Ramayan Darshanam Exhibition

Ramayan Darshanam Exhibition, a set on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Ramayan Darshanam Exhibition at Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari (IN)

Vimarsh : Uttarakhand Trasadi : Ek Chintan

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी शााखा भोपाल द्वारा आयोवित “विमर्श” एक वैचारिक जाागरण श्रुंखला दिनांक 13 जुलाई 2013 को संपन्न हुआ I समारोह वर्ष के दौरान प्रबुद्ध  वर्ग गोष्ठी के रूप में यह आयोजन किया गया था I “उत्तराखंड त्रासदी : एक चिंतन” विषय पर दुष्यंत कुमार पाण्डुलिपि संग्रहालय भोपाल में आयोजित इस मंथन मे नगर के चिन्तक  जन उपस्थित रहे, ज्वलंत विषय होने के कारण लोगों की श्रेष्ठ एवं जागरूक सहभावगता रही I इस घटनाक्रम से संबंधित अनेक तथ्यात्मक बिन्दुओं पर चर्चा हुई, इसी वर्ष उत्तराखंड की यात्रा करने वाले केन्द्र कायशकताश भी उपवथथत थे विन्हंने तत्कालीन
परिस्थितियों पर प्रकाश डालते हुए बताया कि इस भयावह स्थिति का अंदेशा वहां के सामान्य लोगों को हो गया था I इसके अतिरिक्त राजनैतिक असंवेदनशीलता, मानवीय धर्म, मानवीय कर्तव्यों को लेकर भी अनेक बिन्दु विमर्श मे आये, हमारे ही धार्मिक स्थलों के प्रति बदलता हुआ हमारा दृष्टिकोण इस तरह की परिस्थितियों को न्योता देता है अस्तु आपदा प्राकृतिक नहीं मानवीकृत ही है I  जब जब हम अपनी नैतिक जिम्मेदारियों से विमुख हुए है तब तब प्रकृति ने हमें संकेत दिया है I

चार धाम यात्रा भी अमरनाथ यात्रा की तरह प्रमुख है इसलिए इसके प्रबंधन व नियोजन हेतु कोई निश्र्चित कदम उठाये जाने चाहिए जैसे यात्रियोंका पंजीयन, प्रति वर्ष यात्रियों की संख्या का निर्धारिकरण इत्यादी I चर्चा का समापन करते हुए प्रान्त प्रमुख श्री रामभुवन सिंहजी ने बताया कि "धर्म भारत की आत्मा है" और यदि किसी भी रूप से अपने क्षुद्र स्वार्थ हेतु इस आत्म तत्व पर प्रहार हुआ तो यह देश इस तरह की चुनौतियों से जूझता रहेगा I श्री रामभुवन जी ने सेना के कार्य की सराहना करते हुए सादर कृतज्ञता व्यक्त की I नगर प्रमुख श्री मनोज पाठक जी ने विमर्श की प्रस्तावना रखी, कायक्रम का संचालन नगर स्वाध्याय प्रमुख श्री सौरभ शुक्ला जी ने किया I प्रान्त संगठक आ.शीतल दीदी एवं अन्य सभी दायित्ववान कायकर्ता कार्यक्रम में सहभागी हुए I

Sports coaching in Arunachal VKV

This time selected PETs will go in selected 6 VKVs and their expertise will be used to train/orient students in that particular area (Marchpast, Volleyball, Football, Rope and Pole Malkhamb, Badminton, Kho-Kho, Basket Ball, Yoga, Chess, Khabadi, Lezim are the few selected items) VKVs Itanagar, Roing, Vivek Vihar, Yazali Jirdin and Dado are in the selected schools now.  Below is report came in Arunachal Times about VKV Itanagar.

By August all six venues will complete their training prog. for 10 days.  Other schools also will get the opportunity once 1st Round of selected schools complete.

A specially designed 10-day coaching camp for students of VKV, Itanagar was inaugurated by Director of Sports and Youth Affairs DK Dinglow on 15th July. While offering Sangey Lhaden Sports Academy for training the students of the school, Dinglow said that there is no dearth of sports talent in Arunachal Pradesh but the state lacks infrastructure. About 90 selected students of the school will get training under guidance of experienced coach and trainers in various sports disciplines during the camp. Shri S.C. Dixit, Principal VKV Itanagar and P.M. Unnikrishnan, Education Officer of VKV in Arunachal Pradesh also spoke and explained the need of grooming budding sports talents in the right age through regular coaching and training.

