A comprehensive dialogue among scholars of different religious faiths was critical to lead mankind forward, at a time when the world was facing crises at many levels, senior BJP leader and Member of Parliament, Murli Manohar Joshi said here on Saturday.
The scholars should come together and take stock of the various the inequities and injustices which were shredding the existing moral templates, and when human greed was scaling new heights, he added.
He was delivering the Anagarika Dharmapala commemorative lecture at the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka here, on the occasion of the 147th birth anniversary of the founder of the Society, Anagarika Dharmapala.
Buddhism, with its stress on the middle path, and religious philosophies including Jainism, and Hinduism had the inherent strengths to address these situations, he said. Quoting from inscriptions during Emperor Asoka’s reign, he said that neither India nor Sri Lanka were alien to the concepts of human rights and democracy.
Dr.Joshi said that it was not possible to accept the fact that a billion people went to bed hungry and that a miniscule percentage of the world’s population consumed more than 80 per cent of its resources. The obsession to consume excessively was leading to both economic melt-down across the world, as well as climate change. Both were inter-related and had their basis in greed more than need.
Both India and Sri Lanka had established universities in Buddhism and religious philosophies. It was time for these universities and scholars to come together, discuss the philosophies and break them down into actionable plans for the betterment of mankind, he added.
