EVENT: Ideological Empowerment Symposium : Attend via Teleconferen

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>Priyadarshi Rajiv <rajiv

>manthan (Manthan)

>Manthan <manthan

>[Manthan] EVENT: Ideological Empowerment Symposium : Attend via

>Teleconferencing

>Thu, 16 Sep 2004 09:01:41 -0700 (PDT)

>

>[==========================================]

>Manthan: Information Exchange Network for

>Ideological Empowerment of Hindus

>Sponsored By: http://www.voiceofdharma.com

>[==========================================]

>

>

>fyi ...

>

>=======================================================================

>

> * EVENT * EVENT * EVENT * EVENT * EVENT *

>

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

>

> "IDEOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT OF HUMANITY"

> (Symposium in 4 parts)

>

>(Invitation to Attend Via Teleconferencing)

>

>You are cordially invited to attend the "Ideological Empowerment Symposium"

>via

>Teleconferencing. Please fill out the enclosed Registration form and send

>back

>immediately to : heconf ; You will be sent a telephone number

>(conference

>bridge number) with a PIN code, based on your location. At the designated

>time, you can

>call the conference bridge, enter the PIN code, and listen to the speakers

>live!

>

>SPEAKERS:

>

>Dr. Koenraad Elst, Dr. Navaratna S. Rajaram, Dr. Srinivasan Kalyanaraman,

>Yvette

>Rosser, Aditi Banerjee, Dr. Ramesh Rao, Dr. T.R.N. Rao, Prof. Ved Nanda,

>Niraj Mohanka,

>Dr. Vasudev Shankar Godbole, Dr. Aroup Chatterjee, Kanchan Banerjee, Dr.

>Babu Suseelan,

>Dr. Manohar Shinde, Veena Shetty, Mohini Sarin and many others.

>

>(Details are enclosed with this notice).

>

>WHEN:

>

>Saturday, September 18th, 2004, 8:00 AM - 10 A.M. U.S. Central Time

>Saturday, September 18th, 2004, 3:00 PM - 5 P.M. U.S. Central Time

>Saturday, September 18th, 2004, 7:30 PM - 9 P.M. U.S. Central Time

>Sunday, September 19th, 2004, 8:00 AM - 10 A.M. U.S. Central Time

>

>VENUE:

>

>Nashville, Tennessee

>

>LIMITED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: via Teleconferencing

>on a first come first serve basis (only limited lines available)

>

>------------ Registration Form for Teleconferencing ------------

>

>Full Name:

>

>(First Last ; no commas ; need for Conf. bridge registration)

>

>Location (City, State, Country):

>

>(Conference bridge numbers are country dependent ; only U.S. and U.K.

>conference bridge

>numbers available

>

>Telephone number:

>

>(from where you would be calling, such as your land line number)

>

>Second Telephone number:

>

>(such as your mobile number, in case we need to contact you when the

>conference is on)

>

>E-Mail:

>

>(where would you like to receive the instructions; you must check this

>e-mail on the

>evening of Friday, September 17th, 2004)

>

>Please return this form to : heconf

>

>------------ End Registration Form ------------

>

>Symposium details follow.

>

>====================================================================

>

>Symposium Introduction

>

>Humanity faces difficult times. Its deeper spiritual vision and values

>enshrined in various indigenous cultures and civilization have been the

>target of exclusivist creeds that aim for complete eradication of the

>former. There is a need for ideological empowerment of humanity to meet

>the challenges of our times. Decolonization of the human mind must precede

>the political and socio-economic action on the ground against the

>colonists in all spheres of life.

>

>You are cordially invited to listen to thinkers and intellectuals who have

>delved deep

>into the ideological processes that determine political and socio-economic

>condition,

>and offer alternative vision and direction to humanity.

>

>====

>

>Ideological Empowerment Symposium : Part I

>Saturday, September 18th, 2004, 8:00 AM - 10 A.M. U.S. Central Time

>

>1. "Flaws and weak points in the Hindu revivalist position vis-à-vis

>aggressive

>ideologies" by Dr. Koenraad Elst

>

>Dr. Koenraad Elst was born in Leuven, Belgium, on 7 August 1959, into a

>Flemish (i.e.

