Question of Religion, Faith and Pluralism.

 The topic of this blog is probably going to be a euphemism for Science vs Spirituality. However, true to the way I like to approach such topics I will try to relate to my experience and feelings in my life. I don't quite remember if my parents ever as a growing kid made me aware of my religion as a Parsi, Zoroastrian. Unlike the houses of my cousins and Parsi friends, the picture of prophet Zoroaster was not an enlarged prominent one, omnipresent in every room and ritually garlanded with customary diva batti (oil lamp in a glass). My childhood memories were one of a family of very hard-working middle class parents who were focussed on earning money to ensure a good education and future for both my elder sister and myself. 

While we underwent the traditional Navjote or thread ceremony we learnt our prayers just sufficient to be able to recite them decently and they very soon watered them down to the two main prayers Ashem Vohu and Yatha vairyo. Both these prayers were in Avestan language prayers which were not understood nor explained. So the question of religion and its connotations and its importance remained questions which we were expected to figure out for ourselves. 

As we went to school we got exposed to different religions. Contrary to sister who was in a Parsi school where my mother was teacher herself I went to schools run by Christian priests (Salesians). The presence of churches and their grandeur created a favourable impression on my young mind. The teachings from the Bible in English language which could be easily understood made me one day come home to my mother and tell her that I would like to go to church and be a Christian. Contrary to the conventional expected reprimand all I was told is that all religions are similar and while one should follow the religion of one's birth it was far more important to live upto the values propounded by religion. The celebration of all festivals in school with enthusiasm and the discovery of the stories behind them created a liberal inclusive thought process in me. 

My parents were not superstitious and not given to visiting fire temples to ask for favours from God but always told me that honesty, sincerity hard work were the keys to success in life. My father a lawyer and my mother a teacher always led by example and we were given books to read and the values of our freedom struggle and Gandhi-Nehru-Patel ideology held sway in our house. While I never was told to other the Muslims but the fact that Parsis left their homeland because of persecution by kings practicing the Islamic faith and the Hindu-Muslim problem leading to Partition of the country made me at best neutral and at worst a bit negative towards Muslims. However, I had Muslim friends in school and I saw that there was no difference in them vs us. India is a land of multitudes and diversity and any statement about India could be made with the opposite also being true. 

Without having to be taught, I imbibed the feeling that India was a collection of diverse people and cultures which was a cause and occasion for celebrations every month. The calendar of festivals feasting fun and games was never ending. The festivals of India included kite flying, playing with colours, firecrackers eating feasting and creating bonds and friendships. Even celebrations of leaders like Gandhi and Nehru along with Independence day and Republic day became part of the fun and games of childhood.

While I have ranted about politics and how it panned out in India in previous blogshttps://vhjokhi.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-country-india-hope-and-despair-part.html and https://vhjokhi.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-country-india-hope-and-despair-part.html,  in this blog I will leave those things asides and focus on religion and God. I think I started instinctively to question the concept of a God outside us who was like watchdog recording all that I did and rewarding and punishing me for my good and bad deeds. This was hardly satisfactory as very often I saw evil triumph over good. Although I was explained that ultimately Satyamev Jayate (truth alone wins) I was not convinced in the face of the fact that falsehood not only was winning for some time but actually ending up destroying the good. Was a just all powerful God unable to win over the forces of evil represented by Satan? Or was it a case something more. The religions like Zoroastrianism, Islam and Christianity were religions which told it's followers to believe in the power and Goodness of God without asking questions. These religions were unlike the older religions not believing in multiple Gods but in one God. I instinctively revolted against this and started looking and asking for evidence about existence of God. On the other hand the dominant faith of India Hinduism too when seen superficially was full of many Gods and mythological figures whose very existence were not clear. So naturally I thought that there was no need for God and I just needed to pursue good values and all would be well with the world. The Parsi tenet of Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds were supposedly enough. 

The quest to find happiness and peace became more and more important to me and gradually I started asking questions like Who am I? Does God exist? Have you seen God? The study of the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads have provided many answers and my upbringing which encouraged an open mind was largely responsible for this state of affairs. 

The logical approach resonated with me rather than the devotional one and as usual my quest to find answers came when I examined the life of Mahatma Gandhi. As he quoted his source of inspiration was the Gita I started reading it and found it difficult to comprehend but what I term cafeteria approach appealed to me. The choices were available where one could choose the Path of Knowledge for the thinkers, the path of Selfless action for the doers and the Path of devotion for the blind followers and the path of Discipline for the physical persons. All were valid and all could in different ways lead to Self Realisation. Besides these paths were available to anybody not subject to birth station or the religion one chose to follow. Still these were not sufficient to convince my agnostic and atheist friends and I fell short of explaining the fact that there was only one Self and God was not outside of the body mind intellect complex which represented in degree the gross, subtle and causal bodies beyond which was the infinite. My study of Vedanta led to understanding the three states of conditioned consciousness beyond which id the unconditioned consciousness which is permanent infinite and everlasting leading to a state of permanent bliss. 

Finally the understanding of the statement called the mahavakyas in Vedanta and Gandhi's definition of God make me firm believer based of rational thinking leading to a single acceptable view reconciled to the pluralism of India and the world. This was in three words Truth is God. 

I will remain an eternal seeker of the Truth and in this manner reach out to all and seek an inclusive oneness among the plurality of India and the world and the universe.

Vispi Jokhi