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Today, with the fabric of the Indian state becoming increasingly disturbed due to religious problems, communal harmony seems a distant dream. Sri Jyendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam believes that the only solution is to declare India a spiritual state. This, he feels, will put an end to all religious discord. In an interview, the Sankaracharya spoke on spirituality education and other key issues during his visit to the SIES Complex in Nerul, to offer a Silver Kavacham to the 33-feet-tall idol of Lord Hanuman there. Idol
Q.: With Religion have in become
such an important issue, how does one decide which path to follow?
A.: It does not matter whether
one worships Lord Hanuman or Lord Shiva or any other god. Nor does it matter
which religion one belongs to, as all roads lead to the same destination.
It is upto individual to decide which God he wants to worship. What is
essential is sadhana (meditation) which is the only way to unite with the
Almighty. The only criterion is total devotion to God.
Q.: Religious disharmony has been
the cause of quite a few troublesome periods in the country’s recent history.
How does the common citizen reconcile himself to the present situation?
A.: These problems are the handiwork
of a few who seek to create discord among the people in order to gain political
mileage. The only solution is for India to become a spiritual country.
Spirituality will bring about unity. We are requesting the central government
to declare India a spiritual country instead of referring to it as a social
or a democratic country. Once this happens, there will be no more conflicts,
as religion will then take a backseat. People will only think of themselves
as Indians and not as Hindus, Muslim or Christians.
Q.: Who will bring about this change?
Do the country’s spiritual leaders plan to embark on a national campaign
for this purpose?
A.: It is the voters and the media
who can bring about this change. Children should be educated about the
spiritual richness of our country and should be made to work towards unity
rather than division based on region or religion. Once this awareness spreads
among the people, politicians cannot manipulate the voters. Today people
from western countries are also flocking to India to learn from our spiritual
diversity
Q.: Is the present education system
adequate to bring about this change in the youngsters?
A.: While parents are ready to
shell out enormous sums of money to educate their children from KG to graduation,
they overlook the fact that there is an urgent need to revamp the education
system. It is 50 years since independence but the syllabi in schools and
colleges obstinately refuse to reflect the changes that have occurred during
this period. Only the quality of the paper on which the textbooks are printed
has changed. What is needed is a drastic change in the contents, which
should talk about unity and spiritual India as a whole and not mull over
the different castes and states in the country. Merely increasing the expenditure
on education and setting up more schools will not solve the problem.
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