Interfaith Dialogue - Unity of Man and Dealing with
Conflict
ATCA Briefings
ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance
is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to understand and
to address complex global challenges. ATCA conducts collective Socratic
dialogue on global opportunities and threats arising from climate chaos,
radical poverty, organised crime, extremism, informatics, nanotechnology,
robotics, genetics, artificial intelligence and financial systems. Present
membership of ATCA is by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished
members: including several from the House of Lords, House of Commons,
EU Parliament, US Congress & Senate, G10's Senior Government officials
and over 1,500 CEOs from financial institutions, scientific corporates
and voluntary organisations as well as over 750 Professors from academic
centres of excellence worldwide.
The views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily
representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. Please do not forward
or use the material circulated without permission and full attribution.
London, UK - 7 August 2006, 13:17 GMT - ATCA: Interfaith
Dialogue -- Unity of Man and Dealing with Conflict -- Presidential Address:
The Essence of Religion at World Fellowship of Religions -- His Holiness Master
Kirpal
[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not
necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts
collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]
The terms Interfaith or Interfaith Dialogue refer to cooperative and positive
interaction between people of different religious traditions, (ie "faiths")
at both the individual and institutional level leading to tolerance and mutual
respect. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion, in that this
dialogue often involves promoting understanding between different religions
to increase "tolerance" towards others, rather than to synthesize
new beliefs. The History of religion shows that conflict has been more the
state of affairs than dialogue.
The 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions is seen by some as the birth
of formal Interfaith Dialogue. The city of Chicago, USA, hosted the World
Columbian Exposition, an early world’s fair, in that year. So many people
came to Chicago from all over the world that many smaller conferences, called
Congresses and Parliaments, were scheduled to take advantage of this unprecedented
gathering. One of these was the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
The 1893 Parliament, which ran from September 11 to September 27, marked the
first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual
traditions. The eloquence of Swami Vivekananda and his introduction of Asian
spiritual thought to the United States are particularly remembered. In the
context of Interfaith Dialogue, we are grateful to receive a submission on
behalf of His Holiness Master Kirpal titled "Unity of Man and Dealing
with Conflict -- The Essence of Religion at World Fellowship of Religions."
This is the Presidential Address, given by His Holiness, in His capacity
as President of the World Fellowship of Religions, on February 26, 1965, at
the Third World Religions Conference in New Delhi, India.
My own self in the form of ladies and gentlemen:
WE HAVE once again gathered together in the historic town of Delhi. This
time the Conference of the World Fellowship of Religions, the third of its
kind, is being held at a place known as Ramlila Grounds -- grounds made hallowed,
year after year, by the performance of scenes from the life-story of Lord
Rama, who in the ancient epic age symbolized in him the highest culture of
Aryavarta, the land of the Aryans. He is worshiped even now as ever before
as an ideal in the different phases of life -- an ideal son, an ideal brother,
an ideal husband and an ideal king, and significantly enough, his life portrays
above all the eternal struggle that is going on between virtue and vice, both
in the mind of man and in the world around him, leading to ultimate triumph
of good over evil.
The idea of World Fellowship of Religions, as you all know, is not a new
one. We have had instances of it in the last when enlightened [Indian] kings
like Kharwal, Ashoka, Samudra Gupta, Harsha Verdna, Akbar and Jehangir held
such conferences, each in his own way, to understand the viewpoint of various
religions prevailing at the time, and sited the learned men of the realm to
translate the scriptures of various religions in the current language of the
people. In the present era, the idea was revived when in 1893 a Parliament
of Religions was held at Chicago. The present forum was thought of by Muni
Sushil Kumar Ji, who conceived the idea of instituting a World Fellowship
of Religions under whose auspices international conferences could be held
and sustained work could be undertaken for promoting mutual respect and understanding
of various religions. Our first Conference was held in November 1957, in the
Diwan-i-Aam, the Hall of Public Audience in the Red Fort. About three years
later, in February 1960, Calcutta became the venue for its deliberations I
am glad that the Fellowship has, during this interval, grown from strength
to strength. It is encouraging to see all the delegates that have assembled
from the four corners of the earth, representing countless shades of religious
thought and opinion, but united in one common endeavour to find out the essential
and basic unity of all religions, the common meeting ground where all faiths
are one. In short, we are in search of the Grand Truth of Life, the bedrock
of all existence, no matter at what level.
