A global dialogue among people and religious leaders is very much needed for the common good of humanity so that we will not be working at cross-purposes that can only intensify conflicts around the world.

Today scientific discoveries are corroborating religion and highlighting one of the most profound commonalities faith traditions have had for centuries.

The encounter with other religions is one of the great challenges for Christianity today. Religious pluralism has always been recognized by the church as a fact.

Jesus was constantly frustrated by the dualistic, us-vs-them thinking within his deeply multi-cultural eastern Roman Empire world.

One of my favorite mystics, Lady Julian of Norwich (1342-1416), used the old English term “oneing” to describe what was happening between God and the soul.

There are many religions in the world today. Among the religions there are similarities and differences. Religions differ in their world views, beliefs in the Ultimate Reality, nature and role of human being in the world, and the concept of salvation.

We are on the cusp of a new year, and I sure don’t feel much like celebrating. The last seven months of the coronavirus pandemic has left more than 184,000 dead in the United States alone — with no end in sight.

This summer, the coronavirus caused many disappointments. My daughter attended one day of surf camp before the camp closed. The scouting camp my children planned to attend was canceled. The summer has felt like one wave of loss after another, crashing down in rapid succession.

My sister Mira told me earlier that day that she read an article in The New York Times that said the process of developing and distributing a vaccine for coronavirus could be completed by August 2021.

In early June, at one of his nightly press briefings, Mayor Eric Garcetti introduced Capri Maddox who is the first executive director of the newly created Department of Civil and Human Rights.

Last week, my daughter wore the dress we bought for her bat mitzvah party to my cousin Stanley’s Zoom funeral instead. (Stanley died from Covid-19 after seven weeks on a ventilator; my daughter’s party was previously canceled due to the coronavirus.)

Stanley is a family member in Miami who passed away last week after seven weeks on a ventilator with Covid-19. We attended his funeral by Zoom.

On Shabbat, Rabbi Jon Hanish led a Holocaust Remembrance Zoom service. He was reading the yahrzeit list of names when an intruder scrawled a swastika and “Shut the F— Up” on the screen in red ink over the Mourner’s Kaddish.

“We cried out to Adonai, the God of our ancestors, and Adonai heard our plea and saw our affliction, our misery and our oppression.” — Deuteronomy 26:7

Three years ago, on an invitation, my wife and I went to Vancouver, B.C Canada to participate in a 3 day long consecration ceremony of a new Jain temple there. While there, one day one of our friends took us to an officially named “Highway to Heaven”.

All items of daily needs such as food, shelter , clothing, transportation, education, health care, amenities, protection, safety etc. are produced and provided by lots of people of different religious backgrounds, beliefs, traditions, ethnicity, culture, accents, food habits and clothing than that of mine.

Jainism, an ancient and probably the 6th largest religion of the world is an integral part of India. The Jain tradition, which enthroned the philosophy of ecological harmony and non-violence as its lodestar, flourished for centuries side-by-side with other schools of thought in ancient India.

We are nearly four months into the COVID-19 crisis in this country, and people are getting tired. How long will this go on?

I hear that phrase in a lot and have used it myself. Certainly, there are times when circumstances alter our lives indelibly. When that happens, we become accustomed to those changes and go about transforming how we move in the world. Getting married.

We are at a moment of history and this may be the most important conversation we ever have.

“Just breathe.” That used to be solid advice for so many things. It works to alleviate anxiety or pre-performance jitters. Breath training is key for a woman near to giving birth, or a person living with chronic pain.

In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, the ethical thing to do is challenging. We feel guilty not engaging in the world to do good in ways we are accustomed to.

Humans are made to live and work with others in a positive community where we can thrive. We are social beings that have evolved to exist within communities.

Yoga is best known for the often-impressive physical postures that are so widely displayed in images, advertising and t-shirts around the world.