Dr Jagdish Gandhi, Founders-Manager & Dr Bharti Gandhi, Founder-Director

We are immensely pleased that City Montessori School Asharfabad Campus is organising the International Interfaith Conference on the theme "Unity of thoughts among religions, for a better world" with a view to promote interfaith harmony and unity in the world.

The world today is ablaze with the fire of religious hatred. Not a single day passes without prominent headlines about religiously-motivated violence and killings. No country is immune from its effects. It has become one of the most pressing affairs of this day.

Complex and seemingly intractable problems require imaginative solutions. Moreover we cannot wait for someone else to solve the problem. Each one of us has to be working pro- actively towards the solution. This is where education comes in. Educational curricula today have to address this need of our times; there is need for interfaith understanding to be inculcated in the tender hearts of the children, so they will grow up with love for diversity of thought and belief and work for it.

The International Interfaith Conference will highlight the philosophy of Jai Jagat of City Montessori School. This will be yet another event that will go to show that the City Montessori School stands for respect of all religions of the world and the participants from different countries will come to know that the interfaith understanding is essential for uniting the human race. They will realize that religions should not be used to divide humanity. Instead, religions should be used for uniting the world into one global family.

We heartily congratulate the principal, Mrs Trapti Dwivedi and staff of CMS Asharfabad Campus for organising this conference on this urgent issue of our time, and wish them great success in it.

President and Managing Director, CMS

It is puzzling and paradoxical that religion – whose whole existence is meant to promote care for others – has become today one of the most formidable obstacles to peace because it is now identified as an important source of unrest and violence in the world. Against this dark backdrop, it is delightful that CMS Asharfabad campus is continuing its relentless pursuit of peace through inter-religious dialogue, by organizing the seventh Annual International Interfaith Conference. This year’s conference theme of ‘Unity of thoughts among religions, for a better world’ takes a very positive line of thought.

Religion has a powerful hold on the human heart, and gives a spur for service, often inspiring adherents to make great personal sacrifices for the sake of serving the community. If this power of religion to inspire and motivate hearts can be tapped for positive causes, it can lead to unprecedented development of the society.

This interfaith Conference will bring together religious leaders, school teachers, NGOs and scholars to discuss how to harness this positive power of religion, to assist in both social and economic development of society. Since every single CMS classroom is a religiously diverse community – with Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist and Baha’i children learning together, such a discourse has particular relevance to our teachers.

I congratulate the Principal, staff and students of CMS Asharfabad campus for organizing this conference to take forward the CMS peace-education mission and promote unity of religions.

Superior Principal & Head, QAID

“Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.”
— Dalai Lama

Martin Luther King Jr, once said, “I have decided to live with love”. Love and tolerance should be the only way to move forward, especially when it comes to interfaith harmony within an environment of ‘Religious Pluralism’. Growing awareness of the idea of interfaith harmony and the urge for its realization is the need of the hour.

"As believers we all have an opportunity and moral obligation to recognize our spiritual common ground; to rise above our differences; to combat prejudice and intolerance."

Inter-faith harmony, in strict sense of the word, continues to elude us as an unachievable idea in the real world of eight billion people under the available parameters of human thinking. However, this could change, with the will to show respect and consideration for one another. Interfaith dialogue can help combat evil forces and rein in fundamentalist elements among various religious communities.

“Right education is that which creates a reverence for diversity in nature and a sense of belonging with the whole world”, says Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore. Opening up a child’s mind to respecting other religions, bringing up a child in a world that encourages human values, trust and compassion is the sustainable solution. When children understand that human values exist in all the great traditions; when children glimpse the humanity of believers of other faiths; and when children know that truth is expressed outside their own religion, only then narrow-mindedness, will cease to exist.

Exhibiting a mark of a great torchbearer, City Montessori School, Asharfabad campus has decided to become the harbinger of change by providing viable and credible platforms for dialogues on Inter-faith harmony contributing to peace and prosperity.

I sincerely hope and believe that the ‘International Interfaith Conference’ will mark the beginning of a new era where people would be better equipped to understand the other sans prejudices of religious practices.

heartfelt congratulations to the committed Principal, City Montessori School, Asharfabad, Ms Trapti Dwivedi along with her dedicated staff for this upcoming event. I wish them success in their endeavour which would surely reestablish the spirit of oneness in our young minds.