All the religions agree that Life, Light and Love are the three phases of
the Supreme Source of all that exists. These essential attributes of the divinity
that is ONE, though designated differently by the prophets and peoples of
the world, are also wrought in the very pattern of every sentient being. It
is in this vast ocean of Love, Light and Life that we live, have our very
being and move about and yet, strange as it may seems, like the proverbial
fish in water we do not know this truth and much less practice it in our daily
life; and hence the endless fear, helplessness and misery that we see around
us in the world, in spite of all our laudable efforts and sincere strivings
to get rid of them. Love is the only touchstone wherewith we can measure our
understanding of the twin principles of Life and Light in us and how far we
have travelled on the path of self-knowledge and God-knowledge. God is love;
the soul in man is a spark of that love, and love again is the link between
God and man on the one hand and man and God's creation on the other. It is
therefore said: He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. Similarly,
Guru Gobind Singh says: Verily I say unto thee, that he whose heart is bubbling
over with love, he alone shall find God. Love, in a nutshell, is the fulfilment
of the Law of Life and Light. All the prophets, all the religions and all
the scriptures hang on two commandments: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is
the first and greatest commandment, And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. Questioned as to our attitude toward thy enemies,
Christ said: Love thine enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you,
that ye may be the children of your Father in heaven. Be ye therefore perfect
even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
With the yardstick of love (the very essence of God's character) with us,
let us probe our hearts. Is our life an efflorescence of God's love? Are we
ready to serve one another with love? Do we keep our hearts open to the healthy
influences coming from outside? Are we patient and tolerant toward those who
differ from us? Are our minds coextensive with the creation of God and ready
to embrace the totality of His being? Do we bleed inwardly at the sight of
the downtrodden and the depressed? Do we pray for the sick and suffering humanity?
If we do not do any of these things, we are yet far removed from God and from
religion, no matter how loud we may be in our talk and pious in our platitudes
and pompous in our proclamations. With all our inner craving for peace, we
have failed and failed hopelessly to serve the cause of God's peace on earth.
Ends and means are interlocked and cannot be separated from each other. We
cannot have peace so long as we try to achieve it with warlike means and with
the weapons of destruction and extinction With the germs of hatred in our
hearts, racial and colour bars rankling within us, thoughts of political domination
and economic exploitation surging in our bloodstream, we are working for wrecking
the social structure which we have so strenuously built and not for peace,
unless it be peace of the grave; but certainly not for a living peace born
of mutual love and respect, trust and concord, that may go to ameliorate mankind
and transform this earth into a paradise for which we so fervently pray and
preach from pulpits and platforms and yet, as we proceed, it recedes away
into the distant horizon.
Where then lies the remedy? Is the disease past all cures. No, it is not
so. "Life and Light of God" are still there to help and guide us
in the wilderness. We see this wilderness around us because we are bewildered
in the heart of our hearts and do not see things in their proper perspective.
This vast outer world is nothing but a reflex of our own little world within
us. The seeds of discord and disharmony in the soil of our mind bear fruit
in and around us and do so in abundance. We are what we think and see the
world with the smoke-coloured glasses that we choose to put on. It is a proof
positive of one thing only: that we have so far not known the "Life and
Light of God" and much less realized "God in man." We are off
centre in the game of life. We are playing it at the circumference only and
never have a dip in the deepest waters of life at the centre. This is why
we constantly find ourselves caught in the vortex of the swirling waters on
the surface. The life at the circumference of our being is, in fact, not different
from the life at the centre of our being. The two are, in fact, not un-identical,
yet when one is divorced from the other, they look dissimilar. Hence the strange
paradox: the physical life though a manifestation of God is full of toil and
turmoil, storm and stress, dissipation and disruption. In our enthusiasm and
zest for outer life on the plane of the senses, we have strayed too far away
from our centre, nay, we have altogether lost sight of it; and worse still,
have cut the very moorings of our barque and no wonder then we find ourselves
tossing helplessly on the sea of life. Rudderless and without a compass to
guide our course, we are unwittingly a prey to chance winds and waters and
cannot see the shoals, the sandbanks and the submerged rocks with which our
way is strewn. In this frightful plight, we are drifting along the onrushing
current of life—Where? We know not.
