Religious leaders lay stress on oneness at C20 conference

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 17

Chinmaya Mission, Amritsar, today held C20 National Conference on ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ under the G20 Summit. The event was inaugurated by Governor Banwarilal Purohit who addressed the gathering of students, spiritual leaders, academicians and members of civil society. Purohit emphasised that all religions were equal and should be respected with equal-mindedness. He cited figures such as Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Maharana Ranjit Singh, and Swami Chinmayananda in order to sensitise the audience to the issue.

Swami Mitrananda, head of Chinmaya Mission, Chennai, was the national coordinator of the event. The main speakers of the day were Swami Mitrananda, Swami Chidrupananda, Swami Pradyumn Maharaj and MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh. Avinash Mohindru, president of Amritsar Chinmaya Mission said the aim behind organising the C20 conference was to promote Indian culture and heritage.

During the first session of the day, former Jathedar Akal Takht Prof Manjeet Singh, Maulana Usman Ludhianvi — Shahi Imam Punjab — and Acharya Pradyumnji Maharaj spoke about faith, religion and their present context. The spiritual leaders unanimously agreed that while every religion and faith teaches unity, the interpretation of religious texts was complex.

The second session of the day was on value-based education, with speakers Swami Chidrupananda and others emphasising the importance of a value-based education system. Swami Mitrananda quoted Indian Upnishads and stressed the significance of religious texts and books that have been a source of knowledge and awakening, giving the message of Vasudeva Kutumbhkam.

The last session was on defence, with first speaker Lt Gen (retd) SN Handa, PVSM, AVSM, discussing the damage and devastation that global wars have brought upon the world. He said a large number of committees had been set up for warfare across the world. In defence, various aspects of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ are related, he added. “Defence promotes the notion of peace, when one considers the world as family, it automatically engineers towards empathy, mutual respect, understanding, harmony, global respect, justice and fair play,” he said.

The second speaker Lt Gen (retd) Mohinder Puri, PVSM, UYSM, praised the integrity, solidarity and oneness of the Indian Army. He narrated his experiences on battlefields, wherein serving the soldiers’ perspective to the idea of one earth, one family. He also threw light on helping the needy as part of disaster management, irrespective of nationality.

The third speaker Lt Gen (retd) KJ Singh, PVSM, AVSM, discussed the future plan of actions in the state of war. He emphasised the need to strengthen the deterrence of weapons and war and talked about finding ways and means of delegitimising the use of weapons.

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