Hindus Hail Ukraine President For Interfaith Dialogue Promotion
Hindus have applauded reported efforts of Ukraine President Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych at promoting interfaith dialogue.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, termed President Yanukovych’s efforts as a “step in the right direction”. Zed urged other countries of the world to also promote inter-religious dialogue as “serious and honest interfaith dialogue was the need of the hour”.
According to reports, opening an International Summit on protection of the rights of national minorities recently, President Yanukovych stated that dialogue among faiths would continue to develop in Ukraine. “I am confident that this dialogue will deepen and as the President of Ukraine I will best contribute to it,” he was quoted as saying. He stressed the importance of constructive dialogue.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, offered Hindu support in such dialogues and stressed that Hinduism being the oldest and third largest religion of the world should always form important part of such inter-religious encounters.
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 pointed out.
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.
Europe’s second largest country Ukraine, a land of fertile agricultural plains where women live much longer than men, is known for monumental Kyiv and fascinating Odesa, Crimea and Lviv. Although Orthodox Christianity is the largest belief tradition in Ukraine, but majority of Ukrainians are reportedly non-religious. Mykola Yanovych Azarov is Prime Minister.