This world, after all, is not and cannot be so bad as we take it to be. It
is a manifestation of the Life Principle of the Creator and is being sustained
by His Light. His Love is at the bottom of all this. The world with its various
religions is made for us and we are to benefit from them. One cannot learn
swimming on dry land. All that we have to do is to correctly learn and understand
the basic live truths as are embodied in our scriptures, and practice them
carefully under the guidance of some theocentric saint. These scriptures came
into being by God-inspired prophets, and as such, some God-intoxicated person
or a God-man can give us a proper interpretation of them, initiate us into
their right import by reconciling the seeming discrepancies in thought and
finally help us inwardly on the God-path. Without such a practical guidance
both without and within we are trapped in the magic spell of forms and minds,
and cannot possibly reach at the esoteric truths lying under a mass of verbiage
of the bygone ages and now solidified into fossils with the lapse of time
into institutionalized forms, formulae and formularies of the ruling class.
Every religion has of necessity a threefold aspect: first, the traditional,
comprising myths and legends for the lay brethren; second, the philosophical
treatises based on reason to satisfy the hunger of the intellectuals concerned
more with the why and wherefore of things than anything else, with great stress
on theory of the subject and emphasis on ethical development which is so very
necessary for spiritual growth; and third, the esoteric part, the central
core in every religion, meant for the chosen few, the genuine seekers after
Truth. This last part deals with the mystic personal experiences of the founders
of all religions and other advanced souls. It is this part, called mysticism,
the core of all religions, that has to be sifted and enshrined in the heart
for practice and experience. These inner experiences of all sages and seers
from time immemorial are the same, irrespective of the religio-social orders
to which they belonged, and deal in the main with the Light and Life of God
-- no matter at what level -- and the methods and means for achieving direct
results are also similar. "Religious experience," says Plotinus,
"lies in the finding of the true home by the exile," meaning the
pilgrim soul, to whom the Kingdom of God is at present just a lost province.
Similarly, Henri Bergson, another great philosopher, tells us, "The surest
way to Truth is by perception, by intuition, by reasoning to a certain point
and then taking a mortal leap."
These philosophers have said nothing new. They have just repeated in their
own way the time-honoured ancient truths regarding Para Vidya, the Knowledge
of the Beyond, the references to which in terse and succinct form we find
in all the scriptures of the world. For example, in Christian theology we
have:
Learn to die so that you may begin to live. And St. Paul significantly adds:
I die daily.
He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life shall
find it.
The holy prophet of Arabia speaks of Mautu Kibal Ant Mautu, ie, death before
actual death. Dadu and other saints likewise say, Learn to die while living,
for in the end, of course, everyone has to die.
Thus we have seen that "Life and Light of God" constitute the only
common ground at which all religions do meet and if we could take hold of
these saving lifelines, we can become live centres of spirituality, no matter
to what religion we owe our allegiance for the fulfilment of our social needs
and the development of our moral well-being. God made man and man in course
of time made religions as so many vehicles for his uplift according to the
prevailing conditions of the people. While riding in these vehicles, our prime
need is to raise our moral and spiritual stature to such an extent as to come
nearer to God and this, it may be noted, is not merely a possibility but as
sure a mathematical certainty as two and two make four, with of course proper
guidance and help from some adept well versed not only in theory but also
in the practice of the Science of Soul. It is not a province of mere philosophers
or theologians or the intellectually great. I take just two instances to illustrate
my point. God, according to all scriptures, is described as the "Father
of lights," Nooran-ala-noor, Swayam jyoti swarup, all of which are nothing
but synonymous terms. But ask any religious authority as to the connotation
of these words and he would say that these are only figurative terms without
any inner significance. Why? Because he has not actually experienced in person
His Light, uncreate and immortal, self-effulgent and shadowless, which Moses,
Zoroaster, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, Nanak, Kabir and others of their kind
actually witnessed and realized, and taught those who came in contact with
them to do likewise.
Again, like the practice of lighting candles (symbolic of the inner light),
there is another practice in churches and temples of ringing the bell or bells
and giving of Azaan by Mouzan which has a much deeper inner significance than
is realized and surprisingly enough is taken to be just a call to the faithful
for prayer. Herein lies the great hiatus between learning and wisdom, which
are at poles asunder; for this too is symbolic of the music of the soul, the
Audible Life Stream, the music of the spheres, the actual life principle pulsating
in all the creation.
