________________
Equal Respect for all Religions
175
It is clearly expressed in the Bhagwad Geeta that “Everyone should follow his own religion; and should allow others to follow their own religions. For each, his own religion is beneficent." If the truth of these words is realised, it will be the most obliging factor in cultivating equal respect for all religions.
Santbalji has said, “Allowing each religion to occupy its own scheduled place and we want to lay foundation of love and faith between them - not the uniformity in external form but unity in the respective forms of those religions. We desire to abolish the feelings of revenge-opposition consequent to the inequality and diversity between different religions – and this we want to do with the help of equal respect and love for all religions and by worshipping our own religions.
Gandhiji, by striving for generating the feelings of equal respect and love for all religions, has opened the way of becoming a preacher for world religion. To a person of whatsoever country, caste, garb or a religion, he used to give solutions after measuring them with the scale of 'Dharma'. People of all religions came to Gandhiji. On one side of the site, prayers were being offered and on the other side of the same, there might be the Namaj being performed ! As a part of prayers, Gandhiji used to get even the ‘Āyatas of Kuran' recited. He used to say that the moral stories of Kuran are different from those of the Geeta. In all, there is the same kind of teachings. Gandhiji used to tell everyone that, “Your religion is neither different from nor superior to the other's religion. If you cultivate respect for all religions, there will not arise any problem pertaining to, or in the name of, Dharma.
As a matter of fact, all religions are good, beneficial and for a nice support for the peace of every man in the world; and only because of the defects of its followers, one can't label it as a bad religion. By inculcating the feeling of 'equal respect