By Mahadev Desai
The Atlanta Conference of Sisters and the Faith Alliance of
Metro Atlanta hosted an Interfaith Prayer Service for peace at
the imposing, historic Ebenezer Baptist Church,adjoining the
Gandhi Statue at the MLK Historic Site, on Friday, August 18.
Over 300 members of the Leadership Conference of Women
Religious, members of the Gandhi Foundation of USA; and members
of the Education Unit of CARE USA joined in the prayers for
peace in the current turbulent times.
The service commenced with a fine organ prelude by Tim Wissler,
organist of the Cathedral of Christ the King Church. Next, Joan
McCann, O.P.Atlanta Conference of Sisters (ACS); greeted the
audience and requested them to observe a Moment’s silence and
pray for peace. After Rev.Dr. Selina Smith,of Ebenezer Baptist
Church then welcomed the congregation to the hallowed New
Horizon Sanctuary in the heartland of the Martin Luther King,
Jr. National Historic Site, The Jewish Temple’s first Cantor
Deborah Numark sang a captivating Hebrew prayer song in a
flawless intonation.
Imam Plemon T.El-Amin, of Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam; Rabbi
Albert Slomovitz of Gesher L’Torah Synagogue in
Atlanta;Valentina Sheridan,RSM, of Institute of the Sisters of
Mercy of the Americas;Gilbert “Budd” Friend-Jones, of Central
Congregational United Church of Christ and Dr.Jamillah Karim,of
Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam and an Asst. Prof.of Religion at
Spellman College, Raj Razdan, Founder and Executive Director of
Senior Citizen Program Inc.,all spoke about meaning of peace, (Shalom)different
aspects of peace, and the need for promoting peace on a war
footing! in the present day violent world.
Imam Plemon spoke about the bond between Gandhi and King and
quoted King, "Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress,
Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought and acted, inspired by
the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and
harmony. We may ignore Gandhi at our own risk." -
All the speakers enlightened the congregation with eloquent
delivery of spiritualism and speeches.
Raj Razdan, representing the Hindu faith,expressed her immense
pleasure and honor to provide the benediction on peace at a
location where humanities two most revered apostles of peace are
memorialized. Her reference was to the lifesize bronze statue of
Mahatma Gandhi adjoining the new Ebenezer Church. The Gandhi
Statue was dedicated and inaugurated in January 1998.
Raj recited a poem By India’s Nobel Laureate, Poet Rabindranath
Tagore
“Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
first fill your own house with the fragrance of love...
Go not to the temple to light candles, before the altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart...
Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen...
Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees,
First bend down to lift someone who is downtrodden...
Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,
First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against
you...
Then Raj recited a popular Hindu Shloka “
Om sarveshaam swastir bhavatu
Sarveshaam shantir bhavatu Sarveshaam poornam bhavatu
Sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu Sarve bhavantu sukhinah
Sarve santu niraamayaah Sarve bhadraani pashyantu
Maakaschit duhkha bhaag bhavet
Meaning: Auspiciousness (swasti) be unto all; peace (shanti) be
unto all;
fullness (poornam) be unto all; prosperity (mangalam) be unto
all. May all be happy! (sukhinah)May all be free from
disabilities! (niraamayaah)May all look (pashyantu) to the good
of others! May none suffer from sorrow! (duhkha).
And she concluded by reciting another profound Shloka, and
requesting the congregation to repeat “Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti”
after her.
Om asato maa satgamaya
Tamaso maa jyotir gamaya
Mrityor maa amritam gamaya
Meaning:
Lead us from the unreal to the Real
From darkness to Light
From death to Immortality
As the chanting of Shanti Shanti by the congregation echoed in
the Sanctuary, it made the service resound and spiritually
devotional.
The Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery, dressed in
vibrant red and saffron robes, recited sacred Tibetan chant in
unwavering vocal virtuosity, gradually raising the pitch to a
crescendo,all in unison.
The grand finale at the Church was the singing of the patriotic
song America the beautiful (with special words by Anne
Brotherton sfcc) led by Cantor Deborah Numark.
The highlight,undoubtedly was the Peace March,reminding of the
famous Dandi/Selma March. Leaders of the Gandhi Foundation and
the Indian American community, Subash Razdan, Giriraj Rao,
Antony Thaliath, Kumkum Kashiparikh,Mahadev Desai,Leela Kaul,Raj
Razdan,Sneha Mehta,Srikant Konda,Ravi Ponangi, Shawn Rao,
Swaminathan and many others led the congregation from the
Sanctuary in a Peace March to the Gandhi Statue.
Sr.Mary-beth Beres welcomed all and invited Sr.Bea Eichten,Joan
McCann, and a member of CARE USA to step forward and each light
one of the wicks of the traditional Hindu diya(lamp) sanctifying
the environment.The attendees,who had come from various states
of USA stood around the resplendent Gandhi Statue as the leaders
and representatives of participating faiths laid flowers to
solemnly honor Gandhi with reverence. All,over 300 present
joined in singing one of the most beloved prayer songs of
Gandhiji- Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, a song of unity and
brotherhood among all people, and calling for respect towards
all. At the Statue, Kumkum Kashiparekh presented a memento to
the convener Mary-beth Beres for her dedication and her
initiative of outreach with the community.
The elegant and uplifting Service where prayers and poetry were
offered by leaders from a range of faith traditions including
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism needs to be
lauded as it encourages the participants to reach out to one
another and to live together as a people, a nation, and a global
community with respect and love for each other in peace.
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