HWPL WARP Journal August 2021 by HWPL

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HWPL World Alliance of Religions’ Peace Office Journal

August 2021 Issue

August 2021 HWPL WARP Journal

151 WARP OFFICES MEETINGS HELD IN 92 COUNTRIES IN JULY 2021

Africa 16

Europe 22

Republic of South Africa

Middle East 8

Sweden

Bulgaria

Syria

Sudan

Uganda

Croatia

Hungary

I srael

Cameroon

Zambia

Moldova

Germany

Kuwait

Rwanda

Spain

E stonia

Lebanon

Kenya

Czech Republic

Romania

United Arab E mirates

Nigeria

Greece

Albania

Iraq

Lesotho

Austria

Swiss

Jordan

E swatini

Cyprus

Finland

Yemen

Zimbabwe

Netherlands

Ghana

San Marino

Burundi

France

Tanzania

Armenia

Cô te d’I voire

United Kingdom

Tunisia

I taly

CURRENT WARP OFFICES STATUS As of July 31, 2021 Total of 265 offices in 129 countries Europe 36 Countries 44 Offices

13 Countries 14 Oﬃces Middle East

Oceania

25 Countries 32 Offices Africa

3 Countries 7 Offices

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

CIS 5

Asia 16

Russian Federation

I ndia

Pakistan

Trinidad And Tobago

Belarus

Laos

Japan

United States of America

Ukraine

Cambodia

Antigua and Barbuda

Kazakhstan

Sri Lanka

Costa Rica

Kyrgyzstan

Thailand

Chile

Myanmar (Burma)

Jamaica

Guatemala

Vietnam

E l Salvador

Panama

Malaysia

E cuador

Uruguay

Australia

I ndonesia

Argentina

Paraguay

New Zealand

Nepal

Belize

Canada

Bhutan

Venezuela

Suriname

Philippines

Bahamas

Brazil

Timor-Leste

Mexico

Guyana

Bangladesh

Grenada

Nicaragua

Oceania 2

The Americas 23

5 Countries 6 Oﬃces CIS 25 Countries 43 Offices Americas Asia 22 Countries 119 Offices

HWPL’s 8th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace

01 As we commemorate HWPL’s 8th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace…

This year marks the 8th anniversary of the Declaration of World Peace at the World Peace Gate in Seoul Olympic Park, South Korea, on May 25, 2013. And for the 8th Annual commemoration, more than 3,000 participants from 150 countries attended the event, which was held online amid the pandemic. At the event, youth and women’s organizations from Africa, Europe, and Asia shared their experiences and insights from various peace-building projects. Through the interviews led by the host with the panel, the urgency of peace education for youths and young children was discussed, and how valuable it is to instill and develop concepts and ideas of peace in them. Participants also took the time to understand and empathize with the various issues the world is facing today. Elisabeth Agocs (co-founder and head of the organization, RotaKids) who carried out the *U project with IPYG stated that the main reason for cooperating with IPYG was that they were pursuing common

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values in helping people and spreading peace. She also said that she wanted to make aware to the older generations regarding the problems of violence experienced by children and young people in a message below: “All I want to say is let’s be friends. We can guarantee peace through friendship. Individuals have no choice but to show many differences, but we must enjoy a harmonious life together. We need to instill the right values in our children to end violence and future conflicts.“ Another participant, Emmanuel Anur Towongo (founder and executive director of Youth Pillars’ Initiative South Sudan) conveyed the horrors of war he experienced firsthand during South Sudan’s civil war for independence. He explains that the lack of education due to the war led to further sacrifices of the young people of his country. He stressed the value and necessity of youth education, while also emphasizing that innovative ways are needed for young people to receive education. He was also pleased to be a member of IPYG and to be a part of **YEPW, saying, “I really learned a lot from the workshop as a participant this time. And one of the key aspects I captured from the workshop from the program is the connective, the broad network that IPYG created to make sure young people get into one platform to discuss issues that are very relevant according to their different contexts and different countries. It was my first time to connect with people from Zambia and people from Guinea. I was able to know the challenges that people face from Guinea and Zambia. I compared the challenges that are facing us, the youth in South Sudan. So, it’s one of the greatest advantages that the program has ever imparted in me.” Asin Htabara (Norway/Burmese Buddhist Monk Representative Committee Secretary General), who was interviewed on behalf of religious figures who contributed to peace, said, “I was touched by Lee’s sincerity in 2016 and learned the importance of peace and education. Especially, I realized deep down that peace consciousness is difficult to cultivate unless I was in elementary school. There are too few library facilities for children in Myanmar. Especially in my hometown of Piapon, the damage caused by Typhoon Nargis in 2008 has not been recovered yet, so many facilities were underdeveloped and there was no library for children. I wanted to give hope to these young children.