>Dutch-speaking Belgian) Catholic family. He graduated in Philosophy,

>Chinese Studies

>and Indo-Iranian Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven. During a

>stay at the

>Benares Hindu University, he discovered India^Òs communal problem and wrote

>his first

>book about the budding Ayodhya conflict. While establishing himself as a

>columnist for

>a number of Belgian and Indian papers, he frequently returned to India to

>study various

>aspects of its ethno-religio-political configuration and interview Hindu

>and other

>leaders and thinkers. His research on the ideological development of Hindu

>revivalism

>earned him his Ph.D. in Leuven in 1998. He has also published about

>multiculturalism,

>language policy issues, ancient Chinese history and philosophy, comparative

>religion,

>and the Aryan invasion debate.

>

>

>2. "Nationalism and its enemies" by Dr. Navaratna S. Rajaram

>

>India is unique as a civilization for being founded on spirituality. As a

>result,

>Indian nationalism is also rooted in its age-old spiritual tradition known

>as Sanatana

>Dharma. In the words of Sri Aurobindo: "Nationalism for us is Sanatana

>Dharma and

>Sanatana Dharma is nationalism." This view of nationalism now faces two

>threats-one

>external and the other internal. The external threat is that of Islamic

>terrorism and

>the internal of a perverted brand of 'Secularism' which seeks to uproot

>spirituality

>leading to a fertile ground for the spread of terrorist ideologies.

>

>Dr. N.S. Rajaram is an engineer and mathematician by formal education, but

>better known

>as a historian and writer on ancient India and Indian civilization.

>

>3. "Discovery and Rebirth of River Sarasvati for National Water Grid" by

>Dr. Srinivasan

>Kalyanaraman

>

>The history of hindu civilization relates to the ancient history and

>culture of India

>in an integrated perspective based on multi-disciplinary evidences with

>particular

>reference to the civilization which was nurtured on the banks of Vedic

>River Sarasvati

>from 8,500 years Before Present. The spectrum of evidences establishes that

>the Vedic

>River Sarasvati is ground-truth and that the heritage of the expansive

>civilization is

>a cultural continuum evidenced in Bharat, that is India. The code of

>Sarasvati

>hieroglyphs has been cracked as mleccha -- and related to minerals, metals

>and furnaces

>used by artisan guilds -- a tradition which continues into the historical

>periods

>evidenced by devices found on punch-marked metal coins all over Bharat. It

>is not mere

>coincidence that the word bharatiyo means in Gujarati 'a caster of metals,

>a metal

>worker'. The rebirth of River Sarasvati has provided the impetus for the

>establishment

>of a National Water Grid to ensure equitable distribution of water to all

>parts of

>India and to take the nation to a developed nation status by the year 2020.

>

>Dr. S. Kalyanaraman was born on 20 Oct. 1939; he was a senior executive of

>the Asian

>Development Bank for over 18 years from 1978. He was a Financial Advisor on

>Indian

>Railways and Chief Controller of Accounts, Karnataka. He was a pioneer in

>introducing

>computers on Indian Railways and a network of worldwide IT workstations for

>the Bank

>operations managing a portfolio of 60 billion US dollars. He chose to

>voluntarily

>retire from the Bank in 1995 to devote himself to his researches on Hindu

>civilization.

>He is conversant with Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi. He has

>compiled a

>comparative dictionary for 25 ancient languages of Bharat; an 8 volume

>encyclopaedic

>work on Sarasvati; book on Indian Alchemy: Soma in the Veda and contributed

>in many

>journals, national and international conferences. He is currently Director,

>Sarasvati

>Research Centre, Chennai, India; President, World Association of Vedic

>Studies, India

>Chapter; and promoting the National Water Grid (including interlinking of

>rivers) in

>Bharat. He is the founder Indiancivilization egroup. and the website

>http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati with over 30,000 files.

