THE ROLE OF RELGION IN HUMAN LIFE: A BRIEF PHILODOPHICAL DIALOGUE

BY ANANTHANATHAN, MA, MSW, RSW REGISTED SOCIAL WORKER WITH OCSWSSW

“People will forget what you said; People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” – Dalai Lama

DEFINIOTION OF RELIGION:

Religion is a collection of belief systems, such as cultural/ traditional systems and world views/ experiences that relate humanity to spirituality and sometimes, to moral values. The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions, and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas the cosmos and human nature. Kenneth Schouler, in his book “The everything World’s Religions Book: Explore the Beliefs, Traditions, and Cultures of Ancient and Modern Religions”, estimates there are roughly 4, 200 religions in the world. 

The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions focus on the subjective experience of the religious individual while others consider the activities of the religious community to be most important. Some religions claim to be universal, believing their laws and cosmology to be binding for everyone while others are intended to be practiced only by a closely defined or localized group. Also, the word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief systems.

In light of the above brief definition/explanation of religion, I will discuss two deeply thinking minds through their philosophical dialogue how to educate people on the role of religion/religious faith in human life. First, philosophical dialogue was occurred between Dalai Lama and Priest Leonardo Boff (a Brazilian Theologist) in a religious round table discussion about world religion and freedom. Second, philosophical dialogue occurred between two unknown passengers (An American young girl and An Indian business person) in Aero – plane. By discussion of these brief philosophical dialogue of essence of religion, I hope the Uthayan readers will broaden their opinion towards practical aspects of the religion on whether religion is the opium of masses or what is the true purpose of religion/religious faith? I hope the Uthayan readers can see themselves in these philosophical dialogues and learn that through philosophical dialogue we can touch on a wide range of important religious issues/aspects that all religious faith/religions can understand each other.

A BRIEF PHILOSOPHICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN A BRAZILLIAN THEOLOGIST LEONARDO BOFF AND DALAILAMA

“Your holiness, what is the best religion?” I thought he would say: “The Tibetan Buddhism” or “The oriental religions much older than Christianity”

Dalai Lama paused, smiled and looked me in the eye. ….

He answered:

“The best religion is the one that gets you closest to God/Truth. It is the one that makes you a better person:

To get out of my embarrassment with such a wise answer, I asked: “What is it that makes me better?”

He responded:

“Whatever makes you more compassionate, More sensible, More detached, More loving, More humanitarian, More responsible, More ethical.”

“The religion that will do that for you is the best religion”

I (Leonardo Boff) was silent for a moment, marveling and even today thinking of his wise and irrefutable responses:

“I am not interested, my friend, about your religion or if you are religious or not.”

What really is important to me is your behaviour in front of your peers, family, workers, colleagues, community, and in front of the world.”

“Remember, the universe is the echo of our actions and our thoughts.”

“The law of action and reaction is not exclusively for physics. It is also of human relations. If I act with goodness, I will receive goodness. If I act with evil, I will get evil.”

“What our grandparents told us is the pure truth.

You will always have what you desire for others.

Being happy is not a matter of destiny. It is a matter of options.”

Finally, he said:

 “Take care of your thoughts because they become words.

Take care of your words because they will become actions.

Take care of your actions because they will become Habits.

Take care of your Habits because they will form your character.

Take care of your character it will form your Destiny, and your Destiny will be your Life …. … There is no religion higher than the Truth.”

The second dialogue will be

EXAMPLE 2: WHY I AM A HINDU?

I was flying from JFK New York Airport to SFO San Francisco Airport, California to attend a meeting at Monterey, California. An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey-it would take seven hours. I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible unusual of young Americans. After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India.

Then suddenly the girl asked: ‘What’s your faith?’ ‘What?’ I didn’t understand the question.

‘I mean, what’s your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?

‘No!’ I replied, ‘I am neither Christian nor Muslim’. Apparently, she appeared shocked to listen to that. ‘Then who are you?’ ‘I am a Hindu’, I said.

She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could not understand what I was talking about. 

A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?

I explained to her-I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.

‘Who is your prophet?’ she asked.

‘We don’t have a prophet,’ I replied.

‘What’s your Holy Book?’

We don’t have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,’ I replied.

‘Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah-don’t you have a God?”

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.

According to her (or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism), a religion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You can’t compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.

 I tried to explain to her: ‘You can believe in one god and he can be Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu. What is more – you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be Hindu.

This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn’t imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.

‘I don’t understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?’ What can I tell to this American girl?

I said: ‘I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes.’

‘Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?’

‘God is a friend. No-I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.’

She thought for a while and then asked: ‘Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?’

‘Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning. I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.’ I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority.

‘So, you don’t believe in God?’ she wanted everything in black and white.

‘I didn’t say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis -Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita-say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.’

‘Why can’t you believe in one personal God?’

‘We have a concept-abstract-not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don’t think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.’ I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.

‘Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?’

‘Loka Samastha Sukina Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,’

‘Funny,’ she laughed, ‘what does it mean?’

‘May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Let there be Peace, Peace, and Peace every where.’

‘Hmmm… very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free’ she exclaimed.

‘The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution-it is as simple as that.’

‘How does anybody convert to Hinduism?’

‘Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but it is a Culture, a way of living life, a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single Authority or Organization either to accept you or to reject you or to oppose you on behalf of Hinduism.’

I told her-if you look for meaning in life, don’t look for it in religions; don’t go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next.

For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when it says that ‘Kingdom of God is within you.’ I reminded her of Christ’s teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.

Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. ‘Isavasyam idam sarvam’ Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere-nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That’s what Hinduism teaches you.

Hinduism is referred to as Santhana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas – It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.

Ancestors of today’s Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coined the word ‘Hindu’ and considered it as religion.

I said: ‘Religions have become an MLM (multi-level-marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today’s world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception.’

I am Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence- ‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharma’ means-Non-violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because it doesn’t condition my mind with any faith system.

Hinduism was the first religion originated. Be proud of your religion and be proud of who you are. OM Namah Shivay…………..

Conclusion:

In the Western world places of religion are associated with public institutions such as Catholic Board of Education, universities, hospitals, such as St. Joseph, St. Peters, and St. Elizabeth, and Long-Term Care facilities, Government and political hierarchies. These institutions showcase one important way in which religious beliefs accomplish things by providing a set of ideas about how and why the world is put together that allows people to accommodate anxieties and deal with misfortune. Furthermore, they accomplish things through interfaith dialogues, round table conferences, religious peace building and interfaith harmony.

Finally, I do not like religious fundamentalism and religious madness. Religion is meant to be therapeutic; the reason for asking what is the nature of the good life is so that you can put it into practice. What I wanted to get at through these dialogues is that sometimes the real skill needed is the intelligence to resist the urge to always try to do everything right. Our own belief that getting work done without interruption is an important goal that is interesting from a philosophical point of view, but not very comforting. 

Therefore, as Dr. Aliya Khan (Doctor nominated Muslim Woman of the Year award in Canada) Hamilton interfaith promotor who says we should continue our learning other faiths/religions and educating ourselves during the whole of our lifespan. Further Dr. Ms. Khan says The Holy Quran tells /emphasizes the importance of being kind/ love. Also, Prophet/ Allah emphasized the men and women are equal. She strongly believes that through interfaith dialogue we can make mutual understanding and built contributing society in Canada. 

The same idea reflected Mahakavi Subramania Bharthiyar’s (The people’s Poet) poems as well that the essence of world religions is LOVE further he emphasizes in his poems that universality of REAL LOVE is a unconditional LOVE that is the great spiritual force or essence of world religions.  Also, this same idea reflected in Tirumular’s Tirumantiram as well. “Ignorant people say that LOVE and GOD are different. They do not know that LOVE and GOD are one when they came to know that LOVE and GOD are one they rest contented in GOD as LOVE” Tirumantiram – 270. 

The holy Bible also says that “And a second is like it, you shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself” – Mattew 22:39. Therefore, I strongly believe that as Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar’s idea that the essence of world religions is LOVE the same idea reflected in Tirukkural as well when you realize yourself through education this truth half of human life religious problems will be solved further Tiruvalluvar ask why can’t one learn until die (Trukkural – 397).  This is the lesson our readers should learn and that is the purpose of this small article on a brief philosophical dialogue and the role of religion should play in human life. Therefore, this should be our guiding lights and coping with our day to day living principles and beliefs in our life.