News
Continuing the tradition of offering greetings to interreligious partners during festive seasons, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered greetings to Hindu religious partners on the occasion of Diwali, a Hindu festival of lights.
In a brief message, Tveit emphasizes how Diwali “appeals to the primary spiritual yearning of many human communities to move from ignorance to wisdom and from hopelessness to hope”.
“Light, as a shared sacred symbol within different religious traditions, binds religious communities in our quest to overcome the darkness of despair and despondency exacerbated in today’s world by divisive human conflicts, the devastating effects of climate change and discrimination of the most vulnerable.”
Referring to a verse from the Chandogya Upanishad which emphasises that the light that shines in the hearts of humans is the highest light (Chandogya Upanishad 3:13:7), Tveit acknowledged that “Diwali is truly a time both to let the light of our hearts shine and recognise the light in the hearts of the other.”
