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Surat Spiritual Declaration
Surat Spiritual Declaration was issued jointly by 15 spiritual leaders from different religions on 15th October, 2003 in the distinguished presence of H. E. President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam and H. H. Acharya Mahapragyaji at Surat during the latter's stay there is the course of his Ahimsa Yatra. The five garland projects mentioned therein are designed to promote inter-faith harmony and understanding, tolerance and cooperation. This would, in turn, help augment the harmonious adjustment and balance between spirituality, development, science and environment. This would also reinforce progressive and liberal outlook in the society. Apart from jointly celebrating festivals of different religions, it is imperative to work out such joint inter-faith cooperation as would enhance community fellow feeling, arrest environmental degradation, provide relief from natural disasters, upgrade public health standards and make available educational facilities on a wider scale. Alongside, it is also important to build strong public opinion for the eradication of retrogressive social practices and customs like the dowry system, killing of female embryo, rape and sexual abuse. Inter-faith understanding and cooperation would lend dynamism to such efforts and be instrumental in character building of the people. The inspiration of Ahimsa Yatra is an immortal poem by Ganadhipati Tulsi: Let restraint regulate life's many a desire, Let ethical values make our minds nobler.
Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner
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