In Eyes Of God, We're All Minorities
ईश्वर की दृष्टि में हम सभी अल्पसंख्यक हैं - बारबरा ब्राउन टेलर के द्वारा
हार्वर्ड डिवनिटी स्कूल के पूर्व डीन कृस्टर स्टेंडहल ने 2008 में, अपनी मृत्यु से कुछ समय पहले, एक रिपोर्टर को बताया, "भगवान की नज़र में हम सभी अल्पसंख्यक हैं। यह उन बहुत से लोगों के लिए एक अजीब जागृति है, जो कभी भी विश्व के बहुलतावाद की चपेट में नहीं आते हैं।"
एक छोटे कॉलेज की कक्षा में, अपने सीमित दृष्टिकोण से, मेरा मानना है कि युवाओं की बढ़ती संख्या बहुलता को समझ रही है - इसे गले भी लगा रही है - जबकि उन्हें, एक ही समुदाय में, जहाँ अन्य धर्मों में (और किसी में भी नहीं) आस्था रखने वाले लोग हों, वहां एक धार्मिक आस्था वाला व्यक्ति होने का क्या मतलब है, यह समझने में अपने बड़ों से बहुत कम मदद प्राप्त हो रही है। किसी भी उपदेशक ने उन्हें यह सुझाव नहीं दिया कि आज का एक उदार व्यक्ति एक अच्छा मुसलमान या एक अच्छा मानवतावादी हो सकता है। किसी भी पुष्टि वर्ग के शिक्षक ने उन्हें यह नहीं सिखाया कि स्वर्ण-सिद्धांतों में, पड़ोसी के धर्म का सम्मान उसी तरह करना, जिस प्रकार हम चाहते हैं की पडोसी हमारे धर्म का आदर करे, शामिल है।
मैं एक उपदेशक को जानता हूं जिसने कुछ इस तरह की कोशिश की - और वह भी एक प्रमुख शहर में एक गिरजाघर के मंच से ! मुझे उसके उपदेश का विषय क्या था याद नहीं है, केवल उस पर प्रतिक्रिया याद है। उसने शायद यह सुझाव दिया होगा कि ईसाई धर्म एक लहर पर महासागर नहीं। यह भगवान तक पहुंचने के कई तरीकों में से एक था। क्योंकि, बाद में एक आदमी उसके पास आया और उसने कहा, "यदि भगवान ईसाई धर्म की तरफ पक्षपाती नहीं है, तो मैं यहाँ क्या कर रहा हूँ?" काश! आम ईसाई परीक्षा लेते, तो मैं उस प्रश्न को अंतिम परीक्षा में दे सकता था। जीतने वाली टीम की तरफ से खेलना एक स्वाभाविक इच्छा हो सकती है, परन्तु दिव्य पक्षपात को अपने लिए सुरक्षित करने की इच्छा, मुझे किसी भी धर्म का अनुसरण करने का सबसे खराब कारण लगती है। अगर वह आदमी जिसने वह सवाल पूछा, ईसाई होने के एक दर्जन से अधिक बेहतर कारणों को नहीं सोच पाया, तो वह वास्तव में वहां क्या कर रहा था?
आठवीं शताब्दी की सूफी फकीर बसरा की राबिया के बारे में एक पुरानी कहानी बताई जाती है। एक दिन राबिआ को अपने शहर की सड़कों पर एक हाथ में मशाल और दूसरे में एक बाल्टी पानी लेकर जाते हुए देखा गया था। जब किसी ने उससे पूछा कि वह क्या कर रही है, तो उसने कहा कि वह मशाल से स्वर्ग के विशेषाधिकारों को जलाना चाहती है और पानी से नरक की आग बुझाना चाहती है, क्योंकि दोनों ही भगवान तक पहुँचने का रास्ता रोकते हैं । "हे, अल्लाह," राबिया ने प्रार्थना की, "अगर मैं नर्क के डर से तुम्हारी पूजा करता हूं, तो मुझे नर्क में जलाओ, और अगर मैं तुम्हें स्वर्ग की आशा में पूजती हूं, तो मुझे स्वर्ग से बाहर कर दो। लेकिन अगर मैं तुम्हारी खुद की खातिर पूजा करती हूं, तो तुम मुझसे द्वेष नहीं रखना।"
ईसाई परंपरा में, यह बिना शर्त के प्यार की श्रेणी में आता है, हालांकि आमतौर पर इसे भगवान जिस तरह का प्यार मनुष्यों के प्रति रखते हैं, इस रूप में देखा जाता है, बजाये कि इसका उल्टा। अब, इराक की एक मुस्लिम सूफी की बदौलत , मेरे पास यह समझने का एक नया तरीका है कि भगवान को बिना शर्त प्यार करने का क्या मतलब है। जब भी मुझे ईश्वरीय दंड के डर से या ईश्वरीय प्रतिफल की आशा से काम करने की लालसा होती है, तो राबिया अपने धर्म से हटकर मेरे धर्म के ऊपर झुक जाती है और मेरे सिर पर एक बाल्टी पानी डाल देती हैं।
मनन के लिए मूल प्रश्न: आप अपने आप से अलग एक पथ को मान्य और सम्मान के योग्य वास्तव में स्वीकार करने की धारणा से कैसे सम्बद्ध हैं? क्या आप उस समय की व्यक्तिगत कहानी साझा कर सकते हैं जब आप सहिष्णुता से और परे, और विश्व परंपराओं - जो कि आपसे काफी अलग थीं- के प्रति गहरे सम्मान की ओर जाने में सक्षम थे? आपको दुनिया की विविध परंपराओं का सम्मान करने और अपनी स्वयं की परंपरा की श्रेष्ठता की भावना को त्याग करने में क्या मदद करता है?
