Sunday, 29 November 2009

Report of Speaker on Campus (SoC) lecture programme.

VAK conducted its first lecture under the Speaker on Campus program. Dr Hieu Tran, Dean of College of Pharmacy, Sullivan University, Louisville, KY, USA was invited to deliver a lecture on the topic ‘Spirituality – Martial Arts and Non-violence’.

The topic was specially selected as Dr. Tran is a practicing Buddhist and is also a Master in martial arts.

The lecture was held in collaboration with the K J Somaiya Centre for Buddhist Studies at their Vidyavihar Complex on Saturday 21st November from 3 to 5 pm at the Management College Lecture Hall.

After tea and registrations the programme commenced with prayers rendered by Mrs. Deshpande. Lighting of lamp was later performed by Dr. Hieu Tran and others.

Mrs Deshpande also gave an introduction of the Somaiya institution.

Shri Sanjay Kelapure, President of VAK, welcomed the gathering and gave introduction of Dr. Hieu Tran as well as Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra.

In his short lecture Dr Hieu Tran outlined the subtle relationship between spirituality, martial arts and non-violence. He informed that every martial art trainer was expected to perform meditation as equivalent to the time of practice in order to control the power generated.

He also gave several examples from everyday life to explain the need to acquire physical power by practicing martial arts and also counter the same with mental power by performing meditation. Only with a perfect balance of the two will a person be able to lead a peaceful and non-violent life. If the balance is disturbed the martial art performer will resort to violence.

He also answered a few questions on controlling anger and controlling violence that is soreading the world.

Shri Ratan Sharda, senior trustee of VAK, delivered the vote of thanks.

Dr Hieu Tran was offered shawl and bouquet by Somaiya institution as well as VAK.

The occasion was utilized by VAK to felicitate Dr Madhuriben Sheth and Shri Ramesh Sheth both of whom have recently completed 75 years of purposeful life. Shri Ratan Sharda explained how both of them had excelled in professional career but were not lured to shift to the West. Instead they chose to stay in Mumbai and dedicate valuable time for selfless social work.

About 75 persons attended the programme. The audience comprised mainly of students of Centre for Buddhist studies s well as VAK members. Notable among the audience were Buddhist monks from Myanmar and Vietnam.

Saturday, 10 October 2009





Annual Report of VAK for period

April 2008 to March 2009



Support to Tibetan Solidarity Movement in Mumbai
Beginning from the 10th of March 2008, a series of protest demonstrations continued all over the three regions of Tibet, including Lhasa the Capital of Tibet. The people inside Tibet made a very strong statement at the cost of their lives that they are not happy with the policies of the PRC. They raised their voice for freedom, truth and justice. Over 142 peaceful protestors attained martyrdom and over ten thousand arrested and many more injured. Tibetans were denied the basic human rights.

The Tibetan government in exile conducted a series of demonstrations all over the world to protest the killings and arrests and to make the world aware of the situation inside Tibet.

In view of the above, there were various programmes in Mumbai from 10th to 12th April 2008. Under the guidance of Shri Bimal ji Kedia, VAK helped in coordinating the various activities including the stay, food and transport arrangements for over 3500 monks.


Business of Freedom book launch
The book ‘Business of Freedom – An Initiative for School of Indian Management’ was launched at a simple but emotional function held at Keshavrao Ghaisas Auditorium of Dahanukar College, Vile Parle East, Mumbai on 19th April 2008.

The book is written by Shri Sandeep Singh, former Vice President (Sales & Marketing) at Sahara News and published by him in association with Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra, Mumbai.

Dr Satish Modh, Dy. General Manager Air India and President of Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra welcomed the guests. He felt that when 99% of all the management books available today are wholly based on western thought and philosophy BoF was a much needed book from Indian examples and history.

Shri Ratan Sharda, Senior IT Consultant and General Secretary of Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra confessed that despite his busy schedule he accepted to edit the book due to the inspirational character of Shri Sandeep Singh who had resigned his lucrative job to work for a noble cause and author the book.

In his emotionally charged speech Shri Sandeep Singh thanked everyone who played a minute role though, in helping to publish his dream book. He said that the collection of Rs 100/- from known and unknown individuals was an unforgettable experience. He said he realized that the new generation had little or no knowledge about our freedom fighters. He specially thanked Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra for joining him in publishing the book.

Speaking on the occasion after launching the book, Shri Deepak Ghaisas, Vice-Chairman and Director, i-Flex Solutions said he was thrilled to know that a book could be sold before being written and 800 people could commit to buy 3000 copies. He congratulated Shri Sandeep Singh for taking a very difficult, rare and bold decision of resigning his job to write a book for the benefit of the society and not for personal profit.


Reception to swayamsevaks from UK
A special meeting of VAK was held on 14th July 2008 at Utkarsha Mandal, Vile Parle for giving a reception to swayamsevaks from UK. About 20 members of VAK attended the meeting.

22 swayamsevaks from HSS-UK joined the meeting to get introduced. They informed the VAK members about shakha and campus activities in U.K.

They had arrived for participating in the VSSV 2008 that took place in Bhagyanagar from 21st July to 11th August 2008.

VAK organized their stay arrangements, travel and trips to Raigad Fort and Mumbai Darshan.



Universal Brotherhood Day 2008
Dr. Subramaniam Swamy propounded that it would be unrealistic to dream of Hindi Cheeni bhai bhai and it would be equally senseless to have hostile relationships with China. He advocated a balanced relationship as equals in mutual interest. He was speaking at the Universal Brotherhood Day as the keynote speaker on ‘India – China: Traditions to Trade Relations’ on 22nd August, 2008 at Nehru Science Centre, Worli, Mumbai.


(His complete speech can be viewed in August 2008 post in this blog}

The programme was chaired by Shri Shriram Dandekar , Chairman of Camlin International, who in his brief address, talked of Chinese traditions and culture and quoted some very interesting Chinese proverbs which he gathered during his Chinese business trips from local population and gave a glimpse of Chinese thinking about life and business.

The programme closed with vote of thanks proposed by Shri. Sanjay Kelapure, U. B. Day 2008 Coordinator. He thanked Dr. Swamy for his well prepared speech and also the sponsors M/s Kisan Moulding, M/s Kisan Irrigation, M/s Sureshot Advertising & M/s Edge Consultancy for sponsoring the programme.




Dr. Satish Modh’s USA pravas
President of VAK, Dr. Satish ji Modh visited USA from 6th to 12th October 2008. His pravas was part of Speaker on Campus (SoC) Program in the Universities of Southern California. His lectures were titled ‘Vedanta concept of personality analysis and development ’.

