The attention of the world is gripped by the Coronavirus pandemic. As it has intensified, it has shone a light on a number of critical issues that humanity must solve if we are to build a future that works for all, such as finding a healthy balance between the needs of people and the flow of capital in the economy. A central purpose of World Goodwill is to reveal the underlying causes of global problems, inspiring humanity to build enlightened solutions.

One of the ways we do this is through our study course, inspired by the book Problems of Humanity by Alice A. Bailey. It is offered to all people of goodwill as a means of sharing in a definite world service. 

It currently consists of seven study sets – an introductory set, followed by six major problem areas identified in the book: 

The Psychological Renewal of the Nations
Children, Youth and Education
Capital, Labour and Employment
The Minorities
The Churches and Organised Religion
International Unity

These problem areas are not exclusive to any one nation or group, but concern the whole of humanity. They are part of the public discussion in every country, in all forms of physical and digital media. Now, more than ever, the future depends upon people of goodwill taking a positive, leading role in this thinking and discussion, bringing spiritual understanding to the global debate.

The book was written during and just after the Second World War, and its division into six problem areas is somewhat artificial, for as we move into the Aquarian Age, a more synthetic worldview reveals the complex inter-relations existing among all areas of human thought and action. As a result, many people are perceiving new variations and extensions of these problems. One obvious example is the emerging recognition that our relations with the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms are out of balance, leading to climate change, and the destruction of both biodiversity and the integrity of many ecosystems. Nonetheless, this framework offers one useful starting point for reflecting upon the central issues which humanity must resolve if we are to build a more just, equal and peaceful world. And the fundamental principles highlighted in the book remain timelessly relevant.

For this approach to be useful, it is essential to reject a superficial interpretation of events, and search instead for underlying causes. This requires the ability to penetrate into the world of meaning, and to transmit the lighted understanding and direction of the soul, via the mind, into our everyday awareness. In this way, the thoughtful consideration and meditative attitude of thousands of sincere people striving to find a solution to humanity’s problems in terms of right human relations can forge a subjective link between humanity and its spiritual source. 

Each study set includes a suggested meditation, with an accompanying “seed thought”. If this thought is considered in relation to the material studied and taken into the daily meditation, it can germinate, grow and blossom with creative ideas. 

The two key requirements are: an attitude of goodwill to all (an open heart), and an open mind. The appraisal and expression of these problems should be approached in a spirit of goodwill. The course is used by people from many different races, nations and religions and, as a result, attitudes to the problems studied will be significantly different. These differences are of supreme value in the effect of our work within human consciousness. We will all have our own point of view, yet we have a responsibility to ensure that our view is based on considered reflection and is not the result of prejudice, or a general and vague acceptance of things as they are. None of us is entitled to feel that only our ideas are correct. The aim is for each of us to think for ourselves, and to consider the problems intelligently and intuitively. Then we should be able to formulate our own ideas on: 

The causes underlying the problems.
Possible steps to solve them.
What one’s own individual responsibility may be in relation to the problems.

The aim is not to produce comprehensive solutions, a task beyond any one individual and better suited to those working in a particular field. Yet each of us can arrive at a clearer understanding of past actions, of present conditions and of future possibilities; we can identify the schools of thought which seem to us the most constructive and practical; and we can train ourselves to undertake a new spiritual effort. This may not be an easy thing to do, for it requires sacrifice and a willingness to reorganise our time. But taking right action in this way will evoke a growing compassion, and a deeper understanding of the struggles that people face across the world. 

The course has been designed in the hope that it will lead to two important results:

It will help us find our right field of service in the world (if we have not already done so).

It will contribute towards the creation of a “thoughtform of solution” in human consciousness which will aid in bringing about right human relations. Clarity of thought, motivated by goodwill, will surely help to purify the emotional and mental atmosphere in which these difficult issues are set. 

If the qualities of love and unity – the essence of right human relations – are to condition world affairs, new ways of thinking and new vision are needed. The right thinking of people of goodwill on these critical problems creates a dynamic, magnetic, penetrating body of thought, which powerfully influences the hearts and minds of people everywhere. 

