Teachings of the Holy Quran, the Bible, the Bhagwad Gita, the Guru Granth Saheb and Other Holy Scriptures on the Importance of a Pluralistic Society Are Overwhelmingly the Same
By
Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
26 June
2021
Our Lost
Faith In Religions, Religious Scriptures And Religious Leaders Needs To Be Restored
To Create An Atmosphere Of Pluralistic Ideals
Main
Points:
1. It is time
to think of a pluralistic society before it gets too late.
2. The
pluralism and the plural feelings of humanity will reignite the sense of a
common goal.
3. The noble
and divinity rooted words like solidarity, humility, brotherhood, pluralism,
honesty and modesty have been dumped in the dustbin of the social lexicon.
4. The ray of
hope can be seen at the end of the tunnel if we consciously propagate the
religious and spiritual teachings that are laced with humane traits of love and
brotherhood.
----
Holy
Scriptures and Their Relevance
It is time
to think of a pluralistic society before it gets too late. Our lost faith in
religions, religious scriptures and religious leaders needs to be restored to
create an atmosphere of trust and love among the citizens of the world. The
pluralism and the plural feelings of humanity will reignite the sense of a
common goal. It will increase the happiness index of the world.
Religion
and all the religious scriptures have become an item of decoration. The holy
scriptures are proudly exhibited to advertise the religious faith of the family
concerned. No one has time to even talk about them and their teachings. During
the religious functions when these Holy Scriptures are preached, almost all the
attendees are busy on their mobile phones either replying to the
business-related queries or just passing the time. The noble and divinity
rooted words like solidarity, humility, brotherhood, pluralism, honesty and modesty
have been dumped in the dustbin of the social lexicon. Children of the
materialistic world are deprived of divine teachings both in their homes and
schools. Society is running helter-skelter towards an unknown destination.
Mankind
will have to strive hard to make the relevance of the Holy Scriptures a reality
to save humanity going on the destructive path. Every religion and its
religious epics can be consulted for lessons be it on science, technology,
psychology, medicine or environment not to talk of the lessons on the spiritual
development of the social life of the human beings. If the pluralist process in
everything is not brought into action, doomsday will approach faster than
expected. Humanity will suffer as it is suffering at the moment at the hands of
Covid-19 and its various variants.
(Photo courtesy: World Atlas)
-----
Each
One, For Himself'
Societal
feelings like solidarity, harmony, teamwork and unity have disappeared from the
life of human beings. Lack of societal divine uniformity is dwindling the
social fabric of the world society irrespective of developed or under-developed
nations. World society is profoundly divided into nations, religions,
communities, ‘I’ and ‘you’. Nations are concerned for their well-being,
religions are concerned with their supremacism and the people are thinking of
themselves. None of these is in coordination with the overall development and
happiness index of humanity at large.
All these
races of individual selfish goals are creating an atmosphere like that of the
Day of the Judgement where there will be no relationship of any kind or worth.
Nobody will think of anybody except for himself.
This
phenomenon of the Day of Judgement is called, 'each one, for himself'. One is
unable to see any difference in the human social life on earth and that of the
Holy Scripture’s described situation on the Day of Judgement. Going through the
newspapers of any nation, watching the news on Televisions or social media news
channels is enough to create a kind of uneasiness in any individual of
conscience. One gets shockingly astounded and devoid of any kind of feelings.
The negativity has taken over the world.
The ‘each
one, for himself’ mentality has broken the pluralistic ideals of the world
bestowed upon us by the Creator of the universe. Just getting rid of this individualistic
approach towards happiness will replace the ‘each one, for himself’ mentality
into ‘all for one, one for all’ thinking and we will be living with divinity
laced pluralistic ideals. We must follow the ideals of our religions without
discrimination and follow the teachings given below.
Teachings
of the Holy Quran on the Importance of Pluralistic Society
“And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all
together and be not disunited, and remember the favour of Allah on you when you
were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favour you became brethren;
and you were on the brink of a pit of fire…” (Quran, 3:103)
....therefore make peace between your brethren
... (Quran, 49:10)
“Indeed this, your religion (Ummah), is one
religion (Ummah),...
