Vilniaus Krišnos Sąmonės religinė bendruomenė (Lithuania)
"Vilniaus Krisnos Samones religine bendruomene" is an NGO, based in
Vilnius – an economic, geographical, cultural, scientific, political and administrative center of the country. Vilnius being the largest city also houses the largest number of students, not only people coming from all parts of Lithuania, but also increasingly from abroad.
It was founded on the eve of Lithuania’s restoration of independence with the purpose of spreading the Ancient wisdom from Eastern traditions that closely corresponds to the modern-day challenges: the values of human dignity and freedom, as well as equality and the opportunity for everyone to the right of happiness and the right to realize his or her full potential. Organization believes that the only way to help a person live a happy and fulfilling life is by empowering him through knowledge. Therefore, the organization continues to distribute thousands of books and hold several hundred educational activities every year. Regular education activities such as seminars, courses and workshops for all age groups, form the basis of organization’s work. Special student evenings are also often organized in which young people can gain knowledge and guiding from senior organization members as well as develop their skills relevant to the job market (e.g. analytical and problem-solving skills, increased sense of responsibility) through community service.
We place high value on youth and adult education. We believe it is one of the most important investments and it is critical to reducing economic and spiritual poverty and inequality. One of our main aims is to make a genuine contribution to learning and teaching process and to emphasize the importance of knowledge and education. We know that this means we have to continually improve the teaching techniques of our associates and to offer people a wide variety of learning opportunities.
The fundamental mission of our organization is to connect the wisdom of the ancient Indian philosophy with people in a way that this wisdom will bridge the gap between different sciences and arts and unite them in practical knowledge in all areas for the well-being of an individual.
We do this by organizing:
The topics for the activities range from lectures on emotional intelligence and to workshops on healthy living and sustainable lifestyle, as well as personal development and career skills developing opportunities.
There are two main priorities in our organization. A) youth and adult non-formal education in the area of healthy lifestyle, personal development and personal and professional coaching, anti-stress courses, healthy diet cooking classes, and B) organizing eco soul-oriented trips and holidays to travelling destinations around Europe and also Asia.
To achieve our aims, we organize a wide range of activities, programmes and events. Our workshops, lectures and classes are open to everyone and we work closely with people from disadvantaged backgrounds: people with less opportunities, migrants, different social subcultural groups, persons with special needs, minorities and foreign students in Lithuania.
We strongly believe that our work focuses on some of the main objectives and goals of Erasmus+ programme as the newly acquired skills of our EVS volunteers will be validated in Youthpass and language certificate and disseminated within their sending organization and local community. With the newly acquired knowledge and experience in mind, the volunteer will also have better chances in the employment market. We also promote intercultural experiences by engaging ourselves in working with various European organizations with similar goals and values; and we promote equality and inclusion by inviting individuals with fewer opportunities to participate in the projects.
Activities and experience of the organization
Working with educational projects in Vilnius on the topics of personal development and the positive results that the members and participants have achieved, we are strongly convinced in of the process of learning and improving one’s life through service.
Therefore, we would like to offer the European youth a free, true and tested learning experience to help them with their personal development and to acquire new knowledge and provide them with practical experience for the employment market that they will help build in the near future.
In the last twenty years we've organized and contributed to several hundred learning opportunities for youth and adults with a wide-ranging number of topics helping participants to become more effective citizens, empowering them to seek and create value in the society while bridging gaps between all stratas of society.
We place high value on youth and adult education. We believe it is one of the most important investments and it is critical to reducing economic and spiritual poverty and inequality, therefore most of our educational activities are free of charge. One of our main aims is to make a genuine contribution to learning and teaching process and to emphasize the importance of knowledge and education that is relevant to today’s issues and challenges. The lack of connection between people, the lack of ways of dealing with ever increasing stress, the lack of guidance and desire to be proactive and make decisions for the wellbeing of society pushes us forward to share the knowledge and empower others to become active members of their communities.
