Every year, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth celebrates Sankara Jayanti as Sankara Vijayotsava Divasa in a big way with eminent scholars and students from all over India participating. It is an opportunity to introduce the rich legacy and contribution of Sri Adi Sankaracharya to the younger generation. This year, there were five events organised from 17 to 19 May 2021:
- Special Lecture by Swami Govinda Dev Giri Maharaj
- Vakyartha Sabha on Advaita Vedanta
- Vakyartha Sabha in Vyakarana Shastra
- Elocution Competition
- Online Open Quiz
A special lecture by Swami Govinda Dev Giri Maharaj was held on 17 May. Over 800 people joined to listen to Swami ji speak on ‘अद्वैतवेदान्त का शिखर – भक्ति’. In his lecture, Swami ji explained the importance of bhakti in attaining enlightenment. He put forth numerous logical arguments to remove many popular misconceptions regarding bhakti in Advaita Vedanta, with reference from texts like Prasthana traya, Kalpataru etc. He also threw light on the similarity between Advaita and Shaivism.
A national Vakyartha Sabha on Advaita Vedanta and Vyakarana Shastra was organised on 18 May. Eleven selected students performed the Vakyartha on the given topic. Ganegshwar Nath Jha, (Assistant Professor and Head of Vyakarana, Sanskrit Central University, Ekalavya Campus), and Sri. Niraj Bhargav Sharma (Assistant Professor, Ramakrishna Mission’s Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute), was the Adhyaksha. Students from National Sanskrit University, Tirupati; Central Sanskrit University Thrissur, Guruvayur Campus; Ramakrishna Mission Vidya Mandiram, Kolkata; Government Sanskrit College, Melkote, Karnataka; Madras Sanskrit College, Chennai and Chinmaya VIshwavidyapeeth, Ernakulam, were selected for the Vakyartha Sabha. Over 400 people attended.
The topic for the Elocution Competition held on 19 May was ‘My Experience of Living with Sankara’s Thought’. Of the thirteen students selected for the competition, eleven presented their thoughts on the given topic in Sanskrit and Hindi. Students from different institutions namely Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval, Gujarat; Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Matoshri College of Engineering, Nashik; BHU, Varanasi; participated in the competition.
An online quiz open to all age groups was also organised regarding the life and history of Sri Adi Sankaracharya. It saw active participation from different age groups.