By Matters Indian Reporter
Kolkata, Dec 29, 2019: Spiritual leaders from six religions, including Cardinal George Alencherry, attended the 12th World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality in Kolkata.
Karan Singh, noted scholar, philosopher and politician, delivered the keynote address on the opening day on December 28.
“We live in an age of turmoil,” Singh noted in his speech. According to him, despite technical advancement humanity is lost between a `vanishing past’ and an `indeterminate future.’
“Climate change and global warming have caused millions of ecological refugees; terrorism has become international, posing global challenges. We all must get our spiritual side together and introspect,” Singh added.
According to him, an inter-faith movement would help meet the challenges and urged the gathering to accept multiple paths to the divine.
“Faith cannot tie down the illimitable splendor of the divine to one path. To relieve sufferings, gender equality, promoting positive values through education, cherishing our natural environment and nurturing earth and honoring mother nature and enhancing the quality of human consciousness and achieving something higher, should be the goals the goals of the inter-faith movement. We can no longer be different on the basis of religion and the time has come for us to awake, arise and walk boldly towards a confluence or sangam of religion,” he said.
The two-day program was organized by H P Kanoria, chairperson of World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality. The participants included leaders from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikh, and Zoroastrianism
The speakers on the opening day included Cardinal George Cardinal Alencherry, head of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church.
He started the day one session by highlighting three major issues ailing the world. “First, the wealth is being concentrated among few countries and few individuals causing hardship to others. Second, conflict and communal strife are undermining peace and harmony. Our selfish interests are dividing the people and causing many ills. Third, an ecological imbalance has assumed major proportion. A new dialogue to make our planet livable for all of us and for the posterity is essential. We have to be alert and correct ourselves and our society through introspection. The whole earth is our mother.”
The cardinal urged people never to create communal disharmony, “All are created by the same God and come from the same source and are interconnected. The human society has to find its own internal unity and harmony,” he said in his closing remarks.
The World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality is organized by Srei Foundation and Kanoria Foundation that are engaged in spreading awareness for inculcating humanitarian values, carry out social welfare activities and meet sustainable environmental goals.