Inclusivism, Tolerance, Understanding And Love
With are kindling of conflict on the Indo-Pak border, Kashmiri faces riddled with pellet gun wounds, lashes among castes, it seems as if acne is on a decline. And this, ugh some argue that Indian thought entally tolerant by its disposition to tent that its openness is the reason enation's survival through the ora of upheavals as well as influxes of Ent cultures and religions. ut is Indian thought essentially ant? And if so, can the nation n its historic openness towards the and itself? At least, Hindus such aim Vivekananda and Sarvepalli akrishnanwould agree. hey emphasise the tolerant side of an thought, particularly Hinduism, eir quest for an Indian identity they e proud of. Even in order to tribute something genuinely Indian eir ideal of world peace. Such was also the perception of western thinkers in the beginning of the 19th century, who were among the first western scholars to be, after a long period exposed to Indian thought. They inferred their conclusion, exempli gratia, from sections in the Rig Veda where it is written: "ekam sat viral bahudha vedanti"-that which exists is One: sages call it by various names. Or from the Bhagwad Gita, "Whatever deity or form a devotee worships, I make his faith steady. However, their wishes are only granted by Me." (7:21-22) The definition of tolerance varies. For example, Radhakrishnan understandstolerance not merely as peaceful coexistence, but as "active fellowship" with fraternity as its aim. It was by means of tolerance, so one claims, that different religions and groups lived for many centuries relatively peacefully in India. India may not have always been the epicentre of tolerance, neither towards foreigners nor amongst each other, yet, many scholars argue nowadays that what is described here is inclusivism rather than tolerance. Inclusivism is seeing the other position as identical to one's own, yet, mostly as slightly inferior. Instead of saying "you are different", they seem to say: "I accept you, you are not that different at all; actually you believe in the same things as i do, with the difference that you are taking a slight detour on your path to truth." The often doctrinal stand of the Neo-Hindu position fits this picture quite well. When Christian missionaries convince the "aboriginals" that Jesus was the prophet they should worship, apparently Indians replied, thank you for the kind offer, however, we already have a Jesus-he is a bit more bluish than yours and is called Krishna. This does not, as the philosopher Anand Malasadas writes, necessarily have to be something negative. For whenever Hinduism adopts something from an alien tradition, it changes something in itself, leading to an attitude of openness. At the end of the day it does not matter, whether we are just seeing inclusivism, tolerance or understanding, maybe even real love for the other in Indian thought. What matters is that Indian thinking contains something that teaches openness towards the other. In fact, every religion has this quality, whether Islam or Christianity. Texts are not fixed entities. We engage in a dialogue with them. To find the right answers to our present problems, we also have to pose the right questions. Indian scriptures have provided right answers over centuries. WaJust have to remember and re-read. Especially those exclusivists, who are eager to project Hinduism as intolerant.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Krisha Kops and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Krisha Kops and Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Inclusivism, Tolerance, Understanding And Love
With are kindling of conflict on the Indo-Pak border, Kashmiri faces riddled with pellet gun wounds, lashes among castes, it seems as if acne is on a decline. And this, ugh some argue that Indian thought entally tolerant by its disposition to tent that its openness is the reason enation's survival through the ora of upheavals as well as influxes of Ent cultures and religions. ut is Indian thought essentially ant? And if so, can the nation n its historic openness towards the and itself? At least, Hindus such aim Vivekananda and Sarvepalli akrishnanwould agree. hey emphasise the tolerant side of an thought, particularly Hinduism, eir quest for an Indian identity they e proud of. Even in order to tribute something genuinely Indian eir ideal of world peace. Such was also the perception of western thinkers in the beginning of the 19th century, who were among the first western scholars to be, after a long period exposed to Indian thought. They inferred their conclusion, exempli gratia, from sections in the Rig Veda where it is written: "ekam sat viral bahudha vedanti"-that which exists is One: sages call it by various names. Or from the Bhagwad Gita, "Whatever deity or form a devotee worships, I make his faith steady. However, their wishes are only granted by Me." (7:21-22) The definition of tolerance varies. For example, Radhakrishnan understandstolerance not merely as peaceful coexistence, but as "active fellowship" with fraternity as its aim. It was by means of tolerance, so one claims, that different religions and groups lived for many centuries relatively peacefully in India. India may not have always been the epicentre of tolerance, neither towards foreigners nor amongst each other, yet, many scholars argue nowadays that what is described here is inclusivism rather than tolerance. Inclusivism is seeing the other position as identical to one's own, yet, mostly as slightly inferior. Instead of saying "you are different", they seem to say: "I accept you, you are not that different at all; actually you believe in the same things as i do, with the difference that you are taking a slight detour on your path to truth." The often doctrinal stand of the Neo-Hindu position fits this picture quite well. When Christian missionaries convince the "aboriginals" that Jesus was the prophet they should worship, apparently Indians replied, thank you for the kind offer, however, we already have a Jesus-he is a bit more bluish than yours and is called Krishna. This does not, as the philosopher Anand Malasadas writes, necessarily have to be something negative. For whenever Hinduism adopts something from an alien tradition, it changes something in itself, leading to an attitude of openness. At the end of the day it does not matter, whether we are just seeing inclusivism, tolerance or understanding, maybe even real love for the other in Indian thought. What matters is that Indian thinking contains something that teaches openness towards the other. In fact, every religion has this quality, whether Islam or Christianity. Texts are not fixed entities. We engage in a dialogue with them. To find the right answers to our present problems, we also have to pose the right questions. Indian scriptures have provided right answers over centuries. WaJust have to remember and re-read. Especially those exclusivists, who are eager to project Hinduism as intolerant.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Krisha Kops and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Krisha Kops and Speaking Tree ,Times of India