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ISSN 2250 - 3331 Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation Chair of Inter-Religious & Inter-Cultural Dialogue Ethics and Society: An International Journal Religions and Cultures for Peace and Harmony Vol. 2 Contributors Section I Cardinal Paul Poupard Archbishop Felix Machado Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci Scientist Mr. Niranjan Bilgi Dr. D. K. Sankaran Dr. Marie Fernandes Dr. Sr. Teresa Joseph Dr. Fr. Leo Lefubure Dr. Kala Acharya Prof. Lalita Namjoshi Mr. Suhas Paranjpe Mr. Zuhair Nathani Ms. Zarina Tajani Dr. Avinash De Souza Prof. Jyoti Bhatia Ms. Elcy Pinto Section II Dr. Paul Balta Dr. Dan Jaffé Dr. Marie Fernandes Prof. Sharmila Dhote Dr. Fr. S.M. Michael Edited by Archbishop Felix Machado Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes 26 November 2011 ISSN 2250 - 3331 Ethics and Society: An International Journal Religions and Cultures for Peace and Harmony Vol. 2 Contributors Section I Cardinal Paul Poupard Archbishop Felix Machado Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci Scientist Mr. Niranjan Bilgi Dr. D. K. Sankaran Dr. Marie Fernandes Dr. Sr. Teresa Joseph Dr. Fr. Leo Lefubure Dr. Kala Acharya Prof. Lalita Namjoshi Mr. Suhas Paranjpe Mr. Zuhair Nathani Ms. Zarina Tajani Dr. Avinash De Souza Prof. Jyoti Bhatia Ms. Elcy Pinto Section II Mr. Paul Balta Mr. Dan Jaffé Dr. Marie Fernandes Prof. Sharmila Dhote Dr. Fr. S.M. Michael Edited by Archbishop Felix Machado Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes 26 November 2011 © 2011 Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation Published: November 2011 Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation Chair for Inter-Religious And Inter-Cultural Dialogue St. Andrew’s College, Bandra, Mumbai – 400050 Printed at : JRose Enterprises 27, Surve Industrial Estate, Sonawala X Road No. 1, Goregaon East, Mumbai - 400 063 Contents 1) The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation 3 2) Creating Oasis of Peace and Harmony Cardinal Paul Poupard 6 3) Discourse Archbishop Felix Machado 11 4) Clean Drinking Water For All Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci 15 5) Water – The Essence of our Existence Scientist Niranjan Biligi 19 6) Water Resources In India Dr. D. K. Sankaran 25 7) A Torrent of Signification in Water Stories – Factual and Mystical Dr. Marie Fernandes 30 8) An Enquiry into Water from an Inter-religious, Inter-cultural and Inter-disciplinary Perspective Sr. Dr. Teresa Joseph fma 46 9) Water in Interreligious Perspective Dr. Fr. Leo D. Lefebure 54 10) Sacredness of Water in the Hindu Tradition Dr. Kala Acharya 66 11) Sacredness of Water Dr Lalita Namjoshi 71 12) Water : An Islamic Perspective Zuhair Nathani 74 13) Significance of Water in Islam Zarina Tajani 81 14) Water: A Bio-Psycho-Social Construct Dr. Avinash De Sousa 84 15) Hindu Perspective on Water - Case Study of River Ganga Prof. Jyoti Bhatia 88 16) Hindu Perspective on Water Elcy Pinto 96 17) Boire et Manger en Méditerranée Paul Balta 102 18) Le Partage de la Table dans le Monde Juif : Histoire et Identité Dr. Dan Jaffé 109 19) Anthropological and Culinary Customs of Some of the Major Religions in India – Hinduism,Buddhism, Judaism and Christian Religion Dr. Marie Fernandes 115 20 Eat, Pray and Love Prof. Sharmila Dhote 135 21 Meals and Celebrations in Asian Cultures S.M. Michael svd 153 22 About the Editors 171 23 About the Contributors 173 5 The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation has been constituted under Italian law and recognised by the Republic of Italy. It has legal base at Crema, Via Dante, 24. In a world oscillating between indifference and fanaticism, His Eminence Cardinal Poupard, collaborator of the sovereign Pontiffs John XXIII, Paul VI and Benedict XVI is one of the most qualified representatives for the way of dialogue, identified by Popes as being able to establish peaceful and long-lasting co-existence between nations and different civilisations. The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation intends to conserve and make use of the considerable patrimony of culture and relations that the Cardinal created over many years, in seeking to create and encourage cultural initiatives that can foster the coming together and understanding between traditions and religions of all the world. It seeks to promote congress, conferences, publications, create Chairs in universities throughout the world, help students with grants and promote the Prize “The Dialogue of Cultures”. In order to do this, it is composed under the direction of His Eminence Cardinal Paul Poupard, of a President, who will have responsibility for all the activity of the Foundation, assisted by a scientific Committee made up of men and women from the field of culture and the world of business and finance, and will be a place of contact able to erect solid bridges between countries and cultural institutions. The members of this Committee witness, by their adherence, to the richness of different cultures across the world: France, Italy, Russia, United States, Latin America, India and Middle East. The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation: Inspired by an Open Humanism One can synthesize the specific character of Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation, saying that it is inspired by an open Humanism and it is committed to its spread. It is Humanism, because at the core of its concerns there is the human being, that means the one who has to defend himself from all the ideological, political and economic forces which tend to enslave him. It is Open, because it recognises within each human being the spiritual openness, that means the religious dimension which constitute man’s nature. 