SAMARASA VEDIKE (An inter Religious harmony movement) of Vidyaniketan, Dharwad conducted A Inter Religious meet on the theme “The responsibility of religions towards harmonious Society” on the 11^th of March 2017.

Mr Mahadeva Horatti, the President of Basava peace mission inaugurated the programme.In his inaugural address he said that ‘religions today must reintrospect their role and responsibility towards our humanity and environment’

His holiness Sri Mallikarjuna Swamiji of Muruga math, one of the key speakers of the day said that ‘our life as religious person must not restrict to our words rather must flow into action and the value of humans without humanity’.

Fr Dr.Melwin Pinto SJ in his lecture said that with the selective hearing we cannot work for harmony. We have lot religiosity in our country but lack spirituality. We must transcend from our shrunken mindset of religion and accept  the larger world view of humanity.

Dr. Miranayak, the principal of Anjuman college in his address said that As human beings we are interdependent, so in order to lead a healthy and harmonious life we must respect and accept others.

Most Rev (Dr) Peter Machado, Bishop of Belgaum in his Presidential address said that whenever we read about other religions we must read the whole text, know its context and learn the pretext. All the dignitaries were felicitated during the programme.

Fr. Prashanth D’souza SJ, the convenor of the programme welcomed the gathering. Mrs Angelina Xavier anchored the event  and  Sch. Joswin Periera proposed the vote of thanks. All the members of SAMARASA VEDIKE were present.

VIDYANIKETAN

12^th cross, Nirmal Nagar

                                                                  Dharwad – 580003

Affiliated to: Ashirvad (Inter Religious Harmony Movement),Bangalore

To

The Principal ……………………………

Dear Sir/Madam,

            We are immensely glad to invite you to a DEBATE COMPETITION to be held in our institution, Vidyaniketan on 25^th January 2014. All Undergraduate colleges are welcome to participate in this event.

Vidyaniketan, ‘an abode of knowledge’ is a study house for Jesuit Scholastics of Karnataka Province, since 1987. Jesuits are the members of the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola. We dedicate ourselves to any type of ministry according to the needs of the people in pastoral, spiritual, educational and social works. The formation given here embraces not only the academics but also other areas of spiritual and social life. Extending this openness further, we give greater importance for the Inter Religious Dialogue and Harmony movement.

Our mission: To ‘be all things to all people’ and to ‘prepare men and women for others’.

Our vision: To build a Just Human society, free of all forms of deprivation and oppression. Thus, giving importance to the Service of Faith and Promotion of Justice.

            Communal Harmony is the need of the hour. It is in this regard, we are conducting a debate competition. Our effort is only a spark. Together we are called to Re-kindle and Re-build peace in and around us. Join hands in our walk towards Growth.

THE TOPIC:

 Is communal harmony a dream or a reality?

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Criteria for the competition

1.      Only the under graduate students are eligible to participate.

2.      They will participate in teams of two, one speaking for and one speaking against the topic.

3.      The participants of a team can speak either in English or Kannada, for or against the topic.

4.      Each college can send maximum of three teams consisting two participants in each team.

5.      The participants must carry the college ID card with them and a letter from the Principal.

6.      Each participant will be given 5 minutes to speak (4+1).

7.      Each participant shall pay an entry fee of Rs. 50/- on the day of the competition.

8.      The last day to send your entry will be 20^th January 2014 through an e-mail.

9.      The decision of the panel of judges will be final and binding.

10.  The competition will start exactly at 09:00 am.

11.  Students from colleges that are not participating may take part in the competition in teams of two as guest participants. College ID card is a must. (Guest participants are as equal as anybody.)

12.  While the participant presents his/her views please note that they do not hurt any Religious sentiments.

13.  For further information please contact vidnikdharwad@gmail.com/ Vidnikdharwad.blogspot.in

PRIZES

First Prize     – Rs. 5,000 & Certificate

Second Prize – Rs. 3,000 & Certificate

Third Prize   – Rs. 2,500 & Certificate

& Consolation Prizes…!!!

We request you to send your entries at the earliest.

For more information contact the Debate Coordinator: Pradeep R S

Phone No: 0836 – 2747690/9482553914. Timings to contact between 2.00PM to 8.00PM

Come!

                Express!!

            WIN!!!

Bus Route: Kalyanagar Bus /Pavate Nagar from CBT, Dharwad

Location: Near ShanthiSadan School, Opp. OLPS Church, 12th Cross, Nirmal Nagar

                 (Walk able distance from KUD)                    

"Education is studying what you want, not  what somebody else prescribes for you"

“Many men go fishing all their life without knowing it is not fish they are after” said Henry David Thoreau. The words fit well for the youth of today who are on the look-out for jobs with fat salaries, thinking that would ensure them a happy future. But the increasing suicide rates and broken marriages among the IT professionals tell a completely different story.

