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Year (May 2014-April 2015)

News from May 2014 to April 2015:: News from May 2014 to April 2015

11th-12th April 2015

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UPANISADIC LITERATURE OF THE VEDAS

A National Conference was organized by the Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies in the eve of its ninth anniversary in the Ramaiah Hall of the OUAT, Bhubaneswar on 11th and 12th April 2015. The guest in the inaugural function was Prof. Alekh Chandra Sadangi, former Vice Chancellor, Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University, Prof. D.P.Ray, former Vice-Chancellor of OUAT and Prof. Aditya Mohanty, Retd. Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, Utkal University, Vani Vihar. The meeting was presided over by Dr. Indulata Das, Director, Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies, Bhubaneswar. The programme started with lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of Lord Jagannath. Vedic Mangalacharana was recited by Pandit Harekrishna Dhupal sarma. In his speech Prof. Sadangi highlighted various aspects of Upanisadic literature and discussed about the author, time and importance of Upanisads in detail. Prof. Aditya Mohanty discussed about the subject matter and the various schools of Philosophy in the Upanisads. Prof. Devi Prasad Ray praised the endeavour of Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies. In the sequence prize was distributed to various winners of the Yoga General Knowledge Test held on 29th March 2015. Eminent personalities like Sri S.Sundar Rajan, Sri Manoranjan Kara, Sri Sudarsan Nayak, Sri Dhiren Pattnaik, Sri Sanjay Kumar Swain, Sri Saumya Narayana Panigrahi, Prof. Gopal Krishna Dash, Dr. Gopal Krishna Srichandan, Prof. Siddheswar Jena and Dr. Bharat Chandra Nath were among the audience.
Many scholars from different parts of the country and of the state participated in the two-day-long National Conference in which many topics related to Upanisad were discussed.

The valedictory function was organized at 4.00 PM on 12.4.2015. Prof. D.N. Jena, Vice-Chancellor, Utkal University of Culture and Sri Arun Kumar Upadhyaya, Retd. IPS were the guests in the valedictory function. In his speech Prof. Jena said such Conferences are the real torch bearers of the present day society. Sri Arun Kumar Upadhyaya discussed about different subjects related to the Upanisads. Chairman Dr. Indulata Das said that the Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies has been doing various activities for the last nine years. It is possible only due to the grace of Lord Jagannatha. The meeting ended with the Santipatha recited by Pandit Harekrisna Dhupal Sarma. Both the inaugural and the valedictory functions were anchored by Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra.

13.3.2015

AYOS Organises Monthly Lecture (99th) on "Panini and His Legacy-2"

     The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized a lecture on “Panini and his Legacy -2” in the Conference Hall of SC ST RTI, Bhubaneswar on 14.3.2015 at 6.00 PM. Prof. Radhamadhav Dash of Dept. of Sanskrit, Utkal University was the speaker of the occasion and the meeting was presided over by Sri S. Sundar Rajan. The lecture was in continuation with the last lecture.
          The programme started with offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati and Vedic Mangalacharana which was followed by a melodious Bhajan of Lord Jagannatha sung by Sri Damodara Senapati. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra anchored the programme.
          In his speech Prof. Dash said all the post-Panini grammarians have borrowed ideas from Panini. Panini is like a banyan tree. Nobody could excel him. Of course grammarians like Bhattoji Dixit have tried to re-chapterise the Astadhyayi in a different way in order to facilitate the understanding of the new learners. Because of the great contribution of Panini Sanskrit has become a unique language in the whole world. No other language is so rich as Sanskrit. Sanskrit does not allow corruption in language. It is pure and logical.
          After the lecture there was a question-answer session in which many scholars asked questions which were satisfactorily answered by the speaker. Eminent scholar Sri Sundar Rajan recited many Sanskrit poems which were composed on Panini.
Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra thanked the audience and the meeting was over with Vedic Santipath.