The light of this inclusive view reveals the crisis of wrong attitudes and wrong values which lies at the heart of every problem. Separativeness, selfishness and materialism are the root causes of the distortions in human relationships which manifest as poverty, the arms race, racism, and our many other critical social ills. Liberation of the human spirit depends upon the awakening of two heart-centred recognitions: of the One humanity, the One world and the One life; and of the intrinsic value and uniqueness of every individual human being. It also depends on the values which are coming through now and qualifying human consciousness – goodwill, justice, right freedoms for all, right responsibility of each for all, right sharing and cooperation, and right international relationships. All of us are responsible for creating world conditions of justice, unity and peace.

Much of the beauty of present day humanity lies in the work of the many thousands of NGOs, of the UN and its agencies, and of the plethora of powerful single issue campaigns.  Taken as a whole they show a humanity growing into and dynamically expressing the life of the Soul. Many people find real service opportunities in participating in or otherwise supporting one or other of them. And while such opportunities are not open to everyone, everyone can help clarify the mental atmosphere by deep reflection on these issues. For every person of goodwill is today challenged to become a more loving and intelligently active citizen in the outer world, and to be developing an interior life focussed in the mind and the soul. 

It is so easy to focus our thinking on the outer world of effects, but the real challenge for us now is to view the crises that humanity has precipitated and must face from the angle of the dispassionate, detached group known as the Trained Observers, said to be one of ten seed groups within the wider new group of world servers.* When we combine this with the attempt to contact the Divine Ideas of the plan for spiritual evolution as it is conceived in the minds of those great spiritual workers who are known by many names – the Communion of Saints, the Rishis, the Bodhisattvas, the spiritual Hierarchy – then we can help to bring these Ideas into dynamic, practical form that will benefit all beings.   §

*    For a booklet on these ten seed groups, please go to: bit.ly/tenseedgroups; for a booklet on the new group of world servers, go to: bit.ly/ngwsbooklet
 

The immediate spiritual problem with which all are faced is the problem of gradually offsetting hate and initiating the new technique of trained, imaginative, creative and practical goodwill.

Goodwill is humanity’s first attempt to express Divine love. Its results on earth will be peace. It is so simple and practical that people fail to appreciate its potency or its scientific and dynamic effect. One person sincerely practising goodwill in a family can completely change its attitudes. Goodwill really practised among groups in any nation, by political and religious parties in any nation and among the nations of the world can revolutionize the world.            (Problems of Humanity pp.6-7, adapted)

 

We must see countries not only united to beat the virus but also to tackle its profound consequences.

That means designing fiscal and monetary policies able to support the direct provision of resources to support workers and households, the provision of health and unemployment insurance, scaled up social protection, and support to businesses to prevent bankruptcies and massive job losses.

What is needed is a large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive multilateral response amounting to at least 10 per cent of global GDP.
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Given the vast implications and extent of these problem areas, we have decided to focus on three of them in this issue. The following articles, on the Psychological Renewal of the Nations; Children, Youth and Education; and the Churches and Organised Religion, introduce these issues from a variety of perspectives, and invite the reader to contemplate some of the deeper implications of the ways in which we currently structure our societies. Humanity’s priorities are currently in the spotlight as a result of the pandemic; and we are realising how interdependent we truly are, and how much effort and sacrifice may go into simple things that we ordinarily take for granted, such as the harvesting of food and the stocking of shelves, as well as the care of the sick, elderly and vulnerable. Our collective reflections on what is truly important during this time may give us a refreshed perspective on how to tackle the problems all societies face. 

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL RENEWAL OF A NATION – WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

The theme of psychological renewal brings various interesting concepts to mind. First of all renewal: a transition from old to new, has a kind of time element in it. We may look at world problems in the past, the present and the future. Much of our perception depends on the perspective we take. 

For example in 1820, that is about two centuries ago, 94% of the world population lived in poverty, with 84% in extreme poverty. By 2015 less than 10% lived in extreme poverty, and the first of the Sustainable Development Goals is to eradicate poverty completely by 2030. The fifth SDG is the achievement of gender equality. Fifty years ago such a goal would have seemed far distant: female attendees at the World Economic Forum meeting in 1970 were not allowed to participate, but only to listen to debates. Now, at least in the West, feminism has made considerable strides in business, politics and culture, though full equality is still elusive. But traditional cultural and religious barriers still remain in many parts of the world, and the education of the girl child is a priority across the UN system.

