Join us for the Inaugural BI Summer School (Online-only)
Dates: Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th July 2024 and Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st July 2024
What is the BI? Srila Prabhupada set up the Bhaktivedanta Institute in 1976 to deliver the scientific and philosophical case that we are not simply material bodies, life does not originate from matter and that there is a purpose to our existence in this material cosmos in connection with the ultimate source of reality, the Supreme conscious being - who we know as Krishna. Today, the BI has become an extensive international network of amazing scholars and scientists engaged in research collaborations, outreach projects and interaction with the top academics in neuroscience, biology and astrophysics.
How can the BI help me in KC, and in my outreach? This Summer School is your chance to find out what the BI devotees do, what's available to help you better understand Prabhupada's books and to communicate with the public on matters of science much more accurately and effectively. It will also help you connect with appropriate BI research, education and outreach programs according to your interests.
Join us for the BI's first Summer School. The BI summer school 2024 will take place virtually (Zoom webinar) over two weekends in July - see dates and timings below. Presentations and discussions will be on vital themes - see below. The esteemed speakers are affiliated to or collaborators of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS, Florida).
Register Today! The summer school is open to participants of all ages, though students and early-career professors of science and philosophy, and doctors of medicine, are especially encouraged to join. It is open and free - just register yourself using this Summer School website. The Zoom link will be shared with everyone who submits the registration form (see below). Registration closes on 12th July (deadline extended)! We can accommodate only 20 more registrations, so please register now!
Themes
Mind & Consciousness Research
Vedic Cosmology & Museum of Vedic Planetarium
Shastra, Hermeneutics & The Central Role of Philosophy
Mantra Meditation Research
Education, Outreach & Networking
Vedic Archeology
Speakers
Bob Cohen
(Director, BIHS)
Akhandadhi Das
(Director, SPi)
Hridayananda Goswami
(Dr. Howard Resnick) (Dean, BIHS)
Michael Cremo
(BIHS)
Bhakti Vijnana Swami
(Director, BI Russia)
Krishna Kshetra Swami
(Research Fellow, OCHS)
Dr. Natalia Antonova
(BI Russia)
Prof. Laxmidhar Behera
(Director, IIT Mandi)
Prof. Ravi Gupta
(Director of Rel. Studies, USU)
Dr. Rita Jeney
(Bhaktivedanta College, Hungary)
Dr. Uma Pallavi
(IIT Mandi)
Prof. Shrestha Sinha Ray
(Ohio Dom. University)
Dr. Komal Dalal
(Bhaktivedanta Hospital)
Prof. Ricardo Silvestre
(Campana Grande Univ.)
Dr. Mauricio Garrido
(BIHS)
Dr. Tiziano Valentinuzzi
(Director, BIHS)
Dr. Doug Watson
(BIHS)
Dr. Venugopal Damerla
(Director, PRIIME)
Dr. Jyotiranjan Beuria
(IIT Mandi)
Prof. Kunal Mooley
(IIT Kanpur, Caltech)
Dr. Guru Raghavan
(Co-founder, Yurts AI)
Schedule
Timings for all sessions:
- Eastern Time, USA 9am - 12 noon
- United Kingdom 2pm - 5pm
- Indian Standard Time 6.30pm - 9.30pm
Schedule for sessions:
-
Saturday, 13th July 2024 (Theme: BI and Consciousness Research)
- 18:30 IST Overview of the BI in today's ISKCON: Projects, network and resources (Bob Cohen)
- 18:55 IST Why Consciousness is a Big Deal For Science and How Gaudiya Vaishnava Vedanta can contribute (Akhandadhi Das)
- 19:50 IST Indian Knowledge Systems and Mental Health Applications at IIT Mandi (Laxmidhar Behera)
- 20:20 IST Research on Spiritual Care, Mahamantra and Near Death Experiences (Komal Dalal & Vijay Gawali)
- 21:00 IST Reincarnation & Subtle body research (Kunal Mooley & Shrestha Sinha-Ray)
- 18:30 IST The Foundations of Knowledge (HD Goswami)
- 19:15 IST Can Empirical Observation Influence Scriptural Testimony? An Exploration through Jīva Gosvāmī's works (Ravi Gupta)
- 19:35 IST Developing a Theistic Theory of Consciousness (Ricardo Silvestre)
- 20:00 IST Resolving the Siddhantic and Puranic Universes (Sthitadhi Muni Das)
- 20:20 IST Two Ways of Presenting KC: As the science of God, or as a Religion. Differences in approaches and consequences. (Bhakti Vijnana Swami)
- 20:50 IST Panel Discussion – “Developing a rigorous presentation of Gaudiya Vaishnava Philosophy for Scholars” (Panelists: HD Goswami, Bhakti Vijnana Swami, Ricardo Silvestre, Guruprasad Raghavan. Moderator: Akhandadhi Das)
- 18:30 IST “The Map is Not the Territory”: Mapping Hermeneutic Approaches to the Bhāgavatam’s Cosmologies (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- 18:55 IST Consciousness-based Life and Speciation (Akhandadhi Das)
- 19:35 IST Research on Chanting Mahamantra (Venugopal Damerla & Uma Pallavi)
- 20:05 IST Natural & Artificial Intelligence and Modeling the Mind (Guruprasad Raghavan)
- 20:25 IST Indic Archeology: A Paradigm Shift (Rita Jeney)
- 20:50 IST Vedic Archeology and Opportunities (Michael Cremo)
- 21:10 IST Krishna and the Quark (Mauricio Garrido)
- 18:30 IST A Conscious-based Universe (Giridhari Das)
- 18:50 IST Cosmogenesis (Doug Watson & Laura)
- 19:10 IST The BI in Russia (Natalia Antonova)
- 19:30 IST Overview of research and Outreach programs at the Institute of Science & Philosophy (Jyotiranjan Beuria)
- 19:50 IST The Science Museum of the Vedic Planetarium (Michael Cremo)
- 20:10 IST TOVP Chandelier (Prem Gauranga & Pavanesvara)
- 20:40 IST Panel & General Q&A: The BI Network, Resources, Opportunities and Getting Involved (Bob Cohen, HD Goswami, Akhandadhi Das, Kunal Mooley)
Sunday, 14th July 2024 (Theme: Shastra, Hermeneutics & The Central Role of Philosophy)
Saturday, 20th July 2024 (Theme: The Science of the Srimad Bhagavatam)
Sunday, 21st July 2024 (Theme: Science, Cosmology and the BI Network)
Registration
About
The Bhaktivedanta Institute (BI) was formed in 1976 to build intellectual bridges and create joint research paths between modern empirical science and the consciousness-based metaphysical framework of India’s Bhagavata Vedanta tradition. Over the last four decades, we have steadily built science- and philosophy-based research, education and outreach programs to investigate a wide gamut of topics encompassing mind, consciousness and Vedic cosmology.
The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) is a recently-formulated center in Gainesville, Florida. The BIHS grew out of a dedicated team of devotees that focussed on preserving the legacy of Richard L Thompson (Sadaputa das) and bringing his writings back into publication. Since then it has developed as the natural hub linking many BI activities worldwide together. The BI network is not centrally managed, but exists to encourage contact, communication and collaboration between devotee scientists and scholars to build a knowledge base that is authoritative and fulfils Srila Prabhupada's wish that our academically-trained devotees work together to present Vedic knowledge to the world.
Consciousness in Science Conference 2019
Mind-Brain Interface Conference 2021
BIHS Cosmology Conference 2023
