13 February 1986
Pope John Paul II
Vatican City
Italy
Your trip to India gives me the notion that you are concerned about and
interested in unity and peace among all human beings as you regard
yourself "the servant of unity and peace". But unity and peace cannot
be achieved merely by, for instance, making speeches and visiting
places. This demands constructive and courageous action and steps. It
would not be too much to suggest that you should declare publicly a
reform in Catholic policy to announce non-conversion in favour of
coexistence, humanitarianism, the promotion of population control, as
well as a common platform for the meeting of spiritual and religious
leaders to enable a constant dialogue on the basis of mutual
recognition and acceptance. Such a platform already exists in India ,
called Kumbhamela, which is the largest human gathering on earth, and
which takes place every three years in four places, such as Hardwar and
Allahabad , etc. -- perhaps that could be the meeting place.
While you have proclaimed your respect for all religions and offered
tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, referring to his debt to the teachings of
Jesus, in particular the Sermon on the Mount, as the apostle of
non-violence and his respect for every living being, perhaps you
should note Gandhi's own words in his autobiography and his thoughts
expressed from time to time during his "experiment with truth",
especially in this context:
"But the New Testament produced a different impression, especially the
Sermon on the Mount which went straight to my heart. I compared it with
the Bhagavad Gita . . . . My young mind tried to unify the teaching of
the Gita, the Light of Asia, and the Sermon on the Mount. That
renunciation was the highest form of religion appealed to me greatly."
In general, Gandhi was troubled by a dogmatic attitude regarding only
one way to enlightenment, particularly as expressed by the Christian
view towards Jesus Christ as the Saviour, and the Muslim's claim that
the only way to go to Allah (God) is via Mohamed the Prophet, none
else.
As Gandhi's example shows, spirituality is an individual search. No
temple, church, mosque, religious leader or teacher can provide
enlightenment or redemption as such but can only assist and support the
individual's search -- each individual should look for truth in his or
her own way. He has shown concern about the emphasis placed upon the
idea of the only redeemer, as is clear from his statement that:
". . . the argument in proof of Jesus being the only incarnation of God and the mediator between God and Man left me unmoved."
In a profound discussion in this area with Mr. Coates, a Christian acquaintance, he stated:
"....but Mr. Coates was not the man to easily accept defeat. He had
great affection for me. He saw the Vaishnava necklace of Tulsi beads
around my neck. He thought it to be superstition, and was pained by it.
'This superstition does not become you. Come, let me break the
necklace.'
'No, you will not. It is a sacred gift from my mother.'
'But do you believe in it?'
'I
do not know its mysterious significance. I do not think I should come
to harm if I did not wear it. But I cannot, without sufficient reason,
give up a necklace that she put round my neck out of love, and in the
conviction that it would be conducive to my welfare. When, with the
passage of time, it wears away and breaks of its own accord, I shall
have no desire to get a new one. But this necklace cannot be broken.'
Mr. Coates could not appreciate my argument, as he had no regard for my
religion. He was looking forward to delivering me from the abyss of
ignorance. He wanted to convince me that, no matter whether there was
some truth in other religions, salvation was impossible for me unless I
accepted Christianity which represented the truth and that my sins
would not be washed away except by the intercession of Jesus and that
all good works were useless!"
In the context of prevailing Christian teaching that there can only be
eternal peace if it is accepted that Jesus provides the redemption for
and is the only saviour from transgression or sin, Gandhi has said:
"If this be the Christianity acknowledged by all Christians, I cannot
accept it. I do not seek redemption from the consequences of my sin. I
seek to be redeemed from sin itself, or rather from the very thought of
sin. Until I have attained that end, I shall be content to be
restless."