HWPL’s 8th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace

When we first established the library in Piapon on June 2, 2018, we named the library HWPL in hopes of achieving the will of the representative as a family of peace and continuing the children’s consciousness of peace. We are currently preparing to open our fourth library of peace, and we hope that more libraries will be opened in the future.” He also added that he will conduct peace education, activities and peace campaigns in the library in the future and will do anything to help achieve peace. After all the interviews, Mr. Lee Man-hee, Chairman of HWPL, emphasized that we have an unchanging purpose to realize peace around the world, reflecting on the meaning of the 2013 Declaration of World Peace. In particular, he mentioned “keeping the promise” and “being one” more than 13 times, and emphasized that we should all be messengers of peace with one mind and spirit and keep this promise. “Even though we are unable to go anywhere for now due to COVID-19, we will absolutely achieve our goal because our purpose has not changed. It will be fulfilled. Isn’t that right? If we have one heart and one hope, it will absolutely be fulfilled. When COVID-19 is contained, I will go to meet all of you, because we are a family, aren’t we? Since we are HWPL’s family members of peace, I will go to meet you. I will visit you to hear your voices and see your faces. I will work until the day of completion. Let us all work together. This good work will be recorded in history. Those who come after us will see. Let us work together and achieve this. What our future generations need is a world of peace without wars. Is there anything greater than this? Who will make this a reality? It is all of us today. We must absolutely make this happen. That is why we have all become united in heart. As long as there is a heaven and an earth, our purpose will not change. The world of peace will not change. HWPL will never change. Everyone must become a messenger of peace. Isn’t this the only way to bring about world peace and cease wars?”

Another participant of the annual commemoration was Father Edward Rappayan (Malaysia/Catholic/ Malacca Johore Diocese Roman Catholic Church Parish Priest). His answer to the most memorable part of the event was that he was “very impressed to see how many youths from all over the world are so motivated for peace, and also how all organizations were working hard to bring about peace, especially Myanmar, which is going through a difficult time now. The event brought me a lot of hope and it was a tremendous youth (that brought much hope).“

Mr. Inderpal Singh (India/Sikh/Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle (GGSSC) Overseas Director) shared his thoughts on the event and working with HWPL by saying, “If I say in one line about HWPL, I think it’s a ray of hope. A ray of hope in the dark world. it is very enlightening that such type of efforts has been done by NGO and it has become a universal effort. and people from all walks of life putting across the globe, religion, they are participating and cooperating with HWPL mission of world peace. I wish all these efforts should continue and they will definitely get their good results and we have a peace world full of peace full of humane harmony and full of universal brotherhood. I have been

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participating in WARP office for 2 years and preparing a collaborative peace event with HWPL and GGSSC. I think such type of activities that HWPL has been doing will definitely bring world peace.”

Although the 8th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace was held online due to the pandemic, it allowed various people from all over the world to gather together to celebrate the significance of the event, and to see for oneself the efforts of various peace workers who are still striving for peace. And it was a place where we could all confirm “We are one!” as messengers of peace. ♣

* U-Project A school violence prevention project conducted as part of the peace education implemented by IPYG that encourages one to understand the other and learn various ways of resolving conflicts through the concepts of “you and me”, “understanding”, and “cooperation”.

