Preserve Indian Culture globally - Sanskriti International is an initiative by JKYog to foster love and respect for millennia spanning Indian culture which drives Indians’ success in every field.

Since its modest beginnings only a few years ago in Connecticut USA, Sanskriti International has spread its influence worldwide due to innovativeness and adaptability in a rapidly changing world influenced by a pandemic. Currently, it offers over 50+ online contests highlighting various aspects of Indian culture and spirituality, for all age groups in performing arts, literary arts, and visual arts categories and encourages creative use of print and digital media. Anyone anywhere can participate and highlight their talent! 

The grand prize of SANSKRITI IDOL awarded each year by JKYog founder Swami Mukundananda, is a much-coveted title by children, youth, and adults worldwide that makes the event enthralling in terms of the quality of performances. The competition is extremely nail-biting. Eminent judges are chosen carefully for each individual competition. A global team of 100+ volunteers spread across, USA, Australia, India, Singapore working in various departments, toils for months to coordinate with several hundred participants and produce and broadcast the entire event in a spectacular manner. Several celebrities have graced previous Sanskriti events such as Sooryagayathri, Rahul Vellal, Devesh Mirchandani to name a few. The grand finale hosted ably by several adults and youth is no less than awards show on entertainment television with awards presentations, interspersed by talented performers and celebrity interviews.

JKYog is the only organization with the breadth and depth of offerings for the whole family to preserve Indian culture, Indian cultural diversity, and spirituality in a way that is fun for all ages – in 2021 children, parents, and grandparents all participated together! That is Sanskriti International’s USP.

Join the noble effort by JKYog to celebrate and preserve India’s ancient culture. Have fun expressing yourself creatively while winning prizes – SANSKRITI INTERNATIONAL 2022 CONTEST REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL NOV 27. Visit sanskriti.jkyog.org to know the age groups, categories, and contest details.

There are prizes worth $1500 to be WON!! Participation e-certificates will be awarded to all contestants.

Preserving Indian Culture – Sanskriti 2021 Finale Memories, GEN Z Insights, Youth Torchbearers

Swami Mukundananda delivered an inspiring keynote address during the grand finale focusing on the importance of preserving Indian culture and worldwide impact of Indian culture.

Sanskriti 2021 awards ceremony also featured world record holding 10-year-old magician Sparsh Rupesh Koyelot who highlighted his magic talents alongside his father Rupesh Koyelot.

Well known personalities in the field of music and dance graced the platform.

Renowned Kathak Dancer and choreographer Devesh Mirchandani – a millennial influencer on YouTube with 14M+ subscribers – gives credit to Indian dance for understanding the spiritual significance of Indian culture. Devesh delivered a highly awaited, beautiful Kathak performance on the popular Bollywood song “Ghar More Pardesiya.”

He explains how he lacked respect for Indian values and did not believe in God earlier, but the process of refining his art made him realize the value of Bhakti to Shree Krishna. He now constantly practices the presence of God while dancing as an offering to the Lord.

Sruthi Balamurali, is a renowned a multi-instrumentalist, accomplished vocalist, and a Gen Z Canadian Indian Youtube music influencer with over 300K+ Subscribers. Recently she was also chosen to play violin for a film score.

Sruthi played Mukunda Mukunda on the flute mellifluously and delivered a heart touching instrumental rendition of the song “Kanne Kalaimane” from the popular Tamizh movie “Moonram Pirai.” She also captivated the minds of listeners with her rendition of Swagatam Krishna in Raga Mohanam, increasing their sentiments of devotion with her melodious, tinkling voice that effortlessly brought out complicated nuances of the Carnatic composition.

She credits her ability to master several Indian instruments to her parents’ Indian classical music background and more importantly the blessings of God. She chooses to share her multifarious gifts to unify people globally in the love of music – this universal love of music and ability to heal boundaries is what makes her enthusiastic about pursuing music. Her father TN Balamurali shares that when living abroad it is important to expose children to Indian music and dance and make the process of learning for them joyous. This facilitates their love for Indian arts and encourages them to work hard to manifest their full potential in those art forms.

Several GEN Z Indian youths worldwide shared how Sanskriti International and JKYog’s Bal Mukund and Youth Club programs brought them closer to their roots and helped them appreciate and imbibe spiritual KRIPALU values for success and happiness in life. The KRIPALU Values (Kindness, Respect, Integrity, Perseverance, Accountability, Love, Unassuming or Humbleness) are the foundation of the hugely successful Bal Mukund Vedic early childhood program started by Swami Mukundananda. Parents of children who attend the Bal Mukund programs in multiple cities across the world, deeply appreciate the program’s influence on their children’s character development and all-round performance.

Some children from Bal Mukund took on various characters such as Chota Bhim and Harry Potter and did fun comedy sketches to keep things interesting during the award show.

Archisha Kulsreshtha, a tremendously talented youth, highlighted her skills as an emcee through the event – taking on a fun persona “Super Shree” with witty banter and lively expressions.

Another youth, Sahana Kundra participated in no less than 25 contests and also won Sanskriti Idol in her group! The youngest participant, Dakshit Karthick, was only fifteen months old! Mahi Pemmaraju, a Bal Mukund participant from USA, and Niharika Warty, a youth club participant from USA, who both won Sanskriti idol in their respective categories, highlighted their expertise in several contests.

