(This is a revised form of my response to a blog. Nothing original is these random reflections, but I still choose to post them, braving charges of mouthing platitudes and tinkering around with truisms. I do this ’cos we live in times when clichés need to be stated, defamiliarised. Familiarity breeds contempt, and when great truths are contemptuously dismissed as clichés, they need to be reinstated. Truth never becomes irrelevant simply because they are hackneyed. So here I go - - )
All religions are expressions of man’s search for the infinite. This search in not done in an ethereal vacuum - but down here, on the earth, on the ground, on the soil of our day to day life.
The first step towards the realization of the infinite is purging the mind of negative emotions and filling it with love - love of mankind.
If we negotiate our way through the peripherals of religions, we will arrive at the great truth that the core values of all religions are the same. There is no space in this core for violence and inequity. They are gross elements that adulterate the magnificent endeavour of mortals to reach out towards eternity. They can never be part of any religion, part of this search for the infinite. The presence of these elements with the label of religion attached to them can be ascribed to flawed interpretation and practice of religion.
A violent Christian should relinquish the label ‘Christian’. So should believers of other religions. The greatest disservice to religious teachers/teachings is to inflict injury on fellow human beings in the name of religion. Christians did it for a long period of time. The leaders have apologized several times for the crimes against humanity in the name of religion.
Indians too proselytized. Buddhism spread in the eastern part of Asia through the agency of Buddhist monks who took upon themselves the task of spreading the great man’s teachings. But how peacefully this religion was disseminated! Not a drop of blood was shed in the process. Buddha’s insistence on ahimsa was adhered to with great passion by his messengers.
Hinduism did not have a history of violence in the name of religion. Our ancestors were the ideal practitioners of religion. Religion was practiced as it truly should be – as a way of life. Hinduism was a way of life.
Alas! Those were glorious days. Hindus achieved long time back what followers of other religions are still striving to achieve. But, sadly, instead of perpetuating the great tradition of being model practitioners of religion, Hindus are now making the mistakes committed by the followers of other religions, mistakes which the rational and enlightened among the other religions are trying to rectify. What an irony!
And what a great disservice to Hinduism and to our proud, glorious tradition.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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7 comments:
Teacher,
A sense of insecurity is where it all starts.
When there was no so called Hinduism, Adi Shankara felt insecurity with the influx of religions like Buddism and Jainism in Kerala.
This lead to a massive movement that brought Hinduism as a religion.
Jain and Buddist temples were converted to Hindu temples. Their traditions were imbibed into Hinduism.These two religions were fought tooth and nail and finally they were uprooted from Kerala.
This sense of insecurity has been there for ages.Its Utopian to think otherwise.
-Nikhil
Nice Post! I was planning a blog-post on similar lines. I think there has to be an end to religion based feuds. It is deeply affecting our socirty and life.
Reply to what you asked :
Teacher-that is pretty evident in every line. Headmistress style alle ezhuth :)
Teacher ennum teacher aanu, retire aayalum :)
-Nikhil
one thing that surprises me is
the feeling of insecurity one feels when one's religion is threatened...why? your religion(even though you maybe born into it) is only as strong as your conviction is...so if your conviction is strong your religion shoulnt feel threatened,come what may..right?do i need to put down another to feel good about yours?
who cares about MF Hussain's paintings or the Davinci code?If im a true Hindu/true christian do i need to care about an artist's rendition ?coz that is it after all..someone else sees it some other way..
which gets me to the point that we are not the true beleivers.....the sense of insecurity arises from lack of conviction and those are easily fuelled.......
@ N Narayan & renu
you couldnt b more right.
sense of insecurity reg religion-an issue worth looking at.
renu, like u said, if all is well with u & ur God, it matters v little what anyone else says, does. religion is a v personal thing-and
-Nikhil N-when u institutionalise it, it becomes less & less personal.Reg Adi Shankara-i wouldnt question his motives. true, he reinstated hinduism but he was motivated by his conviction - his belief that this expansive, all encompassing religion called hinduism shouldnt give way to another for want of mystics and dedicated teachers. he is a reformer who believed that he had in his custody TRUTH in the purest form available to man.
it's more than politics.
Good post. Sense of insecurity is carefully cutivated by those who want to gain political power and money using religion. They want to portray that the religion is under attack and only they the communalists can protect it.It is the same for communalists of all religions. So Bush is needed for Bin Laden and vice versa. Bajrang Dal needs Lashkar and vice versa.
All these communalists are only after political power and money. They actually do not care much about religion.For them religion is the vehicle that will take them to their goal.
You wouldnt believe it. If asked choose between the 2 - forced conversion or killing of innocent humans, which was worse - many would cling to choice 1 and claim choice 2 as result of choice 1!
It drives me insane when I cant drive home a simple point like that to people my age! I mean its not like they are a generation too old and deep rooted in beliefs to accept what was really happening and how should it be perceived!
I always like to believe in "the good hearts" of human beings, but I really dont see how I could have any hope at all. Noone would even listen to reason.
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