*YEPW Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop, a forum for peace realization and the promotion of youth leadership; As of March 2021, 91 organizations from 36 countries have participated and the number of members continues to increase. Education in nine countries signed an MOA for cooperation in peace education.

Declaration of World Peace

02 Declaration of World Peace

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

The universal Creator formed the heavens, the earth, and mankind. He gave the heavens and the earth to humanity as an inheritance. In the entire universe, life in its vast splendor exists only in our world. The life that grows on the earth is sustained from above—by light, rain, and air provided unconditionally to all living beings. We have received the precious gift of life from above. Let us give glory to heaven and live in peace on earth. This is the truest teaching of heaven. With this eternal gift—the grace and life we have received—are we entitled to fight, kill and destroy one another? We cannot claim to desire peace and continue to provoke one another, causing conflict for the sake of valuing our own national interests above those of others. This will only take the lives of the youth, wasting them in the futility of war. This is not a legacy we can leave to future generations. Of what use is a young life, born in our day and age, if it is thrown away in this manner— thrown away without having had a chance to bloom? What price can compensate for the loss of a life? Do these young souls have another chance at life? As emissaries of world peace, as people who are working towards the restoration of humanity through a new and heavenly culture, we declare the following:

First, we call on the heads of state of every country to sign an international agreement—a commitment to bring all wars to an end. We ask them to do this from a spirit of deep-seated love for the people of their country. Second, we call on all youth to unite in an effort to stop wars and pursue the restoration of peace by registering to the one and only International Peace Youth Group. The effort for World Peace is the duty of all youths in this generation. It is the greatest work and it is the only way to stop the pointless and tragic deaths. The efforts of the young people of the world today in pursuit of peace will remain as a never fading light of life for all future generations. Third, we call on every person, every man, woman, and child in the world, to pick up the mantle of peace. In whatever way you can, we ask that you work to further the cause of world peace and restoration, making it a reality in your direct environments.

And we call on the media to report responsibly and promote a message of peace to the world. With this declaration, the work of world peace has begun.

Man Hee Lee, Chairman of the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

Introducing WARP Offices worldwide

03 42nd, 43rd HWPL Suriname Paramaribo WARP Office

Participants

1 Abuna Boyer / Islam 2 Hein Ketan / Christianity 3 Atmanand Ramcharan / Hinduism

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

Topic: About the Beginning of Man Suriname is a South American country with a population of about 610,000 and its population adheres to various religions, evenly distributed over Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam. In the capital city of Paramaribo, the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office was first established in August 2017 and the dialogue of the scriptures has been held consistently to this day. In April and May of this year, we covered the topic of ‘About the beginning of Man’. Even in this era, where dozens of explorations to Mars and space travel are being developed as a tourist product, the question of how life came about and where people came from remains unanswered. With much research done on the body and mind of humans, the reality is that either body or mind is yet to be completely cured with the power of mankind. We took the time to look into the scriptures to see how it depicts the most familiar yet biggest mystery of mankind.

Q1. According to scriptures, how did the first Man(person) come to be?

Abuna Boyer / Islam The first human-being looks like what we look like today. The only difference is he has an original shape. He was 40 feet long and he hasn’t been a baby and gone through the stages. Eve was the same. She hasn’t been in the process of human like a baby. And God said we will have the beauty of prophet Yusuf. Atmanand Ramcharan / Hinduism Vedic philosophy Manu and Shatarupa mentioned as the first people on this earth. But the problem is, we have internal discussion about this question. Whether the first man was a woman or man is unknown. This has been stated millions of years ago, and we don’t know if it’s different from mankind to nowadays.. Hein Ketan / Christianity It is written that God created all things, including man who was created in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27). Not only did God create the physical flesh of a man, but He also formed the spirit within a man (Zec 12:1).However, man today is different from its original design by God due to sin. Before Adam’s sin, man was created in the likeness of God and everything God created was truly beautiful – all creation had obeyed and helped man.

