- Varanasi: BHU was a huge success with solid comments from well known top tier scholars of our tradition. They had read the book cover to cover as was obvious from their remarks and made clear by them. The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, who hosted me and who spent a great deal of his time meeting me before and after the event, said that he wants to set up some collaboration with me to take these ideas further. A new Center for inter-cultural studies (broader in scope than inter-religious studies) is being contemplated. I expect something concrete by the end of this year to work together. Also a great opening exists to bring BD into their curriculum in multiple departments. Several comments of its originality and path breaking significance came from scholars of high rank. I was delighted to have come and decided that this famous university deserves a high priority in my work. (Disappointment: Video will be poor quality as the "professionals" hired brought a home camcorder and it was decided that my own camcorder would be better. Audio will be poor with outside noises...Despite written requests and instructions from me, in almost every place in India this aspect has been consistently disappointing. They lack aesthetic appreciation of rigor in this regard and do it very carelessly.)
- Kolkata: Hugely successful talk at IIT-Kharagpur. See a very brief review in their alumni web site: http://iitkgp.org/events/101 (Same disappointment on likely video quality. This time audio feed from mike was there, but they did not bring a light, and what i saw later was a dim image quality. Again lots of silly excuses later and passing the buck to one another...) They have invited me to write a major piece in their journal which is coming out to commemorate their 60th anniversary.
- Kolkata Young Presidents' Organization: Along same lines as the one in Chennai in my prior trip. (See: http://beingdifferentbook.com/ypochennai/ ) Many top industrialist houses of the city were represented by their presidents. At their request for privacy, it was decided not to videotape the Q&A and only record my address. Video quality is likely to be very good, professionally solid.
- Meetings with prominent dharmic organization: Had meetings with top tier swamis from this organization in Bangalore, Chennai and Koklata. Went to 7 different locations of their organization in these cities, and held over a dozen meetings involving a large number of important leaders. There could be a big breakthrough with this group, but its best not to discuss details at this stage. The young swamis are especially excited by the ideas in BD. A panel of 6 senior scholars of the tradition has been asked by their head to do an independent evaluation of BD, and then they will develop programs such as reviews, seminars, talks, etc. accordingly. I was deeply impressed by them and had no clue earlier how solid they are. A real eye-opener for me. No videos taken; all very private at this stage.
- Mumbai's leading bookstore event: Kitab Khana, now regarded as the city's leading new bookstore (a very beautiful place to visit and spend hours), held a special event for BD, which has become their best seller in the past 2 months. This event was interesting because the Q&A involved serious readers who had already read BD and wanted to debate some points with me. Video will come.
- Mumbai's Soumaiya Institutes: Many departments came together for the event, including history, philosophy, sanskrit, buddhist studies, etc. They have become a major center for inter-religious activities both inside India and outside. I feel certain that BD has impacted many of them to start taking stands that deviate from the prior "sameness" of faiths, to assert differences with confidence. Their faculty are planning to write papers on BD's ideas. The highlight of my event was the Q&A with youth, especially the discussion with an 18-year old girl who asked a very honest and provocative question that is on the minds of most young persons. Video ought to be good- hopefully.
- Bhabha Atomic Energy Research Center: This final event in Mumbai was the highlight of my trip thus far. BARC campus has 24,000 employees working for various nuclear related programs. This is the brain trust of India's nuclear science and technology, and is a very high security establishment as one would expect. I was hosted by the Chairman of their Education section, who has 400 trainers reporting to him, along with the head of the Officers Club. My talk naturally focused on BD as it relates to science. I addressed whether there is an Indian approach to scientific inquiry that takes advantage of the inner sciences (adhyatma-vidya) as explained in BD at various places. The Q&A brought out the intensity of their interest in this topic. Some of India's most celebrated scientists were there and a few of them had already started reading BD, and appreciated it immensely. In the private dinner with the top brass I was invited back for a larger event that could include a full day seminar. What impressed me most about the scientists is their (a) patriotism, (b) interest in the science of consciousness, (c) openness and clarity to pursue an issue very courageously and logically with me. I certainly found many kindred persons in that group.
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