 A
name that means ‘Divine Awakening’, Divyodhaya Religious
and Charitable Trust belongs to the Preshitha Province, Coimbatore,
of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) Congregation. It
was founded in 1980, to promote harmony and common thinking on the
positive values of all religions. 'Divine Awakening' or 'Divyodhaya',
when it dawns on a person, enables him to see humanity as one family,
without any barriers.
Divodhaya took shape through the efforts of Rev. Dr. John Peter,
CMI, Founder Director. Dr. B K Krishnaraj Vanavarayar
is the present Chairman of the trust and Rev. Dr. Jose Paul
is the Director. The bonds that unite us are stronger than the barriers
that separate us, is the motto of this trust, which attempts to transcend
religious barriers.
Says, Fr. Jose Paul, Director, Each of us may be from different backgrounds;
geographically, culturally and spiritually. But we belong to one family.
The bond that unites all of us is Love and using it we must create
a better world".
 Divyodhaya
co-ordinates various programmes like training for meditation, leadership,
seminars, competitions, reach- out programmes, inter-religious prayer
meetings. They also conduct regular medical camps in association with
Vimal Jyothi Hospital and other private practitioners, on all
Thursdays. The training for meditation is conducted between 5.00 pm
and 6.00 PM on all Saturdays. Sangamam is an annual
two-day interfaith stay-in programme in which relevant topics are
chosen, discussed and resolutions are passed. The feature of this
get-together is the inter-religious pilgrimage.
Rev. Dr. John Peter, CMI, Founder-Director of Divyodhaya says in the
Divyodhaya Decennial Souvenir, The mission of Divyodhaya as a service
to the society must include a sincere and earnest effort to restore
the genuine meaning of religion and its power for social change.
The various services offered by Divyodhaya whether religious or not,
are undertaken with the above objective in mind.
The centre has a well stocked library, a book centre and reading room,
which is open to the public. The Divyodhaya Academy presents regular
classes in Spoken English, Music, Yoga and Karate, which are handled
by trained persons.
Address: Divyodhaya, Inter Religious Centre, # 91, Geetha Hall
Road, Coimbatore 641 018.
Phone: 300 966.
Author: Joseph Pradeep Raj
Photographs: Leslee Lazar
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