After the successful first edition last year, International Festival of Spiritual India (IFSI) is coming back to the city to celebrate humanity and wisdom. With the objective of demystifying the concept of spirituality and bringing it to the grassroots level, curator Manjiri Prabhu, director of Pune International Literary Festival (PILF), is bringing the festival which interested participants can attend free of cost. All they need to do is register on the website and if that’s not possible, on-the-spot registration facility is also available.
The main aim of the festival is to make everyone understand the meaning of spiritual India, imbibe its values and embrace a holistic lifestyle. It is crucial to understand and connect the myriad concepts of spirituality from other parts of the world with those in India.
The three-day event will take off on January 31 at 12.15 pm. The topics that will be discussed during the event include yoga, faiths, meditation, well-being, art, food and nutrition, health and happiness, heritage, healing, crystals and energies, harmony and co-existence, communes, soul-connects, twin flames and relationships etc.
Some of the highlights of the fest are: The Osho saga, The importance of scriptures and Vedas, What do we learn from the Dalai Lama? Spiritual calling, Spirituality for parents of children with special needs, Animals as our saviours, Literature and Spirituality, Why yoga?, The love-soul connections — facts and myths, Body shaming and body complexes, Overcoming the Karmic trap, From mindfulness to mindlessness.
The three-day event will also have workshops on the practical application of spirituality in daily life like Pranayam by Uday Pendse; Tapping the power within you by Gian Kumar; Self-defence and fitness for women by Mickey Mehta; Health and happiness by Bramhachari Aditya Gait; Breathing techniques to reduce anxiety and depression by Renu Mahtani; Healing spirit by Manjeeri Gokhale and so on.
A panel of specialists will address the attendees. They will guide people to help find their own path of spirituality. People will get a chance to tap and rediscover the deeply engraved spirituality with a union of mind, body, and spirit.
Rajiv Mehrotra, trustee, Foundation for Universal Responsibility of HH The Dalai Lama; Swami Atmapriyananda, VC of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University; Gian Kumar, spiritual author; Dinesh Kashikar, Art of Living; Brahmachari Aditya Gait, spiritual director Anand Sangh; Mrunal Pawar, director, Sakal Media Group; Samrat Phadnis, editor, traditional and digital media, Sakal Media Group; Dr K Venkatesham, Commissioner of Police, Pune; Ma Aruna Bharti, Osho Ashram; R J Sangram, radio jockey; Shilpa Datar, Kathak dancer and therapist; Vivek Singhania, CEO and president of Picture Perfect, film producer and writer; Dr Manjiree Gokhale, past life regression healer, breathwork rebirther; Umesh Pherwani, actor and stand-up comedian, are among the panelists.
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International Festival of Spiritual India will be held at Yashada, Baner, on January 31, February 1 and 2, 12 noon onwards. Free entry.