>

>4. "Veer Savarkar's Thoughts translated into Policy for Contemporary

>National and

>Global Issues" by Sudheer Birodkar

>

>Savarkar's thoughts were based on Rationalism (Viveka), Humanism (Sattvic),

>and

>Univerality (Vaishvic). This paper applies his thoughts as stated in his

>treatise

>Hindutva to Contemporary National and Global Issues.

>

>5. "Christianity in a Different Light" by Maanoj Rakhit

>

>Hindu has forgotten his Kshaatr-Dharm. Kshatriya is a warrior.

>Intellectual-Kshatriya is a warrior by application of his/her intellect.

>His/her

>arms and ammunitions are his/her thoughts, which would raise, in time, the

>warriors for the field. It will be the battle of mind, because it is the

>Hindu

>mind that has been enslaved by a systematic process of conspiracy against

>the

>Hindu society, over the generations. I would not be here defending

>Hinduism. I

>would rather be challenging those, intellectually of course, who have

>offended

>Hinduism for so long!

>

>At 46, after the gift of the second life, taken to spiritual quest. At 48,

>took

>retirement from active service and resorted to isolated living. At 50,

>acquired

>interest in spiritual writing. After visit to Europe, a new vision

>developed:

>BhagavadGita was enacted to raise men of virtue, like Arjun. Arjun, in

>today's

>context, could be a man or a woman desirous of fighting Adharm, in his or

>her

>individual capacity, and with his or her individual resources, howsoever

>limited

>they may be. This gave a new direction to subsequent writings, as is

>reflected

>through published works.

>

>

>6. "India in danger: The Offensive of Islam" by Boris Kolarovski

>

>Sociological investigation on history of India. Treated Hindu-Muslim

>relations through centuries.

>

>The author was born in 1972 in Sofia (Bulgaria). Graduated in philosophy

>and biology from Sofian University; lived six months in India. Have two

>books and many articles on politics and culture ; married with one son.

>

>

>7. "Demise of Aryan Invasion Theory" by Dinesh Agrawal

>

>The new facts which have been unearthed in the last 50 years, combined

>with archeological findings and subjective interpretation of Vedic

>literature, have conclusively proved Aryan Invasion Theory totally

>untenable and false. The primary purpose of propagating such a theory by

>European scholars of 19th century was to divide Indian society and

>justification of British rule. The facts now clearly indicate that Rig

>Veda was composed around 3700BC, and the language of the Indus script is

>related to Sanskrit language. The ending of Indus Valley and the Saraswati

>civilization was due to the constant floods and drought in the Indus area

>and the drying up of the Saraswati river. The Indus valley civilization

>should be aptly called as Saraswati Vedic civilization, as the new

>evidences and right interpretation of the archaeological findings

>indicate.

>

>The author is a Professor of Materials at Pennsylvania State University,

>and Director of Microwave Processing and Engineering Center.

>

>

>====

>

>Ideological Empowerment Symposium : Part II

>Saturday, September 18th, 2004, 3:00 PM - 5 P.M. U.S. Central Time

>

>1. "The Study of India in U.S. Textbooks" by Yvette Rosser

>

>Stereotypes about India are often taught as fact in American classrooms.

>Sensationalist

>stories from the popular media provide school teachers with preconceived

>ideas. A

>myopic focus on the world, solely through the eyes of the dominant culture,

>undermines

>the pluralistic goals of Social Studies education. When the lifestyles of

>other peoples

>are not approached appropriately and respectfully, prejudicial

>misconceptions are

>perpetuated. In U.S. classrooms, stereotypes about India and other

>non-Western regions,

>may perpetuate racism and xenophobia, resulting in a less socially aware

>citizenry-constricting future international relations. In textbooks,

>Hinduism is

>referred to as one of the world's "five great religions" and yet

>paradoxically, Hindu

>beliefs and traditions are often represented as a superstitious localized

>collection of

>archaic cults.

