Needed: A society that tolerates in the name of religion

As much as religion or faith can grant you liberation, both these can land you in big trouble. History gives us enough examples of the latter happening. When thinking deep on these above mentioned two topics, it is heartening to know that today (August 22) is ‘International Day of Commemorating the Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief’. 

History has taught us that over 5000 wars in the world have been fought due to religion. And when we take a peep into world history, we see many leaders who were murdered or poisoned because the faith they practised was a threat to others. 

According to the United Nations handbook on Human Rights, ‘articles 18-20’ specify the right of a human to enjoy and practise, the right to express opinion, peacefully assemble, associate with others, follow a religion or faith among other rights. 

We can remember the Digana and Mawanella incidents which were triggered by religious hate. The Muslims and Buddhists had their share of exchanges of damaging religious places of worship. There was a time when certain parts of the island were gripped with tension. Having insensitive political leaders in the country at that time amounted to adding fuel to the fire. 

Osho (Bhagavan Shree Rajneesh) was a cult figure in the 1980s. Osho says in lighter vein that when he arrived in the religious scene ‘that were no customers’. Osho is quoted saying so in a You Tube video, maintained by Osho International. He adds: “When I arrived, people were either Christian, Hindu or Muslim. I had to do my business. It is my right to do business”. Here what he means by doing business is promoting his way of understanding life, its purpose and focusing within.  He didn’t spare any religion and made fun of them. Hence he might have made many enemies. When he died in 1990, there were speculations that he was poisoned inside an American prison. 

Then there was Swami Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness). He could be credited for globalising that famous religious verse “Hare krishna hare Krishna krishnakrishna hare hare harerama hare rama ramarama hare hare”. Even some members of the famous pop group ‘Beatles’ took to chanting this verse and spoke of experiencing a transforming effect. 

Srila Prabhupada was successful in taking the much read ‘Baghavad Gita’ to the world. Hence, despite all services to mankind, it was sad to hear that his death was suspicious. There is speculation that he was poisoned. Medical experts had found high levels of cadmium in his body. These experts  eventually came to a conclusion that such a high level of cadmium cannot be found in a body unless it is introduced through food. 

Go back 2000 years into world history, and we learn that Jesus Christ, the messiah for all Christians, was nailed to a cross. Roll back the clock 600 years to the time before Christ and we hear that Devadatta  released an intoxicated elephant to attack Gautama Buddha. We know of Buddhist priests dying at the hands of elephants. But this elephant ‘Nalagiri’ was controlled by the compassion of the ‘Enlightened One’.

So we have read in the past of how violence has been unleashed on those who practise other faiths; the ones which are different to what the authorities term as the ‘right religion’. The ISIS gave a warning to all Christians living in Mosul (in Iraq) to convert to Islam and pay ‘tribute money’ or leave the city. This was in 2014. For the record, traditional Muslims around the world condemn the way ISIS interprets the Quran.  

The ‘Open Doors 2025 World Watch List’ reveals that an average of 12 Christians are killed every day in the world for practising their faith. 

The UN teaches us that to uphold the right to practise one’s faith or religion, a community must fight against all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion and belief. 

Those who were killed or tortured for practising ones faith or religion must be remembered as heroes, because very few would be willing to give their life for the sake of religion.