Speaker on Campus events were held on 7th October at University of California, San Diego; on 8th October at San Diego State University; and on 9th October at University of Southern California.

On Sunday 12th October he was vakta at Southern California Vibhag Vijaya Dashami Utsav. Speaker on Campus was one aspect; Satish ji’s pravas was very fruitful and effective for the regular shakhas and karyakartas too.


3rd Lakshmanrao Bhide Memorial Lecture
VAK and Keshav Srushti jointly organized the 3rd Lakshmanrao Bhide Memorial Lecture on Friday 16th January 2009 at the Alkesh Dinesh Mody Auditorium, Kalina Campus, Vidyanagari, Mumbai.

The programme commenced with the soul stirring rendering of sanghathan mantra from the rig veda by Ms Mridula Kulkarni.

Shri Sanjay Kelapure, President of VAK, welcomed the gathering and gave a brief profile of VAK. He made a special mention of Dr Satish Modh and Shri Ratan Sharda for painstakingly nurturing VAK for over a decade to its present position.

Dr. Shankarrao Tatwawadi, Vishwa Vibhag Samyojak (International Coordinator of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh) who had a long personal association with Late Lakshmanrao Bhide, introduced Bhide ji. He mentioned that Lakshmanrao Bhide was a calm, silent, self-effacing RSS pracharak who went around the world many times to meet the NRIs and PIO’s to understand their problems and also to make them organized.

The Keynote Address was given by Shri Ram Madhav, member of the National Executive of RSS on the topic ‘From Chanakya to Chandrayaan – Our Global Vision’. Shri Ram Madhav traced the ancient civilization of Bharat during the time of Chanakya when he had put his thoughts on state craft in his book the Arthashashtra. Shri Madhav ji mentioned that Bharat has come a long way from Chanakya to Chandrayaan and Indian civilization he said is identified with great thinkers - Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. Having just returned from China Sri Ram Madhav stressed the emergence of China as a Super Power. Communism, he said is breaking down in China and slowly China is rising like capitalist America. There was a question answer session after Shri Ram Madhav’s address. Questions pertaining to terrorism and the economic capability of China were asked and Shri Ram Madhav answered them all patiently.


(His complete speech can be viewed in the January 2009 post in this blog).

Shri Mahendra Kumar Kabra, Chairman of the Vidyalaya Management Committee of Ram Ratna Vidya Mandir (RRVM), Keshav Srushti, presided over the function. In his address Shri Kabra said that schools should adopt the traditional Indian way of teaching and functioning. He proudly announced that RRVM had secured 100% results in 12th and 10th classes and there is a family-like relationship between the students and teachers. During the Makar Sankranti the students of the RRVM go out and distribute til ladoos to the poor setting the mark for social harmony and community service.

A goodwill message sent to the Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra by the former Chief Justice of India Shri P.N Bhagwati was read out by Prof. Indira Satyanarayan.

Dr. Shantilal K. Somaiya, the Chief Guest of the function, mentioned in his address that he also had visited China, and according to him the Chinese were not so much Communists as much as they were baniyaas. “The Chinese are very clever, very smart and above all they have great economic sense” he said. China as a country has only one system and no Democracy he said. According to Dr. Somaiya, Democracy is the second best form of Government the first is yet to come. The world needs persuasion and logic not war he added. Shri Somaiya ji was optimistic when he mentioned that ultimately Bharat would succeed over China because we have ’Sanskriti’.

Gen. Secretary of VAK Shri Ramesh Subramaniam gave the vote of thanks. Two resourceful members of the VAK viz. Shri Sandeep Singh and Dr. Satish Modh were felicitated for their special contribution.

The function came to a close with the melodious rendering of Ekta Mantra by Ms Mridula Kulkarni. Ms Mamta Vora efficiently conducted the proceedings by being the MC.

The programme was attended by over 350 participants from a cross section of the society that included 22 students from IIT, 30 from Kalina Campus, 30 students from RRVM, about 35 students from other institutions and also representative participants from UK, Mauritius, Muscat and USA.

The exhibition ‘From Chanakya to Chandrayaan – Our Global Vision’ that was on display was a special attraction for the students.


3rd International Conference of Elders of Ancient Traditions
The 3rd International Conference of Elders of Ancient Traditions was held in Nagpur from 31st January to 5th February 2009.

The theme of the Conference was
‘Renaissance of the Ancient Traditions and Cultures: Challenges and Solutions’.

Over 150 delegates from 35 countries representing 45 different traditions participated in the conference.

VAK helped in receiving about 60 delegates and arranging their stay in Mumbai and also coordinating their pre-conference and post-conference tours in over 8 States.

Monday, 17 August 2009

Report of Universal Brotherhood Day function organized by Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra (VAK-Mumbai) on Friday 7th August 2009 at the Cultural Centre of Russia, Mumbai - 26.





The main entrance, reception area and the auditorium were beautifully decorated with rangoli giving a colourful and festive look.

Ms Divya Sharda played the role of MC and conducted the proceedings effectively and efficiently by her superlative skills in communication.


The programme began with the Welcome Address of Shri Sanjay Kelapure, President of VAK who highlighted the objectives of the VAK. He also introduced the dignitaries on stage. He mentioned that VAK organises the U B Day every year to foster friendship and goodwill with various consulates and foreign nationals in Mumbai.. He concluded that VAK aspires to become a think-tank that will provide alternative viewpoint on international issues with India-centric focus.


Shri Sanjay Hegde Executive Partner - PWC India and founding Director of Sewa Sahayog Foundation, Mumbai presided over the function. He complimented VAK for organizing the event every year to foster friendship and harmony. Though it was a small step it is a significant one he added. He felt that though Universal Brotherhood cannot be implanted sitting in an air conditioned auditorium and speaking for a few hours on the topic, the act is like sowing a seed that will germinate, become a plant and eventually a big tree that will be seen only later. He strongly felt that the virus of goodness should spread more than the virus of those doing bad things. He recalled that civilizations and new thoughts have arisen in many parts of the world but only in Bharat (India) new thoughts, ideas and change have been always welcome without resistance. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The world is one family) is a great heritage that we have inherited which we need to cherish and also preserve he said. He also stressed the need for practicing and thus preserving our priceless traditions and values.

