“I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.” He concluded with a common prayer:

“As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.

The Chief Guest continued, explaining that sectarianism and bigotry exist, but need to be overcome. If they are not, he warned, the eventual disaster could be worse than the destruction of Hiroshima. He remarked that mystics of all faiths have described their experiences in different ways, which is a reason to speak of the goodness of other faiths. He concluded by quoting Swami Vivekananda again at some length:

“Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid. The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.

Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.”

As the inaugural ceremony came to an end, His Holiness distributed souvenirs to the delegates and they all gathered together for a group photograph.

The first plenary session after lunch on the theme ‘Inter-religious Understanding and Human Values’ was chaired by media anchor, Karma Paljor, who called on Gopalkrishna Gandhi to open the discussions. He first cited three different cases in Kanpur in 1931, in Ahmadabad some years later and in Calcutta in 1947 when individuals intervened between violent mobs. They died but saved many others. They acted not because they were overtly spiritual or religious but because they were fundamentally good human beings. Their example, Mr Gandhi said, should encourage us to rescue ethics from religious institutions. He suggested that religious harmony is not the work of religious institutions, for it is the common people of India who maintain communal and religious harmony rather than their religious leaders. He mentioned that one of Mahatma Gandhi’s qualities was to recognise but also embodies a basic human decency.

Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati suggested that conflict happens when we only think of our own agenda, of our own interests; when we think of ourselves at the centre of things. He said that if we turn away from such a narrow view and see others as we see ourselves there would be effective change. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan told the gathering that if there is a difference between my religion and your religion we should try to manage it, to adjust to it. The difference creates a point for dialogue and discussion, which in turn stimulates intellectual development. He also recounted that when the Prophet was in Medina he showed respect to a Jew and when he was asked why he had done so replied: “Is he not a human being?”

Paul Dhinakaran spoke of how India is the only country he’s come across that observes respect for all spiritual traditions and cherishes inclusiveness. He told a story of the rich girl who offered to help Mother Teresa. The Mother asked her to comfort and bandage a newly arrived leper. The girl could not do it, so Mother Teresa did so saying that she visualized that she was dressing the wounds of Christ. Karmyogi Peethadheesh Swasti Shri Ravindra Keerti Swami repeated that by following different paths we can reach the same conclusion, but that to do so requires a sense of brotherhood and not thinking of your own religion as the best.

Sheikhul Masheikh Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan pointed out that if you have a group of children awaiting hospital treatment in need of blood, you do not ask for Sikh, Hindu or Muslim blood; the only stipulation is the necessary blood group. He advised that we cannot take what we cannot give; since we cannot give life, we should not take it either. When he finished speaking, Swami Avimuktetshwaranand Saraswati rose from his seat and came up to the stage to offer the Maulana a flower as a mark of his appreciation.

Lochen Rinpoche asserted that without harmony world peace will remain a myth, At the same time, however, he felt the conference offered an opportunity to shape history. Dr Shernaz Cama recalled that she was taught in childhood to believe that happiness comes to those who bring happiness to others. However, she remarked that today, happiness is more and more being associated with material things.

Several questions were put from the floor to the panel before the entire assembly broke for tea and split up into four discussion groups. His Holiness the Dalai Lama spent time today with two of these groups, mostly listening to the spirited talk.

Tomorrow the conference will continue with a 2nd plenary session on the theme ‘Environment, Education and Society’, and a 3rd session that will involve presenting group reports.