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Hindu Conference in South Africa
From: Gaurang Desai <gdesai@megatest.com>
Subject: Hindu Conference in South Africa
India Post: July 27th 1995
Re-discovering Hindu Religion at World Hindu Conference in South
Africa A Special Report
By a Special Correspondent
DURBAN (South Africa): It was a gala event for the Hindus in
South Africa and generally for the whole people in this newly
resurrected country when the World Hindu Conference was organized
and addressed by the President, Nelson Mandela himself. It was a
first of its kind that attracted representatives from 30
countries.
The Prime Minister of India, P.V. Narasimha Rao sent a message of
good wishes and greetings.
There were havans, bhajans, saint meeting, detailed seminars on
various aspects of Hinduism, the Hindu philosophy and modern
education etc. (Briefly reported previously).
The first World Hindu Conference (WHC) in Africa, July 7-10 drew
thousands of delegates. In addition, several Swamis from all over
the world enlightened everyone with their discourses and top
international artists provided world class entertainment.
Representatives of the Hindu Students Council (HSC) National
Coordination Council, Kanchan Banerjee, Pramod Sanghi, Siva Hota,
and Srikanta Mookerjee attended the Conference on behalf of the
youth of the United States of America and Canada.
Havan and prayers were performed to start the conference on an
auspicious note. This was at the Hindu temple in the University
of Durban - Westville. Several hundred Hindus gathered, including
many prominent religious leaders. The Havan was performed in a
typical Hindu manner and concluded with aarti, prayer, and
prasad.
The acting Vice-chancellor of the University, Dr. M.M. Balintulo,
gave an inaugural speech, for the official opening of the exhibit
on Hindu Dharma and its relevance to South Africa. He emphasized
that "Hindus have contributed a lot to the development of the
South African nation through selfless sacrifice for ending
apartheid."
A viewing of the exhibit showed hundreds of displays depicting
Hindu culture and civilization around the world, as well as of
the South African Hindu. In addition, several Hindu organizations
such as ISKCON, the Divine Life Society, Ramakrishna Center of
South Africa, the Veda Dharma Sabha and the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha
were represented. This demonstrated the strong influence of Hindu
Dharma in the South African community.
In the evening, a Civic Reception was held in the City Hall of
Durban with a lot of pomp and splendor and was attended by over a
thousand people. The Mayor of Durban spoke and gave everyone a
warm welcome. There was live entertainment consisting of
classical Indian dancing and singing.
On July 8, the thrust was on the academic program. Delegates from
around the world spoke on different topics. The program started
with a welcome by Dr. R. Sitaram, Head of the Department of
Indian Languages, University of Durban - Westville. This was
followed by a prayer and inaugural speech by R. Ramnarain,
Chairman of WHC Committee. The keynote address was presented by
three people. Professor K.L. Seshagiri Rao, Virginia (USA),
talked about "Hinduism - Vision for the 21st century." Dattopant
Thengadi, New Delhi (Bharat), spoke on "Integral Humanism," and
finally, Professor V. Venkatachalam, Varanasi (Bharat), provided
another perspective on "Hinduism - Vision for the 21st Century."
The youth delegates convened separately from the adults. Satish
Komal, coordinator, WHC Youth Programs, chaired the inaugural
session. After the prayer, opening and welcome, he introduced the
keynote speaker, Mukeeshwar Choonee, Minister for Youth and
Culture of Mauritius. Choonee gave an inspiring address about
Hinduism and the need for a vision. He said, "We have a great
religion. We must rediscover the vision of Hinduism." In
addition, his most inspiring statement was, "Next world war is
going to be a cultural war. In terms of culture, we are the
best!"
This energized and inspired everyone tremendously and instilled
an added sense of pride in our Hindu heritage. A preview of the
youth session structure was then provided and all the youth broke
up into three parallel discussions. Several speakers took to
different subjects. The first discussion on "Hindu Youth and
Education" was chaffed and moderated by Kanchan Banerjee (HSC,
Boston, USA). One of the speakers, Srikanta Mookherjee (HSC,
Pittsburgh, USA), talked about "Hinduism in the Diaspora - the
role of Hindu Youth." The second discussion on "Hindu Youth -
Science and Religion" was chaired and moderated by Rohit Ambekar
(Nuneaton, U.K.). Pramod Sanghi (HSC, Michigan, USA), spoke on
"Medical Ethics - the use of animals in experiments: the Hindu
viewpoint." The third discussion on "Religion and Philosophy" was
chaired and moderated by Ashwin Patel (Nairobi, Kenya). One of
the speakers, Siva Hota (HSC, Michigan, USA), talked about
"Science, Religion, and Hinduism."
The talks were followed by a brief question and answer session
with concluding remarks by the chairperson.
After lunch, all the youth convened again for the session on
"Hindu Youth and Strategies for the 21st Century." Pravesh
Hurdeen, coordinator of the WHC Youth Programs, was the
chairperson and Yashika Singh, another coordinator of the WHC
Youth Programs was responsible for the resolutions. Several
speakers presented their thoughts on the subject. Some talked
about obstacles and problems encountered, while others on the
need for proper education, growth, and pride. Kanchan Banerjee
strongly emphasized "the need for Hindus to contribute in all
fields - business, science, engineering, law, medicine, and
philosophy."