Guru Poornima Celebration at Delhi

You
are cordially invited to 

 Guru Poornima Celebration, of  

Vivekananda
Kendra.

 

Swami
Dayananda Saraswati

                 
  (Adhyaksha Ramkrishna Sadhna
Kendra,Murthal,Haryana)

will inaugurate the programe  as
Chief Guest

Prof.
Kapil Kapoor

(Former
Pro Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru
University 

and
Chief Editor of Encyclopedia of Hinduism)

will speak on 

"Vartman
Pariprekshya me Guru ki Bhumika"

Lt. gen. Dr. Niranjan
Singh Malik
will Preside
over the programe    

 

 on
Sunday, 28th July 2013 at
11:00 am 

Venue : Vivekananda
International Foundation
              3, San
Martin Marg, Chanakyapuri,
               Bapu Dham, New Delhi-11 

    Please join us for tea at 10.30 am

VKIC Preserving The Culture And Tradition Of N-E

India is the only country where the sublime truth of unity in diversity has been understood, appreciated and also practiced from time immemorial. We Indians have done this with regard to the various castes, communities and religions within India. We have also accepted and assimilated people from across the borders, whether they came to India as invaders, traders or refugees. In course of time, all of them have been accommodated in our national and cultural framework, as Swami Vivekananda stated: “We have never been a conquering race, and this blessing is with us.” This is because we never believed that we have to bulldoze all humanity into one, uniform, monotonous mould. It is only because we believe in our culture and that follows in our tradition.

In order to break this firm belief of Indian nation, the external forces are time and again trying to hit this cultural sentiment of the people, particularly in the Northeast. Under these circumstances, it is absolutely necessary that all our efforts should be made to re-discover the fundamental unity of India. With the idea of preserving art, culture and tradition of the people of the Northeast, Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture [VKIC] at Guwahati, Assam, came into existence in the year 1996, primarily with four-fold focus of exploration, propagation, motivation and execution.

The idea behind this institute is to study, do research and propagate the national unity of India, which is the crying need of the time, particularly with regard to the north-eastern region, where separatist and other forces are extremely active to disrupt the unity of India. The approach is governed by Swami Vivekananda’s thought: "Elevation of the masses without injuring their religion.”
But the challenges the region is facing are geographical, demographic, ideological and intellectual. These challenges include 4,500 km-long international border with five foreign countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, China and Nepal; A mere 22-kilometre land corridor connects it with the rest of India; Sparse population; The Chinese claim over Arunachal Pradesh, and of late, over Sikkim; Indigenous faith and culture under siege due to infiltration, anti-national and terrorist movements; West-centric theories of isolationism and separatism; Westernisation in the garb of modernization; Diversity/variety misinterpreted as separateness.

Communities of the Northeast, torn by attack on its traditional faith and culture, on its land, on its people, on its way of life, on its family and community bonds, needed the healing touch—a healing touch to understand itself, to live purposefully with self-respect and self-worth; in short, a healing touch to intellectually understand themself as a whole. Against this backdrop, a project of Vivekananda Kendra with its headquarters in Kanyakumari, the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture (VKIC) was established to nurture roots through seminars, research, documentation and publications on the Northeast of India. The objectives of this project are to understand the richness of our traditional systems, to identify the unifying elements that bind us, to provide meaningful continuity to these practices in a fast-changing complex lifestyle, and to be relevant in time, hence development through culture.
It is needless to state that every part of India—east, west, south or north—has equally enriched the cultural life of India and each, in its own distinct way, has contributed to the rich and colorful national edifice. The picture would have been incomplete without the contribution of even the smallest among them.

Talking to Uday India, Prof DC Baroowa, Director, Research Advisory Council, Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati, said that The VKIC is doing tremendous work in preserving and documenting the cultural heritage of the northeast region. He also added: “This Institute provides the necessary research facilities to scholar doing research on the Northeast. The VKIC has been granted recognition as a research institute by Dibrugarh University, Assam.”

