IAW At The Capital 2005 - Hindu Presentation

INTERFAITH AWARENESS WEEK

DECEMBER 7, 2005

 

Good Afternoon Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Krishna Sijapati and I am representing Hindu Dharma Circle.  First of all I would like to start with a prayer in Sanskrit, which expresses peace and happiness in all living beings regardless of faith or belief.

 

 

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha, Sarve santu Niramaya

Sarve Bhadrani Pasyantu, Ma Kaschid-Dukha-Bhag Bhavet

 

May everyone be joyful; may everyone be without disease; may everyone be happy, no one be subject to sorrow.

 

A time has come that all faiths should get together and reconcile the differences and follow the principle of mutual respect and dignity following the path of our choice to reach the Divine world.  The paths we all are following may be different, but our goal of peace and happiness in this life and divine life thereafter is the same.  People of all faiths believe that there is Only one God and he is Omnipresent and He is invisible to our physical eyes.  People worship Krishna, Jensus, Mohomod, Abrahim, Buddha and many more and all they are the manifestations of Supreme Divine, which they address with different names like Paramatma, Father, Allha, Johova, Buddha, and so on.   

 

Therefore, we need to open our divine eyes and fill our heart with the message:

 

There is only one religion, the religion of Love;

there is only one language, the language of the Heart;

there is only one caste, the caste of Humanity;

there is only one law, the law of Action (Karma);

there is only one God, He is Omnipresent

 

I just want to share my personal experience. When I was growing up I was a very conservative Hindu. I used to believe that Hinduism was the only religion that could lead us to the eternal life. As I began to study other religions, I realized that no matter what religion people follow they are trying to achieve three things 1 understanding unknown God 2  Achieve peace and happiness in this life  and finally 3. Achieve eternal life thereafter death. 

Gita is considered as the nucleus of Hindu religion and it mentions that in this world there is nothing so superior to divine knowledge.  Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism.  Divine knowledge is the part of God, and it is God.  Those who have achieved such knowledge are considered as the manifestation of the supreme Divine.  Buddha achieved enlightenment through the divine knowledge and Hindus consider Him as the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

 

 Hindus believe that divine knowledge can be achieved pursuing one of the several paths mentioned in Gita. The great spiritual leaders such as Ramkrishna, Vivekananda, and Satya Sai Baba, who is still alive, support the concept that no matter what our faiths are, we have only one goal to achieve that is eternal life.  In essence if we all have the same goal and we can achieve this goal by pursuing the path of our choice, there is no reason for us to fight each other in the name of religion.

 

The principle of non-violence as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King can be achieved only through the means of understanding, mutual respect and cooperation among us.  We all are God’s children and I am sure God wants His children to live together in a peaceful manner with mutual understanding and respect. 

 

Lastly, I would like to thank Rev. John-Brian Paprock for organizing this awareness week.  He has been doing this for several years.  We need this kind of program not only in the local and state level, but also national and international levels to create awareness that only through the means of mutual understanding respect we all can live in peace and harmony in this world.  Thank you.

 

God Bless you All

 

Dr. Krishna Sijapati

HINDU DHARMA CIRCLE

408 Midland Lane

Monona,  WI  53716

Ph. 222-0646