Source: www.indianexpress.com
HARDWAR, INDIA, April 4, 2010: The eleven-volume “Encyclopedia of Hinduism” was launched in a grand ceremony at the Kumbha Mela. The ambitious project was conceptualized by Swami Chidanand Saraswati over two decades ago and some 10,000 people are believed to have pitched in, directly or indirectly, towards completion of this magnum opus.
L. K. Advani, who last week blogged on the need to accord “due place to traditions in the contemporary discourse”, said the encyclopedia would in a way result in the “resurrection of India’s swabhiman (self-esteem).” Before it, he said, many lamented about the “lack of any authoritative primary source” on Hinduism in the country.
The lauch was attended by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev, NDA working chairman L. K. Advani and others at a function that drew spiritual gurus and leaders from the BJP and VHP.
In a speech, the Dalai Lama stressed that India’s tradition of plurality, harmony among various faiths and non-violence “should now be a lesson for the rest of the world”. He stressed that people of different faiths had lived together in harmony in India for the last 3,000 years and the encyclopedia would further strengthen the culture of debate and dialogue in the country. “You (India) are the guru; we (Tibet) are the chela. And I am a son of India,” he said, to loud applause.