Chief Guest of the function, Mr. Alexey Redkin, Consul at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai in his short speech thanked VAK for conducting the function at the Cultural Centre of Russia. “Rakshabandhan, in fact, has a much broader perspective and a universal outlook. The festival encompasses true sense of peace, trust and brotherhood” he said. Russians and Indians are like brothers stressed the Consul. He concluded by saying “It is very appropriate that efforts like observing Universal Brotherhood Day will make an important contribution in creating better appreciation of peace, cooperation and harmony in the world, particularly among the increasingly influential and extremely talented younger generation.”


Ms Divya Sharda later gave details of the Paper Presentation Competition (PPC) which was held among students of Technology, Management and International Studies from 20 institutions of Mumbai on the topic ‘India in centre stage of emerging i2i nations’. She also gave brief profiles of the judges of the PPC – Shri Ajay Pandey, Shri K. Narassimhan and Shri Sandeep Singh.


Dr. B. K. Modi later distributed certificates and cash prizes to the winners of PPC.


Shri Sagar Shenvi, final year student from IIT who bagged the first prize presented the synopsis of his paper. He felt that in the last century a thunderstorm of technology has poured on the world that has left mankind shocked and perplexed instead of bringing happiness. There is serious search for human values and principles that bring happiness. The remarkable thing about Indian civilization is that there is an undercurrent of good and positive values that families have nurtured and passed on to generations. At a time when West has conquered Science and is longing for value systems that will ensure peace, India has the same from tradition and legacy he concluded.


The Keynote Address was given by Dr. B. K. Modi - a global visionary, peace ambassador and a multi-faceted personality. Dr Modi said that universal outlook was inborn in every Indian. “We are all brought up hearing the verses vasudhaiva kutumbakam. We all earnestly look forward to the day when the world will understand the meaning of these verses and start living like a family” he said.

He reminded the audience that in 1938 Shri Aurobindo had predicted that once in 175 years there is a cycle that brings India in centre stage and in a leadership position in the world. “The birth of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was the start of one such cycle that has commenced in 1836. In 1893 we have seen Swami Vivekananda proclaim the message of India to the world at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago. The year 2011 will once again bring India to eminence and the world will be led by Indian thought” he said.

He recalled the events after the end of World War II in 1945 and dwelled on various issues that have had a profound influence on the world from then onwards.

“The UN was formed and 5 countries viz. USA, Russia, UK, France and China have become permanent members of the Security Council and since then dominated the global scene and influenced the world by various bodies of UN like IMF, World Bank etc.

Most of the countries in the i2i region (Israel to Indonesia) whereas attained freedom from colonies only after 1945. Unfortunately they have no role in decision making in the world today though they constitute the best talent in the world and have 37% of the population of the world living in this region.

300 years before now, India was a major force. Our greatest virtue has always been ‘freedom of thought’. Avtars also came from time to time to reiterate the importance of the freedom of thinking process. The geographical area from Israel to Indonesia is strongly influenced by India. There is cultural link and most of the countries in this i2i belt look to India for their progress and prosperity. India therefore has a great responsibility to lead these countries.

We have seen Industrial Revolution in the 50s and later Agriculture Revolution. We are now in an era of new revolution – Knowledge Revolution. Human mind is the centre of this revolution. This revolution is leading to unprecedented wealth creation. TCS has more value that all other companies of Tata group. It is wealth creation that drives nations to leadership positions.

The world population has also undergone a sea change. 2.5 billion of the world’s 6.5 billion live in the i2i belt that constitutes 37%. 43 % of the world’s young ignited minds under age 14 live in the i2i belt. They are the future of mankind. The most developed among the i2i nations is Singapore, but India is the largest supplier of young and talented work force for Singapore and also the world.

Today roughly 30 million young Indians are living outside India and are among the world’s richest talent force. In coming 10 years they are projected to grow to 80 million. They will naturally make a huge difference to world thinking. It is natural that India will slowly acquire the leadership of the world due to its talent force.

The world need not though worry about India acquiring the leadership role because unlike others who have resorted to violence, war and oppression to proclaim their leadership we will conquer by our message of peace, love and harmony. Non-violence and compassion are our mantra.

500 years ago India’s GDP was 50% of world GDP. Even though we possessed the best military talent of the world we did not invade any country by choice.

Vishwa Dharma Prasaar Yatra that touched 40 countries and 1 million people was aimed at taking the peace message of the great acharyas of Bharat to the whole world in the form of a global pilgrimage.

We are fortunate that we are born in India. We are more fortunate that we live close to year 2011 when India will attain glory by becoming global leader. We are most fortunate that the world is beginning to understand the message of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ i.e. living as one family.”


His speech was a perfect blend of optimism, information and hope.


The inspiring, interesting and informative Keynote Address was followed by a thrilling and entertaining Q/A session which was ably moderated by Dr. Satish Modh. Excerpts from the Q/A session:

On the frustration seen in youngsters of today -
“This should be our challenge but we need to find answers to this and guide our youngsters. We have to train them not only for India but for the world. We have to accept change with a welcome smile and mind. India is destined to send more and more youngsters outside. It is going to be hard but we can’t help it. We can’t take cover behind the old theory of ‘brain drain’. In fact it will be ‘brain gain’ when these youngsters are trained in the world’s best institutes. They will contricute their knowledge back to India surely. Our greatest asset today is our young and talented work force. Leadership demands hardships. They will struggle initially but will succeed eventually as it is in their blood to accept the world as one family. So we should prepare them to assume leadership and ensure that they are not overcome by frustration”.

On the effects of Globalisation on India –
“Globalisation is inevitable. It cannot become counter productive to us. We have believed in globalization long before the world has thought about the phenomenon. We are not against any ‘ism’. We accept as they are. Our aim in not to make the world ‘one market’ but ‘one family’. In market you have competition and ill-will towards others. In a family you accept everyone as they are. Our concept of globalization is coming together in a peaceful way in a way of brothethood and not one against other. We do not think of taking away but give and share our values and become one”.

On the issue of dealing with jihadis –
“We have a culture of accepting a sinner like Angulimal. We have a culture of transforming a criminal to Maharishi Valmiki. We have a culture of seeing everyone as good human beings. We go to the root cause of the problem and explore why some human beings become bad. I2i nations have become victims of politics of world especially dominant five. They have shifted the war out of their countries to the i2i belt. The war against terrorism is one such clever move that has snow-balled the issue to this belt”.

On the role of UN –
“It is wrong to still give veto powers to just five. 30 million people have died after UN was formed. They have failed miserably in peace keeping, ensuring non-violence and establishing human rights. The Kashmir problem is their creation. They have failed most miserably when equality of nations is concerned”.