As Gandhi has continued:
"My difficulties lay deeper. It was more than I could believe that
Jesus was the only incarnate son of God and that only He who believed
in Him could have everlasting life. If God could have sons, all of us
would have been His sons. If Jesus was like a God, or God himself, then
all men could be like God and could be God himself. My reason was not
ready to believe literally that Jesus by His death and by His blood
redeemed the sins of the world. . .. I could accept Jesus as a martyr,
as an embodiment of sacrifice, and as a divine teacher but not as the
most perfect man ever born. . .. His death on the cross was a great
example to the world but that there was nothing like a mysterious or
miraculous virtue in it my heart could not accept. The pious lives of
Christians did not give me anything that the lives of men of other
faiths had failed to give. I had seen in other lives just the same
reformation that I had heard among Christians. Philosophically, there
was nothing extraordinary in Christian principles. From the point of
view of sacrifice, it seems to me that the Hindus greatly surpassed the
Christians. It was impossible for me to regard Christianity as a
perfect religion or the greatest of all religions. . . ."
Gandhi's search involved constant debate with members of other faiths,
particularly Christians and Muslims, both of whom maintained some
conversion pressure:
"As Christian friends were endeavouring to convert me, even so were
Muslim friends. Adbulla Seth had kept on inducing me to study Islam. Of
course he had always something to say regarding its beauty. . . ."
"I came into contact with another Christian family. At their suggestion
I attended the Wesleyan Church every Sunday. . .the church did not make
a favourable impression on me. The sermons seemed to be uninspiring.
The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious,
they were not an assembly of devout souls. They appeared rather to be
worldly-minded people going to church for recreation and in conformity
with the custom. . here, at times, I would involuntarily doze . . . I
could not go on like this and soon gave up attending the service. . .
."
"My connection with the family I used to visit every Sunday was
abruptly broken. In fact it may be said I was warned to visit it no
more . . . my hostess was a good and simple woman but somewhat
narrow-minded. . . ."
The debate covered many essentials, such as vegetarianism and the Hindu
view that all living beings have a right to life equal to that of the
human being. In this regard, at another stage Gandhi has written:
"I was then rereading Arnold 's LIGHT OF ASIA . Once we began to
compare the life of Jesus with that of Buddha. 'Look at Buddha's
compassion,' said I, 'It was not confined to mankind. It was extended
to all living beings. Does not one's heart overflow with love to think
of the lamb joyously perched on his shoulder? One fails to notice this
love for all living beings in the life of Jesus .'
The comparison pained the old lady. I could understand her feelings. I
cut the matter short, and then we went to the dining room. Her son --
five -- was also with us. I am happiest when in the midst of children
and this youngster and I had long been friends. I spoke derisively of
the piece of meat on his plate and in high praise of the apple on mine.
The innocent boy was carried away and joined in the praise of the
fruit. But the mother . . .? She was dismayed.
'Mr. Gandhi,' she said, 'Please do not take it ill if I feel obliged to
tell you that my boy is none the better for your company. Every day he
hesitates to eat meat and asks for fruit. . . . If he gives up meat he
is bound to get weak, if not ill. How could I bear it? Your discussions
should henceforth be only with us elders. They are sure to react badly
on children.'
'Mrs. -- “I replied, 'I am sorry. I can understand your feeling as a
parent, for I too have children. We can very easily end this uncertain
state of things. What I eat and omit to eat is bound to have a greater
effect on the child than what I say. The best way, therefore, is for me
to stop these visits. That certainly need not affect our friendship.'
'Thank you,' she said with evident relief."
These practical examples show how the rigid attitude and lack of
understanding over specific issues can lead to a lack of overall
understanding which, as here, can mark the end of such Christian
association.
During the course of your journey, you yourself have indicated the
danger of uncompromising attitudes throughout which results in
separation and suspicion. In Calcutta you re-emphasised the importance
of world peace and support for the poor and the oppressed in your
statement:
"Let the poor of the world speak . . . let us do nothing inspired by hypocritical forms of imperialism or inhuman ideologies."
However, the supremacy of one religion over all others -whether it is
Islam, Christianity or any other -- is a kind of imperialism which is
as damaging as any other imperialism. In this way, Roman Catholicism
condemns other forms of imperialism in favour of religious dogmatic
imperialism or empire building.
Indeed, if organised religions had not so often made the mistake of
supporting the oppressor against the people, then Communism would not
have needed to be, nor in fact have been, born.
You further stated that:
“The main purpose is not to do social work but to preach the gospel.”
