PRESS  RELEASE
Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations
World Meet for Peace and Harmony on the 11th and 12th of September, 2012
Venue: Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi

The 6th of August is one of the saddest and darkest days in human history.  On this day, in the year 1945, the Allies used the monster called the Atom Bomb to destroy close to one lakh Japanese by bombing Hiroshima.  Of course, the Second World War ended soon, the United Nations was formed and there have been several initiatives for ushering in peace and harmony in the world.  Yet, the entire world seems to be in a state of turmoil.  Racial, ethnic, economic, religious and so many other factors seem to contribute towards the ever growing differences between nations and perhaps even within nations.  Humanity is in need of an ambrosia of peace and harmony.  The root of all conflicts and sufferings seem to be the utter selfishness of Man and his narrow vision of life.  Hence, with a deep sense of concern for the entire humanity we wish to organize a World Meet for Peace and Harmony on the 11th and 12th of September, 2012.  The Meet would explore the basis for peace and harmony from several perspectives such as religion, science, arts and even sports.  There would also be a special session to assess the contribution of Ramakrishna Movement towards peace and harmony.

 His Holiness the Dalai Lama has kindly agreed to inaugurate the Meet and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest in the inaugural session.  Besides the inaugural and valedictory sessions there will be six sessions devoted to the different perspectives mentioned above.  Nearly, 30 nationally and internationally acclaimed speakers have confirmed their participation.  For example, Reverend Father Maria Arokiam, (Christianity) Italy; Sheikh Kabir Helminski (Sufism), California; Janab Muhammad Suheyl Umar, (Islam) Pakistan; Rabbi Rami Shapiro (Judaism), USA; renowned scientists such as Dr. N. Mukunda, Prof. M. M. Sharma and sports personalities namely, Shri Kapil Dev and Shri Krishnamachari Srikant, will be some of the speakers.  Dr. Karan Singh will chair the valedictory session on the 12th evening.

The Meet is being organized as part of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations.  Swamiji was the first religious leader to proclaim the message of peace and harmony at a global platform during his address at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893.  A closer examination of his philosophy would reveal that his messages contain even deeper dimensions and are capable of uniting Mankind.  His fundamental doctrine of the Divinity of Man contains the formula for achieving human excellence in every field of human endeavour in a positive way and without any conflict or dissension.  We hope that the Meet would evolve methods for mankind to live together in a meaningful way and peace and harmony would prevail in the world.

Swami Shantatmananda
Secretary

Mr. Kapil Dev, former Captain of the Indian Cricket Team was present at the Press Release. Some photos of the occasion: