Bihar’s Indic Academic, Spiritual and Cultural Festival, 2008
(From October 21st to 28th )

          Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, (Nalanda Deemed University) organised a weeklong  “Bihar’s Indic Academic, Spiritual and Cultural Festival” in the month of October, 2008 to mark the Centenary Year celebration of its founder director Ven. Bhikkhu Jagdish Kashyap and also to project Bihar’s glorious Indic tradition.
            Ven. Bhikkhu Kashyap was a great visionary who worked for the revival of Pali and Buddhist Studies in India and to regain the lost glory of Nalanda. It is with this great idea that he initiated and worked for the establishment of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. It was his wish to develop Nava Nalanda Mahavihara and Xuan Zang Memorial Hall together as a Centre of Higher Education, Culture and Spiritual activity. We are happy to inform that his visionary plan is now materializing and as a result Nava Nalanda Mahavihara has attained Deemed University status for the academic excellence and has established Nava Nalanda Mahavihara’s Sanskritik Gram for the spiritual and cultural activities with the focal point as Xuan Zang Memorial Hall.
            In the month of October Nava Nalanda Mahavihara on the theme of the festival organized several Academic, Cultural and Spiritual events highlighting Bihar’s Indic Tradition and the Buddhist circuit. One of the important events was the visit of  world’s one of the greatest’s Zen master today Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam and Ven. Dr. Ashin Nanissara a great socially engaged Buddhist Scholar and Writer from Myanmar.  
            The Nalanda Deemed University also organise a three days workshop on “Philosophers Meet Scientists” from October, 22nd to 24th, 2008. On this occasion scientists and philosophers from different parts of India and one from Sri Lanka participated and discussed on “Concept of Atoms as Reflected in Philosophy and Science”.
            An exhibition on the theme of the festival was also organised to mark the event in the Xuan Zang Memorial Hall on 26th October, 2008. On the same day in the evening a Cultural programme highlighting the theme of the Festival was organised the memorial.
            The 27th October, 2008 went down in the History of the Mahavihara for its revival of special convocation programme after almost 25 years. On this occasion two monks of great eminence Ven. Thick Nhat Hanh and Ven. Ashin Nanissara were conferred honoris Qausa Vidya Varadhi degree of the Mahavihara by His Excellency the Governor of Bihar cum Chancellor of the Mahavihara Sri R.L. Bhatia.
            The event closed with a cultural programme on the theme of the Festival in the amphitheatre of the Ordnance Factory at Rajgir  in the evening of 28th October, 2008 wherein all the 280 accompanying delegates of the Ven. Nhat Hann, coming from across the world rejoiced.