On issue of farmer suicides and lack of basic educational facilities in lakhs of villages –
“We have to first take care of problems before reaching to the world. There are 100 million tribals in 100,000 villages across the country that have no access to basic education. I am connected with the Ekal Movement. Ekal Movement has taken up this daunting task and we have reached 27000 villages today. That is just 1/3 of the total villages that we have to reach. It is a huge task but we are sure that we will achieve it soon.

We have to break digital divide by wireless technology. We have the glorious tradition of receiving the first lessons of education from our home but schools should be accessible to millions. It is here that digital education will help us immensely. The barrier of geography would be overcome by technology. The highly effective and time tested guru shishya parampara i.e. ‘one to one teaching’ can be easily adopted in this digital wireless technology and millions can be reached in the most cost effective way.

Human resources are our greatest asset but if they remain uneducated and unskilled they will also become our biggest liability”
.

On environment –
We need to tap solar energy and wind energy and make best use of them. We have to develop technology for recycling every form of waste and create wealth from it. Pollution is bad economics”.

In his final remarks Dr. Satish Modh commented that Dr. B. K. Modi was a 'rare and unique combination' of a successful global business leader with thorough spiritual outlook and having great faith in ahimsa – non-violence and karuna – compassion. He complimented Dr. Modi for handling the questions very well and for his clear views on so many diverse topics


Guest of Honour Shri Satish Aggarwal, CMD of Kisan Group of Companies could not make it for the function due to unavoidable circumstances.


The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Shri Vishal Chavda, Deputy Manager - Dept of Corporate Services BSE and managing committee member of VAK.


The programme was sponsored by M/s Kisan Group of Companies who have been sponsoring the event since 2007.

Saturday, 27 June 2009

VAK discussion session on President Barack Obama's Speech at Cairo University with Consul General of USA Hon. Paul Folmsbee held at American Center on Wednesday 24th June 2009.





Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra organised a path breaking joint program with American Center, Mumbai to discuss President Barack Obama’s Speech at Cairo that was delivered on June 4th 2009 at Al Azhar University.

The discussion session was held at American Center, New Marine Lines on Wednesday 24th June 2009 from 6 to 8 in the evening.

Interaction with American Center started from 15th June onwards and despite the short period, focused efforts were made on select 150 members of VAK to attend this prestigious event in the history of VAK.

8 gatnayaks were assigned the task of contacting the target group and ensuring their attendance by repeated follow-ups. Since the security at American Center was a major issue all efforts were done in a very confidential manner. 58 members were present and some 40 had mentioned their keen interest to attend but were unable to do so due to prior commitments.

The programme commenced with a welcome speech by Ms. Elizabeth Koffman, Director of American Center, Mumbai. She informed that the American Center was delighted to know that VAK was interested to have a discussion on President Obama’s historic speech at Cairo and hence readily agreed to the same.

Shri Ratan Sharda later did the Introduction to VAK

He mentioned the objective of formation of VAK is to create a Think Tank on foreign policy matters that would provide an alternative view point to the Indian policy makers in this area.

He mentioned that VAK came into being at a time when India was trying to come out of its self imposed ideas about world affairs dictated by policy makers whose thinking was moulded and frozen in cold world rhetoric and basically anti-capitalist hence anti US.

It was strange paradoxes where Indian people loved America and influenced by its open democracy and liberal ideals but Indian policy makers hated or at least were suspicious of American government and policies.

Where majority of Indians were suspicious of Russian government but dominant establishment intellectuals were enamored by it. It was a policy frame work frozen in time warp, in spite of major tectonic shift with collapse of Communist power centre.

The foreign policy perspectives were defined by a stand point dictated by history understood from British perspective and not Indian perspective. It is said that a view point is defined by the stand point. VAK resolved to provide a view point from purely Indian stand p
oint “ he pointed.

He also added that VAK is clear that nobody takes you seriously unless you speak from a position of strength and are seen to be powerful in your own right.

He also pointed out that though VAK is working from the commercial capital and not the political capital of India, we believe that by building up a network with consulates of various countries in Mumbai, and some other think tanks we can slowly build a body of work. Focus of VAK is more on cultural and economic understanding of various communities world over and build bridged based on similarities and human relations.

This programme is one of such initiatives and VAK is hopeful that such exchanges will help build better understanding between Indian people and American people” he concluded.

The Speech of President Barack Obama that was delivered at Cairo was later shown in full which mesmerized the audience. The fact that he spoke for almost 40 minutes extempore and with such clarity of thoughts and flow of words was a real treat. He never paused even for a while and delivered the message he had come to deliver.


Hon. Consul General of USA in Mumbai Hon. Paul Folmsbee later addressed the audience and gave the background for the speech from his personal and first hand experiences in Baghdad and Pakistan as a diplomat among other places.

Shri Sanjay Kelapure, President of VAK moderated a very explosive and interesting Q & A session. Hon. Paul Folmsbee gave convincing replies to the questions and jokingly requested to avoid questions on Pakistan – India relations and conflicts. Almost 20 members posed questions ranging from Guantanamo Bay prisoners to India USA strategic relations to exchange information on terrorists.

The Q&A session lasted for more that 45 minutes but was thoroughly enjoyed ny one and all. Shri Sanjay Kelapure concluded the session by a short vote of thanks to the Council General, Director of American Center, Lynne and all other members of American Center for such a candid and emotional exchange of thoughts and ideas through a memorable discussion session.

Shri Sanjay Hegde and Dr. Satish Modh presented Paul Folmsbee and Elizabeth Koffman with mementos of VAK.

Well over 45 minutes after the conclusion of the programme both the Consul General and Liz Koffman spent time in personal interaction with members of VAK.

In conclusion it may be mentioned that the long cherished wishes of many of VAK’s members to have a program of useful interaction with some important consulates in Mumbai was finally not a dream anymore.

Thursday, 14 May 2009

Synopsis of Lecture on 'Kautilya Arthashastra' delivered by Ms. Padma Bapat on Friday 8th May 2009 at Utkarsha Mandal, Vile Parle East, Mumbai.


Kautiliya Arthashastra is the treatise on the science of polity, composed by Kautilya, around 460 B.C.


Kautiya, Chanakya and Vishnugupta are the three names of one person. In the text two names Kautiya and Vishnugupta are mentioned by author himself.


In the first Adhikarana of the first Adhyaya he has mentioned that, "This science which is easy to understand, without ambiguity in the words, meaning and the principle is composed by Kautilya". While at the end he says," having observed the contradiction of commentrators on the text, Vishnugupta himself has commented on it". From the above two references in the text itself, we can conclude that Kautiya and Vishnugupta are the two names of one person.

