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Dada J. P. Vaswani needs no introduction to
readers of inspirational literature. He is
regarded as one of the leading spiritual
luminaries of India, a practical philosopher
and a man of God whose grace has influenced
thousands all over the world. |
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A gifted writer and brilliant orator, Dada,
as he is lovingly called, has addressed
distinguished audiences worldwide,
communicating only as he can, the positive
messages of love, faith, joy and peace. |
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Dada J. P. Vaswani is a recipient of several
honors, including the prestigious U Thant
Peace Award. He has written over 80 books,
many of which have been translated in
various foreign languages. |
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As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has aptly
portrayed him, Dada J. P. Vaswani epitomizes
the life of Dharma. He is a living example
of how the spirit and practice of our
ancient traditions can be purely maintained,
even amidst the changes and challenges of
this modern age. |
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Dada J.P. Vaswani |
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Who Is Dada J.P. Vaswani? |
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Dada J.P Vaswani is
a universally acclaimed as a humanitarian, philosopher,
educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa,
and non-sectarian spiritual leader, Dada J.P. Vaswani has
captivated the hearts of millions worldwide. In the eyes of
many, Dada J.P. Vaswani is a man who symbolizes the true spirit
of the India of the rishis as a harbinger of love, peace and
hope. |
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Today, Dada J.P.
Vaswani is the spiritual head of The Sadhu Vaswani Mission, and
also the moving, inspiring, life-giving and life-sustaining
force behind its multifarious activities. Holding aloft in his
hands, the torch bequeathed to him by his Master, Dada carries
across the globe the message of India's deathless culture.
Through him, the joy of faith and peace flows out to many. In
him, thousands of faithful devotees behold the image of their
Beloved. |
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Thousands upon
thousands of avid readers who have read his best-selling books
regard him as a great inspirational writer. Distinguished
audiences who have heard him address eminent forums like the
World Parliament of Religions, the Global Forum of Spiritual
Leaders, and the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit
hail him as a brilliant and captivating orator. Animal lovers
revere and admire him as an apostle of non-violence who strives
tirelessly for the cause of reverence for all life. And, to the
thousands spread all over the globe, Dada J.P. Vaswani is an
unquestioned spiritual leader. |
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Dada J.P. Vaswani
was a brilliant student who obtained his B.S. degree at the
young age of 17. He was awarded a fellowship at the D.J Sind
College for standing first in his class. |
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His M.Sc. Thesis on
"The scattering of X-Rays by Solids" Was examined by
Nobel-Laureate, Dr. C.V Raman. Although Dada's conclusions were
in divergence with those of Dr. Raman, the originality of his
views impressed the eminent scientist. |
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Dada gave up a
career in academics to follow in the footsteps of his
illustrious uncle and Guru, Sadhu T.L Vaswani. |
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In order to
propagate the Masters ideals, he edited three monthly journals -
the Excelsior, the India Digest and the East and West series.
The Excelsior, a youth journal, became so popular that its
circulation surpassed that of the daily newspaper, the Sind
Observer! |
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Another task given
to Dadaji by the Master was to serve as the Principal of St.
Mira's College for Girls. Dada set a living example before
teachers and students and was dearly loved by them. |
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Dada is the author
of over 50 books in English and many more in the Sindhi
language. Dada's writing reveals practical tips on happy,
successful, spiritual and non-violent living. Many of his books
have run into several editions and several have been translated
into the Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Papio Mento, Arabic,
Mandarin, Spanish, French, German, and Indonesian languages. |
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In 1966, when Sadhu
T.L Vaswani shed his physical body, he passed on the baton to
Dada J.P Vaswani. Dada has spoken form many prestigious
platforms including the World Parliament of Religions in
Chicago, The World Hindu Conference in Colombo, the Global Forum
of Spiritual Leaders and Parliamentarians at Kyoto – the U.N and
the House of Commons in London. |
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The
Philosophy & Teaching Of Dada J.P. Vaswani |
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The following is a
reproduction of a section of Dada's article in East and West
series, May 2000 titled "What life has taught me." |
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1. In the endless
adventure of existence, God and man are comrades. God is our one
unfailing companion. He will never leave us. We may try to run
away from him. But he will continue to follow us as our own
shadow. In the words of Thompson, he is the "Heavenly Hound." |
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2. There is a
meaning of mercy in everything that happens to us. For God is
All-love. He is All-wisdom. He is too loving to punish, too wise
to make a mistake. Whatever happens in the Divine Providence
happens for our own good. Nothing happens a moment too early or
too late…..therefore wherever God takes us, let us go, wherever
he keeps us, let us remain. Let us never forget that all is
well, all was well, all will be well both tomorrow and a hundred
years hence. |
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3. When man
surrenders himself to God, He takes upon Himself his entire
responsibility. All we need to do is to hand ourselves over, in
childlike trust to the Lord. And the angels of God will go ahead
of us to clear the way. |
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4. Thought is a
tremendous force in the life of any individual. Thoughts shape
our attitudes. Attitudes mould our character. Character
influences our life. By changing our thought pattern, we can
change our life. |
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5. Problems and
challenges are not a dead end; they are only a bend in the road.
