The
"Global Dharma
Conference" held in Edison, New Jersey, from July 25-27, 2003 was a
unique religious conference, to say the least. In fact, it was not a religious
convention… it was all about our duties and values towards humanity.
A
Rare Congregation
This momentous event, conceived, organized and conducted by second generation
Indian youths, born and brought up in USA (University students, budding professionals
- mostly age 18-30) was unique not only because of the kind of dignitaries and
illustrious guest speakers it attracted, but also because of multi-faceted aspects
of 'Dharma' it unfolded. The conference featured workshops, discussions, presentations,
exhibition, cultural and spiritual activities including an international concert.
Besides North American countries, there were youths from at least a dozen other
countries including Africa and Australia. It was one of those, 'wish-everybody-I-know-was-there'
kind of event. Almost all the (few thousand) delegates who attended the conference
were simply overwhelmed by the sheer youthful energy and vibrancy that engulfed
Raritan Expo Center and nearby Sheraton Hotel - the venue of the parallel sessions.
A
Galaxy of Speakers
The array of speakers
was spectacular: H.H. Swami Dayanand Sarswati, David Frawley, the Vedantic American
scholar; Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Mahesh Mehta, N.J. Governor James McGreevey,
Indian Statesman Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, Dr. Koenraad Elst, the Belgian Historian,
Dr. Subhash Kak, Dr. Kiran Bedi, the celebrated prison reformer, Andy Fraenkel
of the multi-cultural stories network, Reuben Thuku, the East African Philosopher,
Mr. Bawa Jain, U.N. Secretary General of World Peace Summit, Dr. George Sudarshan,
Nobel Prize nominee, Rabbi Joseph Novick, Jonas Trinkunas, et al. In short,
all non-proselytizing faiths actively participated, including 'Native American'
(Cherokee) and a European body representing 20 ancient religions. The Dalai
Lama conveyed his blessings
and Indian Prime Minister sent his best
wishes for this grand get-together.
Day
1
The opening day gave an overview of what was to follow. Governor
McGreevey acted as the 'host', and delivered not the usual 'one-size-fits-all'
kind of political spiel, but a thought-proving eloquent speech on 'Dharma' and
humanistic values. Dr. Deepak Chopra once again proved to be the marketing genius
with his concoction, of eastern philosophy and modern science. He ended his
speech with a Tagore poem tuned to pop music, and the youths loved it! The inaugural
day was followed by a night concert of Garba, Bhangara and the main attraction,
Rap star - 'Apache Indian'.
Day
2
The second day was divided into four segments of multiple workshops emphasizing
Dharma's relevance to an individual, to the family, to the society and to the
world. At any given time-block, the delegates had the choice of five concurrently
running sessions. The topics were so varied, interesting and informative that
it was frustrating to lose on, one was not attending. The topics ranged from
consciousness and quantum theory, rights vs. responsibility, worldwide commonality
of ancient faiths, stress/conflict management to Vedic Sciences, Genetics, Crime
& Punishment, Dharma & modern management, etc. Every session was overbooked!
Harmony
Through Music
The international music concert on Day 2 was simply memorable. Titled "Harmony
Through Music", it had four distinct subtexts - "Dharma" presented
by a troupe from India and famous 'Shanti-Shanti' American sisters, "Karma"
by Houston based theatre group, "Artha" By Joseph Firecrow and "Moksha"
by Dr. Shanker and Gingger - double violinists with Ustaad Zakir Hussain and
a local drummer, who brought the house down with their ecstatic rhythmic percussion.
Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn briefly popped-up 'live' on the two giant screens
to say 'Hi' via video conferencing.
Day
3
On the concluding day, the biggest surprise was the 'live' address by the President
of India, Dr. Abdul Kalaam, though video conferencing. This interactive session
was a high point of the event, and lasted 40 minutes. [Read the President's
speech]
Quotable
Quotes!
The essence of this conference was beautifully summed up by Dr. David Frawley
and Swami Dayanand Sarswati. Dr. Frawley emphasized, "You don't belong
to any religion, but rather all religions belong to you". Swami Dayananda
said, "Dharma is nothing but common-sense value structure for harmonious
co-existence. We don't need preachers (for that), we need teachers… there
won't be any need for 'salvation', 'reconciliation' or 'peace' if you don't
disturb people." At the end, he asked people to repeat after him: "A
'value' is a 'value' when the value of 'value' is valuable to me".
Youth
Did It!
The Dharma Conference was put together by a dozen-or-so student and youth organizations,
prominent among them being the Hindu Students' Council. To me, what was most
remarkable was the way youths, coming from different corners and avenues, worked
together as one solid team. Nowhere was there any chaos, glitches or emotional
outbursts. This glorious conference was a tribute to their hard work and tenacity.
The delegates are already asking: "When will we have it again?" This
is enough complement for Kanchan Banerjee, who was a prime force behind the
whole show. [Read the Home
News Tribune Report]
A
Step Towards Vivekananda's Noble Vision
Three years ago, when the U.N. convened 'World Peace Summit' to resolve world
conflicts through religious and spiritual guidance, it was, in a way, a manifestation
of Swami Vivekananda's vision of world coming
together in the spirit of 'Universal Brotherhood'. "Global Dharma Conference"
is undoubtedly a step in that direction. One strong Hindu can change the thought-current
of the whole world... Hindus should possess fearlessness, the first prerequisite
of a spiritual life.
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