'Peace Train' Event
in Bay Area
By Salley Mahe
The United Religions Initiative,
a global interfaith organization based in San Francisco,
and the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization hosted
an evening of interfaith hospitality and dialogue on January
23, 2004 at the Anubhuti Retreat Center in Bel Marin Keys,
Marin County called the Peace Train. The event was an
action in solidarity to support an historic bid for peace
undertaken by grassroots leaders of the United Religions
Initiative in India and Pakistan.
Above:Glimpses
of the Peace Train event |
At this Peace Train event
in Bay Area, Dr. Ahmad Faruqui, a defense analyst and
energy economist, based at University of California at
Davis and Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor a student of Mahatma Gandhi
and professor of Social Work at Fresno State, offered
perspectives on the current state of affairs between India
and Pakistan. Each spoke of the power of grassroots peace
initiatives. Speakers indicated that while governments
may remain intent on building up weapons, grassroots groups
in India and Pakistan, such as cricket players, movie-makers
and interfaith leaders, are choosing a different path
- one that relies on the buildup of mutual respect, friendship
and cooperation between Indians and Pakistanis. Forty
of thee community leaders, representing different faith
traditions in India will travel to Lahore, Pakistan in
March 2005.
When they arrive, URI Pakistani leaders from different
faiths will welcome them and together they will spend
three days in assembly with leaders from other Asian countries
sharing their practices for healing conflict and violence.
Half a world away from Pakistan, a diverse group of guests
joined this peace effort. They enjoyed a vegetarian meal
and engaged in focused conversation about significant
friendships that had surprised them and changed their
lives. Muslims, Hindus, Christians, business leaders,
elders, students, pastors and poets from the Bay Area
took time to build bridges of friendship among themselves
and they sent contributions, blessings and words of support
and solidarity to their brothers and sisters in India
and Pakistan 15,000 miles away.
