[ Age 14-18 years ] Word Limit 500
[ Age 19-25 years ] Word Limit 750
Shri Ram Chandra Mission is a non-profit educational and spiritual service organization. It has been promoting heart-based living through meditation as a means to universal peace and harmony for over 75 years since its inception in 1945. It is one of 1600 NGOs associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. The All India Essay Writing Event had been the flagship event of The Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) for over three decades and was organized in partnership with United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC) for several years since 2005 reaching out to over 25,000 institutions in India. The event was renamed the HEARTFULNESS ESSAY EVENT in 2019 and was launched globally for the first time in 2020 in collaboration with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development).
The Event this year is being organized in collaboration with The COMMONWEALTH for the second consecutive year which also marks the thirty-third successive year of the Event.
The Heartfulness Education Trust (HET) has designed a variety of programs for youth including The Heartfulness Way Curriculum for junior school students aimed at developing in them an understanding and acceptance of core human values (as recommended in the report submitted to UNESCO by the International Commission on Education for the Twenty First Century), Brighter Minds for development of cognitive and intuitive faculties, a life skills program called HELP for senior school students and an initiative called HEARTFUL CAMPUS for University students. A program for capacity building of teachers called INSPIRE has also been running for several years. Details of these programs are available at: heartfulness.org/education/training-and-curriculum
Youth is a time of great possibilities. It is a period in life filled with opportunities waiting to be realized, provided you are mindful of them and are willing to strive heartfully for your holistic growth. While education helps us to develop our physical and intellectual capabilities to their optimum extent and prepares us to thrive in a competitive world, there is one aspect of our development that does not often receive due attention– the development of our inner Being. Without the synchronous development of body, mind, and heart our evolution as human beings remains incomplete. It is therefore balance, in addition to excellence, that you must strive for - the balance between mind and heart, the outer and the inner, and, between thinking and feeling. Through the Heartfulness Essay Event, we invite you to tap into your inner space, tune in to the soft voice of the heart that never fails to guide and inspire, and express in words your experience related to the theme of this year’s Event. We encourage you thus to begin the practice of referring to the heart more and more.
All essays must be uploaded through our website only as per guidelines.
Essays received through email or post will not be accepted.
English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu
Documents for Participants
Guidelines for Participation
Institutions must register on our website with all required details to enable their students to submit essays.
• Once registered, the institution will receive its registration details, the participant information sheet, and a link for students to submit essays online via the registered email address.
• The participation information sheet and submission link must be shared with students so that they can upload their essays.
• Alternatively, institutions may collect physical essays, including the participant information sheet, scan them, and submit them on behalf of the students using the institutional admin login.
• To request login credentials, email us at essayevent@heartfulness.org.
• These credentials allow the coordinator to manage all essay submissions made under the institution's email address.
• Students can search for their institution’s registration on our website by clicking on Institution Registration. They should contact their institution’s coordinator to confirm the mode of submission.
• Students must follow the submission guidelines. The participant information sheet must be filled out in ENGLISH and included as the first page, followed by the essay.
Youth aged 14 to 25 years who are not enrolled in any institution are eligible to participate as Direct Participants.
• Submit your essay by clicking the Direct Submission button on our website.
• Download the participant information Sheet for attaching it along with our essay.
• Please follow all submission guidelines carefully.
a. Participants may choose any one of the 12 optional languages to write their essay on the topic specified for their category. Only one essay may be submitted.
b. Participants must identify the correct category based on their age group and write on the appropriate topic.
c. Essays must be typed or legibly handwritten on A4-size paper. Handwritten essays should use black or blue ink.
d. The following details must appear on every page of the essay:
e. Word limits must be strictly followed.
Category 1 (Ages 14–18): Essay must be within 500 words.
Category 2 (Ages 19–25): Essay must be within 750 words.
f. Indicate the total word count at the end of the essay.
g. Entries must not include any appeals, illustrations, or slogans.
h. The filled Participant information sheet must be scanned as the first page, followed by the essay, and saved as a single PDF file.
i. Ensure the file size is under 3MB.
j. Scan the age proof document as a pdf file. Ensure the file size is under 1 MB.
k. Upload the scanned PDF using the appropriate submission link on the website.
l. After successful submission, note your Enrolment Number displayed on the screen.
m. Download the essay submission instructions in your preferred language from the Submission Guidelines section of the website.
Participating students have the option to carry out research on the theme as it is not an on-the-spot competition. However, all submitted essays must necessarily be the original work of the author and references or quotations therein must be duly acknowledged.
a. The evaluation of all submitted entries will be carried out by a jury for each of the languages based on the following criterion :
1. Theme introduction/interpretation
: Weight 10%
2. Structure and flow
: Weight 10%
3. Language
: Weight 10%
4. Originality
: Weight 20%
5. Relevance of ideas to the theme
: Weight 40%
6. Research/attention to details
: Weight 5%
7. Conclusion
: Weight 5%
b. To fulfill the purpose of this Event, the essay must reflect the author’s personal experience or views on the topic. Originality and relevance of ideas to the topic carry the maximum weightage.
c. Essays plagiarized from books or the internet will be rejected.
d. All awards will be subject to the sole discretion of the jury and their decision will be final.
e. The intent of the information provided in the English version of the Information Leaflet and flyer shall prevail over all other translated versions.
For Individual Participant
A Winner and a Runner- up : in each of the 12 authorized languages in each category will receive a trophy and certificate.
Certificates with Rank : Essays ranked from third to the tenth position in each of the 12 languages in each category will be awarded mementos and certificates stating the rank.
Merit Certificates : An E- Merit Certificate will be awarded to the 10% of entries shortlisted by the jury for the final round of selection in each of the 12 languages in both categories.
Certificate of Participation : E-certificates will be awarded to all participants who fulfill the participation criterion as per the guidelines.
Some participants may be required to undertake an interview by the jury by telephone or a video call as a final round of selection for the top awards. The jury will have the discretion to accept or disqualify any of the submitted essays and their decision will be final.
For Participating Institutions
Appreciation Certification for Participating Institutions.
Gold Appreciation Certificate : for Institutions submitting over 300 Essays
Silver Appreciation Certificate : for Institutions submitting over 200 Essays
Bronze Appreciation Certificate : for Institutions submitting over 100 Essays
All awards will be subject to the sole discretion of the jury and their decision will be final.
