Aarsha Vidya Foundation presents the third edition of the Vedic Wisdom festival where masters from all over the world will get together virtually to share insights on principles of dharma for a successful life, health and healing through Ayurveda, recognising your sacredness and interconnectedness, how Hinduism can pave the way forward and much more.
Speaking about it, co-founder of the festival Swami Brahmavidananda says, “The Vedic Wisdowm festival is a celebration of the wisdom handed down from rishis. It will provide insights into living a healthy, happy and fulfilled life.”
Adding to this, co-founder of the festival Swamini Brahmaprajnananda says, “The wisdom of the vedas built up a civilization that is at least 8000 years old. The tapestry of this ancient yet living civilization is an elevating vision of oneness of all forms and a celebration of diversity. In a two-day format, we bring to people a glimpse of the richness of the Vedic Wisdom with its depth and sophistication of the highest teaching of Vedanta and allied knowledge for our well-being. Each teacher in our festival has devoted his/her life to their respective disciplines of knowledge and hence have much to offer.”
Key takeaways from the festival will be how to view Hinduism, how to have fulfilling relationships, finding peace and gaining clarity in uncertain times, maximising one’s overall well-being, and many more such pearls of wisdom.
Vedic wisdom can seem like a heavy term. When asked about how can it be simplified for the younger generation, Swamini Brahmaprajnananda said, “If one were to combine the wisdom of Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter’s life, Yoda from Star Wars and Tyrion of the Game of Thrones, it would be just a drop of vedic wisdom or wisdom of the vedas for life. The term is simple enough and we encourage our young readers to approach it with curiosity and respect to learn more.”
Apart from Swami Brahmavidananda, one will get a chance to listen to renowned masters and gurus like Pujyasri Omkarananda Mahaswamigal, Dr Parthasarathy, Pandit Vamadev Shastri (David Frawley), Ishwarya Chaitanya, Acharya Vishvanatha (Jonas Masetti), Mukund Padmanabhan.
Spirituality became a buzzword during the lockdown and many people are finding solace through it. Why does it usually take crisis for people to believe in spiritual connections? “People are looking for kicks in life so generally they do not introspect unless they get a royal kick on the back,” says Swami Brahmavidananda.
Swamini Brahmaprajnananda has a more in-depth explanation to this. “Although our heart yearns for purpose and meaning, it is covered with the cocoon of comfort and routine. We take things for granted. We delude ourselves with an illusion of control over our lives. In fact, what we call a crisis is just an event that occurs in the rhythm of life. A crisis challenges us and our resources and leads us to question ourselves and question life. Whether it was Arjuna who had to reach the battlefield to face his existential crisis of sorrow or Valmiki (earlier dacoit Ratnakara) who was challenged by Sage Narada to rethink his profession of stealing or Draupadi who was attempted to be disrobed following the defeat in the game of dice, a crisis has only made all of them dig deeper into their connections and emerged stronger. I am sure this crisis has helped many people dig deeper so that they discover their own living truth of being a spiritual being having a human experience.”
(The festival will be held virtually on December 5 and 6 from 9.30 am to 1 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm. To register visit www.vedicwisdomfestival.in)
