Raj Sadosh
Abohar: During the year of the Birth Centenary Celebrations of HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj and in the memory of his historic address at the UN Millennium Peace Summit, BAPS took part in the Forum on Common Values among Religious Followers that was organized by the Muslim World League, an Islamic NGO based in Makkah. The League invited Swami Brahmavihari to represent the Hindu faith as a part of its historic inclusion of Jewish and non-Abrahamic faith leaders.
A select 90 delegates from 35 countries which included spiritual leaders of eminence attended the inaugural forum. Swami Brahmavihari was joined by Swami AvdheshanandGiriji Maharaj as the two speakers representing Hinduism.(SUBHEAD)
The event was chaired by the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. Dr. Al-Issa said, “We are pleased to launch the Forum on Common Values Among Religious Followers in Riyadh.”
Four main sessions were held throughout the day – the opening session followed by three topic-oriented panels. Swami Brahmaviharidas addressed the first panel titled ‘Human Dignity – Divine Equality between Creations and the Depth of Human Commonalities’.
After age-old Vedic prayers for peace and harmony, Swami Brahmavihari remarked that this conference is more than path-breaking; it is path-making! It will guide the conscience of humanity. In order to turn the word 'Harmony' from a beautiful noun into an active verb, he remembered HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s words from the UN Millennium Summit in which Swamshri had asked leaders to have three dialogues to generate more harmony – dialogue with leaders, followers and with oneself.
H.E. Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa said, “Wow! Fabulous speech. What eloquence! How open-minded it was, and highly emotional with academic precision. A truly inspirational presentation.”
Mr. Bawa Jain, Secretary-General of The Council of World Religious Leaders and the Founder-President of The Centre for Responsible Leadership, said, “A great, thought-provoking speech. Delivered with immense grace and dignity. Such a clear expression of our shared values and in a way that honored the historic nature and venue of this forum.”
Secretary General of Religions for Peace International, Professor Azza Karam found the points of Swami Brahmavihari’s speech to be a key summary of the panel sessions highlighting the importance of not just celebrating similarities but also of celebrating dissimilarities because we have such strong similarities.
Brahmeshanandji and others described this a proud moment for Hinduism and many leaders of other faiths from across the world expressed their interest in working with BAPS to further religious harmony around the world, while many others commended the steps taken in the UAE and Bahrain to further the fraternity amongst faiths.
