By Patricia Mukhim
Much space on the editorial page of this paper was dedicated to the debate on the role of the church vis-a-vis the problem the state is facing. A section of the laity questioned the role of the church in the society especially in these trying times. The question asked was whether the church should remain aloof and a mere spectator to all that is going on in the state. Or, if the role of the Church is confined to the four walls of the buildings only.
We have seen articles and letter to the editors which only make obvious that people are not happy with the prevailing situation. Some are of the opinion that the church should not involve in earthly issues and it should only engage with spiritual matters, while others think otherwise and wish that the church should involve in issues which are crucial for the society.
In the Hynniewtrep traditional context even though the Syiem and Daloi are the head of the faith also, their role in the day to day religious life of the people is very limited. Niamtre or Niam Khasi was not started as organized religion because religion in the Khasi Pnar context is more of a family affair. It was only in the late 1800’s that the followers of the Niam Khasi organized themselves under the banner of the Seng Khasi and followers of Niamtre in Jowai organised the Sein Raij only after the country gained its independence. In the traditional religion every rite of passage of any member of the family is conducted by the Kni who is the head of the clan. And because it is not an organized religion, the place of worship in the Hynniewtrep traditional religion is the hearth and the home of the clan.
The Hynniewtrep traditional religion may not have an organized body like the other faith groups, yet the Khasi Pnar are governed by their own set of value systems. The three cardinal principles of the Hynniewtrep people are ka Tip-briew, Tip- Blei, Kamai ia ka Hok and Tip-kur, Tip-kha and the entire value system of the tribe rests on this triad. The three cardinal principles of Khasi Pnar value system is all about striking the right relationship. The first principle is about having the right relationship with the creator and the other two principles are about having the right relationship with fellow human beings. Therefore in the Hynniewtrep religious context, ka Niam or religion is a way of life and it is about how one is to live in the world- by living a righteous life, by trying to have the right relationship with fellow humans and with God.
The traditional Hynniewtrep religion not only stresses on how one should live in the world, but the ten commandments of the Jews too are like a moral compass which guide Jews to live a righteous life. Rabbi Hillel of the Jews was once asked by some pagans to recite the whole of Jewish teachings while standing on one leg; the pagans said that they would convert to his religion if he could do so. Hillel obliged and stood on one leg and said, “Do not unto others as you would not have done unto you. (Or the other version is, ‘Do unto others as you would want them do unto you’) That is the Torah and the rest is commentary” he quipped. This is the simple teaching of the entire Torah or as known to the Christian -the Old Testament. According to Rabbi Hillel the basic teaching of the Torah is to do good to others. Period. It was also recorded in the two gospels that Jesus too said something similar when people asked him which is the most important commandment. Jesus responded saying, ‘The Lord your God is one, you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and the second commandment is to love your neighbour as you love yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. These two great religious figures also squared down their teaching to one simple idea and said something similar to what the Hynniewtrep religion teaches, that the important aspect of all religious teaching is for a person to strike the right relationship with God and with fellow human beings.
Karen Amstrong a scholar of the three Abrahamic religion wrote in her book, ‘The Spiral Stairways’ that the one and only test of valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. If your understanding of the divine makes you kinder, more emphathetic, and impels you to express this sympathy in concrete act of loving kindness, this is good theology. But if your notion of God makes you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it leads you to kill in God’s name, it is bad theology. In the same book Karen also added that compassion is the litmus test for the prophets of Israel, for Rabbis of the Talmud, for Jesus, for Paul and for Muhammad, not to mention Confucius, Lao-tzu, the Buddha or the sages of Upanishads.
The teachings of major religions of the world too stress on the need of the individual to strike a right relationship in life. We must try to have the right relationship with God or the creative spirit and with our fellow creations. We must also set our relationships with our fellow human and the entire creations on the foundation of compassion. Many a times I find it difficult to have a perfect relationship with God or with others and very often I failed in my efforts to even have a good relationship with near and dear ones. I may fail once, twice or may be hundred times but for me trying to make this relationship work is a spiritual act.
The other moot question is what is really required of each and every one of us? Prophet Micah sums it up beautifully when he says, “What shall I bring when I come before the Lord, when I bow before God of high? Am I to come before him with whole-offerings, with yearling calves? Will the Lord be pleased with thousand rivers of oils? Shall I offer my eldest son for my wrong doing, my child for the sin I have committed? The Lord has told you mortals what is good, and what it is that the Lord requires of you: only to act justly, to love loyalty, to walk humbly with your God.” (REB Micah 6:6-8). Karen Amstrong again in the same book says that what is vital to all the traditions is that we have a duty to make the best of the only things that remains to us. Our task now is to mend our broken world; if religion cannot do that, it is worthless. What our world needs now is not belief, not certainty, but compassionate action and practically expressed respect for sacred value of all human beings, even of our enemy.
For some people religion only has to do with the spirit and must not involve anything materialistic. But religion is not something that happens only once a week or in the four corners of the church only. It is a way of life. Religion is not something that only stares heaven-wards but that which looks at the ground too. Religion is how I act and live in this world. In short it is the continuous act of trying to strike a good relationship with God and with everything around me no matter how many times I fail.