August 15, 2022, will mark the completion of 150 years of Sri Aurobindo’s birth and 75 years of Indian Independence. As a part of this Sesquicentenary Celebration, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture (SAFIC), Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry – which is an internationally reputed organisation working on the field of Indian Culture, Philosophy, Literature, Sanskrit & Yoga in the light of Sri Aurobindo – along with their various reputed collaborating organisations, initiated a two-year celebration to present Sri Aurobindo as the Rishi of India’s Renaissance through a series of 12 webinars over this period (One webinar every two months) before the grand celebration happens.
On the 12th of August 2020, the first webinar of this Sesquicentenary Celebration took place on the Topic: Sri Aurobindo – The Rishi of India’s Renaissance. Dr Sampadananda Mishra, Director, SAFIC and the Convenor of the Sesquicentenary Celebration welcomed the esteemed guests and explained the purpose of this two yearlong celebration. Ms Nilima Bhat, the founder of Shakti Leadership, gave the introduction to the theme of the webinars and set the platform for the Keynote address to take place. Eminent speakers including Padma Bhushan Dr David Frawley, a Hindu Vedic Acharya from the USA, Padma Shri Prof. Subhash Kak, a renowned scientist and the Regents Professor at the Oklahoma State University, Dr Anirban Ganguly, Director of the Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation amongst others participated enthusiastically with their talks and deliberations on the topic.
Dr Frawley in his keynote speech said – “India (Bharat) needs to reawaken its connection to Sri Aurobindo so that humanity can get back on track for its real work which is the greater evolution of consciousness.”
Dr Subhash Kak highlighted that sadly; there is no mention of Sri Aurobindo or internalisation of his message in the Indian education system.
Dr Anirban Ganguly stated that he could see the vision of Sri Aurobindo’s and The Mother’s integral education in the new national education policy.
In the end, Sri Dattatreya Hosabele (Sah-Sarakaryavaaha), Joint General Secretary, of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also added that following Sri Aurobindo’s views are essential for India’s renaissance and that India is at the threshold of this reawakening.
Gitanjali, Founding CEO and Dean of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives. Ladakh touched upon the key points discussed in the webinar and offered the vote of thanks. She introduced the initiative Transformindia.com and invited everyone to its launch on 22nd August 2020 (7:00 am to 8:30 pm). As a part of this launch, Gitanjali who is the Founder of Transformindia.com will have a conversation with Padma Shri Prof. Subhash Kak, a renowned scientist and the Regents Professor at the Oklahoma State University and Shri Sonam Wangchuk, Innovator, Education Reformist, Founder, SECMOL & HIAL “On the Need to Transform India.”
Transformindia.com will be partnering SAFIC in a two-year Mahayajnya (a conscious collective effort in line with the forces of evolution) leading up to Aug 15, 2022, wherein a revival of Indian thought and powerful creation in the following Decisive Action areas will be aspired for: Spirituality & Consciousness, Language & Literature, Politics & Governance, Art & Culture, Technology & Artisanship, Health & Wellness, Education & Research, Humanities & Liberal Arts, Dairy & Agriculture, Design & Architecture, Business & Economics and Maths & Pure Sciences!
The eminent Organisations Collaborating in this Mahayajna are Sri Aurobindo Centre for Advanced Research (SACAR), Rashtram School of Public Leadership, Indian Yoga Association, Shakti Leadership, Pondicherry University, Hindu University of America, Sardar Patel University, Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Research Foundation, S-Vyasa – Swamy Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Indica Yoga, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh and Sanskruti Samvardhan & Sanshodhan Pratishthan, Re-Think India Institute, Bharatiya Shikhan Mandal, Overman Foundation, American Institute of Vedic Studies.
