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Śramana, Vol. 61, No. 3 July-September 10
A HARMONIOUS WORLD ORDER THROUGH INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: THE JAINA VIEW AND INDIAN EXPERIENCE
Kamlesh Datta Tripathi*
[Today, the prevailing philosophy of unabated consumerism, the disintegration of traditional values, and the rampant growth of materialism has put a common challenge to all religions of the world. It has questioned the very existence of religions and their utility. In this article the author has presented Interfaith-dialogue as tool for dissolving differences and restoration of the spiritual values in human life. Interfaith dialogue which is an art of communication at a deeper level, enables us to make a space for others for joining hands on the ultimate journey washing out one's all prejudices and develops spirit of oneness. Differences are mainly due to holding partial truth ultimate for the whole truth which Jainism suggests to dissolve through Anekāntavāda and Syādvāda. ]
The world's prevailing conditions do not appear to be encouraging for establishing a dialogue between the cultures i.e. Eastern and Western. One fact of our age is the confrontation between different cultures and different religions. There used to be a time when religions ran along parallels tracks without much influence on one another. Today they have been thrust together. Varying degrees of lack of trust between religions can easily be seen in various regions of the world.
Yet, there is another aspect of the present-day world. The advancement of technology, powerful media, and instant communication- all this has offered a unique opportunity for interaction * Professor Emeritus, Deptt. of Religious and Agamic Studies, B.H.U., Varanasi.
