TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

ongoing dialogue of an informal nature. In this way with distances narrowed, the confrontational attitude now gives way to compromise. Interaction is an unproclaimed dialogue. When, as a result of circumstances, interaction between people of different persuasions increases, the purpose of the dialogue is served on its own. Today, in educational institutions, offices, and factories, in travel, on playgrounds and in national and international activities, adherents of different religious traditions are meeting one another on a scale hitherto unwitnessed. In the course of this continuous and vast interaction, for the first time in human history, people seem less like strangers to one another. A great gap has been bridged. People are learning one another’s languages. They are becoming familiar with one another’s culture. Making concessions to one another has become a need of the people themselves. These factors have brought people closer right across the world. And it is a psychological truth that closeness and interaction in them serve the purpose of a practical dialogue. In this way, a natural dialogue has come into existence and has become an ongoing process at all times and in all places. Probably the most notable result of this historical process is that after a long intellectual struggle religious intolerance has been universally rejected. Religious intolerance has now been replaced with complete religious freedom. Today under auspices of the United Nations all the nations of the world have signed the universal declaration of human rights. In accordance with this declaration religious freedom has been accepted as the natural birthright of all human beings. As opposed to practices in ancient times, no one now enjoys the right to persecute anyone on the basis of religion. This is the change which has confined the sphere of religious difference to peaceful negotiation. Interreligious dialogue had its beginnings in individual interaction, paving the way for discussions held in religious gatherings. Then it became a part of a world movement. Now, that day too will dawn when the world is no more ridden with religious disputes, and we are able to live in a peaceful and harmonious world.