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which can become practical through the action plan of Surat Spiritual Declaration signed by religious leaders.
The action plan of "Surat Spiritual Declaration" was formulated under the auspicious presence of H.H. Ācārya Mahāprajña, the spiritual leader of Jain community at Surat on !5th October 2003 on the birthday of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam the Ex. President of India. "Unity of Minds" was established in the Surat Declaration in the auspicious presence of 22 different religious leaders. The SSD Action plan envisages Five Garland Projects. The emphasis of five projects were (i) celebration of inter-religious festivals, (ii) multi-religious projects, (iii) health care and employment, (iv) imbibing value-based education in schools and (v) encouraging interfaith dialogue among religious/spiritual heads, In order to pursue the above in a sustained manner and to co-ordinate all activities, a national level independent and autonomous organization was set up, duly managed by religious/spiritual leaders as well as scholars and enlightened citizens. This organization was named "Foundation for Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship" (FUREC) and it was launched by the President Dr. A.P.J. Abdual Kalam on the birthday of H.H. Ācārya Mahāprajña, the 15th June 2004 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. FUREC functions, at three levels of Human Existence. (a) At the level of the individual, it seeks to develop a common agenda for the development of a violence free individual or the Enlightened Citizen; (b) at the level of society, it seeks to eradicate poverty through economic upliftment, harnessing the teachings of spirituality; (c) at the collective level, it seeks to bring about better understanding between the different faiths/religions and bring about amity between them. Understanding of different religions, cultures and value systems can also help significantly in cultivating respect and tolerance and scope for inter-cultural dialogue.
For Jainism, role of religion is to unite all through love - and respect for one another. We must also work for the survival
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