Problems are not stumbling blocks; they are stepping stones to a
better, richer, more radiant life. Not unoften, problems become
the door through which God enters our life. We have surrounded
ourselves with hard shells which keep God away from us. Problems
crack the shell and God easily enters our lives. |
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6. Neither rites nor
rituals, neither creeds nor ceremonies are needed to improve the
condition of the world. All that is needed is to love one
another. |
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7. Are you anxious
to love God? Then you must be prepared to lose yourself. |
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8. Do you want God
to be yours? Then you must first become his! |
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9. How may we know
that we are drawing closer to God? The closer we draw to God,
the more tender and compassionate become our hearts to the needs
of those around us. |
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10. What is the best
exercise for the heart? Reach down and lift up as many as you
can. |
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11. Misfortunes are
blessings if we handle them well. They are like knives which
hurt or help as we hold them by the blade or handle. |
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12. Life is too
short to be spent in fault-finding, holding grudges, or keeping
memory of wrongs done to us. Forgive even before forgiveness is
asked. Forgive and forget. |
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13. The worst thing
that can happen to a man is that he has a hot head and a cold
heart. |
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14. If a person has
moved in the wrong direction, he can always take a U-turn. The
angels of God will be with him. The past does not -cannot- bind
us! |
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15. You who are
looking for miracles, open your eyes and see! All around us are
the miracles of God. |
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16. A tiny seed
grows into a huge banyan tree. A caterpillar becomes a
butterfly. |
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17. Open thine heart
and let love enter in – and all things in the universe will
gravitate to thee. For love is the power that pulls! |
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18. Give, give, give
– until it hurts to give! This will release you from bondage to
the ego - and to things. |
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19. I must never
forget that every thought I think, every word I utter, every
action I perform, every feeling, every emotion that wakes up in
me, is recorded in the memory of nature. I might be able to
deceive those around me, I may even succeed in deceiving myself.
But I cannot deceive nature. |
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20. When a
particular problem has vexed you for sometime and you are unable
to do anything about it, hand it over to God. "Breathe out the
aspiration - Thy will be done, O Lord!" Soon a way will be shown
to you. |
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21. Does God want
our work? Or does he want our love? He wants that we should work
for Him in love. |
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22. If you wish to
know God and understand him, you must love Him more and more!
The more you love him, the more you will know him. The key to
knowledge is – LOVE. |
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23. The aim of life
is to realize that we are immortal spirit – not the bodies we
wear! |
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24. An infinite
potential lies hid within us. We are unaware of it, because we
think of ourselves as limited, restricted creatures. We have
identified ourselves with a biochemical mental organism. Our
true self is the atman. Tat twamasi! That art thou! There can be
no limit to what we can do – and achieve! |
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25. When all around
us the storms blow and the tempests roar, let us close our eyes,
think of God and repeat the words "God is with me-and He is in
control." Those are words of power and can quell the fiercest
storm. |
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26. No man can
attain to enlightenment by his own efforts. Enlightenment cometh
to man by the grace of God. Strive for enlightenment – yes. But
like the peasant who tills the soil and sows the seed – then
turns to the heaven for chandi ka gola (the silver drops of
rain). |
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27. The greatest
illusion which man suffers from is perhaps the illusion of
death. In reality, there is no death. Death is very much like
the sunset. When the sun sets here, it has already risen
elsewhere. Likewise, death here is birth elsewhere. For life is
eternal. |
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28. The greatest
intoxication is that of the ego. The worst madness is that of
anger. The person who is free from arrogance and anger finds
goodness and beauty wherever he goes. |
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29. Has someone
offended you or insulted you? Insults are like bad coins. You
cannot avoid them, but you can refuse to accept them. |
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30. The test of a
man is – how much he can bear and how much he can share and how
soon he confesses a mistake and makes amends for it. |
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31. If while praying
we can think of worldly matters, why can we not, when doing
worldly things, think of God? |
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32. Think
positively. Eat sparingly. Exercise regularly. Walk as much as
you can. Be careful to see that your thoughts and actions are
clean. A guilty mind breeds many diseases. There is the way to
live a happy, healthy, harmonious life. |
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33. I have met many
who will go to any length to prove the superiority of their
religion over those of others. They will hold endless
discussions and debates. They will even fight for it – and die
for it. But I have met very few who live for their religion –
who bear witness to the great teaching in deeds of daily living.
