Fazle Karim Whence are we?
And why are we?
Of what scene?
The actors or spectators? Long and tormenting has been man’s search for meaning- meaning of life and existence. Man has looked yearningly and longingly to the skies and has delved deep into the hidden recesses of self in the quest for meaning. Feelings of futility kept on haunting man and abyss of meaningless threatened to engulf him. Religion came to the rescue of man. It bestowed role on life and gave it a purpose. Religion sanctified life. Religion elevated man to the status of deputy of the creator of the universe. Philosophy questioned the religious interpretation of life and universe and debate ensued. Science was yet another attempt to comprehend ourselves an all that surrounds us. All three–religion, philosophy and science–have exercised profound influence in determining the course of human life and activity. Religion and Science pervade every sphere of life. They are great forces and world peace and future of man seems associated with and dependent on them In the present paper religion is used as a term encompassing all belief systems–large and small–collectively. Science refers to branches of human inquiry based on empirical method. Peace is used in the sense of state of mind and state of freedom from war and violence. Religion and PeaceReligion systematized and organized life. Its contribution in every sphere of life is immense. Will Durran, an atheist, opines: “it (religion) has conferred meaning and dignity upon the lowliest existence”. Religion sanctified life and inspired respect for life in all its forms and manifestations. In fact religion as vision, guidance, message and text has been the greatest force for peace. All religious texts look beyond peace and induce their followers to love life. Religion as vision is almost utopian and idealistic in this respect. The Quran declares taking one life tantamount to killing all humanity. Prophet of Islam said: “all the creatures are family of God and He likes him most who loves his creation best”. The Bible affirms “No one has ever seen God but if we love one another God lives in us and his love is made complete in us…. For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen can not love God whom he has not seen”. Sikhism enjoins upon its followers “love passionately and all the time”. Buddhism declared this existence to be pain and only love could alleviate the pain. In fact Buddhism has been the most idealistic in its veneration of life and inspired respect for life even at botanical level. Religion as vision has tried to bring out the best and noblest in man and inculcate in him the spirit of sacrifice, charity and love–love for life in all its forms and manifestations. Thus it has looked beyond peace and has been perennial source of peace. Religion as an active force through the history has been much debated topic. No one can deny that religion has been a source of solace and mental peace for countless individuals through the millennia across the globe. It continues to invest life with meaning, purpose and peace for restless humanity. Individuals have always taken and continue to take refuge in the benign and comforting lap of religion. Constant contact of millions of people, at individual level, with religion today stands witness to that. Lack of faith or religion agitates and agonizes even great minds and deprive them of mental peace. I am tempted to quote Russell: Through the long years
I sought peace;
I found ecstacy, I found anguish,
I found madness!
I found loneliness,
I found the solitary pain
that gnaws the heart;
But peace I did not find.
Religion played and has been made to play an active role in the story of man. So much blood has been shed and so many conflicts have been bequeathed as legacy by succeeding generations of men in the name of religion that we tend to forget the positive role that religion has played in ensuring peace and progress. The womb of religion gave birth to magnanimous and active messengers of peace. It provided humanity with role models. Religion contributed Moses, Buddha, Christ, Mohammad, Gurunanik and scores like them. They led by example and demonstrated what man can be and is capable of if he chooses to emulate their (messengers) precedence. In fact the influence of messengers of peace has transcended time and space. They had followers even in “Godless” 20th century. Mother Teresas and Gandhis are the product of faith. What could be human drama like if messengers of peace and their role- during their own life time and ever after- is taken out of it? We are sure to be left in the company of Halagues and Hitlers. History is replete with many examples of religion transforming barbarians into peace loving civilized society and even humanitarians. Savage Arab hordes were converted into a peaceful society by Islam. Wild ruthless and restless Tartars knew peace when they came under the spell of belief. Ashoka- one of the most blood thirsty butchers that humanity has seen- along with his millions of subjects sought refuge in the peace of Buddhism. The Ashokan rocks have bore the message of peace and love for the last two thousand years. Miracles and miraculous have always have been associated with religion- in many forms. Mysticism appears to be one of them. Monks, dervishes, ascetics, hermits, Sufis and mystics in all ages and regions have traversed the globe carrying with them simple yet profound message of sulhe-kul (universal peace).Amor vincit omnia-love conquers all- whoever might have uttered it but it has been the practical approach of mystics. Cutting across barriers of race, language and even belief they have been the grandest of conquerors- conquerors of human heart. They have been a great and unifying force. Their emphases has always been on the Oneness- of man and cosmos. When asked to what tribe he belonged, Bastami answered: to the tribe of God. This is the representative approach of mysticism. Religion in the form of mysticism has always fascinated man. It beacons. Resurgence of interest in spirituality in our time is heartening. It can become, as it has always been, the great force for peace love and unity. Multifarious, though in many respects unheeded, has been the role of religion in organizing and ensuring peaceful sailing of human society. Religion has played a great role in averting class conflict. It reconciles man to his condition in life. “Religion” said Napoleon “has kept the poor from murdering the rich”. It has kept the man hopeful and peaceful. It harmonizes life as it recognizes relations and ties and endows men with kith and kin. Beliefs weaken ties weaken. Weakening of ties leads to disharmony in life and thus deprives man of mental peace. The preceding discussion presents religion as a great force for peace and beyond-love. And yet religion, more than anything else has been held responsible by many for blood shed and division of man. On the surface, yes, it appears difficult to refute the charge. But