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·
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES ·
UNIQUE FEATURE ·
SCOPE ·
WHAT CAN DANAM DO FOR YOU? The primary
objectives of DANAM are:
(1) To impart knowledge from particular fields of scholarship in Dharma
traditions to practitioners in North America who seek in-depth scholarship-based
information about these traditions (through, for example, the development
of an informative web-site and lectures by scholars at special forums
and gatherings.)
(2) To establish a dedicated intellectual space for ongoing
scholarship in constructive philosophical, theological, ethical, and
epistemological engagement with these traditions through various publishing
projects and the DANAM symposium at the AAR.
(3) To attempt to renew the historical
dialogue and mutual exchange between the major Dharma traditions (Hindu,
Jain, Buddhist, Sikh) through future joint efforts, DANAM Symposia panels
and publishing projects that include scholarship on the diverse schools
and systems of Dharma.
(4) To engender contemporary responses
from Dharma Scholarship to new developments in the fields of science,
technology, environment, ecology, gender relations, social practices,
etc., by holding Thematic Symposia and an Annual Academic Meeting at
the site of the American Academy of Religion (AAR).
(5) To familiarize the present and future
generations of Dharma practitioners with teachings of Dharma as described
above, so as to instill in Western-born Diaspora Youth, a sense of active
engagement with, and understanding of, the basic worldviews of Dharma.
(6) To provide an information bridge
between the world of Dharma scholars articulating contemporary research
on Dharma and the world of the Dharma community seeking a deeper understanding
of Dharma.
(7) To address issues pertaining to Diaspora
followers of Hindu Dharma as minority communities, and empower the members
of the association to present the traditional Hindu Dharma in ways that
are authentic to normative and historically accurate lived experience
of the Hindu tradition(s).
(8) To create greater understanding between
Dharma and other traditions by setting up standards (in print and other
communications) for the accurate definition and proper usage of Sanskrit
Hindu Dharmic terms ( such as, murthi, deva/devi, Bhagavan, etc.) in
the English and other non-Sanskrit language media, and, vice-versa,
to define in Sanskrit language, the non-Dharma religious terms (e.g.,
religion, God, Allah, angel, scripture, etc.) for which there might
not be an exact Sanskrit equivalent.
(9) To generate quality educational products
on Hindu Dharma Theology, Ethics, and Spiritual and Lifestyle Practices
in multi-media (including print, photographic, video, movie, electronic,
and web site formats) for both the Community and others interested in
Hindu Dharma.
(10) To organize a network of local DANAM
Chapters to (a) provide meeting forums where the community can come
together to share, discuss and identify issues and solutions pertaining
to their community; and (b) act as dissemination centers to distribute
the information obtained from both expert advisors and other Chapters,
and (c) facilitate communications among themselves and with other organizations.
(11) To organize an annual DANAM Meeting,
solely or in cooperation with other organizations, to provide a venue
for the representatives and religious leaders of the community can come
together, hold group meetings, workshops and panels to review and assess
current community issues and their resolution status, identify knowledge
gaps, seek remedial actions, and plan future activities.
UNIQUE
FEATURE A unique feature of the DANAM is that
it provides a bridge between the Dharma scholars and the Dharma
communities at the grass-roots level, so that scholars can provide
authentic Dharma representation of the Vedic Sanatana Dharma and other
Dharma traditions, and directly respond to the numerous questions and
issues raised by the community. DANAM also seeks to revivify historic
links between Dharma traditions (Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh). SCOPE The scope of DANAM includes plans to
work with other Dharma organizations whose activities fall within its
mission and objectives, by encouraging synergism among their activities
and optimization of their resources, so as to maximize our effectiveness
in attaining the desired results, with least cost and delay. DANAM is
not affiliated with any political or politically motivated or funded
organization or individual. Its activities will be completely
non-political in nature. Hence, its members can feel free to exercise
their democratic rights in the political arena. The opinions of members,
participants, or audiences at any DANAM event, or those expressed by
contributors to any DANAM publication, do not necessarily reflect the
values of DANAM. |
