Skip to main content

Celebrating Emperor Ashoka's birthday

Emperor Asoka Birthday is celebrated  on Chaitra Sukla Astami every year. 

Celebrating Emperor Ashoka's birthday can be a meaningful way to honor his legacy, particularly his contributions to Buddhism and his promotion of peace and non-violence. Here are some tips and suggestions for how you might celebrate:

  1. Educational Session:
    • Organize a talk or seminar on Emperor Ashoka's life, his conversion to Buddhism, and the principles of Dhamma (righteousness). Discuss his edicts and their relevance today. This could be done in schools, community centers, or online platforms.

  2. Cultural and Historical Exhibitions:
    • Set up an exhibition showcasing artifacts, replicas of Ashoka's edicts, and art from the Mauryan period. Include information on how Ashoka spread Buddhism across Asia.

  3. Meditation and Peace Walks:
    • Given Ashoka's commitment to non-violence, you could arrange meditation sessions or peace walks promoting the values of compassion, tolerance, and non-violence. This could be particularly poignant at places with historical significance like Buddhist stupas or sites where Ashoka's pillars stand.

  4. Community Service:
    • Engage in acts of service, reflecting Ashoka's policies on welfare and social responsibility. This could involve tree planting (remembering Ashoka's initiatives for planting trees), setting up water points, or organizing food drives.

  5. Cultural Performances:
    • Host performances that include traditional Indian dance, drama, or music, focusing on stories from Ashoka's life or Buddhist teachings. This could include enactments of his edicts or the Kalinga War's aftermath leading to his enlightenment.

  6. Art and Craft Activities:
    • For a more hands-on approach, organize activities where participants can create art inspired by Ashoka's symbols like the Dharmachakra or the lion capital. You could also have children make drawings or models of the Ashoka Pillar.

  7. Festive Gatherings:
    • Consider a community gathering with food stalls offering vegetarian cuisine, reflecting Ashoka's advocacy for non-violence towards animals. Share stories and teachings of Ashoka.

  8. Flag Hoisting or Symbol Display:
    • Since the Ashoka Chakra is part of India's national flag, you might organize a symbolic flag hoisting or display the Ashoka Chakra in various creative forms to remind people of his principles.

  9. Buddhist Practices:
  10. Virtual Celebrations:
    • For those who cannot participate in person, create a virtual event where people can join from anywhere. This could include live streams of talks, virtual tours of historical sites, or online meditation sessions

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unveiling the "Real Majority" of India

Unveiling the "Real Majority": Divya Dwivedi’s Critique of the Hindu Majority Narrative * In contemporary Indian discourse, the notion of a "Hindu majority" is often taken as an unassailable fact, with official statistics frequently citing approximately 80% of India’s population as Hindu. This framing shapes political campaigns, cultural narratives, and even national identity. However, philosopher and professor at IIT Delhi, Divya Dwivedi, challenges this narrative in her provocative and incisive work, arguing that the "Hindu majority" is a constructed myth that obscures the true social composition of India. For Dwivedi, the "real majority" comprises the lower-caste communities—historically marginalized and oppressed under the caste system—who form the numerical and social backbone of the nation. Her critique, developed in collaboration with philosopher Shaj Mohan, offers a radical rethinking of Indian society, exposing the mechanisms of power t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mallanna Unleashes TRP: A New Dawn for Marginalized Voices in Telangana's Power Game

On September 17, 2025, Chintapandu Naveen Kumar, popularly known as Teenmar Mallanna—a prominent Telugu journalist, YouTuber, and former Congress MLC—launched the Telangana Rajyadhikara Party (TRP) in Hyderabad at the Taj Krishna Hotel. The event, attended by Backward Classes (BC) intellectuals, former bureaucrats, and community leaders, marked a significant moment for marginalized groups in Telangana. Mallanna, suspended from Congress in March 2025 for anti-party activities (including criticizing and burning the state's caste survey report), positioned TRP as a dedicated platform for BCs, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), minorities, and the economically weaker sections. The party's vision emphasizes "Samajika Telangana" (a socially just Telangana) free from fear, hunger, corruption, and prejudice, with a focus on inclusive development and responsible governance. Key highlights from the launch: Symbolism : The date coincided with Periyar Jayanti and V...
Post a Comment
Read more

Raise of RSS-affiliated think tanks

Since 2014, the number of think tanks affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has significantly increased. India had 192 think tanks in 2014, which surged to 612 by 2021, reflecting a notable rise in nationalist-oriented institutions like the India Foundation and the Vivekananda International Foundation  This growth is part of a broader strategy to challenge leftist intellectual dominance and promote a "New India" ideology through policy research and public discourse. The main goals of RSS-affiliated think tanks include: Promoting Hindutva Ideology : They aim to spread the ideology of Hindutva to strengthen the Hindu community and uphold Indian culture and civilizational values Challenging Leftist Dominance : These think tanks seek to counter the intellectual hegemony of leftist ideologies in India, providing an alternative narrative in policy discourse Supporting Government Policies : They produce research and reports that s...
Post a Comment
Read more