Parliament of World's Religions invites Jain Acharya Lokesh Muni as speaker at opening ceremony in Chicago

Washington: The Parliament of World's Religions has invited prominent Jain leader Acharya Lokesh Muni as a speaker at its opening ceremony on August 14, a media release said on Thursday.

The five-day event in Chicago beginning August 14 is being attended by about 10,000 delegates from 80 countries. It is said to be the largest gathering of religious leaders from across the world.

In a statement, Jain Acharya Lokesh Muni, the founder of Ahimsa Vishva Bharati and World Peace Centre, said he has received an email from the Parliament of World's Religions, inviting him to be a speaker at the inaugural ceremony as well as a speaker at the interfaith session to be held in the Plenary Hall.

Apart from this, he will also address the topic of climate change and world peace in two more sessions.

It is worth mentioning that Swami Vivekananda left a special mark on the spiritual world by participating in the Parliament of World's Religions in 1893. At that time too, Veerchand Raghavji Gandhi had participated on behalf of Jainism.

Several other Indian religious leaders have been invited to the five-day event in Chicago. Prominent among them is Nivedita Raghunath Bhide, all India vice-president of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari. Author of 15 books, Bhide was awarded Padmashri in 2017 for social service.