Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Two-day social worker conference was inaugurated on Saturday at Ankitgram, Sevadham Ashram to honour the great people dedicated to service and to make the world aware of their work. Padmashri recipients Bhikuram Idate Dada, Umashankar Pandey, Vidya Vindu along with BS Shankaranand and Rishi Bhatnagar along with the guests lit the lamp.
In the inaugural session, Umashankar Pandey said that it has also been said in Ramayana that there is no more difficult task than service. Shankaranand said that the difference between words and actions has to be removed. Those who do service provide light to the entire society. Bhatnagar described Sevadham as a pilgrim site for human service and said that the seeds of social service should be sown in the family from birth itself.
The second session was moderated by Anuradh Krishna, software consultant, TCS. The academicians and Padmashri awardees from across the country demanded the Government of India to start Indian Social Service like the IAS and APS Academy, saying that today there is an equal need for people working in the field of social service in the country as many as those working in the administrative sector.
Present in the session, Padmashri Bhiku Ram Idate, Bharat Bhai Patni, Dr Sandeep Sancheti, Dr Dipti Kotasthane, Shekhar Sanyal, Dr Ajay Rana and Dr Kamlesh Raghuvanshi while expressing their views said that social service should be inculcated in the children's course from the very beginning. Every child should be given nursing training and social service training for at least 15 days.
In the third session of the conference, consultants from top institutions of the country and speakers holding high positions openly discussed the role of academic institutions in the field of social service and through their views told how the values of social service were sown in children since birth.
Shankaranand said that social service provides spiritual happiness. Even one incident becomes the turning point of life, hence social service incidents should be taught in schools for five minutes every day.
In the concluding session, there was a discussion on how religious institutions can play their role in social work. Anand Gaur conducted the session. Anaam Prem from Mumbai, Maharishi Dutt Rajan and social worker Mehul Sanghvi expressed views and said what the role of religious institutions in social service is.
Host Sudhir Bhai said that DNT Foundation will be launched on November 26 in the second session of the conference. Governor Mangubhai Patel will participate in the programme as the chief guest. Social workers working in different areas of the country will also be honoured in the programme.
