BRITISH HINDU VOICE STATEMENT RE WOOLWICH INCIDENT

As you can imagine, faithful reader, many comments and statements will be made regarding the incident in Woolwich, Wednesday 22 May 2013. I'm posting a selection of these on the blog, limited to relevant organisations with which Leicester Council of Faiths is involved to some extent. Below is a statement by British Hindu Voice ("a think tank and a single voice for the Hindu and Jain Communities in Leicester and Leicestershire") issued today in the name of the Chair, Mr Vinod Popat:

The British Hindu Voice (BHV) today condemned the murder of a serving British Officer. The Chair of BHV Vinod Popat stated “I am shocked by the news of the murder that happened in  broad daylight on a British street. The gruesome nature of the murder and the gloating that followed should be condemned in the strongest terms. Our thoughts and prayers are with the brave British soldier’s family”BHV urges calm at these difficult times. It is now known that the perpetrators were both Muslims and whilst we support the Islamic community in their efforts to distance from the individuals, the worry is that faiths and religion could be confused and innocent communities could be targeted. BHV will continue to work with other faiths in Leicestershire to ensure that the good harmony is maintained.

FAITHS UNITED AFTER ACTROCITY

This is (part of) the front page of today's Leicester Mercury. I don't usually comment on articles or readers' letters in the Mercury, but I'm making an exception this time.

Well, this is the kind of headline I like to see, as I'm sure you can imagine, faithful reader. But the title of this short but prominent piece is hyperbolic - as is the first sentence, "People of different faiths stood shoulder to shoulder [...]" When you turn to the full article, it only refers to two faiths: Christianity and Islam. Even then, it's actually the Church of England and Islam. Only Sheikh Ibrahim Moghra, Suleman Nagdi and the Bishop of Leicester are quoted. Three important voices, who should be heard prominently in the city and beyond - but this is hardly comprehensive coverage of a matter that is of major interest and importance to everyone in Leicester who cares about the increasingly polarised debate on the influence of religion or belief on community relations. These three voices have no trouble being heard, because of their well-earned and richly deserved prominence in their respective communities and the place of their religions in the firmament of faiths. I certainly respect their opinions and want to know what they have to say and believe that the rest of the city should hear them too. But does the Mercury really think that the city's Bahá'ís, Buddhists, other kinds of Christians, Jains, Jews, Sikhs - and, for that matter, Secular Humanists - have nothing calming, illuminating or insightful to say about this?

Leicester Council of Faiths issued a brief statement to the Leicester Mercury (amongst other recipients) yesterday morning, but the paper has not used it, referred to it or contacted anyone involved with the Council of Faiths to contribute to any of its coverage of local responses to the incident in Woolwich. Considering our role in the public life of Leicester and our standing in the city, I think that's a pity.

FAITH AWARENESS SUMMER VISITS: JAIN CENTRE

The Faith Awareness series of summer visits to places of worship and other faith-related sites in Leicester begins this evening at the Jain Centre, Oxford Street. As well being contracted to work 20 hours a week for Leicester Council of Faiths, I now do a day and a half a week with Faith Awareness, the inter-faith programme of Christians Aware.

I must have visited the Jain Centre more than a dozen times. I think I first came here in 1988, in the first year that the Jain Centre was open and within a year of my moving to this part of the world from Dumbarton. I was entranced by it then and still am now. On each visit I see something new and learn something new. I don't know how anyone can say, "Oh yes, I've seen the Jain temple" and just tick it off their list. This place seems to change, develop, evolve in ways - and at a rate - that set it apart from most other faith sites in Leicester. I hope it's not too fanciful to believe that my own changes, development and evolution may be keeping pace with it in some way.

