Category: Seminars

To involve Vedic scholars from different parts of the country in promoting discussion and debate on Veda vijnana, the Shikshayatan has been organising regular programmes at various places, including Jodhpur, Jaipur and Varanasi, the three renowned centres of Vedic learning. JODHPUR An important part of this outreach programme has been the Pandit Motilal Shastri Memorial lecture series organised at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in association with Jai Narain Vyas University. The university has a special research unit on Pandit Madhusudan Ojha. September 21, 2017 Sharirikavimarsha and its contemporary relevance The Vedic vijnana was as relevant today as in the past, said Prof. Ganeshilal Suthar, well- known Vedic scholar and former director of Pandit Madhusudan Ojha Shodh Prakosht, Sanskrit Department, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, at the fifth lecture in the series. He highlighted the importance of Ojhaji’s works on different aspects of Vedic vijnana. He specifically mentioned the book authored by Ojhaji, Sharirika-vimarsha. Prof Satyaprakash Dubey, Acharya, Sanskrit department, Jai Narain Vyas University, referred to the works of Ojhaji to drive home the point that it was not enough to learn the correct way of offering Vedic mantras; it was equally important to study their meanings. He dwelt on the meaning of dharma and stressed on the importance of the Vedas in contemporary times. September 25, 2015 Psychology in Vedic literature In the fourth lecture, Prof Ramanuj Devanathana, renowned Sanskrit scholar and former Vice Chancellor of Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit University, Jaipur, talked about mana or intellect. He said all philosophers have accepted the presence of mana. He said Ojhaji had presented many facets of mana in his books. Ojhaji and Shastriji had described mana as shvovasiyas, the one that is forever changing. September 12, 2012 Nabhikiya urja in the Vedas The third lecture in the series was addressed by Mr Gulab Kothari, editor-in-chief of Rajasthan Patrika. Speaking on the energy generated from the navel, Mr Kothari pointed out that Ojhaji had described ‘nabhya prajapati’ or the supreme being (Brahma) that resides in the navel, in his books. He cited the example of a bicycle to clarify this phenomenon: Spokes in a cycle wheel merge into a centre point from different directions. In Vedic vijnana, the one at the centre is the indraprana or nabhya. March 10, 2011 Shastriji’s Veda-vyakhya padhati In the second lecture, Prof. Dayanand Bhargava explained the concept of akshara and kshara. He pointed out that both Ojhaji and Shastriji had used simple terms to explain complex phenomena. He cited the following terms as illustrations—amrit-mrityu, sat- asat, abhu-abhva, rit-satya, kshara-akshara, rasa-bala, jnana-vijnana, agni-soma, brighu-angira and brahm-karma. Shastriji used a wide variety of references in his works but relied more on the Brahamana texts and puranas. March 10, 2010 Shastriji’s Veda-vyakhya padhati At the first lecture, Prof. Dayanand Bhargava of Jai Narain Vyas University said Shastriji oration was so powerful that not a single person in the audience was left untouched. He cited Shastriji’s description of universe as agnishomatmak. The fire in a living being consumes anna or food; the one who consumes anna is annada and the merging of anna and annada is yajna. Annada is fire or agni and anna is soma and hence the universe is created by the union of agni and soma. Pandit Anant Sharma said Shastriji’s rendition of Shatpath Brahmana was an extraordinary work where he had explained complex Vedic terms without whose knowledge and understanding it was impossible to know the mysteries of the Vedas. VARANASI The ancient city of Varanasi became the Shikshayatan’s second stop for a regular event after the 2012 meeting on Sanshayataducchedavada. November 27-28, 2013 Scientific basis of Vedic culture The programme, organised in collaboration with the Fine Arts Department, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi, included Pandit Madhusudan Ojha Smriti Samvad, Pandit Vidyanivas Misra Smriti Vyakhyan and a discussion on ‘sanskriti aur kala’ (culture and art). The main theme of the talk was Ojhaji’s Sharirikavijnana bhashya. Dr Dhananjay Kumar Pandey, speaking on the subject, said