On Oct. 3, the Bakersfield College campus was once again the arena for the annual Interfaith Conference held at the Fine Arts theatre.
The Interfaith Conference is held in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and of his teachings, which this year was themed “Unity Through Religious Teaching.”
Five panelists spoke to a crowd of about 120 people, some of which included students from Cal State Bakersfield. The panelists represented spiritual paths including Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. A sixth panelist was also present, Swami Ishwarananda, who spoke about Ghandi specifically and the life he led.
“Gandhi rejected all religious dogma that was in conflict with personal morality,” Ishwarananda said. “Truth is the same no matter where you find it.”
Conference attendees also heard from 89 year old Padma Trivedi who attended a school Ghandi founded, as well as religious retreats or “ashrams” where students were personally taught by Gandhi.
Speaking in Hindi, Trivedi said, “Once a week we would go visit Mahatma Gandhi because he believed in the emancipation of women. He understood that only through women would the world know true peace and unity.”
The recurring theme of the conference was unity of all religious followings and the desire to bring all faiths into one teaching.
Mita Dhariwal, representing the Indian religion of Sikhism, spoke of the Sikh desire to have all people believe in the “ultimate reality of God.”
“All religions are beautiful,” she said. “But what affects our unity is the misinterpretation of each other’s beliefs.”
Several people who attended the conference for the first time were attentive and happy to express their feelings regarding the conference. Bertha Adams of Bakersfield offered her thoughts.
“I absolutely loved this conference and it really opened my eyes,” Adams said. “I’ve always thought my way was best and I was shown completely different today.”
Shanna Kinser, the panelist speaking on behalf of Christianity, said she was happy with what she’s seen Bakersfield become.
“Bakersfield used to be a town of Christian imperialism,” Kinser said. “But I’m happy to say that Bakersfield has grown spiritually to what we have in front of us today here at this conference.”