Our small group is taken on a guided tour of the Centre by Dr Ramesh Mehta and Pradip Mehta. As well as giving us an overview of the history and teachings of Jainism, they describe the history of the Centre itself and discuss the community's plans for celebrating the 25th anniversary of its foundation this summer. Many of the occasions associated with this anniversary are taking place in London, because it's central for the many participants coming from overseas and because Jains in Leicester don't have access to venues here large enough to be able to hold the number of people taking part. The Centre has a flag flying above it, which is renewed annually on 14 July, the date of the founding of the Centre. The flag which will be raised there on 14 July this year (precisely at 12:39), marking the silver jubilee of the Centre, is currently being taken on a circuit of Jain community centres, homes and places of worship around the country. At each stop, it becomes a focal point for practices of devotion, meditation and purification. Dr Mehta said we could think of it as being like the Jain community's version of the Olympic Torch relay. Dr Mehta helped me write the Council of Faiths leaflet on Jains, which was one of my first tasks in this post. Now that it's time to prepare a new edition of that leaflet, I hope to call on his help again.

Carved pillars of Jaisalmer yellow sandstone in the worship area of the Jain Centre 

When I was first looking for information about Jains and Jainism for my work, nigh on six years ago, I could find little that was accessible or reliable online. That has changed recently with the appearance of professional sits created by Jain organisations such as the Institute of Jainology, Jainworld.com, the Jainpedia Project, a comprehensive section on the BBC Religions website, thorough representation on Wikipedia and on more specialist sites such as the New World Encyclopedia. Even Kew Gardens Plant Cultures website has a section on Jainism.


The hand represents fearlessness and symbolizes the attitude of ahimsa (non-violence) to all living creatures



Dr Mehta tells us that if we want to understand the Jain way of life in a nutshell, we should remember the three "A"s:

• ahimsa: non-violence
• aparigraha: non-acquisitiveness
• anekäntaväda: multiplicity of views

He also gives us a mnemonic by which we can remember the principles of this ancient religion with a message for the modern world:

• "J" is for justice
• "A" is for amity
• "I" is for introspection
• "N" is for nobility

Two of my favourite Jain Centre facts: the building accommodates several sects of Jainism, each with their distinctive interpretations, identities and practices. The different sects have their own spot set aside in the Centre for their use.

  

My other favourite Jain Centre fact: it's the only Jain place of worship in the world with stained glass windows. Rather than brick up, cover or replace with ordinary glass the stained glass windows from of the original Congregational Church, the local Jain community decided to create a series of windows of their own, telling the story of Mahavira (599-527 BCE), 24th and latest in the line of Tirthankaras. A contemporary of Gautama the Buddha, Mahavira is credited with establishing Jainism in the form we know today.

Detail from one of the stained glass windows in the Jain Centre, illustrating episodes form the life of Mahavira

I love that word: Tirthankara. The best translation into English is "ford-maker". Think of this life as a fast-flowing river which can only be crossed by means of the ford made by the Tirthankara. To ignore the ford that the Tirthankara has made and try to cross otherwise means being caught up in the currents and risking being swept to your doom!

This is the first of six Faith Awareness visits planned for Monday evenings in May and June. The others are as follows:

• All Saints Church, Kerrysdale Avenue (Monday 20 May)
• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane (Monday 3 June)
• Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street (Monday 10 June)
• Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue, Avenue Road (Monday 17 June)
• Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, Clarendon Park Road (24 June)

I may not be ale to attend every visit personally, but I hope to arrange for a blog post on each of them. Watch this space!

BRILLIANT DIWALI!

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Brilliant Diwali!

Thirty thousand people packed the Golden Mile for the Diwali Day celebrations on Tuesday night.

Visitors from all over the world joined families from closer to home in a celebration of the festival of lights, marking, for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, the triumph of good over evil and the start of a new year.

Belgrave Road was closed to traffic for more than three hours while the street party went ahead.

In Cossington recreation ground, a lively show, featured classical Indian, Bollywood and bhangra dancers.

Sanjay Hadapi, 39, from Mumbai, who is in the UK for a cricket coaching course, said: "It's the first time I have experienced Diwali celebrations in the UK.

"I am amazed by the number of people.

"It is also very big in India where it is a national holiday, but I didn't know something of this size happened outside India."

