Peace and Justice: Seeking Shanti, Promoting Dharma

April 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment

I sat in a Detroit church pew on Sunday, livestreaming the reading of a speech to commemorate one that was given by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King 50 years ago, looking at two banners that flanked the altar: Justice and Peace. Rev. Rich Peacock, a retired United Methodist minister, Co-chair of Peace Action of Michigan and a long-time mentor, echoed my thoughts in his reverberating voice: "There can be no peace without justice." Seeking shanti begins with promoting dharma, and that too through … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Dharma, Diversity and Inclusion, faith in the public square, Hindu American, human rights, Martin Luther King Jr Celebration, MLK, Peace Advocacy, Social Action Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

The Who, What and Why of WISDOM – Part 3

July 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment

As explained in the prior two posts, three of us from WISDOM - a Catholic, a Hindu and a Muslim - came together with the NACCC organizers to present about this interfaith women's organization here in Metro-Detroit. I took the role of speaking to the reason why I continue to serve on WISDOM's Advisory Board, amidst my often over-extended civic commitments. A Board member of both the Hindu American Foundation, a national civil and human rights advocacy organization promoting pluralism and mutual … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Advocacy, conversion, faith in the public square, Hindu, Hindu American, Hindu American Foundation, Holidays, LGBT, Peace Advocacy, pluralism, Religious Freedom, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

The Who, What and Why of WISDOM – Part 2

June 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment

The presentation by the WISDOM panel at the NACCC Annual Conference continues, where former WISDOM Board member Gigi Salka shares her experience as a part of this women's interfaith organization for nearly a decade. She provides anecdotes from our 5 Women, 5 Journeys signature program that WISDOM has been doing over the years - along with our monthly e-News, which you can subscribe to here.Five Women Five Journeys – How Different Are We?This unique WISDOM program features personal stor … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: American, conversion, faith in the public square, Hindu, Hindu American, identity, Peace Advocacy, pluralism Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

The Who, What and Why of WISDOM – Part 1

June 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment

As an Advisory Board member of the Michigan-based interfaith organization, WISDOM, I had the opportunity to be part of the keynote address at the 62nd annual meeting of the National Association of the Congregational Christian Churches, held in metro-Detroit this year. WISDOM is a non-profit interfaith organization, and its acronym is quite a mouthful: Women's Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in Metro-detroit. But our message is simple. We are women who are leaders in our own ethnic … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: American, Catholic, faith in the public square, Hindu, Hindu American, Peace Advocacy, pluralism, Uncategorized Tagged With: , Leave a Comment

The Future of Hinduism in America: Publicly Engaging Pluralism for Peace

June 30, 2015 by Leave a Comment

When I last wrote about the Future of Hinduism, I had become a voice for the Hindu community in interfaith relations, as co-founder of both the local interfaith group in Michigan’s most Asian American cities and the Outreach Committee of one of Michigan’s oldest and largest Hindu temples. Because of my interest in the way that Hinduism is presented, perceived, and practiced in the US, I received numerous emails with links to Lisa Miller’s Newsweek article of how U.S. Views on God and Life Are Tur … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: American, faith in the public square, Hindu, Hindu American, Hindu American Foundation, human rights, identity, Indian American, Peace Advocacy, pluralism, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

The Good of Hinduism: A Solid Foundation of Pluralism

April 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Editors' Note: This post is part of a Patheos symposium —What Good Is Religion? Read more here.In trying to understand or discuss the “good of Hinduism” - how faith has, in big and small ways, theoretical and very concrete, served humanity and the world for good – one can simply state the obvious. A Hindu can do good by serving others, as indicated in the oft repeated “Manav seva, Madhav seva.”  A loose translation – Service to humanity is service to God  - doesn’t capture the selfless nature … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: faith in the public square, Hindu, Hindu American, Hindu practices, identity, India, Indian American, Peace Advocacy, pluralism, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment