ICPR Sponsored Periodical Lectures

(Report)

11th February, 2015

Department of Philosophy

Post Graduate Govt. College for Girls,

Sector-11, Chandigarh
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 Report on ICPR Sponsored Periodical Lectures

February 11, 2015

The Department of Philosophy, Post Graduate Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11,
Chandigarh organized “ICPR Sponsored Periodical Lectures” on 11th February, 2015.
This programme academically assisted by the Department of Hindi. Mrs. Achila Dogra,
the Principal of Post Graduate Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh gave a
floral welcome to the guests. Dr. Anita Khosla, Head, Department of Hindi introduced the
distinguished speakers. She pointed out that such kind of events is the need of the hour
and students should be given proper guidance and motivation in the concerned subject.
The invitees included Prof. Geeta Manaktala (Professor (Retd.), Department of
Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh), Dr. Paramvir Singh, Head, Department of
Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala and Dr. Sudhir Baweja (Co-
ordinator, Philosophy & Vivekananda Studies, University School of Open Learning,
Panjab University, Chandigarh).

Prof. Geeta Manaktala delivered her first lecture on “Value and Society: Re-discovering
the Primacy of Cultural Context.” She said that Philosophers and Social Scientists have
attempted to understand and explain the concept of values which is said to possess a
dual nature. Values embody components of reason which is essentially an affair of the
mind and is therefore regarded as the philosopher’s province. The role of Philosophers
and Sociologists must therefore be regarded and coordinated in this regard. Values
often owe their origin to the socio-cultural context from which they arise. Their
connection with the material world and the influence to which they are subjected to in
specific societies and in the behaviour of given individuals are realities in human
situation. Besides values are created by the individuals and their existence is to be seen
in the behaviour of the members of a given society as well as in the customs and
conventions which people generally accept. Values therefore being moral in nature, are
social facts and may act as individual motives as well much of the social contest within
which social life is lived. Modern theories of values and indeed, many classical ones are
psychologically based, but they differ from one another in the psychological phenomena
what they selected as the ground of values. In general it may be set that value have
normative significance of human conduct; it presupposes World of Situation which

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affects human conduct, tradition and culture. It is because values can be augmented and
diminished, created and destroyed and individuals/societies can be benefited and
harmed, that our actions have value significance. As concrete actualization, they make
the human Self worthy of its desirability rather than the attainability.

In her second lecture on “Universal Religion: Reading in Vivekananda”, Prof. Geeta

Manaktala examined and elucidated Swami Vivekananda’s views on the principle and
genuineness of religion which symbolically secure the participation in the divine ground
thus a Universal Religion. On the whole, Vivekananda’s concept of a Universal Religion
is a comprehensive and consistent attitude toward an explanation of what by common
consent shapes the deepest concerns of the human race. It sets the most desirable
goals before us: the unity of all human beings, their harmony with one another and the
world in which they live, and each person’s growth into that joyous freedom which is the
mark of all true religions. Thus today what is required is some sort of cooperation among
world religions. This cooperation does not envisage and undergrid the concept of
Universal Religion as there are differences in attitude and perceptions in particular
religions and as they are based upon upholding their own religions as supreme or
absolute, there remains a tension among religions. It is also notworthy to state that
there is a wide spread awareness in the post-modern world that our tendencies have
been out to balance in favour of a universal religion which has resulted in oppression
and tyranny. It would be doubtful as to whether anything of value would emer4ge in our
times by universalising tendencies, since the attraction towards a particular religion is
only ethically and humanistically grounded. Therefore, what can be universally accepted
is the promotion of life which requires such virtues as justice and love. But as soon as
they are interpreted into concrete situations virtues and turned into vices leading to
promote arrogance and a sense of superiority to those with whom specific meanings are
not shared. Such partial and limited perceptions have destroyed the meaning of religion
in World Religions throughout history. Hence the all to a Universal Religion seems no
longer attractive as it once was.

Dr. Paramvir Singh delivered his lecture on “Virtues in Sikhism” discussed that dharma
and virtues are related to each other. In ancient times a religious person considered as a
virtuous person. With the span of time, the criteria of religious person and virtuous

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person have changes and it was considered that a person can be a virtuous person
without being a follower of any religion. Between these religions Jainism and Buddhism
are major religions. He quoted several examples from the teachings of several religions
like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam etc. He also discussed the popular
Western theories of virtues. According to Socrates knowledge is virtue. Plato said that
virtues are the basis of all religions and of ideal society. Aristotle propounded his theory
of golden mean and gave a detailed account of his theory of virtue. In Sikhism virtues
are the sole characteristics of the ultimate reality and truth come first from all other
virtues like reason, courage, patience and justice etc. The primacy of truth justified the
proper importance of other virtues as it is the foremost important condition for all other
virtues. In Sikhism all actions those lead a person towards the realization of God, under
the criteria of virtue. Virtues integrated the man’s thought and action. If one engages in
the service of God's creation, this is the best way of working in harmony with the Divine
Will. Further, by remembering Waheguru one becomes aware of "God desires" and
"Divine essence" within the person is realised. By following these "Divine Values" that
benefit His Creation, one ends the cycle of Karma and Transmigration. We can find a
practical approach to follow these virtues in Sikhism and teachings of all the Gurus
motivated us to do so. In Sikhism, to have a virtuous life although a difficult task but not
impossible. Sikhism is founded on principles of ‘Sarbat da bhalla’ - working towards the
"common good of all". For Sikhs, this means reaching out to serve and uplift all of
humanity as an expression or devotion to the Creator.

Dr. Sudhir Baweja delivered his lecture on “ Our Environment: Our Responsibility’. He
discussed that environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which
considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to
including the non-human world. It exerts influence on a large range of disciplines
including environmental law, environmental sociology, ecological economics, ecology
and environmental geography. The field of environmental ethics concerns human
beings’ ethical relationship with the natural environment. While numerous philosophers
have written on this topic throughout history, environmental ethics only developed into a
specific philosophical discipline in the 1970s. This emergence was no doubt due to the
increasing awareness in the 1960s of the effects that technology, industry, economic
expansion and population growth were having on the environment. He also discussed

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the causes of environmental pollution. He said that planting trees and recycling also
helps. If you recycle, less trash goes to the dump, and less trash gets burned. As a
result, there are fewer greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Watch what you buy.
Many things, such as hairspray and deodorant, now are made to have less of an impact
on the atmosphere. This is our environment and it is our duty to protect it and save the
humanity too.

This programme had an interactive session in the end and students discussed on
various concepts related to the lectures such as ethics, environmental philosophy,
Sikhism, religious philosophy and got clarification related to these points. Prof. Geeta
Manaktala also motivated students regarding the scope and career in the subject of
philosophy. The lectures were related to their course work and they enjoyed and
reflected what they learnt from the scholars.

At the end of the program Dr. Desh Raj Sirswal, Department of Philosophy has
expressed the vote of thanks and pointed out that the present lectures are a significant
step to teach and acquaint students with basic themes of the subject through the
experts. About 70 students and faculty-members of the college have attended these
lectures.

Dr. Desh Raj Sirswal