Arthshastra comprises of 15 Adhikaranas, 180 Prakaranas, 150 Adhyayas, 360 Karikas and 60000 Shlokas.


Subject matter of 15 Adhikaranas :
  1. Vinayadhikarana - deals with the training of the king, appointment of ministers and spies.
  2. Adhyakshaprachara - duties of different officers.
  3. Dharmasthiya - the scope and duties of judges.
  4. Kantakshodhana - supression of criminals.
  5. Yogvrutta - secret punishments, salary of officials.
  6. Mandalayoni - the circle of kings includes enemy and allied group.
  7. Shadgunyam - foreign policy.
  8. Vyasanadhikaran - calamities on the seven limbs (king, ministers, the country itself, forts, treasure, strength and neighbours) of the country .
  9. Abhiyasyatkarma - activity of the king about march.
  10. Sangragamika - war, setting up of the camp for it, arrengment of troops etc.
  11. Vrutasangha - policy towards oligarchies.
  12. Aabaliyas - deals with weaker kings.
  13. Durgalambhopaya - different means of taking fort.
  14. Oypnishadika secret and occult practices for the distruction of enemy troops
  15. Tantrayukti - deals with the method of science.
The book begins with the foremost duty of a king, ie. obtainment of the earth and protection of the earned land.

The term 'Artha' in Arthashastra, according to Kautilya is,' means of acquiring and maintaining the earth."
























Friday, 17 April 2009

Report of Lecture by Chaturvedi Swami


H.H. Chaturvedi Swami, an erudite scholar of the Vedas and the Spiritual Head of Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust addressed the members of Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra on Thursday 16th April at a function organized by the Thane Chapter of the VAK held at Sriram Vyayamshala Hall.

The topic was ‘Vishwa Adhyayan’. Swami ji delivered an outstanding lecture which was noted for its depth of content as well as superlative oratory. The audience was spell bound by the flow of ideas and words that came out from Swami ji just as water gushes down from a waterfall.

He elaborated on the words ‘Vishwa’ and ‘Adhyayan’ in depth and gave multi-dimensional explanations for them. Swami ji recommended useful suggestions that would enable VAK to be a larger platform for understanding the rich contribution of India and disseminating the knowledge to the world. He also wished that VAK become a centre for study of traditional knowledge of Bharat the greatest gift received from our rishis and sants.

He gave numerous examples from the ocean of Indian philosophy to emphasize the glorious contribution of India to the world for the benefit and welfare of the whole world.

He appealed to the audience to become ‘social drivers’ and remarked that 100 such ‘social drivers’ would be sufficient to guide more than 100000 persons from the society.

Earlier Shri Ratan Sharda, founding member of VAK, welcomed the gathering and briefly explained the profile of VAK and its activities since inception.

Shri Sanjay Kelapure, President of VAK, offered a shawl to Swamiji and he along with Shri G. Narasimhan, V. President VAK, also offered the Honorary Life Membership of Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra to Swami ji in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the fields of Art, Science, Literature, Philosophy, Education, Social Service and providing Spiritual Leadership in carrying forward the glorious values and principles as propounded and promoted in Bharat since time immemorial by numerous rishis and saints belonging to the gamut of Vaidic Sanatana Dharma.

The function came to a close with a Vote of Thanks by Shri Sumant Kelkar.

Shri Narasimhan and others from the Thane Chapter had arranged for very delicious South Indian food that was as enjoyable as the proceedings of the evening.

Overall, all the 40 participants were enthralled, enchanted and captivated by the immense knowledge of Swami ji and his powerful oratorical skills. It was a thrilling experience of basking in the sunshine of knowledge picked from Indian philosophy and focused on to the audience by Swami Chaturvedi.


Friday, 10 April 2009

Report of Lecture program

Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra organized a lecture by Ma. S. N. Chandak ji (Sah Sanghchalak of HSS Mid West Sambhag) on Wednesday 8th April from 7.30 to 9.00 pm at Vidyanidhi Info Tech Academy (VITA), Juhu.

The topic was ‘Impact of HSS and allied activities in USA’.



Through a PPT Ma. Chandak ji gave a very detailed account of the multifaceted activities starting from HSS Shakhas, Balagokulam and programmes like Surya Namaskar Yagna, Yuva Sangam, Hindu Sangam, Speaker on Campus and Exhibition on Hinduism.


He also elaborated on the roles of other organizations viz. Sewa International, VHPA, OFBJP, Hindu Education Foundation, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu Society of America, Ekal Foundation, International Centre for Cultural Studies, Hindu Students Council and Friends of India Society International.



After the lecture there was a very lively Q/A session where Shri Chandak ji replied to various questions related to HSS activities as well as the influence of Hindus in general on American social life and security to Indian students in the various university campuses.


About 35 members attended the program.



Sunday, 15 March 2009

Parivarik Holi Milan 2009
Slide Show


Report of Parivarik Holi Milan


A parivarik holi milan of Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra member families and friends was held on Tuesday 10th March 2009 at Asmita Vidyalaya, Jogeswari East from 8.30 to 10.30 PM.

The following members were present.

1. Shri Rameshbhai Mehta + Smt. Kirtidaben
3. Shri Ratan Sharda + Smt Shyama Sharda
5. Shri Sanjay Kelapure + Smt. Nita Kelapure
7. Shri Mukesh Padhya + Smt Arundati Padhya
9. Dr. Satish Modh + Dr. Sadhana + Ms Ria
12. Shri Narasimhan + 7
20. Shri Anoop Tulsyan
21. Shri Vidyadhar Phadke + 2
24. Shri Rajesh Sarvadnya
25. Smt. Vibhavari Sirkar
26. Shri Ashok Motwani
27. Shri Dilip Rawal
28. Shri Mohan Gujaran
29. Shri Hemant Kashikar
30. Shri Vinod Pai
31. Shri Nitin Buch
32. Shri Gyanendra Mishra + 2
35. Ramesh Subramaniam

From 8.45 to 9.30 pm a simple puja was performed by Pt. Sandeep Joshi with Shri Gyanendra and his wife taking the role of yajman. The puja was done in an eco-friendly way and colorful flower petals were showered in place of gulal.

All the members offered havan samagri and chanted shanti mantra. Shri Rameshbhai Mehta rendered a very simple message on the occasion and appealed to those present to mark the holi as dahan of brashtaachar, duraachar, atyaachar, anaachar, vibachar and atankvaad.