6 Therefore, it works through the initiatives that I am going to illustrate [or: that I have illustrated]; valorising man in his spiritual dimension, hoping that the different expressions of it do not become an occasion for violent conflicts, but rather a loyal and constructive comparison, for reciprocal enrichment and a common search of truth. Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci President Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation St. Andrew’s College Management Committee for the Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation: Chair of Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue 1. Cardinal Oswald Gracias (Chairperson) 2. Archbishop Felix Machado (Ex-Officio, Card. Paul Poupard Foundation) 3. Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci (Ex-Officio, Card. Paul Poupard Foundation) 4. Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues (Manager) 5. Dr. Marie Fernandes (Principal) 6. Sr. Theresa Joseph (Secretary) Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation Chair of Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue St. Andrew’s College, Bandra Vision To promote peace and harmony for a holistic development of society. Mission The Chair of Inter-Religious and International Dialogue at St. Andrew’s College aims at promoting: ! The exchange of knowledge concerning religions and cultures in dialogue with one another ! Advanced studies and research in Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue 7 ! A space for dialogue so as to foster social harmony and national integration ! The transformation of society by training people to live in peace and harmony. Programmes Offered Seminars: To promote study and research among the students into the major religious and cultural traditions. Certificate / Diploma Courses: Short courses in the areas of inter-religious dialogue, religious pluralism and cultures so as to enable the participants to get to know various religions and cultures. Local, national and international workshops: Workshops on Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue and Education as well as sensitizing teachers / students on the significance of the same. Lectures: Lectures by distinguished persons of various religious traditions and cultures. The lectures will aim at creating better understanding among the students and participants, and at promoting peace and harmony. Research: Offers the possibility for scholars to work on research papers and publications. Inter-Collegiate Programmes: Essay and Quiz competitions, Seminars, Debates and Exhibitions. Themes A team of Educators who would offer inter-religious and inter-cultural perspectives. A team of Professors who would offer reflections and approaches to promote peace and harmony for a holistic development of society. 8 Creating Oasis of Peace and Harmony Cardinal Paul Poupard Pope Benedict XVI in his address at an meeting of Interreligious leaders at the Notre Dame Centre in Jerusalem on 11 May 2009 declared it was God who said to Abraham: “Go from your country, your kindred and your father’s house for a land I shall show you” And so Abram went … and took his wife Sarah with him” (Gen 12:1-5). Truly, God’s call, which marks the beginning of the history of our faith traditions, was heard in the midst of man’s ordinary daily existence. And the history that ensued was shaped, not in isolation, but through the encounter with Egyptian, Hittite, Sumerian, Babylonian, Persian, and Greek cultures. Indeed, faith is always lived within a culture. And the history of religion shows that a community of believers proceeds by degrees of faithfulness to God, drawing from and shaping the culture it meets. Pope Benedict XVI also pertinently reminds us nearly four thousand years after Abraham that the encounter of religions with culture occurs not only on a geographical plane. Certain aspects of globalization and in particular the world of the internet have created a vast virtual culture, the worth of which is as varied as its countless manifestations. Undoubtedly much has been achieved to create a sense of closeness and unity within the world-wide human family. Yet, at the same time, the boundless array of portals through which people so readily access undifferentiated sources of information can easily become an instrument of increasing fragmentation: the unity of knowledge is shattered and the complex skills of critique, discernment and discrimination learned through academic and ethical traditions are at times bypassed or neglected. The question naturally arises then as to what contribution do religions make to the cultures of the world against the backdrop of rapid globalization. Religion is the soul of culture. Hence, religions have a bounden duty to share and mould cultures, including and especially, the virtual culture which is so much a part and parcel of life today.