“Your God is My God” Vs “My God is Your God”

This is an article on the faith conversion in society & its effects. The title though is pretty tricky. But that’s the way it is.

People generally ask, what is wrong in faith conversion? It is individual preference. If they are influenced by someone to convert their faith, so be it. The answer is simple yes. But there is more to it. What was the influencing factor? How it impacts the individual? What is its impact on self pride, self esteem. How it impacts the society? How it impacts ecology? How it impacts sustenance of life? How it creates class divide, Separatism. How it creates imperialism, domination. We’ll try to understand step by step.

First, by understanding the concept of God.

Did ‘Man create God’ or ‘God Create Man’?

This is a standard question that atheists ask. Atheists’ argument is, there are millions of gods on earth. All of them created by Man. Man gave them names. Man gave them form. Man characterized god. So God is an imagination of Man.
But who created Man? Who created trees? Who created vegetables? Animals? Water? Earthly elements? All these are working in such beautiful harmony in nature. Who created nature? Why this nature doesn’t exist on Mars? Who created Earth? Can Earth be by itself? Does it need Sun? Why is Moon required? Is Mars required? Why is all this created?
 
I believe there must be a God who created all this. He created all this to sustain each other. His creation- sustenance-destruction and this cycle continuation is a beautiful music. He created a brainy man to explore the music, appreciate it & entice Man to reach God. But can Man reach God? Is God in a form that Man can recognize? Man cannot even understand how elephants talk? How Whales communicate? He doesn’t even know how Honey bee produces Honey? How can he reach God? He cannot even hear beyond Sound wavelength, he cannot even see beyond light’s wavelength.  

So I think, since Man cannot reach God, God reached Man. God took several forms and appeared before Man. So that, Man can touch him, feel him, hear him, and understand him. That’s where the multiplicity of God came by. Man gave him form, character etc., So ultimately Man imagined God within his limited forms of imagination.

Your God is My God

So, different communities living across the world created God within their limits of imagination. This created differences in their culture, tradition, worship, power etc., This created ego clashes between communities. The ego clashes turned violent into fights & wars.

In India, though the ethnic flare was contained to a large extent. That’s why you see such a large canvas of culture and tradition coexisting here. How? Elsewhere in Europe, America, Asia etc., you will see uniformity & much less diversity. How?

The Gurus, Rishis, Munis who were intellectuals of ancient India brought in this concept of ‘Your God is My God’. That means I see in your god my god. That requires lot of guts. It requires one to submit his ego. It requires him to quell the insecurity that the other guy might undermine my God and impose his culture, his rituals upon me. Once you say, I see my god in your god, then the other person becomes comfortable to receive him. He will even reciprocate that feeling. That sets in understanding each other’s culture. That sets in understanding why a certain community consider a certain God as their God.

That’s why worshipping of Durga, Kali, Shakthi, Sharada, in different forms by different communities seeing their own deities in her. Some see her as Lakshmi. Some see Parvathi in her. Some see Saraswathi in her.

Panduranga Vittala is a very famous god in Pandarapura Region. There are great many stories of the knowledgeable person Vittobha in that region. People paid great respect to him for his knowledge and miracles he did. The respect became reverence and people worshipped him as God & Vitthobha became Panduranga Vittala. Krishna followers exclaimed that he must be Krishna only. Vittobha was a householder & his deeds and life was compared to that of Krishna. Differences and Similarities were all submerged in the great fervor of Bhakti towards the lord by both communities. Great many songs, tales emerged from this congruence.

Similarly, the story of Venkateshwara in the Thirumala hills region.

These are not from the ancient Puranas. They are called Kaliyuga Devaru.   
Similarly Mallikarjuna, Manjunatha, Padmanabha, Mukhyaprana… there are millions of gods accommodated and coming up even today, every day in this land of Bharatha Bhoomi.

How else would you explain the following few modern day instances:

1.       A Brahmin Poojari doing daily Pooja to a Muslim Sufi Saint - Shirdi Sai Baba with the save fervor he does Pooja to SriRama? Sai Baba has great following amongst all communities cutting across religions. He said “Sabka Malik Ek”.

