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UN Speech |
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INTERACTIVE HEARING WITH CIVIL
SOCIETY |
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2007 High-level Dialogue of the UN General Assembly on
Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation
for Peace
(Oct. 4 and 5, 2007) |
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Challenges of Interreligious and Intercultural Cooperation Today |
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By Dr. SOHANLAL
GANDHI |
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A Dismal Scenario |
The main aim of a religion is to enable its
followers to live a good moral life based on truth and justice
but when we look back and examine the role of religion during the
last three millenniums of recorded human history, we are shocked
to discover that instead of inspiring people to follow an ethical
code of conduct and abstain from sinful acts it was instrumental
in generating bloody conflicts and causing discord and disharmony
in society. Our beliefs result from our social and cultural
environment. No two persons think alike hence it is natural that
there will be different beliefs, different languages, different
dresses and different cultural, moral and social values.
Diversity of beliefs and views is a natural attribute of
humanity.
The situation today is extremely grim and complicated since the
extremists are exploiting religious differences to further their
selfish ends and fulfil their political aspirations. Economic
disparities, abject poverty and unemployment are also adding fuel
to the fire of religious tensions. India is facing the worst
crisis of terrorism. Thousands of innocent people have lost their
lives and the potential threat still exists. It is time we took
immediate steps to strengthen interreligious and intercultural
cooperation. We are of the view that only a meaningful dialogue
among religious heads can create an environment of goodwill and
friendship leading to cooperation.
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Main Actors of Interreligious and
Intercultural Cooperation : What it Means to be a Main Actor
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There are many actors of interreligious and
intercultural cooperation and each ‘actor’ is making its own
contribution today. They include civil society organizations as
well as government and UN agencies. They are trying to reconcile
divergent ethnic, cultural and religious groups by persuading
them to sit together at a table and resolve their conflicts
nonviolently. In almost all major religious traditions there are
interreligious committees which are active in this direction. At
UN and government level too there is a realization that they can
work more effectively if civil society is involved. By a main
actor I mean an organization which is exclusively dedicated to
the cause of interfaith harmony. It studies the problem without
any prejudice and bias, collects data and documentary proofs to
establish its point and has deep commitment to the cause of
religious reconciliation and rejects the theory that the clash
between civilizations is inevitable.
I will designate civil society as the ‘main actor’ of
interreligious and intercultural cooperation. There are many
civil society organizations which are creating an environment of
reconciliation and many joint action plans are being implemented
which include poverty elimination projects, employment generation
schemes and development of such villages as are steeped in
poverty and illiteracy. These actors have been organizing highly
successful global interfaith assemblies and thousands have come
forward to join the global campaigns.
When the followers of different faiths – Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs sit together in fellowship as people, they find they have so much in common. Hindus are not Hinduism, Christians are not Christianity, Jains are not Jainism and Muslims are not Islam. Our beliefs and doctrines will bind us in all kinds of knots – they can become a dreadful tyranny to us so that we look at people through ‘doctrinally trained eyes’ and we arrogantly think that we have the right to pronounce quick judgements on them. But Buddha, Jesus, Mahavira, Mohammad, Sankara never did this. Would that we could all follow the spirit of the messages of our spiritual teachers. Our doctrines and beliefs as Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jains are very different. They are bound to be so because they have developed in different cultures. When Christians, Jains, Hindus, Muslims meet together in faith, all the superficial differences quickly fall away and they become one in universal love. There is a difference between faith and belief. Faith is one but beliefs are many. There is no denying the fact that a growing sense of alienation between major religions is creating an environment of mutual distrust and hatred but it is also true that some groups within these religions are in the forefront of intereligious dialogues and are endeavouring sincerely to create harmony.
It is the duty of the actors of interreligious and intercultural cooperation to create awareness among the followers of different faiths that dharma (righteous) is one and is shorn of labels. All religions emphasize purity of means and ends. We must respect diversity of views and follow the path of righteousness and humanism.
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Current Modalities of Interreligious and
Intercultural Cooperation |
Humanity is beset with a plethora of
problems today. Globalization has robbed the marginalized groups
of society of their means of survival. The incidents of religious
intolerance are on the increase. Fanaticism and terrorism are
raising their ugly heads. Environmental degradation and global
climate change may hasten the extermination of all life forms
from the face of this globe.
A culture of violence and hatred is spreading fast across the
world. We cannot do anything to arrest this trend without the
support and cooperation of all religious groups. It has,
therefore, become essential for all of us to deepen and
strengthen our interreligious cooperation and realize that
violence is not the solution. The current modalities of their
cooperation include dialogues to dispel misunderstandings that
alienate one religious group from the other, establishment of
interfaith councils and participation in each others religious
festivals. We have to make it clear that by sharing our religious
life and thoughts together our faith is not threatened or shaken.
