On 6th August 2020 VIF organised a symposium on the theme: “The Arthasastra: New Directions in Research”. The aim of the symposium, apart from briefly discussing the historical perspectives on the Arthasastra, was to shed light on the strategic use and relevance of the text for governance today and the way ahead in promoting research on the Arthasastra.
VIF has started a new lecture series called ‘Indian Philosophy for Beginners’. Lectures will be given on the Vedas, Upanisads and the Indian schools of philosophy, that will (a) introduce and explain these subjects lucidly to non-experts (mainly Indian and foreign diplomats, strategists, students and researchers from other disciplines), as well as (b) speak to Indian diplomats, foreign policy experts, students of strategic studies in a way that they are able to derive from it both insights as well as power for India's strategic thinking.
India and Eurasia have had close social and cultural linkages, as Buddhism spread from India to Central Asia, Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and far wide. Buddhism provides a direct link between India and the peoples of Siberia (Buryatia, Chita, Irkutsk, Tuva, Altai, Urals etc.) who have distinctive historico-cultural affinities with the Indian Himalayas particularly due to common traditions and Buddhist culture. Revival of Buddhism in Siberia is of great importance to India in terms of restoring and reinvigorating the lost linkages.
VIF organized a talk by Professor Rupendra Kumar Chattopadhyay (Vivekananda Chair Professor of Social Science, University of Calcutta) under the VIF Lecture Series ‘Understanding Indian History & Civilization’. The talk was titled Reconceptualizing Religious History: Archaeological Findings from Itkhori, a Composite Sacred Space and was held via webinar on 16 July 2020.
On the occasion of International Day of Yoga, VIF organized a talk by Professor Christopher Key Chapple (Loyola Marymount University, USA) under the VIF Lecture Series ‘Understanding Indian History & Civilization’. The talk was titled The Shared Heritage of Yoga: Ideas and Practices from Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism and was held via webinar on 22 June 2020.
VIF organized an online book discussion on Dharma in Governance: Towards a Welfare State (Aditya Prakashan, 2018) authored by Gunjan Pradhan Sinha on 21 May 2020. The panel included the author, Prof. Arvind Sharma (McGill University), Col. Pradeep K Gautam (USI), Prof. Shashi Prabha Kumar (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) and Swami Narasimhananda (Ramakrishna Mission). The discussion was moderated by Dr. Arvind Gupta.
The III Edition of Samvad at Ulaanbaatar was a great success in many ways. In particular it cemented the relation between India and Mongolia as Spiritual Partners. It was held in the premises of Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar.
In January 2019, Vivekananda International Foundation organized the seminar Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Relevance of India’s Ancient Thinking to Contemporary Strategic Reality to mobilize the Indian repository of ideas—ancient and modern—and bring them to practical and strategic use in building an Indian narrative in today’s world order. This is a flagship series of conferences instituted by the VIF. The second edition of the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam seminar this year was held on 3rd and 4th March and it was titled Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Revisited: Exploring India’s Soft Power Assets.
The adoption of 21st June as International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, in response to an India-led resolution with a record high number of co-sponsors, was a landmark event. In this backdrop, it is all the more important to mobilize our ancient resources of ideas and bring them to practical and strategic use in building an Indian narrative in every domain.
The present volume provides a thorough and meticulous introduction to India’s sculpture, painting, terracottas, performing arts and architecture. In each case the coverage is extensive, supported by detailed references and should lead to further research and studies. What we would like to emphasize is that the volume does not claim to be even a reasonably exhaustive survey and analysis of the total range of ancient Indian data on art and architecture, but what it has certainly tried to convey is the depth and scale of all such artistic endeavours in the subcontinent.