Hindu Catholic Dialogue Commemorative Brochure 20150523

Author(s): United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Publisher: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

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HINDU AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS TOGETHER:
THEOLOGICAL REASONS FOR MUTUAL RESPECT AND REVERENCE
ANANTANAND RAMBACHAN
Hindus and Catholics have a long history of co-existence in communities across our world. Catholics and Hindus have lived as neighbors on the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Hindus also live among Catholics in many other parts of our world, including Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Fiji, Mauritius, North America and Australia. While our history together is not free from controversy and dispute, we must not overlook the friendship and mutual learning that also characterize our encounters. These are precious resources that can be too easily ignored in times of conflict and contention.
It is always good and important to remember that relationships do not occur between religious traditions. Relationships are initiated and sustained by human beings who embody their traditions and whose identities are shaped profoundly by their religious commitments. We are blessed with the gift of freedom that enables us to be attentive to each other's concerns, and to critically discuss our relationship, past and present. We can admit mistakes, we can forgive and heal, and we can transform and enter into new relationships. As Chandogya Upanishad reminds us, "Hope is greater than memory (āśa vai smarād bhūyasī). Even as we struggle with difficult memories, our freedom is a source of hope and new possibilities.
As Hindus and Catholics, people with religious commitments, we define the meaning of our lives in relation to the One we regard as the source of all life. The values by which we live come from the centeredness of our lives in the One we worship as having ultimate value. Our understanding of this One, therefore, must be at the heart of our understanding of our relationship with each other. Without this, we do not speak to each other from the depths of our religious commitments as Hindus and Catholics.
Mutual respect and reverence in relationships between Hindus and Catholics do not require that we overlook our differences or that we ignore difficult issues. Relationships that disregard differences and are silent on contentious matters will be superficial and risky. Respectful relationships do not insist on sameness of vision or the relinquishing of our distinctive theological commitments. In fact, our differences may be the places of our deepest learning from each other.
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Mutual respect and reverence, however, do require humility; a virtue closely associated with religious wisdom in the Hindu tradition. A fundamental theological ground for humility is the Hindu teaching that God is always more than we can describe or understand with our finite
HINDU CATHOLIC DIALOGUE