On September 12 and 13, the Hindu priest Juan Carlos Ramchandani (Krishna Kripa Dasa) returned three years after his last visit to the city of Valencia. Ramchandani began to visit the Valencia Community a decade ago, in these years he has managed to gather a good group of students of the teachings of Hinduism and readers of his books. His last visit was in 2019 and he was unable to return earlier due to the pandemic, so this visit was very special.
Conference in Espacio Ronda
On Monday the 12th in the afternoon was the conference and presentation of the book “Ganesha, the Lord of beginnings and the destroyer of obstacles.” The event was held at Espacio Ronda, a multidisciplinary center that hosts conferences, courses and exhibitions, which is located near the Mestalla stadium and is directed by Sayda.
Before a full room, Ramchandani explained the origin, symbology and cult of the divinity Ganesha. The conference was accompanied by a projection of images commented by the Hindu priest. At the end of his presentation, there was a time for questions from the public, which were answered by the author in a concise manner, adding, as always, a touch of humor.
The event ended with the signing of copies by the writer, as well as the traditional photo with the attendees.
The conference was recorded and can be viewed at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbTxZzOM8sY&t
Conference in the Interreligious Classroom of the Arrupe Center
On the afternoon of Tuesday the 13th, Ramchandani gave a lecture on “Nature and Spirituality in Hinduism” at the Jesuit Arrupe Center. The event was organized by the Jesuit Service for Migrants with the coordination of Amparo Navarro and the Transcendence International Interreligious Forum, of which Ramchandani is a founding member. The presentation consisted of two parts: the first consisted of an introduction to the basic precepts of Hinduism, and the second based on his chapter in the book Nature and Spirituality, which is now in its second edition. At the end of his speech, there was a lively discussion with the public who asked many questions. The event concluded with the signing of copies and taking photos with the attendees who so wished.
Institutional meetings and visits
Taking advantage of Ramchandani’s visit to Valencia, the president of the Transcendence International Interreligious Forum, Swami Rameshwarananda Giri, convened a meeting of members of the board of directors, with a view to scheduling activities for the remainder of this year and next. The meeting took place in the headquarters that Transcendence shares with the Jesuit Migrant Service.
On the other hand, the Indian businessman from the tourism sector Dinesh Sharma (Teerth Travels), a specialist in trips and pilgrimages to the holy places of India, visited the city of Valencia. Now Dinesh is planning to bring high net worth tourists from India to Spain. One of the visits was to the Oceanographic in Valencia, where he was accompanied by Swami Rameshwarananda Giri, a Hindu religious leader who has spent decades taking hundreds of Spanish Hindus to visit the holy places of India. Juan Carlos Ramchandani (Krishna Kripa Dasa) also attended as president of the Hindu Federation of Spain and vice president of the Hindu Forum of Europe. They were greeted at the entrance and guided through the immense complex by Marta Sanz, Oceanographic sales manager.
Thus ended Ramchandani’s visit to Valencia, two intense days of conferences and meetings that plant seeds of Hindu spirituality and interreligious dialogue in Valencian lands.
