"International Conference on “Ayurveda – Where Science Meets Consciousness"

The five day International Conference on ‘Ayurveda - Where Science Meets Consciousness’ was a success and had 600 (pre-registered and walk-in) delegates from 14 States of India and 13 Countries; and Speakers who included Deepak Chopra, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Dr. Hari Sharma, Dr. Rama Prasad, Dr. Vivek Shanbhag, Dr. J.M. Sampath, Dr. Claudia Welch, Ms. Rose Baudin, Dr. Sarada Von Sonn, Dr. K.P. Muraleedharan, Sri. P.R. Krishna Kumar, Sri Praful Patel, Dr. Gopalakrishnan, Sri. N.R. Kumar, Sri. K. Seetha Ram, Dr. Jorge Luis Berra.

Punarnava Ayurveda , the Coimbatore-based authentic Ayurveda services and consulting organization, hosted the International Conference on ‘ Ayurveda – Where Science Meets Consciousness’, where some of the greatest minds in the medical fraternity from across the globe came together to give Ayurveda enthusiasts an orientation into authentic Ayurveda and to share insights, knowledge and authentic Ayurveda concepts with the Indian community. The Conference, which aimed at creating authentic Ayurveda awareness and revival at the global level, was jointly organized by Punarnava Ayurveda, Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI), All India Ayurveda Congress (AIAC) and Indeco Leisure Hotels, in association with Tamil Nadu Tourism and Development Corporation (TTDC).

Objective:

The primary objective of the conference was to educate the Indian Ayurveda community about global trends, highlight the move from reductionism to holism which is on the rise and thus motivate Ayurveda students and practitioners to aspire to learn and apply Ayurveda in its authentic totality. The five day conference provided a global platform for discussions by Ayurveda advocates and offered Ayurveda students, practitioners and teachers the valuable opportunity to interact and share insights on best practices in the world of Ayurveda. Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Dr. Hari Sharma, Dr. Rama Prasad, Shri. P.R Krishna Kumar and others enlivened the participants with their informative presentations, interactive sessions and enlightening experiences with Ayurveda, and spoke on the role of Science and Spirituality in Ayurveda, globalization of authentic Ayurveda and the need for holism in health care for creating a healthy world.

Highlights:

Mr. V. Varaprasad Rao, IAS, Commissioner of Tourism and Secretary to Government, Information and Tourism Department, and Ms. Sheela Rani Shunkath, IAS, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu inaugurated the conference which was held from 18 th January to 22 nd January, 2006 at Sterling Resorts, Mahabalipuram.

Speaking at the inauguration, Mr. Varaprasad Rao highlighted the methods to be adopted to make Ayurveda more reliable and authentic.He said that the Government has planned to invest Rs.30 crore on the development of Ayurveda by setting up Ayurveda hospitals and facilities. He further added that Ayurveda was a medicinal system which induces less side- effects, and Ayurveda medicines are less expensive compared to other medicines.

Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration, Ms. Sheela Rani Shunkath said, “Ayurveda has stood the test of time and has benefited many lives for over 5000 years now. Ayurvedic treatments are more effective since they cure health problems from the root. ”

Speaking on ‘ Unlocking the hidden transformation in your life’, Dr. Deepak Chopra said,“Our mechanistic way of looking at the human body has made us superb technicians, but we know nothing about healing the human soul.” Speaking on the importance of holistic healing, he said that Ayurveda looks at the whole body as a pharmacy. “The first breakthrough in mind body medicine is: Your mind is not in your body, but your body is in your mind. This is a profound vedic thought that is gaining credibility the world over.”

Dr. Robert Svoboda, the first westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India , spoke on the relationship between science and consciousness. Ayurveda has the potential to take the lead in reorganizing and rejuvenating modern science, to ensure that it reflects adequately the mystery that is awareness. Students and teachers of Ayurveda must take the lead in facilitating this worldwide transformation. Though rooted in tradition, Ayurveda must be packaged and put forth in a way that will appeal to the contemporary audience of today.

The third day of the conference saw Dr. Hari Sharma highlighting the correlation of Ayurveda with modern science with instances of how scientific research h as proved beyond doubt on the effectiveness of Ayurveda. “The understanding of the correlation of Vedic Science and modern science brings a better understanding of the science and spirituality in Ayurveda,” he said.

Parallel sessions:

Spoken Sanskrit classes, Homams, demos of Ayurveda treatments and healthy, wholesome cooking, and cultural shows by renowned artists gave the international delegates a holistic experience, rich in Indian tradition.

The parallel sessions at the conference included yoga classes conducted by international yoga guru Rose Baudin from Australia , and spoken Sanskrit classes conducted by Samskrita Bharati, an organization working towards the promotion of Sanskrit. Delegates also got to learn how to cook healthy and wholesome food, and participated in l ive demos of different Ayurveda treatments.

Sidelights:

Poonam Sareen’s ‘ Birdsong’, a SPEED Theatrical production, opened at the conference. The play attempts to show the audience ‘how to go about unlocking the secrets that govern their lives and find their destiny’. The play had been specially created and conceptualized for the conference, and later traveled to Bangalore and Mumbai. Sridhar and Anuradha, renowned Bharata natyam dance exponents entertained the audience with their performances on a day of the Conference. There were other entertaining cultural programs including music, musical instrument concert and even programs conducted by the student delegates themselves.

In addition to the speaker presentations and discussion forums, the conference also co-hosted an Ayurveda Expo and exhibition, an arena for delegatesto access a whole lot of authentic Ayurveda products and services such as authentic Ayurveda medicines, Ayurveda equipment, books & CDs, including allied knowledge systems such as Yoga and meditation resources .

Sponsors:

The conference was co-sponsored by The Indian Hotels Company Ltd., Bearing India Equity Shares Pvt Ltd , I nternational Ayurveda Foundation, SPEED ( Speech and Personality Evolution through Educational Drama kinetics) and Whirlpool India , among others. The official media partner for the entire conference was CNBC TV18 and the official travel agent of the conference was SITA World Travel Inc.