This report is meant to cover all four sessions of a multi-sessional virtual conference organized by Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. in observance of the World Interfaith Harmony Week in 2021. The sessions took place on the Zoom platform on four Saturdays of February, 2021, i.e. Feb 6, Feb 13, Feb 20 and Feb 27 from 10:00am to 12:30pm Eastern Standard Time. The event was hosted from Waterloo, Ontario in Canada. 

About the Organizer 

Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (SHEN, est. Sept, 2000, http://spiritualeducation.org) was founded with the mission providing educational access to the thinking and findings of those enlightened beings (prophets, sages, philosophers, scientists and seers), who have spent their lives studying the nature of humankind and its relationships in the universe. 

Many of our founders personally experienced the identity violence that accompanied the division of India in 1947 on the basis of faith. They did not want a replication of such an experience anywhere and at any time. We envision a world where humanity lives in harmony with its planetary family born of One Divine Parent and we envision the realization of this purpose through contemplative pedagogy (Columbia Centre for Teaching and Learning), (Vanderbilt University Centre for Teaching), (University of Massachusetts Amherst Centre for Teaching and Learning). 

The advent of contemplative pedagogy is a modern recognition of ancient epistemology according to which some learning happens simply by listening to a teacher, some can happen when you reflect on what you heard, and while cognition and reflection may suffice in learning relating with survival, deep contemplation is needed for profound learning essential for world peace and harmony which transcends survival. 

The Eightfold system of Yoga is the original and comprehensive system of contemplation available from times immemorial.  It is no coincidence that the UN general assembly sanctioned a yearly observance of the International day of Yoga in 2014 soon after it sanctioned a yearly observance of the World Interfaith Harmony Week in 2010. 

Our organization, after researching the world scripture and wisdom traditions concludes that re-envisioning education systems of the world to systematically enable contemplative learning is the way to usher in an era of peace and harmony. We have planned our WIHW 2021 event to illustrate contemplative learning of religious scripture on the model of yogic contemplation as it presents the generality of contemplative practice without relating it with any particular faith. 

Planning Our WIHW 2021 Event 

Our four session WIHW 2021 Event is planned to show how the aspiration of the united Nations General Assembly as expressed by its resolution of 2010 for the yearly observance of the World Interfaith Harmony Week can be realized with holistic epistemology, the essence of Yoga, underlying its 2014 resolution of the yearly observance of the International Day of Yoga. 

Here is the programming for each of the four sessions: 

Session 1 on Feb 6, 2021 

We all have an individual notion of God. Our faith community has a notion of God. Our individual perspective generally is very similar to the perspective of our communities. Our mind is conditioned by these perspectives. Such conditioning may limit us to the love of our notion of God which may limit us to love the neighbour with the same notion of God. Only the love of the Universal God has the capacity to enable in us the love of the neighbour whosoever the neighbour may be. 

The focus of the programme for Feb 6 is to grow spiritually from the love of a specific notion of God to the love of the Universal God of all perspectives. The God of the universe is the God of all faith communities is bigger than all perspectives. The conference will focus on ways to raise the consciousness of learners to see the One God of the universe in the God of their specific communities and in the relative God of other communities to enable the love of the neighbour irrespective of the diversity of the neighbour. For more on the focus of Feb 6, please visit Focus: Feb 6, 2021 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

The proceedings of February 6, 2021 are available at this link: Proceedings: Day-1 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

Session 2 on Feb 13, 2021 

Our inbuilt natural instincts and early childhood conditioning of the mind about the relative God of our faith community keeps our consciousness at the level of survival, sustenance, procreation and the faith identity. What is a systematic way of raising our consciousness to transcend such divisive issues to see the light of the Universal God reflect from the God of our faith in order to see the neighbour of another community as a kin? The programming of Feb 13 id focused on this question. The answer comes from the transformational technology of Yoga. For more on the focus of Feb 13, please visit Focus: Feb 13, 2021 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

The proceedings of February 13, 2021 are available at this link: Proceedings: Day-2 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

Session 3 on Feb 20, 2021 

Our scriptural study and research shows a unity between core wisdom of religion and again a unity between this spiritual wisdom and secular science. We call this convergence of scientific and spiritual wisdom as holistic science. This science underlies the transformational system of yogic contemplation. On this day, we will focus on the beauty and power of Holistic Science, systematic application of which can transform us to see unity in diversity and love the neighbour independent of how diverse he/she may be. For more on the focus of Feb 13, please visit Focus: Feb 20, 2021 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

The proceedings of February 20, 2021 are available at this link: Proceedings: day-3 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

Session 4 on Feb 27, 2021 

On this day, the conference will focus its light on the incomparable system of eight-fold yogic contemplation the practice of which can transform humanity to live not only in harmony with diversity but also in health and wellness. For more on the focus of Feb 13, please visit Focus: Feb 27, 2021 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org). 

The proceedings of February 27, 2021 are available at this link: Proceedings: Day-4 | Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (spiritualeducation.org).   

References 

n.d. Columbia Centre for Teaching and Learning. Accessed march 1, 2021. https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/resources/contemplative-pedagogy/. 

n.d. University of Massachusetts Amherst Centre for Teaching and Learning. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://www.umass.edu/ctl/contemplative-pedagogy. 

n.d. Vanderbilt University Centre for Teaching. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2010/04/contemplative-pedagogy/.