Prabha Prabhakar Bhardwaj, HPI Correspondent
DELHI, INDIA, December 19, 2005: The Second International Conference on Religion and Cultures in the Indic Civilization is being held at the India Habitat Centre at New Delhi, India, from December 17-20, 2005. Dr. Karan Singh, President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations inaugurated the Conference. It has been jointly organized by the Indic Studies Network (IsNew), a project of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and Manushi, a Journal about Women and Society.
The conference is organized around 55 workshop panels and four plenary sessions. The aim of the Conference is to showcase the work of leading national and international scholars and also to let young researchers learn about critical issues that require more sustained research. Special effort has been made to encourage the participation of young students and scholars with a view of engaging them in the endeavour to reshape the academic agendas of Indian universities and colleges.
In the workshop entitled, “Sacred Spaces, Divine Centres: Understanding Religious Institutions,” three speakers presented their point of view. Ms. Ann Grodzind Gold and Mr. Ram Gujar jointly talked about the Malaji’s Hill: Divine Sanction, Community Action. As a result of this project the greenery around the shrines is kept intact. In spite of general bad weather conditions in Rajasthan, communities ensure that the natural shrubs around the shrines are nurtured and maintained.
Ms. Ishita Banerjee Dube explained the philosophy about Jagannath Puri temple’s sharing of the Prasadam among all communities, leading to the principle of one united society. Although there is a caste system and practice of untouchability goes on, distribution of Prasadam from one pot makes every one equal in the eyes of God. Historically, this has led to the concept of universatility and absence of discrimination in Orrisa (A state of India). Mr. Bishnu N. Mohapatra, Programme Officer, Ford Foundation, discussed the issue of faith and knowledge contained in Puranic books. With ease he explained how people believe in Kali Yuga, Maha Pralaya and the concept of sea level rising to the extent that the Earth will go under it. In the title of his paper, he specifically referred to the 22 steps of Jagannath Temple, where fish will swim because of the rising water level. This is mentioned in Bhagawat Purana and other scriptures and people tend to believe these events. Ms. Ranjeeta Dutta brought in the discussion the value of predictability about the events mentioned in the literature, which led to easy acceptance. If a thing has to happen, it shall happen and gets legitimacy due to the element of prophecy and rationale. The dimension of the history of the End with time and space was emphasized.
During the Plenary Session, on Science and Indic Faith Traditions, Prof. Bhargava traced the tradition of biological sciences. He proved that India had the detailed knowledge of many disciplines, centuries before the Western world laid claims to it. He gave the example of the human body and number of bones (206) contained in it. Indians arrived at this number of 206 in the 4th century and no new bone has been discovered after that. Mr. Roddam Narasimha talked about Science and Religion. Both speakers emphasized the wealth of knowledge that is historical heritage in Indian context, from mathematics, aerodynamics to surgery, even intricate brain surgery. Mr. Arjun Bhagat chaired the session. Currently his focus is on spiritual growth, “figuring out out how help those that are less fortunate (children and animals) and how to make Indic vales and culture a resurgent force in the world arena once more.”
The Conference is very well attended and organized. A cross section of society and different age groups are visible. Ms. Madhu Purnima Kishwar is the Convener. Every day dance and music programs are organized. Tomorrow will be the final day.