sharirik-sutra was another name for brahmasutra. He said Ojhaji had described Brahma as four-limbed or chatushpada. These limbs are nirvishesha (neutral), paratpar (supreme), prajapati (supreme being) and vigraha (body). December 22-23, 2014 Sanskrit language and culture During the second lecture in the series, Prof Yugal Kishore Mishra, Head of Department of Vedic Studies, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, said Ojhaji had committed his entire life to pursue Vedic studies on the wishes of his guru, Shivkumar Mishra. After an intense study of the Vedas, Ojhaji presented 288 volumes of his work to the world, of which only 80 were available today. He saw four elements in the Vedas—yajna, vijnana, stotra (eulogy) and itihasa (history). Second speaker, Murali Manohar Pathak, said Ojhaji had expertise in several vidyas, realms of knowledge. He pointed out that Ojhaji had written about jyotish (astrology) in his book, Kadambini; about grammar in Vyakaranvinod; about language in Varnasamiksha; on philosophy in Brahmavinaya and Brahmasamanvaya; on the Vedas in Yajnasarasvati and on dharma in Pratyantprasthanmimamsa. December 18, 2015 Veda Vijnana and its context Veda vijnana was the central theme of the third lecture. The speakers on the subject included Prof. Hariprasad Adhikari (Sampurnanand University), Prof. Shrikishore Mishra (BHU), Prof. Krishna Kant Sharma (BHU), Prof. Hriday Ranjan Sharma (BHU) and G. Ajneya Shastri (BHU). They spoke on the vast repertoire of Ojhaji and said his writings and teachings have left an indelible mark on the Indian psyche. November 11, 2016 Yajnavijnana The fourth lecture saw an all-round discussion on Ojhaji’s writings. The speakers pointed out Ojhaji’s important contributions in the field of yajnavijnana. Ojhaji had divided the world into two—the essential and the creative. The knowledge of the essence of the world can be gained from Veda vijnana and that of Creation through yajnavijnana. November 11, 2017 Vedanta and its context The fifth lecture in the series was organised with Vedanta as the main theme. The meeting was attended by Ojhaji’s great grand-daughter, Padmalata Thakur, who said Ojhaji’s personality was so powerful that the high and mighty bowed before his intellect. With his oratory skills…

Report Shri Shankar Shikshayatan in collaboration with Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, Ranchi, organised a national seminar on Gitavijnanabhashya-Gitavishayarahasya on November 26,2022. The seminar was based on Pandit Madhusudan Ojha’s commentaries on Bhagavad Gita. His commentaries are divided into four sections–rahasya khanda, sheershaka khanda, acharya khanda and hridaya khanda. In rahasya khanda, he has detailed Gita-nama-rahasya, Gitashastra-rahasya and Gita-vishaya-rahasya. The seminar focused on Gita-vishaya-rahasya. In vishaya rahasya, Ojhajji has dwelt with atma in this chapter. Opening the discussion, Dr Dhananjay Vasudev Dwivedi of Dr Shyama Prasaid Mukherjee University, said in vishaya-rahasya, Ojhaji has explained bhakti yoga. Meditation is the medium for bhakti. There are three types of  meditations–satyavati, angavati and anyavati. Ojhaji has defined these different types. Satyavati is where budhi or intellect and jnana or knowledge work in tandem. Full dedication to acquire knowledge is angavati. Anyavati is when intellect and sight are at conflict.  Dr Renu Kochar Sharma of Allahabad University, Prayagaraj, spoke on atma-nivarchan. She explained how kshara-purusha, akshara-purusha and avyaya-purusha make creation happen. Dr Sanjit Kumar Jha of Chandradhari Mithila College, Darbhanga, focused on Brahma and karma and how these two elements cause creation.Dr Praveen Kumar Dwivedi of Prof. Rajendrasingh University, Prayagraj, spoke on karma-yoga. Dr Ranjan Lata of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya University Gorakhpur, elucidated on bhakti-yoga. Dr Satyendra Kumar Yadav of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, spoke on budhi-yoga. He explained about vairagya-budhi, jnana-bidhi, aishwarya-budhi and dharma-budhi.  Prof. Santosh Kumar Shukla, convener, Shri Shankar Shikshayatan, explained how Ojhaji has encapsulated the entire veda vijnana in his commentary on Gita. The programme was coordinated by Dr Lakshmi Kant Vimal and Dr Mani Shankar Dwivedi of Shri Shankar Shikshayatan.