All religions in the world teach peace and peace alone. They say there is only one god. Practicing love and truth are the ways of reaching him. Christianity says, “Love, thy neighbor as you love thyself”, Prophet Mohammad taught universal brotherhood. Hinduism taught “Sarvejanah Sukhino Bhavantu”. Let all people in the world live in happiness or bliss.
Budhism also taught the gospel of love. Yet the world has gone through many wars fought on the basis of religion. The crusades, the partition of India and the massacre that followed, are a few examples where religion disturbed harmony and peace.
The problem does not arise for nations or State where its entire people belong to one religion. The problem arises where people belonging to more than one religion live. Of late, we see that there are conflicts even among those who follow the same religion but belong to different sects. Man with his powers of reasoning and intelligence gives his own version of truth and God, and the difference leads to a sect. in Christianity there are Catholics and Protestants. In Islam there are Sunnis and Shias. In Bhddhists there are Hinayanas and Mahayanas. In Hinduism the divisions are many. All these religions preach that there is only one God. Yet in praying to the one God there are differences and conflict.
Hinduism stands for unity in diversity. There are three specified systems of philosophy ‘Advaita’, ‘Dvaita’ and Visisthadwaita’. They all say there is one God, but the man – god relationship differs in each. In Hindus there is a pantheon of gods to be prayed for God appears in different forms. Sit is all right for a philosopher. But for a common man it leads to conflict.
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Casteism in Hinduism is another malady. Whatever may be the root-cause for the establishment of caste it has now come to stay as a big hazard for the unity of Hindus. When harmony does not exist within one community where is a religion of tolerance. It has accepted all faiths as one and had co–existed with them for centuries. It has even absorbed Buddha as one of the ten ‘Avatars’ of Lord Vishnu.
Apart from that India has produced great kings and saints who saw the oneness of all religions in the name of one God. Akbar, the greatest of the Moghul Kings, gave even a new religion in 1582 blending all faith, calling it “Din-e-Ilahi”. Saints like Kabirdas and Saibaba have sung in the name of one religion. The Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj movements have take up the cause of uniting all men and to establish communal harmony in society. In spite of all efforts, conflicts still arise and peace is disturbed.
The main cause for disharmony is not religions. Disharmony is due to not understanding the truths therein properly. Gandhiji sang “Eshwar Allah tereo nam”. Still he could not prevent partition of India. Why? Man is always selfish and religion is like opium. When man is under its influence he does not know what he does. He feels that he is serving God by harming or hurting the other man. It is a mob frenzy that takes place. To prevent it, a lot of rational thinking on religion and proper understanding of truths in it’s necessary.