OUR SPIRITUAL GOAL IS UNITY NOT UNIFORMITY
[Sanghacchadvam Samvadadvam Samaanamaakootih]
Before going through the main theme
of the subject, let me bring to your
attention an open letter by the popular Catholic French columnist who has spent
40 years in India studying terms like HHhHinduism,
indu eligion Hindu Religion, Hindutva, Sanatana dharma, Vedic Religion etc., that
are conveniently used by others and interpreted to promote the mission of their
own religion as superior to this ancient philosophy of Dharma that has survived for a period
unknown to humanity.
“MY
NAME IS FRANCOIS GAUTIER & I AM HINDUTVA
My name is François Gautier I’m a
Frenchman, catholic born and raised, and I’m a supporter of Hindutva.
What is Hindutva? It could be said it
is the political idealism of the Hindus, one of the most tolerant and
persecuted people in the world. I defend Hindus as a writer and a journalist,
because behind Hinduism there is an eternal spirituality that is universal in
nature: vasudhaiva kutumbhakam, “the
world is one family”. Today, when the planet’s two largest monotheist religions
still believe that their God is the only true one, and that it is their duty to
convert humanity to this true God, either by coercion or financial bait,
Hinduism, has from time immemorial, believed that the Divine, He or She,
manifests at different times, with different names, and different scriptures.
Thus, a Hindu is capable of entering a mosque, a church, or a Gurudwara,
without thinking that he or she is committing a sin. The reverse is not true.
This is why every persecuted religious
minority in the world found refuge in India: from the Christian Syrians, the
first Christian community that fled Arabia, to the Armenians running away from
the Turkish genocide, the Parsis butted out from Iran, the Jews who found in
India the only country in the world where they were not persecuted, to the
Tibetans today, who have recreated a mini Tibet in India around their leader,
the Dalai Lama, after fleeing the persecution of the Chinese.
I, as a white man, a journalist, a
foreigner, have always experienced total freedom in India: I have never been
mugged, as it can happen to you in the suburbs of Washington, my papers have
never been asked in the street by policemen, as it can occur to the
non-Caucasian in the metro in Paris, and I have been able to write freely, even
criticizing the government.
Thus, it breaks my heart and makes me
angry when I see conferences such as the one that just happened in the United
States, comparing Hindutva to Nazism, Narendra Modi, the democratically elected
Prime Minister of India, to Hitler, or Hindu organizations to the Taliban.
There is absolutely no comparison: anybody who lives in India can vouch for it.
The fact that this conference was timed to happen on the anniversary of the
World Trade Centre attacks of 2001 is also absolutely scandalous.
The problem rests with Indology. The
British, led by Mortimer Wheeler, created an Indology system whereby they took
some interest in the ancient civilization of India: Sanskrit, archaeological
ruins in Harappa, temples, etc., but always keeping in mind that their
Christian civilizations was superior. Indeed, Max Muller, one of the most
famous Indologists, after whom countless streets are named in India, wrote a
letter to his wife saying more or less that “Jesus Christ is the only true
divinity, and Hindus remain heathens”. Today’s modern Indologists follow the
same precept, and consciously or unconsciously still believe that Indians are
an inferior race.
I have lived in this country for 40
years, and travelled extensively from the extreme South of India to the Chinese
border in Arunachal Pradesh, and I have NEVER found a people who are so
friendly, open, and tolerant. It is my belief that not only India will become the spiritual leader of
the world, as Swami Vivekananda or Sri Aurobindo predicted, but that it will
also become an economic, political, military, and geopolitical superpower,
a friend and ally of the West and the democratic world, because contrary to
China, it kept its spirituality alive, thanks to the people that are called the
Hindus.
As it was revealed to the great Sage
Sri Aurobindo : “And it is the truth of the Hindu religion. It is this religion
that I am raising up before the world, it is this that I have perfected and
developed through the rishis, saints and avatars, and now it is going forth to
do my work among the nations. I am raising up this nation to send forth my
word. This is the Sanatana Dharma, this is the eternal religion which you did
not really know before, but which I have now revealed to you.”
Thus, you can call me a soldier of
Hindutva - if you wish.
