Religious Harmony
This morning on Sun TV, Sri Siva Kumar, known for his participation in Pattimandrams (debates), gave one of his regular talks on spirituality. He shared an interesting thought about the mark of a great religion being the quality of inner life. What caught my attention was not so much the thought itself or the illustrations he used, but what he consciously or unconsciously omitted. These omissions speak volumes about the present paranoia in society.
In his story, three merchants—a Saivaite, a Vaishnavite, and a Christian—were discussing which faith was truly the greatest. Interestingly, he did not include a fourth merchant. Whether he consciously avoided mentioning a Muslim or whether the editor of the program instructed him to do so, the omission is telling. We all know the likely reason for this: no one wants to risk any kind of controversy with Muslims these days. Even a positive comment about Islam or Muslims could be scrutinized and lead to objections, protests, demonstrations, or worse.
I don’t blame Siva Kumar or the editor of the Sun TV program. They aren’t responsible for the fear that has been instilled in them. This fear exists in the minds of many non-Muslims today. However, we also cannot blame the entire Muslim community for the negative image that some people have of them. I’ve had good relationships with several Muslims throughout my life. They may not consider me their guru, but they have always respected me as a sannyasi and extended their help in various ways.
For example, a Muslim electrician I’ve known for years travels 25 kilometers to work at our ashram. When he faces personal problems, he often shares them with me and seeks my advice. Another Muslim, who runs a medical shop 25 kilometers from our ashram, has been a great help to me in receiving important mail and other items. He even holds onto my ashram keys when I’m away. In 1993, after the Mumbai riots in response to the Ayodhya incident, I was traveling from Allahabad to Mumbai. I shared my berth with an elderly Muslim man who didn’t have a reservation. Despite the tensions, the other Muslim youths traveling with him became friendly with me, and the Hindus on the train were surprised to see me accepting tea and water from them.
This past December, while staying with my mother in a new place, I suddenly fell ill. Panicked, my mother rushed out into the evening darkness during a power cut to seek help. Two young men standing outside immediately came to assist, bought the necessary medicine for me, and refused any reimbursement. Later, I learned that they were Muslim college students. Despite knowing we were Brahmins and that I was a sannyasi, they saw only our need and acted selflessly.
I share these stories because there is an artificial barrier between Muslims and other communities in India that needs to be dismantled. We must look beyond our individual faiths and see each other as fellow human beings. This is, of course, an idealistic vision, but if we are to celebrate human relationships, all kinds of barriers must be removed. Both Muslims and non-Muslims should take steps in this direction—without allowing any politician to hijack our efforts for their own agenda.
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Kumbakonam (camp)
December 28, 2012
Leave them ‘alone’.
This morning on Sun TV, Sri Siva Kumar was giving one of his regular talks on spirituality (he is famous for his participation in ‘Pattimandrams’, or ‘debates’). He shared an interesting thought about the mark of a great Religion being the quality of inner life. What was interesting for me was not the thought or the illustrations that he shared, but what he omitted from his points. His omissions say a lot about the present paranoia in the society.
He told a story about three merchants who went to sell their goods at the market and the next morning each one was telling the others that his sect (faith) was the truly great one. The first merchant was a Saivaite, the next was a Vaishnavite, and the third was a Christian. What was interesting is that he did not include a fourth merchant. Either he consciously avoided the fourth religious person, or the editor of that program instructed him not to mention a ‘Muslim’ as the fourth one. Most of us know the reason for this; these days, no one wants to encounter any kind of controversy with Muslims. Even if a speaker says something good about Islam and about the Muslim faith, it will be minutely scrutinized and someone will come up with some objection to one word or thought, often taking the words out of context. This will escalate into further controversy which will end up in protest, demonstrations, riots, and the like.
I don’t want to blame Siva Kumar or the editor of the Sun TV program, because they are not to be blamed for the fear that has been put into their minds. Such fear is present in the minds of most non-Muslims. At the same time, we cannot blame the entire Muslim community for such a wrong image others have about them. I have had good relationships with several Muslims throughout my life. They are not my ‘Shishyas’ because they never accepted me as their guru, however they gave me respect as a samnyasi and also extended their seva to me in several ways. The Muslim electrician whom I have known for several years came from 25 kms to do the wiring in our ashram and stays when he wants to take some rest. When he faces some crucial problem in his life, he will share it with me and seek my advice. When a critical problem arose in fixing his marriage, he accepted my advice and married the girl whom his parents choose for him. Another Muslim, who runs a medical shop some 25 kms away from our ashram, is a great help for me to receive my important mail and other items. I even leave my ashram keys with him and collect them when I return back. A few times he has helped me to withdraw money from the bank when I will leave a cheque with him.
In 1993 I was travelling after the Mumbai riots (in response to the Ayodhya incident) from Allahabad to Mumbai. I accommodated one elderly Muslim with me in my berth who was travelling without reservation in the same bogi. The other Muslim youths travelling with him back to Mumbai were looking at me with uneasiness after the riots became very friendly with me. The other Hindus who were travelling with me were surprised to see that I was accepting water and tea from them and began to comment, ‘maybe this Swamiji is a Gandhian’.
This past December, when I was staying with my mother in a new place, I suddenly become sick. Panicked by this, my mother rushed out into the evening darkness, due to power cut, to seek someone’s help. At that time, two youths were standing outside and when they came to know about my situation, they immediately rushed to see me, noted the medicine that I needed, and went to buy it for me. They refused to accept any reimbursement for the medicine. When I later asked their names, I came to know that they were Muslim college students. When they saw my mother, and heard her Tamil, they knew that we were Brahmins and that I was a samnyasi, but they never considered our community, only our need. They went out into that dark night to the medical shop to buy medicine for me.
The reason that I write all of this is that there exists an artificial curtain between Muslims and other communities of people in India that needs to be removed. We all need to look beyond our individual faiths and see each other as fellow human beings. Of course this is idealism, but to celebrate human relationship all kinds of barriers need to be removed. Both Muslims and others should take steps in this direction collectively—WITHOUT ALLOWING ANY POLITICIAN TO HIJACK US FOR THEIR AGENDA.
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Kumbakonam (camp)
December 28, 2012
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