In the book Problems of Humanity (which uses the term “Rehabilitation” instead of “Renewal”), several nations are reviewed. Of course, Germany and Japan were special cases. How does that look now, 75 years after the end of the Great War? At the World Holocaust Forum at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Frank-Walter Steinmeier – the current president of Germany – said: “I, too, stand before this monument as a human being – and as a German. ... And I bow in deepest sorrow.” And he continued: “And this also must be said here: The perpetrators were human beings. They were Germans. Those who murdered, those who planned and helped in the murdering, the many who silently toed the line: They were Germans.”

If we want to make the transition from the old to the new, we do need to face the past and leave nothing “under the carpet”. And yet, the transition is not without problems. Mr. Steinmeier also said: “…Yes, we Germans remember. But sometimes it seems as though we understand the past better than the present. The spirits of evil are emerging in a new guise, presenting their anti-Semitic, racist, authoritarian thinking as an answer for the future, a new solution to the problems of our age. I wish I could say that we Germans have learned from history once and for all. But I cannot say that when hatred is spreading.”(1) Other nations have also sought psychological renewal, such as through the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa; yet much work still remains to be done.

The establishing of the United Nations with its charter (“we the peoples…”), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and several other events witness of a spirit focused on the one humanity, which held sway   in the early years after the war. Every nation could draw its inspiration for its own psychological renewal from these events. Yet, nowadays the UN is running on a budget which is ridiculous in comparison with the problems it is supposed to address. 

It is perhaps a bit sobering, but in the opening paragraphs of the book we read: “The psychological problem involved has a background which is centuries old, which is inherent in the soul of each individual nation and which is potently conditioning the minds of all their peoples today. It is here that our major difficulty lies and it is one which will not easily give way to any effort or to any spiritual endeavour, whether carried out by the organized churches … or by spiritually minded groups and individuals.” (2)

We are told that a nation is more than a collection of human beings within a geographical area: it is an ensouled entity in its own right. It may tend to altruism as well as selfishness just as any individual does. It has its own strengths and weaknesses, and its own unique contribution to make to the world of nations. When the soul of a nation starts to dominate, it will automatically tend to the One humanity – when the personality of a nation dominates, it will be mostly focused on itself.

What about the future? The secretary general of the United Nations, António Gutteres, used his annual State of the World speech to the General Assembly in February to outline his 2020 priorities.(3)He stressed four threats to progress in the 21st century: 

1.  Growing geostrategic tensions and mass violence in fragile states, creating an unprecedented refugee crisis.
2.  The climate catastrophe. 
3.  Rising mistrust in global, regional and national governing institutions. 
4.  The dark side of the digital world.

The underlying causes of points 1 and 3 may be easily detected in the book. But problems 2 and 4 were non-existent at the time of writing of Problems of Humanity. Climate change may be related to the manner we manage the resources of the Earth. And there is real reason for caution, as a look at the “Earth Overshoot Day” (4) will show. This day symbolizes the day humanity has consumed as much of the Earth’s resources as it can produce in one year. Over the years that day occurs earlier and earlier. Even so, the roots of climate change and the dark side of the digital world were already present in the rampant and wrongly directed desires and thoughts which underlie these issues. 

The digital world, i.e. the Internet and artificial intelligence – as with many other things – can be used positively as well as negatively. News and fake news are often difficult to separate from each other. Social media have smashed many barriers, and continuously reshape the landscape of thought and media influences. The time of demagogues is not over yet ,and few people are really thinking for themselves. Key here is the raising of consciousness through education – one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

The psychological renewal of a nation, or the transformation of our society, is not something abstract or independent of each one of us. This is beautifully summarised by Krishnamurti when he said: 

It is not a revolution within oneself as an individual that we are talking about—a matter of saving your own particular little soul—but a revolution within oneself as a human being totally related to all other human beings.