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Q2. What are the records in scriptures that explain approximately how many years it has been since the Creator created the first person and how can one know the historical time periods? Abuna Boyer / Islam There is a record in Qu ‘ran. It talks about the creation of man. In chapter 55, Man is created by pure dark clay. God said before creation of man, he created all creatures. As Christian brother said he created birds, land and etc., then finally man and governing system. Human-being could control all creatures by the system. And humans need to believe and obey God. It is the purpose of the existence of man. Atmanand Ramcharan / Hinduism There is no record in Vedic philosophy. Hein Ketan / Christianity Yes, the bible has a record of the first man Adam, and the 6,000 years of history that follow contain evidence to prove that this record is trustworthy. Firstly, in Genesis chapter 5, the family line from Adam is clearly written, and it shows at what age the sons had children. For example, Adam had Seth at 130 years old, Seth had Enosh at 105 years old, and so on. This links all the descendants of Adam’s family. The Bible even has a written record of the genealogy from the time of Adam, through the time of Abraham, to the time of Jesus who lived approximately 2,000 years ago (Luke 3:23-38, Mt 1:1-17).

Q 3. Was there a message given to the first human by the Creator? If so, did the first human obeyed this message?

Abuna Boyer / Islam Adam did obey the command of God. God created Adam with a purpose- for him to live this worldly life in obedience to him (God). He was given a choice – as we know the story of the tree. God told him to not eat from the tree, and he went and they used from that tree. With that happening, we know that Adam came to understand what to be mankind. So the first way to understand the matter,

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we’re going to say that Adam was disobedient to God, but there was a purpose: to understand himself as a human being. Why do we say that Adam was obedient is because after he ate from the tree, he repented and asked for forgiveness for what he had done. But the devil, Satan on the other hand, disobeyed God but didn’t ask for forgiveness. That is disobedience. Disobedience is when you do something wrong and you don’t ask forgiveness for what you have done wrong. You are not conscious, you are not seeing and not ready to accept that you have done wrong. Atmanand Ramcharan / Hinduism As for today’s question, it is stated in the Vedas, it is told to mankind that they have to obey all the rules given in our scriptures. The creator gave everything- this is a statement of Yajur Veda- they have to respect all living beings on earth. And we are not talking about only man, but also all other living things (like plants and other living things). Next is, “have you done and have you obeyed the order of the creator?”. These two questions are incorporated in one, so it is very difficult to explain in a short time. Hein Ketan / Christianity Adam should protect and keep the Garden of Eden, which was paradise. God also told Adam that he could eat fruit from any tree in the Garden, except from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, as Adam would surely die. if he ate from it. That was the covenant between God and Adam. However, Adam and Eve did indeed eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sin. This was the action of breaking the covenant with God and after they ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and became like God, knowing good and evil. They listened to the serpent’s lies, began to have greed and were deceived by the serpent, causing them to sin. Adam and Eve had a duty to keep the commands of God as their lives depended on doing so. However, they were deceived by the words of the serpent, and they disregarded God’s words. As a result, all mankind is subject to sin as a slave to it and God consequently had worked until now without rest. Satan wanted to be God and due to his greed, Satan deceived Adam and Eve who had received all things as an inheritance. Eve was tempted by the words that one would not die by eating the forbidden fruit and that one could become like God, which aroused greed within her and caused her to be deceived by the serpent.