Shri Ratan ji later welcomed the gathering and outlined the reason for the parivarik milan.

This was followed by an interesting session of games which was liked by one and all.

This was followed by a session where some interesting jokes and anecdotes were shared and some members entertained the audience with their songs and musical rendering.

The programme concluded with a delicious dinner with mouth-watering puran poli with desi ghee being the main attraction.

Chanakya to Chandrayaan – Our Global Vision

Complete text of speech delivered by Shri Ram Madhav at the 3rd Lakshmanrao Bhide Memorial Lecture.



We have a heavy topic for today’s lecture: “Chanakya to Chandrayaan – Our Global Vision”. Initially when this topic was proposed by the organisers I thought that it was incoherent. But, once I started thinking about what I should speak I realised that it is a very profound and complex topic. It then struck me that perhaps the organisers wanted to put me to a test by offering such a serious topic.

Chanakya and Chandrayaan are two significant signposts nearly 2400 years apart between which flourished a great civilisation called Bharat. Chanakya was the epitome of the grand Indian vision of politics and economics, which he described in a single word Arth Shastra. His treatise by that name, which he set out to pen after retiring from the post of Maha Amaatya in the kingdom of Chandragupta Mourya, remains to this day a pioneering work on statecraft, polity and economy. It is not surprising that there are scholars working on Chanakya’s Arth Shastra in universities of USA, France, Germany and many more countries. What is really sad is the fact that it is hard to find any in our own universities.

Chandrayaan – the celestial journey set off on 22 October by our own satellite – represents Bharat’s grand urge to conquer not just this world but the entire universe. In a historic event, the Indian space programme achieved a unique feat on November 14, 2008 with the placing of Indian tricolour on the Moon’s surface on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday. The Indian flag was painted on the sides of Moon Impact Probe (MIP), one of the 11 payloads of

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, that successfully hit the lunar surface at 20:31 hrs (8:31 pm) IST on that day. This is the first Indian built object to reach the surface of the moon. The point of MIP’s impact was near the Moon’s South Polar Region. Our satellite has already reached about 200 KM close to the Moon and soon its other equipment will be launched on to the surface of it. According to Dr. Annadurai, the Project Director of Chandrayaan we would be able to send our first manned mission to the Moon by 2020 CE.

Through the ages, the Moon, our closest celestial body has aroused curiosity in our mind much more than any other objects in the sky. This led to scientific study of the Moon, driven by the desire and quest for knowledge. This is also reflected in the ancient verse.

Several nations have attempted manned and unmanned missions to the Moon and claimed various victories; but it still remained a mystery that has the potential to open floodgates of knowledge about the universe and its creation. Today we also joined that group with our successful launching of the Chandrayaan.

Chanakya and Chandrayaan signify the vibrance and virility of our great civilisation. It has existed before Chanakya and it will continue to exist after Chandrayaan.
“If Sparta and Rome perished, what state can hope to endure forever?” declared Rousseau in utter disillusionment once. Yet our civilisation lived for millennia.

“Yunana Mishra Roma….” – ‘Greeks, Egyptians and Romans etc have all perished; yet, there is something in this soil that makes it eternal’ – exclaimed Md. Iqbal in his famous poem ‘Saare Jahaan se Acchha’.




That ‘something’ was described by Swami Vivekananda eloquently when he said: “Every nation has a destiny to fulfil, duty to perform and mission to accomplish”. We have a universal mission the accomplishment of which is the grand vision of our civilisation.


August 15th 1947 saw the dawn of Bharat's freedom. In a very significant message given on that day Sri Aurobindo spoke of his five dreams that in a nutshell present our grand global vision:

"Indeed, on this day I can watch almost all the world movements which I hoped to see fulfilled in my life time, though then they looked like impracticable dreams, arriving at fruition or on their way to achievement."

  • The first of these dreams was a revolutionary movement which would create a free and united Bharat. Bharat today is free but she has not achieved unity.... But by whatever means, in whatever way, the division must go; unity must and will be achieved, for it is necessary for the greatness of Bharat's future.

  • Another dream was for the resurgence and liberation of the peoples of Asia and her return to her great role in the progress of human civilisation. Asia has arisen; large parts are now quite free or are at this moment being liberated: its other still subject or partly subject parts are moving through whatever struggles towards freedom....
  • The third dream was a world-union forming the outer basis of a fairer, brighter and nobler life for all mankind.... A new spirit of oneness will take hold of the human race.

  • Another dream, the spiritual gift of Bharat to the world has already begun. Bharat's spirituality is entering Europe and America in an ever-increasing measure....

  • The final dream was a step in evolution which would raise man to a higher and larger consciousness and begin the solution of the problems which have perplexed and vexed him since he first began to think and to dream of individual perfection and a perfect society.


It is with this vision that this civilisation has survived for so many centuries weathering so many storms.

In order for us to realise our vision it is necessary to understand what is happening in the world. Today, the world stands at a crossroads; it stands confused and directionless.

About two decades ago when the Communist Soviet regime collapsed leading to the disintegration of Soviet Union utter panic and disbelief had taken over the thinking world.

Soviet collapse, preceded or followed by the collapse of almost all the Communist regimes led some like Francis Fukuyama to proclaim in a victorious tone that it was the “end of history”. Fukuyama explained: “I argued that liberal democracy may constitute the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the final form of human government” and as such constituted the end of history.”

Fukuyama’s prediction that the end of Communism heralded ended of all conflict in the world was contested not only by the subsequent events, but scholars like Samuel Huntington as well. Conflict continued and finally it has engulfed the entire world after the collapse of twin towers on 11/9/2002 in New York.

The central problem is not so much with the political theories, but with the core worldview itself. The Western worldview, whether it is Communism or Capitalism or even Islamism, requires ‘The Other’ – an enemy – to perpetuate its existence. Without the Other there is no identity for its existence.

This was explained by Samuel Huntington as the “Clash of Civilisations”, which see each other as enemies. “It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic.

The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.” The Clash of Civilizations? (Samuel P. Huntington, Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993)

In 84 BC when Rome defeated its last serious enemy, Mithradates, Sulla asked: “Now that the universe offers us no more enemies, what may be the fate of the Republic?” A few decades after, the Roman Republic fell to Caesarism.

“We are doing something really terrible to you – we are depriving you of an enemy” – Georgiy Arbatov, Advisor to Gorbochev to Americans in 1987

“Without the Cold War, what is the point of being an American?” – John Updike

Advent of 21st Century has witnessed dramatic developments. Most important of them is the collapse of American hegemony which was very fondly cherished by the likes of Fukuyama when they predicted a ‘Uni-Polar World’ after the demise of the USSR. Far from becoming uni-polar, the world has increasingly become multi-polar. New power-centres have emerged that changed the face of the earth and also the long-standing perceptions.

