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The key to peace lies in non - violence and tolerance,
which is a 7000 - year - old tradition in India.
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We
can have peace only if we are able to bring about
an attitude of respect for religions, faiths and
belief systems other than our own. There is an
interesting fact to be noted about the great world
religions. At the level of philosophy there are
differences among them. But at the level of practice
there is no difference.
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Broadly
speaking, at the level of philosophy, world religions
may be divided into two main groups - those that
believe in a Creator and those that do not. The
theists believe that a Creator has manifested
the universe. They believe in God. These are the
theistic traditions.
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On
the other side, there are atheistic traditions
that do not postulate a Creator. Buddhism is one
such religion. Even the Sankhya philosophy of
the Hindus had both atheistic and an atheistic
tradition. When Buddhism tries to answer the question
as to why there is a universe, it postulates this
as something that happens in Nature. Why is consciousness
cognitive? It is its nature. Why does everything
follow the Law of Causation? It is Nature.
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Buddhist
have no God. Sakyamuni is considered to have been
a human being like any one of us. Over many births,
through intense practice, he had become a Bodhisattva
and then achieved enlightenment as the Buddha.
Any one of us can do the same and train ourselves
to become the Buddha.
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So
if we try to bring about a harmony among different
faiths on the basis of their philosophy, we would
not succeed, as there are wide divergence among
them. But when we study the ethics or the practice
advocated by the various faiths, there is not
much difference. They all believe in certain core
human values like truth, non - violence, compassion,
love and peace.
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One
of the important values is Truth. Truth lies in
seeing reality as it is. Reality can be seen as
it actually is, only if one harbours positive
emotions and not negative emotions.
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It
would not be correct to say that we should have
no emotions. A person without emotions is a person
without feeling. He is apt to be dry, distant,
cold, friendless, negative and vicious. The important
thing is not to harbour negative emotions.
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Negative
emotions are emotions that are immature, narrow
and cloudy. For example, attachment and hatred
are two such negative emotions. If you see a person
through the prism of attachment, you would conclude
that whatever he does is 100% right. If you look
at someone through the prism of hate, whatever
he does would be 100% wrong. Nothing in nature
is 100% right or wrong. Such a perception is merely
a mental projection. It distorts our perception
of reality and creates more problems.
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Positive
emotions are mature emotions. Here emotion is
combined with intelligence. The application of
intelligence leads to analysis and investigation.
Analysis leads to conviction. Such training of
emotion leads to a holistic vision of reality.
Reality is interdependent. Everything is interconnected.
If one fails to see the interconnectedness and
interdependence, then it is a distorted vision.
Example of positive emotions is faith and compassion,
which can be imbibed only through a training of
emotions.
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Knowledge
leads to conviction. Conviction leads to determination.
Determination leads to familiarization. Familiarization
leads to change of emotion. The main attempt is
to clear the vision, so that we can see reality
as it is. Only then can we solve the problems
of life.
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Cultivation
of positive and noble emotions leads one towards
compassion, contentment, forgiveness and self
- discipline. This leads to calmness of mind.
When there are no ripples in the mind, it remains
clear its vision of reality. It seems problem
as it really is and is able to solve it easily.
Problems are thus unable to disturb your peace
of mind.
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But
if the inner being is weak, if it is assailed
by fear and doubt or too much of unbridled emotion,
it would find it difficult to face the arduous
problems of life.
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Life
is bound to be full of problems. Even if there
are no other problems, one's own body suffers
from the problems of illness, decay and death.
If problems are an integral part of our existence,
we have to be fully prepared to face these with
calmness, placidity and fortitude.
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In
this process of nurturing your inner self, it
helps if you continue to remain in the spiritual
and religious tradition in which you have been
born. I am happy to see that Sathya Sai Baba has
said that his mission is not to convert people
to other traditions. He would like a Buddhist
to be a better Buddhist, a Muslim to be a better
Muslim and a Hindu to be a better Hindu.
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One
should be serious and sincere towards one's own
faith. This generates a calm atmosphere both in
the individual and the society. Our inner experiences
reach a dipper dimension.
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Quite
often, I get the feeling that I am reciting verses
that were taught to me by my mother and teacher
in my childhood. On certain days, it seems to
me that I am reciting the verses by rote and not
with my full heart and soul in it. The recitation
then becomes something of a burden. But later
I realize that such daily practice, although it
appears to be monotonous and repetitive, it silently
and effortlessly builds my inner resources and
strength and help me to become a true follower
of the Buddha.
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In
this audience there is a plurality of faiths.
This reality has to be accepted. India has always
believed in ahimsa in terms of acceptance of other
faiths. Gandhiji is a great example of inter -
religious harmony. He was a staunch Hindu, but
he had a deep respect for other faiths.
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Buddha
was also a true Indian in this sense. He studied
the faiths prevalent in India in his time and
practiced a number of Hindu paths. After his enlightenment,
he taught the four noble truths. Buddha's philosophy
of interdependence is his unique contribution
to world philosophy. The concept of interdependence
is equally true in the fields of economy, politics,
defence and so on. This gives a wider, holistic
picture of any problem and brings us closer to
reality.
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Buddha
believed in the human value of truth. He exhorted
his followers to follow the truth. When he enunciated
the four noble truths, he also analyzed the cause
of suffering. His conclusion was that all suffering
was due to ignorance. He accepted the practice
of samadhi. He also innovated the vipassana system,
which can be a very effective method for deducing
attachment. He had great respect for the other
traditions.
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This
ideal of religious tolerance is still alive in
India at the village level. There the followers
of different faiths have lived together in peace
and harmony for the last several centuries. Multi-culturalism
and religious tolerance is practiced in their
daily lives.
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It
is only in recent times that some politicians
have created problems due to their low level of
awareness. They have too much attachment, which
leads to narrowness of vision and a kind of shortsightedness.
It is important that these few people are not
allowed to destroy the rich 7000 - year- old tradition
of tolerance and harmony. We can all live together
and work together at individual and community
levels.
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| Dr.
Karan Singh's Tribute |