So far, the VKIC has completed six detailed documentation projects. These are Heritage of Kamakhya on Nilachala Hills, The Adis of the Siang Valley, Theravadi Buddhist Monastaries, The Dimasas of North Cachar Hills, The Sattra Institution of Asom, and Documentation of the Rabha Culture of Assam.

The VKIC publications too are significant because they try to communicate culture authentically—through the practitioner’s perspective. So far, 23 significant books have been brought out and a regular bi-annual journal, Quest is also being brought out by the Institute to propagate the cultural depth of the Northeast.
The north-eastern region being surrounded by international border has always been extremely sensitive from the strategic point of view. It continues to be so even today. The Partition of India, instead of solving the issue, has made it more complicated.

Demographic equilibrium has come under strain through external factors like the influx of refugees, immigrants and infiltrators. Every nation is worried about the imbalance created by this inflow of human race from one country to another and takes steps to guard against the threat posed by them. There is a tolerance level beyond which no nation can permit alien inflow. If it allows the intolerance, out of indifference, ignorance or incompetence, the price that has to be paid is self-extinction in the course of time.

Every state in the north-eastern region is now facing the problem of people coming in either as refugees, immigrants or infiltrators from across the border. We have to be constantly alert to see whether the tolerance level is being crossed and what the impact of the inflow is on our socio-economic and cultural life. No nation can afford to be indifferent in this regard.

Swami Vivekananda, after whom the entire organisation is named, had realised the importance of the Northeast region with his deep vision. Towards the end of his earthly career, having almost completed his mission, he visited places like Guwahati and Shillong on a pilgrimage, taking his mother along with him. His biographers have pointed out how disturbed he was at the state of affairs of the region at that time. Things have not improved since then.
Pravin Dabholkar, Joint General Secretary of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, with special responsibility of the Northeast, who is now stationed at Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati, spoke to Uday India. He said: “The VKIC is an initiative by Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, the spiritually-oriented service mission, headquartered at Kanyakumari. It was founded in 1972 by Eknathji Ranade as a logical sequel to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, situated off Kanyakumari. Dedicated to the task of national regeneration as envisaged by the patriot-saint, Swami Vivekananda, the Kendra currently works in 21 states through 650 branch centres, projects and activity centers. Although the VKIC was started in the year 1996, the centre was a dream of Eknathji Ranade, who was deeply concerned about the problems and developments in the Northeastern region. Ever since its inception, it has undertaken a number of service activities in the Northeast region. A splendorous region with a rich cultural heritage, the Northeast, in all walks of life, always expressed the great truth of Indian culture unity in variety.”

The VKIC is doing yeoman service for the Northeast. Knowledgeable elders and educated elites are coming together for the nourishment of culture; youth are getting involved to preserve culture; writing and interpreting from the practitioners’ perspective is taking place; Terminology of West-centric scholars being scrutinised and there is an increase in inter and intra community understanding and relationship and with that of India as a whole. 

Courtesy : Jaydeep Dasgupta, Uday India dtd 20th July 2013

Making every pilgrimage an Eco-pilgrimage: This month Newsletter

Vk Nardep Newsletter June 2013

Prant Karyakarta Prashikshan Shibir

कार्यकर्ता प्रशिक्षण शिविर : मध्यप्रांत

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी मध्यप्रांत द्वारा दिनांक 15 से 21 जून 2013 सात दिवसीय प्रांतीय कार्यकर्ता प्रशिक्षण शिविर का आयोजन कस्तूरबा ग्राम, इंदौर में किया गया ! स्वामी विवेकानन्द सार्धशती समारोह का आद्यघोष “भारत जागो विश्व जगाओ’’ इस शिविर की आधार संकल्पना थी, समारोह वर्ष को दृष्टीगत रखते हुए प्रान्त के सभी विभागों जबलपुर,इंदौर,ग्वालियर,भोपाल से चयनित 11 बहिने व 24 भाइयों सहित कुल 55 कार्यकर्ता सहभागी हुए (सञ्चालन व व्यवस्था चमू सम्मिलित है)|

