Hindus have applauded The Vatican for its “message on the occasion of the feast of Diwali" sending its “warmest greetings and congratulations" to “Hindu Friends", published on its website. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement on Monday, welcomed the Vatican for wishing “Blessed Diwali" and the suggestion to explore the responsibility to form all people into peace-makers. Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism headquartered in Nevada (USA), extolled The Vatican's wish on the occasion, which indicated forming “young men and women into people of peace and builders of peace" and urging religious leaders to “continue to inspire the young generation to walk the path of peace and to become messengers of peace.” Zed also commended Pope Benedict XVI for reportedly including verses from the ancient Hindu scripture Upanishads in the Good Friday Meditations and Prayers at the Roman Colosseum in 2009. He added that it was a remarkable gesture from Pope, and invited him to study more ancient Hindu scriptures, which “are very rich in philosophical thought.” In the 2009 “Way of the Cross at the Colosseum" Meditations and Prayers on Good Friday led by the Pope and put together by the Vatican Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, reportedly included well-known verse from Brahadaranyakopanishad (“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.”), line from Tagore's Gitanjali (“Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.”), and a reference to Mahatma Gandhi. Zed urged the Pope to visit a Hindu temple in the near future to “promote mutual understanding and respect between the faiths. “All religions should work together for a just and peaceful world,” Zed added. Zed said that “in our shared pursuit for the truth, we can learn from one another and thus can arrive nearer to the truth. This dialogue may help us vanquish the stereotypes, prejudices, caricatures, etc., passed on to us from previous generations. As dialogue brings us reciprocal enrichment, we shall be spiritually richer than before the contact.” This Diwali message was signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Secretary P. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Zed suggested that it would be even better if such messages were signed by the Pope himself. The most popular of Hindu's festivals, Deepavali (Diwali), the festival of lights, aims at dispelling the darkness and lighting up the lives and symbolizes the victory of good over evil. It falls on November 13 this year.