14.2.2015

AYOS Organises Monthly Lecture (98th) on “Panini and his Legacy-1”

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized a lecture on “Panini and his Legacy” in the Conference Hall of SC ST RTI, Bhubaneswar on 14.2.2015 at 6.00 PM. Prof. Radhamadhav Dash of Dept. of Sanskrit, Utkal University was the speaker of the occasion and the meeting was presided over by Sri Mahamedhanathhanda Saraswati. The programme started with offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati and Vedic Mangalacharana which was followed by a melodious Bhajan of Lord Jagannatha sung by Sri Damodara Rout. In his speech Prof. Dash said Panini authored the grand grammar book named “Astadhyayi” to stabilize Sanskrit and to save it from distortion. Astadhyayi has eight chapters with 3997 Stutras in it. Great scholar Katyayan wrote Vartika and Panini wrote the great commentary called “Mahabhasya” on the Astadhyayi. Panini, Katyayana and Patanjali together are known as “Muni Traya”. Many grammar books have been written in the subsequent years. All the authors have followed the norms of Panini. Because of the undying work of Panini Sanskrit has obtained the honour of the greatest language of the world. After the lecture there was a question-answer session in which many scholars asked questions which were satisfactorily answered by the speaker. Eminent scholar Sri Sundar Rajan recited a Sanskrit poem which was composed on Panini.
Dr. Indulata Das thanked the audience and the meeting ended with Vedic Santipatha.

4.2.2015

AYOS celebrates Saraswati Puja.

10.1.2015

AYOS organised Monthly Lecture (97th)on "Meditationa and Neuroscience"

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized a lecture on “Meditation and Science” in the conference Hall of SC ST RTI, CRP Square, Bhubaneswar at 6.00 PM on 10.1.2015. Dr. Ajit Kumar Nayak, writer was the speaker of the occasion. Eminent scholar Sri Arun Kumar Upadhyay, IPS. (Retd.) chaired the meeting. The programme started with offering of flowers and lighting of lamps at the feet of goddess Saraswati. In his speech Dr. Nayak said the whole world has recognized the excellence of Yoga. Numerous problems related to the human body and mind could be removed by the help of Yoga. Yogic meditation is equally fruitful like the Yoga Asanas. A person who practices Dhyana enjoys a calm and undisturbed mind. There is considerable enhancement in his physical and mental strength. His memory increases. His longevity elongates and old age is delayed. He is free from health problems arising from stress.There was a question answer session after the lecture. Many scholars present in the audience enriched the discussion by their valuable participation. Sri Upadhyaya, in his presidential address quoted his own experience and said that the mental capability of a man increases by the practice of Dhyana. Dhyana is extremely useful for students. The meeting ended with Santipath.

8.12.2014

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized lecture on “AIDS and Indian Culture” in the Conference hall of SC ST RTI on 13.12.2014 at 6.00 PM. The speaker was Dr. Indulata Das and the meeting was presided over by eminent scholar Sri S. Sundar Rajan, IAS. The meeting started with lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati. Sri Bhaskar Chandra Pattnaik, a member of AYOS welcomed the guests and the audience.
In her speech Dr. Indulata Das said AIS and HIV are the two words which are playing havoc in the whole world. AIDS originally was not a disease of the human being. The virus which causes AIDS is called HIV which came to human being from the African monkeys. AIDS passes through three stages. The first stage is called “Acute Infection” or “Primary HIV”. In this stage there is an influenza like illess. There is inflammation of throat, fever, headache, vomiting, nausea and muscular pain etc. Invariably this illness is misdiagnosed as common cold. The second stage is called “Clinincal Latency” and is the most dangerous one. In this stage there is no symptom at all. The usual duration of this stage is from three to twenty years. Then there is the last stage which is called AIDS. The patient suffers from infections of the brain, eyes, lungs, skin, stomach, intestine, other opportunistic infections, various cancers and diverse psychiatric and neurological problems. There may be heavy loss of weight, prolonged fever and diarrhea. There are four main routes through which HIV is transmitted from one person to another viz. sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, from mother to child and through hypodermic needle. HIV can not be transmitted by salive, tears, mosquitoes, by using same cloths, by shaking hands etc. The most dangerous thing about AIDS is that it is a stigma. According to official record 36 million people have died since it was detected in 1981. Same number of people are under the shadow of AIDS.
Adherence to Indian Culture can play a big role in preventing AIDS. Indian culture is a culture of control, restriction and discipline. Restricted sexual activities, sex only after marriage and within marriage are great helps in checking the deadly syndrome. In Indian culture tremendous importance is attached on Brahmacharya. Brahmacharya is considered by Indian indigenous medical system (Ayurveda) to be one of the three supports of life, the other two being food and sleep. Brahmacharya is also considered to be the first step of Yoga without which no real progress in Yoga is possible.
About sex education in the schools she said it is a suicidal idea. Adolescence is a very important phase of life. It should be properly guided by the practice of Brahmacharya. Therefore instead of sex education “Education of Brahmacharya” should be imparted in schools, she said.

