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Editor's Note
The old cliché, “We are the citizens of the world” has never been so true as it is today. Swift air travel and the pervasive power of the internet have shrunk the distances—"the Far East” no longer seems far and mystifying. The rapidly accelerating rate of globalization in the 21st century has had far-reaching effects on the hearts and minds of people everywhere: a great sense of liberty has emerged, and a deep feeling of interconnectedness between all the beings of the world has been generated. However, in this rapidly changing world, these very same technological advances, and the ensuing hasty rise of industrialization also pose a new threat to ancient cultures by testing established moral values and reshaping the religious paradigms.
In this age of disappearing boundaries—nations becoming melting pots of a myriad of cultures—the validity of the ancient faith traditions, along with their myths and ethos, are facing countless challenges. Some people fear a cataclysmic end to the world or, at least, to the “world” as we know it. Some factions are outraged by the emerging patterns of world culture and by the reshaping of ancient ways of religion. The result: distrust, anger, hatred and animosity. The fiercest expression of this anger and distrust became most visible
