THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the Navapoojitham celebration on Thursday at 5 pm at Santhigiri Ashram, Pothencode.
Swami Chaitanya Jnana Thapaswi, president of the Ashram, will preside over the event. The Navapoojitham Souvenir will be released by Minister Kadanapally Ramachandran, who will hand it over to Koliyakode N. Krishnan Nair, Chairman of the State Co-operative Union. The keynote address will be delivered by KPCC president Sunny Joseph MLA.
On Navapoojitham Day, August 29, the ceremonial events will begin at 5 am with a special floral tribute by the monastic order. This will be followed by the flag hoisting at 6 am, and floral offerings from 7 am onwards. Ministers GR Anil, KN Balagopal and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar will speak at various sessions during the day.
Swami Paramatmananda Saraswati, founder of Arsha Vidya Mandir Rajkot will inaugurate the two-day national seminar on “Guru Parampara and the Indian Knowledge Tradition” at Santhigiri Porhencode on Thursday.
As part of the Navapoojitham celebrations marking the birth anniversary of Santhigiri Ashram’s Founder, Navajyothi Sri Karunakara Guru, the event will be jointly organised by the Central Sanskrit University, Indic Dharma Academy, Santhigiri Research Foundation, and the Department of Arts and Culture.
The inaugural session, to be held at the spiritual conference hall of Santhigiri Ashram, will be presided over by Professor S. Paneerselvam, General Secretary of the Indian Philosophy Congress. Distinguished attendees include Swami Gururatnam Jnana Thapaswi, General Secretary of Santhigiri Ashram, and Swami Sri Atmananda, head of Satyachetana Ashram, Tiruvannamalai.
The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Ram Nath Jha of the JNU School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies.
Other speakers include Dr N. Radhakrishnan (Chairman, Kerala Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi), Dr. Swami Gurunand Jnana Thapaswi, Professor K. Rajashekharan Nair (Principal, Ananthapuri Global Institute of Public Health) and Professor K. Gopinathan Pillai.
The academic sessions will feature presentations by Prof. Balaganapathi Devarkonda, Prof. Lakshmikant Pathi, Dr. Arun Gupta and Dr. Rajesh Kumar.
An open discussion session in the afternoon will be chaired by Swami Narasimhananda of the Ramakrishna Ashram, Kozhikode. Topics to be discussed in the seminar include factors that disrupted the continuity of India’s knowledge traditions, their contemporary relevance and applicability, challenges, and future possibilities.
Other prominent speakers and presenters include Prof. Srinivas Varkhedi (Vice Chancellor, Central Sanskrit University), Dr. G.R. Kiran (Senior Quality Assurance Expert, Sultanate of Oman Accreditation Authority), Dr. Kishore Kumar Tripathi (Member Secretary, Sri Aurobindo Society), Swami Bhaktadattan Jnana Thapaswi, Prof. Ramanathan Srinivasan, Prof. Sreekala M. Nair, Prof. K. Sreelatha, Prof. N. Gopakumaran Nair, Dr. Janani Ramyaprabha Jnana Thapaswini, Janani Vandita Jnana Thapaswini, Sanjay Jain, Dr. T.S. Somanathan, Dr. K.R.S. Nair and Dr. S. Kiran.
The seminar will conclude on Friday at 5 pm, with a valedictory message by Swami Gururatnam Jnana Thapaswi, General Secretary of the Ashram.