In this section we will list the Religious celebrations & festivals of the various faiths of India which, to Jilani Mia, Mufti Sambhali & their outspoken advocates are not regarded as faith endangering or unlawful, for the general Muslims of India to participate in or intentionally observe as bystanders which FUREC's members refer to in the SSD & Memorandum & which is part of their national aim & integral part of their outlined 'national & local issues' to make or turn into mass movements.
Memorandum: FUREC
“4. Aim: To promote & implement the Surat Spiritual Declaration by sustaining the human spirit on the basis of acceptance of, and respect for, all religions, spirituality, ……. And on the practice of Non-Violence (Ahimsa).”
“5. Objectives
d) To organise multi-religious functions to popularise joint celebrations of religious festivals, Common Community, Kitchens & multi-religious prayers.
f) To promote universal values of all religions.
n) To create educational material for teaching the understanding of religions and practice of spiritual values in all educational institutions.
r) To collect funds, donations, raise loans & to plan & prepare scheme for the same, to accept donations, grants & financial assistance & utilise the same to achieve objectives referred to above.
Z) To preserve rare manuscripts, letters, pictures, stone images, …..
SSD:
Religions are like exquisite gardens, places full of surpassing beauty and tranquillity, like sacred groves filled with beautiful birds and their melodious songs… Universal Truths embodied in each religion are very similar and they will help to form the bridge thus reinforcing basic unity… basic spiritual unity of all religions.
Garland Projects
In order to do so we resolve to undertake the following projects and activities:
Project 1: Celebration of inter-religious festivals.
Every month in all parts of India there can be a multi-religious gathering to convey the core message attempted in the prayer of peace and about the basic truths contained in various religions. Such a prayer should be preceded by prayers from all religions practiced in that part of the country by respective religious and spiritual leaders in the presence of the people. Each month the day selected could be a holy day from one religion: Islam, Hindu, Christianity, Sikh, Parsi, Jain, Buddhist etc. Regular conduct of such meetings by all religious leaders and people from different religions respecting holy days of other religions will send a powerful message. If possible such gatherings can take place at the religious places where all persons from other religions also can gather on that day. People should also exchange pleasantries and sweets during these meetings, as is the practice in some parts of the country where unity of minds prevails. In addition, in order to spread the message of equality to everybody on that day a' langar' (community kitchen and eating) can be arranged so that all people eat common food sitting side by side.
How to organize these? We believe that, if all the religious and spiritual groups build strong connectivity between their own beautiful islands of happiness and solace, it is possible to turn these monthly meetings into mass movements for respecting each other's rituals, ways of life or view points. It will bring harmony and love. Peace and happiness will follow.
PROJECT 5
The religious and spiritual leaders came to unanimous conclusion that in order to pursue the above in a sustained manner for achieving speedy results, it is essential to set up a national level independent and autonomous organization managed by religious and spiritual leaders as well as scholars and enlightened citizens. This organization inter-alia, will train persons in various essential aspects of different religions, in methods of spreading love and compassion among people, in removing hatred as well as in the basic theory and practice of non-violence. This organization being an independent entity will also become a focal point and a catalytic agent for organizing the other projects listed above and in extending necessary infrastructure for the expansion of the efforts into a national mass movement.
FURECS CONCLUSION
On the whole, the congregation of spiritual and religious leaders came to the conclusion that with the above five key elements the ‘GARLAND PROJECT’ for ‘Unity of Minds’ and for creating ‘Enlightened Citizens’ in India and eventually in the world, can be successful if we start taking action in all earnestness after this "SURAT SPIRITUAL DECLARATION" made on 15th October 2003 in the presence of Hon'ble President of India.
India can emerge as a Developed Nation by 2020 with its civilizational heritage and value systems spreading harmony and peace to the whole world. This ‘Unity of Minds’ can be achieved even while keeping intact the rich diversity of rites, rituals, ideas and beliefs amongst us and blending them with modern knowledge and skills.
FESTIVALS [HINDU] The Hindu religious & ceremonial year is based on lunar months, each of 30 lunar days [tithi] divided into two fortnights [paksha or pak]: the dark or waning fortnight [Krishna paksha or badi] which begins after the full-moon day [purnima] & the bright or waxing fortnight [shukla paksha or shudi], which begins after the new-moon day [amavasya]. In some regions [the south, Bengal, Maharashtra & Gujurat], the month begins with the bright half; in others [Uttar Pradesh, etc], it begins with the dark half, which makes for a lack of correspondence in the names of the months in which the dark halves fall. In order to keep broadly in line with the solar year, every 30 months a leap month is added.
Many Hindu festivals take their names from the Sanskrit ordinals which give their date in the month. Thus Rama navami is RAMA’S ninth, which refers to the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Cait on which Rama’a birthday is celebrated. Jamashtami is the birth eighth [of Krishna], that is, the eighth day of dark fortnight of Bhado on which Krishna’s birthday is celebrated. The major religious occasions of the Hindu year follow below, giving the months according to Uttar Pradesh usage.
Cait: shudi 1 is the start of the lunar year, which is celebrated variously as such; shudi 9 is Rama’s birthday; shudi 1-10 is one of two periods of navaratra, nine nights, devoted to the Goddess; the full-moon day, purnima, is Hanuman jayanti, the birthday of Hanuman the monkey diety. Besakh: shudi 3 is the Akshaya tritiya or Akti festival, which is the start of the agricultural year & auspicious for starting new enterprises; it is also the birthday of Parashurama, the sixth Avatara of Vishnu; shudi 14 is the birthday of Narasimha, the man-lion avatara of Vishnu.
[to be Cont’d]