Non-violence, which is among the most important of all other universal values, should be practised by all to be able to avoid conflicts, Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam said at Anaikatti, near here on Sunday.
Addressing the 24 anniversary celebrations of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, he said human beings have the faculty of reason and the ability to make choices.
They are also given a matrix of values to follow. Non-violence is a universal value and has to be followed by all, he said.
N. Ravi, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu in his chief guest’s address, said that all over the world, there are tensions, conflicts and clashes in the name of religion, language, ethnic differences, etc.
It is unfortunate that these have led to the scepticism of the values of traditional institutions and their practices.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati interacts with religious leaders across the country to discuss important spiritual issues.
This effort, to foster dialogues and arrive at common understanding, has tremendous potential to promote harmony in a fractured society, he said.
Trustee of Sruthi Seva Trust Ravi Sam spoke about the initiatives taken under the guidance of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, in different fields. Swami Dayananda Saraswati conferred the Arsha-Kula Sresthah award on L. Mahadevan and S.K. Raja Bhattar, the Arsha Kula Tilakha award on S. Srinivasan and the Vaidya-Kula Sresthah award on Dr. S. Rajasekaran (his father Dr. J. G. Shanmuganathan received the award on his behalf).
At a function in Coimbatore in the evening, Arsha Kala Bhushanam awards for excellence in music and dance were presented.
The recipients were: Sriram Parasuram, V.V. Subrahmanyam, Aruna Sairam, Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam and Revathi Ramachandran.
V.R. Gowri Shankar, administrator of Sri Sringeri Math, said music is a supremely divine art.
In India, art was never looked upon as an entertainment.
It was always to propitiate God. “We should understand that our tradition has much that we can learn not just for livelihood but for realisation too,” he said.
