When Someone Mistakes Me For A Christian Or A Hindu!
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
28
September 2022
Zaahid-E-Tangnazar Ne Mujhe Kaafir Jaana
Aur Kaafir Ye Samajhta Hai Ke Musalmaan Hoon
Main
Ae Chashme-Udoo Mujh Ko Hiqarat Se Na Dekh
Jis Pe Qudrat Ko Bhi Hai Naaz Woh Insaan Hoon
Main
Allama Iqbal
(The
parochial wise man thought that I was an infidel/ And an infidel mistakes me
for a Muslim/ Oh, hidebound dissenter, don't look at me pejoratively/For, I'm a
HUMAN even the Nature is proud of)
Kam-Zarf Zamane Ki Hiqarat Ka Gila Kya/Main
Khush Hoon Mera Pyar Samandar Ki Tarah Hai
-
Akhtar Imam Rizvi
(Why
should I care for the despisal of the lowly world? / I'm happy that my LOVE is
as boundless as the sea)
Nothing
sounds more despicable to me than an ignorant zealot calling me a Hindu or a
Christian. Whether it's Mr/Dr Anburaj or any damn reader from this forum or any
corner of the world, the very thought of a person having no religion and god is
indigestible and unthinkable to most of the unevolved humans. Dr Anburaj is no
exception.
That said,
I'm a pardonably proud HUMAN and that's my sole identity. Please don't
pigeonhole me into any man-made cage or prison which you call religion, god,
country, caste, state or nation. I'm beyond that.
There's no
Hinduphobia or Islamophobia I'm afflicted with. If Muslims have been violent
since Muhammad's times, Hindus have also been equally cruel and
narrow-minded.
Does Dr
Anburaj know why English scholar Christopher Isherwood left Hinduism and
Vedanta? He joined Hindu view of life and got disillusioned with its organized
structure peppered with bigoted outfits like RSS, Hindu Mahasabha etc. When he
realized that just the way Muslim invaders destroyed temples, Hindus also
destroyed and desecrated Buddhist and Jain religious structures, he understood
that all religious and spiritual philosophies were tarred with the same brush.
All were rank nonsense! Excavate any temple, you'll find the remnants of a
Buddhist or a Jain shrine.
Lastly,
Hindus being selective, will continue to dwell upon the 'glorious fact' that
Vivekananda was wholeheartedly applauded by the Americans during the World
Parliament of Religions in Chicago in September 1893. Gentleman, do you know,
Badruddin Tyabji was also lapped up by the American crowd which bestowed
encomiums on every religious speaker belonging to any damn faith? Sorry, your Vivekananda
didn't do anything magical or epochal.
As long as
you belong to any organized faith, you remain manacled for life. Evolve and
accept the other one just as a human being sans any label or superimposition
from your end. But you need to evolve for that. And it'll take thousands of
years to reach the pinnacle of consciousness. Until that happens, keep crawling
and calling yourself a Hindu, Muslim or Christian like a cheap commodity in a
world market.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages
including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/muslim-christian-hindu/d/128052
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