Unity in Diversity of Religions
A.C.Sekhar
Through out
history, religions played a great force on the life of nations, communities,
families and individuals. Religions have fought wars, crusades, jehads, holy wars
etc. Religions have also brought peace, cured ills, and have
also wrought miracles. In all these forceful events religions have
applied their tremendous influence on human mind which is the epic centre of
all human activities. So what exactly is a religion, what is its function in
human development, what is meant by a religious faith and what exactly is
involved in following any course 'religiously'? And above all, why there are
today about 14 major and many minor religions in this world where humans have
occupied a predominant position to save this world or destroy it. In the
answers to these and similar questions the mechanics of modern religions requires a thorough
study and discussion . In this process an interesting blend of materialism and
spiritualism becomes evident, so much needed in the modern days of intensive
and extensive technological
developments through out
the world. It is not intended in this article to quote relevant sayings or articles
from each religion and discuss or compare the same now but a general survey, as
easily observed by common men are indicated
below so as to bring out relevant unity in all the diverse religions of
the world.
Almost all religions had some role to
play in the governance, public administration, and politics of any country. How
far religion solved the intricate problems of political legitimacy or establish
individual identity of nations which include minorities also is a question that occupied the minds of several intelligentsia in the past as well as
the present. Perhaps this will continue to remain a
problem as long as Religion will
be taken consciously or unconsciously as one of the guiding factors for
absorbing conflicting and ever changing theories of economic living and
political thinking. Some governments in recent years had also to invoke the
various concepts in religions for making of laws, and for the peaceful co-ordination & conduct of socio-economic levels of
life in their nations, willingly or otherwise, within the vaguely
defined limits of religious neutrality. Some ruling monarchs, heads of states,
and other prominent figures in governments act as defenders and protectors of
religious faiths. There are governments which recognize the position of the religion of the majority in their nation
for their legal responsibilities. Therefore a question arises whether or not
secularism is only an attitude of the mind guided by the highest concepts of
the religion of the majority in the nation or all religions in their ultimate
truthful identity preach only the true secularism
All religions seem
to have two things in common; a ' God ' and a set of fables or stories guiding
human actions. The former which is often referred as Super-human or
Super-natural leads to tendencies of
'Worship' in different forms as the concept produces a requisite awe and
reverence in the minds of human beings particularly those having strong faith
in the entity ' God ' The fables and stories provide a set of
guiding principles for human actions to continuously elevate human dignity.
While in some cases these guiding principles are enunciated directly, in other
cases they are formed on the basis of interpretation of individuals
, arising out of the causes and
effects of events emerging out of those fables and stories. Logically GOD in every
religion must be an entity of highest and most perfect order that man can conceive or
convince. Many thinkers have described GOD in a variety of ways - ‘Atma’, ‘Almighty’,
‘Allah’ ‘Aka’l, ‘Aum’ (
2
certain individuals all under the power of ‘God’. Every religion produced God-men,
Acharyas, Popes, Bishops, Wise men, Sufis, Mullas,
Jathedhars and many types of interpreters and religious leaders.
More important of all
every religion in this world has spoken of special places of worship. The
Hindus have temples, ashrams, mutts; the Christians call them churches or Congregation halls
The Muslims call them Mosques. The Jews have Synagogues and the Sikhs have Gurudwaras. So also the Buddhists, the Jains,
the Parsees, and even the tribal people have all got special places of worship duly
sanctified and conceived as abodes of God. The architectural designs of these
places are uniformly symbolic of the historical, social, and geographical
developments connected with the origin and growth of concerned religion. Many of the teachings conveyed to
discipline mankind have emanated only from these places of worship as they are
supposed to be very peaceful and fit places for ‘Divine’ messages. The abiding faith
in any religion has been sustained only through different rituals that are
followed in these places common worship. Sacred articles are stored in these
places like idols. books, and even empty spaces which develop the needed awe and reverence to
God from whom man seeks many boons for his personal desires. Unlike some views
that places of worship are the seats of fanaticism, they on the other hand are
designed and intended , to develop serenity for
worship and discipline the human mind for righteousness and common good of all.
The common good of all is expected to achieve not only through the philosophies
contained in the religions but also through some emotional slogans and
sentiments developed in rituals and
prayers of all religions. For example the Hindus end their prayers with an
emotion that everybody should achieve happiness 'Sarvajano Sukhino Bhavanthu' 'Sabko Sammati De Bhagvan' etc.The Christian
religion emphasizes on 'Love' and 'Forgiveness'. In Islam and Sikhism ,'Faith' in
religious literature, like Quran and Granth Sahib ' and their teachings are emotionalized and
emphasized in a slogan as 'Allaho Akbar'
etc. In Buddhism it is
'Buddham Sangham Dharmam , Saranam Gachami' i.e. to take refuge in Buddha,Society,&Religion..
Besides these aspects, there are many other common elements in the rituals
performed in these places of worship. In every religion water is used in some form or
other , a symbolic feature for sustenance of life. 'Fire’ is invoked in some
forms like Yagnas, Dhoop,
Incense sticks, Camphor lights, Candle lights etc. which are symbolic of energy
required for human sustenance. In all religions kneeling before God is an
essential posture which man observes for his prayers.
Every religion also
believes that the Birth of a man is on the Will of God and after Death the Soul reaches the abode of
God and the bodies are returned to earth as enunciated 'Dust thou art and unto dust thou returneth' in the Bible. Every religion has some
distortions and deviations resulting in evolution of some 'cults' with extreme
states of mind. The changing trends in normal perceptions of rituals in all religions, have all moved in the same direction as
agro-economic cultures gradually shifted to industrial economies of nations -
from one of dependence on Nature to dependence on Science & Technology,
from elaborate and time-consuming practices to time saving and even costly
practices.
Thus there are quite a number of common
aspects in all religions, historically & spiritually, which can be further
elaborated and analyzed for understanding the real purpose of religions, for
understanding the significance of various
spiritual aspects for material
advancements in daily life of human
beings irrespective of their religion
or caste or creed or nationality A great Swami of Ramakrishna Mission once
said “It will be a great event in human history when the spiritual energies of
the world’s religions sso long working in isolation or at cross purposes become entirely positive and co-operative and function as an
integrated spiritual grid to redeem man
from the depth of worldliness and restore him to his true dimensions”
Thus, a deeper study on various aspects
of human life as propounded in various religions will bring out in grater
depth, the UNITY in the DIVERSITY of Religions of the world.