Without taking any more of your time, I would like to emphasize one thing:
that all religions are profoundly good, truly worthy of our love and respect.
The object of this Conference is not to found any new religion as we have
already enough of them, nor to evaluate the extant religions we have with
us. Again, we should shed the idea of drawing up "One World Religion"
for all religions, like so many states, are, in spite of their variegated
forms and colours, but flowers in the garden of God and smell sweet. The most
pressing need of the time, therefore, is to study our religious scriptures
thoughtfully and to reclaim our lost heritage. Everyone has in him, says a
Saint, a pearl of priceless value, but as he does not know how to unearth
it, he is going about with a beggar's bowl. It is a practical subject and
even to call it a religion of soul is a misnomer, for soul has no religion
whatsoever. We may, if you like, call it the Science of Soul, for it is truly
a science, more scientific than all the known sciences of the world, capable
of yielding valuable and verifiable results, quite precise and definite. By
contacting the Light and Life Principles, the primordial manifestations of
God within the laboratory of the man body (which all the scriptures declare
to be a veritable temple of God), we can virtually draw upon the "bread
and water of life," rise into Cosmic Awareness and gain immortality.
This is the be-all and end-all of all religions, and embedded as we all are
in the ONE Divinity, we ought to represent the noble truth of the Fatherhood
of God and the brotherhood of man. It is the living Word of the living God
and has a great potential in it. It has been rightly said: Man does not live
by bread alone but by the Word of God. And this Word of God is an unwritten
law and an unspoken language. He who, by the power of the Word, finds himself
can never again lose anything in the world. He who once grasps the human in
himself, understands all mankind. It is that knowledge by knowing which everything
else becomes known. This is an immutable law of the Unchangeable Permanence
and is not designed by any human head. It is the Sruti of the Vedas, the Naad
or Udgit of the Upanishads, the Sarosha of the Zend Avesta, the Holy Spirit
of the Gospels, the lost Word of the Masons, the Kalma of the Prophet Mohammed,
the Saut of the Sufis, the Shabd or Naam of the Sikh scriptures, the Music
of the Spheres and of all harmonies of Plato and Pythagoras, and the Voice
of the Silence of the Theosophists. It can be contacted, grasped and communed
with by every sincere seeker after Truth, for the good not only of himself
but of the entire humanity, for it acts as a sure safety valve against all
dangers with which mankind is threatened in this atomic age.
The only prerequisite for acquiring this spiritual treasure in one's own
soul is self-knowledge This is why sages and seers in all times and in all
climes have in unmistakable terms laid emphasis on self-analysis. Their clarion
call to humanity has always been: Man—Know Thyself. The Aryan thinkers
in the hoary past called it Atam Gian or knowledge of the Atman or soul. The
ancient Greeks and Romans in turn gave to it the name of Gnothi Seauton (Greek)
and Nosce Te Ipsum (Latin) respectively. The Muslim divines called it Khud-Shanasi,
and Guru Nanak, Kabir and others stressed the need for Apo Cheena or self-analysis,
and declared that so long as a man did not separate his soul from body and
mind, he lived only a superficial life of delusion on the physical plane of
existence. True knowledge is undoubtedly an action of the soul and is perfect
without the senses. This then is the acme of all investigations carried out
by man since the first flicker of self-awakening dawned in him.
This is the one truth I learned in my life, both in theory and practice,
from my Master, Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, and have today placed it before
you, as I have already been doing before the peoples in the West and East
during my extensive tours all over, and have on experience found it of ready
acceptance everywhere as a current coin, for it is the sole panacea for all
the ills of the world, as well as ills of the flesh to which man is a natural
heir through the working of the inexorable law of action and reaction—ye
shall reap, as ye shall sow.
All of our religions are after all an expression of the inner urge felt by
man from time to time to find a way out of the discord without into the halcyon
calm of the soul within. The light shineth in the darkness and the darkness
comprehendeth it not. But we are so constituted by nature that we feel restless
until we find a rest in the Causeless Cause. If we live up to our scriptures
and realize the Light and Life of God within us, then surely, as day follows
the night, Love would reign supreme in the Universe and we will see nothing
but the Unseen Hand of God working everywhere.
We must then sit together as members of the One Great Family of Man so that
we may understand each other. We are above everything else, ONE—from
the level of God as our Father, from the level of Man as His children, and
from the level of worshipers of the same Truth or Power of God called by so
many names. In this august assembly of the spiritually awakened, we can learn
the "Great Truth of Oneness of Life" vibrating in the Universe.
