Montreal Bal Sangat aged 5 years to 16 years of age took part in this event. This presentation by the children left an unforgettable impression on everyone who attended that evening.

A very blissful dance was also presented by the children under the age of 8 years and which was dedicated to our Late Holy Mother Nirankari Raj Mata Kulwant Kaur ji. Her life was filled with devotion, obedience, selfless service, surrender, motherly affection, sacrifice, tolerance, contentment and devotion to our Satguru and Sadh Sangat. She inspired humans to adopt these divine qualities and it was a great tribute by our all the young saints to the glorious life lived by her. Some unique and beautiful pictures of Holy Raj Mata ji were also shown before the dance started and which also brought tears to the eyes of many and reminded us all how she will forever dwell in our hearts.

The Bal Samagam also had a few plays in English, Hindi, and Punjabi languages with meaningful morals to pass the message of the mission to our youngsters. Some morals of the plays were; "Sharing is Caring", which was performed by the age group of 6 year olds. In their act, the young children showed that wherever there is sharing there is also caring; wherever there is caring there is love and wherever there is love there is balance between harmony and devotion.

Another play presented was based on the theme of "Forgiveness" and which was acted out by a few of our younger saints. In the play, they tried to convey the message of our Satguru's teachings to forgive and forget. The moral of this play was about forgiveness and when you value your relations with others, that is where Harmony dwells and resides. The play touched upon point of views among individuals, and to think about how conflict issues can be resolved. It takes a small step to feel the importance of harmony and see if you can harmonize in your mind even one conflict.

A play about "Making Satsang the Foundation of Our Lives" was also presented by many young saints taking part in the Bal Samagam. The play depicted, Satguru's message that values of humanity should be instilled in our children from a very young age in life. It stressed how parents put much effort in making their children great achievers academically; they should also put equal efforts in bringing their children to Satsang and teaching them the values of love and humility as well. It also emphasized that children will be children (naughty and distracted) but bringing them to Satsang on a regular basis, they are able to learn values that will eventually help them make the right decisions in life. Children are great imitators and if we give them something good to imitate, that is what they will imbibe for the rest of their lives.

Many devotional group songs were also presented in different languages such as Hindi and English. This year, an inspiring and melodious English song was also composed by one of our very own young saints.

An energizing and colorful Bhangra performance by the children aged from 9 to 12 years made the entire Sadh Sangat clap and dance with joy alongside them.

A very beautiful and blissful Sufi dance performed by all the young girls aged 11 to 16 years was the last performance of the night. This item was presented with a lot of enthusiasm and in beautiful Sufi costumes.

The Bal Samagam concluded with blessings from the presiding saint Rev. Harjit Mudhar ji, who commended all the children for their participation, hard work and enthusiasm in preparing for the Bal Samagam. He blessed all the young saints, the participants and the organizers with continued success for the future and encouraged their dedication and devotion towards the mission.

We are truly grateful to our Lord Master for giving us the opportunity to obtain these blissful moments through the Bal Samagam, and to be part of a "family" which believes in unity, togetherness and team work. Let us all pray to Satguru Almighty that we may continue to enjoy such soul lifting Bal Samagams that provide opportunities to learn more about the importance of Sewa, Simran and Satsang. May our characters also be imprints of our Satguru's words, thoughts and visions.