FAITHS AND TRADITIONS
REPRESENTED IN CC: Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Dalits.
LOCATION OF CC:
Karickam in Kollam District.
KEY AREAS OF FOCUS:
Peace Building, Holy Books Conference, Publication of Books, Community
Development, Youth Development, Celebration of UN related programs etc.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Annie Thomas Susan
Abraham
Poonthottathil Mundackal
House
Karickam P.O Karickam
P.O
Kottarakara Kottarakara
Ph: 91 9048646462 Ph:
91 474 2454087
E-mail: ushabeny@gmail.com
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the current
religious/cultural/social context in the area where your CC is working?
Karickam is a village in
Kottarakara Taluk. Main communities are Christians and Hindus with a few
muslims sparcely located. There are a good numbers of Dalits also. We have all
the Christian denominations in the world
including Seventh Day Adventists, Salvation Army and Jehova witness. Fundamental Christians fight one
another on flimsy grounds and they create lot of unrest among Hindu and Muslim
communities due to their arrogant approach. There are several educational
institutions, churches and temples in our area. People belong to different
sections like farmers, business community, Government officials and so on. There is an Agricultural University and a ESI
Hospital also in this locality. Many women are employed in cashew factories as
labourers. A recent influx of workers form Orissa, Bengal, Nepal and Bangladesh
has created some issues in the social fabric.
2. Why is interfaith/intercultural bridge
building needed in the area where your CC works?
India is the only nation where majority are Hindus. Fundamentalists of
all religions usually create problems, which disturb the tranquility of the
people. Whenever there is some terrorist
attack in any part of India, it has its repercussions in our society also. So we have to be ever
vigilant and act as watchdogs of our freedom and peace.
There are numerous religions in India. But there are also numerous
denominations among them. Usually there occur conflicts between different
religions. URI can help to bring peace among them. Our activity can increase
co-operation among various communities.
We
celebrated U N Interfaith Harmony Week from February 1 to 7
with two major programs this year.
1. IFHW Proclamation Peace Procession: over 700
students, teachers and community leaders participated. Rev. Dr. Victor
Kazanjian, URI International Executive Director inaugurated the same, in the
presence of so many dignitaries by flying a pigeon. Our partner organizations
were All Kerala Balajana Sakhyam, Santhvanam Cancer Care Centre, Cosmic
Orchestra, Odanavattom, Chorus
Orchestra, Thrikkannamangala, Mar Thoma Girl’s High School, Kottarakkara etc.
Hundreds of people were watching the Peace March from both sides of the Main
Road. Students were carrying numerous posters declaring the evils of the war
and upholding the glory of peace. This has become a regular feature that the whole
community look forward to very year.
2. International Interfaith Conference on Holy
Books at Sri Lanka: We organized the 6th
International Interfaith
Conference on Holy Books at Colombo from 31st December to 4th
February, 2015. Over 125 delegates attended from different parts of the world.
Dr. A. T. Ariaratne (Magseyse Award Winner and Founder of Sri Lanka Sarvodaya
Movement inaugurated the same at a meeting presided over by Dr. Victor
Kazanjian, URI Executive Director. The theme was “Holy Books and Eco
Spirituality”. A book with all seminar papers were published and it was
released by Dr. Kazanjian during the inauguration. Dr. Vinay Ariaratne (Sri
Lanka) , Dr. Jinwol Lee (Korea), Ravi Kandage(Sri Lanka), Dr. Ian Fry
(Australia), Dr. Abu Taher and Dr. Abraham Karickam(India) spoke on the
occasion.
Participants given a warm
welcome by Galle CC, Sri Lanka
In the
past few months, our major activities were as follows:
(i)
Made arrangements for the URI South India –
Sri Lanka Zonal Assembly at Bangalore.
ii. Organized URI Youth Camp on the first May.
iii . Supported
Santhwanam CC for their Cancer Care and Palliative programs.
iv. Helped South India region to identify
seven school CCs for Youth Leadership Pilot program.
(v).Made
arrangements for IDP celebrations with programs like Peace Rally, Inter - school Painting Contest etc.
(vi). Made arrangements for the IInd South India Zonal
Assembly held on 13th
September at Karickam.
(vii). Made
arrangements for Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma Annual Lecture on 2nd
October and invited veteran URI leader Dr. A.T Ariyaratna from Sri Lanka for
the same.
Start of
the Peace Procession in connection with IFHW
Band
Group leading the Peace Procession from the front
Future
URI leaders shouting for peace
Valedictory
of the Holy Books Conference at Colombo.
Visit of Rev. Dr. Victor
Kazanjian:
Rev.Dr. Victor Kazanjian, URI
Executive Director visited Cosmic Community Centre Karickam on 27th
January . He also visited a few other CCs nearby. He inaugurated two new CCs,
Vettikavala and Thalavur.
Victor at URI Office, Karickam
4. Between which specific religions
or cultures are bridges being built?
Our programs are aimed at
building bridges among the four communities mentioned above. It is essential to
keep them under one umbrella so as to have a peaceful society. We are
contributing a great deal to build up Interfaith relations through the
activities of Alexander Mar Thoma Centre for Dialogue, which functions in our
area for the past 20 years. We have given a new orientation for interfaith
bridge building as this was the first dialogue centre ever created in the State
of Kerala.
5. Please explain the method or strategy that your CC uses to bring
together people of different cultures and faiths that would otherwise not interact
or cooperate with each other.
Our strategy is to promote
interfaith harmony through dialogical projects like the International Holy
Books Conference which attract a good number of scholars from different parts
of the world. Our publications also find large number of readers around the
world. Our contribution to theology and wider- ecumenism is recognized by all major
communities.
