Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Annual Conference of Sri Aurobindo Society on 12, 13 and 14 August 2007

News from Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry)
Upcoming Events
135th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo: 15 August 2007
Sri Aurobindo
This 15th of August is a special day for all of us. It is Sri Aurobindo's birthday as well as the birthday of free India. In a message to India given on the eve of its Independence, Sri Aurobindo mentions about the coincidence of this day with his own birthday as:
August 15th is my own birthday and it is naturally gratifying to me that it should have assumed this vast significance. I take this coincidence, not as a fortuitous accident, but as the sanction and seal of the Divine Force that guides my steps on the work with which I began life, the beginning of its full fruition.
We present here the full text of the Message given by Sri Aurobindo on the eve of India's Independence to All India Radio where he speaks of his five dreams.
Here is an extract from Sri Aurobindo, where he powerfully emphasises the course India must take in order to fulfil its role & mission:
India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives and has still something to do for herself and the human peoples. And that which must seek now to awake is not an anglicised oriental people, docile pupil of the West and doomed to repeat the cycle of the Occident's success and failure, but still the ancient immemorable Shakti recovering her deepest self, lifting her head higher towards the supreme source of light and strength and turning to discover the complete meaningand a vaster form of her Dharma.
It is our happy privilege to work for a new India and a new world according to the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
15 August 2007: Programme at Sri Aurobindo Society's Beach Office
On 15 August 2007, the 135th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo will be observed. On this occasion the following two programmes will be organised at the Society's Beach Office, Puducherry:
1. Annual Conference of Sri Aurobindo Society on 12, 13 and 14 August 2007.
2. A Study-Camp on Sri Aurobindo's "Essays on the Gita" by Dr. Mangesh V.Nadkarni will be held at the Society's Beach Office hall, Puducherry, from 17 to 26 August 2007. There will be two sessions daily: 4:30 to 5:15 pm and 5:40 to 6:40 pm.
All are welcome to the above programmes.
Talk in Tamil at Society's Beach Office
Shri M.S. Sundararajan will deliver a talk in Tamil on "Sri Aurobindo's Supramental Yoga" at the Beach Office of the Society on 15 August 2007 at 10 am.
Recent Events
Sri Aurobindo Institute of Mass Communication (SAIMC), Delhi
Sri Aurobindo Institute of Mass Communication (SAIMC), Delhi, a unit of the Sri Aurobindo Society, has been conducting one-year postgraduate courses in various streams of mass communication: Journalism (Hindi & English), Advertising & Public Relations and Audio-Visual Media since last five years.
In its endeavour to provide quality professional education to the youth, SAIMC, from the academic year 2007-08 will be commencing a one-year course in 'Creative Photography' under the guidance of the eminent photographer Mr. Raghu Rai.
The admission is open for the course. The Head of the Department for the course will be Mr. Nitin Rai who is a renowned photographer. The other faculty for the course is experts in their own genre - Dayanita, Prashant Panjiar, Amit Bharghav and Prabhu Das Gupta.