Surely it is time for organised and established religions to change
their role and to be dedicated to humanitarian work throughout the
world? If this does not happen in time to come then religion will lose
its meaning, and another human religion will take its place.
The fact is Mother Earth is over populated and those religions which
promote population growth should rethink and change their minds -- to
maintain the world's population as it is now and to concentrate more on
the well-being of the human. Suffering from lack of the essential needs
of life (food, clothes, shelter, health care and education, etc.)
occurs because of over population in regions such as Mexico , Brazil ,
the Philippines , Africa and the Indian subcontinent. If any religion
has to crusade, such crusade should be against poverty, ignorance,
corruption, exploitation, negativity, disease, and so on. Italy itself,
the home of Christianity, is caught in violence, crime (the Mafia),
corruption, perversion, Communism, poverty and other ills. The Vatican
should be aware and concentrate upon clearing the disease in its own
territory before attempting to cleanse that of its neighbours.
Christianity in the western world as a whole has often failed due to
its rigid rules and non-compromising attitude prevailing at the time.
It is not right, therefore, to take a failed system to other places,
creating an ever widening and greater confusion and chaos. The western
world is trapped by the crisis of family breakdown, separation,
divorce, runaway children becoming criminals and prostitutes, and
social deprivation and moral deterioration. The churches are empty and
people are turning away from established religion in their search,
looking for a free alternative system of expression and contentment.
Moreover, if the religions changed their tone and role then there would
be real peace and unity by each one accepting the other as they are.
During your visit you referred to
". . . the fullness of revealed truth, the truth of the redemption in Jesus Christ."
It is preferable to accept and recognise the other spiritual teachers
and, as the Hindus do, to ". . . let truth come from all sides."
Hinduism has never condemned any other religion. It is the gentlest
religion, and Hindus have accepted and tolerated all other religions as
constituting an equally important path to truth.
Each
soul is potentially divine. Each path is equally important and valid to
individuals as suited to their taste, temperament and freedom of
choice. No one has a monopoly on truth, and each should both respect
and warmly welcome the truth of others.
As you mentioned further, it is time to ". . . promote inter-religious
dialogue and fruitful collaboration between people of different faiths.
.” . "I come to India as a servant of unity and peace."
Unity and peace, however, involves a mutual acceptance of each other,
not the submission or surrender of others, by recognising other
religions and cultures which have been validly and solidly tested. As
you have declared, “My purpose in coming to India is a human purpose."
and "I come in friendship with a deep desire to pay honour to your
people and to your different cultures.
Isn't it time that you accept and recognise Mohamed, Shankaracharya,
Buddha, Zarathustra and so on as teachers of humankind besides Jesus
Christ? By taking such a step, other religions may also be inspired to
acknowledge and to announce such acceptance, for instance Islam, etc.
If every religion claimed that that religion was the only valid path to
truth -- none else -- and therefore aimed to convert all non-believers
into their fold, there would be total chaos, as history has witnessed
in the fight between Christianity and Islam and as the continued
struggle shows today in areas such as lebanon, Iran, Northern Ireland,
etc.
Any religion, system, tradition, custom, law or habit that prevents
people from respecting and understanding one another is destructive of
the sanctity of life, spirituality and nature. Although the Catholic
leaders in Delhi have stressed that the church has not tried to convert
Hindus for decades it has been admitted in Shillong that tribes of
Nagaland were converted just over one year ago and that the whole of
Nagaland is turning Christian. The different religions and tribes all
over the world, some of them age old and very ancient, have developed
ways to suit their culture and habits, and do not need religious
instruction. They have evolved in their circumstances. For instance,
tribes of the Himalayan foothills or the Indians of the Americas need
not sing hallelujah - they have their own language, tradition and
songs. It is better that there should be participation rather than
elimination. Let there be different cultures and philosophy as well as
religions left intact and preserved in their own right like the Indians
in North America , tribes in Africa , Eskimos in the polar regions and
so on. As the Hindu's attitude shows, co-existence is positive.