Friend Bhavin Patel, 34, of Loughborough, said: "It is the most important day of the year.

"It's a time when everyone gets together, has a good time and eats too much food."

Wassila Maafi, of Aylestone, Leicester, said: "I think it's lovely entertainment. I wish they had more of this type of event in Leicester.

"It's a good, entertaining event for the family and it's good to see different cultures being celebrated."

Mahendra Mistry, 52, of Scraptoft Lane, Leicester, said; "It's a new year, new beginnings. It's a brilliant event, you can't move. It's nice to see so many young people here."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "Leicester has been famous for its Diwali celebrations, which are the largest outside India and which the city council is happy to support."

Police said the night passed without major problems.

Speaking on the day, Chief Inspector Martyn Ball said: "Our estimate is that there are 30,000 people here, but we haven't had to deal with a single incident – it's a fun, family-oriented event and everybody is happy."

The celebrations, which are run by Leicester City Council and Leicester Hindu Festival Council, finished with a spectacular firework display which drew gasps of admiration from the crowds.

ENJOY CELEBRATIONS IN SAFETY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Enjoy celebrations in safety

Worshippers are being asked to follow simple safety tips to ensure a happy Diwali and Navratri.

Police, firefighters and the city council are teaming up to offer safety advice throughout the celebrations, with 10,000 greetings cards with safety messages being posted through letterboxes in the Belgrave, Latimer and Rushey Mead areas of the city.

Firefighters are urging Hindus and other devotees to take care when using candles and flames.

People attending celebrations and visiting friends are being asked to lock their homes and cover up expensive jewellery when out and about.

Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon said: "Each year, thousands of people take part in Diwali celebrations in Leicester.

"Our role is to ensure that they can enjoy this special time without fear of crime.

"Many people will be busy visiting friends and family in the coming weeks. We are urging them to take a few simple crime prevention measures – such as securing their windows and doors every time they leave their home, and being discreet with valuables, in particular expensive jewellery – when they are out and about.

"I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Navratri and Diwali."

Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon launched the campaign with colleagues from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service yesterday.

Speaking at Belgrave Community Centre, in Rothley Street, police and fire officers advised people not to overfill oil lamps and to be vigilant when out during celebrations.

More than 35,000 people are expected to pack into the Golden Mile for the Diwali fireworks on Sunday, November 4.

Even more will take to the streets on Diwali day, on Tuesday, November 13, for one of the biggest celebrations of its kind outside India.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Steve Lunn said: "Leicestershire has a very diverse population.

" The Navratri and Diwali celebrations are a cornerstone of our Hindu community, so we want to make sure everyone remains safe to enjoy every aspect this period has to offer.

"While the number of fires caused by Diva candles have remained low in recent years, it is through education and awareness campaigns, such as this, that we will ensure this remains the case."

Leicester City Council asked people not to bring fireworks to public celebrations. Diwali is also celebrated by Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.

Navratri is a nine-day Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of Hindu deity Shakti, which starts today.

HELPERS GET HANDY AS PART OF SEWA DAY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Helpers get handy as part of Sewa Day

Dozens of volunteers from Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities teamed up for a day of service to the community.

The came together with the St Philip's Centre in Evington, Leicester, to mark Sewa Day and helped clean up Fludes Lane, in Oadby, on Sunday.

The 40 volunteers cleared the area – a walk-through from the A6 to a group of houses – of litter and planted flower bulbs to spruce it up.

Rupa Kanabar, from Oadby, said: "Material things and money alone cannot bring groups together, so our project, as well as caring for the environemnt, aims to create inter faith understanding and friendships."

Riaz Ravat, deputy director at St Philip's Centre, said: "Sewa Day is a special time of the year when Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities work collectively for the good of all.

"These communities have a rich tradition of carrying out Sewa every day of the year, but Sewa Day is an event which co-ordinates charity efforts across the globe.

"We are delighted to be involved yet again in this important initiative."

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council provided jackets and equipment for the clean-up.