Take for example the following facts:
World’s tallest building is in Taipei to be replaced shortly by Dubai;
Richest man is a Mexican;
Largest MNC is Chinese;
Biggest plane is built in Russia and Ukraine;
Largest refinery is in Bharat;
Largest factories are in China;
Richest endowment fund is in UAE;
Number one casino is in Macao;
Biggest movie industry in terms of tickets sold is Bollywood;

Till 10 years ago America used to be on top in everything;
But no longer! Of the ten biggest malls only one is in America;
And the world’s biggest mall is in Beijing;

“We are moving into post-American world” – explains Fareed Zakaria, Editor of the News Week, USA in his latest book The Post American World.

This new emergence of power centres was described by Huntington as “Uni-Multipolarity” while the Chinese describe it as “Many powers – One super power”.

Once a Communist country, China today emerged as the third economic super power.

Father of modern China Deng Xiaoping said to have famously exhorted once that: ‘It doesn’t matter if it is a black cat or a white cat as long as it can catch mice it is a good cat’. What he meant was that let the facts not ideology guide China.

In 1978 China produced 200 air conditioners. In 2005 it has made 48 million; it exports in one day today what it had done in the whole of 1978.

Ruthless pragmatism guides that country today. Many Chinese foreign policy analysts call themselves “Christian Confusions”. For the grand Olympics opening ceremony it chose Steven Spielberg, an American to design the entire event. Bharat or Japan can’t imagine that in their country.

A great political awakening is seen all over the world. Upsurge of nationalism is conspicuous everywhere. A scramble for resources has already begun.

A classic example is the scramble for oil and natural gas. What the OPEC countries tried to do last year is fresh in our minds. Recently Russia suspended gas supply to Europe for a few days creating near-collapse of several economies.

China is another major rising power that has the potential to upset many.

‘Let China sleep, for when China wakes, she will shake the world’ – warned Napoleon long ago.

Today China’s area of influence is tremendously increasing. In the entire African continent China has emerged as an unquestioned king. In November 2006 President Hu Jintao held a summit on Sino-African relations. All 48 countries that have diplomatic ties with China attended. Most of them were represented by no less than Presidents and Prime Ministers. It was the largest African summit ever held outside Africa.

Today, China has occupied economic, political and military space in Africa that once belonged to Britain, France or USA. “China is an inspiration for us” declared the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenavi. China buys platinum and iron ore from Zimbabwe and sells weapons and radio-jammers. China is Mugabe’s important supporter on the UN Security Council.

In fact China is following a strategic path that emerges from the oldest Confusion thinker Sun Zi, who argued that ‘every battle is won or lost before it is ever fought’. It is trying to manipulate a situation where the outcome is always and inevitably in favour of it.

These growing power centres solely guided by national interests are making multilateral agencies like the United Nations increasingly irrelevant. Their irrelevance can be partly attributed to their archaic structure as well. The 2nd and 3rd largest economies - Japan and Germany - are not members of the Security Council. Largest democracy Bharat too has no membership. No Latin American or African country too is a member.

The IMF is always headed by a European and the WB by an American.
Mute question today is: Will forces of global growth turn into forces of global disorder and disintegration?


It is here that Bharat has a role to play. We can take a leaf or two out of the wisdom of great Indian scholars including Chanakya and Gandhi to evolve a new global order.

Today, the world comes closer to what these wise men have said before. Having realised that Democracy as it is offered today doesn’t serve containing conflicts in the world the Western thinkers started talking about new concepts like ‘Constitutional Liberalism’.

In fact Democracy has always remained a fascinating subject for discussion for centuries. It was described as the second best form of Government, the first being yet to be found.

“Democracy is a fantastically over-hyped idea. Far from being a guarantor of freedom, or even the same as freedom, as many young Americans are taught, democracy can be freedom’s worst enemy. Democracy is flourishing; liberty is not” bemoans Fareed Zakaria.

James Madison explained in The Federalist that "the danger of oppression" in a democracy came from "the majority of the community." Tocqueville warned of the "tyranny of the majority," writing, "The very essence of democratic government consists in the absolute sovereignty of the majority."

Alexander Tytler observed that: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”

Hence today, many of these Western thinkers talk about Constitutional Liberalism. Constitutional liberalism, according to them, is not about the procedures for selecting government, but rather government's goals. It refers to the tradition, deep in Western history, that seeks to protect an individual's autonomy and dignity against coercion, whatever the source -- state, church, or society. The term marries two closely connected ideas. It is liberal because it draws on the philosophical strain, beginning with the Greeks, that emphasizes individual liberty. It is constitutional because it rests on the tradition, beginning with the Romans, of the rule of law.

One can say this is the concept of Dharma put in a western context. Chanakya’s Artha Shastra to Gandhiji’s Hind Swaraj (1909) talk precisely in the same language. In Hind Swaraj, Gandhi takes to task forms of democracy found in Western countries which are often upheld as shining models to the rest of the world.

“This civilization takes note neither of morality [niti] nor of religion [dharma]. . .
[It] seeks to increase bodily comforts, and it fails miserably even in doing so. This civilization is irreligion [adharma], and it has taken such a hold on the people in Europe that those who are in its appear to be half mad. . . . They keep up their energy by intoxication”.

“I do not regard England, or for that matter America, as free countries. They are free after their own fashion: free to hold in bondage the colored races of the earth. . . . According to my own interpretation of that freedom, I am constrained to say: they are strangers to that freedom which their [own] poets and teachers have described”.

Plato talked of ‘Philosopher Kings’. Chanakya wanted the rulers to be ‘wise, disciplined by learning’. “Spiritual development is paramount for internal strength and character. Material pleasures and comforts come second” he insisted.

In fact it was Chanakya who propounded a democratic model in 300 BCE. “King has no individuality of his own. He is for the people and of the people”. In essence we are the repositories of a great wisdom handed down to us from the times of the Vedas.

But again the mute question is: Are we qualified to preach it to the world?

Chanakya insisted that wealth creation is crucial for establishing a welfare state. In the last several decades we have been able to progress economically well.

Today Bharat has more billionaires than any other country in Asia. But it also has three Nigeria’s in it; 30 crore people live below poverty line – earning less than a dollar a day. 40% of world’s poor live in Bharat.

