PRESS RELEASE

WAVES 2006 International Conference

By Beth Kulkarni

(published at www.wavesinternational.net on July 14, 2006) (to download the Word format of this article click here)

Nearly 150 scholars and professors of philosophy, religion, history, languages, science, engineering and medical sciences from Asia, Europe and the Americas explored the various aspects of Vedic traditions, especially  relating to global peace  at the sixth biennial international conference hosted by the World Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES) in Houston from July 8 to 10. The conference attracted 1000 attendees and was hailed a grand success.

Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri, who has a strong background in sciences and a deep understanding of the universality and global extent of Vedic culture, was the inaugural speaker as well as a keynote speaker. His talks utilized technology and demonstrated a deep understanding and appreciation of the “mysteries” of self-generated Puranic temples. Keynote speaker Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, who has compiled a seven-volume encyclopedia of the River Saraswati, spoke on the ancient Saraswati civilization, and how to create a system to link the rivers in modern India. He expects the linking of the rivers in India within the next decade or so.

The range of subjects covered included yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda, mathematical sciences, micro-technologies, consciousness studies, neuroscience studies, temples, architecture, archaeology, history, scripture, culture, music, visual arts and more.

“The presentations made by the participating scholars gave a fresh view, new thought and a different angle to the Indian Cultural ethos. The presentations were very contemporary and relevant to modern times. The research papers presented in the conference were extensive in depth and gives us hope that, if properly applied, the ancient Vedic heritage can be revived.” said Prof. Neelam Trivedi, who came from Kanpur, India.

Dr. Abhinav Dwivedi, Vice President of Hindu University said “there were so many topics that it was some times difficult to choose one and let go others.”

Dr. Kavita Chandwani of M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center, highlighted research she has done on the use of yoga with breast cancer patients.

Sheetal Shah’s report on “Hindu Human Rights 2005” prepared by Hindu American Foundation was an eye opener.

Rajiv Malhotra of Infinity Foundation explained in his powerful presentation 'The U Turn Theory’ how the West appropriates the Indian culture and then trashes its origin.

Dr. Narayan Komnath’s presentation on economically feasible, micro-electrical power generation using variable wind turbines for every Indian village was well received.

Several speakers talked about the California textbook initiative in getting inaccurate and demeaning information deleted from the sixth grade textbooks and its relevance for the rest of the nation.

Dr. Yvette Rosser noted, “A more realistic and less sensational presentation is developing due to the input of practicing Hindus into the academic environment. This positive impact is introducing India to Americans without the colonial period stereotypes. Conferences like WAVES are helping to usher in the new era of understanding.”

With the assistance of Hindu Student Council, young people from 14 to 35 were invited to two back-to-back sessions in which the learnings from Vedic thought and their applications to everyday life were discussed in an open forum.

David Frawley, Swami Vidyadhishananda Giri, Janak Dave from Bochasanwasi Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, and Subhas Tiwari answered questions from the youth, without parents being present. “The youth rejuvenated the room and the scholars rejuvenated the youth” was how 10-year-old Shivam Dave put it. A young adult, Kirthi Jain said the conference “was like a spiritual journey and there was a lot to learn during the interaction with so many learned people.”

The Saturday evening cultural program coordinated by Mrs. Usha Pathak was quite colorful. With about 70 young people involved, including students at Rathna Kumar’s Anjali School of Dance, and participants in the local HSS Balgokulams, the program was very spectacular.

Subhash  Gupta, chairman of local organizing committee, was pleased that the “Sunday evening banquet packed to capacity, brought together the conference attendees with the leaders of the Houston Hindu- and Indian-American community organizations, many of whom had sponsored tables. This showed the unity of the community and the interest of the various groups in Vedic sciences and traditions.”

Dr. John Antel, Dean and Professor of Economics at the University of Houston welcomed the community and announced that courses in Hindi, Archeology and Anthropology will start very soon. He emphasized the usefulness of learning Hindi and Indian history.  

Some of the prominent non-Indian scholars who attended the conference were Prof Hel French(Univ of South Carolina), Prof. Donald Lyons (Director, West Virginia Univ),  Prof. Oleg Perzashkevich (Asst  Prof of Ancient & Medieval Dept, Belarusian State Univ.), Howard Beckman (Director, Vedic Cultural Fellowship), Dr. Guy Beck (Univ. Of North Carolina-Wilmington), Klaus Witz (Univ. of Illinois).

Conference  attendees were able to view  31 posters on various aspects of Indian and Hindu thought and practices, including science, architecture, Namaste, Sikh dharma, Jain dharma, Buddhist dharma, Hindu women, temples, and much more that have been created by volunteers of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh-USA and is now being exhibited throughout the USA as a traveling exhibit.

Attendees received a souvenir which includes abstracts of most of the talks and the CD-ROM which has many of the talks in full and others in abstract form.

“The local arrangements for transportation, and accommodation and food for delegates were simply superb.  The conference was extremely productive.”  said Prof. Vishesh Gupta who came from Moradabad, India for the conference.

Prof. Surendra  Dwivedi, President of WAVES, and  Subhash  Gupta,   worked with dozens of scholars and community workers both in Houston and Lafayette to make this conference possible

WAVES has proposed that the next conference be held in Orlando, Florida, in 2008 cooperatively with the Hindu University which had a number of board members, faculty and administrators as attendees and presenters.

For more information visit www.wavesinternational.net or contact Subhash Gupta at 832-567-5251 or Surendra Dwivedi at 337-981-9572.