KAILASA Om Awards conferred to religious leaders, from six countries on occasion of the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2022

With the Blessings of the Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism (SPH) Jagatguru Mahasannidhanam (JGM) His Divine Holiness (HDH) Bhagavan Nithyananda Paramashivam, SHRIKAILASA’s Global Conclave on the occasion of the World Interfaith Harmony Week, was hosted on February 7, 2022, by the Sovereign State of SHRIKAILASA®, in collaboration with the Department of Religion and Worship, and SHRIKAILASA® Uniting Nations for Global Peace & Religious Harmony, to enhance mutual understanding, harmony, peace and coexistence among people of all faiths, religions and cultures.

This year’s theme revolved around “Building Bridges Across Boundaries”, with the aim to build a path to Sustainable Development through interfaith harmony and peace. Ten (10) prominent religious and spiritual leaders from various faiths, religions and cultures, from across six (6) countries, were conferred  the KAILASA® Om Award: Dharma Jyoti Religion and Worship Award, for their success and contribution in building bridges across faiths, communities and worldwide. For the first time, the KAILASA’s Dharma Jyoti Religion and Worship Award was conferred to those considered to be ‘Jyotis’ or Lamps of Society – distinguished individuals who have demonstrated true compassion and commitment to humanity by using their life in service to others through Religion and Worship.

The list of the religious and spiritual leaders who received the KAILASA’s Dharma Jyoti Religion and Worship Award were:

• Grand Master Fabio Venzi, the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, Italy

• Bishop Dalton J. Harding, Secretary of Calgary Interfaith Council, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Canada

• Sister Uma Deonath, coordinator of the Sangre Grande branch, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization, Trinidad and Tobago

• Father Brian McWeeney, Doctorate in Ministry, Director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, President of the Dutchess County Interfaith Council, United States

• Reverend Ms. Hyepin Im, President and Founder of Faith and Community Empowerment (FACE), United States

• Pundit Sunil Seetahal Maharaj, Head and spiritual leader of the Ganesh Utsav Foundation Trinidad and Tobago

• Reverend Jambo Mulla Antero, Bishop of Christ Church of Nakasongola, South Sudan

• Dr. Murali Krishna Bhuvanagiri (Sarmaaji), Founder and Head Priest for “Sankaramatam Vedic Academy” North Carolina, United States

• Ven Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana, Principal of the Buddhist Institute Sunday Dhamma School (BISDS) in Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields, Founder & Spiritual advisor of the Ti-Ratana Welfare Society and Ti-Ratana Buddhist Society, Advisor of Sri Subhodharama Kaluwachchimulla, Kuliyapitiya, Malaysia

• Sri Raksh Joshi, Chairman for Jagran Society of Calgary, Alberta and Chairman for the Hindu Society of Beaumont, Canada

Esteemed Dharma Jyoti Religion and Worship Award recipients who attended the live award ceremony extended live greetings and reverence to The SPH Bhagavan Nithyananda Paramashivam and shared their valuable insights:

Grand Master Fabio Venzi shared the importance of the concept of brotherhood among men and coexistence among faiths, adding that, in order to achieve harmony among various religions, it is first of all necessary to learn about religions other than one’s own.

Bishop Dalton J. Harding emphasized that humanity needs to understand the risk and damaging influence of polarization, ethno-centrism and extremism and the importance of cultivating the desire to share and learn from each other.

Sister Uma Deonath emphasized on the importance of spiritual awakening of all human beings for humanity to enjoy peace, love and harmony.

Father Brian McWeeney shared about the importance of being part of an ongoing dialogue based on the foundation of friendship in order to achieve the reality of unity in diversity.

Reverend Ms. Hyepin Im shared about the importance for religious leaders to be present in decision-making rooms and to partner with various other faith communities.

Pundit Sunil Seetahal Maharaj shared about the importance of learning to become good human beings beyond religious identity and of serving others, as “service to God is service to man and when man becomes happy, God becomes happy.”

Reverend Jambo Mulla Antero emphasized that, as violence continues to be committed worldwide in the name of religion, the need for interfaith and interreligious relationships has never been more urgent.

Dr. Murali Krishna Bhuvanagiri (Sarmaaji) shared on the importance of understanding the faith, the religious dharma rather than blindly following it.

Sri Raksh Joshi shared how, in a world where all countries are connected to an unprecedented extent, peace and harmony are necessary for a peaceful and stable society.

A special tribute was also paid to two (2) most honorable religious leaders posthumously; the Late Thich Naht Hanh (1926 – 2022) and the Late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu (1931 – 2021), for their invaluable contributions to the betterment of humanity through their interfaith and peacebuilding initiatives.

The online conclave, which had thousands of viewership, was a great success and positive messages from the international community were pouring in via the social media platforms.

The global conclave and the award ceremony concluded with a live presidential address from The SPH Bhagavan Nithyananda Paramashivam, who opened His address by declaring that: “We are all in a situation where religious harmony is not luxury, it is a survival need.”

The SPH continued by sharing that it is the religious leaders – peace-lovers who care for the continuity of humanity – who need to decide to not only maintain interfaith harmony, but to keep our planet Earth safe, alive and peaceful for our next generations. The SPH emphasized that it is religious leaders who need to take the responsibility to help our future generations regain trust in religion in order to build a sustainable future for all. To achieve that goal, the SPH encouraged all religious and spiritual leaders and influencers, “the People of books, the People of God, the People of faith, the People of robes” to unite and to actively work together with an open and transparent agenda.

The SPH also explained that by creating such a network, we will 1) be peaceful with absolute certainty about ourselves, our life and our future, 2) gain the faith and trust of the youth, which is currently turning into atheists, materialists and anti religious at an alarming speed, and 3) we will save planet Earth and humanity, the only home human beings have.

“The strength of our vision is our real asset, the power of our integrity to our vision, the faith we carry towards our agendas, our vision, that is our real asset. With that surely we can save the planet Earth together for the next generation.”

Watch the KAILASA® Om Award: Dharma Jyoti Religion and Worship Award ceremony and the Presidential address:

KAILASA® Om Award: Dharma Jyoti Religion and Worship Award ceremony: https://youtu.be/Hijc4iMhn-Q
Presidential address from The SPH Bhagavan Nithyananda Paramashivam: https://youtu.be/uZacDeukyiw

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