It is enriched and the bonds of love and fellowship between us
become stronger and firmer.
Globalization is causing the mass emigration of people from one
country to the other country and from one region to the other
region. It is obvious that when people flock to a particular
region in search of jobs and livelihood, they face violent
protests from the natives who fear loss of their meagre resources
or may be asked to share them with others. As a result these
conflicts soon change into communal or caste-oriented conflicts.
When a group of a region migrates, it brings with it different
food habits, dresses and religious and cultural festivals which
sometimes local people do not approve. The actors of
interreligious cooperation thus face a serious challenge on
account of regional differences and mingling of culturally and
religiously diverse groups.
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Most Pressing Current Issues and
Barriers to Interfaith Harmony : A Jain perspective |
The main issue before humanity today is
whether we can co-exist despite diversity of beliefs, languages
and cultural values : whether we can live as friends rather than
as enemies notwithstanding different traditions we might follow.
I believe in the unity of humanity and as a Jain my answer is
that it is possible. Diversity, as a matter of fact, is the
beauty of the universe. If a person thinks that only one belief
should prevail on this globe, he is obviously living in an
illusion. Just as it is impossible to expect only one shop of
cloth in a city so it is impossible to have just one religion in
the world. I believe that the principle of nonviolence can become
a strong basis of interreligious and intercultural cooperation.
Lord Mahavira – the twentyfourth Tirthankara of the nonviolent Jain Tradition who lived 2600 years ago and was a contemporary of Lord Buddha said that ahimsa (nonviolence) is the basis of our survival. He explained, “The Arhats (venerable perfect souls) of the past, those of the present and the future narrate, discourse, proclaim and assert that one should not injure, subjugate, enslave, torture or kill any animal, living being, organism or sentient being. The doctrine of ahimsa is immaculate, immutable and eternal.” He further said, “Those who resort to and remain engrossed in violence suffer (the miseries of) transmigration again and again.”
In Acarang Sutra ahimsa has been proclaimed in the following
words : "Injurious activities inspired by self-interest lead to
evil and darkness. This is what is called bondage, delusion,
death, and hell. To do harm to others is to do harm to oneself.
Thou art he whom thou intendest to kill ! Thou art he whom thou
intendest to tyrranize over !”
The main cause of religious tension that prevails today is the
attempts by some misguided religious groups belonging to all
major religions to lure the follower of the other religions into
becoming the members of their religions and thus increase the
number of their followers. Lord Mahavira opposed it and
proclaimed that it was against the spirit of true religion. He
said, “Many followers of different sects assert that liberation
is possible only through their spiritual practices and modes of
worship. If the head of a particular sect says, ‘come and join my
sect else you will not be liberated’, such person creates
misunderstanding by regarding the partial truth as the whole
truth and thus generates animosity.”
According to Lord Mahavira such exclusive views are the greatest
hindrances and barriers to interfaith harmony. In order to create
a feeling of friendship and reconciliation towards other sects
Lord Mahavira propounded the philosophy of Anekant which means
that truth is many-sided. Only God or omniscient being knows the
whole truth. Everyone may be right from his standpoint and wrong
from the other’s standpoint. There is no need to quarrel. There
is no viewpoint that is perfect as there is no science that is
complete. Anekant approach or the non-absolutist attitude alone
can remove these barriers from the path of interreligious and
intercultural cooperation. It stands for complete freedom of
thought and forbids the disparagement or contradiction of other
religious beliefs.
Elucidating the philosophy of Anekant Acharya Mahapragya, the eminent Jain thinker and initiator of Ahimsa Yatra says that anekant is the third eye. Ahimsa (nonviolence) is not possible without non-absolutist attitude and non-absolutist attitude is not possible without ahimsa (nonviolence). In the present circumstances Anekant can become a universally acceptable principle for interreligious and intercultural cooperation.
Acharya Mahapragya has imparted a new dimension to interfaith
unity by embarking on Ahimsa Yatra. As the Ahimsa Yatra passes
through villages, cities and towns, Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Jains and common people join his nonviolent march and extend
support to him. In the course of his yatra the Acharya not only
heals the wounds of the people affected by violence but also
imparts training in nonviolence to children, youths and even
elderly people of that area so that we have highly committed
nonviolence volunteers to prevent the occurrence of violent
incidents in the future.
Ahimsa Yatra has two immediate objectives i.e. elimination of
hunger and poverty and interfaith harmony. Like many other Jain
Acharyas Acharya Mahapragya is continuing Mahavira’s legacy of
ahimsa and anekant which I find as most helpful in promoting
interreligious and intercultural cooperation for peace. His yatra (march)
has generated a new wave of enthusiasm for intereligious
cooperation. Violence continues unabated in the third millennium
and the planet is being dragged deeper into the mire of
terrorism, ethnic and religious hatred, tension and war. One
distressing trend is that while forces of violence are united and
organized, forces of peace and nonviolence are in a state of
disarray. It is difficult to face the challenge of violence
without their united struggle. In order to unify forces of peace
and nonviolence, Acharya Mahapragya has established Ahimsa
Samvaay – a common platform for all ahimsa lovers for a joint
nonviolent crusade against violence. Another actor of
interreligious and intercultural cooperation flourishing under
the dynamic leadership of Acharya Mahapragya is Anuvrat Movement.
It was launched in 1949 by late His Holiness Acharya Tulsi to
inspire people to live the good life and thus contribute to
social excellence. It has virtually become a common platform for
interfaith dialogue and interfaith unity.
This statement from Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, a celebrated
philosopher and former President of India further strengthens the
Jain view. At the end of his admirable study ‘Recovery of Faith’,
he wrote :
“In every religion today we have small minorities who see beyond
the horizons of their particular faith, who believe that
religious fellowship is possible, not through the imposition of
any one way on the whole world but through an all-inclusive
recognition that we are all searchers for the truth, pilgrims on
the road, that we all aim at the same ethical and spiritual
standards. Those who thirst for a first-hand experience are
prophets of the religion of spirit, which is independent of all
ecclesiastical organizations and the subtleties engendered by
human learning, which looks for the formation of an earthly
community governed by love. The widespread existence of this
state of mind is hope of the future.”
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Relationship Between Culture and
Religion |
Culture and religion are interwoven.
Religion is, however, a personal ethic and is meant to exert
moral influence on individuals so that they may desist from the
path of evil. With the passage of time diverse ritualistic
practices, customs, festivals also came into vogue. Each region
has its own cultural practices and it is not necessary that they
are part of a religion. The mountains, rivers, forests, temples,
churches, mosques and Gurudvaras are symbols of culture. A hill
at once becomes a sacred place just because a great spiritual
leader spent his time here. Many hills in Bihar (India) are
associated with the liberation of Tirthankars.
On account of a historical context a particular place of region
acquires specific significance. A dargah (a place of samadhi of a
muslim fakir) becomes a shrine and both Hindus and Muslims come
and offer their prayers here. Similarly there are many places
associated with the Hindu saints but Muslims also respect them.
Culture is more encompassing and is an identity of a regional
group whereas religion is sustained by the faith of people.
Indian cultural heritage consists in not only the practices
associated with the Hindus but also those of Muslims. It is
difficult to distinguish between religion and culture. Culture
can be defined as a way of life of a particular society or group
of people including patterns of thought, beliefs, behaviours,
customs, traditions, rituals, dresses and languages, as well as art,
music and literature – surviving objects or artifacts. The noted
historian Arnold Joyanbee wrote that many flourishing
civilizations vanished on account of the decadence in moral and
spiritual values. Whereas a religion might be followed by people
in may countries, a culture may belong to a region only, of course
social practices such as marriages, death and birth rituals may
very from region to region. What is important is that we look at
divergent cultural values with respect and admiration. In our
country we find that religion doesn’t obstruct social
relationships and Hindus, Muslims, Christions, Sikhs and Jains
participate in each other’s social functions. Many Hindus invite
muslim brothers to Iftkar parties during Ramjan,
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Conclusion |
Though the actors of interreligious and
intercultural cooperation face formidable challenges, they are
working hard for social harmony. An environment of friendship and
goodwill need to be created. The aim of religion is to unite
people and not divide them. It should be used as an instrument
for social excellence and harmony but the religion that we see
today is its perverted form.
Saddened and disillusioned by what was happening in UK in the
name of religion the noted Irish satirist Jonathan Swift once
wrote, “We have just enough religion to make us hate but not
enough to make us love one another.” When we look at the world
today we realize that what he had uttered about the Irish society
in the 18th century is true in respect of the whole world today.
Unless religion becomes a binding force and religious leaders
realize that they must sit together and evolve a global ethic to
which all religious sects adhere scrupulously, our hope for
interreligious cooperation will remain a distant dream. |
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Dr. Sohan Lal
Jain Gandhi
International President
Anuvrat Global Organization (ANUVIBHA)
Opp. Gaurav Tower, Malviya Nagar
JAIPUR – 302 017 (INDIA)
Ph. : 91-141-2722412
Fax : 91-141-2710118, 2722412
e-mail :
anuvibha@anuvibha.in
slgandhi@hotmail.com
web : www.anuvibha.in |
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