FEDERATION OF MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS RADIO SHOW ON EAVA FM

This morning I'm presenting the Interfaith Hour on Ramadan Radio, going out live on 102.5 FM and online at www.eava.com between 1000 and 1100. This is part of the schedule of programmes run by the Federation of Muslim Organisations during the Muslim month of fasting.

The hours in which FMO broadcast during Ramadan are donated by EAVA FM  Multilingual Radio. EAVA FM broadcasts in a variety of community languages including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Ndebele, Punjabi, Shona, Somali and Urdu. English content is definitely a minority interest for the station and its listeners. I've been on EAVA FM once before, in April 2009, when I was a guest on the Andy Cooke Show (which I blogged here). The station is located in the Leicester Business Centre on Ross Walk, which runs parallel to Melton Road. The front of the Leicester Business Centre has been demolished and rebuilt since then, so I spend several minutes going back and forth on Ross Walk, looking for something that isn't there any more. By the time I give up and phone the studio for directions, it turns out I'm so close, someone in the Leicester Business Centre could have leant out of a window and waved me in! Some of the Radio Ramadan programmes are broadcast from the offices of the FMO in Highfields. I was originally told to ge ther, but the equipment at their offices isn't quite good enough to do programmes with a lot of speech content, so the venue was switched to permit a better quality broadcast.

I'm in the studio half an hour before the start of the show, which gives me time to chat with Dee, (Manager at EAVA FM), Ashokhbhai (who is presenting a Hindi programme which finishes just before 1000) and Ismael Bin-Sulaiman (AKA Izzy), producer of the Interfaith Hour. Dee dangles before me the possibility of the Council of Faiths having a weekly hour-long show on the station (dependent on us obtaining sponsorship for it). That's something worth following up. During this conversation, I learn that typical listening figures for the FMO's Ramadan broadcasts are around the 300,000 mark. Most of those listeners access the show online, through the FMO website. The largest concentration of listeners is in  Chicago. Who'd have guessed?

Luman Ali at the the FMO invited me to do this programme a couple of weeks ago. I've been given carte blanche to fill the hour with my choice of content (within reason), so I've put together a programme about how the other seven communities represented on Leicester Council of Faiths approach fasting. I've recorded five short interviews with a Buddhist, a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew and a Sikh, each one of them responding to my questions about how they think about and practise fasting. Following a belt-and-braces approach, I've brought those recordings to the studio in a variety of formats: one CD with the interviews saved as MP3 files; another CD with the interviews saved as data files; a memory stick with MP3 files; my laptop with MP3 and data files; even the handheld digital recorder that I used for the original interviews. I'm not taking any chances! Thankfully, the first of these formats works without any problems.

Each of the interviewees has something interesting and distinctive to say about their religious beliefs and practices on this topic, as well as their personal experience. I invited a Jain friend to contribute too but we couldn't arrange a recording session in the time we had available. Not for the first time, I present the Jain perspective (reading a brief extract from a published source), as well as speaking briefly on my own behalf as a Bahá'í. The recorded interviews are linked by a brief chat between me and Izzy, whom I prompt for a Muslim's response to some of the points raised in the recordings. I think it goes alright, though it's a little rushed toward the end. I fit in everything that I'd wanted to get in, which is good. And thanks to Suleman Nagdi, who sent an SMS to the station, wishing me luck, from a train en route to Manchester.

As I'm leaving the studio, two chaps are setting up for the next programme, which I'm told is a "requests show". What that means in this case is that listeners send in their requests (by email or SMS) for one of the presenters to chant verses from the Qur’án, Hadith or another Islamic source, to heighten the devotional experience during Ramadan. This is one of those moments where I'm grateful for the work I do, and how permits me insights into ways of living that would otherwise not be visible to me.

