2nd June 2017
In the 21st century, as the world touches new heights of success in technological developments and scientific knowledge, religious beliefs and practices have come under intense scrutiny. Among many other things, religions have often been blamed for the subjugation of and discrimination and violence against women.
Yet there is a fair number of scholars/clerics in almost every major religious community who argue that religions do not discriminate against women – rather, if interpreted properly, they have the potential of empowering them. Therefore, we picked “Role of Religions in Empowering Women” as the theme of this year’s event.
Prominent faith leaders from seven religious communities, namely Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jewish, Jain and Baha’i as well as renowned women rights activists and young research scholars addressed an august gathering of over 125 people. Some of the notable speakers at the event were Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research; Paramjit Singh Chandhok, Chairman, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib; Swami Prakarshananda, Acharya, Chinmaya Mission (Delhi); and Qamar Agha, senior journalist and commentator.
A video message by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen in which he shares his views on women’s rights was also played at the event.
Separately, in the spirit of unity and brotherhood that events like this symbolise, a message from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to Muslims for the month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr was read out by Father Victor Edwin who is a lecturer at Vidyajyoti College of Theology, New Delhi. Manu Singh (chairman SDS) delivered the vote of thanks.
18th August 2017
“Revisiting the roots'' was organised by the People’s Club at Rastaa Cafe in Green Park, Delhi. Mr Manu Singh was the chief speaker at the event. All the participants took turns and spoke about their relationship to their culture, what has driven them away from it or close to it, how a change of place had altered their lifestyle, any memory that they have of their childhood, grandma's home remedy, food, and music. Mr Manu Singh highlighted how our thought processes and our lifestyle revolve around our belief system and how culture has an influence on it.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” We imbibe the culture, religion, and ethnicity we are born into, and we imbibe the different cultures we come across. Individuals shape the culture of a community or nation and vice versa. In the session, Mr Manu Singh discussed how the culture of a nation changes over time and what have been the major factors that have shaped the change and role of civil religion in India particularly.
20th August 2017
In collaboration with Mash, Sarva Dharma Samvaad organized a youth leadership training program. Participants from across the country engaged in the learning experience, a concoction of many spheres from spirituality to society. The session was intense and comprehensive, Mr Manu Singh used various techniques to demonstrate the qualities of exemplary leadership. He focused on the points that are vital in becoming a competent leader. He emphasised the fact that our inner conflict manifests itself in our outer world and in order to bring a change without how important it is to bring a change within. He then slowly took the participant's attention towards the process of becoming inwardly aware of oneself and the session left most of our participants awestruck. The amalgamation of all aspects of our life made the session holistic and helped the participants extensively comprehend the entire dynamics of inward and outward synchronicity of our lives and thus others.
Sessions like youth leadership training programs actively promote taking responsibility for changes in the community and train them to take up challenges while providing them with the essential tools to deal with various ills of society. It empowers them to initiate developmental projects and take accountability for becoming the change-makers of the community.
The session was divided into two parts, the second part of the session was mainly reserved for Q and A. There were some intriguing questions that were asked by the participants. The event concluded an hour later than its scheduled time, because a series of conversations followed one after the other, making the evening an enlightening and enthralling experience for all.
19th August 2017
Mr Manu Singh was invited by United Religion Initiatives(URI) to conduct an activity-based session on interfaith and conflict management training.
The session was held at Govind Sadan, Chattarpur, Delhi.
The participants were community heads of URI from across India, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka.
Various techniques were used to explain the process of minimizing the negative repercussions of conflict and enhancing its effectiveness. Such sessions on conflict management underline the importance of Interfaith peace dialogues and identify the key challenges and opportunities associated with conflict and peacemaking. In a general perspective, religion is often considered the pivot of conflict through dialogue between faith communities revel that religion is not the centre of friction. In addition, a dialogue-based approach can help in understanding and reconciliation. The participants from different faiths conjoined to come to a similar resolution with differences only in approach. Some parts of different scriptures were also discussed, it was amusing to find so many similarities in all the readings, it seemed like all religions and their scriptures are different shadows of the same thing.
