DURBAN HINDU TEMPLE TO HONOUR MANDELA
THE Durban Hindu Temple in association with the South African Hindu Maha Sabha and the Shree Sanathan Dharma Sabha of South Africa is hosting its first youth conference to commemorate its 120th anniversary.
We will also use the occasion on June 23 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela.
The theme for this conference is Taking the legacy forward: Past, Present, Future, which is aimed at promoting Hinduism; Indian languages; culture and heritage. In keeping with the theme surrounding legacies, the speakers will take a closer look at the values inspired by Mandela and how it corresponds with the principles of Hinduism.
Mandela acknowledged Hindu influence in some of his ideals when he said, “We are committed to building bridges and helping to embrace all of humanity under one umbrella and move forward in strength and confidence to a better future.”
Here he was referring to the Hindu concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the world is one family.
According to Madiba: “We should take pride in the epic struggles that were fought by the youth. That heroism is required in even greater measure today, the heroism to build, to learn, to improve skills and to unite the nation. The future is in your hands. Build it through hard work today.”
A special feature of the conference focuses on creating awareness about the scourge of drugs.
The youth are encouraged to stand firmly behind promoting our Hindu culture and the grooming of Indian language.
Year after year, community centres and religious organisations excel in restoring the development of our mother tongue in such early years of the Indian community; however, our interest in Hinduism as a whole does not have to stop there.
All of us can be leaders of our culture and heritage, no “one” individual, in particular, has to be identified as a leader anymore. The youth of today have a dynamic place in Hinduism, leading to knowledgeable and confident individuals who can directly communicate about various living aspects of Dharma.
Comprising of varied age groups, all with one set of primary goals, the conference serves to provide a platform to enlighten young minds about Hinduism and exchange ideas of different levels towards a brighter future for Hindus in South Africa.
The conference which will be at the Durban Hindu Temple, 24 Somtseu Road, Durban, from 8am is free, but pre-registration is essential.
Send your details (name/surname/contact number/organisation you belong to/address of the organisation) to jyothikapersadh@gmail. com/ durbanhindutemple@ telkomsa.net before June 20, or call Vinny bhai on 031 332 2848.