By Barnes Mawrie
In a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Leonardo Boff, the great Brazilian Liberation theologian, the latter asked the Dalai Lama a mischievous question, “which is the greatest religion?” The Dalai Lama, paused a while and with a smile answered “the one that takes us closest to God and teaches us to love our neighbour.” Boff was literally taken aback by such a wise and inspiring answer. He confessed that it was the truest and most authentic answer to his question. So many religions have been founded in the history of humanity. This proves that man is in constant search for the “ultimate answer” to his fundamental quests. For this reason, every religion is good because it attempts to provide man that answer. However, there is no satisfaction to man’s quest and he continues to be a “searcher” for a meaning in life.
Perhaps, we need to look beyond any one religion for the answer to this quest. Probably, we have to transcend the idea of an institutionalized religion or cult and may be, we only need to rediscover the basics upon which every religion is founded. In my opinion the answer of the Dalai Lama to Boff contains the clue to the answer. The basics of every religion or creed are the two relationships: a relationship with God and a relationship with the other. Tell me, which religion be it Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism or a Tribal religion, which does not essentially teach man the way to come close to God and the need to love and care for other beings (human and non human)? To have a God experience, has been the quest of every religion and to return to God has been their primary goal. Unfortunately, the concept of God and the manner of reaching his abode, is distinct from one religion to the other. At times, each religion puts more emphasis on these secondary concepts rather than on the primary concept of God and the afterlife. In short, the “how” overshadows the “what.” Consequently, radicalism sets in and an exclusive theology is formulated and taught by each of them.
Secondly, the teaching of the golden rule “do to others what you want others to do to you,” which is the fulcrum of every religion, has been misinterpreted by radicals in every religion. Thus radical Hinduism today teaches its adherents that this fraternal love is to be extended only to fellow Hindus (this is what Hindutva means), Islam in its worst misinterpreted form, teaches that all non-Muslims are infidels and are to be excluded from its religion (the ISIS in fact portrays such a pitiable concept of Islam). Christianity at one time of history has believed in such radical exclusivism and considered others as “doomed.” This is the problem found in every religion, which emerges from our human narrow mindedness. Thus it is a sad fact of history that every religion has been drifting from the essence to the accidents, from the centre to the periphery and from inclusivism to exclusivism. This in turn has been responsible for religious radicalism, interreligious bickering, religious intolerance and at times even religious wars.
How I wish that one day all institutionalized religions become phased out and only a “Religion of Love” remains. A religion based on love of God and love of man, is the only religion that humanity needs in order to satisfy its existential quest. In my opinion, the image of the cross reminds us of these basics of a religion of love. The cross symbolizes the vertical and the horizontal dimensions of a true religion. The vertical points to our relationship with God and the horizontal to a relationship with our fellow beings (human and non human beings). The two poles of the cross are embedded to each other to form one reality, so too the two relationships (with God and with fellow beings) are linked to each other to constitute a “religion of love.” One cannot relate with God meaningfully without relating equally with his fellow beings for we cannot love God whom we cannot see unless we love our neighbour whom we see. I strongly believe as Jesus had said that in the final day of judgment, God is not going to ask us, how many prayers you said? How many namaz you performed? How many pujas you made? Or how many pilgrimages to holy places you made? He is instead going to ask us one basic question: how many times did you help your brother or sister in need?
I am not mistaken to say that every true religion teaches “love and kindness towards one’s neighbour,” but the problem is that ritualism and legalism have got the upper hand in every religion and as a consequence the human aspect of charity has been downplayed. Orthodoxy has dominated orthopraxis. We forget that if God is “love”, true religion has to be founded on love.