Historical and Civilisational Studies
Publications
The Contemporary Relevance of Swami Vivekananda's Message

The Vivekananda International Foundation held a Vimarsh on 11 September 2020 on The Contemporary Relevance of Swami Vivekananda's Message for the anniversary of the historic speech given by Swami Vivekananda on, 11th September 1893 to the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The main speaker for the event was Swami Sarvapriyananda, Minister & Spiritual Leader, Vedanta Society of New York.

Webinar on “NEP-2020 –Towards Holistic Education”

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a milestone document in the context of nation-building. VIF has thus planned to take up, in a series of webinars, issues arising out of the NEP-2020 which have a rather long-term bearing on the country’s development.

Environmental Awareness in the Vedas

A webinar was held on August 26, 2020 where the main speaker, Prof. Shashi Prabha Kumar, Dean, Sri Sankaracharya Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan gave her second lecture in the series, Indian Philosophy for Beginners, organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation. This talk was titled Environmental Awareness in the Vedas.

VIF Book Discussion on ‘Patterns in Past Settlements’ authored by M B Rajani

The Vivekananda International Foundation held a webinar on 20th August 2020 to discuss a book, Patterns in Past Settlements: Geospatial Analysis of Imprints of Cultural Heritage on Landscapes (forthcoming from Springer). The main speaker of the event was the author of this book, Dr. M B Rajani, Associate Professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. The purpose of the webinar was to introduce people to the new methodologies being used in archaeological research with the help of modern technologies.

Ayodhya Movement and National Polity

On 13th August 2020, Vimarsh was held through a webinar at VIF, on the topic “Ayodhya Movement and National Polity.” This subject was thoroughly reviewed by Shri S Gurumurthy, Economic & Political Analyst and Chairman, VIF. The Ayodhya movement has been inextricably linked with the national polity for almost five decades now. The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony that was held in Ayodhya on the 5th of August, 2020 marks the beginning of a new narrative for National Polity.

Chikitsa Dharma (Medical Ethics): Insights from Ancient Indian Tradition

The Vivekananda International Foundation held an online discussion on 10th August 2020, on the subject of “Chikitsa Dharma (Medical Ethics): Insights from Ancient Indian Tradition”. The main aim of the discussion was to understand medical ethics in the historical, modern and general context so that India-specific issues such as current perceptions of doctor-patient relationship, approach to treatment of patients, issues faced by both doctors and patients during the pandemic, lack of faith in the medical institutions, the concept of holistic healthcare etc., can be addressed.

The Arthasastra- New Directions in Research

On 6th August 2020 VIF organised a symposium on the theme: “The Arthasastra: New Directions in Research”. The aim of the symposium, apart from briefly discussing the historical perspectives on the Arthasastra, was to shed light on the strategic use and relevance of the text for governance today and the way ahead in promoting research on the Arthasastra.

Indian Philosophy for Beginners

VIF has started a new lecture series called ‘Indian Philosophy for Beginners’. Lectures will be given on the Vedas, Upanisads and the Indian schools of philosophy, that will (a) introduce and explain these subjects lucidly to non-experts (mainly Indian and foreign diplomats, strategists, students and researchers from other disciplines), as well as (b) speak to Indian diplomats, foreign policy experts, students of strategic studies in a way that they are able to derive from it both insights as well as power for India's strategic thinking.

Siberia and India: Historical Cultural Affinities

India and Eurasia have had close social and cultural linkages, as Buddhism spread from India to Central Asia, Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and far wide. Buddhism provides a direct link between India and the peoples of Siberia (Buryatia, Chita, Irkutsk, Tuva, Altai, Urals etc.) who have distinctive historico-cultural affinities with the Indian Himalayas particularly due to common traditions and Buddhist culture. Revival of Buddhism in Siberia is of great importance to India in terms of restoring and reinvigorating the lost linkages.

Re-conceptualizing Religious History: Archaeological Findings from Itkhori, a Composite Sacred Space

VIF organized a talk by Professor Rupendra Kumar Chattopadhyay (Vivekananda Chair Professor of Social Science, University of Calcutta) under the VIF Lecture Series ‘Understanding Indian History & Civilization’. The talk was titled Reconceptualizing Religious History: Archaeological Findings from Itkhori, a Composite Sacred Space and was held via webinar on 16 July 2020.

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