Cambridge, Massachusetts: Morari Bapu’s nine-day Ram Katha, Manas Guru Prasad, concluded at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre on Sunday, bringing India’s spiritual, literary and cultural traditions into conversation with the international academic community.
During the closing ceremony, Bapu appealed to Harvard University to preserve copies of the four Vedas, the Ramcharitmanas and the Valmiki Ramayana. He said safeguarding these texts would help future generations of students and researchers study the foundations of India’s ancient knowledge tradition.
The programme aimed to bridge India’s classical knowledge systems with modern academic discourse while giving international audiences an opportunity to explore the spiritual and literary heritage associated with the Ramcharitmanas.
The nine-day programme also featured a celebration of Goswami Tulsidas’ birth anniversary on August 19. The Tulsi Janmotsav and Global Awards ceremony marked a significant milestone, as the Tulsi, Vyas, Valmiki and Ratnavali Awards were presented outside India for the first time in the 16-year history of the Ram Katha tradition.
The ceremony honoured nine scholars and cultural contributors with eight awards. Prof. Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, Prof. Robert P. Goldman and Prof. Madoka Fukuoka received the Valmiki Award. The Vyas Award went to Prof. John Stratton Hawley, Dr Ashwin Bhai Kantilal Rajgor and Devi Chitralekha.
Prof. Rupert Snell and community leader Piyush Bhai Mehta received the Tulsi Award, while Harvard’s Prof. Diana L. Eck was honoured with the Ratnavali Award for her work in comparative religion.
Indian scholars, storytellers, musicians and artists participated alongside members of Harvard’s academic community. The programme also featured a three-day scholarly dialogue from August 16 to 18, with participants from Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the US discussing India’s literary, philosophical and cultural heritage.
Bapu said, “I have not come here to study, nor have I come to teach; I have come to distribute prasad.”
Through Manas Guru Prasad, the nine-day programme brought together spirituality, scholarship, music and cultural exchange, offering international audiences a platform to engage with India’s classical traditions and the values of truth, love and compassion.
