OSA, Odisha Society of Americas organized the “Global Conference on Spirituality”. The event was spread over 2 (two) days on June 05th and 06th 2021. On each of the days, three eminent speakers spoke on a unique topic related to Spirituality.
The first talk was delivered by Swami Sarvapriyanand of the Vedanta Society of New York. He spoke on the topic, “The Science of Spirituality”. During the talk Swamiji explained various concepts of non-dual reality from the Advaita Vedanta point of view. He did so in an extremely easy to understand language and meaningful interpretation. He answered various audience questions related to Consciousness and its relation to our life and living from the body and mind perspective.
The second talk was given by Swami Madhavananda Saraswati of The Chinmaya Mission Center in Patiala. Swamiji delivered the talk titled, “Spiritual Sadhana” describing the spiritual practices recommended and prescribed in our scriptures. He also explained the “why, what, how and when” of such practices. He expounded upon the fact that a Spiritual Sadhaka should be constantly holding on to the sadhana-mindset, 24×7 during the day. The third discourse was delivered by Swami Sivachidananda Saraswati of The Divine Life Society of Rishikesh. He spoke on, “Spirituality at Home”. During the discourse, he emphasized the need for peaceful co-existence above our petty personal likes (Raga) and dislikes (Dvesha). He also highlighted the need for practice (Abhyas) and detachment (Vairagya) in daily life.
On the second day, the fist discussion topic was “Spiritual learning in educational institutions”. HH Gajapati Maharaja Shree Dibyasingha Deb of Shree Jagannath temple, Puri, spoke on the subject matter which touched the heart of many house-holder parents raising young children. Maharaja explained the importance of strengthening the mind over matter for happiness in life. He regretted that the existing secular education system introduced by the West has given only material progress to the mankind abandoning the spiritual growth completely. He insisted the need for the ancient Gurukul style of education where children were raised with robust spiritual foundation (Para Vidya) for their personality development in addition to the vocational subjects (Apara Vidya). The second topic of the day was, “Spirituality in Workplace”. It was delivered by Swami Sadananda Saraswati of The Chinmaya Mission Center in Bhubaneswar. Swamiji explained that no one can get happiness if the mind is disturbed (अशान्तस्य कुत: सुखम्). He described that the mind is created by the Creator as calm but exposure to various negativity in life makes the mind disturbed and that disturbed human mind is the root cause for all human sorrows and miseries. He advised that the key to remove the disturbances is bringing positivity in the attitude and outlook in our lives.
The final speaker of the seminar was Baba Sachidananda Das Maharaj, Adhyakksha of the Jhanjapita Matha in Shree Jagannatha Dham Puri. Pujya Babaji spoke on the subject, “Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha in my life”. He explained that the constant remembrance (Smarana) of Mahaprabhu in every walk of life is the key to liberation from all worldly agony and suffering. He insisted that if every moment of our life is filled with Darshana, Shravana and Smarana of Lord Jagannatha then life is bound to become an uninterrupted blissful experience. He also explained the importance of care and compassion for others (Paropkaara and Jeeve-Daya) is the best kept secret to obtain Divine Grace (Bhagavad Karuna) in an effortless way.
The webinar was hosted on Zoom and live webcast on YouTube. It attracted attendance not only by OSA members but also by a global audience as well as audience from India. OSA president Smt. Kuku Das welcomed everyone for joining the unique spiritual journey with six eminent speakers. Vice president Anil Patnaik and treasurer Utkal Nayak thanked the audience. Manoj Sahu anchored the event.