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National Seminar on Shri SahajanandSwami and the SwaminarayanSampradaya: Historical, Social andCultural Perspectives1-3 March 2013, New Delhi, IndiaAround 80 scholars from Gujarat, South Indiaand New Delhi attended the ‘National Seminaron Shri Sahajanand Swami and the SwaminarayanSampradaya: Historical, Social andCultural Perspectives’ from 1 to 3 March 2013.The seminar was organized at SwaminarayanAkshardham, New Delhi, by the Gujarat ItihasParishad in collaboration with the B.J. Studyand Research Institute, Ahmedabad, and theBAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute in Akshardham.It was inaugurated by Pujya IshwarcharanSwami and Pujya Viveksagar Swami. Theseminar enabled scholars to analyze the life andwork of Sahajanand Swami from a broad varietyof historical, social and cultural perspectives.The topics included: Historical and culturalinfluences in Gujarat and India at the time ofSahajanand Swami; Sahajanand Swami’s travelsthroughout India as a child and teenager, and hisstay in Gujarat; Sahajanand Swami and contemporaryGujarat, and its demography and geography;Sahajanand Swami’s philosophy and values,Sahajanand Swami’s magnetic personality as aleader of the masses: his inspiring nature, lifestyle,manners, speeches, discussions, languageand interaction with people and others.Among the distinguished scholars who presentedpapers at the seminar were: Dr MakarandMehta, Professor Emeritus, History, GujaratUniversity; Subhash Brahmabhatt, Principal,H.K. Arts College, Ahmedabad; Dr R.T. Savalia,Director, B.J. Study and Research Institute;Dr Rizvan Kadri, Associate Professor, SwaminarayanArts College, Ahmedabad; Dr ThomasParmar, Trustee, Gujarat Historical Society; DrJagdish Chaudhary, President, Gujarat ItihasParishad; Dr Hasmukh Patel, Secretary, GujaratItihas Parishad; Dr Jyotindra M. Dave, Director,BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute, NewDelhi; Dr D.K. Hari, President, Bharat Gyan ResearchInstitute, Chennai; Dr S. Suresh, Convener,Indian National Trust for Art and CulturalHeritage, Tamil Nadu Chapter, Chennai; andothers. Papers were also presented by sadhus ofthe BAPS.Other distinguished speakers at the Seminarincluded Padmashri Dr Vijay Bhatkar, renownedcomputer scientist and pioneer of PARAMsupercomputers; Dr Radhakrishna Bhatt,Head, Sanskrit Dept., Mysore University; DrRaghuvir Chaudhary, renowned author andpoet, Shri Madhav Ramanuj, famous poet;Shri Chandrakant Sheth, scholar and poet andDr G.C. Tripathi, Director, B L Institute ofIndology, New Delhi.The Seminar consisted of Inaugural and ClosingSessions, a separate session for the presentationsby BAPS sadhus and five other sessions.The delegates also had an opportunity to enjoythe art, architecture, exhibitions and serene surroundingsof Swaminarayan Akshardham.Satsang Activities Karyakar Shibir13-14 April 2013, HaridwarBAPS Satsang activity karyakars from Punjab,Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal,Hariyana, Delhi and Rajasthan convened at thePatanjali Yogapith in Haridwar for a two-dayshibir. Based on the theme ‘Let Us Fill the Skywith the Praise of Swaminarayan’, AtmaswarupSwami and other sadhus presented speeches andMay-June 2013 u Swaminarayan Bliss 69