| EVERY CONDUCT IN LIFE SHOULD BE GOVERNED BY ETHICS OF HONESTY AND INTEGRITY- SHEKHAWAT
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| The Vice President, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has said that religion should shape our character in such a way that every conduct in life is governed by ethics of honesty and integrity. Speaking at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Reunion Movement of the Malankara Catholic Church at Punnamoodu Parumala, Alapuzha in Kerala today, Shri Shekhawat cautioned against the latent threats to social and cultural harmony and said that although we are religious but out society is not yet fully free from the curse of strife and violence. He urged the people to create an atmosphere of goodwill amongst all religions. The following is the text of Shri Shekhawats speech: I am happy to be here today. The Platinum Jubilee of the Reunion Movement is a historic landmark in the history of your Church; it is also certainly an occasion to celebrate. My warm greetings to all of you. I also offer my felicitations to all those who contributed towards the reunion with the Catholic Church as also its subsequent growth while maintaining its unique identity and ancient traditions. It was a privilege for me to visit Vatican City to represent our country and the people in paying respectful homage to Pope John Paul II, who was an apostle of peace and harmony and a champion of human dignity of the poor and the downtrodden. I was deeply moved by his personality which was imbued with great compassion and sensitivity. He was truly the peoples Pope, a father figure whose benedictions and blessings guided the people to follow the path of righteousness, enabling them to achieve oneness with God. The State of Kerala is extremely beautiful and picturesque and is really Gods Own Land. Coming to Kerala is, therefore, a very pleasant experience. With so many prominent religious places belonging to various faiths and centres of pilgrimage around, the whole region appears to have an aura of spirituality about it. Your holy Church forms an important part of Indias rich and composite spiritual heritage. Friends, our civilization is one of the oldest in the world. Several diverse religions and cultures have been the tributaries of the mighty river of Indian civilization. All religions of the world find a place under the Indian sun. India is home to all faiths and beliefs. Our diverse religions and cultures lend us unique richness. We must nurture our traditions and values and endeavour to build a healthy understanding and harmony among people of different religious denominations. We ought to educate our children about the richness of our diversities of religion and culture so that they imbibe the values of tolerance of diversity and respect for all religions. The seeds of such value system planted in the young minds will in due course grow into mighty trees with deep and strong roots to sustain for ever our way of life in peace and harmony. All the religions practicised in our country have one core essence: that of universal tolerance and that all religions are true. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation had said, my veneration for other faiths is the same as for my own. For him every religion meant truth and non-violence. This is what makes the ethos of our highly pluralistic and multi-religious society really secular. This concept of secularism is also enshrined in our Constitution; it was very well elaborated by our philosopher-President, Dr. Radha Krishnan who said, I quote, secularism does not mean irreligion. It means we respect all faiths and religions. Our State does not identify itself with any particular religion. Unquote. All our religions aim to elevate the spiritual and moral foundations of our people, make a person a better human being, and enlighten him to pursue the path of virtue and thus attain sublime goals of life. Indeed, religion has always had great influence on our people. This power of our religions needs to be harnessed and channelised and directed towards achieving the goals of national development. Religion should be an effective instrument to guide human behaviour and conduct to achieve social reforms, social integration and social harmony. Friends, I believe that religion should inspire us to serve the poor and the deprived so as to improve their lot. Swami Vivekananda called the service of the Daridra Narayan i.e. the poor man, as the highest form of worship of God. To be religious should also mean being motivated and committed to the objective of uplift of the needy and the downtrodden. The goal of promoting welfare of the common man needs to be at the centre-stage of all our religion-guided actions. In my public life of over 50 years, it has been my conviction throughout that our foremost duty is to promote the welfare of the people. Unfortunately our 26 crore people still live below the poverty line. Many areas do not have access to safe drinking water. Our 35 crore people are still illiterate. We have 4 crore people dwelling in slums. Lakhs of lives are lost because of Malaria and Tuberculosis. The problem of HIV/AIDS has become a serious public health problem. I view the welfare of these poor and deprived sections as the fifth pillar of democracy. If this key pillar is not strengthened, the edifice of democracy itself would run the risk of a collapse. I would, therefore, urge for greater cooperation and support by the civil society, belonging to whatever religion, for better care of the poor and the needy; for arranging their access in real terms to basic services of healthcare, education and shelter. Another important need of the hour is to pro-actively promote the spirit of social harmony. Our daily life should be governed by an inclusive and liberal thought process of mind. Our social behaviour and conduct ought to be governed by our civilizational commitment to pluralism, tolerance and liberalism so well enshrined in the ancient maxim of Sarva-Dharma-Sambhav which means that all religions are one. This widest possible concept of secular ethos flows out of the deep rooted Indian spiritual thought of universal brother-hood, care and compassion, love and affection nurtured by our religions and diverse cultures. It is this secular ethos which, like human rights, today needs to be adopted as a global value to be promoted through international cooperation, understanding and collaboration. It is this spiritual secularism that is Indias richest wealth and which can be our valuable contribution towards building a new world-order of peace, harmony and tranquility. Friends, let me also say a word of caution against the latent threats to social and cultural harmony. When the whole world is shrinking, unfortunately we sometime witness acts of narrow-mindedness, and conflicts of caste, creed and communalism. We all may be religious, but our society is not yet fully free from the curse of strife and violence. Sometimes, our unethical conduct leads to growth of unwanted weed of violence. The need is to create an atmosphere of goodwill amongst all. Mahatma Gandhi, while exhorting people to pursue an ethical life, once advised to shun: wealth without work; pleasure without conscience; knowledge without character; commerce without morality: science without humanity; worship without sacrifice and politics without principles. The need, therefore, is that religion should so shape our character that our every conduct in life is governed by ethics of honesty and integrity. Then only our actions will be without any roots of violence; then only we will promote increase in human happiness and social harmony. That alone would lend true meaning and content to our religious credentials. Friends, I am happy to learn that your Church, with its vast network is actively engaged in the field of education and healthcare as also other humanitarian activities. The Platinum Jubilee Celebrations is an important occasion to rededicate oneself in rendering with even greater vigour service to the humanity and working for the unity and prosperity of all. I wish you all success. |
---- PIB Release
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