Our UN related activaties and
IFHW celebrations also bring together all sections of the society. Our TPA Training
Projects have helped in giving training to a large number of peace builders in
the past.
6. Given
the current context you described, what does your CC hope to achieve (goals)?
It is the aspiration of our CC
to become a catalyst for peace and harmony
in our area, so as to build up a society where all people live in peace.
We want to see every CC become an instrument for peace and justice so as to
give a taste of the kingdom of God upon this earth.
7. How do you see your CC’s work improving
cooperation among people of different traditions?
Our programs usually bring together large
number of people from all walks of life. URI has created a big impact in the
society, which is evident from the fact that Kerala Council of Churches sought our
help in promoting interfaith relations.
8. How is the work of your CC helping to
prevent religiously inspired violence or transforming conflict? (NOTE: This
question is relevant only in areas with violence/open conflict.)
We extended support to the URI
MI team to enter into an age old conflict between factions of the ancient
Indian church viz. Orthodox and Jacobites. We are still trying to find a way out for this
hundred year old war. People were fighting in the street and inside the
churches for many years and so many churches still remain closed due to the
conflict.
9. What are some observations or signs you see
that relations are improving between people of different faiths/cultures in the
area where your CC works?
People in our area have overcome
fear of the’ othe’r. They are willing now to promote all important activities
that help interfaith harmony. Many families come forward to host people of
different religions from different countries during our Holy Books Conference.
It is a beauty to see so many people open up their houses to strangers, in the
true URI spirit of hospitality.
Younger generation is motivated,
because we conduct Youth Leadership Programs at various levels (schools and
colleges) explaining the importance of peace and harmony.
10.
Please
share a specific short story about your CC’s work that might teach a lesson
about interfaith or inspire other CCs.
It was 12 years ago that we met
a few professors of Melbon University during an interfaith conference organized
by Melbon University in Australia. We invited them for a Holy Books Conference,
which resulted in the Intertextuality
Series of conference here in Kerala. We were also able to publish several books,
with all the papers presented during these seminars. The previous publication
was “Holy Books and Life after Life” edited by Dr. Karickam and Dr. Ruwan
Palapathwala. The recent one is “Holy Books and Eco-Spirituality” (Edited by
Dr. Abraham Karickam).
Testimonies of Colombo Holy Books Conference:
(i). Fr.O.Thomas (Orthdox Church in India):
It
was the first time that I attended a URI meeting outside India. It happened to
be in Sri Lanka, for the sixth International Holy Books Conference. The theme
of the conference was ‘Holy Books and Eco spirituality’ which is the most
relevant topic of the time. It was a fantastic experience to discuss such an
important matter with people of different faiths, hailing from different
countries.
There
were more than one hundred participants and they expressed their joy in one
voice and underlined the necessity to protect our earth. They proclaimed that
URI has a key role to play in the realization of this goal.
The
meeting was the best example of brothers and sisters coming from different
faith backgrounds and from different countries to live together and think
together. The URI banner was held high.
I am sure that this coming together is an accomplishment of what has been said
in chapter 13 of the Gospel of Saint Luke. It is a visible sign of the
establishment of God’s Kingdom. People from the East and The West, North and The
South sit around one table to glorify the Lord.
I am so grateful to URI and the organizers for
such a beautiful conference in Sri Lanka.
(ii) I Saw Without Qualms.
(Poem written by the famous
poetess Kottarakara Sudharma on her experience of the International Holy Books Conference
held at Colombo.)
It was beyond by expectations. I
am immerced in a new spirituality. It was a sudden realization that the Adwaita
comes true. I am a new person now being re- born in Sri Lanka, which is as
beautiful as Kerala. It would not have
been possible without URI, a God-given boon.
(iii). P.K.Ramachandran Vettikavala
The
Colombo Holy Books Conference to me was a Sri Lankan Holy (Famous Hindu
Festival). It was great to meet many people from different religions and
countries. I was taken to a vast world of new concepts especially regarding eco
– spirituality. Many people touched my heart including the Buddhist monk from
Korea (Jin Wol Lee), the Hindu sanyasi from Culcutta (Vrajapati), the Christian
Bishop from Sri Lanka (Kumara Ilanga Singa) and so on. I did not know how the
four days passed by. All praise to the Cosmic Community Centre, which organized
such a beautiful International event with meticulous planning. I am
strengthened and inspired to do interfaith work in my locality, especially in
developing a new spirituality centered on the healing of the earth, which is a
cardinal principle in the charter of URI.
11.
How is your CC’s work helping to achieve the
mission of URI?
12.
Within
your CC, you have members from several different faiths and cultural traditions.
How would you describe cooperation among your CC’s members? What are the
challenges?
Within our CC all members are happy to interact with one another. They
want to help foster excellent relationship among various communities. There is
no specific challenge as such, except cultural contradictions.
13.
How is
being part of URI helping your CC to achieve its goals?
URI is very supportive in all our projects. We would not have been
able to achieve so much with out the help and support of URI.
14.
Aside
from funding, what are some specific ways URI can better support your CC in
reaching its goals?
1. URI can support us by arranging exchange
programs, UN related activities, Dalit related projects etc.
2. If we can get some assistance, we can
furnish some guest rooms in the first floor of URI office, where most of our
guests can be accommodated. A toilet has to be constructed for this purpose. We
receive many guests every year from different parts of the world and later we
can develop this into a URI Youth Hostel, which
can be a model for all CCs around the world.
Compiled by T. G. Stephen and D. Sini (CC Liaison Staff)
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