Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 144

PROGRAM Friday, December 4, 2009
9:30-11:00am INTRARELIGIOUS SESSION
Many Meanings of the Ramayana Srilata Krishnan Mangalam Vasan Room 101 Panel Discussion The great Indian epic the Ramayana is a living, evolving tradition. This program will explore different versions of the Ramayana, including the celebrated Tamil of the medieval poet Kamban and modern retellings which give a voice to unvoiced stories. The Ramayana narratives offer an open-ended space in which to reflect on and engage with issues as diverse as the environment, religious strife, gender and oppression of the marginalised as well as eternal themes of good and evil. The forest can be seen as a sacred and magical place that enables renewal and healing of the self. The Ramayana provides a vision for today of environmental crisis and the threat of climate change, understanding Sita's abduction as the abuse of Mother Earth. To dramatise this ecological interpretation and its ethical and spiritual dimensions, key episodes of the epic will be performed in classical Indian dance. Srilata Krishnan is Assistant Professor of English at the Indian Institute of Technology. Madras and a poet, fiction writer and translator. She has a PhD in literature from Hyderabad Central University. Her books include 'The Other Half of the Coconut: Women Writing Self-Respect History (Zubaanl. 'Rapids of a Great River. The Penguin Book of Tamil Poetry [Penguin) and 'Short Fiction from South India (OUP). Her academic interests now include theories of creativity, spirituality and literary traditions Mangalam Vasan teaches Hinduism in Glen Waverley and Box Hill Tamil Schools and the Shiva Vishnu Temple at Carrum Downs. She has participated in interreligious dialogues in various countries. A highlight of her participation in interreligious dialogues was at the Assembly of World Religions in San Francisco in 1990, when she was chosen to be part of the plenary speakers and congratulated by the chairman Rev Kwak on being an asset to the Assembly
sustainability principles, using as an example the Hindu four-fold path as described in the Purusharthas. The Purusharthas prescribe an experiential path, in obedience to dharma or duty, such that moksha or a state of complete self-awareness is achieved. The program will maintain that self-aclualisation may be considered an ideal state of sustainability. Dr Yamini Narayanan is a lecturer in the Politics and International Relations Program at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Her doctoral thesis investigated how urban sustainability may be grounded in religious wisdom, and her particular interest is in the rapidly developing megapolises of South Asia. Her primary research interests include exploring the connections between spirituality and sustainability, women and development, and creative adaptation to climate change, especially in South Asia. Alan Croker is an architect from Sydney and specialises in conservation and adaptive re-use. Craker has studied Hindu temples and traditions and been a student of Vedanta philosophy for more than twenty years. Alan has presented lectures and written articles on temples and iconography, and regularly visits South India to attend major temple festivals. Dr Kala Acharya is the director of the K J Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham. She has authored two books and edited several additional books. Acharya nas presented papers and organised interfaith dialogue seminars in India and abroad. She is a working group member of the Congress of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan
Adapting to Climate Change: How, and How Far? Miriam Pepper Will McGoldrick Tamasin Ramsay Room 103 Panel Discussion Climate change is no longer just an abstract concept. It is a reality that is negatively affecting many people around the world. Increased incidence of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves, sea level rise, increased food and water insecurity, and greater prevalence of tropical disease have all begun to have a devastating impact on many countries. Adaptation is essential to prevent further climate change. But how can communities adapt and how far should they go? What kind of local and international support is needed for affected communities? What is the role of spiritual practice in community resilience? What are the likely outcomes of the imminent Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and what are the implications for adaptation to climate change? This program will address these and other pressing questions.
The Divine Purpose of Life: The Hindu Journey Within Dr Yamini Narayanan Alan Croker Dr Kala Acharya Room 102 Panel Discussion This program will explore important aspects of the Hindu tradition. It will explain how, particularly in the Shaivite tradition, the traditional South Indian temple embodies a sacred journey from the mundane world to the sanctum within, and towards ultimate union with the Absolute. The program will also explore how religious transcendence and self-actualisation apply to sustainable development. In the question of sustainability there is the tension of reconciling want and need. Development planning and implementation strategies, to genuinely and affirmatively impact human life, need to be meaningful to all aspects of human reality, including the capacity for transcendence and self-actualisation. This program will attempt to make the connection between religious self-actualisation and
Miriam Pepper is secretary of the multifarth network the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, and a member of the Faith and Ecology Network. She is a founding member of Uniting Earthweb, and worships at Maroubra Junction Uniting Church in Sydney. She has a PhD examining Christianity and sustainable consumption Will McGoldrick is Policy and Research Manager at The Climate Institute. He specialises in environmental policy, with a particular interest in international climate change law. Current areas of research include international funding mechanisms for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the implications of WTO law for domestic climate policies. Tamasin Ramsay is an Endeavour Research Fellow 2008 and PhD candidate at Monash University. She is a qualified paramedic with a graduate degree in Medical Anthropology and has recently co-authored a report to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the impact of climate change. Her contribution addresses Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-Being
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