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Jainism in a Global Perspective
and superistition, hatred and violence, it is better to be irreligious and heretic.
When we talk of religion today, it is 9/10th of rites and rituals, sacraments and ceremonies, Churches and evangilical missions and only 1/10th of universal ethics and spirituality. In fact religion should be the inner nature of man that should reach a certain stage of development and unfolding plus the law of the growth of the higher evolution. Religion should be the spirit of man and not his fetters. It is a blashphemy to regard Jesus, Buddha, Nohammad etc. to be the exclusive copy right patents of the Christians, Buddhists or the Muslims respectively. What is the harm if the people of the whole world call themselves as Christians, if Christanity stands for crucification and purification of the spirit? But when Christianity is equated with Churchanity, we have a bloody Bosnia or the Middle East and then we need such an excercise of inter-faith dialogue or a Ministry of Reconciliation under the Vatican or a Parliament of World's Religions at Chicago, Religious seperatism is as bad as Facism or Nazism. Personal religion is like tribalism, if not more. Hence, either we have a "Universal Religion" or no religion. If God cannot be Hindu, Muslim or Christian, how His own children become different? If the human soul has no creed, caste, colour, race or sex, who we are to divide man on the basis of creed, caste, colour, race or sex, why should we indulge in the rival bigotteries, fanatic cries, and bitter hostilities? There is only one Rligion, though religions are many. Religion is, no doubt, necessary to man but no particular church or sacrament is indispensable. There are two alternatives open to us-either we reject all religions or accept all religions. But both are impracticable. Hence, the only alternative is to inculcate in ourselves a spirit of Universal Religion or Religion of man.
To think that my religion alone is right and the rest are in the clutches of the devil, is not only imperialism of thought and fanaticism but it is also the source of hatred, animosity and violence. It is quite possible that there is truth in each of these religions. There might be different dimensions. Hence, the best way to avoid confrontation is to accept that the truth is manifold. Reality is complex and our knowledge is limited. Hence, it is safe to subscribe to the non-absolutistic frame of mind. Only such a non
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