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| SAMVAAD
on Dharma: Paper-writing Contest |
The word 'Dharma'
denotes the essence of the Indian idea of Human Values.
The principle of Dharma has been the basis of the Indian Civilization
for
ages.
Is
'Dharma' relevant to Humanity today?
If so, How? If not,
why not?
Do you have ideas on the
applicability
of the 'Dharma' concept
to the thorny issues faced today by individuals, communities and
nations?
Express
yourself! Participate in
SAMVAAD!
Win
prizes worth hundreds of U.S.
dollars!
Dharma is a sanskrit word that has no precise
equivalent in English. However, according to Sri Aurobindo, it could be
loosely translated as 'action born of one's inherent nature (svabhaava
niyatam karma)'. For ages, Dharma
has been the basis of the Indian
notions of ethics, morals, and all customs governing social living
including politics, business, communal life as well as personal life.
The
objective of the Samvaad contest is to encourage youth to
examine the Indian concept of Dharma from a fresh perspective and
ponder its applicability to contemporary human society.
The debate is highly relevant, given the numerous social, political and
ethical problems faced by our society today.
Please
publicize this contest by putting up the following colorful
poster at key places in your community.
Specific Topics of Interest:
- Dharma and the Age of
Reason: Reconciling Conflicts
- Analyzing a Contemporary
Issue from the Dhaarmic Standpoint
- The Need to Evolve Dharma
with Times
- Dharma in Action:
Contemporary Examples or Personal Experience
- Practising Dharma: Hurdles
and Incentives
- Spreading Dharma
- Theory: Comparing the
Indian 'Dharma' Concept with alternate
theories of Human Values.
- Dharma and its Rationale
based on Human Psychology
Contest Guidelines
- The contest is open to
anyone worldwide of two age
groups:
- under 25 years, and
- 25-40 years.
- Attractive Prizes will be
awarded for the top two articles from
each
age group during the upcoming Hindu Sangam 2006 grand cultural
festival in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA, USA on September 9, 2006.
- First
Prize: U.S. $250/-
- Second Prize: U.S. $100/-
- Selected articles will also
be published at the SAMVAAD website.
- The deadline for paper
submission is August 26, 2006 (6pm, PST), extended by one day on popular request.
- Articles must be within 3000
words in length, and written in English for wide readership.
- Articles must be submitted
online in plain text (.txt) or PDF format only using the online
paper-submission link below.
- Articles can express both
positive and negative views in any
topic.
- Articles will be judged
based on their balanced outlook,
practicality
and novelty of perspective, and clarity of presentation.
- Further Questions? Please
browse our answers to Frequently
Asked Questions below.
- The SAMVAAD team's contact
email address: samvaad@hindusangam.org
The following articles will
not
be considered for the contest:
- Articles containing abusive
language of any kind.
- Articles attacking specific
communities or individuals.
- Articles submitted in
formats other than plain text and PDF.
- Articles submitted after
the deadline.
- Articles submitted by other
means than through the online
submission method provided.
Frequently
Asked Questions
1. I am under 16 years in
age. Can I participate?
A. Yes, you can. But please make sure that the ideas you
express
are yours not those of your elders.
2. Can we have joint
authors (i.e., more than one author) for the
paper?
A. Yes, you can. The first author will be our point of
contact for the paper.
3. Can I summarize a book
which talks about a particular
philosophy, or is the content expected to be completely original?
A. You cannot merely summarize an already existing thought.
However, you can take the idea expounded in a book and give your own
twist to it. Here are some examples (though not exhaustive):
- experience paper: You can
discuss the idea's applicability and
validity in a concrete situation of today.
- critique paper: You can
discuss the idea's merits and demerits,
provided you give evidence to back your argument.
- thesis paper: You can
discuss how to improve on the idea etc.
There's got to be some element of originality somewhere in your paper,
although it need not be completely earth-shatteringly new. Remember,
the objective of SAMVAAD is not to simply regurgitate established ideas
of Dharma, but to put your own twist to them.
4.
Why exclude those aged over 40 years from participating in the contest?
Aren't they likely to be more knowledgeable and hence more capable of
contributing to the understanding of Dharma?
A. We know that many people aged over 40 years are usually
well-versed and experienced in the topic of Dharma, and can surely make
positive contributions to the debate through their essays. There are
numerous places where we see their activity such as in socio-religious
organizations.
Our intention behind this contest is to propel the youth into that league as well. Our hope is
that this contest will generate interest among the youth to read about
(study) Dharma, assimilate its essence, contemplate on it (ponder), and
apply/adapt it (contribute), based on their experience, to the present
day problems they are facing. This will give a new dimension and outlook
for Dharma and revitalize it for the sake of future generations. At the
very least, this debate will reveal the youth's outlook towards Dharma
and portend its future.
That said, we still exhort the elders to impel and guide their
young ones to participate in this contest. The younger generation in your
circle can always discuss their topic with you, while expressing their
thoughts in their own words.
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