We may consciously separate ourselves into petty, little individualities, but deep down, unconsciously, we are the inherited human experience of all time; and mere superficial changes on the economic or social level, though they may provide a little more comfort and convenience, are not productive of a new society

We are concerned, not only with the human being’s transformation of his total nature, but also with bringing about a different society, a good society; and a good society is not possible if there are no good human beings.(5)  §

1. Talk of Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the World Holocaust Forum at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, bit.ly/steinmeierq
2. Alice Bailey, Problems of Humanity, 3rd edition, 1964, pp.8-9
3. bit.ly/SGremarks
4. overshootday.org
5. J. Krishnamurti, Saanen, Switzerland, July 18, 1965; bit.ly/Krishnaq

In September 2015, at the United Nations, after years of negotiation, it was agreed that all nations would individually and collectively work to achieve seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. These Goals concern all of us. They have the potential to become a focus for the forces of goodwill in all sectors of society and could be the vehicle to inspire waves of activity in every society and every country. Everyone needs to know about the Goals. www.globalgoals.org

World Goodwill supports the SDGs; download a PDF at bit.ly/WG-SDGS

 

CHILDREN, YOUTH AND EDUCATION 

Humanity seems to be in a cycle of deep, spiritual crisis right now. Habits of thought and expectations that arise out of past identities conflict with the needs and challenges of the present, particularly as these needs are increasingly being seen from the elevated perspective of wholeness and interdependence. 

One response to this is despair. Yet the evolution of the species is concentrated through our response to the crises that the problems of humanity produce. Crises play a vital role in evolution. Individuals and groups are tested to find their strength of purpose, purity of motivation, and willingness to work pragmatically at bringing intuitions of future destiny into incarnation. The more conscious we are of the problems, and of the spiritual, psychological and structural issues causing the problems, the more likely we are to live in ways that seek to resolve the problems. 

At a recent gathering of hundreds of educators at the UN, Ramu Damodaran, Chief of the UN’s Academic Impact Initiative, cited a Bob Dylan lyric: ‘Don’t try to change what you can’t understand’. He was speaking about the anger amongst students and teachers in schools and colleges today. It is emotional and reactive, often lacking “an understanding of what the issues are.” Peace Education, as another speaker commented, is increasingly seen as a transformative approach to education that is addressing this by preparing students with the understandings and skills needed “to construct a more peaceful and preferred world.” 

The way our nations and cultures prepare for the Aquarian Age of interdependence can be most clearly seen in the way we educate children and young people – not just in formal schooling but in all aspects of life: families, neighborhoods, social media, films, music and so on. 

In the best of times the journey towards adulthood is very hard, a necessary part of emerging individuality. But in these chaotic times the stress is becoming extreme, as evidenced by sharp increases in youth suicide rates (the second leading cause of death globally in 15-29 year olds according to WHO); anger issues; and troubling levels of destructive and addictive behaviors. Parenting itself (the quintessential educational process) has never been more deeply challenging than in today’s world. 

Three fundamental issues lie at the heart of the problem:

1.  How to provide appropriate learning environments in all parts of the world where young people feel secure and valued, while developing the skills they will need to survive and flourish in the world. 

2.  How to ensure that formal and informal approaches to education develop each student’s unique qualities, fostering intelligent creativity, flexibility of thought, a cooperative spirit, and an ability to see the relation between the part and the whole.

3.  How to include a universal spiritual dimension in all levels of education. This is an essential requirement for the development of concerned responsible citizens, who will engage in the evolution of right relations in the self, the community and the world. 

It is important not to minimize the scope of the problem. There is evidence that global concern and action for the rights and well-being of children is rising. This is most notable in the professed support of governments for the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child and in widespread mobilization to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 

SDG 4 highlights the core aspiration to achieve universal access to quality education and learning by 2030. There are numerous strong UN backed programmes, strategic planning events, and global financing initiatives to advance this goal. The problem is that even with all these efforts, UNESCO estimates that “more than 220 million young people will still be out of school in 2030, and only six in ten young people will complete secondary education.” 

Amidst all the pressing issues facing the peoples of the world and their governments, there is still a lack of focus on the core need to provide quality education to all children and young people. UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children report provides a clear picture of the problem – but it does so alongside evidence of humanity’s growing response, highlighting practical ‘best practices’ and model programs that can be adapted and reproduced by educators worldwide.

