Sujit De
In his article, ‘Man-made religion’ Other Voices, May 30), Sebastian Noronha rightly says, “What or who gives me the right to say that mine is the only correct religion? And that the religion my neighbour is following is wrong?” Indeed, this is the inherent problem of every religion. The reason of this problem has beautifully been explained by the Mother (spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo). She said, “The first and principal article of these established and formal religions runs always, ‘Mine is the supreme, the only truth, all others are in falsehood or inferior’. For without this fundamental dogma, established credal religions could not have existed. If you do not believe and proclaim that you alone possess the one or the highest truth, you will not be able to impress people and make them flock to you.”
On religion, Sri Ramkrishna used to say, “Many opinions, many paths”. This means that every religion has the same goal even though their paths are different. As a matter of fact, every religion – in one way or the other – has contributed to our progress. Sri Aurobindo said, “Each religion has helped mankind. Paganism increased in man the light of beauty, the largeness and height of his life, his aim at a many-sided perfection; Christianity gave him some vision of divine love and charity; Buddhism has shown him a noble way to be wiser, gentler, purer; Judaism and Islam how to be religiously faithful in action and zealously devoted to God; Hinduism has opened to him the largest and profoundest spiritual possibilities. A great thing would be done if all these God-visions could embrace and cast themselves into each other; but intellectual dogma and cult egoism stand in the way.”
It is indeed childish to debate and fight to establish that the God of my religion is better and taller than the God of your religion. I remember that a friend of mine jokingly told our Swiss friend who was to get back home, “Look at the Sun of Kolkata. This is not the Sun of Zurich!” Our Swiss friend enjoyed the joke. But in religion this is not a matter of joke. Unfortunately, this is indeed the very issue which forces us to have our brothers’ blood on our hands.
