Chicago: Celebrations to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the saint who enlightened the western world about Hinduism 120-years-ago, sharing his philosophy of a world without borders, have concluded here.
The two-day event "World Without Borders 2013" was hosted by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHP-A) and co-hosted by other Indo-American organisations.
"It was a great event. Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America wanted to get Hindu community together for a common cause," president of VHP-A (Chicago chapter), Shamkant Sheth, said.
Sheth said that the main thing was to bring the community together on a common thread. We want to spread the message of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or the world is our family.
"We want that all Hindu temples and groups should unite. All beads should together form a garland," Sheth explained.
The two-day event was attended by yoga guru Ramdev and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. However, the Council for a Parliament of the World`s Religions (CPWR) had disassociated itself from the event, saying it was co-sponsored by groups "promoting controversial political positions".
CPWR spurning the event did not affect the event, Sheth said.
Bharat Barai, an organising community member, said they CPWR did not state clearly what the issue was.
PTI
