STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Governor, N.N. Vohra said that if peace and normalcy is to be restored and humanity is to remain civilised, radical ideologies shall have to be denounced and collective efforts shall need to be made to revive the centuries old traditions of tolerance and brotherhood which transcend the barriers of religion, language, caste, colour and creed. Governor N.N. Vohra inaugurated ‘Kashmir Philosophy with Special Reference to Abhinavagupta’, a two day International Seminar which has been organised by the Centre for Comparative Religions and Civilisations at the Central University of Jammu, here on Thursday.
The Governor observed that Kashmir’s contribution to philosophical thought, spirituality, ethics and aesthetics is of tremendous significance as almost all of the ancient and medieval Indian aesthetics in Sanskrit originated and developed in Kashmir.
Paying tributes to Acharya Abhinavagupta, an early medieval period philosopher of unparalleled versatility from Kashmir and a great synthesiser of varied streams of thinking, the Governor observed that he was instrumental in rationalising the philosophical knowledge of that age into a coherent form which enabled the development of Kashmir Shaivism.
Governor opined that the whole corpus of Kashmir’s speculative philosophy and mysticism, which are inalienable part of Indian cultural mosaic, need to be examined and appropriated so that this rich heritage is preserved and continues to enlighten and enrich us and future generations.
Prof. Mark Dyczkowski, eminent Shaivite scholar, presented the Key Note Address. Prof. Ashok Aima, Vice Chancellor of the University, also addressed the gathering on the occasion.
Prof G.M Khawaja, Director, Centre for Comparative Religions and Civilisations presented the welcome address and Ajay Kumar Singh, Assistant Professor, Centre for Comparative Religions and Civilizations, presented the vote of thanks.
Among those who presented the papers were Boris Marjanovic, Prof. Rajneesh Mishra (JNU), Anusuriya Kumar, Journalist K.K Lidhoo, Prof. R.L Bhat, Ram Bahadur Shukla, Satish Vimal and G.M Khawaja, the Director of the Centre.
