The Ministry of Culture and Heartfulness set to host World Spiritual Mahotsav
Hyderabad, 27 February 2024: The Ministry of Culture (Special Cell) and Heartfulness Core Committee members briefed the press on Monday on the roadmap for the upcoming World Spiritual Mahotsav to be held between 14-17 March 2024. The Core Committee members included Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal ji - Hon’ble MoS (Culture); Shri Pragyachaitanya – AOL; Swami Bodhnayanadra – R K Mission; Swami Chidananda Saraswati ji – Parmarth Niketan; Smt. Jayashree Kumari – Mata Amritanandamayi; Rajyogi Dr. B K Mruthyunjaya & Sister B K Shivika – Brahmakurmaris; Shri Jaideep Arya – Patanjali Yogpeeth; Shri Prasad Atmakur – Isha Foundation; Shri Raja Luiz and Shri Sekhar Reddy – Transcendental Meditation; Dr. Imam Umer Ahmad Iliyasi – All India Imam Organisation; Shri Rakesh ji – Shrimad Rajchandra Mission (Jainism); Shri Abhijit Haldar – International Buddhist Confederation (IBC); Shri S. Harjinder Singh Dhami – Shrimani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee; Rev. Oswald Gracias – Archbishop of Mumbai; Shri Janarthan Bothe – Tukdo ji Maharaj; Shri Dnyaneshwar More – Gyaneswar; Shri Ramesh ji – Chinna Jiyar Swami; and Shri V Srinivasan & Shri Sanjay Sehgal – Shri Ram Chandra Mission.
The World Spiritual Mahotsav is aimed to celebrating ‘India’s unique role and contribution in galvanizing the world on a spiritual path Global’. The main focus is to connect to oneself to others and the universe as enunciated in ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. The tagline of the summit is ‘Inner peace to world peace’. The four-day event will see spiritual gurus come together at the largest meditation centre in the world at Kanha Shanti Vanam to bring a confluence of beliefs merging into a single Spirit uniting the mankind.
The summit is also meant to be a confluence of inter-faith dialogue and help people of every age and every walk of life connect with spirituality in daily life. It is aimed at bringing transformation in spirituality so as to touch every individual for world peace.
During the core committee meet the plenary themes, the cultural programmes associated with spirituality, an exhibition showcasing India’s spiritual history and narratives of peace, immersive experience for spirituality through books or music, panchkarma centres and the role of eminent people from film, music and sports in sensitizing people in partaking of the World Spirituality Mahotsav and elaborate arrangements for the summit for the participants were discussed.
Hon’ble Minister of State for Culture Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “World Spiritual Mahotsav and its theme make a valuable subject for a summit and Kanha Shanti Vanam is perfect place to host it. During his famous visit at the World Religion Parliament, where Swami Vivekananda spoke on fraternity, kindness, compassion, a journalist asked him, ‘You have given a very good lecture. But when are you going to be independent from the British?’ Swami ji meditated to find the answer and said that India would become independent after 50 years. He even predicted that India would make great progress in 21st century. True to his words “India will be leader of the world economically and spiritually,” today we are the world leaders in Yoga, Ayurveda and Spirituality and Stress Management. This World Spiritual Mahotsav is going to be a milestone. Our spiritual knowledge is vast. On 14th of March and 16th of March, the Ministry of Culture will have roadmap to this spiritual evolution as part of the Amrit Kaal with our Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji and Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar ji. We are surely on the path becoming Viksit Bharat.“
Rev. Daaji – Guide of Heartfulness and President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission said, “This is going to be one of a kind spiritual event wherein there will be a learning for all of us to look beyond religion and look into the one Spirit that unites us all. As Krishna said in the Gita and as Christ too said, “All paths lead to me”, I suppose this World Spiritual Mahotsav will bring an understanding that every religion underscores the same values and leads to the same path eventually. We are like the various flowers that when put together make a garland. India has always embraced the diversity – be it in culture or religion; it will enlighten many to work towards evolution of consciousness. With a summit like this we are sure to lead as the Spiritual Capital of the World.”
About Heartfulness: Heartfulness offers a simple set of meditative practices and lifestyle changes, first developed at the turn of the twentieth century and formalized into teaching through the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945 in India with a goal to bring peace, happiness, and wisdom to one heart at a time. These practices are a modern form of Yoga designed to support contentment, inner calm, and stillness, compassion, courage, and clarity of thought, as the first step towards a purposeful life. They are simple and easily adopted and are appropriate for people from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs, and economic situations, who are over the age of fifteen. Ongoing training in Heartfulness practices continues at thousands of schools and colleges, and over 100,000 professionals are meditating in corporations, non-governmental, and government bodies worldwide. More than 5,000 Heartfulness Centers are supported by many thousands of certified volunteer trainers and millions of practitioners in 160 countries.
