The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Call for religious amity

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Thursday, Sep 25, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Call for religious amity

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An inter-faith assembly attended by the leaders of all major religions in the State, organised here on Wednesday by the Major Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, exhorted the people to shun enmity and live upholding the spirit of universal brotherhood propounded by all religions of the world.

Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken inaugurated this assembly on ‘Religious Pluralism and the Indian Constitution,’ called in the context of a string of disturbing incidents unsettling the nation’s high secular credentials that have happened in some parts of the country recently.

Lines from Srimad Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible were recited at the start of the assembly to highlight how all religions spoke of the unity and wholeness of existence and upheld the virtue of love and brotherhood. From the lamp that Mr. Maken lit to signify the beginning of the session, hundreds of candles were lighted and held aloft by those on the podium and in the audience as the Preamble to the Indian Constitution, the sacred text of the country’s secular polity, was solemnly read out.

The Major Archbishop Catholicos Moran Mar Baselios Cleemis, who presided over the programme, said the rich secular culture of the country was the total of human experiences of thousands of generations. The roots of this culture of tolerance and love ran deep into the hearts of all citizens of the country. Aberrations came when people strayed away from spirituality and true religiousness, their visions blinded by the cataract of illusions, he said.

Swami Sookshmananda of Sivagiri Madhom, the Imam of Palayam Juma Masjid Janab Moulavi Jamaludin Mankada, Moderator of Church of South India Bishop J.W. Gladstone and Nair Service Society treasurer P.N. Narendranathan Nair addressed the assembly. Director of Major Archdiocesan Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue Santhan Charuvil welcomed the gathering and the Principal of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Thiruvananthapuram Antony Eapen proposed a vote of thanks.

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