Religious Youth Service Offers Seminar for Youth and Professors in Chennai

Chennai, India - With great spirit and enthusiasm towards youth welfare and religious harmony, Religious Youth Service and the Universal Peace Federation organized a one-day inter-religious program for young people from Loyola College in Chennai. Religious Youth Service continues to make strong effort to establish a better place for youth to live free of communal and racial barriers. Many professors from the college also participated in this meeting to enrich themselves on this most important area of study.

Mr. Shine Jose, who is the backbone of Religious Youth Service in Chennai, promotes religious harmony with an indomitable will. Nearly 30 students from the college attended, both girls and boys.

Ambassador for Peace Dr. Vaslamma Pinheiro from Brazil delivered a challenging speech on communal harmony and also read the RYS Founders message for the youth. She gave insights about family dynamics as a foundation for peace to prosper. Dr. Pinheiro attracted the interest of many youth and helped to direct them toward a positive future.

A UPF Ambassadors for Peace meeting was held on the same day at Mount Manor, a hotel near to the International Airport. Prof. Ranganathan J., the emcee for that program, offered keynote remarks and introduced the speakers of the day. Dr. Valsamma Pinheiro inspired the audience with her charm and serenity. Dr. Abdul Rasheed spoke about the relevance of Islam and contemporary issues related to Islam. He provided a better understanding of Islam, which in turn helped in identifying problems and possible solutions. Mr. Shine Jose also announced to the audience the launch of Religious Youth Service clubs in various colleges and institutions.

A video presentation about UPF's goals and achievements provided the audience with an understanding of the role of UPF and the Ambassadors for Peace. An additional video was shown about RYS to inspire the young people to take up a like challenge in India or participate in a project abroad.

After a two-hour program and lunch, attendees departed to visit local places of worship. First, we went to visit His Holiness Shri Shri Bala Swamigal, a great exponent of healing music, located in the heart of Mysore. We received his blessing and shared more about Ambassadors for Peace programs. Later, we visited a mosque in order to gain a better understanding of Islam. Dr. Habeeb delivered an address on the relevance of Islam. Snacks and tea were served. The group left then to visit the church of St. Thomas, where Thomas, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ was said to have come to Chennai. The interreligious visits were the conclusion of a very busy but meaningful day.