In 1999 I participated in the Parliament of the World’s Religions which was held that year in Cape Town, South Africa. Adorned by majestic mountains, it is a lovely city with a vibrant Waterfront with boating facilities and blessed with a citizenry that was courteous, helpful to visitors, and positive in its assessment of the country’s future. Much of what I experienced was pleasant, although visit to a black conclave brought to light large pockets of unfulfilled dreams and unhappy circumstances for a great many people there.
The conference took place at (what used to be) Technikon University. Some six thousand people attended the events of the PWR. Like the sumptuous buffet the program list offered an wide range of discussions and lectures. Not just time-honored prophets and traditions, but newer ones were also there, vying to guide a world hungry for spirituality.
I had one-to-one conversations for at least fifteen minutes – sometimes more – with twenty plus different representatives: From Ahmadis and Ahlul Bait members to Zen Buddhists and Zoroastrians, including Quakers, Sufis, Hare Krishṇas, Hassidic Jews, and other spiritual groups. Many were clad in colorful costumes, for robe plays a role for spokespersons of faith systems. A price one pays for all-inclusiveness is having to put up with some matters of only modest worth. Thus, I had rewarding moments of awakening. and I also heard pompous platitudes, prophesies of an imminent end of the world, methods of healing by incantations, and other such insights.
Some ardent religionists of a major tradition were protesting with placards that the PWR was inspired by Satan, since it was an insult to their own only God.
Every night there was a plenary session, and shows at the hall of the Good Hope Center which included: songs, dances, story-telling, poetry-reading, short speeches, proclamations, announcements, appeals, prayers and offers of gifts to the world. It was a sumptuous religious feast. The highlight was an inspiring speech by Nelson Mandela which received a thunderous applause. Another eminent leader honored by the PWR was the Dalai Lama.
The PWR also had sessions devoted to the responsibilities of science in our complex world. It was a privilege to have been an invited speaker in that session.
I was moved by the sincerity of the individuals who spoke and their devotion to respective traditions, though not impressed by the doctrinally filtered versions of benign messages. I kept wondering why so many denominational God-voices were necessary to persuade us to be kind and caring, compassionate and courteous to one another and be reverentially humble in the face of the Splendor that is Creation.
On day I took a trip with a friend to the Cape of Good Hope in whose vicinity the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic merge. I was reminded of Bartolomeu Dias who had described it as the Cape of Storms (Cabo des Tormentas). I saw the Cape Point lighthouse which had served mariners for centuries. We drove to a spot where flocks of African Penguins were basking near the warm waters.
At the Cape of Good Hope the thought occurred to me that religions are like flowers in a beautiful bouquet, even if some have thorns and do not always smell that good. Recalling my conversations, I wrote in my journal page the following lines on December 6, 1999:
UNIVERSAL REFLECTIONS
In striving to recognize the primacy of Fire and Light.
I feel kinship with my Zoroastrian sisters and brothers.
In striving to obey the Ten Commandments,
I feel kinship with my Jewish sisters and brothers.
In striving to be kind to neighbors and the needy,
I feel kinship with my Christian sisters and brothers.
In striving to be compassionate to creatures great and small,
I feel kinship with my Buddhist and Jaina sisters and brothers.
In striving to surrender myself completely to God Almighty,
I feel kinship with my Muslim sisters and brothers.
In the recognition that religious wisdom flows from the gurus,
I feel kinship with my Sikh sisters and brothers.
In the recognition that serving fellow humans should be the goal of religions,
I feel kinship with my Bahai sisters and brothers.
In my reverence for land and lakes, cloud and mountain
I feel kinship with my Amerindian sisters and brothers.
In feeling that these and more are all paths to the same Unfathomable Divinity,
I feel kinship with my Hindu sisters and brothers.
In my love and laughter, joy and pain,
I feel kinship with all my fellow humans.
In my need for nourishment and instinct to live on,
I feel kinship with all creatures on the planet.
In my spiritual ecstasy with this wondrous world,
I feel kinship with the Cosmic Whole.
Spurts of Thought 