WHY AN INTERFAITH DIALOG

• All lives including that of humans have coexistence, co-destiny and are interdependent.
• Without the support of so many people, the journey of my life and that of all of us will not be
• Even a hermit needs the support from

All  items of daily needs such as food, shelter , clothing, transportation, education, health care, amenities, protection, safety etc. are produced and provided by lots of people of different religious backgrounds, beliefs,       traditions, ethnicity, culture, accents, food habits  and clothing than that of mine. Without their support, my journey of life will be miserable.

• Even in my neighborhood where I live, my neighbors belong to different religions, beliefs, customs and
• We are so fortunate that USA is a melting pot of all these difference; actually it is a microcosm or replica of United
• Our Physicians come from many ethnic and religious backgrounds
• One can practically visit any High School in this country and find people of all these diversities.
• It is absolutely essential and necessary that we understand, appreciate and respect all these differences.
• Even our lawmakers in US House of Congress represent many of these
• In this 115th Congress there are  102 Congresswomen
• They represent many different heritage and these are
• African –Americans 22
• Latinos 12
• Middle Easterner 1
• Asians 6
• Native Americans 2

INTERFAITH  DIALOG MAY NOT BE THAT CRITICAL/URGENT IN

In mono-ethnic, and culturally cohesive countries such as

• Ireland
• Poland
• Japan

But in USA it is a MUST

Interfaith Dialog leads to

• Fun, respect, enhanced quality of life, peace, harmony, richness and many

DOs and  DONTs  IN INTERFAITH DIALOG

• Should genuinely and truly believe in interfaith dialog and its
• Must open our minds and
• Must open our windows of acceptance to diversity and let the breezes blow in from all direction.
• Never ever believe and practice that my way is the only way and all else is a

DOs and  DONTs  of   INTERFAITH DIALOG

• No one ever has a monopoly on brains and
• Absolute and total truth is
• Truth is never one sided or one dimensional. It is multi-
• Customs, traditions and beliefs change with time, place, geography and circumstances.

STEPS  TO A SUCCESSFUL INTERFAITH DIALOG

• No proselytizing, not even an intention of it, mentally, verbally and physically otherwise it is a killer and a non
• Read and study other traditions, cultures and
• Learn from many established successful such programs

•          When asked to speak or write, do so about the religion and traditions of others and not that of                      your own.

It will be fun.

STEPS  TO A SUCCESSFUL INTERFAITH DIALOG

• Let us breakdown all the walls that divide
• NO WALLS
• Show empathy and compassion to
• Pick up and plan some practical and doable projects to show that our talks and walks are
• If a dozen of us somehow end up on Moon, will we get bogged down there in the differences of religions and beliefs or will we all care, share, love and support each other ?

Let us make this world more peaceful and of coexistence.

“Water is the  same in all,

Only  utensils are of different colors.”

Saint Kabir  from India

Let us all Create USA like this