François Gautier”
I came across an
interesting article in which the seven most Sacred Rivers mentioned are Ganaga, Yamuna, SarasvatI, Godavari, Narmada
Kshipra and Kaveri. Sprouting of
Sarasvati after 4000 years gives encouragement to retain Sarasvati among the most
Sacred Rivers of India. At the same time
there being no hope of getting back Sindhu or Indus and recovering the
land of Saptisindhus hailed in Rigveda and as heptahaindava in Avesta, It
should have motivated to delete Sindhu from the list of most Sacred Rivers disregarding our priests. India has long back forgotten Brahmaputra
Region as they were all given away to others in recognition of their
subservience under their Rule over three centuries. Under Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam Devo Ekah Vedas
proclaimed that the “Sun Never sets in the Prithvee Kingdom of Sanatana
Dharma”. The British changed that with their muscle power and declared “The sun Never Sets in the British Empire and that
rules the Kingdom of Christianity”. But scepter and crown must tumble down and
so after few centuries it has confined to
its origin, jam packed with various faiths threatening Christianity, in British
Isles. Sanatana Dharma may be its hope also. That is why missionaries are so
active in proselytization in India. In USA many have lost faith in Christianity
and say they are “Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR).” While Hindus in India
are desperate to hold on to their castes and their presiding deities called
Ishta Devatas Hindu Americans are not
yet ready to lead the SBNR or stop their
children going into the arena of SBNR. To all of them HH Chandrasekahrendra
Sarasvati says our Goal should be Unity and not Uniformity meaning we should
not uniformly make the same blunder.
Our
religious Pundits are hopeful of getting back Sindhu though they too have moved
away from the Seven Sacred Rivers mentioned in Rigveda. May be they have found
some from among 99 rivers mentioned in Rigveda to complete their list? But they have not lost hope of Sindhu.
So our sacred Kalasa Mantra which we employ in all rituals reads: Ganage cha Yamaunachaiva Godavari Sarasvati Narmade
Sindhu Kaveri jalesamin sannidhim
kuru”. It is for Hindus in India to think seriously about it. Perhaps Hindu
Dharma prevents to get back the land (of Saptasindhu) given as Charity. That
makes them ignore Sri Rama who said: “Jananee
janmabhoomischa praanaadapi garreeyasi”. It is therefore ideal for them
also to follow Sanatana Dharma and go with the afterthought of our Neetisastra
Pundits: “Vasudhaiva Kutiumbakam”
based on Vedic wisdom and go for wholesale proselytization.
“In my
opinion the Vedic religion was once prevalent all over the world. Our long
history is sufficient proof of this” says HH Swami Chandrasekahraendra
Sarasvati in his book: “The Voice of the unknown or God
(Deivattin Kural in Tamil)” that is presented to you to enrich your
knowledge and widen your vision that Sanatana Dharma does not belong to
any founded religion or to Hinduism coined and dubbed so, as
is believed today, but to humanity. Based on Rigvedic wisdom thoughts “”sanghacchadvam
sam vadadvam”, “aatmavat sarvabhooteshu”, “ sahannavavtu
sahnau bhunaktu sahveeryam karavaavahi” our religious pundits and moral
Gurus promoted the concept of “Vasudhaiva
kutumbakam”, “sarve janaah sukhino bhavantu” etc. Similarly Vedas are Book of Knowledge educating
humanity in Para Vidya (Spiritual Knowledge) to attain Liberation and Apara
Vidya (Secular Knowledge) to lead a peaceful contented happy
life and to live with peace and harmony in the human society. This calls for a
thorough review of all the information of our long history that I have brought to your focus while discussing
various discourses sent to you as well as exclusive E-mails on specific
topics contained in Thoughts of the Day, quarterly reporting.
Only ancestors of present day Hindus and the sages
were there in the world to start with. This can be known from the fact
that every Hindu remembers his lineage or Gotra originating from a three or
five sages passed on by his parents traditionally in his Sankalpa or religious
resolution. This is an unwritten law. He also knows how old
the world has been before him from the religious resolution. Other
cultures have to resort to some historic evidence for their origin. According
to Sankaracharya of Kanchi (Maha periyaval) the ancient Vedic civilization,
existed all over the world, as evinced by many
Sanskrit, Brahmi, Tamil inscriptions on many walls of temples, below the
pedestals of statues, etc.