The good news is that there are now an enormous array of well-established models emerging out of different cultures and economic environments, pioneering high quality education, sometimes within a universal spiritual context. As a result, there is now a growing body of experienced and inspired educators, working in the spirit of the evolutionary Plan, who are experimenting and adapting programmes to the needs of the young people they serve. We will all have some experience of these inspired educators from within our local communities, but it is worth pointing out the significant global spread of Waldorf schools. Drawing on the ageless wisdom teachings of Rudolf Steiner, they now represent the largest independent school movement in the world, with schools and kindergartens in 80 countries. Montessori schools, focusing on a child-centered approach to education often with a spiritual and religious element, are also widely spread across the globe.  

Yet these specialized pioneering schools, and others like them, are just one measure of the potent forces of goodwill that have been gaining ground in recent decades. There is a vast network of educators and institutions working in such fields as peace education, educationfor global citizenship, and values education. Perhaps the main area where focus is needed is on the training of educators. One example of what can be done is the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education, based at Columbia University Teachers College in New York. A solid body of research, publications, training, and conferences is provided for the large body of educators and educators-in-training who are developing a “whole child” approach. One recent study by the group found that the culture of a school is as important as the curriculum, and that, against all expectations, schools with a successful ‘Transformative Culture’ included the public and private sector as well as those in resource-rich and under-resourced areas. 

Beyond this, there are the countless programmes developing conflict and anger management skills in young people; mindfulness and meditation groups for young people in prisons and universities; courses in arts and music to awaken creative and higher aspects of the psyche of young people; and the massive wave of youth engagement in global issues like climate change, where young people are deepening their skills in service. 

We tend to think of education as reading, writing and mathematics – yet even these most basic elements of the way young people are prepared for adulthood can be, and are being approached, from a transformative and spiritual perspective. In an age where so much focus is on communication, reading provides a way of exploring ideas in the silent privacy of the mind; writing has long been understood as a way to develop and clarify ideas and ways of thinking, free from the intrusion of others; and mathematics offers a spiritual dimension, leading into deepening awareness of quantity, structure, abstraction, and the creative process of bringing the abstract into manifestation.   § 

THE CHURCHES AND ORGANISED RELIGION

The relationship between human beings and a Divine presence has been honoured in all faiths and religious traditions throughout the ages. Institutions, organisations, movements and churches have sought to guide, direct and inspire the religious spirit in their followers. With the exception of some enlightened movements and inspiring interfaith initiatives, the guidance and direction offered by these institutions has tended to crystalize into a dogmatic orthodoxy, and has lagged behind an awakening human consciousness. The established religions have claimed superiority and exclusivity in both theory and practice, bringing intolerance, divisiveness, a sense of superiority and fanaticism. Interpretations of scripture and theologies have brought conflict between faiths. Yet on a positive note, when confronted by cruelty, violence and hatred in the name of religion, in recent times, leaders of all faiths have come together to condemn such abuses. Also, sexual abuse inflicted on vulnerable young people by those in positions of authority in the churches is now coming out into the open, having been previously  covered up and denied, and as a result new safeguarding policies are being implemented.

At the heart of the religious problem is the idealism and individualism of the Piscean age – the Age of Authority, which is now giving way to the new Aquarian age, bringing change, adjustment and crisis, yet also opportunities for progress. The Aquarian age is destined to be one of group service and group endeavour, founded on the fact that humanity, in all of its diversity, is one species. The diversity of races, cultures, faiths and beliefs when celebrated brings a more inclusive and enlightened world view. An Observer looking at our planet from a distance would surely see no sense or reason in claims of superiority of one faith over another, because humanity is one. Yet there are signs of new life through inter-faith dialogue, and progressive thinkers from all faiths are pioneering a new, globally aware, spiritually alive movement, which recognises the one ultimate reality which lies at the heart of all paths, seeking to transmit a spirit of wise and intelligent love.

We live in an age where both God Immanent and God Transcendent can be recognized, and when this is reflected in daily life, the result is spiritual livingness. Spirituality, which in the past was thought to be synonymous with religion, embraces all aspects of living experience and all states of awareness: because that which is spiritual is simply that which lies beyond the point of present achievement, embodying a higher vision that urges us on towards a higher goal. And in this regard, the Observer referred to earlier would surely be encouraged to note the emerging ideas that have inspired the social, community and outreach work and service of religious institutions. Furthermore, humanity’s increasing concern about the stewardship of our planetary home is surely evidence of an emerging spirituality that may be present in the religions, although is not exclusive to them. And let us not leave out the essential spirituality of all scientific work, which is motivated by the love of humanity and its welfare. Whilst conventional science may deny the existence of a divine Plan or Deity due to a perceived lack of objective evidence, in practical terms, scientists who are working to make the world a better place are fulfilling a spiritual function, irrespective of the terminology used to describe such work.

