Yuva is simply the Sanskrit word for youth. More than the physical age, youthfulness comes from the state of one's mind. One can be old at 25 and youth at the age of 85. For practical purposes, we can consider anyone falling in the age group of 18-35 as yuva. According to one of the Hindu scriptures - "Ashistha Balishta Drudhishta Yuva Adhyayi" i.e. yuva is one who has aspirations, courage, strength and steadfastness. YUVA is also an acronym for Youth for Unity, Virtues and Action which aptly describes how an ideal youth should be i.e. he/she should strive for unity within (in a spiritual sense) and without (in a worldly sense), be an embodiment of various virtues that mankind has ever possessed and motivated to perform actions for the betterment of the society. The future of any society lies in the hands of its youth. If the youth are disciplined and self-motivated inspired a higher ideal to serve the society, the society is bound to prosper. On the other hand, the society whose youth lack self-discipline and motivation to serve is bound to go the path of deterioration.

To create individuals with above mentioned qualities, the process has to start at an early age, when the mind is still impressionable and good sanskaras can be imbibed. To this end, Hindu YUVA follows the unique process of man making by imparting sanskaras through a program called shakha. ‘Shakha’ is simply the Sanskrit word for branch (read chapter). In a yuva shakha, the main participants are the youth. It is typically a one and half hour long weekly program. Activities are geared towards all round development and include yoga, games, martial arts, talks, discussions, presentations, songs and prathana (prayer). All the activities happen under the auspices of the Bhagwa Dhwaj (saffron flag) which represents age old Hindu culture and heritage. The focus is on collective growth and developing a selfless attitude. Each individual feels part of the whole and whole is bigger than the sum of the individuals.