Your invitation to Unity Day USA

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE VIII ANNUAL UNITY DAY

Please join us with your family and friends to be together as Americans. Your presence is a valuable expression of unity. Along with our elected officials, civic, religious and business leaders, you help fulfill our common values and aspirations. Your presence fortifies our commitment to a pluralistic America.

Event: 8^th Annual Unity Day USADate: Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Time: 11:30 AM -1:30 PM****

Where: Unity of Dallas, 
Address: 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230
*** Be early, Marine Guards will start the flag ceremony right on time.

Awards: Seven Individuals for building bridges in Dallas/Fort Worth communities

Communities: Two outstanding communities this year for their service

Organizations: Participating organizations are you in?

Who: You, Marines, Mayors, Fire & Police Chiefs,  Religious and people from many religions, races, ethnicities and traditions

Details: http://www.UnitydayUSA.com

Donate: http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/

RSVP to: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com

We will gather for a singular purposed, to be together as Americans and rededicate our pledge to the peace, prosperity and security of our nation.

MORE INFORMATION:

On this Unity Day USA, we, the people of the United States of America of every faith, race and ethnicity, will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, safety, prosperity and the well being of our nation.

As Americans we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. All our faiths reinforce the creed of "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all”.

Your presence is a valuable expression of unity. Along with our elected officials, civic, religious and business leaders, you help fulfill our common values and aspirations. Your presence fortifies our commitment to a pluralistic America. Please confirm to confirmattendance@gmail.com.

One of the communities we are appreciating at this Unity Day USA is the Sikh Community, for setting an example that forgiveness, patience, forbearance, and kindness are the right values, and the right thing to do when tragedy befalls a community. Their response to the Wisconsin Gurudwara massacre was exemplary and reflects the teachings of Guru Nanak the founder of the faith and every one of the spiritual masters from Zarathustra, Confucius, Moses, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Baha'ullah, and other great spiritual masters.

If you also wish to list your organization as a " Participating organization " in supporting this event, please share the name of your organization, contact name and number and the web address to UnityDayUSA@gmail.com.

It is our duty to " honor and cherish individuals " who have dedicated their lives to building bridges among Americans. Their pioneering spirit in facilitating communities to know each other and to respect each other is appreciated by the people of Dallas/ Fort Worth. On this day, we appreciate and celebrate their contributions towards building a cohesive America, where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

Kindly consider financially supporting this event, to defray the costs.- http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/.

For further information, please feel free to contact me.God Bless America.

Thank you.
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
www.FoundationforPluralism.com
www.UnitydayUSA.com  

Three things about your faith

A Hindu, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Baha’i, Zoroastrian and a Buddhist wrote a 250 word essay on “three things from my faith that influences me in my daily life”. To each person it is different. I am pleased to share mine, and when others give their permission, I will share theirs. You are welcome to write yours about your faith.

Three Islamic teachings that influence me daily in 250 Words

 

Respecting the otherness of other

 

 My Mother often quoted the following verse from Quraan, 109:7 “To you is your moral law, and unto me, mine?” It means respecting the otherness of other, and it is one of the most profound chapters in my life and is the basis for Pluralism, indeed the whole chapter is about conducting a civil dialogue.  My life is about learning to respect the otherness of other and appreciating the God given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us. http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

 

 Gratitude

 

For every good we receive, we have to give out an equal amount good to bring the balance to zero. Since most of us cannot reciprocate an equal value, a mere thank you does it.

 

Gratitude is the element of life that completes a spiritual transaction for the human beings. It restores one’s peace of mind and spiritual balance. My Father recited Sura Rahman frequently after the morning Prayers. The Verse 55:13 is repeated umpteen times. “Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?”

 

Accountability

 

Humans are endowed with free will, to choose the right or wrong actions and live with the consequences. One of the most influential scenes for me is the Day of Judgment, where you stand alone with your records, as your parents, siblings and kids are busy with their own records. Those who do not believe in God, may consider this day to be your solitary moment to answer yourselves and go through anxieties and serene moments.  However, God’s grace plays a role at the end, he alone knows the insignificant good that you thought you had done, but may have contributed to monumental good.

