Demonstration
and Parade for the Preservation of
the Religions of the World during
Papal
Visit
to UN on Apr. 18th at United Nations
(and
Yankee Stadium, New
York on Apr. 20th).
Religion
is the one of the most potent forces shaping world affairs. This has
always
been the case, but it is particularly true right now. Much of the
charity as
well as the strife in the world today is inspired by religion.
When
religion can be such a force for love, compassion and spirituality, why
is it
also such a cause of strife and war? One specific aspect of some
religions is
the root cause of the problems: exclusive truth claims which teach that
other
religions are false and have to be eradicated through conversion and
even
killings.
Rabbi
Harold Kushner summarized the "Only my religion is right" phenomenon
as:
"There's
a sense that in order for me to be right, everyone who disagrees with
me is
wrong. It makes religious interfaith cooperation more difficult. If I
believe
that, I have to believe that other people's religions are worthless,
invalid."
"You
have to understand that religion is not about getting information about
God.
Religion is about community. The primary purpose is not to get us to
heaven but
to put us in touch with other people. I can have fierce loyalty to my
family
without denigrating other people's family. I can have fierce loyalty to
my own
religion without denigrating other people's religion. In the same way,
my
neighbor can say that his wife is the most wonderful woman in the
world. I can
take that as a statement of love, not fact."
Diversity
is the rule of the creation. Only in diversity can the human mind
survive. Such
diverse religions as the Zoroastrians, the Baha'i, Gnostics and
Wiccans; the
indigenous religions of Africa, Americas and Australia; Buddhism and
Jainism
and the ancient and subtle I-Kuan Tao, all are faces of a grand prism
expressing their understanding of creator and his creation that unites
every
human being, nay every creature and the creation itself.
But
a great amount of this diversity was destroyed and continued to be
destroyed by
religions professing exclusive access to the mind of God and labeling
all other
spiritual traditions as evil. Though there are agreements and
disagreements
among religious philosophies, a very few religious groups express their
intolerance to the extent of destroying other religions in order to
establish
their exclusivist truth claims beliefs. The degree of violence and hate
perpetrated
by such religions during last two centuries has been colossal in the
history of
mankind. Mahatma Gandhi called the religious conversions conducted by
missionaries who convert and spread hate as the deadliest poison that
ever
sapped the fountain of truth.
During
World Congress for Preservation of Religious Diversity in 2001, Swami
Dayananda
Saraswati said that the ancient religions of the world have become like
endangered species. However, he said, unlike the endangered species, we
can
confer and therefore come together to find out ways and means to see
that
diverse religious traditions are saved. Conferences held by
organizations such
as ICCSUS are helping to bring together traditions across the world.
The Papal
visit to United Nations provides the cultures of the world a great
opportunity
to bring international attention to the threat of religious exclusivism
and its
consequences for the world religions and humanity.
What
is being planned?
The plan is to do a Demonstration and a parade during Pope's visit to
UN on
April 18th honoring native cultures of the world
and highlighting
each culture that was destroyed and the atrocities committed. We also
plan to
meet United Nations Secretary General to present our case. The message
is not
against Christianity, but against the practice of intolerance under the
mask of
exclusive faith claim which happens to be the root cause. We plan to
highlight
the works of eminent thinkers such as Mahatma Gandhi who stood against
religions conversions and intolerance. Mahatma Gandhi is greatly
revered in the
West as the one who stood for brotherhood among all religions. (Note:
Similar
demonstration and parade will also be held in front of Yankee Stadium,
New York
on April 20th).
Why
is this important?
History showed to us that change never happens by itself. It requires a
collective and determined action to bring about that change. Today,
most
conversions activities are planned, executed and supported by funds
from the
West, particularly the United States. Many times they are contributed
by
unwitting church goers who have little idea as to what their
contributions are
causing. The Roman Catholic Church along with various Protestant and
charismatic groups are the prime movers of the global conversion
enterprise.
Media management by the Church promotes the image that missionary
activity
simply is spreading a gospel of love and compassion to the unfortunate
peoples
of the world. There is no public voice for the victim's story.
Why
now? The
pope's visit to UN attracts worldwide attention, and we plan to use
this
occasion to present the victim's side of the effects of missionary
activity.
Through this demonstration and parade, we plan to bring international
attention
to the relentless onslaught of religious conversion activity, what it
has done
and continues to do to the cultures of the world. Our goal is to create
a
counter discussion to the whole missionary activity, to raise awareness
that
this activity has a dark side.
Who
is organizing this activity?
This activity is being organized by a
loose network of concerned individuals belonging to various religions.
We do
not have an organizational sponsor. Some of the people involved have
experience
in organizing successful protests which attracted world wide media
attention.
Their activities have brought public policy changes while bringing a
lot of
awareness in the community. Their activities can be viewed from
websites such
as http://savetemples.org,
http://gandhiheritage.org.
What
you can do?
Join
Us: We
earnestly request the various cultures of the world to take part in the
Demonstration and Parade to present their case. This is a rare and
unique
opportunity that should not be missed because it gives exposure to
World
community the need for preserving all the cultures of the World.
Endorse
us:
We request every organization that support this cause to endorse this
event for
preserving cultures by sending email to protectreligions@gmail.com
with your Organization
name along with a comment on the reasons why your organization support
this
activity.
Sign
Petition: Contact
members of your organization and friends to sign the petition at our
website http://protectreligions.org.