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1,000 religious leaders to attend New York summit

Nitish S Rele

Several Indian religious and spiritual leaders will be attending the World Peace Summit on August 28 at the United Nations in New York.

The summit aims to identify ways in which religious and spiritual communities can work together as inter-faith allies with the United Nations on specific peace, poverty and environmental initiatives.

Religious leaders will sign a 'Declaration for World Peace' as well as create the International Advisory Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders to serve as an inter-faith ally of the UN in its quest for peace, global understanding and international co-operation.

Among the sects and religions that will be represented are Baha'i-ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, indigenous, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism.

Sri Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) is one of the Indian religious leaders who will be attending the summit. She is considered a living saint who has transformed the lives of millions of people all over the world. The humanitarian has inspired an extensive list of charitable institutions, including hospitals, orphanages, schools, 25,000 homes for the poor, and monthly stipends to 50,000 destitute women, to help alleviate human suffering and poverty.

Also on the list is Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, presiding peetathipathi [head] of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, one of the foremost Hindu institutions, south of Madras in Tamil Nadu. He is the moving spirit behind the institution's progressive projects and has travelled all over the country to spread the message of 'Vedanta'.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati is a traditional teacher of Vedanta and an eminent scholar of Sanskrit. He was born into a traditional family in 1930 in a village in Thanjavur district, cultural hub of Tamil Nadu. He has established three institutions of learning and culture, two in India and one in the USA.

His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj is the fifth spiritual successor of Lord Swaminarayan, principal deity and spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Swaminarayan Sanstha. Even at the age of 78, he travels continuously, having personally counselled more than 500,000 people, and read and replied to 435,000 letters. Pramukh Swami has visited over 12,000 villages and 250,000 homes.

Dada Jashan P Vaswani is spiritual head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Pune, Maharashtra. He is endowed with the gift of oratory and eloquence. He was invited to speak at the United Nations Organisation on 'universal peace' and at the House of Commons, London, on 'World Without Wars'. He spoke at the World Hindu Conference in Sri Lanka and again in the United States. He was the keynote speaker at the centennial celebrations of the World Parliament of Religions in New York.

Funding for the World Peace Summit is provided by the UN Foundation/Better World Fund, founded by Ted Turner, Ford Foundation, Ruder Finn Inc, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Carnegie Foundation, the Modi Foundation and the Greenville Foundation, among others.

Also, several religious groups are providing financial support by sponsoring meals and in-kind contributions.

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