The Institute of Jainology (IoJ), the international Jain organisation promoting Jainism in government and inter-religious affairs, led its third delegation to the Vatican to meet with the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (PCID) on 1st June 2016. The last two meetings were in 1995 and 2011. The 35-strong international Jain delegation was led by Mr Nemu Chandaria, Chairman of the IoJ and had Jain leaders from the UK, India and the Middle East.
The delegations discussed the topic of ‘Taking care of the Earth, the home of the human family’. Dr Mehool H Sanghrajka, Director of the IoJ, presented a paper from the Jain perspective in which he said; “The signs of our environmental damage are all around us. Degradation of the environment and climate change are already causing great suffering. Unchecked consumerism and wastefulness, the hallmarks of modern life, continue to cause irreparable damage to the planet. From a Jain perspective, taking care of the earth is not merely concern for the environment. It is far deeper, and rooted at the heart of Jain preaching. Co-existing with all other forms of life in an interdependent world, is about not causing harm to our fellow souls, and sin to one’s self.”
