World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 943

alone will help human beings to understand one another and to live together as a civilized society. Similarly to recognize common unity in the essentials of all religions is to promote the cause of civilization. It is a duty of every responsible citizen, truth lovers to do their best to minimize and glorify the spirit of unity and subordinate the principle of multiplicity to it. Those who are well-wishers of mankind should work with all their might to minimize the spirit of disunion and discord.
To establish peace and harmony through religions we have to keep in mind the following points : (a) Our attempts must be towards bringing of people of different faiths on the plane of mind and spirit. (b) We have to show that there is a transcendental unity of religions in spite of empirical diversity. (c) We have to show that, pursuit of wisdom, understanding of the nature of ultimate Reality (God] and the practice of love, irrespective of distinctions of caste, creed, sex, and community are the basic assumptions of all living religions, (d) Our attempt must make common people to know that right understanding of all faiths reconcilès all religions, strips every one of its outward human garments and shows the root of each to be identical with that of every other great religion, (e) We have to convince the followers of different faiths that if the world is to be brought together it is only on the basis of mutual understanding especially in the matters of fundamental belief, (f) Attempt must be made to ring together resembling parallel passages from several scriptures to prove identities and similarities in essential teaching.
We can conclude by saying that, Peace is possible through religions only when, religion is taken into its true spirit, Golden rule taught by it is sincerely practiced, if tolerance and respect towards all religions is cultivated and wrong propaganda against other religion is stopped. Religions also must grasp the realities of human life on earth at present situation. If religions do not try to meet the challenges of alienation and reconciliation of hearts and healings of war and peace, then religions would be marginalized in social life and it would be relegating itself to the background in society.
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