The Global Dharma Conference held in Edison, New Jersey, from July 25-27, 2003, was a unique religious conference. In fact, it was not a religious convention… it was all about our duties and values towards humanity.
A Rare Congregation
This momentous event—conceived, organized, and conducted by second-generation Indian youths, born and brought up in the USA (university students and budding professionals, mostly in the 18-30 age group)—was unique not only because of the kind of dignitaries and illustrious guest speakers it attracted, but also because of the multi-faceted aspects of ‘dharma’ it unfolded. The conference featured workshops, discussions, presentations, exhibitions, cultural and spiritual activities, including an international concert. Besides North American countries, there were youths from at least a dozen other countries, including Africa and Australia. It was one of those ‘wish-everybody-I-know-was-there’ kind of events. Almost all the (few thousand) delegates who attended the conference were simply overwhelmed by the sheer youthful energy and vibrancy that engulfed Raritan Expo Center and the nearby Sheraton Hotel, the venue of the parallel sessions.
A Galaxy of Speakers
The array of speakers was spectacular: H. H. Swami Dayananda Saraswati; Shri David Frawley, the American Vedantic scholar; Dr. Deepak Chopra; Dr. Mahesh Mehta; New Jersey Governor James McGreevey; Indian statesman Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi; Dr. Koenraad Elst, the Belgian historian; Dr. Subhash Kak; Dr. Kiran Bedi, the celebrated prison reformer; Andy Fraenkel of the multi-cultural stories network; Reuben Thuku, the East African philosopher; Mr. Bawa Jain, U.N. Secretary General of the World Peace Summit; Dr. George Sudarshan, Nobel Prize nominee; Rabbi Joseph Novick; Jonas Trinkunas, et al. In short, all non-proselytising faiths actively participated, including ‘Native American’ (Cherokee) and a European body representing 20 ancient religions. The Dalai Lama conveyed his blessings, and the Indian Prime Minister sent his best wishes for this grand get-together.
Day 1
The opening day gave an overview of what was to follow. Governor McGreevey acted as the ‘host’, delivering not the usual ‘one-size-fits-all’ political spiel, but a thought-provoking, eloquent speech on ‘Dharma’ and humanistic values. Dr. Deepak Chopra once again proved to be a marketing genius with his concoction of Eastern philosophy and modern science. He ended his speech with one of Tagore’s poems tuned to pop music, and the youths loved it! The inaugural day was followed by a night concert of Garba, Bhangra, and a performance by rap star ‘Apache Indian’.
Day 2
The second day was divided into four segments of multiple workshops emphasizing Dharma’s relevance to the individual, the family, society, and the world. At any given time block, the delegates had the choice of five concurrently running sessions. The topics were so varied, interesting, and informative that it was frustrating to miss one. Topics ranged from consciousness and quantum theory to rights vs. responsibility; worldwide commonality of ancient faiths; stress and conflict management; Vedic sciences; genetics; crime & punishment; Dharma & modern management, etc. Every session was overbooked!
Harmony Through Music
The international music concert on Day 2 was simply memorable. Titled “Harmony Through Music”, it had four distinct subtexts:
- “Dharma,” presented by a troupe from India and the famous ‘Shanti-Shanti’ American sisters.
- “Karma,” by a Houston-based theatre group.
- “Artha,” by Joseph Firecrow.
- “Moksha,” by Dr. Shanker and Gingger, double violinists with Ustaad Zakir Hussain and a local drummer, who brought the house down with their ecstatic rhythmic percussion.
Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn briefly appeared ‘live’ on the two giant screens to say ‘Hi’ via video conferencing.
Day 3
On the concluding day, the biggest surprise was the live address by the President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, again through video conferencing. This interactive session was a high point of the event and lasted 40 minutes.
Quotable Quotes
The essence of this conference was beautifully summed up by Dr. David Frawley and Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Dr. Frawley emphasized, “You don’t belong to any religion, but rather all religions belong to you.” Swami Dayananda said, “Dharma is nothing but a common-sense value structure for harmonious co-existence. We don’t need preachers (for that), we need teachers… there won’t be any need for ‘salvation’, ‘reconciliation’, or ‘peace’ if you don’t disturb people.” At the end, he asked people to repeat after him: “A ‘value’ is a ‘value’ when the value of ‘value’ is valuable to me.”
Youth Did It
The Dharma Conference was put together by many student and youth organizations, prominent among them being the Hindu Students’ Council. What was most remarkable was the way these youths, coming from different corners and avenues, worked together as one solid team. Nowhere was there any chaos, glitches, or emotional outbursts. This glorious conference was a tribute to their hard work and tenacity. The delegates are already asking: “When will we have it again?” This is enough compliment for Kanchan Banerjee, who was a prime force behind the whole show.
A Step Towards Vivekananda’s Noble Vision
Three years ago, when the U.N. convened a ‘World Peace Summit’ to resolve world conflicts through religious and spiritual guidance, it was, in a way, a manifestation of Swami Vivekananda’s vision of the world coming together in the spirit of ‘Universal Brotherhood’. The Global Dharma Conference is undoubtedly a step in that direction. One strong Hindu can change the thought-current of the whole world… Hindus should possess fearlessness, the first prerequisite of a spiritual life.
