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Hindu Students
Council P.O. Box 9185 Boston, MA
02114-0041 Ph. (617)
698-1106 Email:
hsc@hindunet.org PRESS RELEASE: Hindu Students
Council (HSC) announces the start of the
"Dharma Life Project". September 29,
2001 HOUSTON / On
26th September 2001, The Dharma Life Project was
launched by Hindu Students Council (HSC) with a
ceremony in the Hindu Worship Society temple with the
blessed guidance of Pundit Rajendra Sharma. The ceremony
consisted of Ganesh Pooja, aarti and bhog. To mark
the beginning of this event worldwide, HSC chapters
in North America, Network of Hindu Minds (NetOHM), as
well as members and affiliate organizations
worldwide came together and held similar prayer events
at around 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Dharma Life is
a yearlong effort to bring the powerful messages of
the sages of Sanatana Hindu Dharma to students and
youth all across the world. These universal
messages find extreme relevance and importance
during a time when peace, harmony and protection are
the things that the world is aspiring most. Dharma
is such an idea that encompasses our entire
survival and existence. Dharma is essentially the way for
sustenance of this universe and the civilization.
The word Dharma literally means "that which
sustains" or holds things together. In reality and practice
the word stands for the rule of law, path of
righteousness and duties, which brings peace, progress and
happiness. Without Dharma or principles, the world
cannot exist. Therefore, understanding Dharma and
following the path of Dharma is essential for a
harmonious and progressive living. The project is
aimed at raising the awareness of people about
the Dharma, both individual as well as collective.
Through the Dharma Life Project, the organizers
want to bring talks, discussions, presentations
& activities to the young generation, especially in
the college campuses to help them understand and
live by the principles of the Dharma. The Dharma
Life Project is a project that is initiated by some of the
upcoming leaders of various communities belonging to
the Indic traditions in North America. This project
is a subtle yet a revolutionary effort that is being
made by the new breed of Indian and Hindu-American
and Canadian communities to bring about a change in
the entire thought process of a youth growing
between two extreme society. Realizing
several aspects of this problem, many small and scattered
Hindu groups have started forming in America,
Europe, South East Asia, South Africa and Pacific who
want to unite and address some social and religious
issues directly instead of compromising, avoiding and
running away from it. They are looking back to the
society that their parents had left long ago and come
to alien lands in search of their livelihoods.
This is not an investigation about a history, a
culture or a country, but about an identity; an
identity that has been lost through the years of
oppression, fusion, diversification and the struggle for
survival. A message from
Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder and
the Spiritual head of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam who
also headed the World Peace Summit at the United
Nations this year says:
"Dharma is the matrix of
norms that all human beings know by common sense and it
is the basis for human interaction with the world. It
is manifestations, not a mandate of Ishvara. The
more we assimilate Dharma, the more we are in harmony
with the world, with Ishvara. My prayers and
best wishes for the success of the Dharma Life
programs." The head of
the Chinmaya Mission Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji
blesses the project saying, "I am offering my
best wishes and prayers for the success of Hindu Student
Council's Dharma Life project. God bless you." "For
quite sometime in the world history", says Rakhi Israni, the
Dharma Life project coordinator, "we have only witnessed
war, terrorism and bloodshed. I believe that nature
functions in cycle and very soon violence and terrorism
are going to reach their nadir. It is then the world
would start searching for peace and grace in life.
India’s spiritual and yogic traditions, wisdom and
culture have lot to offer to the world. Through this
project we aim to make the young people around the
world belonging to various Indic traditions such as Hindu,
Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Vaishnavas, Shaivas etc.,
proud of their culture and aware of the vastness of
their religions." HSC's National
Coordinator Kanchan Banerjee said: "Dharma
means principles and acts for being, becoming and sustaining
a progressive life and a harmonious world. The
world knows and understands the meaning of the words such
as Guru, Karma and Mantra. Time has come that
people around the world would understand a much more
powerful and needed term: Dharma. After the tragic events
of September 11, the world needs to go back to the
fundamental principles for the sustenance of the
civilization and act. Dharma can be the impetus for a new era
to begin." Starting October
this year, student and youth organizations
around the world are going to pick up one topic each
month and ponder over them in discussions,
activities, presentations, lectures, exhibitions
and seminars. The topics range from Environment to
Science, Economics, role of Women to Mental and
Spiritual Health. Eminent scholars and social and
spiritual leaders will be attending various programs. For more
information, visit http://hscnet.org/ca/dharma/ ------------------ HSC is a North
American organization with college chapters in
over 50 chapters. HSC provides opportunities
to learn about Hindu heritage and culture,
foster awareness of issues affecting Hindus, & provide
SEVA (service) to the community.
For more info, visit
www.hscnet.org. More info. on
Hinduism is available at:
www.hindunet.org. |
