While rooted in your own cultural or religious tradition and yet be able to admire, interact with and learn about others’ traditions is what interfaith is – much needed in the multicultural polity and world we are living in.
Is there God? What about the afterlife? There is no conclusive answer to such questions. So, it is best to change the subject. As we do at ALotusInTheMud.com where we only aim to curate content that people can employ in their lives to be happier, healthier, productive, and peaceful. So too when I was invited by Shanti Fund to do a presentation on the Lotus webzine at their Gandhi Punya Tithi (death anniversary) prayer event on January 30, I skipped the speech and did something else altogether.
The venue of the event co-hosted by Long Island Multi Faith Forum (LIMFF) was the foyer of H L Dennison building, seat of the Suffolk County, where a life size statue of Mahatma Gandhi greets you. The 150 strong gathering was multi-religious. Multifaith prayers followed in quick succession — Christian, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, even Zoroastrian and Baha’i as well as by an eclectic group named Gathering of Light.
Towards the end of the program when I was given the mike, I gave people the shortest meditation instruction possible: Close your eyes. Choose a short monosyllabic mantra, or name of your favorite deity or any name of God in your religion. Start repeating that word or mantra softly, mentally only. Continue till the mantra goes away and thoughts arise. When you become aware that you’ve lost your mantra, return to it gently. Don’t fight with the thoughts or try to drive them away. It was a brief meditation session, 6-7 minutes only. But suddenly there was pin drop silence, suffused with spirituality. It was nice, some people told me at the vegetarian dinner that followed.
In his welcome note at the event, Arvind Vora, Chairman of LIMFF, mentioned that besides the Punya Tithi another annual event held in memory of Gandhi Ji at this location in Hauppauge, NY, is the Mahatma’s birthday on October 2. He was instrumental in getting the Gandhi statue installed in the HL Dennison building, the seat of Suffolk County.
Bakul Matalia of Shanti Fund conducted the program which began with Gandhi’s favorite devotional song in Gujarati language, ‘Vaishnav Jan to Tene Kahiye…’ (True devotees of God are those who feel the pain of others, who help those who are in misery but never let ego or conceit enter their mind). Organizers aimed for youth participation to get them exposed to the diversity of different faiths. Indeed, three presentations were made by young people.
What I enjoyed the most at the event was the Jewish presentation — singing and drum beat by Cantor Lisa Ann Wharton and Akiva the Believer. They had the audience sing along and clap rhythmically. A highlight of the program was Chui Chai Dance, from the Thai dramatic and dance repertoire, by a male dancer. It followed the presentation of Metta Sutta by two Thai Buddhist monks.
While rooted in your own cultural or religious tradition and yet be able to admire, interact with and learn about others’ traditions is what interfaith is – much needed in the multicultural polity and world we are living in.
