Special Announcements and Upcoming Events: July 2020
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Warm summer greetings from The Global Peace Initiative of Women. We are pleased to announce that we have recently partnered with the Indian organization, Indica Yoga, on their month-long online celebration of yoga entitled the Global Festival of Yoga: Celebrating Wellness.
All events for the Global Festival of Yoga are hosted on the web platform, Zoom and are free of charge.
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The festival, which commenced on the International Day of Yoga (June 21, 2020) will continue until July 20. The festival was created to celebrate yoga in all of its forms: from asana to yogic philosophy and spirituality. Many integral members of GPIW's network have been asked to participate as speakers on various topics related to spirituality and oneness.
GPIW already had the pleasure to host two events this month as part of the festival. The first event was a devotional kirtan with Acharya Mangalanada, who is a disciple of Anandmayi Ma. Earlier this week, GPIW and Indica co- hosted a panel discussion on Yoga and Human Unity. This discussion was moderated by Rev. Diane Berke of One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. Panellists included Fr. Michael Holleran, Professor Suheyl Umar from the University of Punjab in Lahore Pakistan, Ammaji (Swamini Pramananda) and Juan Pablo Restrepo, an Acro yoga teacher from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
We hope you will join us for this celebration of yoga, deep love, and spiritual unity.
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SPECIAL EVENTS TAKING PLACE THIS MONTH:
Saturday, July 11 at 9:30am Eastern Standard Time
The experiential session is an invitation to immerse in an hour of storytelling and kirtan with Krishna Das. Dena Merriam, author of
The Untold Story of Sita,
will introduce Krishna Das, who will carry us into the heart of Hanuman, where the love of Shri Ram and Mata Sita forever dwells. It is this love which sustains the universe.
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About Krishna Das:
Layering traditional kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das ” known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD ” has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling western chant artist of all time. His album ‘Live Ananda’ (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category. KD spent the late ’60’s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji. Given the name Krishna Das, KD began to chant as part of following the path of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion.
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Sunday, July 12 at 9:30am EST
Yoga and the Mystical Traditions
The various spiritual and mystical traditions have developed different methods and techniques for realizing the ultimate reality. While each tradition has its unique attributes their final goal is the same. Practitioners from some of these different traditions will share their vision of the essential unity that exists among the many religions.This discussion will be moderated by
Rabbi Rami Shapiro
and will include remarks from Sraddhalu Ranade (Author & Sri Aurobindo Scholar),
Lama Palden Drolma
(Founder and Senior Lama, Sukhasiddhi Foundation and Author of Love on Every Breath) and Ayca Gurelman (Founder, Istanbul Yoga Center, Turkey)
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Monday, July 13 at 9:30pm EST
Yoga and the Bhagavad Gita with Swamini Svatmavidyananda
This talk will focus on the understanding of yoga as discussed in the Bhagavad Gita.
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About Swamini Svatmavidyananda:
Dr. Swamini Svatmavidyananda Saraswati has taught at several universities nationally, including UC Berkeley. She is widely recognized as a scholar of Advaita Vedanta, and is a disciple of Pujya Sri Swami Dayanandaji Saraswati, an internationally known Acharya of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Along with her many international teaching responsibilities, Swami is also a founding member of the Global Peace Initiative of Women. Swami holds a long history of interreligious dialogue and travels and teaches around the world addressing many of the contemporary challenges we face as a human community.
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Tuesday, July 14 at 9:30am EST
The Vedic Deities and Their Relevance Today with Dena Merriam
Many, many millennia ago the seers of that time, the rishis of ancient India, expressed a deep intuitive understanding of the cosmic forces that guide individual and collective evolution. These forces, which came to be known as the devas and devis (beings of light) are working today for this unfolding. How do we access them for our individual and collective advancement?
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Wednesday, July 15 at 9:30am EST
Yoga, Dharma and Economic Wellbeing
What are alternative economic systems inspired by deeper spiritual values that might address the need for greater inclusivity among peoples, closing a widening gap between the very rich and those who suffer with so little? We ask our panel to reflect on ways we can have a balanced use of Earth’s gifts. Concepts of ‘real wealth’ that includes healthy ecosystems, regard for the sacredness of nature and offering new generations livelihoods with deeper meaning and purpose that take into account our interconnections as one human family.
Speakers for this session include Swami Atmarupananda (Sri Ramakrishna Mission, USA),
Manish Jain
(Founder of Shikshantar and Swaraj University) as well as remarks from Prashant Singh and Sudha Meiyappan (Experts on Dharma and Wellbeing, India)
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Sunday, July 19 at 9:30am EST
Yoga and Union with Nature
Through the practice of yoga we experience the unity of life, of all the manifest worlds. It is essential now that we regain the knowledge of our unity with the natural world. If we know ourselves to be one with nature, we will not destroy it. We will care for it as we care for our own body.
This event will be moderated by Daniel Abreu, (facilitator in the Work That Reconnects, Dominican Rep.) with remarks from
Acarya Judy Lief
(Buddhist Teacher, Colorado, USA), Shephali Patel (Author, Writer and Farmer, New York), Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota—International Speaker on Peace, Indigenous and Mother Earth perspective, Turtle Island) and Jenia Mukharjee (Assistant Professor, Dept. Of Humanities & Social Sciences & RCESH, IIT Kharagpur)
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How to Join the Global Festival of Yoga Online:
To sign up, simply select the event you wish to attend and click the link at the bottom of the page to register. Times above are listed in Eastern Standard Time USA. Please note when registering for any of these sessions you will select 'Evening Session' as sessions are listed in India Standard Time on the registration page.
With Gratitude,
The Global Peace Initiative of Women
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