LEICESTER MERCURY OFFERS FAITH SYMBOLS FOR FAMILY NOTICES

I don't know if this is a new service the Leicester Mercury is providing, but today is the first time it's come to my attention. The notice says that the paper now has a selection of faith symbols for readers' family notices. Symbols for each of the member communities on Leicester Council of Faiths are shown (top row, left to right: Hindu, Sikh, Christian; middle row, left to right: Muslim, Jewish, Jain; bottom row, left to right: Buddhist, Shinto,  Bahá'í). I don't know how many followers or practitioners of Shinto (the indigenous spirituality of the people of Japan) there are in Leicester and Leicestershire: probably more than the number of Bahá'ís, I imagine. However, if I were to choose just a ninth symbol appropriate for the city and county, I don't think Shinto would have been my first choice. I should mention that it's good to see this service being offered - but no one from the Leicester Mercury consulted, contacted or informed the Council of Faiths about it (just in case you might have been wondering, faithful reader).

HOW OUR GOOD DEEDS BECOME A UNIFYING FORCE

Here's Riaz Ravat's First Person column from today's Leicester Mercury:

How our good deeds become a unifying force 

Riaz Ravat looks ahead to Mitzvah Day, a charity event which brings different faiths together 

In a few days' time, the Jewish community of Leicestershire will once again team up with St Philip's Centre and other faiths to mark Mitzvah Day, or as some call it, "good deed" day. The event coincides with the start of national Inter-Faith Week which this year marks its third anniversary. 

Last year's Mitzvah Day took all of us organisers by surprise. Barely a day after the national Children in Need appeal, the people of Leicestershire continued their unstinting generosity by donating toiletries to our cause. Our campaign was to help people who have escaped domestic violence and who were forced to live in safe houses as a result. Mitzvah Day is an expression of how a small community, the Jewish community, makes a big difference to those on the frontline of societal ills. 

Enshrined in the teachings of so many faiths, social action has become more pressing, particularly in light of the tough economic climate we are all living in. While dialogue creates the opening for good community relations, action helps to solidify it. We in Leicester have pioneered a new way of expressing commitment to each of our respective faiths while sharing a platform of co-operation with others. 

In September, Sewa Day or "service" day, which is rooted in Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh faiths, provided an opportunity for these faiths to work alongside Christians, Jews and Muslims to deliver a teatime treat for elderly folk from the West Indian Senior Citizens Project. Likewise Mitzvah Day with its Jewish origins will open the doors for other faiths to come on board to show that Leicester's contribution in both method and model, is original and distinctive. Already Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim groups have pledged donations. 

Our Mitzvah Day effort does not collect money but bathroom items. We do not need £1 off you when a pair of toothbrushes costing 10p at the checkout will do for our collection. As with last year, however, the reality is very different with people donating over and above our expectations. Generosity is an attribute which is often missing in any discourse which attempts to define the meaning of "Britishness". Rather than some who are obsessed by the criteria of ethnicity, we should instead focus on ethics. By doing this we can have a proper assessment about the input made to advance life for all in the UK. 

The Jewish community offers a blueprint for other minorities as to how a small community, can make a sizeable contribution to wider society. The good deeds of the Jewish community in this city stretching back several centuries, reminds us that communities, however small, have been through many storms yet by remaining resilient and resolute, their efforts have generated rewards which everyone in society benefits from. 

Mitzvah Day is next Sunday. 

Riaz Ravat is based at St Philip's Centre, Leicester

WORKING ON THE WORLD FAITHS ADVISORY GROUP WEBSITE

This afternoon I'm with Clive Sutton at the Quaker Meeting House, Queens Road. We get together for an hour or so to discuss the new website for the University of Leicester International Chaplaincy's World Faiths Advisory Group, in advance of a scheduled meeting of WFAG tomorrow lunchtime. Clive's been developing this website for a while now and is hoping that WFAG can draw on the assistance of the Council of Faiths in relation to content and contacts.

In keeping with Council of Faiths practice, I ask Clive to ensure that all our eight member faith communities are represented on the website (currently there's nothing there about Bahá'ís or Jains). We also agree that the website can link to the electronic versions of our leaflets.

Clive has a (literally) cut'n'paste list of places of worship in Leicester which is the most up to date version I've seen lately - in hard copy at least. Actually he has two copies and offers one to me, which I'm only too happy to accept.

