The Changing Meaning Of Religious Tolerance
Followers of every religion tend to believe that theirreligion is the exclusive repository of the ultimate ruth, that the path shown by it is exclusive and definitive; and that the methods adopted by it to achieve salvation are unique and superior to those of others. This claim to superiority and finality eads to a conflict situation among followers of differentreligions and results in violence and hatred between them. Tolerance of the 'other' is the technique adopted by different societies n general and religions in particular to avoid open confrontation. The first ever usage of the term 'tolerance' is traced to che 15th century. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "the action or practice of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring". In the 16th century after Queen Elizabeth I permitted the Puritans to carry out their practices which she did not share or agree with, tolerance acquired a new political meaning-"the action of allowing; license, permission granted by authority". The underlying idea was that it was a permission granted by the sovereign authority to depart from the norm. One of the implications of the above usage is "tolerance is the prerogative of those with relative power over others. We do not tend to speak of the Puritans tolerance of Queen Elizabeth, just as we do not think of a parasite tolerating its host organism. Tolerance according to Nietzsche, like the distinction between true and false, "is power based". tolerance therefore is the voluntary acceptance by the stronger of what otherwise one does not merely disprove but also abhors. From this it follows that tolerance is "an attitude that requires us to hold in check feelings of opposition and disapproval". Tolerance can be of twotypesinternal and external. By internal tolerance is meant the capacity to live with religious differences within one's own religion. External tolerance,on the other hand, means the capacity to live with the prevailing religious differences with other religions. It is related with the capacity "of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring". Thetwo kinds of tolerance can also be termed as inter and intra tolerance. The seeds of intolerance in religions can be traced to treeexclusivism. But Indic faiths believe in inclusivism or pluralism. Their attitude is characterised by the Rig Vedic saying: "Truth is one; the sages describe it differently." Withthe help of the parable of the blind men and thefuitiauta elephant GautanBuddha advocates tolerance by say"These sectarians, brethren, are bliand unseeing. They know not therethey know not the unreal; they know not the truth, they know not the untruth. In such a state of ignorangthey dispute and quarrel." The Jainas propagate tolerancetheir doctrines of syadavadaand anekantavada. Syadavada and anekantavada are doctrines whichadmit many-sidedness of reality, arthe multiplicity of perspectives frowhich it can be viewed. Therefore tis no singular, conclusive, absoluteultimatejudgment of any kind. Onrealise that all our knowledge is a contextual understanding of realitwe readily become tolerant of the others' viewpoint and our feeling superiority and exclusiveness vane.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Ashok Vohra 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 : Ashok Vohra Speaking Tree,Times of India
The Changing Meaning Of Religious Tolerance
Followers of every religion tend to believe that theirreligion is the exclusive repository of the ultimate ruth, that the path shown by it is exclusive and definitive; and that the methods adopted by it to achieve salvation are unique and superior to those of others. This claim to superiority and finality eads to a conflict situation among followers of differentreligions and results in violence and hatred between them. Tolerance of the 'other' is the technique adopted by different societies n general and religions in particular to avoid open confrontation. The first ever usage of the term 'tolerance' is traced to che 15th century. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "the action or practice of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring". In the 16th century after Queen Elizabeth I permitted the Puritans to carry out their practices which she did not share or agree with, tolerance acquired a new political meaning-"the action of allowing; license, permission granted by authority". The underlying idea was that it was a permission granted by the sovereign authority to depart from the norm. One of the implications of the above usage is "tolerance is the prerogative of those with relative power over others. We do not tend to speak of the Puritans tolerance of Queen Elizabeth, just as we do not think of a parasite tolerating its host organism. Tolerance according to Nietzsche, like the distinction between true and false, "is power based". tolerance therefore is the voluntary acceptance by the stronger of what otherwise one does not merely disprove but also abhors. From this it follows that tolerance is "an attitude that requires us to hold in check feelings of opposition and disapproval". Tolerance can be of twotypesinternal and external. By internal tolerance is meant the capacity to live with religious differences within one's own religion. External tolerance,on the other hand, means the capacity to live with the prevailing religious differences with other religions. It is related with the capacity "of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring". Thetwo kinds of tolerance can also be termed as inter and intra tolerance. The seeds of intolerance in religions can be traced to treeexclusivism. But Indic faiths believe in inclusivism or pluralism. Their attitude is characterised by the Rig Vedic saying: "Truth is one; the sages describe it differently." Withthe help of the parable of the blind men and thefuitiauta elephant GautanBuddha advocates tolerance by say"These sectarians, brethren, are bliand unseeing. They know not therethey know not the unreal; they know not the truth, they know not the untruth. In such a state of ignorangthey dispute and quarrel." The Jainas propagate tolerancetheir doctrines of syadavadaand anekantavada. Syadavada and anekantavada are doctrines whichadmit many-sidedness of reality, arthe multiplicity of perspectives frowhich it can be viewed. Therefore tis no singular, conclusive, absoluteultimatejudgment of any kind. Onrealise that all our knowledge is a contextual understanding of realitwe readily become tolerant of the others' viewpoint and our feeling superiority and exclusiveness vane.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Ashok Vohra 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 : Ashok Vohra Speaking Tree,Times of India