The term Hindu
in the ancient Avesta records is a geographical term and does not refer to a
religion and is the aphabramsa (corrupted form) of the word Sindhu. Thapar,
Indian historian states that the word Hindu is found as heptahindu
in Avesta – equivalent to Rigvedic Sapta-
sindhu. Nobody knows what exactly these seven Sindhus are. We have a
reference to ten rivers in the land of Aryavarta in
Rigveda. Rigveda speaks of 3x7=21 rivers and also 99 rivers and so many of
them not identified but guessed somewhat. Sindhu could mean any
large live or active water source. At the time of Rigveda there was no
concept of religion but only Dharma that was created by Brahman for the entire
world to rule the world when his task of creation was over (Brihadaranyaka). It
is therefore reasonable to believe these Heptahaindva mentioned in Avesta
or Saptasindhus mentioned in Vedas and that further continues with
Sapta Sapta without any explanation that could mean Seven
great water sources of the world called Seven Seas in MNU – “sapta imae loke……..sapta sapta”.
We all pray
to Narayana who appeared on shoreless waters (ambasya paare bhuvnasya madhye)
as one stretch of water and address him as Dayasindhu Karunasindhu etc
meaning “Ocean of Mercy and Pity”. Hence the word Sindhu means ocean also. Thus
this vast stretch of water should have given birth to seven Khandas
(divisions) like Bharata Khanda, Aindra Kanda etc. Our priests in USA
refer to USA as Aindra kanda in Sankalpa where the same Universal Dharma
prevailed for all humanities. I do not know why and how our priests in USA
caught up with the idea of Aindra Khanda for USA! This gave birth to the
modern concept of 7 continents. Please refer to the Rigveda Durga sukta
mantra, “Visvaani noe durgaha jaatavedah sindhum na naava duritaati parshi” Here
the mantra quotes a simile: “like
crossing the ocean with a boat”. Here Sindhu means Ocean.
Vedic texts have a wide
geographical horizon, speaking of oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts. “Eight
summits of the Earth, three shores or desert regions, seven rivers or
oceans.”--asthau vyakhyat kakubhah
prthivyam tri dhanva yojana sapta sindhun RV.I.35. The Avesta’s hapta
həndu are preemptively equated with the Vedic Sapta Sindhavaḥ or vis-a-vis: In Vendidad 1.18 these are described
to be the fifteenth of the sixteen lands created by Mazda. Refer to the Saptarishis of the Rigveda and
also the later seven seas and the seven climes and similar references in
Avesta! In classical Greeco-Roman
geography and astronomy Climes were the divisions of the inhabited portion of
the spherical Earth by geographic Latitude.
The 7 continents of the world are North America,
South America, Antarctica, Europe, Asia, Africa
and Australia. The "Seven Seas" is an
ancient phrase for
seven oceanic bodies of water: The Arctic ocean,
the North Atlantic ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the
North Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific ocean and the
Southern (or Antartic) Ocean.
The Sanskrit word drāviḍa is used
to denote the geographical region of South India. This was coined by Adi Sankaracharya (590—477
BCE) when he was questioned as to where he had come from by locals in Mandhata
to which he proclaimed himself to be a "Drāviḍa Śiśu," with shishu
meaning 'child' or 'child of' and dravida being a sandhi word combining
the elements dravya, meaning water, and vida, meaning meeting
place. Therefore, drāviḍa means "the
place where the three waters meet" with those "three waters"
being the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. May be they had some
other name then? Southern Brahmins are known as Pancha Dravida while
Northern Brahmins are known as Panch Gauda, denoting geographical region.
At the time Sankara lived on this earth the word Hindu or Hinduism did not
exist and he was therefore a DRAVIDA BRAHMANA who postulated Advaita
Philosophy of Sanatana Dharma.
From the
researches of historian Siddharta Kak we find the evidence of flourishing
Vedic culture and Sanatana Dharama not only in the Northern part of India
Pakistan Afghanistan Tibet etc. but from Australia to Americas. HH Chandrasekarendra
Sarasvati says California could be Kapilaranya supported by the nearby
existence of Ash Island and Horse Island in his Book of Dharma. It is therefore
reasonable to believe Veda refers to Ancient Seven Seas where Dharma as
created by the Supreme (Brihadarnyaka) was followed by mankind and
there was no religion of any kind including modern Hinduism then. This
was what makes HH Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati to say that Vedic
religion was once prevalent all over the world. The word Hinduism
did not exist then. If it existed Sankara would have said he is a Hindu instead
of Dravida Sisu. Seeing the wide prevalent Vedic
religion once all over the vast stretch
of land Persians called the people who practiced them as Haindavas as they could not pronounce the
letter “S.” The vast
stretch water exclaimed as
hindu for sindhu gave birth to
modern name Indus from Sindhu, and those
settled on its bank were identified as Sindhus by those who spoke
Sanskrit and in turn Hindus, by those who spoke Persian. That was the
basis on which the present Hinduism of India is understood but not
Haptahaindava. So the Population that was identified were Haindavas who
followed Dharma. Then who could be those Haptahaindavas referred in Avesta and
Saptasindhu referred in Vedas. I believe this refers to the entire population of
the world to be in tune with Vedic dictum Aaatmavat sarvabhooteshu and
the later thought Vasudhaiva kutumbakm by moral teachers in Nitisasatras
and “aano bhadrantu kratavah yantu
visvatah” and terms like “lokaah
smastaah, “sarvejanah”, considered as one human lot in
Sanatana Dharma that is focused in our
daily prayers.
