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This calls for an imaginative ground plan of creative engagement and cooperation between different religions and faiths. The aim should be to change the inner orientation, value-system and the whole mentality of the people at individual as well as community levels through a commonly agreed inter-faith plan of action. It is time to sink religious differences and defuse religious confrontation to save the universe. The dismal world scenario
There has been astounding scientific and technological progress and giant strides towards undreamt of material, comforts and luxuries. And yet the world remains divided between the few rich in the lap of wastefully extravagant luxuries and billions of poor in wrenching poverty, injustice, malnutrition and deprivation. Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO has
observed.
"Three planets Earth would be necessary for the whole of the world population to reach North American Consumption levels.
Hence the challenge is to build a sharing society based on justice and equality and a planetary society based on mutually sustaining partnership between all living beings and nature's resource base.
Despite progress in multilateralism symbolized in United Nations and its specialized International Agencies, even though no world war has taken place in the second half of the 20th century, local armed conflicts have raged all over the world and terrorism has emerged as the worst incarnation of the cult of violence. It is a glaringly ironical contrast that while the world community is spending US$700-800 billion on military expenditure, developing countries are denied even US$ 40 billion to achieve universal access to basic education, adequate nutrition, needed drinking water and elementary sanitary and health infrastructure.
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Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner
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