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organised a lecture on "The Doctrine of Sanakaracharya" on 8.11.2014 in the Confernce Hall of SC, ST, RTI, Bhubaneswar. Sri Santosh Kumar Mohanty was the speaker of the occasion. The meeting was presided over by Sri Dukhishyam Pattnaik. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra extended a hearty welcome to the guests and the audience. The programme started with lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati and Vedic Mangalacharana. In his speech Sri Santosh Mahanti said Sri Sankaracharya was a great philosopher and a Yogi. He was the savior of Indian Philosophy. Advaita Vedanta is his great contribution to the world. He wrote commentary of all the major Upanisads, Brahmasutra and Bhagvadgita. He also wrote many original books.
After the lecture was over there was a question-answer session in which many scholars participated and forwarded their views. The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra.

AYOS organised Monthly Lecture (94th) on “FOOD AND EATING HABIT: INDIAN CONCEPT”

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized lecture on “Food and Eating Habit: Indian Concept” in the Conference hall of SC ST RTI on 11.10.2014 at 6.00 PM. The speaker was Dr. Indulata Das and the meeting was presided over by Dr. Ajit Kumar Nayak. The meeting started with lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra, a member of AYOS welcomed the guests and the audience.
In her speech Dr. Indulata Das said a human body has four desires viz. desire for food, water, sleep and sexual intercourse. Food is also one of the three supports of life the other two being sleep and continence (Brahmacharya). Food not only sustains the human body it also designs the mind and nature of a man. Food should be chosen with great care along with the time, place and method of eating. Proper plates should also be chosen for eating. Water should not be taken after or before food but intermittently. One should have a stroll of one hundred steps after taking food. Food should not be accepted from everybody and should not be taken in the public. Food also should not be taken for the satisfaction of one’s Indriya but should be taken as an offering to the Lord residing in the temple of the body. There was a question-answer session after the lecture in which scholars like Sri S. Sundar Rajan, Dr. B.K.Swain, Dr. Ajit Nayak and others participated. In his presidential speech Dr. Ajit Nayak said our food habits are scientifically being investigated and found correct by eminent scientists now. We should abide by our rules about food and eating habits so that it is transmitted automatically to the next generation. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra proposed the vote of thanks. The meeting ended with Santipatha.

AYOS organised Monthly Lecture (93rd) on "Yogic Perspectives in Kalidasa's Literature"

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized lecture on “Yogic Perspectives in Kalidasa’s Literature” in the Conference hall of SC ST RTI on 13.9.2014 at 6.00 PM. The speaker was Prof. Gauranga Charana Nayak and the meeting was presided over by Sri Satakadi Hota. The meeting started with lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra delivered the welcome speech. In his speech Prof. Gauranga Charana Nayak said nothing is known about the personal life of Kalidasa. But the writer is reflected in his literature. Kalidasa’s literature is no less than a Kathamrita. Kalidasa was not only well versed in Yoga but was Yoga comes to one’s life as an outcome of a shock and as a turning point. When Parvati was shocked to see the cupid burnt before her she determined to get Lord Siva by Yoga. The fifth canto is full of Yogic descriptions. Siva himself is the greatest Yogi. Goddess Parvati performed many Yogic practices during her penance. The kings of the Raghu’s dynasty used to shed their bodies in Yoga. There was a question-answer session after the lecture in which scholars like Sri S. Sundar Rajan, Sri Nihar Acharya and others participated. In his presidential speech Sri Satakadi Hota said Yoga is the attainment of higher consciousness. Achievement of Siddhis and exhibition of the same is not the goal of Yoga. Liberation or eternal peace is the only goal of Yoga. Sri Mihir Mishra, on behalf of the Academy thanked the audience and the guests. The meeting ended with Vedic Santipatha.

