Dr. Rameshbhai Damji Vaya
Congratulations to Dr Rameshbhai Damji Devji Vaya on his wonderful achievement
Hindu Forum Britain Vice President Dr Ramesh Pattni DPhil (Oxford), receives an OBE in The Queen’s 2020 New Year honours
Hindu Forum Britain Vice President, Dr Ramesh Pattni, has been awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen for services to interfaith relations and the Hindu community in the UK.
As an academic Hindu theologian and psychologist and a teacher and practitioner of Vedanta, for over two decades, Dr Pattni currently voluntarily facilitates seven weekly classes and conducts workshops and regular retreats, giving individuals practical tools and techniques to better manage their lives and mental wellbeing. As a psychologist he also serves a volunteer counsellor at a charity (DAWN) dealing with mental health issues especially affecting women and couples.
Having dedicated much of his personal time and effort to interfaith relations in the UK, Dr Ramesh Pattni has voluntarily served as Trustee of the Interfaith Network UK, founder and Co-Chair of the Hindu Christian Forum and Chair, Interfaith Committee of the Hindu Forum Britain (HFB) for which he now serves as Vice President. He has been an advisor on many Government consultations and has strived to improve links between the UK government and the British Hindu community.
Dr Pattni has worked extensively with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford, teaching and giving public talks, guiding the public on Hindu concerns and helped deliver practical solutions for individual wellbeing and community cohesion based on Hindu Scriptures.
His interfaith work led to an invitation to a private luncheon with Her Majesty the Queen in 2013 as Chair of Interfaith, Hindu Forum Britain, together with eight other contributors in the UK.
Dr Pattni’s involvement with Chinmaya Mission began 28 years ago. Between 1991 and 2001 he set up and ran the Kenyan branch of the Chinmaya Mission, before returning to the UK in 2001 where he was appointed a Trustee of Chinmaya Mission UK and immediately started facilitating classes serving the Hindu community and began his interfaith work in the UK at a national level.
As the Vice President of Chinmaya Mission UK (CMUK), he has worked tirelessly, and over the last five years, has taught practical techniques to meet the challenges facing a stress-ridden society. On behalf of CMUK, he was instrumental in raising funds towards the purchase of a property in Oxfordshire in 2015 and its subsequent set up as the Chinmaya Vidya Nagari retreat centre in Oxford. Since then he has run more than 35 retreats and workshops for many attendees from diverse backgrounds and in various parts of the UK.
On hearing the news, Dr Pattni said, “I am delighted and humbled. My sincere gratitude goes to my inspiration and spiritual guide, Swami Chinmayananda, who fortified in me the vision of service to the people as a way of life; to my parents who were themselves great philanthropists and to my wife and children who have allowed me to dedicate time and space in service to others. This award is shared with all those who have been part of my life and my work in interfaith relations and with the Hindu community
Source : https://www.facebook.com/hindu.britian.7
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