 

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on Pluralism, Islam, Peace and social justice. His work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net

 

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Swami Vivekananda gave a new meaning to the Hindu philosophy of tolerance.

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/03/swami-vivekananda-gave-new-meaning-to.html

As I was reading the article about Swami Vivekananda, several paragraphs struck me and I am inspired to write the following article.

When Swamiji talks about, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist,” He was talking about religion is a pathway to spirituality. I had just responded to Mr. Yogi Sikand on an article about Dawah work in Islam by Maulana Wahiduddin, and Missionary work in Christianity.   

In my note, I was hoping to read what the Dawah (an invitation to convert) was for? Is it to make one a Muslim or to guide the person to become the righteous one?  Same question goes to Christianity, Sikh, Baha’i, Hindu and other traditions.

When Jesus said, “follow me”, Krishna said, “Surrender to me” and Allah says, “submit to my will”, the call was to follow God’s law of nature; to live cohesively and in harmony. It is about bringing a balance and equilibrium to everything we do. Balance is sustainable and extremity is not.

Personally I value every religion, and do not consider the need for any one to change his or her faith unless he or she finds solace in a different faith other than the one s/he is accustomed to. Every faith does what it is suppose to do to the believer; bring peace of mind.  No one should compel one to convert or prevent one from converting, let one choose what one believes to bring tranquility to him and harmony with others.   Let it be an individual’s choice.  What difference does it make to you if I eat different food, wear different clothes and speak a different language?

Swamiji touches on diversity, indeed, because we are diverse we have survived if we were all one, we could have been wiped out with one single disease. Each one of us is endowed with a different thumb print, DNA, eye print etc, so let’s have a different faith as well. To repeat his words, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist,”

Conversion assumes a deficiency in the other faith and that is sheer arrogance. However, I would guide one to be a better Hindu, Jew, Christian, Muslim and ultimately a better human, which is the essence of every religion.  Mahatma Gandhi had emphasized the same thought and Prophet Muhammad’s first model of education was to be truthful, trustworthy and caring and he was called Amin by the people around him.  Jesus embraced every one without flinching, and accepted the otherness of other, in fact he said let’s condemn the sin but not sinner, that was the ultimate in inclusion or I call it Pluralism.

The other thought that really touched me was, “Swamiji was in favour of harmony among religious beliefs and against one religion for all.” 

Indeed the Foundation for Pluralism is about that, and the Parliament of Worlds Religion has set the lofty but simple goals such as: harmony rather than unity, convergence of purpose rather than consensus of belief and facilitation rather than structuring.

Those of us who feel insecure about the interfaith movement and fear losing our identity or diluting it, please be assured that the goal of the Parliament is NOT to UNITE religions, but to facilitate a platform to learn about the others first hand and work together for the common good of mankind. 90% of religion is about doing common good; only 10% of it is rituals that give it its own uniqueness.

There is no proselytization element in any of the events the Parliament facilitates. You may love the theme in Melbourne, “hearing each other and healing the earth”. Indeed, that is the need of the day; hearing each other first hand.

The City of Chicago has honored the Swami by naming a street after him, and now get ready to honor the Swami again in 2014 at the Parliament of World’s religions in Brussels. Save the monies and get ready. Insha Allah, God willing, see you there with a topic on Swami Vivekananda.
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Mike Ghouse, President of America Together foundation is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, and is available to speak at your place of worship, work or in seminars and conferences.

Through the Foundation for Pluralism, Mike champions the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, and is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress.  He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. His work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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Reference: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article1587374.ece

Texas Faith - Role of religious faith when there are no good choices

Wayne Slater/Reporter    Bio |  E-mail  | News tips

When a Catholic hospital in Phoenix recently terminated a pregnancy to save the life of the mother, the church acted. The bishop stripped the hospital of its affiliation with the diocese and excommunicated the nun who approved the abortion. The hospital said the 27-year-old mother would almost certainly died otherwise. But abortion runs counter to Catholic faith. And there's no doubt the bishop had the right to do what he did.

Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times suggests the episode underscores a clash between two expressions of religious faith. Without litigating the deep and difficult issue of abortion itself (if we can), consider a broader question: What's the role of faith when there's no good choice? Sometimes doctrine says one thing but circumstances say another. What happens when both sides believe they have the fundamentals of faith on their side? How do we bring our faith to bear in situations where there is no good choice?

Our Texas Faith panel weighs in. And it's telling that two members invoke Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which is where we start with the panel's answers. Read on.

TEXAS FAITH: What's the role of religious faith when there are no good choices?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

The pledge of allegiance defines the role of faith fairly well; it is to build cohesive societies, expressed as one nation under God (oneness) indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

When conflicting sides believe they have the fundamentals of faith on their side, division is an amicable outcome as a last resort in civil societies, whereas the intolerant societies will resort to harassment and oppression.

Pluralism is a culmination of an attitude in civility, if we can learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the genetic God given (or genetic) uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge for societies to function cohesively.

Indeed, every social, cultural and religious system has a built-in mechanism to sustain its cohesiveness, however when insecure men get threatened, the spirituality (humility) of religion gets knocked over and control aspect of fallible human beings takes over and sacrifice the very purpose of religion; cohesiveness.

Islam was endowed with such a mechanism to deal with issues that had no precedence or choice. The system was called Ijtihad, a process of achieving consensus among parties independent of a given understanding.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) asked his followers to refer to Quraan for any questions that might come up after he was gone, if no answers were to be found, he said, check out my examples and if there isn't one, then consult among yourselves, struggle to be just and righteous.

That system was weakened nearly four centuries after death of the prophet. The rules were made to exclude those who did not subscribe to the ideas of men controlling knowledge and power. Thus a great tool of keeping the communities together got decimated.

Thanks to America and its spirit of freedom and fearlessness, the institution of ljtihad will flourish and influence the Islamic thinking around the world for Muslims to once again become participants and contributors towards the well being of societies at large.

Research is warranted to determine the factors that split the groups. There was one Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism once, not anymore. Even the smaller groups like Jainism, Judaism, and Sikhism have split into sub-groups and the process will continue with every group as they grow in size, as naturally as the amoeba.

How do we bring our faith to bear in situations where there is no good choice? We have to do our Ijtihad and focus on the purpose of religion; cohesiveness.

 12 Opinions listed at http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/texas-faith-whats-the-role-of-2.html

Should Christians (and other non-Hindus) beware of yoga?

Courtesy: Dallas Morning News, Texas faith Panel. The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler, caused a stir with a recent column decrying the practice of yoga by Christians.

Mohler seems to be threatened with the popularity of Yoga, a beautiful practice to bring composure to oneself. He is obsessed with the idea that Yoga is a bait to lure his congregation away into “a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a `post-Christian, spiritually polyglot’ reality”, and then he asks, “Should any Christian willingly risk that?” How mistaken can one be? Yoga is not a mutually exclusive practice, nor is it a religion; it is indeed a catalyst in achieving the union of mind and body that is central to all spirituality.

Yoga is neither Christian nor Hindu; it is a beautiful gift that originated in India for the benefit of mankind to function cohesively.  All individuals and nations should give and receive the good without labeling it.

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/texas-faith-should-non-hindus.html

Mike Ghouse is a speaker on Pluralism and Islam offering pluralistic solutions to the media and public on issues of the day. His blogs and sites are listed at www.MikeGhouse.net  

National Prayer Day happenings on Thursday

An examination of different types of Prayers and Prayer happenings in Dallas Fort Worth followed by a Dinner event on Friday. Please note that a healthy change has occurred in the last few years due to the collective efforts of the community, there was a time when other denominations and faiths were excluded, but that is history now and Thank God for the inclusionary, pluralistic attitudes of Priests, Rabbis, Imams, Pastors, Pundits, Shamans and religious leaders across the world.

Continued at: http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/05/national-prayer-day-thursday-may-7-2010.html