Cafe Bazaar (Iran)

he Parliament of World Religions, coming to Toronto this November 1-7, is a rare opportunity.The event will attract approximately 10,000 attendees, tackle serious issues, bring globally recognized speakers, and present the widest array of religious traditions that you will ever encounter under one roof.While it will address important topics in ways that are both heart-rending and inspiring, let me begin by simply highlighting the first thing you may notice upon arriving -the parliament is, in the best sense of the term, a human bazaar.For seventeen years, I have worked at the Encounter World Religions Centre, an educational organization promoting religious literacy.In my work, I bring thousands annually to mosques, synagogues, and temples and hence am very accustomed to diverse spaces, people, and practices.Yet despite this background, I had never encountered anything quite like what I experienced at the 2015 Parliament of World Religions in Salt Lake City.It was the most diverse human gathering I have ever seen.It happened as soon as I entered the foyer.There were Tibetan Buddhist monks creating a sand mandala that they made over several days, only to then intentionally and ritually destroy it, demonstrating viscerally the impermanence that marks all life.Behind the monks was a makeshift indoor Jain temple with a priest you could sit with, join for meditation, or ask questions.Jains teach radical nonviolence and significantly influenced Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy.As I looked around, there were Hindu sadhus (renunciates) covered in face paint and sporting long dreadlocks that had never been cut.I had read about the sadhus for two decades but never encountered them in any North American setting.I also encountered New Age adepts wearing elaborate outfits, several dressed as angels with wings on their backs, and the widest variety of Indigenous peoples from various corners of the world, many wearing traditional garments and headdresses.Even at this superficial visual level, one could not help but be humbled by the sheer variety of human cultures and ways of living that exist on this planet.Given how inundated we are with Western culture (from capitalism to corporate media and Hollywood), it was eye-opening to be reminded how contingent even the dominant form of Western living is and how many alternatives exist.But the parliament's real depth goes far beyond the visual (though visuals matter).It is a rich opportunity to learn, to grow, to be confronted, and to participate.The event highlights a theme each day.As I am involved in planning the day at the Toronto parliament devoted to Hate, Violence, and War, let me use this single day to give you a taste of what the parliament offers.Opening the day is Payam Akhavan.Akhavan was born in Iran and was a child when his Baha'i family fled the country as their faith made them outcasts in the Ayatollah