Too many among us are afraid to be ourselves, so we give up our dreams to follow the crowd. Beginning from a student who gives up his passion for music to get into a software profession to the parents who, knowing that their son is a good cricketer, force him to take up mathematics which never seems to enter his head. It seems like the whole meaning of education has changed over the years. Learning classical music, Bharatanatyam, art and craft are no more considered education.

Education is something that fetches you a fat salary and power. Doing something for the sake of doing it cannot bring us lasting satisfaction. One might go on with it may be for a few months and years but in the long run he or she collapses. The depression and stress one goes through are the ‘gifts’ of such a life. If you consider you are a good writer and like writing, there is nothing better to do than to sit down with a pen and paper and start scribbling. Realising one’s dream is the greatest satisfaction one can ever attain in life. “When you get back to doing those things that lifted your spirit and sent you soaring, you reconnect with that state of happiness that you may have lost,” says Robin Sharma.

Just business

Right from Socrates to modern stalwarts, everyone agrees that education is the only tool that would liberate humanity from the shackles of ignorance, poverty and injustice. But today, our education is binding us rather than liberating. We have commercialised our education system so much that everything in it is done in terms of ‘buying’ and ‘selling.’ The education we get in our schools and colleges sells us into the world of business where we trade our knowledge to secure a convincing future. How far it works is a question that is never raised, lest answered.

Why not make art, music, dance and other things part and parcel of the education system along with Economics, Sociology, Biology and Physics? Imposed education does not serve its purpose; rather, students should be encouraged to learn what they are good at.

India is struggling to fetch a gold medal in the Olympics because our sporting talents are busy with computers and construction around the globe. Those who are into sports are not encouraged to go ahead and realise their dreams. Pressure is yet another gift that our education system brings along with it. Our students are pressured so much that they cannot cope with the failure. A small failure in exams means the end of life for them. It is high time we seriously carve out a clear definition and meaning for our education system. Education is not the mere act of getting familiar with the facts and learning to handle few sophisticated gadgets. It is a tool to realise one’s dreams rather than someone else’s.

In this regard, our educational system needs a drastic change. Parents should realise that pressuring their children to come out with 99 per cent results is different from encouraging them to do better. It is sad that competition has seeped into our education system. Even little children have to go through an entrance test to get admitted to schools. Parents see to it that their children pass the test, at the cost of hampering their fragile minds. We badly need to educate our parents to understand the meaning of ‘true’ education.

“Tare Zameen Par” is one movie that aims at the education of our parents and brings out the problem of our educational system. “The Alchemist” is one of the books that talks of realising one’s dreams. Today, what we need is progressive education rather than profit-oriented education. Media has a great role to play in this regard as its main purpose is to inform.

By  Sch. Mark

 Can no One stop this….?

   It was a day of protest. The protest was to demand justice for the gang rape victim of Delhi. The protesters were angry and the reason was clear, why? There was a young girl, who was holding a placard and was demanding justice and freedom. She was shouting slogans. One of the slogans was “My country, my body, my freedom, who is men to choose right or wrong.”

 Yes, rape is not just a crime against a person or a woman. It is a crime against an entire society. It is the most hatred crime. It is a crime against basic human rights. In India we have perfect laws to protect women; but they remain ineffective. But in reality our country has been repeatedly denies justice and security for women. Then how               can our sister walk freely in our streets?

                       There are many cases of sexual abuse in the country. It is not only happening outside our houses but also by her own relatives and friends. Sometimes even by the brothers and fathers. This is the sorry state of our nation. It may be difficult to believe, but it is happening in this cruel world. Do you think women should not step out of the house after dark? If home itself is not safe where will our sister go? How can they avoid their own home? Then how can you advise them saying travelling alone is not safe. Let the equality begin at home. We ought to respect our own mothers and sisters, and then the world will respect them automatically.

   Once I met a group of men and I asked,”why are you looking at women so intently? Their response was, “Just for fun”. Another time I asked a woman why are afraid of men? They said, “We are afraid of their physical power and societie’s utter lack of concern for us.”

  It is sad to see that our mothers and sister are treated like slaves.  We all know and experienced the every kind of service provided by women in society. They are the ones who introduce us to everything. Women are the one who carries her children in her womb for ten months.  She bears all the struggles, sacrifices all her needs and gives new life to all of us. When you tease a girl with vulgar words and take advantage of her body, don’t you feel that you are insulting your mother’s womb?

In this modern era, human beings live on one earth but in two worlds; the world of men and the world women. There is long gap between these two worlds. Men think that women are objects of pleasure.  This is the situation in our country. Men are dominating and women are afraid and voiceless. They are still treated as the weaker sex. Where are the human rights for women? Why are men acting as if they are superior beings? Can no one stop this ………?

                                                   By: Jaison Lobo, SJ

Vidyaniketan Community-2013