Brainchild of well-known author-mentor Col DS Cheema (retd.), event hosted and organised by Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula to commemorate Guru Nanak’s 555th birth anniversary
It was a serious attempt at revive the age-old practice of interfaith dialogue to trigger a process of bringing about greater harmony among people of various faiths. And, the Interfaith Harmony Symposium organised at Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, which brought together experts from various fields, including preachers, thinkers, authors, jurists, teachers, artists, and military men, proved highly successfully in opening the minds of a large audience, including school students, to the common message enshrined in the tenets of all religions – of love, compassion, understanding, tolerance and acceptance.
ADVERTISEMENT (Tap on picture for details)
A brainchild of well-known author, mentor, trainer and motivator Col Daljeet Singh Cheema (retd.), the symposium was organised in collaboration with the Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, in the school premises on Thursday to commemorate the 555th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
The symposium had four panel discussions on different themes – ‘Dichotomies of our times and the need for interfaith dialogue, Spiritual perspective of interfaith dialogue’; ‘Guru Nanak’s philosophy for searching peace, harmony and happiness, Music as creed of worship in Guru Nanak’s ‘baani’, Sufi perspective of love for humanity’; ‘All faiths are faiths of love and compassion, religion and spirituality’; and ‘Interfaith harmony in Armed Forces’.
A book ‘101 Divine Thoughts of Guru Nanak Ji’, authored by Col. Daljeet Singh Cheema (retd.), was also released.
Panellists in all four sessions emphasised that there are no differences or conflicts between religions, but lack of understanding of our own and others’ religion, coupled with sustained campaigns of misinformation and falsehood by vested interests, including politicians and religious leaders, was fuelling mistrust and tensions between religious communities.
Advertisement
Though the forms and symbols of worship may differ in various religions, but all agree with the Oneness of God, who has created this beautiful Universe, was the message which came out loud and clear from the symposium.
The panellists were also one in stressing that to love God, people of all faiths need to love His creations in all forms.
Urging people to make it a point to read religious scriptures to be able to better appreciate the commonalities in the tenets of different religions, the panellists encouraged them to hold honest and healthy dialogues and discussions with people around them, only then they will realise that love is intrinsic in all human beings.
The importance music as a means of spreading the universal message of love and compassion, as practiced by Guru Nanak, was also underscored in the symposium.
In the last panel discussion, the Indian armed forces were presented as a role model for tolerance, acceptance and respect for all religions.
An example was given of a journalist once asking a top-ranking military officer how many Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and members of other religions there are in the Indian armed forces, and getting a stunning reply, “None! In our Services, we have only soldiers, airmen and sailors.”
The symposium aptly began with Musicality and Sikh Faith by Sunaini Guleria Sharma and rebab rendition by Kaka Gurdeep Singh Rababi, while Bhavan students sang an inter-faith song and ‘shabad’.
Participants were treated to a special millets lunch designed and prepared by well-known chef Vikas Chawla at his speciality millets restaurant Jhumroo in Mohali.