We see the Unity of Faiths and not Uniformity that
HH Chanderasekaharendra Sarasvati speaks, in Sanat Kumara Esoteric
Tradition. In Sanat Kumara Esoteric Tradition, Sanat Kumara is the great guru
and savior of Earth. Believers see him in all the major religions, as
Skanda/Kartikeya in Hinduism, Brahma-Sanam Kumara in Buddhism, Ancient of Days
in Judeo-Christianity and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. Sanat Kumara is
also considered as Al Khadir (green man) known to Sufi Muslims (According to
Dakshinamurti).
Being modern
educated you may dismiss all this as mere speculation or myth. Of late, lot of
research going on in the field of archeology has brought to limelight as
well as decoded the mystery
contained in mantras and slokas of Rigveda, Hanuman chalisa,
Puranas etc., in search of True History of India. History of India at
present taught in schools is what was at once researched with directives to Europeans with the specific
goal to justify that Christianity was even older than Hinduism,
politically motivated about which I have talked a lot
quoting from several modern Indian Historians including Velansamy of Hawaii Temple. We all criticized
the Time measurement as projected by Surya Siddhanta and also about the age of
earth. Recently I brought to your attention a Rigveda mantra that describes
Brahman as a mystic bull that roars periodically as having 4 horns, 3 feet, 2 heads
with 7 oval shaped hands. If you simply write down these numbers it indicates
4320000000 human years that is a Kalpa and we are in Svetavaraha Kalpa.
Chatvaari sringaa trayoe asya paadaa dve seershe
sapta hastaaso asya I tridaa baddho vrishbho roeraveeti maho devo aavivesa || Rigveda IV-58-3 ||
The syllable
Om conceived as the Bull possesses four horns, three feet, two heads, He has
seven oval shaped hands. This Bull
connected in a threefold manner, eloquently declares the Supreme (as
Kaalapurusha), The-Self –luminous Deva has entered the mortal everywhere.
Brahman is a
Kalapurusha and appears in each Kalpa announcing his arrival that is indicated
as the roar of the mystic Bull. You can thus see the mystery contained in these
Veda mantras. I am neither a Vedic scholar nor a modern archeologist engaged in
reviewing the past history as taught in schools with political bias. You have
to go through the writings of scholars like Siddharta Kak, David Frawley etc.
to know the True Spiritual or Religious History of the World and India in Particular.
Veda existed
as one Samhita and was a Book of Knowledge of both Para and Apara Vidya. It is
meant for humanity and not for Hindus alone as we think and consider sacred
exclusive to Hindus. It is sacred meaning vital to all human beings. Vedavyasa
edited the Rik Samhita and divided them as Rik, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas
and their Upanishads. Vedavysa seem to be a general name, like Brahma or Indra,
referring to all those who edit Vedas from time to
time. It is stated in the life history of
Madhvacharya that Madhva met Vedavyasa, discussed Brahmasutras and came out
with his most recent philosophy of Dvaita as an
improvement over Advaita and Visishtaadvaita. That rethinking
even Sankara started as revealed in his Tattva Bodha and confession before
Lord Viswanatha in Varanasi after boldly proclaiming his
Advaita Philosophy to suit the times and to fight the atheistic tendencies
that became silent on GOD if not denial!