भारत जागो ...........
प्रात: 4:30 जागरण से रात्री 10 बजे तक एक निश्चित दिनचर्या का पालन करते हुए सभी कार्यकर्ताओं ने प्रशिक्षण प्राप्त किया I समारोह वर्ष के निमित्त एक विशेष प्रयोग इस शिविर का केन्द्र विन्दु रहा – प्रत्येक दिन प्रथम सत्र आरम्भ होने के पूर्व नगर के प्रतिष्ठित सतशक्तियों को दीप प्रज्वलन व आशीर्वचन हेतु आमंत्रित किया गया जिसमे क्रमशः पूज्य स्वामी प्रबुद्धानन्द जी(सन्यासी चिन्मय मिशन),मा. पराग जी(मालवा प्रान्तप्रचारक राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ),आ.पुष्पा दीदी(वरिष्ठ पदाधिकारी कस्तूरबाग्राम इंदौर),आ.मनोहर देव जी(नगरसंचालकइंदौर),पूज्यस्वामी राघवेन्द्रानन्द जी(सचिव,रामकृष्ण मिशन इंदौर),पूज्यस्वामी एश्वर्यानंद जी(आर्ष विद्या गुरूकुलम) से प्राप्त पाथेय रूप में सामाजिक क्षेत्रों के प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवों से सभी कार्यकर्ताओं को मार्गदर्शन मिला I

विश्व जगाओ ...........  व्यक्ति व्यक्ति में जगायें राष्ट्र चेतना ....... (शिविर गीत )
प्रतिदिन बौद्धिक सत्रों के माध्यम से सभी कार्यकर्ताओं को प्रशिक्षण–प्रकर्षण– प्रबर्धन,संगठित कार्य की आवश्यकता,मनुष्य निर्माण–राष्ट्र पुनरुत्थान,संगठन मंत्र और तंत्र,आदर्श कार्यकर्ता,एवं बनें और बनाएं विषयों पर वैचारिक संकल्पना दी गईIसमारोह वर्ष की आधार स्तम्भ पुस्तक “भारत जागो विश्व जगाओ’’ से भारत जागरण के प्रमुख विन्दु–अपनी अन्तर्निहित शक्ति के साथ हे भारत जागो !,सेवा के आह्वान पर हे भारत जागो !,अपनी सांस्कृतिक परम्पराओं के साथ हे भारत जागो!,पुनर्निर्माण के कार्य के लिए हे भारत जागो !,त्याग की महान परम्परा के साथ हे भारत जागो!,राष्ट्र निर्माण का उद्देश्य कभी विस्मृत न होने दो! द्वितीय बौद्धिक सत्र के विषय रहे इसके माध्यम से जागरण के आधारभूत सिद्धांतों को और अधिक गहराई से समझने का प्रयास कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा किया गया I

युवा शक्ति व संवर्धिनी आयामों के माध्यम से आगामी समय में होने वाले कार्यक्रमों का प्रायोगिक अनुभव नैपुण्य वर्ग में रखा गया जिसमे विभागश: मंडल बनाते हुए कार्यक्रमों पर विस्तृत चर्चा,नियोजन,अनुवर्तन इत्यादी पर गहन चिंतन हुआ परिणाम स्वरुप सेवा सप्ताह में जाने वाली चमू के अग्रेसर भी इस शिविर में प्रशिक्षित हुएI साथ ही पी.पी.टी. के माध्यम से स्वामीजी के जीवन को कुशलता के साथ युवाओं तक ले जाने का प्रशिक्षण भी कार्यकर्ताओं ने लिया I