AYOS organised Monthly Lecture (92nd) on "Mahabharata War and the Advent of Kali Era"

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized lecture on “Mahabharata War and the Advent of Kali Era” in the Conference hall of SC ST RTI on 9.8.2014 at 6.00 PM. The speaker was Prof. Nagendra Nath Pradhan and the meeting was presided over by Retd. IAS and eminent scholar Sri S. Sundar Rajan. The meeting started with lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati. In his speech Prof. Nagendra Nath Pradhan said India was the most civilized country in the world. Historians of the world were afraid of this truth and therefore the real history of India was suppressed to the limit and untrue stories were propagated. One of such false propagations was that Aryas came to India from outside of which there is no evidence in the whole gamut of our literature. Personalities like Mandhata, Vasistha, Viswamitra and Ikswaku are absolutely rejected by the so called historians as mythological characters without any specific reason. But nobody has any answer to the question that how persons who have composed Vedic hymns could be considered as absolutely imaginary. Discovery of river Saraswati is one of the opening gates to Indian history and culture. Narration of Balaram’s pilgrimage to Saraswati in the Mahabharata is has a great evidence of the antiquity of history of India. Balaram observed that Saraswati was disappearing from several places and appearing in some other places. It was the first indication of drying of Saraswati. The Dwapara ended and Kaliyuga appeared with the disappearance of Sri Krisna. There was a question-answer session after the lecture in which scholars like Dr. Gopal Mohapatra, Sri Nihar Acharya, Dr. B.K.Swain, Dr. Ajit Kumar Nayak, senior journalist Sri Sugyan Kumar Mohanty etc. participated. The meeting ended with Vedic Santipatha.

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized lecture on “Geography and Mathematics in Puranas” in the Conference hall of SC ST RTI on 12.7.2014 at 6.00 PM. The speaker was Sri Arun Kumar Upadhyaya and the meeting was presided over by Dr. Indulata Das, Director, AYOS. The meeting started with lighting of lamps and offering flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra, a member of AYOS delivered the welcome speech.
In his speech Sri Upadhyaya said “Geography & astronomy are inter-related. For map of a country, determination of 3 measures is needed, described in Tri-prashnadhikara of astronomy texts-Latitude, longitude, Direction. These are needed in navigation in deep seas also which was known only in India till 1480 AD. In astronomy also, distance of moon can be measured only by simultaneous observation of moon from 2 far places. Their distance & matching of clock depends on accurate maps. In ancient world, maps of north hemisphere was made in 4 sheets-called 4 petals of earth lotus-namely Bharata, Bahdrashva in east, Ketumal in west, and Uttar-Kuru on opposite side. These were in 4 colours called 4 colours of Meru-sides. 4 colour convention is still followed in mapping-though not proved so far in maths. Indian sheet was from equator to north pole with centre at Ujjain and 45 degs west to east. Bharat, China, Russia were 3 lokas of Indra. On pattern of 7 lokas, this was divided into 7 lokas. Remaining 7 sheets-3 in north & 4 in south were called 7 talas-Atala, Sutala, Vitala, Talatala, Patala, Rasatala. There were 4 cardinal towns on globe, lanka or Ujjain was zero longitude, Romakapattana in west, Yamakotipattana in east and Siddhapura on opposite side, Purans give different sets of 4 towns-Amaravati of Indra, Sanyamani in west, Sukha of Varuna in east and Vibhavari of Soma on opposite side. North-south poles were Sumeru-Kumeru. Eastern Meru was Pran-meru = Pami, western was Apara-Meru = Peru and in centre was Meru on equator in Kenya. There were other local references including 15 Merus and about 20 Lankas. There were 60 time zones instead of modern 48 zones. Junctions were places of sun-many of which still exist. There were 7 continents separated into countries by varsha-parvatas-these make a monsoon zone. Varsha =rain zone or country are divided into Janapadas by Kula-parvatas. Many names in ancient geography are based on shape of regions which needs accurate mapping. Mapping and astronomy needs advanced mathematics, spherical trigonometry, calculus, numerical analysis and accurate measuring instruments. There was a question-answer session after the lecture in which scholars like Dr. Prasanta Acharya, Dr. Ajit Nayak, Sri Sudhansu Kr. Bhuyan etc. participated. The meeting ended with Vedic Santipatha.

