HVK Archives: What kind of a God will condemn a 'heathen' child to eternal
What kind of a God will condemn a 'heathen' child to eternal - Communalism Combat
Swami Agnivesh
()
1997 September
Title: What kind of a God will condemn a 'heathen' child to eternal Hell? -
(Part III of III)
Author: Swami Agnivesh
Publication: Communalism Combat
Date: September 1997
We are aware that there is the one God-given infallible book (for
Christians) which is supposed to be authoritative for 1.5 billion
believers. It says that Jesus was cruci-fied on the cross to redeem
humanity from eternal damn-ation. But the other God- given, infallible
book (for Muslims) says it was not Jesus but someone else who died in his
place on the cross. Who speaks the truth?
Over 20,000 Christian sects are based on the Bible each claiming to
interpret the word of God in the proper way. How can we ever meet on the
religious and scriptural level? Can't we admit that each religion serves
as a certain spectrum of religious awareness, some from the kindergarten
right up to college level, some only at the level of secondary teaching,
but that it could be only at the University level that Jesus, Buddha,
Kabir, Rumi, Shankaracharya, Meister Eckhart, Ramana Maharshi and John of
the Cross meet each other?
A true dialogue can only happen if we are willing to give up the notion
that we alone exclusively possess the idea, the only truth meant for all
humanity here and now, and forever. It requires giving up the idea of me
being right and. you being wrong or misled. Any type of fanatical
soul-saving and missionary activity is a form of imperialism and disrespect
to fellow human beings of another religious persuasion. Using violence for
such a purpose is the ultimate religious perversity.
I am not even remotely suggesting that we should not be proud and convinced
about our own faith. But creating and supporting a whole industry to save
others from eternal hellfire (which they don't believe in anyway) is in no
way conductive to an inter-religious dialogue.
Why do we divide the world into believers and non-believers? If there is
only one God, one Absolute, how is it possible that anyone of us worships
the wrong God, if he sincerely surrenders to his Creator?
It is our duty to create the necessary environment for the lay people to
move from the lower instincts with their corresponding ideologies and
rituals to higher and higher levels of spiritual awareness up to the
fullest human potential. There is plenty of room for religious expression
possible as long as we are breaking the walls of clerical prisons which
have caused so much pain to humanity.
A truth-seeker should never suffer from social and cultural pressure. In a
more and more pluralistic world it has to be the State - totally neutral
and secular -which must guarantee the freedom of religion and conscience.
There cannot be a Muslim or Hindu declaration of human rights. Human
rights are universal and they have to be constitutionally backed by a
secular legislative body.
It is one of the foremost challenges for religious dignitaries from Hans
Kung to the Dalai Lama to insist on these rights in unmistakable language.
Or else, this clerical sweet-talk is of no use, particularly for minorities
and people who have decided to follow their own convictions.
If it is the cornerstone of our belief that we want real religious freedom,
peace and tolerance among us, then it is our duty to raise our voice
against any Ayatollah who sentences apostates to death for their beliefs.
It is our obligation to condemn Islamic courts, which forcefully separate
couples against their will. It is our responsibility to put the Hindu
priest in his place who preaches untouchability and widow-burning. We are
not doing our Muslim sisters and brothers any favour, or those belonging to
some other minority community, by closing our eyes to their situation and
being silent about their suffering. It is us who have to give up century
old privileges which are guaranteed through state alignments and protections.
It is high time we refused to be party to any political or religious system
which thrives on exclusivism. The thousand year history of inqui-sitions
and witch-hunting, the holocaust in Europe and the more recent 70-year-long
political exclusiv-ism in the erstwhile Soviet Union should be enough
warning for all of us.
Pluralism, on the other hand, is not an unmixed blessing. It has its own
pros and cons. But on the balance, like democracy, it is better than other
systems which are buried beneath intolerant theocracies. (After the demise
of Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, it is the Theocracy of the
Market which is threatening to sacrifice all human values at the alter of
greed and profit).
In the realm of religion, we need to go beyond cosmetic dialogues. We need
to encourage and promote the freedom to doubt, to debate and to dissent.
The pursuit of truth should be directed beyond the spoken or written truth
or scriptural truths. Experiential truth should be equated with what is
considered to be the divine truth. Our task is to create that climate
whereby each individual soul can experience this divine. Liberation
theology must mean, and include, liberation from theology
In the specific situation of my country, I would like to see that religious
leaders of various faiths and denomination identify specific tools of
spirituality in their respective religions, such as truth, compassion,
justice, equality etc. and address the problem of poverty and
socio-economic disparity squarely. They need to pool all their resources -
moral and material and work together with a deep sense of commitment to
fight casteism, communalism, alcoholism, consumerism, gender inequality and
child slavery.
In this way they would not only help massive empowerment of lay people in
their struggle for liberation but also bring out the very positive and the
most profound resources in their own traditions. This will also prepare the
young to evolve and sustain an alternative paradigm of development -
development with social justice. It will also usher in an era of greater
people-to-people friendship between countries of South Asia which will end
militarism and the arms race in the sub-continent.
I would like to conclude this essay with a saying of the most famous of our
religious leaders, Siddhartha Gautam, the Buddha: Do not believe in what
you have heard; do not believe in doctrines because they have been handed
down to you through generations; do not believe in anything because it is
followed blindly by many; do not believe because some old sage makes a
statement; do not believe merely on the authority of your teachers and
elders. Have deliberation and analyse, and when the result agrees with
reason and conduces to the good of one and all accept it and live up to it.
(The writer is chairman, Bandhua Mukti Morcha)
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