We know that this means we have to continually improve the teaching techniques of our associates and to offer people a wide variety of learning opportunities. This is why participating in the Erasmus programme and gaining the best practices from other organizations would also improve our own activities and help contribute even more to the society.
At the moment we have:
Darius Skapas
President of the Association
Darius Skapas is the president of Vilniaus Krisnos Samones religine bendruomene, he’s had lots of management experience in leading the organization for the past two decades. An instructor of Bhakti yoga, he is a teacher of Vedic philosophy and Vedic culture. He is regularly giving lectures and leading practical workshops on various topics not only on the philosophy, but also its relevance for self-improvement. He has also translated several books to Lithuanian language. His knowledge and eloquence attract and help dozens of people to better orient their lives and bring value to their communities. He also has years of experience on personal and professional coaching, personal development and relationship trainer and a mediator. Speaks fluent English and Russian.
Saulius Domarkas is the public relations officer for the organization, also a founder of the Vedic Research Centre. He is an acclaimed scholar of Vedic philosophy, holding weekly lectures on the topic as well as leading workshops on self-actualization. He was also one of the main people initiating cross-religious dialogue in Lithuania, holding meetings and public discussions with leaders of different religious groups. Gradual progress has been made because of this as the society is increasingly more tolerant of various religious and cultural minorities in Lithuania. Over the years he has also contributed and managed several demanding educational projects raising awareness on the value of non-formal education, as well as increasing. Speaks fluent English and Russian.
Mantrimas Šeškus has studied Political science at the Vilnius University, and has first hand experience working with children and adolescents in summer camps which were aimed at developing people’s strengths and empowering them to be more effective citizens. Speak fluent English and French.
We're registered as a voluntary organisation and we have many lecturers who work with us as volunteers. Some of them hold weekly lectures throughout the school year, while others teach once to four times a month. They're employed in other organisation, companies or are self-employed. Their motivation for lecturing are spreading the knowledge and help people to understand themselves better or to improve their relationships with other people and thus improve the quality of life. Whenever we have international projects, they are active participants and acquire new knowledge and skills and experience.
Darius Skapas is the president of Vilniaus Krisnos Samones religine bendruomene,
He’s had lots of management experience in leading the organization for the past two decades. An instructor of Bhakti yoga, he is a teacher of Vedic philosophy and Vedic culture. He is regularly giving lectures and leading practical workshops on various topics not only on the philosophy, but also its relevance for self-improvement. He has also translated several books to Lithuanian language. His knowledge and eloquence attract and help dozens of people to better orient their lives and bring value to their communities. He also has years of experience on personal and professional coaching, personal development and relationship trainer and a mediator. Speaks fluent English and Russian.
Saulius Domarkas is the public relations officer for the organization, also a founder of the Vedic Research Centre. He is an acclaimed scholar of Vedic philosophy, holding weekly lectures on the topic as well as leading workshops on self-actualization. He was also one of the main people initiating cross-religious dialogue in Lithuania, holding meetings and public discussions with leaders of different religious groups. Gradual progress has been made because of this as the society is increasingly more tolerant of various religious and cultural minorities in Lithuania. Over the years he has also contributed and managed several demanding educational projects raising awareness on the value of non-formal education, as well as increasing. Speaks fluent English and Russian.
Mantrimas Šeškus has studied Political science at the Vilnius University, and has first hand experience working with children and adolescents in summer camps which were aimed at developing people’s strengths and empowering them to be more effective citizens. Speak fluent English and French.
We're registered as a voluntary organisation and we have many lecturers who work with us as volunteers. Some of them hold weekly lectures throughout the school year, while others teach once to four times a month. They're employed in other organisation, companies or are self-employed. Their motivation for lecturing are spreading the knowledge and help people to understand themselves better or to improve their relationships with other people and thus improve the quality of life. Whenever we have international projects, they are active participants and acquire new knowledge and skills and experience.