AYOS organised Monthly Lecture (90th) on "Ancient Indian Culture and Education"

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies organized a lecture on “Ancient Indian Cultute and Education” on 14.6.2015 (second Saturday) at 9.00 PM in the Conference Hall, SC ST RTI, CRP square, Bhubaneswar. Prof. V.B.Sastri, Retd. Principal, Radhanath College, Cuttack was the speaker of the occasiona. The meeting was presided over by Sri Dukhishyam Pattanaik. The programme started with the lighting of lamps and offering of flowers at the feet of goddess Saraswati. In his speech Prof. Sastri said India had reached a great height in the field of education in ancient India. Imparting knowledge was known as “Brahma Yajna” and was considered to be one of the most sacred actions. Mostly disciples used to live with the preceptors in their Ashramas and learn. After they completed their education they were called “Snatakas” and they were allowed to go back home and start a house hold life. But they were advised to actively practice the Swadhyaya. After the lecture was over there was a question-answer session in which scholars present participated with enthusiasm. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra thanked the audience and the guests. The programme ended with Vedic Santipatha.

AYOS organised Monthly Lecture (89th) on "Philosophical Implications in Kalidasa's Literature"

The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies, Bhubaneswar organized a lecture on “The Philosophical Implications in Kalidasa’s Literature” in the Conference Hall of SC ST RTI, CRP Square, Bhubaneswar. Prof. Gauranga Chanran Nayak, former Vice Chancellor, Sri Jagannatha Sanskrit University, Puri was the speaker of the occasion. Prof. R.K.Mishra presided over the meeting. The programme started with lighting of lamp and Vedic Mangalacharana. Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra welcomed the guests. The speaker, in his speech, said Indian Philosophy and culture are mainly based on renunciation or Tyaga. It is not a renunciation of action but “renunciation in action”. Added to this culture of renunciation there is the culture of penance which makes Indian culture unique in itself. Both renunciation and penance are adequately reflected in the literature of Kalidas. For example in the very beginning Lord Siva is invoked to dispel the ignorance of one and all so that the path of righteousness may be clearly visible for all of us. In the stanza Lord Siva is depicted as the incarnation of “renunciation in action”. Regarding the importance of penance which is imbued with self sacrifice for the achievement of a higher goal our mind is naturally drawn to the well known penance (tapas) taken up by Parvati. Regarding Kalidasa’s religious and metaphysical commitments, it would suffice to point out that he subscribed to the Vedic ideology of the ultimate Reality being one without a second. It should be borne in mind that even if Kalidasa was really a Vedantin in his outlook, he was also aware of the importance of other schools like Yoga. One thing is clear and it becomes more and more evident, as one goes through the immortal works of Kalidas carefully, that Kalidasa had utmost respect for varieties of schools of thought and for different sects, although it is also equally clear that he cannot be called sectarian by any stretch or imagination, he said.
There was a question answer session after the speech was over in which scholars like Sri S.Sundar Rajan, Sri Sudhansu Kr. Bhuyan etc. participated and contributed their views.
In his speech Sri Rajkishor Mishra said Kalidasa speaks about the soul of India. He is neither sectarian nor partisan. He has equal regards for all the schools of Philosophies although he is a staunch Vedantin.
Sri Mihir Kumar Mishra, on behalf of the Academy thanked the audience and the speakers. The meeting ended with Vedic Santipatha by Pandit Harekrishna Dhupala Sarma.