>

>2. "Hinduism without Borders" by Aditi Banerjee

>

>This paper calls for the creation and adoption of a Hindu-American

>identity that transcends ethnic and sectarian boundaries. The paper

>emphasizes the need for community cohesiveness and unified action in

>addressing issues of concern to Hindus worldwide and highlights the unique

>role Hindu-Americans will play in shaping the destiny of Hindu

>civilization in the increasingly globalizing village of the 21st century.

>

>The author is a student at Yale Law School. Author of a few articles

>addressing the Hindu American identity and experience.

>

>

>3. "Hindu Empowerment and Its Social and Spiritual Dimensions" by Dhruba

>Chakravarti

>

>4. "Using Hindu tenets to empower a new generation" by Prof. Ramesh Rao

>

>" The word "Hindu" has become a term of contention if not abuse, and while

>a variety of enemies proclaim that they are not against Hinduism but

>against Hindutva, or Hindu fundamentalists, or against the RSS or BJP, we

>need to be careful at taking them at face value. For what is being

>attacked is Hinduism as a way of life, and Hindus as a political and

>social force. Hindu Americans face a number of challenges, but they also

>have a few opportunities. In this paper, a brief synopsis of Hinduism is

>presented, and the challenges and opportunities listed".

>

>Ramesh N. Rao is professor of communication at Truman State University,

>Kirksville, Missouri. He is married to Sujaya. They have a two year old

>son, Sudhanva. Ramesh Rao is the author of two books, co-authored two more

>books, and has co-edited another book. All these deal with Indian issues,

>mostly political and historical. He is a regular contributor to India

>Abroad, and his articles have appeared in a variety of Indian-American and

>American newspapers and magazines.

>

>5. "The Azrael of Sectarianism in Sanatana Dharma" by Dr. Sumeet Saxena

>

>The article intends to bring to the fore the oft-overlooked problem of

>sectarianism in Hinduism that has the potential to render it a non-entity.

>It is

>an attempt to analyze its causes and highlight the damage it can

>potentially do

>to Hinduism as a religio-cultural process and the consequences it has to

>the

>society in which both exist.

>

>Sumeet Saxena is a doctor from India whose interests include writing on the

>grey

>line between philosophy and psychology and social issues concerning

>Hinduism.

>

>

>6. "Critical Analyses of Western writings on Hinduism Studies" by Dr.

>T.R.N. Rao

>

>7. "Empowering Hindus: Problem, Process and Strategies" by Dr. Babu

>Suseelan

>

>Hindus have weathered oppression, colonialism subjugation, discrimination,

>uprooting, closed opprtunity systems and very many other social-political

>phenomenon, bith large and insignificant. That is an amazing record for

>Hindus. But now, Hindus are under siege. Hindus need reaffirmation, unity,

>strength and cohesion in the wake of Jihadi terrorism, Islamic and

>christian fundamentalism, coercive religious conversion, media

>manipulation, communist menance, rapid technological change and political

>powelessness-all of which threaten to engulf Hindus around the world.

>Hindus adaptability and survival depends on a careful analysis of the

>present crisis and the contxt, content and contour in which Hindus live.

>Our survival depends on infusing new ideas and developing systemic problem

>solving strategies. The fragmented state of Hindus all over the world today

>suggets that a conceptual reorientation is necessary for Hindus to preserve

>the sacred past, prot! ect the present and ensure our future. Hindus need

>to overcome self and social alienation, over come denial and powerlessness.

>Systemic problem solving strategies, clear, correct, constructive and

>comprehensive value based actions must follow to empower Hindus for

>honoring our past, surpassing our present and leading our future.

>

>By Pofession Dr. Babu Suseelan is a professor in Clinical Psychology

>specialized in Addiction. Currently, he is serving as the Director of

>Addiction Research Institute, Pennsylvania. He is the past Vice President

>of Vishwa Vindu Parishad of America. Dr. Suseelan has published several

>books, articles, book reviews and presented research papers at National and

>International Conferences. He is widely traveled around the world to attend

>World Hindu conferences and to study social, political and psychological

>conditions of Hindus.

