Religious Freedom from Hindu perspective

[KS]

Religious Freedom from Hindu perspective | Times Colonist

Let us first examine the meaning of religious freedom, and how Hindu religion, philosophy and practice addressthis issue.

Religious freedom requires religious pluralism – that is,

- acceptance of all religions as equally valid ,and

– the state must ensure peaceful co-existence for followers of all religions​

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1. Acceptance of all religions as equally valid

One of the basic premises of Hinduism is that all spiritual paths lead to the same end result, which is salvation. To quote from Hindu scripture Rig Veda,

There is but only One Truth, even though the Sages know it by different names.

So, whether we call God as Brahman, or Allāh, or Yahveh, orthe Lord, or Nirankār, or Ahura Mazdā, or Supreme Being, they all refer to the one unknowable,omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, timeless, unbounded manifestation we call God.

Hindu theology accepts and respects truths from all religions. And Hinduism says that people of all religions worship the same God – the God that manifests in the universe and beyond, and in nature. The one God in everything that we know about, and in everything that is un-knowable.

In Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says,

In whatsoever way men approach Me, even so do I bless them, for whatever the paths that men may take in worship, they come unto Me.

Because Hinduism accepts and respects all other religions, you will see true religious freedom in India. Followers of many religions co-exist: Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Jains, Bahá'ís, etc.

This is one of the reasons why Zoroastrians (Parsis) fleeing great pressures in Persia migrated to and settled down in India (18 th century).

The largest national population of Bahá'ís is in India with about 2 million followers. Lotus temple in New Delhi is a wonderful monument to religious co-existence.

Another key aspect of religious pluralism is: Religious freedom means also accepting, respecting and including those who do not believe in God . Attaining salvation without Godis also an accepted path in Hinduism. The Sankhya philosophy of Hinduism does not believe in God or Creator. The universe is described as having the unchangeable immortal Transcendental Self orConsciousness called Purusha , and Nature or Eternal Energy called Prakriti . Details of Sankhya philosophy are beyond the scope of this article.

2. State support for religious freedom

The second requirement for religious freedom, namely, statesupport for religious freedom, has existed in India from ancient times.

An example of this is during Hindu King Ashoka's reign (269 to 232 BC). King Ashoka incorporated principles of religious freedom into the law of the land. These laws, called King Ashoka's edicts, were inscribed on rock monuments, pillars and cave walls. This enabled people to understand basic principles and laws of the land. Here are two examples of King Ashoka's edicts:

All religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart .

One should listen to and respect doctrines of other religions. King Ashoka desires all to be well-learned in the good doctrines of other religions .

The Mughal ruler of India, emperor Akbar, was intolerant of non-Islamic religions during early years on the throne, but promoted religious harmony during the latter part of his life. He had advisors of different religions whom he respected. He funded construction of Hindu temples and Christian churches.

Hinduism came under great pressure in India, from about 1000 AD, then throughout Mughal rule (except during Akbar's reign), and during British rule. Resurgence in Hinduism started with leadership of charismatic scholars in the 19 th century. Notable among these leaders are Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda, and Annie Besant. They emphasized that all religions are equal, even as they brought Hindu wisdom, philosophy, culture and spirituality to people in easily understandable manner.

There have been some debates regarding the Hindu view of all religions being equally valid. Academics such as Dr Frank Morales have argued that modern leaders of Hinduism revival advocated "Radical Universalism", that they teach that "all religions are the same ". This argument was rebutted by Chittaranjan Naik, exposing the fallacy of improper interpretation of Vedic philosophy.

Rather than arguing about interpretations of Vedic philosophy, it is best to understand that Hinduism regards all religions as equally valid . As Prof John Stackhouse recently said, attempts to reduce any religion to simply moralism and mysticism takes away the individual essential character of that religion.

Some argue that independent India's constitution takes this idea of " all religions being valid " to such an extreme that it gives non-Hindus more accommodation than to Hindus themselves.

Bottom line for religious freedom from the Hindu perspective is: tolerance, mutualrespect, acceptance, individual rights, and responsible conduct.

 

[Mad Indian]

Yes thats what i like about Hinduism. Even if i dont go to a temple by compulsion, i wont be considered a Kafir. And this is exactly what i fear about the Missionaries. The loss of freedom to be free. I seriously dont want my children to become religious nutcases. But converts become nutcases too often, infact more of a nut case than actual Christians. So please preserve Hinduism for preserving religious liberties.


But unfortunately many Hindus are becoming religious nutcase because of a reaction to these conversions. They think the only way to stop it is to organise the religion. But as soon as Hinduism becomes an organised one, it will lose its liberal values. This is really giving me nightmares.

 

[civfanatic]

Yes thats what i like about Hinduism. Even if i dont go to a temple by compulsion, i wont be considered a Kafir. And this is exactly what i fear about the Missionaries. The loss of freedom to be free. I seriously dont want my children to become religious nutcases. But converts become nutcases too often, infact more of a nut case than actual Christians. So please preserve Hinduism for preserving religious liberties.


But unfortunately many Hindus are becoming religious nutcase because of a reaction to these conversions. They think the only way to stop it is to organise the religion. But as soon as Hinduism becomes an organised one, it will lose its liberal values. This is really giving me nightmares.

All missionary organizations should be banned from operating in India. This will have several benefits:

1) Will prevent possible radicalisation of gullible villagers.
2) Will help put an end to demographic fear-mongering by the right-wing.
3) Will deny radical Hindu organizations a major reason to exist.

 

[A chauhan]

This thread should be made sticky, so that foreigners may get a chance to see why we don't need missionaries here.