[Advaita-l] Nominations Open for Grateful2Gurus 2023

[amith vikram]

Namaste,

The Indian tradition holds the Guru in high esteem as enlightened masters
who impart knowledge and wisdom in a specific domain to their students,
without any expectation of material or other gains. Throughout history, the
Guru has been the primary conduit for transmitting knowledge and tradition,
and has received abundant praise in Dharmic literature. The Upanishads
refer to the Guru as the “dispeller of darkness” and assert that their
grace is necessary for students to achieve success or spiritual realization.

Many notable Gurus have played significant roles in preserving and
advancing Dharma during times of crisis. Adi Shankaracharya, for instance,
almost singlehandedly revived the Upanishadic tradition as a living
philosophy when India was overwhelmed by Buddhism and Karmamarga. Later,
Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya developed their own paths from the
Upanishads, and also popularized Bhakti. During the invasions, Gurus
nurtured the empires that led the resistance against the Sultanates. Swami
Vidyaranya of Sringeri inspired the founding of the Vijayanagara kingdom by
Hakka and Bukka to protect Dharma, which went on to become a prosperous
empire. Chattrapathi Shivaji sought the counsel of Swami Ramdas, who
influenced his thinking on various statecraft matters.

Amidst the din of modernity, there are several people who perform the task
of preserving Dharma, often hidden from the plain eye and without the
slightest expectations of name and recognition. It is due to these unsung
heroes throughout the ages that so many of our traditions have survived
intact until the present times.

INDICA introduced the concept of Grateful2Gurus a few years ago, an
initiative to honour the Gurus living amongst us today. Previous recipients
of this felicitation include luminaries such as Dr. David Frawley (Pt.
Vamadeva Shastri),Shrikant Talageri, Prof. Kapil Kapoor, Dr S.Kalyanaraman,
Prof. B. B. Lal, Dr. R. Nagaswamy, Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh, Dr. Sonal
Mansingh, Dr. Kanagasabapathi, Dr. R. Vasudevan, Prof. Umadevi Ganesan, Dr.
Sadhana Rao, R. Saraswathi Jois, Rajiv Malhotra, Mohan Hemmadi, Dr Ramaa
Kausalya, Raghu Ananthanarayan and many more.

After a gap of two years, we are pleased to announce the program for the
year 2023 with two components.

Felicitation at the residence of the Guru:

INDICA is providing an opportunity to nominate and honor exceptional Gurus
from all over India. If you know someone near you who has devoted
themselves to serving Dharma, is above 60 years old, and has consistently
worked for at least a decade to preserve and propagate Dharma, you can
nominate them for this recognition. To nominate
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTkjmVFRX93BSa4jol-qpBpLbXBhftPcDP8_ntG5EoKWyPvA/viewform>,
please provide us with information about the person. Our selection
committee will review the nominations and select the Gurus to be
felicitated this year. If your nomination is selected, you will have the
chance to visit the Guru’s home on Guru Purnima, July 3rd, 2023, and
present them with a shawl and a token cheque of ₹ 11,000, which will be
sponsored by INDICA.

Last date for nominations is 31st May 2023

Felicitation in Chennai:

INDICA will also organise a felicitation ceremony on Gurupurnima in Chennai
where 9 selected Gurus will be felicitated in a traditional ceremony. We
invite nominees
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTkjmVFRX93BSa4jol-qpBpLbXBhftPcDP8_ntG5EoKWyPvA/viewform>
for
this ceremony too.

We urge our readers to help us identify and honour such Gurus who have
contributed to preserving and propagating Dharma. Please share this message
with your friends, family and acquaintances and help us identify the
deserving Gurus.

Let us all be #Grateful2Gurus.