– LEMONT, Ill.
The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh of Aurora, Ill, held simultaneous events celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, considered the pioneer of Hindu spirituality in North America.
The Hindu Temple held a two-day East-West Yoga Conference “Remembering Swami Vivekananda” Jan. 12-13, that included public workshops on Raja Yoga, Vedanta, Ayur Yoga, Jnana, Karma and Bhakti yogas, discourses on the Bhagavad Gita and meditation; formal presentations and a documentary focusing on Vivekananda’s life-mission and its implications today.
Among those who gave presentations were Amrish Mahajan, Prasad Palacharla, who conducts weekly yoga workshops at the temple, and past President Bhima Reddy.
Reddy recounted the story behind the Swami Vivekananda Spirituality Center and erection of Vivekananda’s statue, which was offered to the temple after having been declined at Grant Park by the City of Chicago.
The sessions were punctuated by group practice of yoga postures accompanied by meditative visualization of the energy rising through the mystical centers (chakra).
Among the about 200 attendees was a large number of white yoga practitioners.
Palacharla, who has been leading yoga classes for the last five years, played Vivekananda’s 1893 address at the World’s Parliament of Religions, and recalled Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s exhortation to study Vivekananda’s life and person to understand India.
Swami Varadananda, a white convert to the Ramakrishna Order, spoke on Vedanta and the principle of interfaith “marketing” introduced at the Parliament.
Vivekananda introduced social service as a form of worship, thus breaking from traditional renunciation. He also emphasized the need to practice all four yogas for a truly balanced approach to life and spirituality.
Poonam Gupta spoke of Ayur Yoga adapted to the needs of the three types of constitution (wind, phlegm, bile) defined by Ayurveda, and spoke again later on Karma Yoga.
Man Mohan Shukla, an IIT-trained engineer, spoke of Jnana Yoga, drawing freely from neuropsychology, as a method of cultivating self-awareness.
On Jan. 13, Mukta Dutta Tomar, the consul general of India in Chicago, spoke about the Indian government’s memorandum of understanding with the Art Institute of Chicago for a Swami Vivekananda Project in Museum Excellence and the new University of Chicago chair to promote his legacy.
She also spoke of Vivekananda’s commitment to alleviating the condition of women, as individuals with a destiny, through education, gender equality and interdependence, as in ancient times.
Swami Chetanananda recounted life anecdotes that revealed Vivekananda’s character.
In their joint presentation on “The Great Coming Together: Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions in 1893,” Indra Makhija and Cindy Visscher showed how separate developments in India and United States had converged upon his explosive impact in Chicago.
Visscher teaches at the Department of Comparative Religion, Western Michigan University, while Makhija discourses twice a month at the Swami Vivekananda Spiritual Center at the temple. Emphasizing how Vivekananda transformed Hinduism and American Christianity, Visscher archival research reveals that he gave nine speeches at the Parliament, whereas only seven other delegates were allowed to speak more than once. His name would be placed first on the list but he was made to speak the last to keep the crowds, which were so large that he had to redo the same speech in more than one auditorium.
Swami Jyotirmayananda, having just published a thick volume on Vivekananda, also spoke. A 26-minute documentary on Swami Vivekananda’s legacy was also shown.
Produced by the Indian government, it has been running continuously at the Fullerton Hall of the Art Institute, where Vivekananda delivered his famous address.
The commemoration concluded with bhajans sung by a group of white Americans, who had come all the way from the Sacred Waters Center in South Bend, Ind.
The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) launched its commemoration on Jan. 12 simultaneously with celebrations at 150 locations in over 30 cities nationwide, including in Aurora, Schaumburg and Libertyville in the Chicago area.
The most significant event was hosted by the HSS Naperville branch at the Eolia Community Center here. The event was compered by Ushashri Sashi and Balaji Ganesh.
Chief guests were Rep. Bill Foster and Maharashtra Mandal President Vidya Joshi. Other guests included Indra Makhija, Kaushik Joshi,
Ramesh Tika, Alka Tyle, Hasmukh Shah, Sukhdev Soni and Raj Basti.
Foster, who participated in the lamp-lighting ceremony, said in his remarks that he had read Swami Vivekananda’s famous speech and it contained several simple truths.
Makhija, a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago who graduated in 2002 as an interfaith minister, began with a small prayer to Vivekananda in Sanskrit.
Among the sayings that she highlighted in her talk was: “Wisdom is seeing the unity of all things; bhakti is feeling the same within; and compassion is the natural consequence.”
In New Jersey, on Jan. 12, the Hindu American Seva Communities (HASC) launched a program to feed the hungry in the tristate area to mark Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary. The group also announced the appointment of Hemant Wadhwani as seva project director for the New York/New Jersey metro area.
The Annadaanam program to feed the hungry was developed by Wadhwani, and is a partnership with Muslims Against Hunger, a press release from the group said.
HASC piloted the interfaith collaboration Aug. 3 at a White House conference, “Dharmic America Future: Seva, Innovation and Tradition,” where prepared food packages were distributed to the homeless in the Capitol Hill area.
The group is now expanding the program to the tristate area. HASC and Muslims Against Hunger will pick up the excess food from temples and restaurants and distribute it to the homeless, the release said.
