On a spiritual high

Apart from having a one-week Bhagvad Katha Festival,International Society for Krishna Concern (ISKCON),Pune,is planning to start a programme,Discover yourself,which will be based on scientific understandings of Bhagvad Gita. The organisation would also challenge Darwin’s theory of evolution on an international basis. This six-session course,which will be held on six successive Sunday evenings is designed by ISKCON President Radheshyam Das,President of ISKCON,Pune and the course has 10,000 graduates in India as well as in Germany and USA.

“We are reday with our study that proves Darwin’ theory wrong and we would start our New Year with some good and correct thoughts,” says Krishna Bhajan Das,public relation officer,ISKCON,Pune.

Among other routine events,ISKCON will have Mahabishek of Lord Krishna on December 31 at Golibar Maidan from 9 pm onwards.

Maa Sadhana member of the management team at the Osho Meditation Resort has a slightly different take on the New Year Celebrations. She says,“For New Year celebrations we have a Dance celebration on December 31 and only those people who have meditated for the whole day at the resort will be allowed to participate in the celebration. The reason behind that being that the celebrations is a culmination of the meditation that people have done,” she adds.

Mataji Krishna Kashyap of Punyadhan Ashram says that they plan to begin the coming year on note of harmony and love. “Apart from following our usual routine of performing Rudra Abishek,chanting mantras and singing hymns and bhajans,we plan to conduct yajnas,havan and special prayer for peace,harmony and love for fellow humans,” says Mataji Krishna.

Vikasji Runwal,head of Saidatta Vikas Foundation Trust,feels that they should not wait for occasion if we to start something new. “In India each day is New Year day with Baisakhi,Holi,Gudi Padwa,Pateti,Diwali and many more occasion celebrated as New Year Day. So Coming January 1 will also be one of those special occasions. However,I would like to insist on the goodness of meditation and peace,which is the need of the hour – Good health and peaceful social setup. We will spend extra two hours in meditation to herald in the New Year.”

Sadhu Vaswani Mission will be having a New Year Upadesh (discourse) to tell people how they might shape our lives in the New Year,along with some routine programmes. However,the most special programme scheduled for this year is to bring out people from the clutches of the 2012 fear. “This year the movie 2012 seems to have captured the imagination of the people,and all around there is a wave of depression. We propose to counteract it with a message,which emphasizes the truth that yesterday is history,tomorrow is a mystery,today is the gift that we have received out of the spotless hands of God,” says J P Vaswani,spiritual head of the mission.