Lord Buddha remembered on 2564th Vesak Full Moon Day

Sukho Buddhānam uppādo, Sukhā saddhammadesanā

Sukhā sanghassa sāmaggi, Samaggānam tapo sukho.

Blessed is the birth of the Buddhas 

Blessed is the enunciation of the sacred Teaching

Blessed is the Harmony in the order

And blessed is the spiritual pursuit of the united truth-seeker.

~The Buddha

With celebrations curtailed because of the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic, Ven. Bhikkhu Sanghasena led a special 2564th Vesak Day celebration on 7th May, 2020 at the Mahabodhi International meditation Centre (MIMC) Chandigarh Branch. While maintaining strict social distancing norms, a prayer and meditation session was held in the morning followed by a wonderful and inspiring talk by Ven. Sanghasena on the significance of the observance of Holy Vesak Full Moon Day. 

In the evening, the 2564th Vesak Day was observed via a webinar, which was jointly organized by the MIMC, Mahakaruna Foundation New-Delhi and Lions Club Delhi Veg. It was attended by luminaries from all walks of life including spiritual masters, diplomats, politicians, bureaucrats, business icons, entrepreneurs and many more from India as well as from Singapore, Bhutan, Dubai, UAE, UK, USA etc.

In his welcome address, Ven. Sanghasena thanked all the panellists for joining the special webinar. He further stated that the messages of Lord Buddha is timeless, but it is particularly relevant in our turbulent contemporary world today with the rising of hatred, violence, of growing inequalities and the immense pressures on our natural world.

On this occasion, the message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Vesak Day was also broadcasted, which inspired each and every one who joined the conference. The spiritual leaders addressed and blessed the ceremony with their holy messages of peace and compassion and the need of it in today’s world.

Swami Chidanand Saraswati, President, Parmarth Niketan Rishikesh and Founder, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA), spoke on the spiritual contribution of India to the world. He said, “From time to time, India has produced some of the most intellectual and pure beings, like Lord Buddha, who was an embodiment of love, peace, compassion and wisdom. The life of Lord Buddha is a journey of truth and mahakaruna.”

He further stated that in the history of mankind, India has never attacked anyone, because the teachings of Buddha have always inspired and guided our leaders. India has instead attracted everyone towards its spiritual way of Life.

In her address, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, President, Divine Shakti Foundation and Secretary General, GIWA said “Let us take the beautiful teaching of Buddha "Appo Deepo Bhava" to our heart, meaning Be the light and realise that the Light is within us”. She further stated that the teachings of Buddha have always inspired her spiritual life.

Renowned Jain Saint and Peace Ambassador Acharya Lokesh Muni in his address extended his heartfelt greetings to Ven. Sanghasena and the Buddhist world on the auspicious occasion of the Holy Vesak Day. He said “The teachings of Mahakaruna taught by Lord Buddha and the teachings of non-violence become extremely relevant today, when the world is facing a crisis of Covid19 pandemic with so many thousands of deaths and the world economy sinking.”

Moulana Imam Umer Ahmed Illyasi, Chief Imam of All India Imam Organisations (AIIO) extended greetings on behalf of the Muslim world and expressed his deep appreciation to Ven. Sanghasena for bringing together everyone on one platform despite the pandemic. He urged all the faith leaders and other leaders to keep praying for a Corona-free world.

Other religious leaders included, Goswami Sushil Maharaj of Bhartiya Sarv Dharam, S Paramjit Singh Chandik from Gurdwara Bangla Sahib New Delhi, Dr Binney Sareen from Brahmakumaris, Fr. Bento from New Delhi. All the leaders extended their greetings on the auspicious occasion of Vesak Day and spoke on the need of the teachings of Buddha in today’s world.

The political, diplomats, business and other leaders shared their views on the teachings of Lord Buddha. Many of them shared their experiences of the application of the messages of Lord Buddha in their personal and professional lives and how it transformed them as a person.

H.E Maj Gen Vestop Namgail, Ambassador of Bhutan to India, in his address said, “On this auspicious day, everyone must draw inspiration from one of the very important messages of Buddha that is to practice compassion and to let our actions be guided by mindfulness. This is the time for the world to reflect on mahakaruna – compassion and to radiate it to everyone affected by the deadly COVID-19.”

Ms Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament from New Delhi, said, “The most valuable gift that our great country India has given to the world is the message of Buddha. Lord Buddha’s teachings of mahakaruna teaches us to be kind and compassionate to everyone, including animals and mother nature to which the UN terms as “Sustainable Development Goals”.

She further reminded everyone of the lessons that COVID-19 taught us, which also the Buddha taught that “we all can live with a limited amount of possessions and that we must give up greed and all kinds of negative emotions”.

Ambassador P. Stobdan in his address said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is not about healthcare, it’s a transformational issue which is why we have all come back on the Buddha’s teachings of ultimate realisation that everything must change. We must adopt a change now and that the teachings of Buddha were not a dogmatic and therefore Vesak Day is an important occasion for everyone to realise this.”

Henry Baey from Singapore, Dr Lye Kit Yong from Dubai UAE, Anurag Batra, Editor-in-Chief, Business World, and Navratan Aggarwal Bikaner Vala extended their greetings to everyone and shared their point of views.

Gaurav Gupta, the Charter President of Lions Club Delhi Veg moderated the event. He also shared his point of view on the teachings of Buddha and how it affected his life both personally and professionally.

The event was live telecasted on various social media platforms with 100’s of people from different countries tuning in. It ended with a very soulful and divine Dhamma Song presented by the musician group of Mahabodhi marking the auspicious occasion.