Family Day Celebrated
February 20, 2010
Toronto, Canada

 
     
 
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When living thousands of miles away from their native land, every Indian is faced with one critical dilemma – the deterioration of love, unity, harmony, respect and trust

within their family. The solution this was outlined in the Family Day event: 'Let's make a happy home'. With the inspiration of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Toronto has exemplified a variety of unique methods to reach out to the community with the resonating message of creating happy homes. As done in the past, this special event took place on this year's Family Day this year as well.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj says, “The family that plays together, eats together, prays together, stays together.” With this thought in mind, 'Let's make a happy home,' took place on Sunday, February 20th from 4:00 to 6:30pm. The program focused on how our actions, our speech and our habits can be improved to create a happy home. From children to the elderly, all audience members enthusiastically participated in this event that highlighted how to build a stronger foundation.

The program highlighted the effects on food on our body and guided listeners to being conscious of our eating habits.  The program continued to discuss many issues plaguing households today from communication barriers, the way we act and behave with our family members to the mental conflicts growing teens face on a daily basis. The age of participants ranged from the toddlers to the elderly.

Short dramatic acts displayed how our vices cause commotions in our houses. At the end of each scene, a solution was provided either with a moral at the end of each scene or by asking the audience to shed some light on the situation displayed. These short plays stressed important topics such as the need for spending time with family, understanding each other, controlling anger and creating a happy environment within houses. Examples from the life of Pramukh Swami Maharaj were shared with the audience as a way to reflect on his actions and what we can learn from the.

At the end, Head Sadhu of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Toronto, Pujya Jnanpriya Swami gave remarkable guidance on, how to create a happy and peaceful home through better and effective communication, positive behavior, kind speech and health eating. The program was very engaging, the audience didn’t notice that two and a half hours had passed by so quickly. Lastly, everyone enjoyed a great meal together.