By Rasika Raman Das
A two-day international conference on Vaishnavism: Theory and Practice was held on 18th and 19th December, 2017 at Jadavpur University, organized in collaboration with Stockholm University (Sweden). In this session devotees from various academic fields represented proper a understanding of Vaishnavism and the impact of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement.
Pro Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University, Prof. PK Ghosh, spoke on the importance of interdisciplinary studies, religious embeddedness in society. He acknowledged the contribution of Prof. Ruby Sain in the formation of Centre for the Study of Religion and Society at Jadavpur University.
Guest Sri Shyamal Sen, Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court and Former Governor, West Bengal expressed the program’s international relevance today. He said that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu preached about sympathy, compassion and selflessness.
Prof. Subhabrata Roychaudhuri, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of Techno India University, gave a detailed deliberation on the Vaishnava Movement in the World. He spoke of Bhagavatism and Vaishnavism, an Indian faith that unfurled amongst the Greeks of the Indian borderland right from the 2nd century BC. He explained about the popularity of the Bhagavata Cult during the Gupta and Chalukya dynasties, about interest of the Sufi saints towards Vaishnavism, that attracted them more than Persian poetry could.
Sri Debasish Mallik, Judge, Arbitration of Calcutta High Court, emphasized in essence, on the evolution and principles of Lord Chaitanya, of how Vaishnavism preaches about peace, spiritual and financial upliftment of mankind.
Dr Pranava Prabhu of Stockholm University, Sweden, expatiated on the ethics of the Brahmi script, with particular mention of self-restrain, charity and awareness, and the paramountcy of these ideals in today’s world. He also presented the history and development of one of the largest pilgrimage areas for Vaishnavas in Eastern India specially Navadweep.
Prof. Shubhasish Biswas, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Jadavpur University owing early attachment of Krishnanagar, Nadia district, concisely spoke of the relevance of Vaishnava faith in India, particularly in Bengal, with reference to Ramakanta Chakraborty’s celebrated work, “Bange Vaishnavdharma.”
Prof. Mans Broo, Abo Akademi University, Finland, who is an active associate of religious conferences across the globe, said that Kolkata is the right place for this conference because, from this city Vaishnavism disseminated all around the world and this faith attained an international perspective.
Prof. Dalia Chakroborty, head of Department of Sociology, Jadavpur University, said that there is a need for such conferences in today’s dilemmatic world facing issues like fundamentalism, popular spiritual supermarkets, rise of self-proclaimed Gurus, etc.
Sri Manojit Mandal, EC Member (Government Nominee), and Associate Professor, Department of English, Jadavpur University, mentions that during his thesis, he came across some songs of Tagore that were largely influenced by Vaishnav Kirtans.
In Session of Vaishnavisn and Ecology, Krishna Ksetra Swami, PhD from Oxford University, presented a discussion on “Tending Krishna’s Cows: Vaisnava-Hindu Cosmic Ecology and Bovine Literary Imagery”. He presented a number of the ideas on the practices of cow care from conceptual, poetical and sacred texts from Rig Veda to Bhagavata Purana. In the concluding session he talked about indigenity of the term ‘dharma,’ and how nervousness to study religion in a secular context needs to be overcome
Radhika Raman Prabhu, Director of the Religious Studies Program at Utah State University, USA, in his deliberation on Trees in Trouble, Humans in Need: Competing Environmental Priorities in the Bhagavata Purana, addressed the connection between religion and ecology in India.
Gauranga Prabhu, Chairman of Bhaktivedanta Vidyapith Research Centre, highlighted in his presentation, the potentiality of the Hindu community. He emphasized on values and rationale of seeing divinity in the cosmos, seeing the cosmos within the divine and seeing all life as sacred, non-encroachment and harmony, cyclic inter-dependence, empathy, simplicity, non-violence and gratitude, and efforts on sustainability.
Prof. Makbul Islam, from St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission College, Kolkata. Islam pointed out that Vaishnavism has occupied a dominant position for its vibrant, colorful and magnificent expression in the cultural space of India. Because of its internal strength, Vaishnavism is widely accepted beyond Indian society too. He shared how the spread of Vaishnavism in North-East India lead to abolition of human and animal sacrifices. He discussed about copper plates, named Sree Hari, where the King of Manipur declared Vaishnavism as the state religion in 1704.
Krishna Abhishek Prabhu from Grand Valley State University, USA, presented on Hindu Universalisms and the West. Hespoke about his work in Hindu Universalisms and the West. He analyzed Bhaktivinoda’s articulation of Bhakti universalism.
ICSSR Senior Fellow at IDSK, Arun Bandopadhyay’s presentation, Environmental Ideas within Vaishnavism in Bengali Literary Reflections, specially discussed reflections on nature and its object from Srikrishnavijay composed by Maladhar Basu.
Sumanta Rudra¸ a PhD candidate in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Culture, SSCVM-Kanchipuram University discussed on The Socio-religious Condition of Bengal before Chaitanya and the Background of the Movement
Sri Hiren Sarkar, External Expert, Centre for the Study of Religion and Society, Jadavpur University, and Former Chief, Development Policy, UNESCAP, Bangkok, deliberated on The Development Dimension of Bhakti.
Others key participants of various events of the conference were Sukanya Sarbadhikary from Presidency University, Abhijit Sadhukan, a PhD fellow in the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Devahuti Shaw from West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. Somdatta Mukherjee’s from Universite Paris. Narasimhananda Swami, Sudipta Munsi and Amiya Sen.
Comments
Such conferences are to be organized regularly for sensitizing humanity.
Hare Krishna Hare Rama