Stress laid on need to imbibe Swamiji’s Vedanta philosophy
SHILLONG: To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, a two-day national conference on Swami Vivekananda’s Exposition of Practical Vedanta was jointly organized by the Department of History and Philosophy of St. Anthony’s College here on Tuesday.
The national conference was also organized to coincide with the 120th Year of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago Address at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 where he delivered his famous message of Practical Vedanta to the whole world with a global mission and a passion for his own nation, which made him a world renowned personality.
The national conference was formally inaugurated with the unveiling of a portrait of Swami Vivekananda by Principal of St. Anthony’s College, Br. Albert L Dkhar. A sapling of the peepal tree was also planted on the college premises to mark the occasion.
Former Member of the Rajya Sabha, Prof BB Dutta, also a former Professor of Economics at the College, shared his views and insights on the subject while expressing his interest in Vedanta Philosophy.
According to him, “The civilization of India is pulsating with the vibration of Vedanta. Every civilization has its centre or life force. Just as the dominant characteristic of the British is their mastery of politics, of the Americans their marketing, of India it is spirituality.”
“The theme of India’s spirituality is to find the answers to the fundamental questions of life. In this way, India had developed a science of spirituality,” he said, adding that Ramakrishna was instrumental in recreating the spirit of spirituality in India after it had gone through a period of decay.
The regeneration of spirituality also brought with it the modernization of the philosophy to meet the need for relevance, said the former MP, adding that Swami Vivekananda was then the eloquent expression of Ramakrishna’s meditation and thoughts.
Meanwhile, delivering the keynote address, Swami Atmashraddhanandaji Maharaj, the Editor of Vedanta Kesari, Ramakrishna Mission in Chennai, highlighted on the etymology of the word premises of the deputy commissioner and went from room to room, pushing out employees for violating the bandh. No arrest has been made in this connection till the of filling this report.