India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with one of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of the country and most of its people. In such a multi-religious context, the Indian constitution provides freedom of religion, yet there has been continued religious violence and religious intolerance during the recent past. The government sometimes has not acted swiftly enough to counter effectively societal attacks against religious minorities and attempts by some leaders of state and local governments to limit religious freedom. A majority of the people try to live in peaceful coexistence but tensions between religious groups are a problem in some areas. Hindu-Muslim tension continues over disputed places of worship claimed by both groups to be sacred sites. There were instances of politically manipulated religious tension in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh and Vadodara, Gujarat in early 2006. Conversion continues to be a highly contentious issue. Some Hindu organizations frequently allege that Christian missionaries lure converts, particularly from the lower castes, with offers of free education and healthcare, and equate such actions with forced conversions. Some Christian groups allege that Hindu groups forcibly "reconverted" those who had embraced Christianity. In order to foster certain dominant ideologies some extremists continue to commit violence with impunity.
There are many more issues and incidents happening everywhere in India, including the ongoing riots in Bangalore over the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. However, the questions that we as Theological students need to ask are: To what degree do we need to foster religious harmony and religious tolerance? What are the different possible steps that need to be taken to foster such a harmonious relationship between different religious groups in India? Are we to foster ideologies that are politically motivated or religiously biased instead of working for a better world with new values being sensitive to other religions?
In Indian Christian Theology class we have been discussing that it's becoming increasingly important to know the scriptures of other religious groups in India in order to be an effective servant of God. Every religion has influenced people and has served as a vehicle for uniting as well as dividing. This leads us to question the role of religion in the society. A Vietnam folk tale says that there is only one difference between heaven and hell. In hell, they have chopsticks three feet long and the people can't eat. In heaven, they have chopsticks three feet long and but the people feed each other. The purpose of our life is not to live for our own sake but for the sake of others. This is what Jesus wants from us, which is also the motto of United Theological College "Not to be served but to serve". Often we want a religion that comforts us but what we need is that which challenges us. We should be committed to a growth process in the direction of responsible action expressed in increased concern for others and openness to future change. The norms for our actions cannot be abstracted into general principles, for they are situation specific and are subject to review for they are not backed up by any ideology. For example, when Jesus was asked to heal Simon's mother-in-law on a Sabbath, which was forbidden by the law, he being aware of the self-centered character of adherence to the law chose to do what was just and right, a responsible action we could call, by healing Simon's mother-in-law on the Sabbath
In Hinduism there is a popular saying "Atman is Brahman" which implies that all living things are Brahman at their innermost core. Indeed, this understanding of God will certainly lead us to relate ourselves to the suffering ones and experience the needs of the people as our own. Given our changed needed perception, we act in response to the needs of the people just as he/she acts to meet his/her needs. In this process, there is fear of losing neither one's own identity nor compromise on the issue of mission, instead it validates mission. We are called to love others, in the words of Jesus "Love your neighbor as yourself”.
The movement we call religion comes with baggage: dogmatism, authoritarianism, holy war, patriarchy, dressing up in unusual clothes, pastor's preaching, ministry mysticisms, money-spinning, new age quackery. However, religion means different things to different people. The point is, as theological students how are we going to make use of our theological education to promote religious harmony and tolerance in the midst of religious violence and intolerance?
United Theological College at Bangalore has a long history of setting the groundwork and preparing for dialogue especially when we see the pioneering works of Dr. P.D. Devanandan and Dr. S.J. Samartha. For Devanandan in the light of nationalism he revisioned the evangelistic understanding of Christian cooperation in the context of multi-religions. For Samartha, cooperation with other religions was not a betrayal of mission but he held that it is there that the the Christian witness to God's saving work in Jesus Christ becomes transparently clear.
Recently, I visited the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI), International Centre for Research, Interfaith Relations and Reconciliation. This ecumenical organization is striving to create better understanding between people of different faiths and facilitating the process of dialogue and reconciliation. Many times peace and reconciliation, based on justice does not happen in practical situations, as it is quite difficult and the demands can be very dangerous , but HMI is not losing hope. The kind of symbolism that HMI uses in its logo is quite interesting to note. The logo has in it a building with a dome and tower, the building with its door open signifies it is open to all, a dome that unites people of all faiths, and a tower that, while pointing to God above, remains to the earth that sustains all. In fact the devotion hall at HMI is also built in this manner which stands as a (do you want to say that this logo is actually a picture of the devotion hall at HMI - it would tie it to the next paragraph better!)
Worship of God has been to many the very core of being human because of which humanity is called 'homo adorans', that is, 'the worshipping human'. Von Ogden Vogt says, "Worship is celebration of life". There is a growing awareness among the Christian churches in India to revise the worship patterns and indigenize the whole approach of worship. In addition, there needs to be a growing awareness to take up the challenge of making it appropriate to the reality of religious pluralism in India, which accommodates most of the world's great religious traditions. As theological students, we need to be agents of proclaiming peace and reconciliation among the members of the church and society. As has been pointed out there is a fear of losing one’s own identity but we should not forget the transformative work of Christ on the cross which is too precious to be confined to an exclusive community or group of people. Our theological education at United Theological College should equip us to face the realities of a Multi-religious context.
Bibliography
Devanandan, Paul. D. Preparation for Dialogue eds. N. Devanandan and M.M. Thomas, Devanandan Memorial Vol. II Bangalore: CISRS, 1964.
D'Souza Andreas. “Reconciliation in Practice" in Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation: Multifaith Ideals and Realities. Jerald D. Gort, Herny Jansen, and Hendrik M. Vroom. Eds Rodopi Publisher, Amsterdam - New York, NY 2002.
Samartha Stanley. J. One Christ Many Religions: Towards a Revised Christology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991: third Indian edition, Bangalore: South Asia Theological Research Institute, 2000)
Web
http://www.hmiindia.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment