Religion is not to blame for communal tensions.

[Jagannath Chatterjee]

Dear World Family,

 

Namaste. I have been reading the hateful mails in the various groups to which most of us subscribe. It is like we are having a communal flare up on the internet. While on the streets the lumpen and the politicians fight, here the cream of India has gone berserk. This is indeed worrying.

 

What do the terrorists want? Just what we are currently indulging in. Peace leads to sanity and growth in all spheres. This is not acceptable to the powers that seek to destabilise our country. A few bombs in critical places is their strategy to disturb the harmony that is found in the larger reaches of India. The common man worries about his bread and is tolerant of his neigbours religious beliefs. He knows he cannot end his poverty by slitting the throat of innocents. It is the corrupt and powerful, the power hungry who harbour such fancies. A riot leads to political realignment which may throw open the doors to prosperity. So what if a few lives are lost?

 

Why has the situation come to such a head? I will put the blame squarely and solely on the politicised "secularism" of India. Either we could have banned religion or embraced it. We did neither. We preferred to play with ignorant emotions. The move has backfired but it is unlikely that the rules of the game will change. There will be more bombs, more rhetoric, and God forbid, more violence. Just what the terrorists want. Just what our Nation does not want.

 

I have studied in a secular school. But our Hindi teacher did not believe in the warped secularism of the day. He took pains to teach us about all religions and highlighted the similarities within them. He taught us about the need of religion, why the same religion does not satisfy all, and why we should respect the religion of others even while we fiercely protect our own. He pointed out that Hinduism was not a single religion but was composed of various viewpoints which coexisted peacefully. He urged us to view the non Hindu religions in the same way.

 

This sane approach to religion by building bridges accross communities and creating a generation of hate free productive citizens is anathema to those who seek to profit from communal clashes. These groups do not have the interests of a resurgent India in mind. They are narrow minded bigots who hide under the banner of secularism.

 

Religions do not preach hatred. They preach love and the need for God. They speak of ways and means to reduce our suffering and achieve peace of mind. Religion is not to blame for the current wildfire of hate. The interpretors of religion and its self appointed champions are sowing the seeds of violence by putting words into the mouths of Prophets, words they would shudder to utter. We should see through the hoax and stop being puppets in the hands of these vile forces.

 

Come let us study all religions and observe with wonder the different pathways to the same God. Let us learn more ways of loving the Lord. Let us enrich our spiritual quotient by adopting the good thoughts inherent in all religions. Hatred will never solve our problems, but uniting through love will pave the way for a vibrant India. Let us show the world the power of love. Let love be the weapon of mass construction for us to conquer the world.

 

Love & Regards,

Jagannath.

 

 

 

 

"Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." -  Aurobindo.

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[रजनीश मंगला]

चैटर्जी, साहब, मैं ये मेल
सिर्फ ये टेस्ट करने के लिए
लिख रहा हूँ कि आप हमारी
बातों का जवाब देते भी हैं
या सिर्फ अपनी तूती बजाने पे
तुले हैं| अगर आप इस बार मेरी
मेल का जवाब नहीं देते तो
मैं एक बार फिर मौडरेटर से
गुज़ारिश करूँगा आप को हटाने
की| आपके विचार कितने भी
अच्छे क्यों न हों, लेकिन
अगर आप दूसरों के साथ
विचारों क आदान प्रदान नहीं
करते तो आप इस ग्रुप को misuse कर
रहे हैं|

[hitesh verma]

        Mangla Sahab, itna jaroor hai ki apki mail padne se manoranjan bahut acha hota hai. Bahut hasi aati hai. khaskar apke baat karne ke style par. Good, keep it going. Sirf haste hua log hi is duniya se dukh mita sakte hain.

 

        Now I am coming to the point. Chatterjee sahab, ur ideas are perfect. I do believe that all the religions teach love. Many people say they are god fearing person but I feel all the religions don't teach us to fear God. They teach us to love God. I am perfectly sure in the case of Hindu religion atleast. 

 

      Yesterday I was reading "science of getting rich", although the book seems to be and is for creating wealth but the philosophy in it can create anything. It just says to shut our eyes to poverty, and try to think rich and visualise riches.

       

      Isn't it the same thought which Bhuddhism and Mahatma Gandhi propounded. "see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil".  But the author does not brand it as religion. May be he is ignorant or may be he is more wise than us. What I want to say is  lets us find all the good ideas of religion and give it to the people but is it necessary to say it is religion. This word is now understood wrongly by most of the people. It reminds them about temples, rituals, clash between communities etc.

 

    Lets not look at the wrong which some people are doing, because they are not in our control. Had we been in power we would have checked them. So in the same way we should at least now not look at them. But let us create new. If we will create new then there will be no one to oppose us because we will be not working against pseudo secularists and fanatics. We should come in the creative plane and not in competitive plane. Thats what that book tells us.

 

     Without branding a thing as religion we can bring religion to the people. A rose will smell just as sweet even if is called by other name.

 

     Now at last a humorous incident. In our college one of our teacher said "What is in a name?" and said that this statement is by Kalidas. When we protested he said "What is in a name?"

[रजनीश मंगला]

चैटर्जी साहब और हितेष जी,
आपकी बातें बहुत अच्छी लगीं|
ये धर्म निर्पेक्षता का
खाली ढोल बजाना वाकई बहुत
खतरनाक है| जहां तक हो सके
सभी को हर धर्म का अध्धयन
करना चाहिए ताकि उसकी
खूबियां तथा त्रुटियां
अच्छी तरह समझ आएं और लोग
आसानी से भडकाए न जा सकें|
जहां तक मैंने देखा है,
हिन्दुओं को छोड के सभी लोग
(सिक्ख, मुस्लिम, ईसाई आदि)
नियमित तौर पर पाठ करते हैं|