In November 2005 Dada Shambhushivananda, Sohail Inayatullah and Marcus Bussey participated in two conferences held in Taipei, Taiwan. The theme of the first conference hosted by the Academia Sinica and sponsored by the local members of Ananda Marga, under the leadership of Dada Krsnasevananda, was Introducing Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar. This was a day long conference which aimed specifically at historians at this academy. Dada offered an overview of microvita, Sohail dealt with macrohistory and Marcus looked at Sarkar’s theory of consciousness and its historical dimensions.
There were up to 60 people in attendance and a number of other colleagues of Sohail spoke on Sarkar’s political theory (PROUT), neohumanist education, yoga and health, and social change.The second and larger conference was held at Tamkang University where Sohail is a professor. The theme of the conference was “From Survival to Thrival: Global Soul, Global Mind & Global Action.” He was a central organiser and chaired numerous sessions as well as discussing neohumanist futures. Dada Shambhushivananda spoke on the layers of mind and how the future is not part of a linear unfolding but exists in us now as a dimension of the superconscious mind. He also challenged the pervasive belief that well-being was a personal goal and reframed this concept within the social as a challenge to improve social conditions. Marcus spoke on critical spirituality as a central feature of any neohumanist future, stating that the conference themes of global soul, global mind and global action can best be activated when we adopt a critically spiritual stance that connects personal and social growth.
Kulapati greets President of Taiwan and Founder of Tamkang University in Presidents Hall in Taipei on November 8,2005
There was a lot of opportunity to meet students and staff and many warm connections were made. A highlight was the student organised dinner at which traditional and modern Taiwanese music was performed. After this, members of the conference were invited to share music from their own cultures. At this point Dada and Marcus performed Shrii P. R. Sarkar’s song, Tiny Green Island, as Sarkar’s gift to the people of Taiwan.
