Pope should organise the much needed world religious summit, says Zed

Serious and honest interfaith dialogue was the need of the hour and Pope should take the lead in organising one, acclaimed Hindu leader Rajan Zed pointed out today.

In a statement issued in Nevada (USA), Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that His Holiness Pope Benedictus XVI Joseph A. Ratzinger, being the leader of the largest religious organisation of the world, should invite leaders of major world religions and denominations to Vatican and initiate the dialogue.

Religion was the most powerful, complex and far-reaching force in our society, so we must take it seriously. And we all knew that religion comprised much more than our own particular tradition/experience, Rajan Zed stressed.

After intensive deliberations, this meeting of world religious leaders should come up with a concrete plan about the common religious concerns like human improvement, peace, ecological responsibility, social & economic development, etc. Maybe this gathering could become an annual feature after that, he added.

Rajan Zed further says that in our shared pursuit for the truth, we can learn from one another and thus can arrive nearer to the truth. This dialogue may help us vanquish the stereotypes, prejudices, caricatures, etc., passed on to us from previous generations. As dialogue brings us reciprocal enrichment, we shall be spiritually richer than before the contact.

Pope Ratzinger heads the Roman Catholic Church, which is the largest of the Christian denominations. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion followers. Moksha is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.