SHARED WISDOM

THE WAY OF TOLERANCE here some of my personal experiences and interactions with people. THE WAY OF TOLERANCE Religious discord is another name for communal discord. We cannot eliminate it. We can, however, protect ourselves from its harm through tolerance. A large institution under the Christian Church called De Nobili College in Pune houses an ‘Institute for the Study of Religion.’ In collaboration with an American institution, they organized a conference on religions from November 2-6, 1991, in Pune, India. The conference’s theme was ‘Religion and Society’. An invitation to the conference prompted me to journey to Pune. The conference sessions took place at the Blue Diamond Hotel, spanning three days. The program began with the worship of different faiths each day: on the first day, it started with Hindu worship; on the second day, it started with Islamic worship; and on the third day, it began with Christian worship. Representatives from each religion performed their respective forms of worship. The Pune Religious Conference provided opportunities to present Islamic perspectives in various sessions. For instance, on November 3, the participants were divided into three groups. About a dozen individuals in my group were affiliated with Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Each shared their influences regarding religion. In one meeting,