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These were interesting questions and answers to see if the Creator created mankind, and if there was an important message given to the first human by the Creator. And perhaps, if this message corresponds to the meaning and purpose of the existence of mankind In Islam and Christianity, God commanded Man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, and to keep God’s word. In both religions, the first man, Adam disobeyed God’s word and ate the fruit. However, in Islam it is not consider an act of disobedience since Adam repented and asked for forgiveness after eating the fruit of good and evil. On the other hand, according to Christianity, since Adam was deceived by the snake and was full of greed, sin entered into mankind and until today, we are under the influence of sin and God is working to resolve it. It is said that all the rules in the Hindu Vedic scripture should be obeyed and this is of course, similar to other religions which emphasize obedience to scriptures. The important message that must be obeyed is that people should live with respect for all living things on Earth. Though there might be differing opinions raised during the discussions held in the Suriname Paramaribo WARP Office, fruitful exchanges were possible with a respectful and open atmosphere. In the future, WARP Offices will continue to answer questions about the existence of Man with an open mind and search for answers based on the scriptures.

*Disclaimer: To encourage free speech in an open interfaith dialogue, we have shared minimal information of participating panelists in our dialogues.

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

04 66th HWPL Australia Brisbane WARP Office

Participants 1

1 Gurjeet Singh Bians / Sikhism 2 Siddahrtha Raj Bhandari / Buddhism 3

3 Habib Jamal / Islam 4 Dominic Hong / Christianity

Introducing WARP Offices worldwide

Topic: About Distinguishing Religious Leaders There are many kinds of religious leaders in different religions. For example, there were Jesus and his disciples in Christianity, and many more disciples and monks after them. In Islam, there are Prophet Muhammad and his successors, the Caliphs and the many Muftis, Imams, all with their own roles and duties. There are also Gurus in Sikhism who have taken the role in different generations and now with the Holy Guru Granth Sahib. Buddhist monks and nuns have taken on different roles in the community as guides, teachers and in solitude, practicing the teachings of the enlightened being, that is Buddha. And so, within the same religion, there are special religious leaders (pastors and gurus) who were given special tasks, while others teach according to how they were taught. Different pastors hold different levels of influence and so through the 66th HWPL Australia Brisbane WARP Office meeting, we would like to examine how the different pastors are differentiated in the different religious texts, and what their roles and duties are.

Q1. What are the different types of pastors (religious leaders) according to your scriptures and what are their duties and roles?

Gurjeet Singh Bians / Sikhism Gianni: The term Gianni refers one who has knowledge acquired through advancement of study, and specialized training, in subjects particular to Sikhism, and who is qualified to teach others. A Gianni may have extensive experience. Granthi: A Granthi is the attendant of the Aid Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism. An official Granthi has the skill to read Gurmukhi. The attendance of Granthi is required during the Sikh worship service. Five pillars: Panj Pyare, Paathee, Ragi, Granthi, Gianni Habib Jamal / Islam We have a number of roles in Islam. Their interpretation is based on the prophets. Some pastors know more and some know less. When it comes to leadership, Imam is the leader of the community. They memorize and speech from cover to cover. If you are an Imam, or if you want to be an Imam, you should study, interpret, advise, and memorize the Quran. They have to study in Arabic. they should also learn how to interpret the Quran. If you went to Sydney, then Imam people call you Mulana. Once you become a Mosti, then you should give people direction. In Islam, we don’t believe that Imam or Mosti are the mediator of God. If we pray to God, it goes to God directly. So, there are a few different roles in Islam.

