Inaugural Address delivered by Dr. Leo Rebello
at the Peace Conference of IAEWP,
in Alabama, USA, on 29 July 2009.
Namaste – which means I bow to the god within you!
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I come from India, the nation where Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism were born; which is the second largest Muslim nation on Earth; where Christianity has existed for 2000 years; where the oldest Jewish synagogues and Jewish communities have resided since the Romans burnt their 2nd temple; where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile has been residing for almost 50 years; where the Zoroastrians from Persia have thrived since being thrown out of their ancient homeland; where Baha’Is are not discriminated; where almost 10,000 MNCs and their foreign staff members mingle with Indians and eat with hand the exotic vegetarian food forgetting their white supremacy.
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Namaste - I say to you in all reverence that rather than emphasizing how your religion is superior than the others, let us see the uniting features or common values in religions and unite in peace and brotherhood to usher in a World Without Wars, a World Without Borders, a World Without Hunger and a World Without Tears.
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In 1950, the Baha’I proposed that 20th January be celebrated as the World Religion Day, promoting understanding and harmony between all religions. On this day, the world citizens believe that unity and equality cannot be established if we go on harping on the past hurts, but by concentrating on the future goals. World Religion Day emphasises common values in major religions, world as a single country, humanity as the citizenry and love as a common language.
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The Eternal Values common to all Religions are: Truth is one. God is one. Love is ultimate. Universe is one. There is plenty in this universe for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed. Our blood is one (Muslim blood is not green, Hindu blood is not saffron, Jewish blood is not blue, African blood is not black, and European blood is not white. Blood is red in everyone). Our hopes, fears, aspirations, longings are one. And the ultimate truth is that Religion divides people instead of uniting and uplifting. Too much time has been wasted and too many lives have been lost in fighting over religions. The most important need of our generation is to rise above our religions and extend the arm of friendship and unity for all the people. Through discussion come understanding, unity and peace.
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Hinduism: is called Vaidika Dharma (of Vedantic origin) or Sanatana Dharma (that which is eternal). It is a way of life. About 5000 years old, 860 million followers live in India. It lays emphasis on: Truth, Godliness, and Respect for Parents, Teachers and Guests; Kindness, Charity, Mercy, Abstinence from Evil Doing. Pinde Pinde Brahmande (in every atom there is universe), Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (world is a family) are the profound messages of Hinduism.
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Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (the Hindu Trinity) becomes God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (the Christian Trinity); like Horus, Egypt 3000 BC, becomes Mithra of Persia in 1200 BC, Krishna of India in 900 BC and later Christ -- All have common story ‘Sun God’.
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Judaism: Concept of sin was given by Judaism. Sin means straying from the path of God. The famous 10 Commandments were propounded by Judaism. One God, Honour of parents and brethren. No killing, no stealing, no adultery, no false witnesses, no fighting with neighbours, etc
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Islam: Submission, Surrender and Commitment. Lays emphasis on Prayer, Charity, Fasting during the Ramzan month. (Christians fast during Lent). Belief in one God, Allah. Belief in one Message. Belief in a judgment day (Christians and Jews too believe in judgment day and yet indulge in grave sins). Islam believes in God’s omniscience. Founder Muhammad and Qu’ran gives the code of conduct. Baha'u'llah, one of the prophets, goes beyond this by saying “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”.
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Taoism: Lao Tze, the old master, founded it in 604 BC in China. Taoism talks of Life, Love, Light and Will. Produce, but do not possess. Act, do not expect. Enlarge, but do not control. Vital energy (teh) runs through human body and it manifests in human consciousness through love and reciprocity.
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Zoroastrianism: Ten centuries before Christ, Zoroaster (whose mother too was virgin) taught: Good thoughts. Good words. Good deeds. They worship fire and consider their blood being pure and hence will not allow marriage outside their religion. They also do not allow conversion. Hence, they are now in “endangered category” with barely 100,000 Parsis all over the world, out of which 60,000 live in India.
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Christianity: Christ spoke of God’s love, mercy and man’s brotherhood. Christ condemned the rich and the greedy. He gave hope to poor and the meek. Ten Commandments from the Old Testament are adopted. ‘Love thy neighbour’, ‘love thy enemy’, ‘give another cheek’ are original teachings of Jesus Christ for an ideal world. Worldwide, numerically, it is the number one religion. About 30 million Christians live in India.
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Sikhism: Founder Guru Nanak wished to combine the best in Hinduism and Islam. One God – Sat Nam. Righteousness. No idol worship or caste. Guru is needed to reach the god. Love, Goodwill and Understanding. Share what you earn with the less fortunate.
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Jainism: Right belief. Right knowledge. Right conduct. Ahimsa (non violence). Non injury by thought, word or deed. Respect Life. The followers of this religion are strictly vegetarian.
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Buddhism: Monastic religion. Founder Gautama Buddha. Eight-fold path leads a person to Nirvana. Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Recollection and Right Meditation. Eight million Buddhists in India.
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Humanism: Humanism believes that orthodox religions are cancer of the human spirit, which is boundless. Humanism is the ultimate goal of an evolved civilization. Human being is central. No distinction or discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, gender, status, language, etc. One Human Race, Earth is one and everything therein is meant for Sharing… Goal: World Parliament, sans dividing walls and dogmas.
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Ekam Sat, viprah bahuda vadanti – truth is one, but sages call it by different names.
To emphasise this further, let me recite to you my poem on Unity.
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When we ran from the towering inferno
of terrorism, we became one human race!
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When the planes hit and the imposing buildings
fell, we ran in one direction – towards safety!
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When we prayed together and lit candles
we longed for hope and became one faith!
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When millions observed silence, and thousands
protested against war, we spoke one language!
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When we volunteered and collected blood,
all religions mingled in our arteries and veins!
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When guns were consigned to fire and hands
were joined in unity, poverty ended, tears vanished!
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When leaders united with the commoners and
sang together ‘World is One’, peace returned!
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