Barbara Brown Taylor is an American Episcopal priest, professor, author and theologian and is one of the United States' best known preachers. In 2014, the TIME magazine placed her in its annual TIME 100 list of most influential people in the world. This article is excerpted from her book Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion of truly accepting a path different from your own as valid and worthy of respect? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to go beyond tolerance and toward deep respect for world traditions that were quite different from yours? What helps you develop the ability to respect the world's diverse traditions and eschew a sense of superiority of your own tradition?
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16 Past Reflections
On Nov 13, 2020 Debra Ann polk wrote :
Because when you ksubmit and get cloy to him he will get closer to all or you
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On Feb 26, 2020 Bharat Chauhan wrote :
If I may assume that God means same qualities in every religion/belief then for the sake of understanding, let's call God=Principle. Principles are natural laws that are universal, self-evident, self-validating, timeless, objective and at work whether or not we understand or value them. For example the Law of Gravity.
If another assumption I make is true then every religion/belief is a mental map of that community. Lets call it Paradigm.
As long as Paradigms are in alignment with the principle there should not be any conflict. Just the Peace everywhere.
Learning lesson for me is that before I act on any of my thought(Paradigm), I should confirm that its in alignment with the Principle(GOD). If not then don't act on it because acting on a thought that is not aligned to the Principle is for sure going to bring conflict.
If another assumption I make is true then every religion/belief is a mental map of that community. Lets call it Paradigm.
As long as Paradigms are in alignment with the principle there should not be any conflict. Just the Peace everywhere.
Learning lesson for me is that before I act on any of my thought(Paradigm), I should confirm that its in alignment with the Principle(GOD). If not then don't act on it because acting on a thought that is not aligned to the Principle is for sure going to bring conflict.
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On Feb 26, 2020 Bill wrote :
Life, as a hopeful journey, is a series of events. While the path is unknown and ismanifest daily, the vision remains: all souls get to heaven. How wonderful the myriad ways...
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On Feb 25, 2020 Neetha Rao wrote :
Dear all,
As a hindu, religious tolerance is ingrained into my system and as a Heartfulness practitioner I have been following this since 1997 December.
The change should come from within, when I learn to accept all as my brethren irrespective of their religion and myself raise above religious diversification can I truly be a Human.
As a hindu, religious tolerance is ingrained into my system and as a Heartfulness practitioner I have been following this since 1997 December.
The change should come from within, when I learn to accept all as my brethren irrespective of their religion and myself raise above religious diversification can I truly be a Human.
1 reply: Aj | Post Your Reply
On Feb 25, 2020 Kay wrote :
I grew up in a Christian home and throughout my adult life have tried on different faiths within Christianity. It wasn't til I step back from traditional, institutionalChristianity and opened my mind and my awareness to study Hindu, Muslin, Kabbalah ( mystical Judaism) that I saw Christianity in a new light. I incorporate many beautiful prayers and practices from each of these religions which has made for me now a very rich, moving, and spiritual life.
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On Feb 25, 2020 Manisha wrote :
When we consider entire universe, we really belongs to minorities. And I think we got special status too. We got brain and we can really make big difference.
I always heard and I believe God is one. All religions are just a way to reach out to God. You call him by any name but end of the day we all are waiting for miracle. There is no good or perfect way.
Everyone is trying but some people find him within, some find in nature, some find in the smiles that they bought on other person face and some are still running behind to find him.
Truth is, journey is endless until we will start believing in humanity and kindness. No one has seen God but his presence is everywhere. I can feel his presence right now in this moment:)
I always heard and I believe God is one. All religions are just a way to reach out to God. You call him by any name but end of the day we all are waiting for miracle. There is no good or perfect way.
