Carry the light and the life of the vedanta to every door, and rouse up the divinity that is hidden within every soul. - Swami Vivekananda
The Beginning:
The 25th year of the consecration of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial has become a land mark in the history of Vivekananda Kendra through the establishment of the Trust Vivekananda Kendra Vedic Vision Foundation with Dr. M. Lakshmi Kumari, former President of Vivekananda Kendra as its Life time Chairman. It aims at achieving the very vital task of regeneration of Bharat and inspiring the world at large to move in harmony with the inevitable paradigm shift following the ideals of Swami Vivekananda. The Foundation also aims at motivating the youth of Bharat to absorb the glory of our spiritual heritage and to take up the challenging task of disseminating this unique vision which is a national tryst and a global demand. For this it is necessary to equip the young generation and transform them into fit instruments to transmit that vision to the world. This is the audience which Swami Vivekananda had in mind when he said “Bring light to the ignorant and more light to the educated for the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous”.
Since 1997 the Foundation is functioning from its new Head Quarters at the ancient Port City of Kodungallur in Kerala, renowned for being the entry point of the three Semitic religions to India. To add to its glory Swami Vivekananda during his wanderings in Southern India passed through this temple town and was enchanted by the knowledge in Sanskrit of the royal ladies of Kodungallur. As though through a divine dispensation in 1992 as Vivekananda Kendra’s Bharata Parikrama wended its way through Kodungallur, a local well wisher and renowned social worker Dr. Sridhar Pai, gifted a highly priced piece of land to Vivekananda Kendra to start a centre in Swamij’s name. Located in idyllic surroundings this new campus Ananda Dham has already become a very positive popular centre for spiritual healing for all sections of the society.
For more information please visit www.vkvvf.org
You may like to go through various activity report including Bi-monthly magazine "Vishwa Bhanu" by visiting this link.
Culture Nurtures Unity : "Culture is a collective word. It nurtures people, nurtures communities, empires, nations. It is an identity, not only clothes, art, art forms but also thought and behavior and in the way we relate to the known and the unknown. It defines the Macro Person called the community and its relationship with the Micro Person called the individual. It brings unity and not uniformity, for the culture celebrates variety. Lack of understanding of this strength leads to conflicts; clear understanding leads to meaningful, sustainable and harmonious development. Development takes place when culture, cultural forms are validated to meet the needs of the time."
In 1993, Vivekananda Kendra established Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture (VKIC), Guwahati. Significantly situated on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra the VKIC envisions its role as the Intellectual Fountainhead for India's Northeast. It focus on Seminars, Research, documentation, lectures-cum-discussion by directly involving the communities concerned to:
- Understand the richness of our traditional systems and identify the unifying elements that bind us
- Reflect on how best to provide meaningful continuity to these practices in a fast-changing complex lifestyle.
- Inspire leadership with the idea of "Development Through Culture"
- Documentation project to record the multifarious elements of the NorthEast Indian Culture life, as also the current trends.
- Compilation of available published material on the cultural life of NorthEast India.
- Organise periodic lectures, seminars, workshops, discussion and exhibitions.
- Undertake research and start a data-bank on the basis of field data collected through various documentation projects for the benefit of scholars and researchers.
More information at http://srma.vkendra.org
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) is a New Delhi-based think tank set up with the collaborative efforts of India's leading security experts, diplomats, industrialists and philanthropists under the aegis of the Vivekananda Kendra. The VIF’s objective is to become a centre of excellence to kick start innovative ideas and thoughts that can lead to a stronger, secure and prosperous India playing its destined role in global affairs.
Vision and Mission
VIF is an independent, non-partisan institution that promotes quality research and in-depth studies and is a platform for dialogue and conflict resolution.
It strives to bring together the best minds in India to ideate on key national and international issues; promote initiatives that further the cause of peace and global harmony; monitor social, economic and political trends that have a bearing on India’s unity and integrity; analyse the causes for social and ethnic conflicts leading to extremism and offer policy alternatives; interact with civil society and offer institutional support for exchange of ideas and interaction among conflicting groups; critique public policy and the working of democratic institutions and constitutional bodies; and evolve benchmarks for good governance and efficiency in public institutions.
These are objectives that fall under a broad head called `nation-building’ and often come within the purview of universities and institutions of higher learning. Unfortunately, for reasons best known to those who manage them, these academic bodies have not been able to attend to these tasks. This neglect, it seems, is in some way responsible for the perceived failure of representative bodies and the prevailing inefficiency in the government sector. VIF believes that many of these institutions – which are central to our democratic existence – cannot be expected to work better, unless academia, think tanks and civil society engage with them and critique them on a regular basis. Given its deep and abiding commitment to the deepening of democracy and to the emergence of a strong and self-reliant India, VIF has embarked upon quality research and scholarship in a host of areas in the hope that such studies will improve governance, strengthen national security, integrate India’s foreign policy to the nation’s long-term objectives and bring about much-needed functional efficiency in parliament and other representative bodies and in public institutions.
The Foundation seeks to meet its objectives through six Centres of study, viz
- Centre for National Security and Strategic Studies
- Centre for International Relations and Diplomacy
- Centre for Neighbourhood Studies
- Centre for Governance and Political Studies
- Centre for Economic Studies
- Centre for Historical and Civilisational Studies
Centres of Study
The Centre for National Security and Strategic Studies is VIF’s hub for deliberating on India’s national security challenges, international terrorism, left-wing extremism, militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency in the North-eastern regions of India and the threats posed by the demographic invasion from Bangladesh.
The Centre for International Relations and Diplomacy is dedicated to the study of global strategic issues, emerging trends in international power equations, India’s foreign policy vis-à-vis its national objectives and its relations with neighbours and the Indian Diaspora.
The Centre for Neighbourhood Studies monitors developments in India’s periphery, focusing on seven neighbouring countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Centre for Governance and Political Studies examines various issues of governance and development with particular reference to India. It will generate and promote ideas that encourage transparency and accountability in government and all public institutions. It encourages scholarships in constitutional and parliamentary studies and also considers policy initiatives to tackle the menace of corruption.
The Centre for Economic Studies monitors global economic trends and policies and its impact on developing economies with particular reference to India. It closely examines the constant interplay between politics and economics, the emerging trends on both sides of the global economic divide and offer suggestions for Indian policy makers.
For more information please visit VIFINDIA.ORG
Vivekananda Kendra Vedantik Application of Yoga and Management (VK VAYAM) envisions activities in the fields of Yoga and Management to cater to the aspirations of people in Maharashtra State, with the vision of "Human Excellence through Yoga – The Way of Life."
Objective:
To study and research on the efficacy of Yoga as a factor for bringing harmony not only between one’s body and mind but also between Man and Nature, between Self and Society. To propagate Yoga and its application for holistic living and bringing harmony in the changing social dynamics. To study the latest management techniques and its unification with Indian cultural practices
Activities:
Conducting Yoga Pratiman, organizing symposiums, seminars, and workshops on Yoga, organizing Yoga conferences, conducting administrative training for school and college administrators/principals, and conducting need-based industrial group training.
Location: Solapur, Maharashtra