(Quran, 21:92)
And those who hoard gold and silver and spend
it not in the way of Allah – give them tidings of a painful torment. - (At-Tawbah 9:34)
And when it is said to them, “Spend from that
which Allah has provided for you,” those who disbelieve say to those who
believe, “Should we feed one whom, if Allah had willed, He would have fed? You
are not but in clear error.” (Yasin 36:47)
They give [the immigrants] preference over
themselves, even though they are in privation - (Al-Hashr 59:9)
Prophetic
Traditions Depicting the Pluralistic Ideals
The Prophet
Muhammad is reported to have said: “Three things are the best acts; first, to
treat people with equity and justice; (Bihar-al-Anwar, vol.74, p.392])
`Abdullah
ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “The believer is not he who eats his fill while
his neighbour is hungry.” (Authenticated by Al-Albani)
Abu
Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said: Every day… two angels come down from Heaven and
one of them says, ‘O Allah! Compensate every person who spends (in Your
cause,)’ and the other (angel) says, ‘O Allah! Bring destruction to one who
withholds.’ (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Abu Musa
(may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) said, When the people of Ash`ari tribe ran short of food during
battles, or the food of their families in Medina ran short, they would collect
all their remaining food in one sheet and then distribute it among themselves
equally by measuring it with a bowl. So, these people are from me, and I am
from them. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Holy
Books of Hinduism and the Lessons of Pluralism
One who is
free from enmity with all human beings, a friend of all and kind… (Bhagavad Gita)
‘When a
person sees one undivided spiritual reality within all diverse living beings
that is knowledge in the mode of goodness.’ (Bhagavad Gita 18:20)
One who is
not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think
himself a proprietor and is free from a false ego, who is equal in both
happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and
engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence
fixed on Me – such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me. (BG 12.13–14)
A true yogi
observes Me in all beings and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the
self-realized person sees Me, the same Supreme Lord, everywhere. For one who
sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever
lost to Me. Such a yogi, who engages in the worshipful service of the Super
soul, knowing that I and the Super soul are one, remains always in Me in all
circumstances. He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees
the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O
Arjuna! (BG 6.29–32)
Equanimity
in all, either good or bad. 6–9 (Bhagavad Gita)
By Me in My
unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but
I am not in them. (BG 9.4)
Ideals
of Pluralism and the Holy Bible
There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28
For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. -
1 Corinthians 12:13
Now,
therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with
the saints, and of the household of God; - Ephesians 2:12–19
Use
hospitality one to another without grudging. - 1 Peter 4:7–9
Communities
gathered together by the Holy Spirit experience this kind of organic unity: a
readiness to prioritize love for one another over personal fear and ambition. -
Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having
compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: - 1
Peter 3:8
But if ye
bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
- Galatians 5:15
Buddhism
and the Goal of a Pluralistic Society
“Thousands
of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not
be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” - Buddha
“May all
that have life be delivered from suffering.” - Buddha
“Be a lamp
unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.” - Buddha
“Friendship
is the only cure for hatred, the only guarantee of peace.” - Buddha
“He who
experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings
in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.” - Buddha
“If you
light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.” - Buddha
“Kindness
should become the natural way of life, not the exception.” - Buddha
Sikh
Holy Scriptures and Pluralistic Ideals
I am
neither a Hindu nor a Muslim, I belong to and am of God, Who may be called
either by the name of Allah or Ram. (Gurbani)
Those who
are imbued with the love of God, love all creation. (Guru Granth Sahib, pg.
557)
O, Lord!
Out of thy mercy save this burning world Save it whatever way it can be saved.
(Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 853.)
That which
seemeth is but thy manifestation Then why hate anyone. (Guru Granth Sahib, pg.
383)
All Is
Not Lost
The
everlasting wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran and prevailing terrorism in
Pakistan and Turkey and South African countries along with the white
supremacist militant activities have diminished the sheen of the glorious past
of human society. Humanity is lost in the wilderness of enmity, anger,
jealousy, and one-upmanship and supremacist attitude on almost every level of
life. The ray of hope can be seen at the end of the tunnel if we consciously
propagate the religious and spiritual teachings that are laced with humane
traits of love and brotherhood.
The
problems of hunger that the world is facing today can be easily combatted with
the show of solidarity towards our unfortunate fellow beings. Solidarity and
pluralistic ethos are the cure of the social evils that the world has accepted
as a norm that is taking society on the brink of utmost pain and misery.
Religious and spiritual teachings are the messengers of integration and social
love. Let us be collective rather than being individualistic. The powers that
be should play ‘Big Brother’ in a positive sense.
And
Allah Knows the Best.
-----
Arman
Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/quran-bible-gita-guru-granth/d/125022
New Age Islam, Islam
Online, Islamic
Website, African
Muslim News, Arab
World News, South
Asia News, Indian
Muslim News, World
Muslim News, Women
in Islam, Islamic
Feminism, Arab
Women, Women
In Arab, Islamophobia
in America, Muslim
Women in West, Islam
Women and Feminism