Inter Faith - Many paths to oneness

by Life Positive

The 2009 parliament of world religions was a feisty celebration of the oneness of all faiths

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Life Positive president, DR Kaarthikeyan, was an honoured invitee at the 2009 Parliament of World Religions held in Melbourne from December 3 to December 9. Over 6000 people participated including key spiritual figures from India such as Dadi Janki of the Brahma Kumaris, Dada Vaswani of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Dalai Lama and Swami Chidananda Saraswati of Parmarth Ashram. The opening address of the Parliament was given by Dadi Janki and Dalai Lama. Mr Kaarthikeyan gave a presentation on Hindu Perspectives on Interfaith Harmony.
Mr Kaarthikeyan with Dada Vaswani at the Parliament Mr Kaarthikeyan was also recently honoured with the Padma Shri.In his speech at the arliament, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “The purpose of religion is to bring enlightenment to the individual, happiness to the society and move from limited individual identity to universality and eventually communion with the Divine. When at a time, these ideals are far from reality, congregations such as this, where people of all faiths gather together, have a great responsibility to ponder on these pressing issues. It is a necessity for the very survival of our planet.”

Dada Vaswani sent out a strong message to stop all killing. He said there can be no peace on earth unless killing of all sentient creatures be stopped.

The gathering was a vibrant representation of the amazing diversity of faiths ranging from Buddhist monks, members of the Bahai faith, Australian Aborigines, Hindu monks in saffron, Sikhs, Sufis, Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians all coming together in a genuine spirit of mutual respect and appreciation.

The Melbourne Parliament addressed issues of Aboriginal reconciliation. The issues of sustainability and global climate change were explored through the lens of indigenous spiritualities. Environmental issues and the spirituality of youth were also key areas of dialogue.

The Council for Parliament of World Religions supported “strengthening religious and spiritual communities” by providing a special focus on indigenous and Aboriginal spiritualities; facilitating cooperation between Pagan, Jewish, Christian, Bahai, Jain, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu communities; crafting new responses to religious extremism; and confronting homegrown terrorism and violence.