In the Indian subcontinent, Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism have very
little difficulty as they have not tried and do not try to convert but
rather to integrate and co-exist. If Christianity and Islam could
follow the same lines throughout the world, this could be positive and
beneficial for all concerned. For example, in Nepal , although a Hindu
state, the Muslims and Buddhists lived in an unbroken harmony until the
Christians arrived and started to convert them by temptation and other
means (they were converted by providing rice and known as "Rice
Christians") under the banner of evangelism. Hinduism in Nepal is an
important part of its indigenous culture. Nepal's government does not
want interference of Christian evangelists in its state. If its wishes
were respected then "peace" might become a reality and all the
religious minorities would, of course, live in peace. Evidently like
everyone, the Nepalese may require health care, education, etc., but
the Christians do not seem to be able to offer this much needed aid
anywhere without attempting to convert the people away from their
traditional beliefs suitable for their lifestyle and their culture. If
one interprets the well known human rights article that guarantees the
fundamental freedom of religious belief, it means that anyone should
have the right to practise their own religion without unwanted
interference.
Hindus have been forced to become suspicious of other religions as in
the past they were converted to Islam by force and today they are
converted to Christianity by material persuasion rather than by
idealism or philosophy of religion. This has been a very sad history of
many religions in the world. Even in St. Thomas' day (52 AD) Hinduism
was already 3000 years old and proved to be adept at absorbing the
impact of outside cultures by acceptance without trauma. Hindus are
known to be concerned with the inner being, the pursuit of an ethereal
absolute, and, as the Bhagavad Gita states, promote tolerance with
other faiths. As has happened in former times, the relationship
between Hinduism and Christianity is threatened by another surge of
Christian evangelism. There is a deep concern that Hinduism, by nature
a spiritual and retiring faith, may be endangered by Christianity which
pours vast resources into schools, clinics and welfare missions. As Bob
Geldof's contribution has shown, in which millions of pounds have been
raised for unconditional distribution, the problems of the world have
not been alleviated by conditional charity. This is not the answer.
Indeed, recipients of any aid or message should be taught to develop
self-help and selfrespect. It is the responsibility of those who have
influence now in this world to speak out against rigid and opinionated
policies that often only assist themselves. Insofar as some have been
anxious that the whole papal tour of India may merely have involved an
expensive publicity stunt and a screen to hide conversions, you should
now implement those priorities that have been briefly reported as
governing your visit:
1. To cool the climate and allay Hindu anxiety that Rome is about
conversion through a form of religious deceit -Christianity in Hindu
camouflage.
2. To use the controversy as a catalyst to build a closer relationship
between the churches in the interest of the "integral development" of
mankind.
3. To pull the more enthusiastic bishops back into line, persuading
them that, in the long term, bending the system in the interest of some
kind of number game is not worthwhile.
It is now time to demonstrate your Church's commitment that you stated
to be the fraternal harmony with the world's great nonChristian
religions. In India Catholicism is still viewed by many as a virtual
multi-national corporation representing western interests rather than a
spiritual movement. The time is ripe for a cross-fertilization of
attitudes through spiritual debate rather than for a visit to break
down the walls that separate Hindus and Christianity. As you are aware,
spiritual tradition is very profound and, as you yourself remarked on
your arrival in India , it is essential to recognise . . . the equality
and identical human dignity of every person -- such equality and
dignity must by definition include his spiritual attitude.
While you have quoted Rabindranath Tagore, it may be appropriate to note Tagore's statement:
To me the verses of the Upanishads and teachings of the Buddha have
ever been things of the spirit and therefore endowed with boundless
vital growth: I have used them both in my own life and in my teachings.
And he has also written:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depths of truth;
Where timeless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sands of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever widening thought and action --
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father let my country awake.
I hope that you find the above thought-inspiring and I look forward to receiving your response and comments.
Prof. Dr. Svami Purna
Over the years letters have been written by Sri Svami Purna to distinguished
persons throughout the world - political, religious, philosophical and
spiritual leaders alike - who may be in a decisive position. Some are
chosen that everyone may benefit from the thoughts expressed. They
illustrate an integration of the divine law in a natural way so that
people may make use of all their energies to accomplish their work with
an improved overall awareness and understanding.
Monday, August 25, 2008 at 08:21PM 