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Siddahrtha Raj Bhandari / Buddhism Buddha talks about how to achieve the enlightenment. Buddha had developed how to do this. We should learn first how to get rid of all the sufferings first. And simple people follow this teaching and other group like between simple people and monk who left home and follow the teaching. Monk means the enlightenment in the past term. Monk’s rule is meditating and following Buddhas’s teaching. Monks are like priests. There is no hierarchy in monks. But in some countries, there are hierarchies. But there’s no hierarchy in Buddhism. Buddhist culture developed differently. So, you can say that there are monks, the community, and lay people. Dominic Hong / Christianity Based on the Bible, pastors can be categorized largely into four types. Pastors are categorized according to their affiliations, roles, and given missions. For God’s pastors, there are pastors who prophesy and pastors who have been promised and ordinary pastors. As for Satan’s pastors, they are the false pastors. Among them, the pastors who prophesy (or prophets) and the promised pastor are chosen directly by God and are given specific instructions. For promised pastors in particular, they demarcate the eras in the Bible with their appearance. Let me explain the roles and missions of these four types of pastors. First, the pastor of prophecy is a pastor chosen by God to relay things that will happen in the future. They receive visions from God to see and hear things of the future, receive instructions, and write them in the Bible (Isaiah 1:1, Ezekiel 1:1, Daniel 1:17). Therefore, they are referred to as “prophets.” There are also pastors who have been promised and prophesied to appear in the fulfillment of the Old and New Testaments. When he appears, all prophecies will be fulfilled (Luke 24:27, 44 45). At the First Coming, the promised pastor, Jesus came according to prophecy, sowed the seeds of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, cured the sick, and saved those captured by Satan. All of these were the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets (Luke 4:16 21). In the same way, the New Testament prophecies promises a pastor who will appear at the time of the fulfilment of the New Testament and carry out all of the work that had been promised (Revelation 21:6). Ordinary pastors preach the work that had been fulfilled through the promised pastor. Although they were not appointed specifically by God, they are the pastors who took it upon themselves to follow the path of Jesus. Lastly, the false prophets are those used by Satan to obstruct and persecute the work of God. They misinterpret the prophecies, preach falsehood, and in order to make people believe in them, they hinder the fulfillment of God’s promises and persecute the promised pastor sent by God to fulfill the promises. The Bible categorizes prophets, or pastors, into four types. Among these, the promised pastor is the most important.

Introducing WARP Offices worldwide

Q2. According to your scriptures, what are your roles and duties as a pastor (leader)?

Gurjeet Singh Bians / Sikhism Then alone thou art a Mullah or then alone art a Qazi, if thou is conversant the Wisdom of God. He is the Qazi who has renounced self-conceit and made the wisdom about Allah alone his support. Whatever the pastors(Pandits and the Mullas) have written or instructed. I reject; I do not accept any of it. The Pandits, the religious scholars, read and shout out loud, but they are attached to this Physical World. The Pastor must instruct his own mind, and then, he should instruct others. He should search for the Lord’s Existence within his own soul.

Habib Jamal / Islam When it comes to the rule of Imam and Molana. There are very wide roles in our community. There are basically employment for the Mosque. First duty of Imam is leading the five times of prayers. And we as a followers should follow their leading. The Imam also pray for the new born baby and its blessings. And when some people marry, Imam should do religious ceremony. Other duty is leading the funeral. During the month of Ramadan, we fast for 30 days, and Imam pray for complement of fast and lead the reading of Quan. And other duties are giving education to the children how to read Quran in correct way and then if people have some problems, then guide them and do some social works. and if people want to be Muslim then Imam teach them how to wear clothes, read Quran, and give the money. Siddahrtha Raj Bhandari / Buddhism As I told you before, there is Buddhist community. Their role is following the Buddha’s teaching. When new people join, then they have to help them. as the Buddhism is spread to the world, in Thai they have different names in roles and hierarchy as well. Growing up as monks is following Buddhism teaching. And they should control emotions, and pray for hours and hours. And the Buddhism scriptures also teaches for them how to live so that they can reach the enlightenment. Dominic Hong / Christianity According to the Bible, my role is that of an ordinary pastor. The role of ordinary pastors is to teach believers about the words of God and the prophecies of the promised pastor of God until his actual coming. Before Jesus’ coming, ordinary pastors and priests preached for roughly 1,500 years about the law which was given to Moses almost 3,500 years ago in the era of the law. The promised pastor, Jesus, came almost 2,000 years ago and that marked the end of the role of ordinary pastors that

