Hindu Representation at G20 Religious Forum by P. Bhadreshdas Swami from BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha with other Hindu leaders
Mahamahopadhyay Bhadreshdas Swami from BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha was invited as a traditional scholar of Hinduism, as one of the key speakers to address the audience of over 400 esteemed delegates from around the world, at the inaugural G20 Religion Forum – or ‘R20’ – hosted in Bali, Indonesia, on Tuesday 2 November and Wednesday 3 November 2022.
R20 is a ground-breaking new global initiative that brings together religious leaders from G20 member states.
His Excellency Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, addressed the opening session of the R20 summit by welcoming the world’s faith leaders and religious scholars.
Bhadreshdas Swami, one of leading Indian philosophers in the world today, began by paying tribute to His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj on his centennial birth anniversary by invoking his message of religious harmony from the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit in New York City in 2000.
In drawing upon the universal timeless wisdom of the Vedas, Upanishads, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, Bhagwan Swaminarayan and the great schools of Indian thought, Bhadreshdas Swami encouraged a more universal definition of ‘dharma’ and unpacked several universal dharmic values – such as peace, love, friendship, respect and compassion.
Two other speakers from India also spoke eloquently about religious harmony by drawing upon the principles of Sanatan Hindu Dharma – Swami Govinda Dev Giri Maharaj, Treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, and Swami Mitranand Saraswati, Director of the All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra.
In a personal interview, Dr Timothy Samuel Shah, one of the lead organisers of the summit and Distinguished Research Scholar in Politics at the University of Dallas (USA), thanked Bhadreshdas Swami for “bringing the knowledge of a great great ancient philosophical and theological tradition into the heart of the first annual G20 Religion Forum in your beautiful address.”
Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf, chairman of the world’s largest Muslim organisation, expressed his personal gratitude to Bhadreshdas Swami and other Hindu leaders of India for constructively joining in the proceedings of the summit. “It shows you are prepared to struggle with us for solutions. You came with a pure and sincere heart to contribute something positive, something noble for all of humanity and the future of our global civilization.”
The R20 summit in 2023 will be hosted in New Delhi.