objective analysis point to reality beyond the reality. Man is and has always been a warring animal. War is one of the constants of history. Will Durant tells us that only 268 out of last 3500 years have seen no war. For how much of these wars we can hold religion responsible? In fact man has been finding one or the other excuse for war and religion is one of them. How ironic it is, and agonizing, that the greatest message and vision of peace-religion- has been turned into most misused and exploited tool by ever destructive man. It is said God made all things good, man meddles with them and they become evil. True. Man did not even spare religion. Man racialized God and tribalized prophets and corrupted religion. Individuals, tribes and races throughout history have cloaked different motives and ambitions in the cloak of religion and made wars in its name. Most if not all of so-called holy or religious wars had very complex and diverse motives. Crusades will serve for an example. It would appear naïve and simplistic to treat them as caused only by religion. Egotistical, economic and internal problems of Europe were also the forces behind the conflict. And yet the false myth of clash of two great faiths left lasting legacy of hatred and distrust. Indian sub-continent has been the happy hunting ground for soldiers of fortune for the last many thousand years. This region has been scene of some of the bloodiest wars in the world history. The garb of religion concealed ambitions and motives very mundane. The waves of invasions that span six odd centuries- from 11th to 16th A.D. involved the attempts of Muslims against Muslims. Ghaznavide legacy was shattered by Ghurides, slaves were routed by Khiljis, Tughliqs meted out the same treatment to Khiljis, Tughliqs were annihilated by Tamerlane, his legacy was challenged by Lodhis and they were effaced by Mughals. These ambitious attempts brought two great religions into conflict and legacy of hatred abide to this day. It is important to remember that religion was in no way involved in these conflicts. One is tempted to refer to the present. Even today religion has been dragged and is being dragged into conflicts which are not religious fundamentally. To treat them as religious wars would be a fallacy. Present opens many windows into the past. Situation might not have been different then. Clever individuals and groups have always exploited religion and assembled men under the banner of religion. They have been playing the game of cloak and dagger. Thus they brought religion into disrepute. “War is a necessary evil” said Carlyle. We may not be in complete agreement with him but the fact remains that war has been there. Seen from this angle many wars fought in the name of religion had tremendous results. Glorious civilization ensued after the Muslim conquest of Spain. With a loss of around thousand lives in 23 years peace and unity emerged in Arabian Peninsula. We must not allow ourselves to forget the wars of self defense, either. Man corrupted religion like so many other things and twisted it and used it as a weapon for different motives. Interpretations of different religious texts giving birth to conflict and blood shed within a faith bears testimony to that. Violent sectarianism is not the vision of religion. Hassan bin Sabas have always been there and are likely to be there. In fact religion has tried to humanize the animal called man. Religion even humanizes war. Religion gave a code of conduct for war- spare the non-combatants, don’t touch elderly, women and children, don’t burn or cut the trees or crops, respect the places of worship. Science and peace Emergence of science- the approach to comprehend all that exists through empirical method-is comparatively recent phenomena. Its domain is physical world. Its systematic development started in medieval Europe. It is, as it has been, an instrument in the hands of man which can be used to ameliorate or deteriorate the human condition. Unfortunately the earliest scientific assertions were taken by medieval Christian church as contradictory to basic tenets of their faith and a parallel interpretation of man and universe. Church was ruthless towards the early scientists. Galileo, Copernicus, Bruno and John Wycliffe suffered at the hands of church. In some cases they were killed “as mercifully as possible, without shedding a drop of blood”-burnt alive. The insularity and cruelty of the church set the tone of relations between two approaches for centuries to come. Science developed and religion shrunk. Nineteenth century gave birth to a new creed scientism. Science reduced man to the level of an animal among animals struggling for survival. Materialism expanded in the wake of scientism and bereft of faith man suffered the bloodiest of wars and saw destruction. T.S. Eliot’s is a representative voice of the early 20th century: we are hollow and the world is a wasteland – spiritual wasteland. Some even went to the extant of announcing the death of God. But sanity prevailed. And the myth of conflict between science and religion started giving place to contact approach between the two. It is good omen for humanity. Science is neutral but divorced from faith it has proved the most destructive weapon in the hands of man. Bereft of faith, science can cause the annihilation of life from this planet in all its forms and manifestations. It may appear exaggeration. but history bears witness to the fact that whatever man has invented or created has been put to use. There is no logic in believing that man will not do this time what he has always done. One lesson of history is man cannot be trusted. devoid of super human check man can and will disturb world peace. Today man stands at a very crucial point in his story. It is not the question of peace alone but the question of survival. Man is the master of his destiny. Does he want to continue his existence on planet inspired by the vision of oneness and turning science and everything else into means of comfort and peace or he is fed up with what he is and plunges into the abyss of annihilation? The choice is his. Bibliography Al-Bukhari. Armstrong, Karen, A History of God, (Reading: Cox and Wyman ltd., 1998). Durant, Will, The Story of Philosophy, (New York: Pocket Books, 1961). Durant, Will and Ariel Durant, The Lessons of History, (New Yourk: Simon and Schuster, 1968). Khan, Waheed-ud-Din, Islam and Peace, (Delhi: Nice Printing Press, 200). Muhaiyuddeen, Bawa, Islam and World Peace, (Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press, 1999). Nasr, Syed Hussain, Encyclopedia of Islamic Spirituality, vol. 1&2 (Lahore: Sohail Academy, 2000). Shelly, P.B., Poetical Works, (London: Penguin Books, 1978). Stavrianos, L.S., A Global History, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1991). Smith, Vincent A., The Oxford History of India, (Karachi; Oxford University Press, 1988). The Bible. The Quran.
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