In 1960 Bharat’s per capita GDP was higher than China’s and 70% that of South Korea’s; today it is less than two-fifths of China’s. South Korea is twenty times larger.

In the UN Human Development Index Bharat ranks 128 out of 177 countries – behind Syria, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and even Dominican Republic. Female literacy rate in Bharat is below 50%.

It is perhaps the biggest paradox of our times - a great civilisation with abundant wisdom and a society eager, confident and ready to take on the world; yet a system so inefficient and corrupt that it cripples all creativity. Whatever Bharat has achieved is in spite of the Government, not because of it.

Unfortunately for Bharat, its own wisdom was never found to be acceptable. We followed the flawed discourses of the West, copying and creating hybrid versions of their models and presuming that we are on the right course. We ignored the wise caution our elders had to offer to us.

In a letter written to Nehru in 1945 Gandhiji, picking up Nehru’s suggestion regarding the importance of human and social development, had fully agreed that it was crucial to “bring about man’s highest intellectual, economic, political and moral development,” that is, the “flourishing” of all human abilities.

The basic issue was how to accomplish this goal. For Gandhi this was impossible without thorough attention to dharma and without social engagement and responsibility. Echoing Aristotle and countering the modern Western focus on self-centered individualism he wrote: “Man is not born to live in isolation but is essentially a social animal independent and interdependent. No one can or should ride on another’s back.”

Rishi Aurobindo was much more prophetic and forthright in his advice two years after Independence.

In this hour, in the second year of its liberation, the nation has to awaken to many more very considerable problems, to vast possibilities opening before her but also to dangers and difficulties that may, if not wisely dealt with, become formidable.... There are deeper issues for Bharat herself, since by following certain tempting directions she may conceivably become a nation like many others evolving an opulent industry and commerce, a powerful organisation of social and political life, an immense military strength, practising power-politics with a high degree of success, guarding and extending zealously her gains and her interests, dominating even a large part of the world, but in this apparently magnificent progression forfeiting its Swadharma, losing its soul. Then ancient Bharat and her spirit might disappear altogether and we would have only one more nation like the others and that would be a real gain neither to the world nor to us. There is a question whether she may prosper more harmlessly in the outward life yet lose altogether her richly massed and firmly held spiritual experience and knowledge. It would be a tragic irony of fate if Bharat were to throw away her spiritual heritage at the very moment when in the rest of the world there is more and more a turning towards her for spiritual help and a saving Light. This must not and will surely not happen; but it cannot be said that the danger is not there. There are indeed other numerous and difficult problems that face this country or will very soon face it. No doubt we will win through, but we must not disguise from ourselves the fact that after these long years of subjection and its cramping and impairing effects a great inner as well as outer liberation and change, a vast inner and outer progress is needed if we are to fulfil Bharat's true destiny.

Extracts from a message to the Andhra University, which on December 11, 1948 conferred on Sri Aurobindo the Sir Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy National Prize.

Report of 3rd Lakshmanrao Bhide Memorial Lecture

VAK and Keshav Srushti jointly organized the 3rd Lakshmanrao Bhide Memorial Lecture on Friday 16th January 2009 at the Alkesh Dinesh Mody Auditorium, Kalina Campus, Vidyanagari, Mumbai.

The programme commenced with the soul stirring rendering of sanghathan mantra from the rig veda by Ms Mridula Kulkarni.

Shri Sanjay Kelapure, President of VAK, welcomed the gathering and gave a brief profile of VAK. He made a special mention of Dr Satish Modh and Shri Ratan Sharda for painstakingly nurturing VAK for over a decade to its present position.

Dr. Shankarrao Tatwawadi, Vishwa Vibhag Samyojak (International Coordinator of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh) who had a long personal association with Late Lakshmanrao Bhide, introduced Bhide ji. He mentioned that Lakshmanrao Bhide was a calm, silent, self-effacing RSS pracharak who went around the world many times to meet the people of Indian origin and make them organized.





The Keynote address was given by Shri Ram Madhav, member of the National Executive of RSS on the topic ‘From Chanakya to Chandrayaan – Our Global Vision’. Shri Ram Madhav traced the ancient civilization of Bharat during the time of Chanakya when he had put his thoughts on state craft in his book the Arthashashtra. Shri Ram Madhav mentioned that Bharat has come a long way from Chanakya to Chandrayaan and Indian civilization he said is identified with great thinkers - Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. Having just returned from China Sri Ram Madhav stressed the emergence of China as a Super Power. Communism, he said is breaking down in China and slowly China is rising like capitalist America. There was a question answer session after Shri Ram Madhav’s address. Questions pertaining to terrorism and the economic capability of China were asked and Shri Ram Madhav answered them all patiently.



Shri Mahendra Kumar Kabra, Chairman of the Vidyalaya Management Committee of Ram Ratna Vidya Mandir (RRVM), Keshav Srushti, presided over the function. In his address Shri Kabra said that schools should adopt the traditional Indian way of teaching and functioning. He proudly announced that RRVM had secured 100% results in 12th and 10th and there is a family like relationship between the students and teachers. During the recent Makar Sankranti the students of the RRVM had gone out and distributed til ladoos to the poor setting the mark for community service.



A goodwill message sent to the Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra by the former Chief Justice of India Shri P.N Bhagwati was read out by Prof. Indira Satyanarayan.



Dr. Shantilal K. Somaiya the Chief Guest of the function mentioned in his address that he also had visited China, and according to him the Chinese were not so much Communists as much as they were baniyaas. “The Chinese are very clever, very smart and above all they have great economic sense” he said. China as a country has only one system and no Democracy he said. According to Dr. Somaiya Democracy is the second best form of Government the first is yet to come. The world needs persuasion and logic not war he added. Shri Somaiya ji was optimistic when he mentioned that ultimately Bharat would succeed over China because we have ’Sanskriti’.


Gen. Secretary of VAK Shri Ramesh Subramaniam gave the vote of thanks.

Two resourceful members of the VAK viz. Shri Sandeep Singh and Dr. Satish Modh were felicitated for their special contribution.

The function came to a close with the melodious rendering of Ekta Mantra by Ms Mridula Kulkarni.

Ms Mamta Vora efficiently conducted the proceedings by being the MC.

The programme was attended by over 350 participants from a cross section of the society that included 22 students from IIT, 30 from Kalina Campus, 30 students from RRVM, about 35 students from other institutions and also representative participants from UK, Mauritius, Muscat and USA.

An exhibition titled ‘From Chanakya to Chandrayaan – Our Global Vision’ that was on display was a special attraction for the students.







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