Swami Veda entering the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem at the Church of Nativity on December 14, 2003.
Swami Veda entering the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem at the Church of Nativity on December 14, 2003.
October 6-14, 2003 ......Florence, Italy including weekend silence retreat and visit to Himalayan Institute Florence.
October 16......Oxford
October 17-24......England Silence Retreat
October 27......Flight Londoný NY
October 28......Lecture in New York: Arya Spiritual Center
October 29......Depart for Tokyo-Taipei
October 29-November 4......Ma Tapasya's Retreat Center in Taiwan
November 4-6 ...... Singapore. Satsang at Raj Verma's
November 6 ...... Flight to Delhi
November 8 &endash; December 2 ...... Started Gurukulam program, interviewed students, started intensive training of Gurukulam students
December 6-9 ...... Regional Conference of World Parliament of Religions
December 9 ...... Flight from Delhi to Mumbai to Amman, Jordan
December 10 ...... Flight from Amman to Tel Aviv, Israel
December 11-14, 2003 ...... World Council of Religious Leaders' delegation to study Israel-Palestine situation. Daily extensive conferences 9 AM to 9 PM.
Met with: Sefardic Chief Rabbi; Chief Rabbi of Israel; Anglican Bishop; Papal Nuncio; His Beatitude Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem and other dignitaries of the Greek Orthodox Church (including Bishop of Moscow); Prime Minister of Palestine; Conference with Palestinian academics (including the directory of El Aqsa Mosque &endash;--"The Temple Mount") at Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs; Advisors to the Prime Minister of Israel -- and so forth. A "Look-Listen-Learn" mission, with suggestions of non-violent solutions.
Bethlehem: the birth cave (manger) of Jesus in the Church of Nativity (an overwhelming experience); Church at the Village of the Shepherds
Jerusalem: Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Western Wall, etc.
Swami Veda bowing before the Mother Mary and baby Jesus at the Church of Nativity
December 15, 2003 ...... Night flights Tel Aviv &endash; Amman &endash; Mumbai
December 16-18 ...... With Zoroastrian Community of Mumbai
December 19 ...... Delhi: meetings
December 21-24 ...... Silence Retreat at Ashram
December 20-31, 2003 ...... Continue with:
2. Organising Gurukulam
3. Planning for February events
During the same time: datelines. Must write:
1. Proposals arising out of Israel-Palestine visit
2. Proposals for Ethics' Initiatives of UN Millennium World Peace Summit
3. A number of other proposals/booklets
The birth cave of Jesus in Bethlehem.