WHY ALL RELIGIONS ARE NOT THE SAME? Dr. Babu Suseelan
- From: ravimpillay <ravimpillay@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:57:40 -0800 (PST)
WHY ALL RELIGIONS ARE NOT THE SAME? :: Dr. Babu Suseelan
Recently, I had a discussion with a respected Hindu Swamiji with
thousands of followers. When asked about coercive religious conversion
of Hindus, Swamiji scornfully replied "Why worry, all religions are
essentially the same and there is no significant differences from one
religion to another". My immediate response, of course was to ask why
he might not want to distinguish between Islam, Christianity and
Hinduism. Swamiji insisted, "The goal of all religions is the same.
All religious paths lead to the same destination. We are talking about
the same God, only the name is different". He encouraged me to dismiss
coercive religious conversion with out worry.
Where do we get this idea? Although religion is one of the
universals of human culture, in a historical view, we are confronted
not by spirituality but by a multiplicity of religions. Unlike our all
inclusive, tolerant, spiritual Dharma, religions of the book differ in
fundamentals. Every religion is different, with its own beliefs,
rituals, organization, and belief in afterlife, practices, and theory
of birth, death, atonement, art, dress and festivals. The paths
prescribed for salvation or self-realization is also different.
Hinduism is one of the oldest of all religions and we believe that
our life on earth is part of an eternal cycle of births, deaths, and
rebirths. We have no single belief system single sacred text, or
priestly hierarchy. There are certain shared beliefs and sacred paths
prescribed for every Hindu for God realization. Our Vedas, Upanishads,
Darsanas and Puranas have given us clear and definite guidelines for
overcoming Samsara and paths to reach Godhead. There are various paths
to Moksha and prescription for a transcendent life. We can believe in
a personal God or impersonal idea, higher or unseen. Hinduism serves a
rational purpose, responding to cognitive as well as emotional and
spiritual needs. Hindu Dharma is eternal, it can be studied and
practiced and spiritual life can be experienced.
Islam and Christianity are religions of the book with a specific
God, messenger, strict rules, prescription to follow, organizational
hierarchy and dogmatic belief system. These are closed, dogmatic and
fundamentalist and closed belief systems, which divide people between
believers and non-believers. Followers are provided restricted
guidelines for right belief and practices. Belief in other Gods and
interpretation of their scripture is not allowed. Islam is more rigid,
dogmatic and imperialistic. For centuries Islam and Christianity
destroyed civilization of non-believers, forcefully converted non-
believers, fought war in the name of their religion. Christian and
Islamic dogmatism led to violent religious conflict, on a scale
unknown to followers of other religions. For centuries, Christians and
Muslims have persecuted non-believers. Even today, these
fundamentalist dogmas have been creatiing tension and conflict around
the world. Christianity and Islam do not believe that there is truth
in other religions and spirituality, and that the teachings of many
different religious leaders are inspired by evil.
The Roman Catholic Church explains in a Vatican declaration
Doninus Lesus "Religions other than Christianity are considered to be
gravely deficient. Their rituals can constitute an obstacle to
salvation for their followers. A very lengthy stay in hell awaits the
unsaved. The adverse consequences of individual following another
religion other than Catholic religion are severe-perhaps, eternity in
hell". Pope Ratzinger stated, "Only the canonical books of old and new
Testaments are inspired by the Holy Spirit and are without error". The
Baptist teaches " that all things are held together in Christ, Christ
only, that all creation will find its ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
Jesus shall reign for ever and ever".
The idea "all religions are the same" involves a radical
misinterpretation of all religions. Such thinking is barren, diseased,
and sterile. Hindus are making a huge mistake by lumping all religions
together without critical evaluation or rational analysis. Lack of
precision in distinguishing between religions is the natural enemy of
clear thought. There is nothing boring, nothing more dreary, than the
statement "all religions are the same". The more passionately and
emotionally one is committed to such catch all statement, the cloudier
and fuzzier one's thinking tends to be.
When a person believe in mindless universalism, he becomes a
determinist, all events, all motives including Jihadi terrorism are
seen through the astigmatic vision of such false ideology. Through
these clouded eyes even coercive religious conversion, discrimination
of Hindus by Muslims, religious intolerance, and denial of religious
rights for Hindus are transmuted into fairy gold of religious purity.
It is typical, characteristic, of such people to think unclearly.
The tricks of fallacious argument are endemic among them. The concept
"all religions are the same' is a false plurality. Even though it is
not in the best interests of Hindus to do so, the faulty analogy is
used as a proof of tolerance. This is an old shabby trick to avoid
reality. Those who disagree with this distorted ideology are dumped as
intolerant and communal. More importantly, this false ideology becomes
unarticulated premise and unchallengeable. More than that, for them,
there is no need to think. Such faulty, repugnant idea is dishonest
and deplorable. Such habitual jargon never allows us to see other
religions more clearly and protect our interests. We need to make a
distinction between right and wrong, good and bad. We need to ponder
what to do to protect our eternal Dharma and why to do it.
The proposition that "all religions are the same' is a bizarre
self-negating and self-devouring logic. In such logic, there is no
choice, no self-determination. It destabilizes religious discourse and
forces us to the acceptance of irrational, totalitarian dogmas couched
in scholastic terminology as religions. Christianity and Islam are
rigid, dogmatic ideologies, tools and closed systems. To treat them as
spirituality is immaturity and false consciousness.
Hindus need to counter the growing trend among pseudo secularists
and phony liberals to promote the false ideology "all religions are
the same". What we need is an informed mind to rationally conclude
that religions of the books and Hindu Dharma are not complementary.
Rather than forcing our fellow Hindus to become servants and slaves of
any one dogma, we need to protect our freedom to practice our eternal
Hindu Dharma.
.
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