If we do this, then surely this world with so many forms and colours will
appear a veritable handiwork of God and we shall verily perceive the same
life-impulse enlivening all of us. As His own dear children embedded in Him,
like so many roses in His rose bed, let us join together in sweet remembrance
of God and pray to Him for the well-being of the world in this hour of imminent
danger of annihilation that stares us in the face. May God, in His infinite
mercy, save us all, whether we deserve it or not.
Before I sit down I heartily welcome you, my brothers and sisters, and thank
you warmly for your kindness and sincerity in furthering such a noble mission
that has brought us together.
[ENDS]
Born on 6th February 1894 in Sayyad Kasran, British India, His Holiness Master
Kirpal Singh was confronted with nationalism, religious intolerance, and bigotry
since His early youth. In view of the suffering humanity He deeply thought
about the nature of man and sought for a solution to the permanent discord
leading to violent conflicts. After a profound study of the basic scriptures
of the Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians etc,
He found that they all give out the same basic truth and speak about the birthright
of man to attain self-knowledge and God-knowledge. Due to His universal view
He could create mutual understanding among the different religions. During
fourteen years He was repeatedly elected President of the World Fellowship
of Religions which came into being in 1957. He left his physical body on 21st
August 1974.
Books written by His Holiness include: The Crown of Life - a comparative
study of Yogas and Surat Shabd Yoga; Godman - the mission, nature and need
of a spiritual Master; The Jap Ji: The Message of Guru Nanak; Morning Talks
- a series of short informal talks giving practical advice on the general
subject of spirituality; The Mystery of Death; Naam or Word - an in depth
study of the Celestial Sound Current or God into Expression Power called variously:
Naam, Word, Music of the Spheres, Shabd, etc; The Night is a Jungle - a collection
of 14 public discourses on spirituality; PRAYER: Its Nature and Technique;
SPIRITUALITY: What it is - an exploration of the Science of Spirituality;
The Way of the Saints: SANT MAT - collected short writings, booklets, circular
letters, and seasonal messages; and The Wheel of Life - about Karma, "As
you sow, so shall you reap."
On three world tours in 1955, 1963, and 1972 His Holiness visited major cities
in the Western world, where He met religious leaders -- including the Pope,
politicians, and personalities of the society. Everywhere He conveyed the
importance of self-knowledge and God-knowledge and emphasized the need of
selfless service. His efforts to create understanding from man to man, for
peace in the world and for tolerance among the religions have been recognized
by many honours. His efforts reached a summit when He convened the first World
Conference on Unity of Man, which took place in New Delhi, India, from 3rd
to 6th February 1974. Religious, political, and social leaders from all over
India, and delegates from approximately 18 countries participated in the conference.
This World Conference was the beginning of the Unity of Man movement. As a
result of the conference He was invited by the Indian Government to address
Parliament. When He spoke to the members of the Lok Sabha (Lower House) on
1st August 1974, it was the first time that a spiritual leader was given that
honour.
We look forward to your further thoughts, observations and views. Thank you.
Best wishes
For and on behalf of DK Matai, Chairman, Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance
(ATCA)
ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance
is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to understand and to
address complex global challenges. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue
on global opportunities and threats arising from climate chaos, radical poverty,
organised crime, extremism, informatics, nanotechnology, robotics, genetics,
artificial intelligence and financial systems. Present membership of ATCA
is by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished members: including
several from the House of Lords, House of Commons, EU Parliament, US Congress
& Senate, G10's Senior Government officials and over 1,500 CEOs from financial
institutions, scientific corporates and voluntary organisations as well as
over 750 Professors from academic centres of excellence worldwide.
The views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative
of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. Please do not forward or use the material
circulated without permission and full attribution.
Intelligence Unit | mi2g | tel +44 (0) 20 7712 1782 fax +44 (0) 20
7712 1501 | internet www.mi2g.net
mi2g: Winner of the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the category of
Innovation
[ENDS]
mi2g is at the leading edge of building secure on-line banking, broking
and trading architectures. The principal applications of its technology are:
1. D2-Banking; 2. Digital
Risk Management; and 3. Bespoke Security
Architecture. For more information about mi2g, please visit: www.mi2g.net