I have
talked lot about the Universal oneness, One God and One religion that is
Vedanta which is good for all Hindus in India bringing down all sectarian walls, to live in peace and harmony in a secular
country like USA in several of my lectures of which
few are indicated below. Hinduism in
India to-day is very much disturbed by sectarian conflicts, caste and race conflicts, Proselytization, agitation for minority religious status to take advantage of political
concessions,
Aryan-Dravidian Controversy, Hindutva, Brahmin hatred,
Hindu-Muslim fight, Al-quid–a thereat
etc. though it has declared itself as Sovereign Democratic Secular Republic.,
separating religion from politics. Political
parties are behind all these agitations and killings. Hinduism at first should
bring unity within itself and bring all Dharma based religions together as in
Vedic days and practice Vedic Dharma as its religion. They only say so but
practice differently. Then the Abrahamic religion will remain peaceful practicing
their religion even though they are too small in number together. That should
come from countries like UK, USA and Rome Papacy. They should also ban all
parties and their activities who practice atheism since the motto of the
country is Satyameva Jayate that all
should follow that being the cornerstone of Vedanta religion.
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2012/01/sanatana-dharma-is-for-humanity-not-for.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2015/09/is-sanskrit-language-of-tndian-or-hindu.
htmlhttp://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2015/11/why-i-am-called-hindu-and-my-following.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2016/05/vedanta-religion-everlasting-universal.html
Often our
great spiritual leaders in USA like Rajiv Malhotra, HMEC, David Frawley are
drawn to these agitations in India and
are drawn into negative thoughts instead positive thinking and conversion of
American Hindu mind to Sanatana Dharma and Universal Oneness instead of
Universal Brotherhood and Unity of Religions.
If all dharma based religions come together in USA, as we rightly
started in the beginning, then even Abrahamic religions may come together
learning from us if focused on SBNR group. We started well in USA after
listening to Vivekananda but recently JAINA, Sikhs, Swami Narayans, Saibabas,
Buddhists want to establish their own domain and are running to White House.
Our temple
Executives are more worried about present financial Management not Spiritual
Management and least worried on restoring Hinduism to our SBNR
oriented children with mixed marriages (every wedding you see is focused on it)
which has a good chance of catching up Sanatana Dharma if properly focused
instead turning atheist. Our 400 and odd temples should not become
archeological relics of past glory but missionaries to promote Universal
Oneness that will preserve Vedic culture and Dharma amongst Hindus in USA.
It is in this context I wrote our Hindu culture should focus on Discover
Vedic Culture and Sanatana Dharma Camps instead Discover India Camps. Hindus in India have a poor opinion about us
and think we are materialistic while Hindu Americans think anything connected
with India is Hindu and that all American Hindus are Indians and all Indian
culture is Hindu culture.
There are
significant number of Hindu Americans who have vague idea about India or
the language or customs. That is why
some of the Hindus from other Asiatic countries have also started their own
Hindu Temples not based on Agama or Sakta worship as in Hindu temples operated
by Hindu migrants from India. This works against the Spirit of Sanatana Dharma
and Universal Oneness. Today there are
different temples of Swami Narayan Faith, Saibaba Faith, Gurudvaras of Sikh
Faith, Motivation to depart from worship of their deities in Hindu temples by
Jains and Buddhists etc. in USA for a small population raising sectarian walls
as in India. I believe a proper spiritual education focused on all these things
in imparting Secular education, Para Vidya at our Vedic heritage classes and
Bal Vihar schools will curb such growing tendencies in its infancy.
This article has been inspired by the talk given by
HH Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati to Tamil audience titled Deivathhin Kural –
Voice of God. “All religions have one common ideal, worship of the
Lord, and all of them proclaim that there is but one God. In my opinion the Vedic religion was once prevalent
all over the world. The important message of Vedanta to the followers
of the various faiths is to live in harmony with one another. The goal must be
unity, not uniformity”. In Deivathin Kural he refers to two Words—Voice &
Deva both in Singular. This is in accordance with the Veda manta “Om Tad Brahma”. Meditate on Brahma the
GOD with one voice that is OM. This Universal GOD has no name where G=Generator; O=Operator and D=Dissolver a word written with all
capital letters G O D. OM also consists of three letters A U M. For Pronouncing A one has to open his mouth indicative
of beginning or Creation, U warrants you to continue the sound
indicative of continuity or Preservation
and M needs closure indicative of Dissolution.
