Sri Lanka hosted the 4-day International Gita Mahotsav in Colombo from 01 – 04 March 2024, with the event concluding yesterday with a copy of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita being presented to the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.
According to the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, this was the fifth edition of the International Gita Mahotsav organised for the first time in Sri Lanka by Kurukshetra Development Board of Government of Haryana (KDB), India, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, the cultural arm of the High Commission of India in Colombo in collaboration with about 30 religious and social organisations in Sri Lanka.
Highlights of the gala event included a Sadhbhavna Yatra from Nelum Pokuna to Vihara Mahadevi Park of Colombo on Sunday (Mar 03) with nearly a thousand artists displaying local performing arts along with floats by ISKCON, Ramakrishna Mission, Mayurapathy Sribhadrakali Temple. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Ministers Bandula Gunawardena and Vidura Wickramanayaka witnessed the Yatra with High Commissioner Santosh Jha and the delegation from India.
The second day saw an International Discourse on Gita in addition to several seminars by experts on the theme of “Gita- An Epitome of Peace, Fraternity and Harmony”. The panel for the International Gita Discourse included remarks by Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickramanayake, High Commissioner Santosh Jha, Swami Gurusharanand Ji Maharaj, Gita Manishi Swami Gyanand ji Maharaj, Member Secretary KDB Sh. Vikas Gupta and Prof Asanga Tilakaratne. The universality and timelessness of Gita’s message were the common thread in these discussions.
The International Gita Mahotsav in Sri Lanka was the biggest international edition ever held. The previous 4 editions were held in Australia (2023), Canada (2022), UK (2019) and Mauritius (2019). Within India, Kurukshetra Development Board has been organising Gita Mahotsav since 1989 in the city of Kurukshetra, the land where’Bhagwad Gita’ is believed to have been delivered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a part of the epic Mahabharat. (NewsWire)