Everyone is trying but some people find him within, some find in nature, some find in the smiles that they bought on other person face and some are still running behind to find him.
Truth is, journey is endless until we will start believing in humanity and kindness. No one has seen God but his presence is everywhere. I can feel his presence right now in this moment:)
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On Feb 25, 2020 Anjana wrote :
In the eyes of God, all are equal -- there are no superiority or minorities.
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On Feb 25, 2020 Stef Skupin wrote :
I love the question of the man asking what he is doing there, if God isn't partial - and imagine to being able to hold that space for him to find his own answer, by saying: I don't know. I love that you are asking that question of yourself.
So often we think we need to find answers to convince others of the truth and the light we've seen. And they can never find it on us, only in themselves, listening into the silence of their own wisdom.
So often we think we need to find answers to convince others of the truth and the light we've seen. And they can never find it on us, only in themselves, listening into the silence of their own wisdom.
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On Feb 25, 2020 MARIA DEL REFUGIO SANDOVAL OLIVAS wrote :
Es una lucha interior constante. La duda es una llama que quema. Quiero y necesito creer, sin embargo, muchas veces vacilo en mi fe.
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On Feb 25, 2020 Anilkumar Pandit wrote :
Everyone as a minority has a wider opportunity to evolve, instead of getting stagnated.
Further being a minority (call it singularity),facilitates getting connected (by peeping inward) to the core of existence and realize its everlasting beauty.
Further being a minority (call it singularity),facilitates getting connected (by peeping inward) to the core of existence and realize its everlasting beauty.
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On Feb 25, 2020 Tyler wrote :
Wow! This spoke straight to my heart! For years I have met many beautiful souls whose beliefs are different from my own and intuitively felt like there was "something wrong" with what my religion was teaching me! More recently I have had the privilege of working with others that have no religion and I have found their souls to be quite vulnerable and almost childlike. We are all inherently good and beautiful in the eyes of God. May I see with God eyes always! ☺ï¸ðŸ™ðŸ»
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On Feb 23, 2020 Shyam Gupta wrote :
Wow. What a profound , hard hitting statement on religion. Apart from respecting other religions , it also shows us the path of true worship, which is without fear or reward and just in the spirit of service or unconditional love.
Am reminded of a mystic baba who had founded a big temple and almost a sect , in Delhi, whom i used to meet very regularly , sharing this with me. " Most of the people coming over here ( mostly rich and powerful), come here , either by fear or for reward . They look at the temple visit , either as a means to avoiid hardship or pain or a fulfillment of their wishes or some desire. I still welcome them, with a hope that some day they would see the futility of thier prayers and actually start worshipping just for the sake of worshipping/service or just ib the spirit of service with unconditional love for god and all humanity.
Am reminded of a mystic baba who had founded a big temple and almost a sect , in Delhi, whom i used to meet very regularly , sharing this with me. " Most of the people coming over here ( mostly rich and powerful), come here , either by fear or for reward . They look at the temple visit , either as a means to avoiid hardship or pain or a fulfillment of their wishes or some desire. I still welcome them, with a hope that some day they would see the futility of thier prayers and actually start worshipping just for the sake of worshipping/service or just ib the spirit of service with unconditional love for god and all humanity.
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On Feb 22, 2020 David Doane wrote :
Pluralism is reality. Erecting walls to shut out and separate is fighting reality. I accept being open to, learning about, and understanding a path different from my own, and accepting it if it is pro growth and not hurting anyone. I've learned a good deal about paths or traditions other than my own, such as about Buddhism and Hinduism, and am way beyond tolerance and into deep respect for those traditions. They actually make more sense to me than my own tradition. What helps me develop ability to respect the world's diverse traditions and eschew a sense of superiority of my own tradition is for me to not just listen to what I or others think, assume, or judge about other traditions, but for me to be open to learn about the other traditions and be open to the truth in them.
1 reply: Amen | Post Your Reply
On Feb 21, 2020 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
To me a true religion is a way of serving others of any faith with no expectationof getting any kind of reward from the receiver. It is an expression of unconditional and selfless love. Anybody can be a Good Samaritan, a Good Muslim, a Good Hindu, a Good Buddhist, a Good Jain, a Good Jew, a Good Atheistor a Good Humanist. The world we live in is pluralistic with a wide spectrum of beliefs, ideas, opinions and faiths. Our task is how to relate to people different from us with genuine respect; how to implement the Golden Rule in daily life. We all are children of God- outwardly looking different but the same inwardly. If we live from our open heart and loveothers unconditionally, we all can live in harmony. Harmonious living is a spiritual living, a truly religious living.
Tolerance is different from respect. In tolerance, we consider ourselveshigher or better than others. In respect we view and relate to others as equal. As I was growing up I have had manyexperiences of relating to peo... [View Full Comment]