Start Date: June 15, 2026
End Date: June 24, 2026
Venue: Freedom Land, Karnataka
The first part of the 2026 edition of ‘Invoking Shakti’, one of BhāratShakti’s ongoing learning initiatives for children and youth was held at the Creative School, a unit of The Healing Circle, Bengaluru, during the month of June 2026. This year the workshop theme was ‘India and I’ which was explored through a variety of engaging learning activities over a period of eight days.
Last year, a 3-day intensive workshop was conducted for about 350 students on the theme – “Kala, Sanskriti evam Sadhana’ from 15 to 17 September, 2025. Prior to that a workshop was conducted from September 24, 2024 to September 27, 2024 under the title ‘Invoking Shakti: Cultivating Courage, Faith and Concentration’ at the same venue. In 2023, we did a workshop from October 9, 2023 to October 12, 2023 under the title ‘Invoking Shakti: Workshop on ‘The Divine Feminine in Indian Culture’ at the two campuses of The Creative School.
This year, about 200 students ages 10-16 participated in the workshop. With the help of the teachers and school administrators, students were divided into smaller groups by age; this ensured deeper learner engagement with the topics being explored.
Following key topics were explored as part of the larger theme:
- India that is Bhārat – One and Many?
- My Responsibility as an Indian
- Temple Trails for Civilisational Understanding
- Sri Aurobindo’s Message for Students
- Vedic Wisdom through Storytelling and Painting
- My Dream for New India
Intense planning work and finalising of overall schedule happened for two months prior to the start of the workshop. Age-appropriate learning activities were developed and designed for different groups of students. Engaging legends and stories were identified, visually appealing presentations were prepared and video content for interactive sessions was selected. Other activities included chanting sessions, experiential activities, painting and drawing sessions, poster exhibitions, and more.
Teachers and administrators at Creative School helped with coordinating and organising the daily scheduling of the sessions. While the workshop topics were profound in their essence, they were introduced to the students through engaging interactions, fun activities and in a storytelling manner.
Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti was the lead designer and facilitator for the workshop sessions. An India-centric view of a nation was taken up in a very basic manner through concrete examples so that students were able to grasp the essence and connect it to their own process of becoming self-aware – as a body, vital being and mental being. Dr. Mehra illustrated the definition of nation and culture given by Sri Aurobindo with simple examples that students could relate with.
Some of the topics such as introduction to temples as architectural representation of the essence of Indian spiritual culture and Vedic wisdom for young minds were quite engaging for the students. A Vedic mantra focusing on conquering over inner enemies was also taught to the students.
Dr. Mehra also introduced students to Sri Aurobindo’s work as an educator through some interesting stories with an intention to find inspiration in his address to students. An interesting discussion on how we can grow into responsible Indians also took place as part of a special session. Throughout the workshop, Dr. Mehra kept modifying and adjusting the nature of activities and level of interactions as per the age group of the students she was interacting with.
Ms. Vani L., a volunteer resource person for BhāratShakti facilitated painting workshops for the students. The focus of this session was on exploring Agni’s symbolism through interactions and painting experiences for our personal growth. She also taught the children the first mantra of RigVeda.
As part of the workshop content, Dr. Mehra also prepared four detailed exhibitions under the theme of Bhārat Yatra. The purpose of these exhibitions which focus on several temples of Karnataka was to help students develop a nuanced understanding of Indian history and culture through India’s art and architecture.
These exhibitions will be used for an integrated learning project being developed by the Creative School under which students will also be visiting these places. During the workshop two discussion sessions introduced the students to the core content presented in these exhibitions. Interesting stories about these places were also shared.
On the last day Sri Aurobindo Society’s animated film – The New Dawn – was also shown to the students of ages 14-18 in small groups. Students found the film engaging but had several questions which the film didn’t answer. These were taken up through an engaging Q & A session after the film. Simple explanations about Sri Aurobindo’s life as a student and his work as a revolutionary freedom fighter were shared.
See HERE for the various works we have been doing with Creative School for the past several years. To learn more about BhāratShakti workshops, see HERE.