सदाविवेकानंदमयम परिसर .... स्वामीजी के प्रेरक बंधुओं के नाम पर कक्ष व चार गण – ओज,शौर्य,वीर व तेज, शारीरिक एवं बौद्धिक विभाग इस तरह शिविर की रचना की गई थी ! नित्य ऊर्जावान योग वर्ग व संस्कार वर्ग के माध्यम से प्रभावी कार्यपद्धति का नियोजन व क्रियान्वयन भी सभी कार्यकर्ताओं को दिया गया ! नए खेल गीत व सायं भजन संध्या के साथ सभी कार्यकर्ताओं ने उत्साह से आध्यात्मिक वातावरण का आनंद लिया ! प्रेरणा से पुनरुत्थान के विशेष प्रयोगों में एक गण द्वारा स्वामी जी के सन्देश पर आधारित नाट्य लेख पर अभिनय तैयार कर श्रेष्ठ प्रस्तुति दी ! शिविर में राष्ट्रीय पदाधिकारी मा किशोर जी व आ सरोज अग्रवाल एवं प्रान्त से अन्य दायित्ववान कार्यकर्ता आ.रामभुवन सिंहजी(प्रान्त प्रमुख),आ.गीता अगासे, आ.रजत जी तथा शिविराधिकारी के रूप में आ.शीतल दीदी (प्रान्त संगठक) सभी का मार्गदर्शन प्राप्त हुआ I 

 

Prant Karyakarta Prashikshan Shibir of Madhya Pradesh, Vivekananda Kendra

Diversified Unity: Focus Northeast India- The Manipur Perspective

The Sanskriti Anveshak forum of Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati organized a talk cum interactive session on - Diversified Unity : Focus Northeast India- The Manipur Perspective on Saturday, 15 June, 2013 in the VKIC premises at Uzan Bazar, Guwahati. The talk was delivered by Prof.W. Nabakumar, Head, Department of Anthropology, Manipur University, Manipur. The lecture was the fifth of the on-going lecture-series on Diversified Unity: Focus Northeast India.

In his talk, Prof. Nabakumar effectively presented the ethnic profile of Manipur with its complicated socio-economic and political standing coupled with the challenges faced by society as a whole and some possible solution by learning from our cultural history prior to its pollution by the colonial interventions.

He said though Manipur is a small state it is rich in its ethnic profile and cultural diversity. Following the advent of colonialism, a divisive ethnographic narrative was designed where it divided people and forced artificial identities on communities for various reasons, which still we carry through. Categorization like Kuki and Naga leads to the polarization of tribal identities. Other smaller communities were forced to reorient their ethnic identities in these lines irrespective of their original identities, a clear victim of circumstances.

In the post-colonial period, even though Govt. Of India, in good intention brought out policies for the betterment of the societies, because of following the colonial narratives, ended up in encouraging more divisiveness. This coupled with the lack of vision among leadership resulted in a society of constant strife leading to a situation where everyone becomes unhappy and feels a sense of injustice among them.

He pointed out that only by deconstruction of colonial ethnographic narratives which was purposely designed to sow discontent among the communities; we can find some solution for this situation. He emphasized the need to go back to our history and roots to find the symbiotic relations that we followed earlier and learning from that past to bring peace and prosperity to the people of Manipur.

The lecture was followed by interesting and informative interaction with the audience to get more clarity in the various aspects presented by the lecturer. Prof. A C Bhagabati, Tagore National Fellow, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India and Member, Research Advisory Council, VKIC congratulated the lecturer for pin pointing the causes of the conflict and the possible solutions available to us such as learning from our history sans the colonial narratives.

In his summing up, the Moderator Dr. Kishore Bhattacharjee, Associate Professor, Department of Folklore, Gauhati University appreciated Prof. Nabakumar’s presentation of the issues in its length and breadth. He agreed with the lecturer that it is important to understand the causes of ethnic conflict and polarization haunting the Manipur society and need for bringing back the symbiotic relationship among the different communities without affecting their distinct characteristics.

Earlier in the evening, Dipok Kumar Barthakur, Chairman, VKIC presided over the session and delivered the Welcome Address. Shri Subhobrata Mukherjee, Member, Executive Council, VKIC introduced the guests to the gathering while Kumari Pallavi Kashyap gave the Vote of Thanks.

Sarvato Bhadra Mandala Yagya : Shimla

सर्वतोभद्रमंडल यज्ञ : शिमला 
विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी शाखा शिमला के छत निर्माण कार्यके समापन के अवसर पर "सर्वतोभद्रमंडल यज्ञ" का आयोजन जयेष्ठ पूर्णीमा - वट सावीत्री के दिन और डा. श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी के शहिद दिन रविवार २३ जुन, को प्रात: १० बजे किया गया है। आप सभीको इस पवित्र अवसर पर हार्दिक निमंत्रण है।