2.       We sing Santha Shishunala Shareepha’s song with the same dedication as we do Shiva Sharanara Vachanas? Shareepha said “Allah & Allama are all same with different names”

3.       Gandhiji adopted following hymns in his prayer meetings and we sing that with same fervor even today:

Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram, Pathitha Pavana Seetha Ram
Eeshwara, Allah Thero Nam, Sabko Sanmathi De Bhagwan  

4.       There is a temple in the middle of weekly market in Chitradurga of a goddess deemed powerful by both Christians and Hindus. They worship her in their respective ways.

5.       Buddha is considered as an incarnation of Vishnu by certain section of our society. Many scholars I know vehemently argue in this theory. And there are many who argue against too.

India’s hues are beautiful & vivid. Our forefathers have passed on this culture of seeing ‘Your God is My God’, generations after generations. Lets assimilate all gods in our society.  Let God not divide our society but bind it.

My God is Your God

Buddhism, Christianity & Islam recognize followers only by the God they follow. God is their primary agenda. Recognition of their religion is by the God the people worship. The society, its culture, its language, its tradition, its God, its rituals are secondary. Their inflexible religious texts, are guiding principles for them. And their guiding principles emanated by one Man who became God by his greatness.

These religions’ main interaction with the multi-cultural society is through Proselytization. These religions do not appreciate Polytheism (multiple gods). These religions propagate Monotheism. Monotheism is the theory of ‘there is only one God’. And that’s why ‘My God is Your God’. They tell the gullible to shun his God and adopt the new God that they preach. They force him to see God in their God only and not in any other form or name.  

Proselytization is faith conversion process. These religions give very high importance to Proselytization. It is their salvation process. It is through different forms – evangelizing, propaganda, service, bribe, crusade, and violence etc., All forms are followed in the history. Depending upon the prevalent system at that time in that region they follow different forms. For example in India, currently the country is calm and civilized. So through propaganda, service, bribe, love, the conversion process is prevalent here, today. In African countries today, crusade by the Islamists is happening. In the medieval periods in India, violence was followed for the Proselytization. Christianity crusaded on Jews on way to Jerusalem in the medieval period. In Burma and Srilanka Buddhism is prominent today. Rohinga Muslims in Burma are driven out today. Srilankans just now ended a bloody war of killing all rebel Hindus & Christians. Burma & Srilankan example however cannot be related to the religion. Because it is a military Junta & a democratically elected government waging war on armed rebellion respectively. But I would argue, the root of these wars is religion.

The effect of forcing one to accept a different God than he was following earlier is long and harsh. It creates a scar on him. The Church/Mosque/Monastery will be the place of worship. He cannot take his God there. He cannot create his own temple where he can put his previous God with the new God. Then he will not be considered as part of their religion. He will be separated as Hindu. These create separatism in the society. Assimilation of other Gods and culture is strictly prohibited in their religion.

The converted person will face insult of his tradition, culture, language etc. He will have to shun all of it. He will have to shun his pride & self-esteem. He has to subjugate completely to one inflexible authority. The authority will develop Imperialism. The freedom of thought and expression will be suppressed.

Religion should preach “Way of Life”

Let there be God. Different Gods. Different Names. Different forms. But let there be understanding of differences and appreciation. Not killing, undermining, and insulting the differences.

Let the religion preach essentials to bring down the class differences. Let it preach to bring down economic divide. Let it bring social impact to make sustainable Urban & Rural living.  Let it preach the society that diversity is the essence of life. It is needed to maintain ecology. It is needed to maintain dignity. Let it preach us how to live in harmony with each other. Let it preach us how to live in harmony with nature. Let it preach to not only respect nature but worship nature. Not to cut the cow (nature) but to milk the cow. Let it preach us ‘How to Live Life Peacefully and Welcome Diversity’.

Let the Upper Strata of Society who are Intellectuals, like Saints, Pontiffs, Mullahs, Pastors, debate on the sociology and arrive at exclusive, yet binding, interdependent culture amongst their societies. Let them not shut their door of open debate with other religious heads.

Let the Lower Strata of Society like land tillers, factory workers, urban slum dwellers, develop unity, and bring out their own mutts, pontiffs. Let them fight for their rights, build strength by unity. Let them not be lured by individual instant gratification and benefits. And yes, despite so many saints and Guroos, there is dearth of Mutts and Pontiffs with true social purpose in India.

Let the Middle Strata of Society, like us try to understand society as a whole and not be lost in self-indulgent, indifferent life style. Let us empathize with lower strata of our society. Let us push our intellectuals to develop debate culture.

 Let the religion develop Sociology, Social Life.

Let the religion make God’s name& form immaterial.