Editorial

REBUILDING A BEAUTIFUL WORLD TOGETHER

In so many ways, our world is beautiful. But in so many other ways, it is also an ugly and violent world. Our great multi-dimensional human self is being made to shrink to view everything from the economy of money and profit. Money is fast becoming the sole currency for all human transactions. So, the only question we seek an answer for: what profit will it bring to me? When mixed with power and ably supported by arms capable of great destruction, you have a powerful weapon to make many kinds of coercive and unjust decisions. Politics is entering into all sectors of life. It is a sacrilege that it has also been allowed to enter into the sacred domain of religion, lured by the short term interests it will provide to key functionaries.    

The quest in the minds of many good-willed persons across all religious traditions is to find effective ways to contribute to rebuild our planet earth and make it once again beautiful, a spiritual quest.        

                        

Faith, human and divine, has been providing the underpinning and motive power for many great human endeavours. We humans are meaning seekers and meaning makers. As a nation, we have sought God with a relentless desire for countless centuries. Human history is filled with inspiring deeds of light, produced by men and women who dared to see beyond the limiting borders of self and had set larger goals and targets by accessing their deeper connections and capabilities. Such faith has produced many miracles of life, several of which were indeed very spectacular, be they in the realm of sport and adventure, in war or peace, in science and technology or in arts and architecture or in inspired sacred writings and actions by spirit-filled persons.  

The United Nations, while searching to find a solution for the great violence in the world, brought together the spiritual and religious leaders of the world to New York in August, 2000. The reason: in a survey it found that more than 80% of the people had a faith or belief system to power their lives. In spite of the giant progress that we have made in modern times and more so, in the recent decades, there is clear evidence that many are still searching forsomething more from life than what we have so far been able to master and use. We are moving from the Information and Communication Age to the Wisdom Age, inspired by the wisdom of the Spirit. As a result, spiritual is in. We are more than just body, mind and heart. We have also a spirit. There is growing acceptance of the fact that we are all connected beyond the global internet connectivity we already have. We are divinely rooted in God and cosmically linked to our deepest human resources. It is the great tragedy of life that most of this vast resource, human and divine, is not used by us and so we live lives of scarcity.

 The three-word mantra invitation from life:

     Discover  the aadhaar and foundation for life and living, both natural and super natural.

     Connect with these immense resources, found in the many faith traditions and so connect with persons across borders and boundaries

     Live the New and abundant life that it opens before you. The current economies, based on money, arms, technology and domination and control of others, have not produced peace and wellness of life. So, discover and live the economy of communion.

The present edition of Salaam presents many articles, which open the doors to build a new world through dialogue. Is Islam for dialogue? Yes, says Maulana Wahiuddin Khan and provides several Quranic quotes to prove it.  Victor Edwin reports the MILAP initiative that brought several scholars, searching for shared responsibility to promote union of minds and hearts. Tom Kunnunkal seeks an affirmative answer from Christians to the question: Are only a very select few called to engage in dialogue or is it a Christian imperative for all?  Herman Roborgh  explores ways to be a transforming presence in a milieu when the majority belong to another religion. Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad’s liberating views  open new windows on how education can provide personal and societal transformation. David Pinault provides insights into the sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims and the political interventions that aggravate the confrontation.   

Read, get inspired and discover a new way of being a Muslim or Christian!