Ramakrishna Mission Kalyani organized an Introductory Workshop on ‘The Cultural Heritage of India’. The workshop was designed following the views of Swami Vivekananda on our rich knowledge heritage and the significance of its present day application. It was held at the Vivekananda Auditorium of RKM Kalyani during 14-18 September, 2024 from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm in two sessions with a lunch break of one hour. Thirty five (35) students from three nearby colleges participated this program. Most of the students were from JIS Polytechnic College, Kalyani.
The program started on 14 September with Vedic chanting, prayers and meditation, followed by a welcome address by the Ashrama Secretary. On the first day, during the first technical session, Br. Rajib of RKM Kalyani discussed on ‘Evolution of Number system, Arithmetic, Algebra – the Indian Contribution’. During the second session, Shri Shankar Narayanan presented his thoughts on ‘Philosophical difference between Indian and Western Knowledge system and its impact on Science and Mathematics’.
The second day started with ‘Self introspection through Seva Yoga’ by participation to the Dwipakshik Matri Puja, which is held in the Ashrama every third Sunday. As a part of the technical sessions, Br. Rajib discussed ‘Biological Sciences and Fossil studies in Ancient India’ in the fore noon and ‘Medical Science along with Surgery in Ancient India’ in the afternoon session. The topics covered on the third day were ‘Indian Achievements in Rasayana or Chemistry’ and ‘Heritage of Art and Music in Indian Culture’.
Swami Nityayogananda, Belur Math, presented two topics entitled ‘Introduction to Physics in Ancient India – Vaisheshika Phylosophy, Rishi Kanaada onwards’ and ‘Cosmology in Vedic and Vedantic context, in reference to Swami Vivekananda’ during the forenoon session of the fourth day. During the second session, some audio-visual presentations were displayed on ‘High Technology in Indian Heritage on Astra Vidya and Vaimanika Shastra’. A documentary on Vaimanika Shastra named ‘Marutsakha’ was also presented.
The topic covered during the first session of the fifth day was ‘Transmission of Indian Knowledge and influence of Bharatavarsha on other Ancient Civilizations’. During the second session, a documentary film on ‘Manaber Adi Janmabhumi’ was presented. The final technical session was presented by Prof. Pradip Kumar Majumder, an eminent mathematician and historian of mathematics.
Vedic chanting, prayers and meditations were performed at the beginning, and peace chanting were performed at the end of each day. Q&A sessions were also conducted following each of the technical sessions.
Feedback was taken from most of the participants, and they expressed their satisfaction on the rich knowledge they gained during the program. The workshop concluded on 18 September, 2024 at 3.00 pm with blissful concluding remarks by the Ashrama Secretary. The program ended with ‘Swadesh Mantra’ and ‘National Anthem’.
The activitites of the five-day long workshop can be viewed on YouTube.
