BRIDGE THE RELIGIOUS DIVIDE
Religious identity as a primary source of friction in societies is evident in many places
in the world. It is more a fight for the primacy for a religion that has become the bane of modern world. We call ISRAEL as a Jewish State, Iran as a Muslim Country, and so on and so forth. Religion has become a tool for fighting other communities even within the same countries. Religion has been a great divider than a unifying force in the world today. What are the issues in Middle East? It is the opposition to the Jewish State of Israel from the Muslim nations. Is it not wrong? The essence of all the religions ask us to put YOU before I. All the religions teach the same values. Peace, brother hood, serving the underprivileged, compassion and love. No religion teaches us the concept of Hate. Religion alone cannot unite the people. For example in the societies dominated by one religion like Islamic states, there are still people requiring help, people who are underprivileged and people who are poor. So religion is not the panacea for the ills in the society. Religion is a codebook containing principles of good living. If we put aside, the primacy of religion, then solving most of the tensions in the world become easy. Take for example India and Pakistan. Once united and prosperous, both the countries were divided on the basis of religion. But religious division has not solved the problems in their respective societies. The poor and under privileged in both the countries far out weigh the privileged. Even after 50 years of separation, both the nations have not been able to even provide basic amenities like potable drinking water, proper shelter and proper food to their vast majority of citizens. There are only some islands of prosperity in these nations. India and Pakistan fought several wars and wasted billions of dollars of scare resources and millions of lives. Had these nations realized that Religion alone couldn't solve the problems and bring in prosperity, they could have prospered together- With only islands of poverty amidst plenty. So religion has become a dividing factor in the world as well as nations on ill-conceived notions. All the religions are complimentary, they are not competitive. This must be understood by all.Emphasis must be given to equality and co existence of all the religions. There must be a mechanism in the world and societies that take care of misgivings based on religions. They should demonstrate the one ness of THE ALMIGHTY, though paths may be different. Stress must be laid on the unifying factors within all the religions. Religion alone should not be allowed to guide the destinies of nations and societies. Value should be given to the universal principles enshrined in all the religions and primacy for religious identity must be discarded. When there is more interaction among different religious leaders the misunderstandings of those having extreme views will be cleared. When the heads of different religious heads make it clear that the ALMIGHTY is ONE though paths may be different, reality will dawn and lead to peaceful world and peaceful societies. HATRED merely on the basis of ones religion must be buried deep. When we remove prejudices on the basis of religion, the world will become a better place to live and the societies free from friction. We must realize that religious identity is not as important as understanding the one ness of the ALMIGHTY in whichever form we believe. It will be better to practice the universal values of all religions and learn to co exist peacefully.