Dear Friends

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to today’s Vimarsh talk by Prof Arvind Sharma on “Religion, Dharma, and the Indic Religious Tradition”. Formerly of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Prof Sharma is the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion in the School of Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has also taught in the United States (Northeastern, Boston, Temple, Harvard), Australia (Queensland, Sydney) and India (Nalanda).

He has published extensively in the fields of Indian religions and comparative religion. He is the general editor of the Encyclopedias of Indian Religions (Dordrecht: Springer, 2017) and his book on the Manusmṛti is currently awaiting publication.

He was also instrumental in the adoption of a Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World’s Religions, at a global conference held in Montreal, in 2016.

Last year, Prof Sharma gave five lectures on Hindutva at the VIF. These were very well received.

Friends,

We are delighted that this year Prof Sharma has taken up the theme of Indic religions. By Indic religions, we mean Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. They have common roots in the Indian soil and constitute the essence of the Indian mindset. Millions of followers practice them every day in India and outside. They are an essential part of world heritage.

What are the differences between Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism? What are the similarities? What are the threads that connect them? The notion of ‘Dharma’ is central to Indian spiritual thinking. How do these religions define dharma? The lectures will explore the concepts of Dharma, Varna, and Ashram in Indic religions, and philosophical traditions. Then there is the paramount issue of how should the State engage with Indic religious tradition. How should one deal with the western notion of secularism in the Indian context? How are Indic religious traditions relevant to the contemporary world, which is seen in increasing strife, violence and fragmentation?
Hinduism believes in the underlying unity in the diverse manifestation of God's creation. Buddhism tells us how to control our thoughts and deal with unhappiness. Jainism emphasizes nonviolence and the multi-dimensional character of truth. Sikhism exhorts a person to rise above differences of cast and creed and appreciate the true nature of God. All religions emphasise tolerance, humaneness and accommodation.

This year, Prof Sharma will give two public talks and three roundtable presentations. If you are interested to join, please do let us know.

I request Prof Sharma to kindly take the floor.

Thank you.