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A Coalition of the world's Religions for Ecology, Distress-relief and Peace 71
defined by our hopes and aspirations also. That is why I speak to you of a coalition of hopes and aspirations, of gleams which have been fulfilled by a common endeavour. That is what is meant by a coalition. In parliaments of politics-- my friend, Mr. Homi Taleyarkhan, who introduced me is not only a distinguished statesman but also a man of the spirit of the quests of which I spoke -- shares my somewhat cynical attitude to politics. We are not cynical about anything except politics, because a coalition sometimes only becomes a marriage of convenience, a coalition can sometimes becomes the only thing for obtaining benefits of a kind which is not principled.
I am pleading for a sublime coalition of principles, of objectives, of programmes which would enable us to remain togather. In my view as long as religion remains a source of conflict and disharmony, and continue to divide us all, as long as the narrow walls of dead habits continue to defile our souls, we cannot realise the meaning of religion. Religion, after all, has a nobler purpose, a noble contribution to man. In Mr. Pandya's presence here, I will recall the message of the founder of the mission Pt. Shriram Sharma, who said that the voice of mankind on earth is the voice of the fulfilment of god's mandate to man. That mandate to man is to realise the fulfilment of the spirit's noble endeavour for specific purposes. What are those purposes of which I speak? I speak not of the coalition of politics. I speak not of the coalition of military and defence strategies, I speak of the coalition of human ideals. I speak of the coalition of our endeavours which are consecrated for the purpose of making religion more relevant to the spirit of the age. Religion has a relevance which is not given to it by us but which is given to it because of a long tradition of human culture. But we sometime stay away from its relevance and religion is sometime left to be an empty shell. We must pour into it the content of humanity. We must pour into religion the content, the meaning of service of sharing and caring and this we can do if we have an agenda for action and if we have an institutional vehicle. This we can do if we forge a coalition for some of the basic concerns of human kind today. What are the basic concerns of a man today? I have chosen three concerns to be underlined. There are many others. But a minimum agenda, a modest agenda may be the beginning of a mighty movement. As you know some of the mightiest rivers may have most modest origins. I suggest and not
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