Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 186

PROGRA
Saturday, December 5, 2009
9:30-11:00am INTRARELIGIOUS SESSION
INTRARELIGIOUS 9:30-11:00am
Climate Change as a Concern for Justice Dr Martin Kaplan Dr Benjamin Burber Plenary Hall Panel Discussion Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, explains the seven key points on climate justice that serve as the centerpiece of the Report on Guidelines for Climate Justice, recently released by the Global Humanitarian Forum. To cast the current debate on climate change in terms of justice is to identify both those most responsible for the current crisis and those who bear the brunt of its impact. The relevance and practicality of these key points have become the basis of a call for a global alliance of leading public figures and organizations of civil society advocating for a just response to climate change. The key role that religious and spiritual communities can play in supporting justice as a fundamental rubric for advocacy on climate change, and the practical ways in which these communities can connect international discussions with grassroots realities, will be explored.
Neeti Aryal Khanal is a Lecturer of Sociology at Tribhuvan University in Nepal. The Australian Leadership Awards Scholarship 2008 enabled her to study at Monash University. Her Master's thesis explores the motherhood experiences of women involved in armed conflict in Nepal. Apart from her research, Neeti is also passionate about issues of sustainability and religion, women and spirituality, women's development, and youth leadership. Pandit Gowrishankar Subramanian is a Vedic scholar with Master's degrees in Sanskrit, astrology, and bharata shastra with special research focus in the area of akasha tarka shastra (sound vibration energy). Pandit is the author of many research works relating to Vedas and Shastras. He has participated in many international conferences including the World Religious Congress for World Peace at Kazakhstan. He has addressed many international academic institutions including Oxford University and Cambridge University Dadhiram Khanal is principal of Hindu Vidyapeeth Nepal-Thali, a charity-based school in Nepal, which is working to promote values based education. He is a yoga teacher and practitioner who has shared yoga teaching with people of different nationalities and age groups. He is interested in issues of spiritual education for children, and in working for sustainable religious and cultural practices for the benefit of future generations.
Hindu Meditations for the Earth Swarnalata Rangarajan Neeti Aryal Khanal Pandit Gowrishankar Subramanian Dadhiram Khanal Room 101 Panel Discussion Hindu traditions contain powerful methods of meditation that can help us acquire a deeper and wider vision of our place in the cosmos and membership in the community of life. In this program, expert presenters will deal in detail with three different contemplative and ritual approaches that aim to heal our relationship with nature. These are: (1) Use of the Shri Chakra Yantra and other mandalas (diagrams which symbolise both the wholeness of the cosmos and of the human psychel; a 'mandalic consciousness' overcomes the illusion of ego-separateness and leads towards reintegration. (2) Receptivity to Cosmic Energy, which, as described in the Vedas and Shastras, is the force of the universe and of our lives; this force grows in us through self-control and right action. (3) Chanting and 'biocentric' ritual practices of multireligious Nepal, which carry a message of the sacramental value of nature and through worship of plants and animals demonstrate that humans are not superior to nature but a part of it.
Challenge of Shinto: An Approach to Living Together in Diversity Rev Munemichi Kurozumi Room 104 Shinto is the indigenous religious tradition of Japan, and thus the original form has no founder, no doctrine, and no sacred scripture, yet its tradition remains deeply rooted in Japanese society today. Rituals and ceremonies are regarded as important, centering around a deep sense of gratitude towards all kinds of blessings from the nature that sustains our existence. This lecture explains one of the main and essential aspects of Shinto and interprets the universality and openness of Shinto, which may possibly contribute to peace in the world. In the latter part of the lecture Rev Kurozumi introduces his concrete efforts of interreligious dialogue and cooperation for world peace that reflect Shinto's openness and broad-mindedness. Rev Munemichi Kurozumi was born as the first son of the present 6th Chief Patriarch of Kurozumikyo Shinta in 1962. In his capacity as the Vice Chief Patriarch, he has devoted himself to providing spiritual guidance to people within and outside his group, and has been energetically involved with various local, national and international initiatives. He has taken part in many interreligious gatherings and interfaith dialogues.
The Divine Feminine Mary-Faeth Chenery, Moderator Sr Joan Chittister Mother Maya Ven Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phyllis Curott Room 105 Panel Discussion Female divinity, or feminine aspects to the divine, can be found in many religious traditions. This interfaith panel, with speakers from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Pagan religious traditions, will offer thoughts and experiences from these traditions, as well as consider theological and social issues of gendering the divine. For
Swarnalatha Rangarajan is Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras, India. She is deeply interested in Ecosophy, Buddhism and Hinduism. She is editor of the Indian Journal of Ecocriticism and is currently working towards a novel with an econoetic focus.
182 PWR - Parliament of the World's Religions