Dr. Mahesh Mehta, polymer scientist and community leader, USA,
gave an inspiring keynote address. He presented problems of today
and challenges of tomorrow. A question-answer session followed
along with the formulation and adoption of the youth resolution.
The resolution started by saying that, "We must be proud to be
Hindu...." and went on to say that the youth should take an
active role in overcoming obstacles such as the caste system and
cultural differences to unite. In addition, it stated that the
youth must take the lead today in preserving Hindu Dharma for
tomorrow.
Concluding remarks were presented and the session concluded with
a prayer. Later, an evening filled with enchanting entertainment
was provided by local artists from Durban and internationally
renowned artists such as Pundit Pithukuli Mulugadas and
Hridayanath Mangeshkar (brother of Lata Mangeshkar). On Sunday,
July 9, the biggest Hindu rally in Africa took place at
Chatsworth Stadium. Over 30,000 people representing twenty
countries and forty societies were present. After a short prayer,
all the delegates and societies from all over the world took part
in the rally. Once again Pandit Pithukuli Murugadas sang world
class, inspirational devotional songs until the arrival of
President Dr. Nelson Mandela. The President was warmly greeted by
many enthusiastic Hindus. With Senai music in the background and
tabla from Shyam Kane (Michigan, USA), a traditional garland was
placed around Mandela's neck to welcome him to this gala
occasion.
The President spoke about Hinduism and its effect on South
Africa. "Nurturing of Hinduism in South Africa has been revering.
In the past, several Hindu leaders were a part of the struggle
for democracy-- such as M.K. Gandhi," said the President. He also
talked about the influence of these leaders : " The writings of
Gandhi and Nehru had a profound influence on South Africa and my
thinking." The President also stressed the importance of
"tolerance and respect of values for other religions and people."
He stated, "South Africa is the country of many religions. All
religions should be represented in our proceedings. All religions
play an equal part, there has to be equality of all religions."
Towards the end of his speech, he emphasized that "Hinduism has a
special role to play in nation building. Let us dedicate
ourselves to a challenge. The challenge we face is to work on
common grounds. Create a better life for South Africans."
Many prominent swamis, gurus, and community leaders spoke on
various issues pertaining to Hindu heritage. Over twenty
internationally renowned swamis gave discourses on Hindu Dharma.
In addition, Dr. Mahesh Mehta envisioned the "next century to be
a Hindu century." Satish Komal, one of the youth speakers, called
for Hindus to join hands and become united in South Africa.
Kanchan Banerjee, another youth speaker, stressed that "the youth
of today must give something to the world Sanatana Dharma. He
raised the slogan "Sanatan Dharma Ki Jai" and it was echoed. The
day concluded with aarti and a spectacular fireworks display that
captivated everyone.
July 10, the final day, function was chaired by Dr. R. Sitaram.
Dr. Mahesh Mehta provided the keynote address on "Hinduism : A
Vision for the 21st Century." He started off in Sanskrit by
stating, "Eko Hum Bahasvaha" meaning, "I am the one, that we all
should be part of God." He stressed the need for integration of
vision. "Knowledge is the prerequisite for vision. We don't have
the knowledge. So currently there is no integration of our
vision." He pointed out that the theme of the past two centuries
was "exclusiveness," and his "vision" must change. If the vision
changes, then the outlook on humanity will change. So "think
globally, act locally."
Finally, Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, physicist and former President
of Bharatiya Janata Party in India, provided the keynote address
on "Science and Religion." He talked about science and how it has
made the world into a machine. "Science keeps going in circles
looking for the meaning of life." He added that the meaning of
life, "can't be measured by parts since everything is
interrelated. The whole is more important."
After the plenary session, another set of parallel sessions took
place. One session pertained to African traditions and Hinduism
from ancient times. There were many scholars who spoke on the
subject - Reuben Thuku (Nairobi, Kenya), Prof. Ganesh Prasad
Pokhariyal (Nairobi, Kenya), and Dr. Cyril Hromnik (South
Africa), to name a few. The other session pertained to religion
and philosophy which was a continuation from the previous
session.
The first World Hindu Conference in South Africa concluded with a
statement and revision of resolutions. All of them passed
including the youth resolution. That final evening all the
delegates received a very warm sendoff. The hospitality of the
organizing committees and the volunteer organizations was
commendable. At the Village Green Stadium, North Beach, Durban a
farewell dinner was organized. There were lots of congratulatory
messages by the organizing committee, excellent food and a
splendid musical program by Pundit Murugadas, Hridayanth
Mangeshkar, Shiv Kumar Sharma (musical director), and Shyam Kane.
For all Hindus, from the first Hindu settlers in South Africa in
the 1860s to now, the conference marked the end of apartheid and
a new beginning. This was the event of the century for Hindus in
South Africa and concluded with the slogan "Hindu Dharma Ki Jai."