HUNDREDS ENJOY JAIN EVENT

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Hundreds enjoy faith event

By Gemma Peplow

Hundreds of worshippers took to the streets for a holy celebration yesterday.

Members of the Jain Centre, in the city centre, were joined by other followers from all over the country for a procession.

With many worshippers banging drums and others sprinkling holy water, they paraded outside the centre, in Oxford Street, and around part of the nearby De Montfort University campus.

Organisers said up to 700 people took part in the day's celebrations, which included prayers and a meal inside the centre after the procession in honour of Mantuga-Suri, a monk who wrote the religion's most famous prayer.

Neeta Kothari, 47, and her sister-in-law Smita, 45, were among the centre members taking part.

Neeta, who lives in the Abbey Lane area of the city, said: "This is a holy ceremony and it is very special for us. People have come from all over the country to take part.

"This is a day when you are not thinking about anyone else apart from God."

Smita, who lives in Hamilton, Leicester, said: "We're proud to be taking part. We're volunteering as well so we are helping out."

Rajesh Mehta, 57, travelled from Birmingham to join the celebrations.

He said: "I think this is a very good way of celebrating. It's a very proud day."

Mitesh Shah, 35, travelled from Solihull and was taking part in the procession with several family members, including his two daughters Tvara, nine, and Kavya, four.

"It's an important day where you meet people and worship God," he said.

Divyesh and Rina Shah, of Stoneygate, Leicester, also took part.

Rina, 45, said: "It's a very religious and spiritual event."

Jainism is an Indian religion which promotes pacifism.

Yesterday's event was being held in Leicester for the first time.

According to legend, Mantuga-Suri was chained and imprisoned by a king.

He composed the prayer, the Bhaktamara Stotra, in prison. With the completion of each verse, a chain broke, and he was free when all the verses were finished.

Jain Centre president Smita Shah said: "We have had hundreds of people here.

"It's been a wonderful day. It's very important to have people coming together, with everybody taking part, from elderly people to children.

"I would like to thank everyone who has been involved to make the day a huge success."

She said the event was expected to raise about £10,000 in donations, with some of the proceeds being given to a charity for disabled people.

George Ballentyne, of the Leicester Council of Faiths, said: "It's a great event. The Council of Faiths is really glad to see the range of diversity in the city."

JAINS CELEBRATE BHAKTAMARA STOTRA POOJAN

Leicester's Jain community came out onto the streets today (well, into Magazine Square, to be precise) to celebrate Bhaktamara Stotra Poojan. This is the first time they've done this in public. I arrive not long before the end of the acitivity, but am glad I see at least some of it.


There's a young woman standing on the sidelines with a reporter's notepad. It strikes me that she might be a reporter. I go up to her and ask, "Are you a reporter by any chance?" At first she seems a wee bit wary of me (who wouldn't be, to be fair?) but when i give her my card, she gives me hers in exchange and asks if I'd give a comment for the Leicester Mercury. Happy to be asked, I do so.


I also give my card to the Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, who's in attendance, standing between the two Doctors Mehta. it's not that I don't think the Mayor can't find me when he needs to - but I'd like to direct him toward our social media, so that he (or at least someone on his team) to follow our activities on a frequent and regular basis.


This is a joyous, uplfting occasion - with colourful costumes, uplifting music and vibrant dancing. I hope that the Jain community will feel emboldened to do more of such things in public. Harry and Grace are here with me - and they seem to love it (particularly an old chap in a colourfully decorated mobility scooter).

COUNCIL OF DHARMIC FAITHS UK FORMED

In a very interesting development for inter faith relations on a national level in the UK, a Council of Dharmic Faiths has been formed. In the presence of leading figures from the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh communities, the Council of Dharmic Faiths was launched at the House of Commons on 16 May. Dharma is a word common to all the religions involved and has the meaning of righteous conduct or teaching. The Council of Dharmic Faiths has been established with the aim of encouraging friendship, goodwill, respect, equality and increased understanding within these communities, and between members of these communities and others in the UK. The Parsi (Zoroastrian) community has associate membership of the Council of Dharmic Faiths.

