Author: IANS
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 29, 2004
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow/831616.cms
Some 180 young Hindus from around
the world will meet in the Indonesian resort of Bali in November to set
up a global secretariat that will seek to spread the virtues of the Hindu
religion.
The organisers include two young
Balinese Hindus who are now here meeting community leaders in India to
canvass support for the conference that will lead to a World Hindu Youth
Organisation (WHYO).
"Our aim is to meet our Hindu brothers
and sisters from around the world, network and see what we can learn from
them," said A A Arya Wedakarna, 24, a PhD student of Balinese origin who
lives in Jakarta.
While Wedakarna is on his third
visit to India, his compatriot and fellow student, Ayu Aryani, is visiting
the country for the first time.
Hindus officially make up 11 percent
of Indonesia's 250 million people but they are in an overwhelming majority
in Bali, Hinduism's best-known outpost in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia is home to some 1,000
ancient Hindu temples. In Bali itself, there are a dozen major temples
and thousands more in varying sizes.
"Everyone in Bali, the young included,
believe and follow (Hindu) rituals. But most don't understand them," said
Arya Wedakarna.
"There is growing (Hindu) consciousness
in Bali," he added. "We are keen to set up a global Hindu organisation
to spread Hinduism in the country and elsewhere. We need to introspect,
we need to learn (about Hinduism), and we need exposure."
The organising committee of the
Nov 26-30 World Hindu Youth Summit includes leading Indonesia Hindu institutes
such as Independent Youth Hindu Intellectual Forum, Hindu Indonesia University,
Ashram Gandhi Puri and Indonesia Hindu Youth Association.
Delegates, who will come from such
countries as India, Nepal, the US, Britain, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia,
will discuss the diversity of Hindu cultures and their uniqueness as well
as their originality.
"The event will provide young people
of different backgrounds and orientations a common ground to exchange ideas
and interact on specific issues affecting the Hindu global community, thus
creating a Hindu global culture," said Ayu Aryani.
A secretariat of the World Hindu
Youth Organisation will be opened in Bali and it will have chapters in
every country where Hindus live.
The Organisation will also help
promote tourism in Bali, which is only now beginning to recover from the
savage terror attack that shook the resort island in 2002 and left almost
200 people, mostly Australians, dead.
The conference has the support of
Indonesian authorities, including central government ministers in Jakarta,
besides the governor of Bali.
"This is a conference that will
surely help Hindus in Bali," said Dr Somvir, an Indian national who teaches
Sanskrit and Indian philosophy at Udayana University in Bali, speaking
over the telephone from the island.
"Increasingly, the young Hindus
of Bali want to understand the Hindu religion and customs. They believe
that while Hinduism is alive in Bali, the spirituality can be found only
in India.
"So they want to interact with Indian
Hindus," explained Dr Somvir.
