Celebrating the unity of all faiths

November 10, 1:16 PMSan Jose Interfaith ExaminerD. Andrew Kille

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Participants at Interfaith Breakfast (Photos courtesy of Sant Nirankari Mission

[Thanks to Kaori Zinke of the Bay Area Family Church for this report.]

On October 24th, 2009, more than 40 people, all from different religious backgrounds, gathered together for an Interfaith Community Breakfast at the Sant Nirankari Mission. Hosted by Interfaith America, we all came together under the theme of “Celebrating the Unity of All Faiths”. Following a healthy and delicious breakfast of traditional Indian and American food, everyone took off their shoes, and gathered in the sanctuary. For me it felt very special to be there because I had heard about the San Nirankari Mission movement, but now I was experiencing it.

Their main goal as a spiritual movement is to spread the message of universal brotherhood - that we are all family regardless of what ethnic, religious or any other background we have. Before the speakers went up to give their presentations, Dr. I.S. Rai, President of the Sant Nirankari Mission, welcomed us with the lighting of four different candles. Each candle was a different color and gave off a different scent when lit. There was one tall and luminous white candle that was used to light all of the other colorful candles. Each candle represented a different religion, while the white candle and its flame represented God’s light, or love. So as the candles were lit, we could see that although each candle was different, they all burned with the same light, the same flame. In this way I could really feel that although all of us have different thoughts and beliefs, we can all unite and become as one through the power of God’s love.

Each of the speakers shared with the audience with the message of mankind as one universal family, and how we need to help each other instead of making enemies with each other. Reverend Anderson Pamilton, Pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church of Stockton, invoked in the audience a feeling that we are all part of the same team. It doesn’t matter whether that person is black, and the other one is white; the main point is that we all need to work together and unite in order to improve this world. He quoted the Bible, “How good it is when brothers [and sisters] dwell in unity,” and also said, “We have to get prepared down here in order to go to the place up there.” His simple, but profound message made me realize that we are a team, that we can celebrate our differences instead of rejecting them, and use our unique skills and resources we have to make the world a better place.

Dr. Ben Venktash, who practices Hinduism, said he felt blessed to be in the presence of so many enlightened souls. He spoke about miracles, quoting from Albert Einstein, who said “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." He connected the idea of creation beginning as light in the Hebrew Bible, with the primal sound of Om which marks the creation in Hindu scriptures. Dr. Venktash’s speech helped me understand and open my heart towards the Hindu faith.

After hearing selected quotations form the World's Scriptures, we were given the opportunity to get into groups and do a short interfaith dialogue: to discuss about our own faiths and beliefs, and about the idea of interfaith work amongst all religions. As each group’s representative got up to speak, different messages were given, but all came under a message of uniting as family, as brothers and sisters, under our Father God.

One group realized that as we lose our ego, we come closer to God. Also, they noted that unless we realize that we are all of one Father, God, we cannot exist as brothers and sisters. Another group, headed by Richard Zinke, expressed how the family is the school of love, and especially that the grandparents are the head of the family, and the seed of love. There was one especially important saying in my dialogue group that really stood out: “Talking is good; listening is better; action is best.” When one of the members from my group said this, I realized that this interfaith meeting was just the starting point of a greater effort to work together, as different religions and faiths, to improve the world, little by little. I began to see how, as religious and faith groups, we could start working together and contributing our time and resources to do service projects, and to help those in the community who are in need. Finally, the last group shared the importance of spreading God’s message of love and brotherhood, and that the ultimate cause of fighting in the world is because of ignorance. Many people still do not know the important message underlying interfaith work, which is being able to live and work together as one family under God. However, understanding this point is essential to solving many of the conflicts in the world and creating greater peace among all people.

I really felt a spirit of love and brotherhood at this interfaith breakfast. On a more personal level, I was able to meet Sandra, a lady who has gone through many hardships in life, but who still has such a strong faith in God. We both shared about our lives and our faith with each other, and the different things we were going through, and we comforted each other. In addition to feeling a sense of unity between the people of different faiths present at the event, I was able to gain a wonderful friendship. The benefits of this program lie not just in the message itself, but in the friends of faith that I made along the way.

We all look forward to the next event in January, 2010. For more information please visit the Interfaith America website, the Sant Nirankari Mission website and blog and the Interfaith America facebook group.