Diwali celebrations with a difference

ELEVEN speakers, performers and volunteers from SHYAM, a spiritual organsation, made history on October 23, holding a historic celebration of Shree Suktam of the Rig Veda at the British Parliament hosted by MP Bob Blackman and attended by Lord Gadhia, Lord Popat, Crispin Blunt, (Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee), MP Maria Miller (Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee), Sir David Amess, MP, Indian television stars Sundeep Kochar and Rajdeep Choudhary and over 200 people, including chairpersons of over 35 Indian organisations and community leaders from eight religious backgrounds.

 The event involved two hours of talks on eight mantras of Shree Suktam. The proceedings began with a powerful recital and introduction to Shree Suktam by Dhruv Chhatralia, who left the audience captivated with the rendition of mantras in devotion to Goddess Lakshmi.  Riddhi Vyas and Vishal Jobanputra also on the Goddess and the inner changes to create inner prosperity.

Bob Blackman, MP, gave an speech on the importance of spreading the spiritual message of Diwali and what it meant in contemporary times.  Lakshmi Kaul spoke about the effectiveness of Indian plants and herbs for curing ailments, including allergies. 

Lord Gadhia explained the meaning behind the festival of Diwali — that you can only transform the world if you transform individual human beings spiritually by awakening the light within.  Lord Popat spoke of the Indian community’s contribution to the British society and the British way of life.  Crispin Blunt ,MP, said it was important to build bridges between different cultures. The event had over 200 registered attendees.

— Dhruv Chhatralia, Chairperson, British Parliament Diwali celebrations