>

>8. "Dating of Mahabharata" by Krishna V. Murali

>

>====

>

>Strategic Vision Lecture: "Hindu Political and Socio-Economic Coalescence

>in Mainstream

>America" by Prof. Ved Nanda

>

>The time is right for Hindus to play an active role in the political and

>socio-economic life of the United States. American descendents of people

>of

>Indian origin and other Americans who are interested in Dharmic values need

>to come together and form associations -- for example, Hindu physicans,

>lawyers, businesspersons, teachers, and students -- to make this happen. A

>serious educational effort will be necessary to create a sense of

>cohesiveness and the need to form these groups or associations with Hindu

>identity as the distinctive feature. The impact of these groups on

>American

>society will ensue as they are imbued with the distinctive traditional and

>cultural characteristics of Hindu values.

>

>Professor Nanda is Thompson G. Marsh Professor of International Law,

>Director of the International Legal Studies Program, John Evans University

>Professor and Vice Provost for Internationalization, at the University of

>Denver. He is Honorary President and Past President of the World Jurist

>Association, Counselor and former Vice President of the American Society of

>International Law and serves on the Board of Directors of the United

>Nations

>Association of the USA. An elected member of the American Law Institute,

>Prof. Nanda has authored or co-authored 21 books and over 200 scholarly

>chapters and law review articles. He studied at Delhi University,

>Northwestern University and Yale Law School and has received honorary

>doctorates of laws from Soka University in Japan and Bundelkhand University

>in India. He is the founding president of the Hindu Temple and Cultural

>Center of the Rockies near Denver.

>

>====

>

>Ideological Empowerment Symposium : Part III

>Saturday, September 18th, 2004, 7:30 PM - 9 P.M. U.S. Central Time

>

>1. "Hinduism and Masses" by Pankaj Kumar

>

>Pankaj Kumar will present his project on Ved and Puran. Pankaj has funded

>a project to complied 15,000+ pages of Hindu scriptures. As a result today

>one is able to read all 18 Purans and 4 Veds in Hindi at www.vedpuran.com

>

>Pankaj Kumar is a Hindu from Lucknow, he grew up with faith in Gods and

>religion with no actual education about Hinduism. At age 36 he was

>inspired to read 1st Puran and since then Pankaj continues to spend

>considerable time in knowing Hindu religion and visiting places that have

>been sacred to Hindus. Recently he undertook a journey to Kailash

>Maansarovar, His work for Badrinath and Kedarnath Temples has been much

>appreciated and Uttranchal Government has nominated him Chairman for

>BadriKedar Shradhalu samaj USA.

>

>2. "Patriots vs. Secularists" by Veena Shetty

>

>Most Indians are very frustated by the anti-india rhetoric of the

>English media in India and also the English speaking population ie people

>who consider English to be their mother toungue. While those who consider

>English to be their mother tongue refer to themselves as secularists those

>who do not refer to them as pseudo-secularists. The term pseudo secularist

>is essentially a reactive term ie a counter to the term secularist and

>hence patriotic indians have never been able to express their thoughts and

>feelings accurately by referring to these individuals who in essence are

>the new colonialists of India.

>

>Veena Shetty is a New York based documentary film maker. A former

>press journalist from Mumbai she produces a weekly show called New York,

>New York and is currently working on a documentary called "Why the songbird

>sings" based on the life of a black female jazz musician who has been

>performing since WWII.

>

>3. "Some Thoughts on Hindu Empowerment" by Narain Kataria

>

>4. "Misconceptions in Hindu Mind" by Dilip Mehta

>

>5. "Hindu Globalization of Several Millenia" by Mohini Sarin

>

>Ancient India's unparalled Golden era innovation ,creatitivity and dynamism

>enormously

>contributed and invalulably to human civilization in terms of supremacy in

>trade,technology science,art and sprituality over several millenia. The

>purpose of this

>treatise is to underscore the up until now undeclared and intentionally

>unstated facts

>disseminating the astounding universality and phenomenal achievements

>attained at the

>zenith of Indian civilization whose astounding ramifications and excellence

>still

>resonates and pulsates in our world today as the primordial matrix and

>progenitor and

>cradle of human advancement.

