Hinduism in Croatia

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Hinduism is a minor religion in Croatia.

There has been a longstanding tradition of interest in Indology among Croatian scholars and also a great interest in Indian culture among the Croats.

The Carmelite monk Paulinus a Sancto Bartolomaeo, a Croat, who was known as Filip Vesdin, stayed at the Court of the Maharaja of Travancore between 1776 and 1789. He pioneered Indological studies and wrote several books on Indian culture and Indo-European languages, including a book on Sanskrit grammar. This was the first book on Sanskrit grammar to be published in Europe. His books stimulated further interest and research on Indian culture.

The Department of Indology of the University of Zagreb celebrated its 250th birth anniversary by holding a seminar on 17 December 1998. Croatia established the Centre for Indology at Zagreb University in 1962, which has been very active and extremely popular. 50-60 students study Indology, which includes learning of Hindi/Sanskrit. Cultural functions/receptions are organized by the Embassy of India to celebrate "Hindi Day"' each year.

Hinduism in Croatia

Hinduism spread to Croatia by ISKCON, Brahma Kumaris and Yoga in Daily Life.

ISKCON in Croatia

ISKCON is officially recognized in Croatia, with nine centres.

Croatian government gave 500 square meters of space in the centre of Zagreb for Hare Krishna humanitarian work.[1]

ISKCON Centres in Croatia

ISKCON Osijek - Vaisnavska Vjerska Zajednica Osijek, Osijek, Croatia

Nava Nilacala Farm, Pula, Croatia

Culture Center Bhaktivedanta, Rijeka, Croatia

ISKCON Split, Split, Croatia

ISKCON, Varazdin, Croatia

Centar Veda, Vodice, Croatia

ISKCON, Zadar, Croatia

Centar za Vedske Studije Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

ISKCON VVZ Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Yoga in Daily Life

Yoga is gaining popularity in Croatia

Regular yoga classes are conducted by Yoga in Daily Life.

Hundreds of Croatians follow the Vaishnava tradition of life.

Yoga in Daily Life has ten Centres in Croatia.

Brahma Kumaris in Croatia

Brahma Kumaris has a Centre in Croatia.

Croat-Indian Society

A Croat-Indian Society set up in June 1994 has been active in organizing social and cultural events including classical dance performances, animation films based on Indian mythology, various documentaries on India and its traditions. An Agreement of Cooperation was signed between the Diplomatic Academy of Croatia and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi in January 2000. Seven Croatian diplomats have attended the Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats (PCFD) at FSI, New Delhi. Shri Santosh Kumar, Secretary & Dean (FSI) attended the conference of Deans at Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 29–30 September 2003.

Croatians' interest in Learning Hindi

Three Croatian students were granted scholarship to study Hindi language for a year with the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra, in the academic year 2002–03 and another three in 2003-04. Two Indian students came to Croatia during 2001 and 2002 to study Croatian language. Indian Embassy conducted Hindi classes from September 1997 to June 2001. Croatian language is being taught at the University of Delhi. The Embassy had nominated the Assistant Professor teaching Hindi in the Zagreb University to attend the Regional Hindi Conference held in Budapest in 2002 and Bucharest in July 2004.

Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas

As many as 29 leading Sanskrit scholars from all over the world attended the Third Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas (DICSEP3) at Dubrovnik from 2 to 7 September 2002 under the auspices of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Earlier, DICSEP 1 & DICSEP 2 were held in August 1997 and August 1999. The next conference is scheduled for 5–10 September 2005.The Fifth Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas is scheduled from 11 to 16 August 2008. The common theme of the year 2008 will be "Exchanges between the Sankrit epic and Purànic traditions and non-Brahmanical texts and traditions". It will include comparative studies on Brahmanism / Hinduism and Buddhism or Jainism, studies on intertextual relationships between these traditions and their texts, and will offer yet another, less investigated framework for understanding the Sanskrit epics and Purànas and their impact on the whole of the Indian culture: literatures, religions and textual traditions. So far the Proceedings of the first 3 conferences have been published in English by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the 1st conference proceedings alone being brought out in India by Munshiram Manoharlal. It is curious that not a single scholar from India has attended any of these conferences.

Indian Community in Croatia

The Indian Community in Croatia is small in size. There are around eleven families in Croatia.

Sources

Notes

  1. ↑ WWRNews
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