Quest for Peace

‘The Inner Path’ Buddhist Film Festival that began on June 1 saw a panel discussion on the topic ‘Relevance of Buddhism in Today’s World’ being held on Saturday. Actor Kabir Bedi,who inaugurated the festival on Friday,was one of the panelists for the event. “We can do three things to increase the relevance of Buddhism in India. First,we can focus on tourism. Secondly,it is a fast spreading religion,so we can use it as a projection of India as a soft power today. Thirdly,it has a very systematic way of meditation,which is a great stress reliever,” he said. The panel also had festival organiser Suresh Jindal on board and it was moderated by Dilip Padgaonkar of the Pune International Centre. Held at the Symbiosis Vishwabhavan,the discussion saw both Bedi and Jindal speak on various facets of Buddhism. Bedi said,”Intolerance is the main reason for violence these days,and Buddhism teaches tolerance and self realisation. Interestingly,even if people are not Buddhists,there is a lot of curiosity about Buddhism in people. The messages of the Buddha do not just benefit an individual but the entire society.” Suresh Jindal,producer of the Oscar-winning film Gandhi ,said,”The work done by the Bhandarkar Oriental research Institute (BORI) in Pune on Buddhism has been phenomenal. One doesn’t have to become a Buddhist in order to follow Buddhism.”