>

>First generation Western born and educated in England.Degree in Humanities

>.A certified

>Gemologist currently working in wholesale jewelery business in New York. A

>passionate

>social activist for humanitarian causes. Especially focus and interest is

>in research

>designed to debunk and expose broadly entrenched neocolonial bias and

>systematic

>denigration ,negationism prevalent in so-called Western scholarship and

>study of Indian

>civilization in the fields of indology, orientalism feminism and religious

>studies and

>stem the tide of rewriting and falsification of history.

>

>====

>

>Ideological Empowerment Symposium : Part IV

>Sunday, September 19th, 2004, 8:00 AM - 10 A.M. U.S. Central Time

>

>1. "Royal Chronology of India" by Niraj Mohanka

>

>Now that the study of Indian History has advanced to the point where there

>is large

>agreement that the 'AIT' is dead and that the Sarasvati River is a fact,

>there is a

>need to understand the "real" and "complete" Indian History by mapping the

>archaeological and geological evidence to the literary and scriptural

>evidence. This

>is what I've done in my timeline in great detail. The Royal Chronology

>spans 325

>generations and is continuous from Vivasvata all the way down to my

>children. The

>three Epics (Dasharajnya, Ramayana and Mahabharata) are also highlighted

>since they

>were important ancient events.

>

>Niraj Mohanka grew up in the U.S., he has an Engineering background and is

>currently

>married with three children. Some years back when his eldest son was

>learning about

>Ancient India in school, he was surprised to find out that his son was

>being taught the

>same nonsense that Niraj was taught 30 years ago - nothing had changed.

>That drove him

>to create the most complete timeline of Indian history in the world as a

>resource for

>himself, his son and everyone.

>

>

>2. "Rationalism of Veer Savarkar" by Dr. Vasudev Godbole

>

>Savarkar made an outstanding contribution to India's freedom struggle

>against the British. It is not widely known that he preached and practised

>Rationalism throughout his life. I have explored that aspect of his

>character in my book while reviewing the Indian history from 1906 to 1966.

>Rationalism does not mean ridiculing beliefs and faiths of our

>forefathers. It is a tremendous force, which we need to acquire for our

>survival and prosperity.

>

>Born in Pune in 1941, Godbole was educated in that city and obtained the

>Degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 1962. After working for Bombay

>City Corporation for 3 years Godbole emigrated to England in February 1966

>And have been living there ever since. He became involved in historical

>research in 1977. His works are -

>Taj Mahal : Simple Analysis of a Great deception

>Why Rewrite Indian History

>God Save India (Punjab politics)

>Taj Mahal and the Great British Conspiracy

>Rationalism of Veer Savarkar (in Marathi and English)

>

>Godbole conducts a Special Tour of London showing places associated with

>Indian freedom fighters like Savarkar.

>

>3. "Future of Humanity and Hindu Vision: by Kanchan Banerjee

>

>====

>

>Keynote Address: "Hindu Renaissance : Role, Contributions and scope for

>Overseas Hindu

>Activists to meet the challenges in the Intellectual Domain" by Dr. Manohar

>Shinde

>

>========================================================================

>

>For further info, please contact:

>

>Sanjay Gautam

>Conference Secretary

>E-Mail: heconf

>Voice Mail/Fax: 206-350-2496

>(please leave a voice mail)

>Off:- 91-11-2371-1893, 5757-4716

>Res:- 91-120-283-1585

>Mobile:- 91-98-1818-5832

>MSN Messenger: sanjay3312609

>

>***

>

>HEC 2004 is sponsored by

>Viraat Hindu Sabha

>(a worldwide network of Hindu activists)

>

>========================================================================

>

>

>

>

>********************************************

>Manthan is a moderated, invitation-only list.

>Listadmin: owner-manthan

>********************************************

>

 

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