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had continued from the time of Moses (Matthew 11:13). However, the priests at the time of Jesus’ First Coming could not discern the era and even when the promised pastor, Jesus, appeared before them, they did not recognize that their duties had come to an end. Instead, they became one with the false pastors who were the Pharisees and scribes in order to persecute Jesus.After Jesus left, the world of Christianity and its ordinary pastors preached to the whole world for more than 2,000 years the gospel that Jesus gave at the First Coming and the things to be fulfilled as written in the New Testament. However, there is an end to this era of the gospel (Matthew 24:14). Moreover, Jesus also prophesies that at the time of Jesus’ Second Coming when the promises of the New Testament fulfill, there will be pastors that are unable to discern who the promised pastor is even if he appears (John 16:8 11). Therefore, it is important for me to take these prophecies to heart and be alert. The promises of the New Testament will be fulfilled as written in Revelation 21:6, and as for me, I believe these will be fulfilled and I will wait patiently for the time when these are fulfilled.

Through this topic, we were able to see clearly what types of leaders/teachers are in each religion and what their duties are. From today’s discussion, we can understand what it means to be a teacher or a leader in different religions. As well as how there are different leaders/teachers that appear in different times or eras to guide the people back to enlightenment or to the Creator’s will. Thanks to this special and meaningful discussion, we were reminded of the duty that each religious leader has. The WARP office will continue to discuss meaningful questions from audiences and civil society from each religion and religious scriptures, in order to learn more and share insights through answers.

*Disclaimer: To encourage free speech in an open interfaith dialogue, we have shared minimal information of participating panelists in our dialogues.

Introducing WARP Offices worldwide

05 52nd Sri Lanka Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte

Participants 1

1 Amarjit Singh / Sikhism 2 Mahakarta Das / Hinduism 3 Matthew Johnson / Christianity

Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

Topic: About Connecting with the Invisible Creator or Enlightened Being As the world is increasingly becoming contactless due to the pandemic, many people have to refrain from outdoor activities and face-to-face meetings, we find that there is a desire in people to “connect” and “communicate” with another person in any way possible. Everywhere in the world, finding new ways to connect with family members and acquaintances is becoming a new culture. In the same way, this desire for ‘connection’ appears not only in physical relationships but also in spiritual relationships. The English word ‘Religion’, comes from the Latin word ‘Religiō’. This is a combination of ‘Re’ and ‘Ligare’, which means to ‘re-connect’. Many religious people want to connect with the Creator or Enlightened Being, and they want to ascertain the relationship. Because having a connection with spiritual entities is not something that we can see with our own eyes. Many are confused and have doubts about how to connect. With the theme of “Connecting with the Invisible Creator or Enlightened Being”, an interesting discussion was held for the 52nd HWPL Sri Lanka Srijaya Wardenepurakote.

Q1. The Creator or the enlightened divine being is invisible. What is written in your scripture regarding the way of having a connection with them? Also, on what basis can a religious person be sure that they relate to Him? Amarjit Singh / Sikhism Almost all gurus in the holy Guru Granth Sahib said that whatever around us or whatever happening around us, that’s been creating by god. And god is everything. Without god is nothing at all. Naam Dev said that when the look at the sea, that’s one sea. But from that one sea the bubbles they are so many tiny drops. They have their identity because of the sea. And the same time they also part of that same sea. The same way whatever we have things have around us from all is created by one god. And according to Guru Nanak he said ‘they are so many ways which are following you, But O’ Lord, I recognize only Your Name, I created a relationship with You only. Without praising Your name, I do not consider any other condition, which will uplift my spiritual life, except you.’ in other words, all of the gurus creating by him(god) and we are connected with them. Nor increases in any being. That Light is without decadence and without duplicity, it is known to have the same form ever. In all houses and places its unlimited brilliance is acknowledged. It hath no body, no home, no caste and no lineage.” The only way to connect with Him is to look his Light in each and everywhere. On what basis: When one can feel his presence everywhere, that means he is connected and related to Him

