His Holiness the Dalai Lama Calls for Peace and Unity Among ReligionsWednesday, 7 January 2008, 9:41 a.m.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama/file photo

Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama underlined the need to spread the message of peace and to bring peace and unity among all religions, while inaugurating a six-day “World Religions Dialogue and Symphony” at Mahuva in Bhavnagar district in Gujarat on Tuesday.Hosted by renowned Kathakar Morari Bapu at Kailash Guruashram, the leading spiritual leaders of various religions will converge at the symposium to have a religious dialogue to foster unity and peace.Emphasising on the importance of peace, His Holiness said, in the troubled times, one must not cease to spread the message of peace although it might not yield immediate results. Delivering his inaugural address in Tibetan which was translated by Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche, His Holiness said there should be more such dialogues. World needs to learn lesson in religious tolerance from India and try and adopt its culture that promotes peace, His Holiness said.”Indian culture is the only one with the tolerance that the world needs to bring about peace and unity among all religions,”His Holiness added.His Holiness said there needs to be a combined efforts by the leaders of all religions so that truth prevails in the universe.”Although I will be leaving tomorrow, yet I want Morari Bapu and other spiritual leaders present here to set an agenda for the next dialogue. Any agenda to be fixed by you has my prior approval,” said His Holiness.In his address, Morari Bapu said this event was the first step in the direction to initiating dialogue between religious leaders, and hoped this will deliver fruitful results. A battery of renowned spiritual leaders including Buddhist leader Samdhong Rinpoche, Diwan of Ajmer Sharij Sayeed Zenul, Bishop Dr Prabalkant Dut and two Shankaracharyas—Dwarka Shankaracharya Jagatguru Swarupanand Saraswati and Kanchikamkoti Pith Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati are attending the conference.His Holiness arrived at Mahuva on Tuesday afternoon from Dharmshala.–Compiled from PTI and The Indian Express reports