Spirituality Beyond Religions Conference

Spirituality Beyond Religions

"It is only an intense
rejuvenation of the spirit
of our culture that can
give us the true vision of
our societal life and a
fruitful direction to all our
efforts in solving the
innumerable problems
confronting our society
today“ -- Guruji

We are all related!

215.639.7322
i nfo @i ccsus.org

Spirituality Beyond Religion: What does
that mean? It means to enter a realm of
spirituality that connects you with God,
with your fellow living beings, with the
environment, with the earth and the
universe. A level of spirituality that is
beyond a mere dogma that counts its
profits in terms of converts, and a
spirituality that directs one to see the
true unity between all of us, and
provides a respect for all traditions
whose goals are the same as those
listed above, in whatever form they may
be.

In this way, my point is that spirituality existed before it became
codified. So if the major religions we find today are primarily based on
the idea of adhering to a codified or organized dogma, and then trying
to push it on everyone else as much as possible as if it is the one and
only way to some kind of salvation, while taking only a secondary
consideration for a person’s genuine spiritual development, then let
those religions go back to the devil and let us utilize our right to
practice a genuine form of spiritual development that unites us rather
than divides us. Those paths that can bring forth genuine spiritual
experiences are beyond the limitations of time and space, or the label
or name of any one particular religion. Such spiritual paths that can
bring a universal spiritual realization of the Absolute Truth also invoke
the perception of the same divinity embodied in everyone. This is what
the world needs today. Instead of dividing us into various forms of
“sinners” or “saved”, or various religions, subsects or ethnic groups, we
need a spirituality that connects us with each other, with the universe,
the world and the environment, and to see that it is all a part of the
Divine.

I personally am of the contention that it is not enough to merely respect
each other’s spiritual path, but if we go back to a time before the world was
interrupted by the major monotheistic religions of today, we can go back to
seeing the real similarities that existed within all of the indigenous traditions
and cultures of the world. We can see how they are like branches of the same
tree of spiritual truth, called in Sanskrit as Santana-dharma. Thus, Sanatana-
dharma is not a part of every religion, but every genuine religion is a part of
Sanatana-dharma. Therefore, more than merely respecting each other, by
looking at the roots of the indigenous cultures around the world and
recognizing their similarities, we can see that we are like each other’s
brothers and sisters, sharing the same roots and principles of spiritual
purpose. Thus, there is no reason to work for converting each other from one
path to another. There is only the organic and natural progress from one
level of understanding to a deeper level. In this way, we are not divided into
those who are sinners and saved, or those going to heaven and those going
to hell. We, meaning those of us who are sincere, are all working for similar
goals of spiritual understanding, and can give each other the respect and
encouragement to continue on the road of spiritual progress and
development, and even gain insight by sharing the similarities that exist
between us and the cultures from around the world. It is indeed “Spirituality
Beyond Religion”, which I feel needs to be the way of the future if we are
really going to have peace in the world, since most of the violence, war and
terrorism on the planet today is due to the superficially perceived religious
differences.

There is a joke that says, God gave us genuine spirituality for all humanity. But then the devil came along and organized
it and called it religion.

This is one of the reasons why there was a recent conference
by the name “Spirituality Beyond Religion” in Jaipur in
February of 2006, by the World Council of the Elders in
partnership with the World Council of Ethnic Religions based
in Europe. These elders are those who still participate in a
variety of the world’s oldest cultures, traditions and
indigenous spiritual paths. There are presently over 750
members of the World Council representing more than 75
different cultures from over 60 countries worldwide. This
conference was sponsored by the International Center for
Cultural Studies (www.iccsus.org) in India and the U.S.

organizational abilities. Plus, for me it
is always a happy occasion to see so
many old friends that I have met before
in my travels through India or at other
conferences that we have attended. It
is always a time to catch up with their
activities and reflect on the progress
that has been made or yet needs to be
accomplished for the upliftment of
Dharma in the world. So it is wonderful
to see familiar faces but to also make
new friends who may be from different
parts of the planet, yet who share the
same concerns. Thus, we leave the
conference with a positive feeling that
our family of concerned and active
friends is certainly growing. So I
encourage everyone to investigate
further the activities of the ICCS and
become a part of it.

From the ICCS there were many volunteers who did an excellent job in assisting the attendees. Especially my friend
Yashwant Pathak, a key person in the ICCS and another member of the Vedic Friends Association, who is a dynamo in

The conference was a grand success with delegates from 33 different countries coming together to share and respect
their spiritual and cultural similarities. These countries included: 1. Australia, 2. Bangladesh, 3. Belgium, 4. Bhutan, 5.
Canada, 6. Costa Rica, 7. El Salvador, 8. France, 9. Germany, 10. Ghana, 11. Guatemala, 12. Guyana, 13. India, 14.
Indonesia, 15. Israel, 16. Kenya, 17. Latvia, 18. Lithuania, 19. Malaysia, 20. Mauritius, 21. Mynmar, 22. Nepal, 23.
Poland, 24. Scotland, 25. South Africa, 26. Sri Lanka, 27. St. Lucia, 28. Suriname, 29. Sweden, 30. Switzerland, 31.
Trinidad and Tobago, 32. Ukraine, and 33. USA.

