________________
SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA
L.M.: Right where we are.
S. SATCH: That's why I started the ecumenical worship service together with various clergymen some thirty years ago. And it started going—now, everybody, everywhere is doing it—no gathering is performed without having the ecumenical service. There is always some Christian clergy, Jewish rabbis, and Hindu monks together—so it slowly, slowly expanded.
L.M.: When was the first ecumenical service held?
S. SATCH: In the summer of 1953, in Sri Lanka.
L.M.: Why did you start it?
S. SATCH: We started on Guru Poorima Day, which is the full moon day in July-Guru Poorima is dedicated to the worship of one's own master. We were planning for the worship service, but I noticed that all of my friends are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus. Here I am as a Hindu, worshiping my guru, Swami Sivananda. But all these other people are helping me, and how would they feel?
L.M.: Would they feel included?
S. SATCH: So I thought, why not put up and show pictures of all the gurus and worship together? They were excited over that idea; and immediately, they brought thirty or forty pictures to put all over the platform. And then, we celebrated that day as an ecumenical service.
L.M.: That was the very first one.
S. SATCH: In 1953—and immediately, everybody wanted to do it; every month they started doing that all over Sri Lanka.
L.M.: You had not done it in India before this?
S. SATCH: No—and then I came to America in 1966, where I was surrounded by Christian monks, rabbis, Zen monks, and everybody. So we all
49
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
