Beyond the Grave Looking Back on Religious Harmony For the week which passed (17/7/21-14) when I was alive on Planet Earth.
Religious harmony is a major social and political issue in Indian society and a good way to measure the level of freedom in our society. That communism and freedom of religion were conceived as water and oil - as we saw in the former Soviet Union, China, and other parts of the communist world - was something beyond my comprehension as a young man - and still is. After all, what has one got to do with the other? India after Independence had chosen the middle path of democratic socialism - an influence of Gautama Buddha - a man who lived 2500 years ago? Maybe. Karl Marx - the father of communism - labeled religion as the opium of the people, and from then on a war started between religion and communism which was unnecessary and uncontrollable. Communism took on an added meaning: anti-religion. If the Soviet Union and China had allowed people the freedom of worship then communism, I believe, might have been successful and maybe even survived to this day. A lot of energy was wasted in this foolish and unnecessary war between religion and the state. Christian societies, no doubt, wasted no time and jumped on the bandwagon, making the most of it. Communism was the system of government of the people, by the people, for the people who did not believe in God: You atheists. You evil people! Allow people to worship, Christians thundered and labeled communists as anti-God. Anyone who was a communist was anti-God, and an atheist. God belonged to the non-communists and believers. No patent required? In Goa, idol worship is popular - in fact - very popular. Hindus partake in Christian rituals and Christians in Hindu rituals. Idolatry is the bridge of the two religious communities. Even Christian politicians partake in Hindu religious ceremonies and so they extend further the partnership. Christianity in India has always had a Hindu cultural influence. Interesting, isn’t it? The sticky point is the issue of religious conversion. Hindu society does not understand the meaning of conversion - it is a word with no meaning, and is not a part of the spiritual lexicon of Hindu India. Conversion has had zero value of importance in Hindu tradition and ways of thinking for a millennia and more, and it is true even today. Why? In India, the backbone of religious experience has always been the way of the seeker. A million gods and more paths - maybe - one for each seeker? Commentaries on a seeker’s spiritual experience has never ceased even to this day. It is, however, the domain of scholars and intellectuals and people who like to talk and discuss what they do not know - as they have not had the experience - mokash, nirvana, enlightenment or whatever name you choose to give it. They have not had the ultimate experience. Commentators are given freedom to debate, interpret and make theories. That is the Hindu way. As I said earlier there are a number of gods and a great number of paths. While some people choose chanting, others choose worship or action or meditation or something else. Conversion is a Western import and point of view and is unIndian as it is a belief in a single saviour, and path. Too narrow and fanatical for the Hindu mind and way of life. And, unthinkable! Now, this problem is a Western import and has to be looked at in this light. Freedom to choose your own path has always been the mainstay of so-called Hindu religion (and not Hinduism). It is a unique way of life. The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are unIndian as anything imaginable. Or possible. Hindu religion is like an Indian thali; you can include what you think is of value or remove what you think is of lesser or negative value. Each is free to choose his own menu. People during the so-called Vedic period ate meat but this was not considered a positive value by Mahavira or Gautama Buddha who put emphasis on compassion, and the sanctity of life - all life. The formation of new sects as Jainism and Buddhism is not seen as conversion from the Hindu religion. Scholars are divided on the issue; some scholars consider it to be a breakaway sect while others a reformist movement. In neither of these two religions is there a belief in God. As I said earlier, some dishes are dropped from the thali, and others added. No problem. Some might profess to believe in God and others do not. No problem. The search for truth continues unlike the Abrahamic religions - all three of which have already arrived at a conclusion and claim to have the truth; and are mutually exclusive paths. You have to choose only one: this is no thali. And, for this reason there will always be a problem among the three claimants if they pursue the path of conversion in India. In Goa, we need to tread cautiously as there is the history of the Inquisition. The Church needs to grow in wisdom. Numbers do not prove much in the world of spirituality. We are not talking about the market share of a particular chain of hamburgers. In the Hindu way of life people are free to express their views and opinions and their chosen path based on the seeker’s experience of truth - and no view is absolute unlike in the other three religions. Some politicians would like to change this millennia old tradition. It, however, is to this day India’s unique strength.
