Oct 9 & 10, Kochi, Kerala : While news forums around the world were replete with angst filled reports of a sinister and wanton environmental damage that a world famous automobile company committed . . . in Kochi Kerala, coincidentally, a rich confluence of eminent personalities deliberated Ethics , Economy and the environmental crisis. S E E 2015 – Summit on the Environment & Economy was hosted by the Prakriti Forum of ISKCON, commemorating 50 years of the unique voyage of His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada to the USA via Cochin.
Among other things the summit brought to light the famous Bhaktivedanta purports in the Srimad Bhagavatam, underpinning a “simple living high thinking” lifestyle,while offering spiritual solutions to the toxic problems facing humanity today . Topics discussed ranged from the environmental crisis to an economy and a leadership ethic, that is tottering at the brink of collapse, every now and then.
The summit was inaugurated by the honorable Union minister for environment, forests & climate change – Sri Prakash Javadekar. In his voluble keynote address, the minister stressed that it was possible to achieve economic progress while taking practical mindful measures to improve the environmental situation without sacrificing one for the other. He made noteworthy reference to ISKCON s initiative in pioneering a conference in the beautiful land of Kerala, rich in its biodiversity and culture. The minister spoke highly of ISKCON’s eco friendly projects around the world and its mid day meal program in India, feeding more than 18 lakh children everyday.
The two conferences called “Down To Earth” on the environmental crisis and “Culturally Engineered Economies” on economy and ethics had eminent international speakers from diverse fields of energy, climate change, spirituality, religion, Leadership and ethics.
Mr Rajeev Dubey CEO and HR head from Mahindra and Mahindra delivered a brilliant keynote address about what ails our leadership in our meaningful journey towards humanitarian goals.
Mr Brian Bloch who works for the US Interior in his capacity as a world renowned ADR specialist and ombudsman, brought in a unique knowledge sliver, from his rich experience about ethically and morally engineered profits, at the workplace.
Mr Ramchunder Singh delivered a rich expanse on the ethical side of wealth creation, while attempting to draw a line on a threshold of greed to mark where it was enough !
Dr Hariharan’s brilliant and glib exposition of the legacy that the past generation is handing over to the next,
and the repercussions that await us if dominated with prevailing attitudes , drew much applause and appreciation.
U V Krishna Rao, an energy expert, opened the eyes of the audience to the simple things we could look into, to save energy in our everyday lives while living intelligently in harmony with the environment.
H H Bhakti Vinoda Swami, the chief mentor and inspiration behind the conferences, urged the audience on starting with ‘climate change within’. Trying to go Green outside while being metaphysically dead within, was not a good recipe for success with the environmental crisis, he expounded.
H G Anuttama Dasa delineated how religions of the world could contribute to creating a better disposition towards the earth & environment.
The minister hailed the conference as a useful precursor to the upcoming world meet in Paris and asked the organizers to forward the proceeds of the conference to him.
In the words of U V K Rao “ISKCON has quietly achieved something very wonderful and great in these conferences. They were of high quality and full of valuable information to sensitive people and create an awareness. Even governments are not able to always make this happen.”
The panel discussions that followed the speeches were filled with queries directed at the speakers and the content expressed . It indicated the keen interest that the topics generated in the audience. The ensuing discussions left the audience with awe and fulfillment , only to be broken for paucity of time.
The conference was attended by students and delegates from the Environmental departments of various universities and colleges along with professors, HOD s and research scholars, NGO s etc,. Many noteworthy citizens of Kerala also attended the sessions which ended everyday at the banquet hall with sumptuous sanctified food. The participants were given certificates , gifts and books.
“The conference was very active and dynamic in its content and presentation by speakers. We got a lot to carry home and think about as members of the next generation on this planet ” said Vidya Iyer, a Post Graduate Engineering student from Kochi.
H H Bhakti Vinoda Swami in his final note, thanked the organizing committee members chaired by Sri Madhav Mohan and ably assisted by H G Yudhishtir Govinda Dasa ( Secretary ) for their most valuable service in seeing the conference through successfully.
A follow up on the sessions with the participants and speakers to carry out more practical steps towards a consummation of the purpose, is on the agenda. The detailed proceeds of the conference in videos and pictures will be made available soon at ISKCON website.
For more information on how Prakriti Forum could help you in your place please contact : H H Bhakti Vinoda Swami at
Source.... www.dandavats.com/
Comments