Share Tweet Share Share Dr M. D. Thomas Chairman and Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, organized a Round Table Discussion on ‘Harmony among Religions – Do’s and Don’ts’ at The Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, on 19 March 2016. Dr M. D. Thomas, Chairman and Director of the Institute, chaired the session and he moderated it in a very professional manner, too. Prof. Deepali Bhanot, Former Professor of Sanskrit, Delhi University, and Prof. Hanif Khan Shastri, Professor of Rastreey Sanskriti Sansthan, Delhi, jointly presented an orientation to the discussion and they did the same in a proficient way, as well. The Chair, who is also the founder of the institute, introduced the Institute as one that is committed to interfaith perspectives, intercommunity relations, national integration and social harmony, with an all-out motto of ‘inclusive thinking and harmonious living’. The activities of IHPS were highlighted as organizing seminars, discussions and workshops, contributing at programmes organized by other organizations, publishing books and articles, guiding field-based projects for students, addressing social concerns, engaging in extension activities, and the like. The Chair then proceeded to present the dynamics of the discussion as perspective-setting by experts for 3 minutes each and interventions from the floor for 2 minutes each. The first part of the discussion was on the ‘Do’s for Harmony among Religions’ and the second half, on the ‘Don’ts for Harmony among Religions’. The guideline set for the interventions from the floor was that it has to be focused, to the point and practical, on the given theme. It was also proposed that ‘religion’ was to be understood in an all-inclusive sense and in a result-oriented way. By way of introduction, the Chair shed light on three misunderstandings that prevail in the religious premises. First, the basic identity in life is that of ‘being human’, and not that of being religious. Second, religion is essentially a social phenomenon, and not merely a private affair. Third, the spirit of interfaith is to hold all religious traditions as ours, and not considering my religion is for me and your religion, for you. This clarification served a strong plinth for approaching the theme of the discussion in very realistic fashion. The gathering was composed of prominent persons of all communities, like Prof. Reeta Bagchi, Prof. Shashi Tiwari, Dr Sudha Jain, Dr Saroj Chawala, Ku. Ranju Magar, Ku. Anu Phokrel, Ku. Sanjeena Shrestha, Ku. Nabeena, Dr Akhilesh Jain, Janab Iqbal Mulla, Janab Laeeq A. Khan, Mr Ramesh Kumar, Adv. V.K. Gupta, Mr Bhabani Dikshit, Mr Kishore Babu, Prof. M.K. Das, Dr Kuldeep Agrawal, Dr Chand Bhardwaj, Prof. D.S. Agrawal, Cnl Onkar Chopda, Dr S.S. Bhakri, Mr Amarjeet, Mr H. L. Chawala, Mr Praveen Gupta and Mr Susheel Chandra. The discussion went on for two hours between 16.00 and 18.00 hours and approximately 40 persons participated in it. What was special about the round table discussion was this that every one present was given an opportunity to speak up in both rounds. The discussion on the theme was preceded by a round of self-introduction and it proceeded to a round of proposals for further course of action, as well. The points that emerged from the discussion are the following. Do’s for Harmony among Religions Accept humanity as the real religion Consider the entire society as one family (vasudhaivakutumbakam) Be generous and open in one’s mindset (udaaracharitanaam) Honour the diversity of religious traditions (unity in diversity) Encourage co-existence among religious communities Promote inter-generational dialogue Foster the spirit of living together Address concerns at the grass roots Involve local religious leaders and common folk Propagate the spirit of equality among religions Emphasize the global unity of religions Appreciate the greatness of the supreme power Honour the ancient roots of religion Respect all religions Study all religions Learn, imbibe and live the universal values of all religions Remain above the negativities of life Share platform with people of all ideologies Instill values of religions in politics Make a strategy for unity among religions Chalk out a common minimum programme for unity of faiths Extend to others the behavior we expect from others Evolve a common agenda for ethical values Follow the army model for a culture of communal harmony Accept the oneness of truth Eliminate superstitions from religions Take the good insights of religions to the larger society Promote the culture of walking and working together Imbibe the spirit of anekandvad Be committed to full knowledge Consider all religious paths as valid Strengthen economy for harmonious living Prioritize humanity, nationality and religion Bring to the