The launch event at the House of Commons marked the culmination of a process that has in its earlier stages seen the national circulation of a discussion paper in 2007 on the "Advancement of Dharma" for all major faith leaders in the UK, followed by the discussion of the desirability of a "Four Faiths Forum" for those religions which historically originated in India. Then there was a historic gathering of leaders of national faith organisations of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian communities in Finchley at the end of March this year, where arrangements were finalised for the formation of the Council of Dharmic Faiths.

There are estimated to be more than one and a half million followers of Dharmic religions in the UK. The Council of Dharmic Faiths has been established with the intention of promoting education and training,offering advocacy, improving the quality of health and social welfare, encouraging appropriate recreational activities and preserving the cultural heritage and promoting the interests of these faith communities in the UK.

The elected Chair of the Council of Dharmic Faiths is Dr Natubhai Shah, who is certainly well known in Leicester. Dr Shah was a prime movers in the establishment of the Jain Centre here and was prominent in public inter faith work in the city when I arrived here in the late 1980s.

If anyone were to think of this as an odd or innovative development, I would say think of the Family of Abraham grouping, that we've been used to in the inter faith world for donkey's years. I'm impressed by this new Council's public denial of being a caucus of religions who share special interests or who feel the need to define themselves in contrast or opposition to any other grouping of faith communities or any one faith in particular.

The Council of Dharmic Faiths has its own Facebook page.

MINDFULNESS & MORALITY 8: JAIN PERSPECTIVE

Session eight of this twelve-week course at Christchurch, Clarendon Park Road. Mindfulness and Morality is offered by Christians Aware as part of their Faith Awareness programme.

This evening the Jain perspective is presented by Smita Shah (in photo above with Gerry Gardiner, one of the regular attendees). Smita is President of Jain Samaj Europe, the first woman to hold this position. She is also Treasurer of Leicester Council of Faiths.

Smita asks for a show of hands from those of us who have previously encountered Jainism or Jains. Since this is a relatively knowledgeable and experienced group, everyone raises a hand. She asks us to keep our hand up if we've visited the Jain Centre on Oxford Street; very few hands go down.

Mention is also made of the current exhibition at Phoenix Square Film & Digital Media Centre: "Let's Celebrate 365" contains some striking photos of Jain festivals in India, which have never before been seen on this scale in Leicester. Smita takes a moment to explain the significcance of the images on show there. In amongst the photos of far-flung places, "Let's Celebrate 365" also contains a photograph taken in Leicester's Jain Centre, during the celebration of Diwali there.

Most of us here this evening (20 in all) have already been given a copy of the Council of Faiths leaflet on Jains, which we're expected to have read in preparation for this session. Smita reiterates some central principles and practices of Jain belief and lifestyle, all of which serve to move the individual soul closer to moksha (liberation from the recurring cycle of life, death and rebirth) and nirvana (enlightenment, eternal bliss). These include:

• Ahimsa: non-violence
• Satya: telling the truth
• Asteya: not stealing
• Aparigrapha: minimisation or non-accumulation of possessions
• Anekantvad: belief that multiple viewpoints are the true picture

Among these principle and practices, ahimsa is paramount. It extends beyond human life alone, to encompass all creation. It is based on what Jains call paraspargroho jivanan - interdependence of all life.(I wonder if it could be said to be analogous to "biophilia" - a term I heard for the first time earlier today.) Ahimsa entails more than just staying one's own hand from committing harm. It's deeper, more subtle and more profound than that. It encompasses violence or harm done by speech or thought, including hypocrisy, back-biting and the like. Ahimsa also requires us to refrain from encouraging, condoning, celebrating or applauding any kind of violence by anyone on any other forms of life.

In a social and political sense, the most significant contribution ahimsa has made in history would arguably be when Mahatma Gandhi adopted it as the foundation of his campaign to free India from British rule.