Now you may ask, how could people from so many different countries and cultures get together and cooperate so well if
they had focused on religious differences rather than reasons for uniting? The point is that by understanding our
spiritual similarities, I can say that we naturally felt like brothers and sisters that were coming together again after
hundreds of years of being separated, mostly because of the damage that has been done by dogmatic views in
monotheistic faiths. However, now we were able to be free to gather with the elders of all of the old cultures and see
how they are rising in numbers as the world is increasing its interest in the old and indigenous ways. It was a great
celebration! After all, many of these ancient cultures and traditions of the world have survived only by their own inner
strength in spite of the massive efforts that invaders have used to try to eliminate these wonderful customs or convert
them all into another religion.

While we were there, we acknowledged and recognized such things as:

The spiritual experiences of the elders in different traditions.
The rituals and purpose of the expressions of the ancient customs.
Roles of the individuals seeking higher understanding.
The inter-relations of spiritual experiences of different cultures.
Incorporation of the ancient spiritual values in modern life.
Using the holistic approaches that are found in the indigenous traditions for solving modern problems.
The similarities in symbolism of the various ancient cultures.

Many of us roomed at the OTS campus where the conference was held. The typical daily schedule was to have an
early Indian style breakfast. All meals were great vegetarian food. This was followed by being bused to the Jawahar
Kala Kendra cultural center for morning ceremonies and rituals performed by various delegates from a few of the
different cultures. Then back the OTS campus for a keynote address by a noted personality. Then a few hours of
lectures and talks on various topics by some of the delegates. Then a delicious vegetarian lunch, followed by another
four hours of interesting and sometimes controversial talks and lectures, sometimes on the ways of the ancient spiritual
paths, and sometimes others on how to maintain the freedom to practice the old ways. By six PM there would be a yoga
and meditation session by one of the noted teachers who were attending the conference. Then there would be another
great multi-course vegetarian dinner with numerous Indian preparations, after which we would be bused to the Jawahar
Kala Kendra for evening cultural programs. These were often put on with the help of the Rajasthani Tourist Department
and provided an assortment of folk dancers and singers from various parts of Rajasthan. These were most entertaining
and the dancers would always amaze the audience by their moves and colorful clothes.

Not all days were alike. On some days we went out on field trips that included visiting schools in the area to show the
students the similarities they could share with other cultures of the world. We also went for a visit to the Jaipur Sanskrit
college, and later a tour of the beautiful and elaborate Amber Palace. One evening we had dinner, an extravagant
buffet, in the attractive and royal Sisodia Rani Gardens, while Rajasthani folks dancers performed on a central stage in
the grounds. The whole five-day conference was not only an opportunity to interact with other elders of the old
traditions, but also to experience various aspects of Indian culture that the usual tourist would never be able to witness
without special arrangements. So we all felt especially privileged to have been a part of this conference.

Also from this conference was developed the noble intentions of the “Spirituality Beyond Religions Manifesto”, an
extract of which follows:

As we emerge in the new millennia, let all societies following the ancient polytheistic religions and traditions
come together. Let all those of us who acknowledge diversity of faiths as the base of the human spiritual path,
who are committed to interfaith acceptance and who desire to practice the principle of live and let live, come
together for a common endeavor to propagate these very basic needs of the human society. Let us pledge:

We, who worship the divine, are committed to follow the path of true “Spirituality Beyond Religions”. All of us
shall strive to honor the diverse spiritual and nature worship traditions that uphold the dignity of human beings,
transcending the barriers of language, race, caste, creed, color, economic status and technological
developments.

This congregation considers any type of religious and/or dogmatic conversations to be a travesty of truth and
defying the very basic urge of spirituality. We commit ourselves to help fellow beings and societies who have
been swept away, oppressed or converted to other faiths while under duress, to come back to their own ancient
faiths and follow the religious practices that enhance peaceful co-existence.

In today’s enlightened world, use of the terms such as “kafir”, “followers of heathenish faiths”, “devil’s emissaries”,
etc., while referring to non-believers, has to be regarded as not only anti-democratic and utterly insensitive, but
also dogmatic and anti-humanitarian and a great sin in the moral sense. Damning a human being or a society
in such manner goes against the philosophy of tolerance and dignity of human beings.

This gathering undertakes the task of upholding ancient spiritual traditions and will devote all its energies and
resources to help those individuals and societies to bring back in practice, resurrect and re-enact the ancient
spiritual traditions which would enhance mutual understanding at a global level.

We all sincerely pray to the Divine to:

1. Bestow on us the life of peace, prosperity, freedom and amicable living.

2. Let the crookedness and hate and anger in the minds of fellow human beings vanish.

3. Give us the strength of mind and body to work for making our Mother Earth as Your abode of peace, divinity and
sublime love.

Metakuye Oyasin (We are all related), Til Ars Ok Fridar (Prosperity and peace for years).

Accepted and signed by 250 delegates from 42 different countries, February 10th, 2006

Here are more photos in the galleries that can be seen, courtesy of participant Jonas Marozas.

http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=380148
http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=168041
http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=231833
http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=303892
http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=946583
http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=463304
http://www.picpile.com/gallery.php?id=343754

Delegates from 33 countries participate in the "Spirituality Beyond Religion" conference inauguration parade in Jaipur.



	International Center for Cultural Studies, USA


			The Concept and the Conference By Stephen Knapp