At the heart of the religious problem is the idealism and individualism of the Piscean age – the Age of Authority, which is now giving way to the new Aquarian age, bringing change, adjustment and crisis, yet also opportunities for progress.

 

The writings of Alice Bailey refer to a New World Religion suitable for the Aquarian age, a work of loving synthesis that emphasises the unity and the fellowship of the spirit, founded on the common spiritual values and principles that stand at the heart of all true religious faiths and agencies. There are many people of goodwill across the world who are seeking to apply these values and principles to everyday life in order to heal divisions and separatism, for example, the work of the World Congress of Faiths (worldfaiths.org), the Parliament of the World’s Religions (parliamentofreligions.org), the Religions for Peace Network (rfp.org), World Interfaith Harmony Week (worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com), and many others. In this work of unity and fellowship a number of essential principles are necessary in order to guard against the dangers of fanaticism:

Simplicity, which is needed to cut through the complexity of the world of form – the buildings, works of art, treasures, robes and artefacts of the established churches, which divert attention from the message of love, compassion and tolerance for all beings.

Knowledge and information continue to stretch the human mind bringing forth new innovative ideas, but an extra ingredient is needed to bring about right relations. This is spiritual humility, which can be understood as the ability to understand both the individual’s and humanity’s place in the world. It is an adjusted sense of right proportion which enables people to recognise that truth is not rigid and is constantly unfolding, especially through reflective thought, meditation and contemplation. 

The practice of harmlessness in speech, thought and action – a positive harmlessness which does not negate taking firm and decisive action.

The cultivation of right thinking: each day certain negative lines of thought can be offset, allowing in new and fresh ideas founded on eternal spiritual values and principles.

If the mind is open and receptive to new thinking and thought currents, crystallised thinking can be avoided.

Finally, the world religions and faiths function as components of the Divine Plan, as described in the writings of Alice Bailey. While the Plan may only be dimly sensed as yet, it is described as “… one of evolutionary development and educational progress towards an intelligent spiritual goal”.(1)Furthermore, the “working out of the universal ideas of the Plan takes place as humanity responds to higher impressions of the wholeness and sacredness of life and strives to intelligently embody these insights in all areas of thought, activity and relationship… 

There is today a growing intuitive response to the ideas and principles of the Plan as this living, universal field of ideas and principles. At the same time there is a natural awakening of the will to serve this vision and to take part in the Great Work of building, through time, a civilisation of wholeness and right relations.”(2)   §

1.   Discipleship in the New Age Vol. I, p.789
2.   worldgoodwill.org/plan_wg

Download a PDF at: bit.ly/NewEraReligion

WORLD INVOCATION DAY

To build a more just, interdependent and caring global society what humanity needs above all, is more light, love and spiritual will. 

On Friday June 5 2020, people of goodwill from all parts of the world, and from different religious and spiritual backgrounds, unite in invoking these higher energies by using the Great Invocation. Will you join in this healing work by including the Great Invocation in your thoughts, your prayers or your meditations on World Invocation Day?

To use the Great Invocation is world service for it speaks directly to world need today. We need light to illumine the way ahead and reveal the vision of a new civilisation; we need love to govern the relationships between people and bring to an end the reign of hatred and separatism; we need the power of the will-to-good to direct human choice and decision making. The universal use of the Great Invocation on World Invocation Day charges this day with deep spiritual significance, for it builds a channel through which light, love and power can reach and irradiate the hearts and minds of people everywhere.

Image Credits

Banner: PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek, Shutterstock; Peace Direct (peacedirect.org), © Ted Giffords; Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org), KJJS, CC 2.0 Attribution Generic; UNESCO (unesco.org), CC BY-SA 3.0; Parliament of the World’s Religions (parliamentofreligions.org)