As part of the 125th Anniversary Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago Addresses, a National Seminar on Hindusim for Youth was held at Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai on 21 September 2019.
The day-long program included four sessions. The program was inaugurated with arati and flower offering to Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Maa Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Ramakrishnananda and lighting of the lamp by Srimat Swami Gautamananda ji, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Nikhileshwarananda ji, Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Ashrama, Rajkot delivered the inaugural address.
The second session began with the devotion bhajans sung by Pradeesh Balan and his party. Twenty-four shortlisted participants presented their papers on different themes relevant to the Chicago Addresses followed by group discussions which were moderated by the monks of the Math and other resource persons.
The third session included a talk by the guest speakers. Prof. Sumita Roy, Professor of English, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, gave a scholarly talk. Sri Vijay Menon, Guest faculty at IAS Academy Mussoorie and IIM delivered an inspiring speech on Hinduism. After that, a recorded video talk by Swami Tyagananda ji, Minister in Charge, Vedanta Society, Boston on aspects of Hinduism was played.
The fourth session began with the welcome address by Swami Vimurtananda. Dr. M.K.Surappa, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University, Chennai delivered a talk. Dr. Sudha Seshayyan, Vice-Chancellor, Dr.M.G.R. Medical University, gave a special address. She spoke on ‘Status of Women in Hinduism.’ Srimat Swami Gautamananda ji Maharaj graced the function with his benedictory address.