Religion is life! |
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Chronology Of Events In The Life Of Dada J.P. Vaswani |
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1918
August 2
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A first
son Jashan - was born to Krishnadevi and Pahlajrai
Vaswani in Hyderabad Sind (now in Pakistan). |
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1921 |
Commenced primary school. |
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1932 |
Matriculated at the age of 13, joined D.J.Sind
College (Karachi). |
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1936 |
Graduated with BSC degree in Physics, standing first
in the university, granted fellowships in D.J. Sind
College, Karachi.
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1937 |
Passed
first LLB examination (University of Bombay). |
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1939 |
Dada
asked & obtained permission from his mother Krishna
Devi to follow Sadhu Vaswani to the exclusion of all
other pursuits, submitted his thesis on "Scattering
of X-rays by solids" for the M.SC. The thesis was
very favorably assessed by Dr. C.V. Raman. Dada
started the Excelsior Magazine single handedly. The
"Excelsior" soon outdid the leading newspaper 'The
Sind Observer' in circulation. |
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1940 |
Passed
M.S.C.
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1948
November 12
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Dada
Jashan flew out of Karachi for Bombay with his
master, Sadhu Vaswani, seeking sanctuary in India. |
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1949
February
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Sadhu
Vaswani & his followers moved to Pune. Dada started
editing “India Digest” (monthly magazine). |
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1950 |
St.
Mira's High School established in Pune. |
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1954 |
Dada
started "East & West" series (monthly magazine) as
editor. |
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1962
June
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St.
Mira's College for girls was established in Pune.
Dadaji was appointed as principal of the college
(1962-1976). |
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1966
January 16
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Sadhu
Vaswani left his physical body and Dada was
requested by Sangat to be the Sole Life Trustee of
the Brotherhood Association. |
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1971 May
16
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Nuri
Granth Prakashan. |
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1976 |
Dada
relinquished post of principal at St. Mira's
College. |
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1978
February 21
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Brotherhood Association was renamed as Sadhu Vaswani
Mission. |
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1980
January 17
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Enshrined the Holy Ashes of Sadhu Vaswani at the
Sacred Samadhi Pune. |
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1982
January 31
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Dada's
first overseas Yatra. |
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1982
April
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Addressed the World Hindu Conference at Colombo, Sri
Lanka. |
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1984
March 11
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Laid the
Foundation Stone of the Sadhu Vaswani International
School for Girls, Delhi. |
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1984
April 18
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Spoke at
the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium of the U.N.O on
"World Peace". |
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1984
June 5-11
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Mayor of
Chicago, Mr. Harold Washington proclaimed June 5-11,
1984 as "Dada J.P Vaswani Week". |
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1984
July 8
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Addressed the 10th Hindu Conference in New York at
Madison Square organized by the Vishva Hindu
Parishad of America. |
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1984
July 20
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Dadaji
spoke on "World without War" at House of Commons,
London. |
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1986
November 25
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Launched
the Meatless Day Campaign. |
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1988
April
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Attended
the Global Forum of Spiritual leaders and
Parliamentarians on Human Survival at Oxford, UK. |
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1988
December
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Addressed the "Festival of Life" Congress and spoke
on "Life Death and Religions" at Bombay. |
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1989
January 9
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INLAKS
and Budhrani Hospital Inaugurated in Pune. Mother
Teresa Presided. |
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1989
February 3
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Awarded
Paul Harris Fellowship (Rotary Club). |
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1991
January 6
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Handed
over to Mother Teresa keys of "Shanti Daan", Home
for the dying sick, Bombay built by the Chainrai
Family. |
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1992
January 9
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Addressed the All-India Bishop's Meet and Peace
Rally. |
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1992
October 16
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Inaugurated International Seminar on "Vedanta and
Sufisim" at Bombay. |
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1993
February 20
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Inaugurated the fellowship of Religions on the
occasion of the inauguration of St. Thomas Orthodox
Syrian Church, Kirkee Pune. |
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1993
April
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Addressed the Global Forum of Spiritual Leaders and
Parliamentarians on Human Survival at Kyoto, Japan. |
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1993
August 7
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Addressed Word Vision 2000 at Washington and spoke
on "Inspiration from Swani Vivekananda's Life and
Philosophy". |
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1993
December 4