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Mahakarta Das / Hinduism To connect with someone, we must know that person, name, place, qualities, etc., and to connect with someone whom we cannot see with naked eyes, we must get to know about him from scriptures. Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita gives us information about the Supreme, God, Creator, His abode, etc,. Krishna is God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna is the infinite source of all living beings and we are His eternal infinitesimal parts and parcels. Krishna has many other names according to the country, culture, and language of different people. We do not say that Krishna is a person like you or me; on the contrary, He is the supreme Person who is allpowerful and unlimited, whereas we living entities are in every way limited. Krishna is the infinite source of all living beings and we are His eternal infinitesimal parts and parcels. “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” -Bhagavad Gita 10.8 Matthew Johnson / Christianity Jn 1:1 says God is the word. Also in Jn 6:63 says the word is spirit and life. But this doesn’t mean that carrying the bible everywhere is walking with God as some people misunderstood. But walking with God is when we engrave the word in our minds and heart, this is how we can connect with God. God’s will is not having a connection with only a few people, but through them, he wanted to show the way of resolving sin and giving salvation, so that God can be fully connected with all of his creation (1cor 15:28). What God has done in every era is (1.) Selecting a prophet or pastor who can deliver his words to people. (2.)His words reveal real entities of God and Satan, who made mankind commit sin and disconnected from God. Therefore, knowing true God through God’s words and practicing it is the way of being free from sin and having a connection with God according to the bible.

Q2. What are the consequences of having a proper connection between mankind and the Creator or the enlightened divine being? Also, what are the consequences of having a false connection or improper connection with them? Amarjit Singh / Sikhism Enlighted Being: When an enlightened will feel the presence of creator in each person then he will treat everyone with love and peace. He will not give pain to others. He will treat all equally. He will love all because he feels that all are part of One light. False Connection: He will divide the society in many colors, creeds, castes. That division will not be able to create an equal society. False connection will create Ego because there is no connection with creator. There will be no compassion in the hearts of false souls. There will be no respect for

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nature and nature’s creatures. There will be imbalance everywhere. There is unbalanced everywhere and we can see that because we are disconnected. From the Divine Souls from the Divine Life from the one Lord and one god. Mahakarta Das / Hinduism To connect with the Supreme God in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy is to chant the name of the Lord by Sankirtan. By Chanting of glory of name of god, You can understand to god and attachment to god and you can by doing this you will be able to going back to god and getting purpose of life. And we are miss guided, a consequences we continually born again and again and again. “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.” (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, 4.7) “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. “ (Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, 10.10) Matthew Johnson / Christianity When there is an appropriate connection between God and people, sin will be resolved and it will make changes in our words and behavior to be more in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26). No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. (1Jn 3:9) when we Have the laws in our minds and hearts, God will be our God, and we will be his people (Heb 8:10). However, false connection with God will lead to destruction by having wrong faith and wrong actions, and it will lead others in the wrong direction. The problem of sin cannot be resolved without first paying the wage of sin, which is death according to Rom 6:23. Due to sin, death started. Through having the word of God, which is life in our minds and hearts, we will be able to be connected with God again. When rev 21:1-6 fulfilled God the source of life will come back and dwell with his people and there will be no more death or pain. Thank you.

How convenient and nice would it be if there was a visible sign like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals when we are connected to the invisible Creator or Enlightened Being? If that were possible, we can make better choices on our paths of faith by checking the connection signals from time to time. However, through our panelists, we have learnt that the Creator has already given us a clear signal. Though invisible, the intentions and teachings have been left in the visible scriptures, paving the way for us to connect with the invisible entities. It was a valuable time to learn about the Creator from the scriptures, and that the sign that proved our connection is shown through the change in our hearts and souls. I hope that HWPL’s monthly WARP Office will help strengthen this spiritual connection.

*Disclaimer: To encourage free speech in an open interfaith dialogue, we have shared minimal information of participating panelists in our dialogues.

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If you would like to have more information or have any inquiries regarding the HWPL WARP Offices, please contact us at info@hwpl.kr