2024-12-02 First Step in the Recognition of Hinduism in Belgium Celebrated on a Memorable Evening
2 December 202412 December 2024
Activities

2024-12-02 First Step in the Recognition of Hinduism in Belgium Celebrated on a Memorable Evening

Author: Todd DeWitt

On Friday, November 22, the Hindu Forum of Belgium (HFB) celebrated a milestone on the journey toward government recognition of Hinduism by holding an event at the Royal Library of Belgium. A hundred and fifty VIPs attended, including His Excellency Saurabh Kumar, the Indian Ambassador, and Herve Cornille from the Belgian Parliament.

Eleven years after HFB applied for recognition by the Belgian Government and eight years after it requested a subsidy to professionalize HFB’s activities, the Belgian Parliament voted in January (2024) to grant a subsidy of eighty-nine thousand euros (a donation of Asian origin). Belgium is home to approximately twenty-five thousand Hindus of foreign origin and fifteen to twenty thousand Belgian and Western followers. HFB represents Hindu communities and organizations in Belgium.

The HFB gala started at a reception, with snacks, in the library’s gallery. Then, the guests assembled in the auditorium. Welcoming them was Martin Gurvich (Mahapraphu Dasa), the organizer of HFB and director of ISKCON Communications Europe. The three-hour program included talks interspersed with dance and music performances. A dinner followed, prepared at the restaurant in Radhadesh, headed by Padmaksi, with the finishing touches done in the library’s kitchen.

The guests received gift bags that included a new ninety-page magazine in French, Dutch, and English, with articles on the foundational texts of Hinduism; the nature of the divine; the remarkable scholars who contributed to Indology in Belgium; and the Belgian organizations that celebrate festivals and the tradition in Belgium. The Belgian State supports religions and non-confessional philosophies that contribute to its citizens’ well-being. Hinduism has been in Belgium for decades in the form of meditation, yoga, vegetarianism, ayurveda, art, music, dance, cuisine, festivals, and by activities in business, science, education, and medical settings. The HFB will increase its representation and emphasize training and establishing standards for Hindu spiritual counsellors; develop a study program for teaching Hinduism in public schools; train chaplains for hospitals; produce publications and organize events for the Belgian public and authorities; and engage in interfaith activities.

Please see the gallery below for images from the event. Photos courtesy of Gert Eelen. Design of the magazine cover by Rupa Sanatana Dasa.

Saurabh Kumar, the Ambassador of India.
Mahaprabhu Dasa, President of the Hindu Forum of Belgium, greets representatives of the Vatican.
Greeting a representative of the Orthodox Church.
Greeting the Ambassador of Mauritius and his wife.
Greeting Professor Christophe Vielle.
Greeting Willy Fautre, from Human Rights without Frontiers.
Ekachakra Gram, the Temple President of Radhadesh, and a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Representatives of the Indian and Italian embassies.
Jacques Scheuer, Emeritus Professor of the History of Asian Religions, Catholic University of Louvain, greeted by Mahabhava Dasa, Executive Secretary of the Hindu Forum of Belgium.
Greeting a representative of the Catholic Church.
Virochanananda, a representative of the Bhakti Marg organization.
Gopi-ramana, Treasurer of the HFB, joins in greeting the former ambassador of Bangladesh and his wife.
Manik Paul, a former president of the HFB, and Herve Cornille, Member of the Belgian Parliament.
The Ambassador of Uruguay and Mahaprabhu Dasa.
Researcher Caroline Sagesser.
Dancer Chradha Sheoratan.
Subrata De playing sitar.
HFB magazine cover.