Last week I attended an interfaith gathering at the 9/11 Memorial Museum organized as part of Pope Francis's USA visit.
Pope Francis walking right before me!
I had to arrive early at the museum because of security protocols, and so I was able to wander through the museum with a dear colleague, a Buddhist environmentalist. Looking at the wall covered with photographs of all the victims revealed a diversity that was astounding. Every nation and world religion must have been represented. We mourned the loss of life on that day 14 years ago, and bemoaned the religious bigotry and extremism that is still destroying our world today. We talked about how the tragedy of 9/11 had led to a strengthened Islamophobia that is rife in each of our faith communities. And we discussed how hard it is to mobilize moderate and peace-loving people from our faith communities to stand up to our own extremists and say: "Not in Our Name."
It was bold of Pope Francis to orchestrate this interfaith convening at Ground Zero. Before the Pope spoke, there was a joint prayer sung by an Imam and a Rabbi. There were leaders from the Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist and Christian communities on stage, and each shared a prayer. The Pope emphasized not only the urgency of peace and reconciliation in the world and between the religions, but also about the urgency of speaking up in the face of injustice:
"In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity. Together we are called to say "no" to every attempt to impose uniformity and "yes" to a diversity accepted and reconciled."
I stood at the site of the carnage of 9/11/2001 along with 700 people of many different faiths----men and women in colorful robes, gowns, saris, salwar kameez, hijabs, turbans and yes, dresses and business suits too--who were being called to create a world where we are united in the service of justice. There was something taking place in that room, in that moment, which our world needs for its very survival.
There were two Hindu women on stage, listening to (and hopefully resonating with) the Pope's message of unity. I remembered another September event, five years ago. I was standing with a group of Afghan Muslim women in an interfaith rally in support of Park51, the Muslim Community Center that was being planned at a location about a mile from Ground Zero. The vision was for a Center which celebrated Islam and inspired interfaith dialogue, an important healing space for all New Yorkers after the horror of 9/11. Anti-Islamic individuals and organizations undertook a robust campaign to prevent Park51 from ever coming to fruition.
The interfaith rally for Park51 had speakers and participants from every religion except mine; as was the norm at interfaith social justice gatherings back then (thankfully this is changing), there was no Hindu speaker. There was suddenly a loud sound - a man spoke into a megaphone across the street. I realized that there was a counter-rally of those who opposed Park51 based on the assertion that Islam was nothing but a religion of hatred and terrorism. Their view was that to allow Park51 to be built would be to dishonor those that lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks at the hands of Muslim terrorists. There, in the counter-rally, megaphone in hand, were saffron-clad Hindus.
This was one of the pivotal moments that led me to co-create Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus soon after that, along with other Hindus whose faith necessitates the principle of oneness of all. The Upanishads teach (and the Beach Boys echo), "I am That, Thou art That, All This is That. Everything is One." This teaching of oneness simply cannot co-exist with prejudice and bigotry. There is no room in the inclusive and expansive Hinduism that we in Sadhana embrace, for any vision but one of inter-religious unity, of justice for all, of the eradication of caste and caste discrimination, of the protection of our planet and all its creatures.
Today Sadhana is four years old, and is becoming known and recognized for our work for environmental justice and human rights. My work with Sadhana earned me an invitation to this historic interfaith gathering with Pope Francis who brought together representatives of all of New York's faith communities, Hindus included, at Ground Zero, and unite us in a joint commitment to the oneness of all and justice for all.
"I am That, Thou art That, All This is That. Everything is One."