public the heritage of the regions and regional languages Lean from all religious masters of the world Introduce harmony education in schools Evolve a simplified curriculum on comparative religion Make a curriculum with values of religions for the primary school Engage the youth of colleges in pro-active processes Insist on value education among the youth Take up collective action for the youth of all religions Keep up the spirit of learning even in advanced years Reach out to the rural areas Appropriate scientific approach to life See God in all Consider human beings as what they are Engage in dialogue for setting disputes Summing up the discussion on the ‘Do’s for Harmony among Religions’, the chair highlighted four points that emerged with a consensus – 1. Humanity is the basic religion of all, irrespective of various traditions 2. Since India is largely a country of the younger generation, the younger generation has to be promoted and the senior generation has to learn from the junior generation 3. Since religion in India is exceedingly under the grip of superstitions, rising above them is imperative for its growth 4. All religious traditions are gift of the same God and they are the common cultural heritage of the human society and therefore are not to be monopolized by any set of particular followers. Don’ts for Harmony among Religions Killing or dying for the honour of the family, religion or society Following a double standard by speaking two languages Meddling with the right of others to live Being rigid in thoughts and behaviour Judging the worth of human beings by their religion or caste Considering oneself good and others bad Misusing religion for any purpose Surrendering to or allying with fake religious baabaas and persons Passing comments on other religions without really knowing it Engaging in violence on the basis of disagreements Making a public display of religion, like processions Getting provoked in the wake of minor attacks Reacting without knowing what is what and exaggerating issues Allowing the media to inflate issues Mixing up religion and politics Commercializing religion on TV channels Violating others on any pretext Denying justice to any individual or community Doubting the patriotic sentiments of citizens of other communities Maintaining a superiority-inferiority syndrome Being a hypocrite in the name of religion Entertaining prejudice against others Stereotyping of religious affairs and giving attention to wrong things of religions Having hatred and propagating it towards other persons and communities Being judgmental about others Making an empty show of religion Creating conflicts in the name of religion Trying to impress others with religious tools and taking others into one’s grip Imposing one’s identity on others In response to the invitation of the Chair for the follow up of the discussion, the suggestions that came up were – 1. Sessions led by the young have to be organized 2. The exercise of harmony among religions has to be taken to the grass roots as well as to the rural areas 3. A curriculum on religious harmony has to be prepared for the primary schools 4. Social media has to be used for disseminating the awareness of religious harmony to larger horizons. By way of concluding remarks, the Chair cautioned against money and power that extremely hijack and make religion what it is not supposed to be. ‘A high percentage of the political and religious custodians are illiterate, untamed and raw in their instincts and are badly scandalizing the younger generation of the country’, he commented. He drew the attention of the assembly to the scientific temper underscored in the Directive Principles of the Constitution and profusely emphasized by Pandit Jawaharlar Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. He proceeded to bring to light ‘vasudhaivkutumbakam’ as the most sublime ideal of the society and ‘udaaracharitanaam’ as the condition to translate the same into action. ‘Seeing God on every human face and making the family of God on earth is the common mission in life for people of all faiths and ideologies’, he added. He made a clarion call to ‘leave the society better than you found it’ as the noble maxim for contributing one’s share in life. Making a personal reference to how the study of Kabeer gave him a momentous ‘rebirth’ in life, Dr Thomas presented two lines from Kabeer – ‘Bahtaa paanee nirmalaa, bandaa gandaa hoi; Saadhoo jan ramtaa bhalaa, daag na laage koi’. He concluded by stating that ‘to keep journeying to the other, like the ‘flowing water’, to the larger and higher horizons of life’ is the secret of a dynamic, ever-blossoming and meaningful life, which is rooted in the ground realities of the country as well as the society. .
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