After Earthquakes, Hope for Indonesia


A few days before earthquakes rocked Indonesia last week, an Indonesian luminary rocked the U.S. Anand Krishna, founder of two ashrams in Indonesia, shared his message of inter-faith tolerance at Soul Centered Metaphysical Book Store in Ojai, CA.

Krishna, as he prefers to be called, has been sharing his message in his native Indonesia since his miraculous recovery from leukemia in the early 90's.

Anand Krishna

What makes Krishna an amazing messenger is that he has been promoting interfaith tolerance in a country that is eighty percent Muslim. In certain areas of Indonesia, citizens are issued identification cards which list their religious affiliation. During actions known as "sweeps", citizens can be subject to death, if found in an area inhabited by the other religion, depending on whether those in charge of the sweeps are Muslim or Christian. These two religious factions take turns conducting the sweeps. Currently, Krishna and his colleagues are working to pass legislation banning the listing of religious affiliation on identification cards.

Krishna's purpose for visiting the US was to ask for the assistance of conscious citizens in preventing deforestation in Indonesia and the global warming that would result. American companies who currently do business in Indonesia are the largest contributors to deforestation. As thirty percent of the people living in Bali, Indonesia are foreign born, Krishna feels that a petition against illegal logging, signed by US citizens, will be heeded by the Indonesian government as well as the US government.

Concerns about global warming and the future of our planet are making the world a much smaller place. We are recognizing more and more the connection between all of life on earth. Circumstances are conspiring to assist us in understanding that what happens anywhere happens everywhere. In other words, what happens in Indonesia doesn't stay in Indonesia.

For more information please visit Anand Krishna

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