Neelam Patel – Need of religious harmony in 21st century Neelam Patel - Persuing MBA at Thakur Institue of Management Studies & Research , Mumbai The word religion actually means laws, both natural and moral, that ensure right living .Religion stands for an integral development of the personality, a comprehensive view of life. In the 21st century, people everywhere talk about money this is important but mental comfort can be achieved only by having faith. Everybody has a common belief towards god. Religion is the outer cover, with a Prophet, a holy book, a set of doctrines and beliefs, distinct customs and traditions etc. But the inner core of religion is Spirituality, where there is a great deal of commonality. Various factors divide mankind, such as, race, ethnicity, colour, language, nationality, ideology and religion. Among these, religion is most emotive. Scholars propound that religion is responsible for making man a civilized being, spiritual growth and for taking mankind nearer to God. But it is a sad fact that more people have been killed in religious conflicts and battles than in wars for conquest of territory. Religion has been misused for political and personal gain. Cruelty has been inflicted on millions of human beings and animals in the name of religion. Also, ethical and moral codes are more or less common, though there are differences in emphasis and a few exclusive features. The question here is do religious harmony really exist .There is no religious harmony seen in India and Pakistan infact both the countires keep targeting each other in terms of religion being a hindu and a muslim. There are terrorists attack just to make one religion superior to other religion. Whatever be our religious affiliation, we have to live in amity with others who belong to other religions. Movements for Inter-religious Harmony suggest that religions can learn from others and strengthen their own religions and convictions. Racisms is still being practiced in many countries like Uk and Europe. Corruption is being practiced in many countries like India,China,USA.Corruption occurs not because of lack of education but on account of lack of moral values.Dalai Lama has said comprtition are of two types positive and negative He said positive competition was one where an individual aspired to be the best without creating any obstacles to others wanting to be the same, too. He said this was good and something practiced by Tibetan Buddhist practitioners saying that there would not be any progress without competition. The negative kind of competition was one where while the individual aspired to be the best, he also created obstacles to others wanting the same, too. Religious harmony comes about where there is understanding between followers of various faiths and denominations. Basic ideas and principles concerning each faith must be understood if harmony and unity are to be achieved. We have seen that Islam does not recognize the superficial differences of colour, language, ethnicity or geography. However, Islam recognizes and considers difference in religion. According to Islamic scheme of things, mankind is divided into believers, i.e. Muslims, and non-believers, i.e. followers of other faiths. The latter are further divided into polytheists (idol-worshippers) and followers of prophetic traditions. The second group is closer to the Muslims because they share the same origin with them in that their religions originated from heaven and they follow revealed scriptures. Surely no country can attain any meaningful development without peace and stability. And peace and stability are achieved through persuasion and dialogue rather than cohesion and imposition
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:56:55 +0000
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