Profile of the Course: The course structure will be distinct from other existing courses in the country as our aim is not to 'churn out' as Mr. Raghu Rai puts it " programmed minds" for the commercial market but mould aspiring students to unleash their creativity and be different. In Mr. Raghu Rai's words, " The ability to look at the world with a fresh eye that can respond to the human situation."
The content of the one-year course is fashioned to channelise the talent of the students towards moulding an outstanding photographer. Towards achieving this, the students will be exposed to different art forms, like a visit to the art gallery, a music concert to help them evolve as more sensitive human beings. This is in keeping with Mr.Raghu Rai's conviction that only an evolved and a sensitive human mind can capture with a fresh eye.
The students will also be equipped with the technical skills and exposed to different styles of photography - Photojournalism, Human Interest photography, Portraits, Fashion, Interiors, Industrial and Product photography. The curriculum will also impart training on usage of digital image editing software such as 'Photoshop' and 'Image Reproduction' to acquaint students with the whole process of image production. The teaching methodology will include lectures, slide shows (work done by the faculty as well as images from around the world), group field trips, assignments, and critique sessions. Continuous assessment of the students' work will be carried out based on the execution of various class assignments. For more details click here.
News from Branches and Centres
News from Abroad Nairobi (Kenya)
The members of the Nairobi Centre presented 22,000 mini booklets on eleven titles to the Project Manager of Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA) on 8 June 2007 at the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Nairobi. The KGGA will shortly introduce the Nairobi Centre to Kenya Boys Scouts Association for the purpose of distribution of the booklets to boy scouts also.
Nairobi Centre celebrated the 4th anniversary of the enshrinement of the sacred Relics of Sri Aurobindo on 13 July 2007. The celebrations began at 8 am with the Mother's Prayer and the hoisting of the Mother's flag at the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. Thereafter 'Victory to the Mother' was chanted and a recording of 'Vande Mataram' was played.
From 6 to 6:30 pm there was reading of 'Savitri' in the Relics House. The Mother's Prayer and Message were read out, followed by meditation for half an hour. Everyone present received prasad and copies of Sri Aurobindo's quotation of 13 July from the Quotation Calendar, along with the Mother's following message: "In each and everyone, the highest consciousness must be the ruler of the life."
News from India
Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
Shri Jamshed Mowalvala, being introduced before his Talk
Under the auspices of Sri Aurobindo Vyakhyana Mala, the Hyderabad branch of Sri Aurobindo Society arranged a series of talks by Shri Jamshed Mowalvala of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, from 11 to 15 June 2007 on the theme "Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's Thoughts on How India can Fulfil her Mission". His talks covered what is India and her mission, the psychological, mental and political methods India should adopt to fulfil her mission, the need for Indo-Pak and Hindu-Muslim unity, how the task of re-building India is to be taken as a spiritual task and what kind of leadership India should have for this purpose. All the talks were well attended.
Porbandar (Gujarat)
Smt. Jyotiben Thanki, lighting the lamp
The Participants during a warm-up exercise
The Youth Council of Porbandar Branch organised a one-day Youth Camp on 15 July 2007. About 65 youths in the age group of 12-30 yrs. participated in the Camp. The programme included various activities like yogasanas, group discussion, lectures on topics relevant to youth etc.
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
The Visakhapatnam Centre organised a one-day interactive programme on 17 June 2007 for the benefit of the representatives of the two Sri Aurobindo Study Circles promoted by the Visakhapatnam Centre at Anakapalle and Chodavaram. About 25 persons attended. The purpose of the programme was to find ways and means of strengthening the working of the Study Circles.
Ms. Satya, a teacher in the NCLP School run by the Sharada Valley Development Society, who was deputed to Puducherry to attend the "Education Camp - Study and Dialogues cum Workshop" from 20 to 28 May 2007 along with another teacher, narrated her experience and expressed her willingness to work as a teacher if a Mother's integral school is established locally. Shri K. Jogi Naidu, Executive Secretary, SVDS Tummapala, informed the gathering that these two teachers have shared their experiences and skills with 30 other teachers working in their organisations.
The participants made several useful suggestions but also stated the constraints such as non availability of literature and study material in the local language. It was agreed that the work of translating the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother would be taken up. Smt. B. Sri Krishna Veni, convener of the Study Circle at Anakapalle, volunteered to translate some of the works.
Noida (U.P.)
The Noida branch organised a talk by Swami Vidyanandji on "Science of Living & Mantric Healing: at the Bhavan on 2 June 2007. About 35 persons attended the talk.
A talk on "Science of Living - Know Why, Know How" by Shri Hans Dholkia was organised on 9 June 2007. About 30 persons attended the talk.
Starting from 1 June 2007, Audio & Video CDs on different spiritual aspects are played between 6:00 to 7:00 pm from Monday to Friday at the Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. On Saturdays in June 2007, the students of Sri Aurobindo Shiksha Niketan assembled and took part in group songs and prayers and have darshan of the Holy Shrine. Thereafter, they took part in games and entertainment activities.
Besides the above, regular activities of Meditation with the Mother's music daily in the morning and evening, Pranayam & Yogasan etc. are held regularly at the Centre's premises.
Sri Aurobindo Complex Trust (SACT), Bangalore
A four-day "Integral Education" teachers training camp was held between 28 and 31 May 2007 by Mr. Partho and Mrs. Vijay Bharati at the Complex. The camp was attended by more than 60 teachers.
On 24 June 2007 Shri Ramanath Chetty from Hyderabad spoke on "Physics and Metaphysics" and drew parallels between the "Life Divine" of Sri Aurobindo and modern physics.
Prof. Kittu Reddy from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry, released books on Value Education published by Sri Aurobindo Complex Trust for classes 6th and 7th, on 29 June 2007.
Dr. M.V. Nadkarni gave a series of talks from 4 to 7 July 2007 including a question-answer session related to Sri Aurobindo's yoga and sadhana on the last day.
Ranchi (Jharkhand)
On his visit to Ranchi from 14 to 19 June 2007, Shri Gopal Bhattacharjee, International Secretary of Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry, besides discussing organisational matters, spoke at the Hesal and Doranda Branches in Ranchi, Hazaribag and Ormanjhi on Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. He was also interviewed by Prabhat Khabar, a Hindi daily and the E-TV.
Chairman's visit to Dehradun (U.P.) and Chandigarh
Shri Pradeep Narang, Chairman, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry, spoke at the Dehradun branch on 28 June 2007 and at the Midtown Rotary Club, Chandigarh, on 2 July 2007, on the topic "Applied Spirituality".

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