The feedback after the session was overwhelming, long discussions continued even when the session was formally over and participants from different ethnicities contributed different perspectives and challenges they went through.
13th October 2017
19 districts of North Bihar were affected by the 2017 flood, lakhs of people lost their homes and hundreds lost their lives. The flood caused by the torrential rain near the Himalayas broke many previous records. Heavy rain in the northern region, or in the south of Nepal floods the Ganga and its many tributaries that cross through the entire state of Bihar.
Sarva Dharma Samvaad contributed to the post-flood relief camp in Bihar in collaboration with United Religion Initiative. Our team was sent to the devastated areas and not only did we contribute monetarily, but spent time with the locals and tried our best to provide them with emotional support as well. Children and Senior Citizens needed extra assistance with the sudden change and it took some time for them to fully comprehend the situation.
There were a lot of medical emergencies that needed immediate attention and once our team reached the spot, we realized there was so much to be done, we had anticipated little of the chaos and the havoc it had caused. Though the government organizations were doing their best it wasn’t enough, in situations like these it never is sufficient.
Over 8.5 lakh people lost their homes and many lost their lives. The District of Araria accounted for 95 deaths alone.
Our volunteers reported back to us every few hours and we were making all ends meet to help them remotely.
We distributed food packets, blankets, clothes and medicines. Many of our volunteers remained in contact with the villagers even after the situation was under control.
18th March 2017
In collaboration with Unity Earth and United Religion Initiative, Sarva Dharma Samvaad initiated an Interfaith Training Program for youth leaders from across the country. Mr Manu Singh was one of the co-speakers and the chief trainer of the session.
During the session, his techniques and style were unique, he has a holistic and comprehensive approach, which is admired by the participants and helps them understand and comprehend the true meaning of spiritual leadership. His experience and the amount of time with Interfaith Training Programs give him an edge over others. He understands the perspective of Young leaders and supports their vision while ensuring that in the process of training the individuals, they do not forget or leave behind that which is uniquely theirs and makes them different from others.
Therefore, though the process is similar for most young dynamic leaders, their approach remains unique.
3rd December 2017
Mr Manu Singh was invited to chair the session organised by a South Korean based International organization, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) on cessation of war and achieving World Peace at India International Center in the presence of eminent religious luminaries, lawyers and political activists.
Among the other dignitaries were-
HP Kain, former Chief Income Tax Commissioner.
Shri Vivek Muni Jee, Chairman of Acharya Sushil Muni Foundation.
Goswami Sushil Jee Maharaj, President of Bhartiya Sarva Dharma Sansad.
Dr Manju Kak, Chairperson of All India Women Conference.
Mr Manu Singh began by explaining the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the concept on which India's diversity has been thriving all these years. His opening speech was applauded by all, he quoted from all the major scriptures and converged its meaning into one. His depth of knowledge of different scriptures is splendid.
Scripture Comparision Discussions were held, which aimed to promote harmony. The objective of the session is to restore world peace beyond religion, communities, nationality or other boundaries that divides us. The idea is to protect International Peace and Security. We work in accordance with UN Sustainable Development Goals by spreading a culture of peace through various means such as forums and dialogues.
In the later part of the sessions, we requested the religious leaders to express their views and understanding of other religions. All the leaders of different faiths beautifully explained a few concepts and conjoined them with the understanding of their scriptures. It was an enriching learning experience for all the participants.
An extensive discussion on how to transcend the idea of peace through all the levels of the society followed by a question and answer section was held at last.
8th April 2017
On 8th April Mr Manu Singh played the role of Ugrasen, the father of King Kans in the play “Katha Ek Kans Ki” directed by Rohit Tripathi. How can the contemplation of slumber, choke an insomniac with an inundating fear? The person who paved his journey from his love for music to the battle victories in the most treacherous ways. Demonic, ungodly, cruel, inhuman as our mythology classifies Kans Or Unjustified societal conditioning is to be blamed? The play strived to put this hypothesis in the most seamless manner.
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