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Faith meeting takes on global beliefs, religion
More articles on this topic: Parliament of the World\'s ReligionsBARCELONA, Spain – In a quiet room, spiritual leader Hum Bui and his followers, women dressed in sky-blue tunics with cone-shaped head scarves, enlighten a mesmerized crowd about their Vietnamese faith.
Their founder established the CaoDai movement in 1926 to deliver a message: “There are many religions, but all religions are one, have one origin, one principle.”
In a chaotic conference hall downstairs, where about 7,000 people mill about, Ayatollah Hahdi Tehrani, an Iranian cleric from the holy Shiite city of Qom, is holding his own seminar. “There is a difference between movements and cults, and real religions such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism,” he said. “It is up to those from bona fide faiths to guide the misguided.”
Such is the debate – and paradox – on display here at the weeklong Parliament of the World’s Religions that ends Tuesday. The assembly is attended by representatives of the major faiths and other spiritual movements, some of which have emerged only in the past 30 years.
The parliament – where bearded Sikhs hand out free lunches of curried chickpeas and rice, and hand-holding is plentiful among Buddhists, Muslims and Christians – appears to be in perfect harmony.
But underlying the touchy-feely atmosphere is a search to define a true faith. From sunup to sundown, mullahs, cardinals, gurus and cult followers are asking: What is religion? For the free-spirited, represented in great numbers, the answer is a matter of semantics.
No matter what the term – “faith” or “movement” or “path” – everyone has the right to call their beliefs “religion,” the participants say. And for many, that can produce a wide range of definitions.
Dadi Janki quickly became known as the “cookie guru” for handing out sweets at the parliament. Her followers, some dressed in white saris, said the treats, made with “love and peace,” are in keeping with an ancient Indian tradition to spread goodwill. Dadi Janki, who prefers to be called a spiritual guide, is a leader in the Brahma Kumaris, a movement based in Mount Abu in northwestern India.
“We say religion is two things,” said Sister Jayanti, one follower. “It is our connection to God and religion also shows us how to live.”
There are also gurus whose ideas are represented through their admirers.
Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, known simply as “Ma,” sent about 60 devotees to spread the word about her Kashi Foundation, an interfaith movement with Hindu roots that has ashrams in U.S. cities.
Ma’s followers, who meditate and perform yoga together every day, don’t consider their movement a “religion,” or even a movement that follows a holy book. “We’re a spiritual group,” said Sita Grange, the foundation’s public-relations director.
The search for meaning in an increasingly unstable world is the reason many parliament participants gave for their spiritual journey. Many flocked to New Age spiritual guides for answers.
Deepak Chopra, the author of 29 books who has made the transformation from a holistic health expert to an Eastern guru, drew a packed audience. With his closing remark, “When we heal the rift in our collective soul … we will be filled with love,” the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
For Chopra’s admirers – including actress Demi Moore and the Dalai Lama – his charm lies in his disdain for traditional religion, which he described as “idiotic” at the parliament.
“He offers us hope in a world that is chaotic and out of control,” said 21-year-old Ryan McEntee of Ogden, Utah, who came to hear Chopra.
The big attraction to non-conventional and non-Western religions is not new to the Parliament of the World’s Religions. In fact, when the first parliament was established in 1893, one of its goals was to open its doors to non-Western traditions.
Hans Kung, a Swiss Catholic theologian who is president of the Global Ethic Foundation in Tubingen, Germany, said the parliament should accept all organizations that consider themselves religious communities. “You can’t say this religion is real and this one is false,” he said. “Religion is a personal thing.”
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