Hindu YUVA, a student organization focusing on Hindu beliefs, celebrated Universal Oneness Day on Oct 19. by honoring members of the Ames Police Department.
According to the organization’s website, Universal Oneness Day resonates with one of the core values of Hinduism, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which means ‘the entire world is one family.’
“[Universal Oneness Day] is mainly an effort to express our gratitude and appreciation not only towards our family or friends, but also to people in the society who render their services for the development, maintenance and protection of society to give them a sense of value and worth,” the website states.
At the celebration, the four members of the student group, Ankit Pratap Singh, Venkata (Sri) Kompella, both graduate students in electrical and computer engineering, Karishma Bhatankar, a graduate student in human computer interaction and Vyankatesh Chavan, a sophomore in management, presented each member of the police department with a Bindi, which is a traditional red dot worn on the forehead and a bracelet, along with a sweet treat of Indian origin.
Ames Police Chief Geoff Huff said this was the fifth year the group has honored the department.
“It’s always good to get student groups to come in and visit us at the police department,” Huff said. “A lot of our interactions are out in the street, in the campus town area, so it’s a little bit different, a little bit unique when people come and visit us at our house.”
Hindu YUVA brought the yearly tradition of Universal Oneness Day to Iowa State in 2008 and has been continuing it since.
“We also do yearly service activities, which includes that we collect foods from different places, one is the university village, and we also donate those foods to different places where it can be used for the people who are not able to get the food,” Singh, president of Hindu YUVA, said.
“We also do Universal Oneness Day with the president of Iowa State,” Singh said, adding that the group also looks forward to honoring Wendy Wintersteen for her accomplishments and dedication to Iowa State University.
Members of Hindu YUVA said they plan to host a food drive to help honor and support their community. More information on upcoming events can be found on the group’s Instagram.