While the core principles of Jain life are applicable at all times and in all places, exactly how they are put into action may vary. Smita acknowledges the effect of such factors as historical context, geographical setting, cultural influences, family background and the influence of different kinds of people on our upbringing - all these would play a part in the moral and spiritual dimension of our lives. A Jain approach to life acknowedges the tension between the physical and the spiritual. There is clear differentiation among Jains between monks, nuns and saintly individuals on the one hand - who are strictly committed to an absolute code of practice - and lay people and householders on the other, who have to live in a more pragmatic fashion, often making conscious and informed compromise with their principles for the sake of daily living in the material world.

Jains believe in reincarnation - that the individual has to go through 84,000 life cycles. Deeds determine the condition into which one is born, according to karmas stored up from lives already lived that attach themselves to the soul. The four arms of the swastika (a tradition Jain symbol) represent the four potential realms for rebirth: heaven, hell, the human or animal kingdoms.

Bearing in mind these various principle and practices, Smita asks us to consider the following moral dilemma:

A Jain family lives in the UK and has a toddler in the house. Their household is infested with pests - mice in paticular, which can be dangerous for the baby. What should the famiy do? How do they get rid of the mice? Would it be any different if there ws no baby in the house or if it was infested with ants rather than mice?

Here are some of the comments arising from the group discussions:

Since Jains believe in reincarnation and the transimgration of souls, you might be killing your grandmother if you were to kill the mice; or in the next life, it might be you going into that mousetrap.

One should do one's best to do the right thing, but still one has to be pragmatic.

Some present describe how they've dealt with similar problems and consider how what they did might match up to the demands of Jainism.

Even the idea of moving away and leaving the problem to the next occupiers of the house would not be in accord with the law of ahimsa, since all you'd be doing would be to pass on responsibility to others for the harm that will be done.

There's some discussion about the relative worth of different kinds of life - for example, the need from other cultural and spiritual perspectives to eradicate disease and eliminate bacteria, viruses etc. there's no time to go into that tonight, but the potential for longer and deeper discussion is recognised.

The most extreme form of the question immediatly above arose in one of the groups where it was mentioned that a scientist had recently published a paper claiming to have identified fossil microbes in meteorites. NASA and other scientific and astronomical agencies are investigating this claim. If this were to be proved and it were to become commonly accepted that meteorites could carry this basic form of life around the solar system - and a large one was found to be on a collision course with Earth, would a firm Jain position prohibit us from attempting to avert this collision as it might destroy the microbes, while risking the death of countless creatures on earth, perhaps even risking human extinction?

Many Jains are known to work in medicine; how does ahimsa impinge upon following that sort of career or study path? Would a Jain doctor, nurse or consultant seek to work in a particular field that doesn't involve the destruction of other organisms in order to improve the health of patients?

As a closing note, Smita tells us that the sincerity of penitence for having to do harm to other creatures in a situation like this has, of itself, led to the liberation and enlightenment of individuals, through ego-less empathy with the suffering of another creature.

LEICESTER SPEAKS 2010: JAIN / SIKH DIALOGUE

This is the first of four meetings that Leicester Council of Faiths is presenting for Leicester Speaks (AKA Local Democracy Week). It's a dialogue between representatives of the city's Jains and Sikhs on the topic, "What our Community Brings to Leicester" at Leicester Adult Education College, 1400-1500.

All across the Leicester Speaks programme, we've given ourselves permission not to judge success or failure just by numbers attending meetings and events. The Council of Faiths meetings are pitched deliberately low key; being involved in Leicester Speaks has given us a platform that we'd have found it hard to obtain on our own - and we don't need to worry about carrying responsibility for success or failure on our own shoulders.

Today, Gursharan Thandi presents the Sikh perspective (that's Gursharan on the right in the photo above, with Marion Kennedy), while I am speaking for Leicester's Jains. The Jain community hasn't been able to put up a speaker, so for the second time in a week, I'm speaking on their behalf (I also did the Jain reading at the Vigil for Leicester in the Cathedral last Friday).