While concluding let me remind you the wise advice
from our spiritual Gurus of modern times Swami Dayananda, Swami Chidananda and
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:a
“The
Mandirs have to play a significant role in the growth of the Hindu community in
terms of its capacity to uphold Hindu Dharma. We need to make temples not just
a center of rituals and congregation but lighthouses of philosophy and
knowledge, which are the basis of Hindu Dharma. Creating an environment where
the youth understand, appreciate and love their Hindu culture is a crucial need
today, as is uniting all Hindu temples under one umbrella”
VOICE
OF GOD—“DEIVATTIN KURAL”
(HH
Chandrsekhrendra Sarasvati in his Book
of Dharma in Tamil)
All religions have one common ideal, worship of the
Lord, and all of them proclaim that there is but one God. This one God accepts
your devotion irrespective of the manner of your worship, whether it is
according to this or that religion. So there is no need to abandon the religion
of your birth and embrace another.
The temple, the church, the mosque, the vihara may
be different from one another. The idol or the symbol in them may not also be
the same and the rites performed in them may be different. But the Paramatman
who wants to grace the worshipper, whatever be his faith, is the same. The
different religions have taken shape according to the customs peculiar to the
countries in which they originated and according to the differences in the
mental outlook of the people inhabiting them. The goal of all religions is to
lead people to the same Paramatman according to the different attributes of the
devotees concerned. So there is no need for people to change over to another
faith. Converts demean not only the religion of their birth but also the one to
which they convert. Indeed they do demean God.
"A man leaves the religion of his birth
because he thinks there is something wanting in it," so you may think.
'Why does Swamigal then say that the convert demeans the new religion that he
embraces? “I will tell you why. Is it not because they think that God is not
the same in all religions that people embrace a new faith? By doing so, they
see God in a reduced form, don't they? They presumably believe that the God of
the religion of their birth is useless and jump to another faith. But do they
believe that the God of their new religion is a universal God? No. No. If they
did there would be no need for any change of faith. Why do people embrace a new
faith? Is it not because that the continuance in the religion of their birth
would mean a denial of the blessings of the God of the new faith to which they
are attracted? This means that they place limitations on their new religion as
well as on its God. When they convert to a new religion, apparently out of
respect for it, they indeed dishonor it.
One big difference between Hinduism and other
faiths is that it does not proclaim that it alone shows the path to liberation.
Our Vedic religion alone has not practiced conversion and the reason for it is
that our forefathers were well aware that all religions are nothing but
different paths to realize the one and only Paramatman. The Vedas proclaim:
"The wise speak of the One Truth by different names.” Sri Krishna says in
the Gita: "In whatever way or form a man worships me, I increase his faith
and make him firm and steady in that worship.” And says one of the Azhwars:
"Avaravar tamatamadu tarivari
vahaivahai avaravar iraiyavar". This is the reason why the Hindus have
not practiced- like adherents of other religions- proselytization and religious
persecution. Nor have they waged anything like the crusades or jihads.
Our long history is sufficient proof of this. All
historians accept the fact of our religious tolerance. They observe that, an
empire like Srivijaya was established in the East, people there accepted our
culture and our way of life willingly, not because they were imposed on them by
force. They further remark that Hinduism spread through trade and not through
force.
In my opinion the Vedic religion was once prevalent
all over the world. Certain ruins and relics found in various regions of the
planet attest to this fact. Even historians who disagree with my view concede
that in the past people in many lands accepted Indian culture and the way of
life willingly and not on account of any force on our part.
All religions that practice conversion employ a
certain ritual. For instance, there is baptism in Christianity. Hinduism has
more ritual than any other religion, yet its canonical texts do not contain any
rite for conversion. No better proof is needed for the fact that we have at no
time either encouraged conversion or practiced it.
When a passenger arrives at a station by train he
is besieged by the driver of the horse-cart, by the rikshawala, by the cabbie,
and so on. He hires the vehicle in which he likes to be driven to his
destination. It cannot be said with reason that those who ply different
vehicles are guilty of competing with one another for the fare. After all it is
their livelihood. But it makes no sense for the adherents of various faiths to
vie with one another to take a man to the one and only destination that is God.
There is a bridge across a river, consisting of a
number of arches, each of them built to the same design and measurement. To the
man sitting next to a particular arch it would appear to be bigger than the
other arches. So is the case with people belonging to a particular religion!
They feel that their religion alone is great and want others to join it. There
is in fact no such need for anyone to leave the religion of his birth for
another.
The beliefs and customs of the various religions
are different and cannot be a cause for complaint. Nor is there any need to
make all of them similar. The important thing is for the followers of the
various faiths to live in harmony with one another. The goal must be unity, not
uniformity.
Source: "Hindu Dharma"- English translation
of "Deivathin Kural", a collection of invaluable and engrossing
speeches of Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji
