Selfless service promotes inspiring leadership

The annual Interfaith Meeting to pay tribute to Mother Teresa will be held at the Christ the King Church (260 Richardson Road) in Mt Roskill on Sunday, November 18 at 3 pm.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari (the first Governor General of Independent India) and former Governor of West Bengal will be the Guest Speaker.

A large number of men, women and children are expected to attend the Meeting, among who will be India’s High Commissioner Avanindra Kumar Pandey, Auckland Catholic Bishop Most Rev Patrick Dunn, representatives of various religious organisations and faiths, community leaders and members of the Mother Teresa Interfaith Committee.

Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”

Oblivious to criticisms, honour and fame, Mother Teresa carried on her work boldly for the poorest of the poor of every religion, caste, colour and creed. Her work is carried out in many countries today.

Love & Peace

It was during a luncheon meeting in 2010 in Auckland that three of us discussed the possibility of effecting a cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different faiths and spiritual or humanistic beliefs for Love and Peace.

That was the Birth Centenary of Mother Teresa and celebrations were being held throughout the world to honour this great soul.

We felt that Mother Teresa is still a force that can bring together people of different faiths, celebrate Love and Peace and pay tribute to her in New Zealand.

Later, a Centenary Committee was formed with the blessing of Bishop Dunn to celebrate the Centenary of Mother Teresa.

Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Buddhist faiths were represented at the first annual meeting held at the Church, at which Sir Anand Satyanand, then Governor-General, was the Guest Speaker.

Based on the response, the Committee decided to mark Mother Teresa’s Anniversary every year with a Guest Speaker and create a team of volunteers to promote ‘Love and Peace.’

Retired Admiral Sureesh Mehta, then Indian High Commissioner was the Guest Speaker at the Interfaith Meeting held on November 13 last year.

Inaugural Address

This year we have the honour of Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the Guest Speaker.

He will be among the Guests of Honour at the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards (IBA) 2012 Presentation Ceremony at Sky City Convention Centre in Auckland on November 19 at 5 pm (see related stories in this issue).

Mr Gandhi will be flown by Singapore Airlines, courtesy of BNZ, the Title Sponsor of the IBA for the past two years.

The Catholic Caring Foundation has made an inaugural grant of $7000 to the ‘Mother Teresa Sisters’ in Auckland in their efforts to address poverty in social, emotional and financial forms.

Clare Wade, General Manager said, “We see a great alignment with the work of ‘Mother Teresa’s Sisters’ and what the Foundation represents. As Mother Teresa said, ‘We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our homes to remedy this kind of poverty.’ We put ‘Caring’ into action through grants (about $640,000) every year to local community agencies, helping families in tremendous hardship (specifically through food parcels, food banks, budget advice and emergency housing). We also fund teenage suicide prevention, teenage life skill education, family counselling, gambling addiction management, step-up programmes for young or single mothers, school breakfast clubs, support to overcome domestic violence and much more.”

Interfaith Committee

The annual Meeting has been made possible by the support of the members of the Interfaith Committee, comprising people of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jewish, Zoroastrian and Christian faiths. Following is a brief about them.

Vinod Kumar is a prominent businessman and Founder-President of the Hindu Council of New Zealand and the Hindu Heritage Centre.

Ahemad Bhamji is a renowned community worker, involved in raising funds for a number of causes. He is a member of the Business Committee of the Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand.

Raj Bedi is Assistant Secretary of the New Zealand Indian Central Association and Secretary of Sri Dasmesh Darbar Gurdwara in South Auckland.

Robert (Bobby) Newson has had years of service to the public, including Maori Affairs, Maori Land Court, New Zealand Army, New Zealand Police and as Cultural Advisor at the Human Rights Commission and the Families Commission. Dame Lyndsay Freer is the Media spokesperson for the Auckland Catholic Diocese and a member of the Board of Catholic Caring Foundation.

Kerry Coleman is Diocesan General Manager of the Catholic Diocese of Auckland and serves on Advisory Boards of the Diocese including the CCF.

Warwick Wright is a lawyer with more than 40 years of experience. He is the Principal Partner at Rainey Collins Wright Ltd and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Diocese.

Patricia Thake is Honorary Consul for Malta for Auckland and North Island (except Wellington).

Evgeny Orlov, a Russian Jew, is an experienced Barrister. He has a postgraduate degree in International Business and Maritime Law and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Psychology and Law.

Homi Shroff, a Zoroastrian, retired as a teacher from Mt Roskill Grammar School. He is now an Interviewer at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau at Three Kings and does voluntary work with the Cancer Society Auckland.

Ven Carolyn Lawler has been a Tibetan Buddhist nun for the past 24 years. Earlier, she was the Spiritual Programme Coordinator in a large Tibetan Buddhist centre in Melbourne, Australia. She has also served in other centres of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.

The Editor of Indian Newslink is also a Member of the Committee.

Dev Dhingra, a young executive who considers Mother Teresa as an icon and a Teacher for human beings, is leading a team of volunteers for the event.