The second World Hindu Congress, which will be held in Chicago in September, will be chaired by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Dr Sriprakash Kothari.
Kothari is the the department of Economic, finance, and accounting at the Sloan School of Management, MIT. He has been with MIT for close to two decades.
In a statement, Kothari said he wanted the World Hindu Congress (WHC) to spread more awareness about the Hindu way of life. "The Hindu tradition accommodates diversity and welcomes evolution of thought. I view this as an opportunity to march forward in our quest for a better society," he said.
"WHC must work towards a society that not only values meritocracy, morality, and accountability for action, but also compassion for the weak and disadvantaged as its cornerstones; to transcend the regional, linguistic and denominational identities into a larger Hindu identity. WHC must be at the forefront in championing these causes," Kothari added.
The conference, to be held in Chicago from September 7-9, is believed to be the largest global platform for Hindus to connect, share ideas, introspect towards improvement and seek solutions to challenges facing the community. This year's conference will coincide with the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s iconic address in Chicago’s Parliament of Religions in 1893. Swami Vivekananda's speech is believed to have influenced many Americans to explore Hinduism.
Elaborating on the benefits of such a conference, Swami Vigyananand, founder of the World Hindu Congress, said it will promote unity and help remove any misconceptions about Hindu philosophy.
The event will have more than 2,000 delegates from over 80 countries and it will be addressed by nearly 250 eminent speakers , including Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
