By: Salil Gewali
What if Nupur Sharma was not “provoked” on that fateful day? At least hell would not have broken loose. Who provoked Ms Sharma and why such provocations are deliberately winked at while her one-time outbursts were not? Can we analyse this fact with our logical mind without ever being weighed down by the narrative spread by the biased media and political leaders? I'm afraid, in India the innocent victim is made look like a notorious convict but not vice versa!
Does religion not claim to teach “good values and practices”? So how on earth does one have the right to hurt the followers of other faiths. A religion should invariably inspire its believers to appreciate God's limitless creation and sing His glory.
Just look at the flowers that bloom every morning, the trees that bring forth the fruits for every human being, and all the wonders in the sky! Is it not the uncanny creation of one Almighty? When we sing the hymn to the “same one” GOD, there logically should not arise scope for violence or hatred. But sadly, the more religious we are, the more fanatic and more hurtful we become. How could we thus claim that we have read and followed our Holy scriptures? Or, do our Holy scriptures have flaws?
Yes, the knowledge of God is far above what we study in schools and colleges. The knowledge of books may make us “well-informed” and qualified for certain career-oriented posts or help us achieve certain positions and power while the true knowledge of God should be capable of opening our inner eyes. It should help us to see and feel His divine power that pervades every object, nay, “every human being” and every phenomenon! But mind you, the primary class of God's education starts not just with memorizing the text from the holy books but with the earnest practice of “detachment” from worldly objects and worldly affairs despite remaining amid them. Compassion, forgiveness, absence of anger and service to humanity without “expectation and discrimination” are four wheels of a religion. These few universal virtues and practices alone help us cleanse our minds and inner being.
However, if a religion encourages hatred for others – more precisely, towards the followers of other faiths, then it is totally disastrous. Given the very frightful situation around, we must probably have “wrongly interpreted” or misunderstood the words of GOD. Does the intense surge of hatred not lead to violence and violence finally leads to “human degeneration”? Is it not complete godlessness? What do we see regularly now in the name of religions? Incidents of stone-pelting, regular bomb blasts, murders and killings have long punctured the very heart of humanity. Well, nothing is more disastrous than to carry and spread the notion that “my faith alone leads to God, your faith leads to perdition!” This is perhaps the root cause of bad blood among the existing faiths.
How can we make peace with GOD when we fail to make peace with His created human beings? I think we should not remain in illusion by thinking that heaven is a stone's throw from violence.
(An India based writer and researcher, Salil Gewali is best known for his research-based work entitled ‘Great Minds on India’ that has earned worldwide appreciation. Translated into Twelve languages, his book has been edited by a former NASA scientist – Dr. AV Murali of Houston, USA)