Young Jains Share Insights from Parliament of the World’s Religions – Nikhil Bumb, Neal Daftary, Parth Savla, Priti Shah, and Sonali Vakharia.

Last October, almost three months ago now, roughly 10,000 people from over 70 countries and 30 religious and spiritual traditions attended the sixth Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah – a five-day interfaith conference including 7 plenaries and over 1,000 smaller workshops and panels. The Parliament, founded in 1893 in Chicago, is an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The theme for this year’s conference was “Reclaiming the Heart of Our Humanity” and it featured a long lineup of renowned scholars including Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Karen Armstrong, and Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire.

The participants included 60+ members of the Jain faith, including the five of us – NikhilBumb, Neal Daftary, Parth Savla, Priti Shah, and Sonali Vakharia. As young adult ambassadors of Jainism, we were deeply humbled and enlightened by the experience. Coming into the Parliament, we had no expectations, but we left feeling enriched and empowered.