Inter-faith group CPWR to organise own event for Vivekananda

Days after withdrawing its support for a VHP-backed event to celebrate Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary, inter-faith organisation CPWR said it would organise its own programme here to "honour this exemplary Hindu saint" for his ideals of inter-faith understanding.
Earlier, the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (CPWR) had decided that it would not be involved in the 'World Without Borders' being organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America and other groups on September 27-28.
The decision triggered a controversy and prompted two of CPWR's Hindu Board of Trustees members - Anju Bhargava and Anant Rambachan - to resign.

"The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (the Parliament) continues to honour this exemplary Hindu saint for his ideals of interfaith understanding and mutual respect, and will honour the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and the 120th anniversary of the Parliament on November 16 in Chicago," CPWR said in a statement.
"Despite the unfortunate way in which this matter has unfolded, because the Parliament is an interfaith organisation, the Parliament cannot co-sponsor or co-host any event with political parties, politically partisan organisations or individuals, nor can it participate in the promotion of a political party or candidate, nor where self-identification of faith groups is challenged," it said.

Meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America said it was confident that the World Without Borders event would be a success.

"The actions of CPWR were not consistent with their stated objectives as published on their website. We have noted the admission of series of errors by them and they have rendered an apology for the same. Our programme continues as planned," the event's spokesperson Vandana Jhingan told PTI.
"We are grateful for the overwhelming support received from the Hindu community and organisations across North America. We are confident that the World Without Borders event in Chicago to celebrate Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary supported by 30 plus organisations is poised for a success," said Jyotish Parekh, President of VHP America.

Yoga guru Ramdev is scheduled to attend the the 'World Without Borders' event, which will also commemorate the 120th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's famous address at the World Parliament of Religions here.