It is the younger generation that carries the culture forward. The influence of Sanskriti on the global Indian diaspora was evident in the enthusiasm of the children who became contestants and took active roles in hosting and volunteering for the event. Such enthusiasm in the younger generation holds promising prospects for the preservation and propagation of Indian culture in the future on a global platform.

Service awards were also given to youth for volunteering for JKYog projects.

However the fact that adults and seniors also took part and won the Sanskriti Idol titles, and four senior ladies won special awards for their spirit of participation highlights the intergenerational appeal of this particular JKYog event. When it comes to Indian culture, Indian families are united!

Preserving Indian Culture – Indians Succeed Because of Spiritual Values

Indian figures in politics, local communities, social media, television, and business, have fortified and reinforced the tremendous value of Indian culture to the world, through their example of excellence stemming from Indian values and upbringing.

Today, Indians or people of Indian heritage are at the top of many organizations and countries. To name a few, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, United States Vice President Kamala Harris, and most recently United Kingdom Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak.

United States Vice President Kamala Harris, shared in an interview with CNN,” When we think about it, India is the oldest democracy in the world – so that is part of my background, and without question has had a great deal of influence on what I do today and who I am.”

UK Premier Rishi Sunak proudly embraces his Indian heritage and is a practicing Hindu. He took his oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita and mentioned that lighting Diwali oil lamps outside 10 Downing Street was one of the proudest moments of his life.

These personalities have been critical to instilling a sense of pride in Indian youth which holds them closer their culture. Unlike in earlier decades, Indian children abroad today are a lot more secure in and proud of their Indian identity and roots than they used to be. Bollywood dance events, festival celebrations, and Indian student groups in universities around the world, foster tight knit peer to peer relationships within the Indian youth community.

Several Indian American youths actively participate in the process of preserving Indian culture through their own creative expression in various Indian classical music, dance, and art forms. Famous Indian artistes travel worldwide to teach and perform Indian classical art forms. Particularly millennials and GEN Z Indians tremendously leverage the power of social media as influencers to represent and propagate Indian culture. Examples include the MIT-founded digital arts education startup IndianRaga. They operate in over forty global cities to help artists learn, perform and shine. With over ten million views in just 2 years on its video library, the IndianRaga Facebook page and YouTube channel are some of the most engaged social media platforms for Indian performing arts. (“IndianRaga - YouTube”).

Another aspect of Indian culture that has gained global prominence is the devotional genre of music or Kirtan which is highly popular among youth. Swami Mukundananda highlights why Indian art, literature, and music have a distinguishing timeless quality – they all have their basis in devotion to God, and when one works for God, one is committed to doing only the best.

Preserving Indian Culture – Why It is Important

In his Sanskriti 2021 keynote address Swami Mukundananda mentioned how when he first came to the United States on his preaching mission, first generation Indian Americans expressed their regret that while they lived a prosperous and comfortable life in the US, they lost their relationship with their children who drifted away from Indian culture. Then he highlighted that with the influx of Indian immigrants and more importantly the establishment of Indian temples, Indian diaspora in the USA gained a firm foothold to spread and preserve Indian culture.

Indian organizations across the US and abroad representing the diversity of India’s states – from Gujarat to Andhra Pradesh; spiritual organizations established by the many Indian saints who have crossed the oceans have contributed to the propagation of Indian culture. Many youths who have graduated from the JKYog Bal Mukund and Youth Club programs and are now in eminent academic and corporate institutions, give credit for their success to the spiritual Indian values they were brought up with, their local temple communities, and the life changing Vedic wisdom preached by Swami Mukundananda.

The impact of Indian culture stretches across millennia and spans many countries. For example, it may surprise you to know of the Vishnu Temple in Angkor Wat Cambodia, or the heavy influence of Indian epics such as the Ramayana in Thai dance forms. Diwali is not just celebrated in India but all-over South Asia, and in the West as far as Fiji and Guyana. Buddhism which started in India, is now practiced worldwide.

Swami Mukundananda highlighted that unlike Western culture which influenced by Greek epics on mundane romance themes, values self-aggrandizement and conquest of the external world, Indian culture influenced by the spiritual God centric epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, values the conquest of the inner world – the mind. As Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya said, “Who conquers the world? The one who conquers his own mind!”

Of course, who can forget the thundering impact of Vedic texts like the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads that have influenced philosophers and leaders across the ages?

In any gathering in India, the place of pride is accorded to the spiritual personalities as spiritual excellence is seen as the highest accomplishment. From spiritual excellence stems excellence in life. Without humility one cannot attain material success, leave alone spiritual success. Humility requires controlling our egoistic self and enables us to sharpen our skillset, learn from competitors, and help others also to succeed. However, such humility is not possible without instilling spiritual values in the intellect of our insignificance before the magnificence of God and His creation. Through practicing these values, one learns how to control the mind.

A controlled mind becomes the starting point for great character and outstanding achievements. It fosters goodness in individuals which leads to inner and outer peace.

This is the reason preserving Indian culture and promoting the spiritual excellence it stands for is important for not just India but also the world.

Sanskriti International – a noble initiative by JKYog and Swami Mukundananda - is playing a crucial role in propagating and celebrating the universal appeal of Indian culture, epics, literature, and the spiritual values it stands for through innovative means.

Do your part for Indian culture.

REGISTER FOR Sanskriti 2022