NEW TRUSTEES IN PARLIAMENT WORLD’S RELIGIONS

NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTED IN
PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS

www.parliamentofreligions.org - USA. The Board of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions elected seven new Trustees for a three-year term at its October 24-25, 2010 meeting, in a commitment to extending its reach to diverse religious and spiritual communities. They are: Anju Bhargava (Hindu); Kirit Daftary (Jain); Dr. Robert Henderson (Baha’i); Mary Nelson (Christian); Christopher Peters (Native American); Dr. Anantanand Rambachan (Hindu); Kuldeep Singh (Sikh). The Council is governed by a board of 35 Trustees total, with persons of Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Jewish, Hindu, Indigenous, Pagan, Sikh, Zoroastrian, and humanistic traditions. The roots of the Council go back to the historic 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions, when for the first time in history the traditions of East and West met for formal interreligious dialogue.

The most recent was the meeting in Melbourne, Australia in 2009, the largest gathering of religious leaders the world ever saw: 6,500 participants from over 80 countries representing over 200 religious, spiritual and traditional communities attended for one week. Over the years, the Council has initiated dialogues and nurtured relationships among people of difference. In doing so the Council has provided a framework for expressing many visions of a just, peaceful and sustainable future. In the process, religious and spiritual communities have discovered a shared commitment to ethical principles. This shared commitment has opened the way for a new era of cooperative action among the world’s religious and spiritual communities as well as civil and political societies. The well-being of the Earth and all life depends on this collaboration.


The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. It is crucial to try to search for an impartial and liberal approach to different views of religious faiths in this world to build a world-fellowship of different religions which can promote the unity of hearts amongst human beings.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Every individual has his peculiar nature distinct form any other. So, obviously individuals will vary in their opinions and tastes and this is quite natural. ... It has already been stated that differences in the individuals are unavoidable as they are conscious units. Now the problem is to find a common ground and interest for the solution of these differences. A sense of common interest can be fostered among individuals, if they know that they are inter-connected, are parts of one Organic System and are the sons and daughters of one Father. Here is the task of all religions; to teach people that all beings of the world are closely inter-related. Although steadfastness or firm belief in God (Nistha) according to some particular faith and eligibility of the individual is congenial for healthy spiritual growth of every individual, religious bigotry which begets enmity is condemnable, as it is against the real interest of the individual and society. Real religion teaches love for one another. Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu propagated the cult of all-embracing Divine Love which brings universal brotherhood on a transcendental plane.

Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Madhava Mahārāja :
“Realistic Solution for Diverse Humanity”
Speech at a ‘Spiritual Summit Conference’ - 1968 Calcutta.
http://www.sreecgmath.org/scgmtimes/scgmsbdm.php