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Inauguration of Smt Morbai and Nariandas Budhrani
Healer's Home (staff quarters for Doctors & Nurses)
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. |
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1994
March 10
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Laid the
Foundation Stone of the Cancer Hospital, Sadhu
Vaswani Medical Complex. |
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1994
July 7
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Delivered keynote Address at the conference on World
Religions, New York, on the "Vision and Legacy of
Swami Vivekananda". |
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1994
November
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Government of India (Films Divison) released a
documentary firm on Dada J.P. Vaswani, entitled "The
Man With A Singing Heart". |
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1995
April 30
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Dada
handed over 91 newly built houses to earth-quake
victims at Latur, Maharashtra. |
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1995
June 8
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Spoke at
the House of Commons, U.K on "World's Greatest Need:
Love in Action". |
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1995
November 24
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Dada
consecrated and commissioned the Morbai Naraindas
Cancer Institute in Pune. |
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1996
January 24
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Delivered the keynote Address at the Rotary
International South Asia conference of Cooperation
and Development at Kathmandu, Nepal. |
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1996 May
18
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Honorary
Citizenship of the state of Georgia, USA conferred
on Dada. |
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1997
April 25
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Dada
felicitated the Secretary General of the United
Nations at an international gathering at St.
Bartholomew's Church, New York. |
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1998
February 18
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Dada has
successful quadruple by-pass surgery at Washington
Medical Center in Washington USA. |
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1998
August 2
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80th
Birthday Celebrations at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission,
Pune, in the august presence of Home Minister L K
Advani and Maharashtra Governor Dr. P C Alexander. |
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1999
January 23
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Yatra to
the East and West. |
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1999
February 18-24 |
First
Thanksgiving Week celebrated by Sadhu Vaswani
Mission Centres worldwide. |
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1999 May
6
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Addressed the Inter Faith Centre at the UN on "The
Way to Peace: Rights for All". |
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1999
August 2
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Laid the
foundation stone for Kripalani and Kundnani Eye
Institute and Baba Gangaram Escorts Heart Institute. |
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1999
August 12
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Restoration work on the Sadhu Vaswani Mission Campus
begins. Satsang shifted to Naam Nagar, Runwal
Regency. |
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1999
December 1-8
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Attended
the 1999 Parliament of World Religions in Cape Town,
South Africa. Addressed a symposium on "How to Meet
the Challenges of Life". |
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1999
December 13
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Addressed a public function at the Hindu Monastery,
Accra, Ghana. |
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1999
December 30
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Millenium Sadhana Camp at Benares. |
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2000
April 3
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Yatra to
Singapore, Australia and South East Asia. |
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2000
April 8
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First
visit to Australia. |
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2000
June 1-2
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First
Youth Convention for Girls at Lonavla. |
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2000
June 24-25
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Sadhu
Vaswani Teachers' Camp at Lonavla. |
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2000
August 15
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Yatra to
the Middle East, Europe and Americas. |
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2000
August 28-31
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Participated in the Millennium World Peace Summit,
UN. |
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2000
September 9
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Addressed VHP gathering to felicitate Indian PM
Vajpaye at Staten Island, New York. |
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2001
January 30
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Visited
Gandhidham in Gujarat to initiate and personally
supervise the Mission's quake- relief activities. |
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2001
February 1
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Yatra to
the US
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2001
February 7
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Underwent surgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital,
Chicago. |
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2001
October 14
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Delivered Keynote Address at the First Asian
Vegetarian Congress at Dona Sylvia, Goa. |
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2001
November 5
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Inaugurated Sadhu Vaswani Kunj – a housing project
for quake victims at Adipur in the august presence
of Home Minister, L K Advani. |
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2002
June 1
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Yatra to
the East. |
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2002
June 12
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Addressed the Millennium World Peace Summit (MWPS)
in Bangkok at the launching of the World Council of
Religious Leaders. |
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