Miranda House College at University of Delhi hosted a Round Table on Spiritual Unity
The round table "Spiritual Unity: from Traditional Values to a Culture of Peace" was held on March 24, 2026 at the Miranda House College of the University of Delhi (Delhi) as part of the World Public Summit: India "New World: India in the architecture of a shared future." The Public Summit is organized by the World Peoples Assembly jointly with the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The round table brought together more than 50 participants from 7 countries - India, USA, Great Britain, Israel, Bhutan, Russia and Belarus. Among them are representatives of the scientific community, cultural figures, religious leaders, teachers and students, representatives of 7 religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Baha'i, Hinduism.
The speakers included:
Irina Darneva – member of the Supreme Advisory Council of the World Peoples Assembly;
Bhai Sahib (online) – Co-organizer and Co-Chairman of the Charter of Peace for Forgiveness and Reconciliation (UK);
Sonam Wangmo – Director of Education, Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia (VBCM), Buddhist nun, PhD, teacher, writer (Bhutan);
Mary Pat Fisher– Manager of the International Interreligious Community Gobind Sadan, Member of the Council of Elders of the World Peoples Assembly (India);
Yoga Guru Dhiraj - Founder of the non–governmental organization Vashishtha Yoga Foundation (India).;
Surjit Kaur Jolly - Secretary of the Gobind Sadan Institute for Advanced Study of Comparative Religious Studies, Member of the Indian Council of Historical Research (India);
A.K. Merchant – General Secretary of the Temple of Understanding India Foundation,
Didi Chakradhari - Vice President of the Brahma Kumaris Society (India)
and many others.
The discussion was moderated by Sonu Saini the Chairman of the Union of Russian Translators of India, a senior lecturer at the Center for Russian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Irina Darneva delivered a welcoming speech from the World Peoples Assembly. She told about the history of the First World Public Summit, held on September 21, 2025 in Moscow, and called for the expansion of international cooperation.
A video greeting was sent to the audience by members of the Israeli Society of Living Ethics.
Students and representatives of the faculty of the Department of Philosophy made a presentation from Miranda House College, presenting the academic and cultural mission of the institution as a space of enlightenment and dialogue.
The participants discussed the role of spiritual culture as a living basis for intercultural and interfaith trust. The dialogue was built around three key issues:
How can the experience of India, a country of harmonious coexistence of many philosophies, faiths and folk traditions, become a model for the whole world?
How do ancient values - Ahimsa, Sathya, Karuna, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - help to cope with modern challenges: environmental crisis, digitalization, loss of meaning, migration?
What concrete steps can we take today to turn the dialogue into sustainable cooperation?
The speakers' presentations were complemented by the active participation of Miranda House College students, which turned the meeting into a real intergenerational dialogue.
Following the discussion, the key proposals of the participants were fixed and a Resolution was adopted. It will become a part of the international process launched at the First World Public Summit.
The main provisions of the Resolution are:
Recognition of India's spiritual culture as a global asset — a unique synthesis experience where philosophy, religion, art and everyday life form a single field of respect and openness.
Confirmation of the power of traditional values - nonviolence, truth, compassion, caring for one's neighbor - as universal tools for building peace in the context of technological transformation and social instability.
Appeal to education systems to include elements of spiritual and moral education in curricula based on the principles of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" ("The world is one family"), regardless of religious affiliation.
Support for the female role in the transmission of values - as keepers of memory, languages, family and cultural traditions.
Development of interfaith cooperation practices through joint humanitarian actions, ministry, educational projects and environmental protection.
Support of youth social movements for the purpose of spiritual enlightenment and practical implementation of youth initiatives.
Some of the proposals are recommended for inclusion in the Delhi Declaration, the final document of the World Public Summit in India, which will become an official contribution to the international agenda of humanitarian cooperation.
A number of initiatives will also be included in the program of the World Public Summit in Moscow (September 2026), as part of the continuation of the dialogue on the formation of a culture of peace based on spiritual unity.
– Today we have collected not just opinions, but real seeds of the future. The traditions that teach us to live together already exist. They are alive - in the hearts of people, in their daily practice, in the pursuit of unity. Our conversation is just beginning, - said Sonu Saini after the meeting.
Irina Polyakova, Head of the Directorate on Spiritual Culture of the World Peoples Assembly, concluded the round table, emphasizing the importance of practical implementation of the voiced proposals and continuation of the international dialogue.
After the round table, representatives of the World Peoples Assembly solemnly presented Miranda House College with a collection of tactile posters from the international Art project "Angels of Peace" in recognition of the organization's contribution to the development of intercultural dialogue.
The World Peoples Assembly is an international union of non-governmental organizations that forms a humanitarian platform for cooperation between the peoples of the world based on trust, mutual respect and common values.
Media accreditation for the Summit, cooperation issues: media@world-assembly.org, +7 (985) 768-2053 (Oksana Leontieva).
More information is on the official website of the World Public Summit.