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Imagine a world where concepts like war, disharmony, and religious intolerance did not exist. Maybe words like these never even existed in any dictionary. The world may have been a better place. But these words and concepts do exist. So let's imagine something else. Like a writer once said - imagine a world which knew there was a war tomorrow. The date and time had been fixed. The place: the whole world is the battlefield. Tomorrow arrives. People go about their jobs as usual, children go out on the streets to play, soldiers are at home with their families. No one turns up for the war. With no people to fight there is obviously no war. A world where there is no religious disharmony - which is the major cause of conflict. A utopian dream, isn't it? Terrorism has no religion so it is being said, but isn't it true that these attacks have been caused at least partly due to a warped sense of religion due to which there has been disunity. Thus maybe harmony and tolerance will exist only if religions come together in peace and for peace.
India is an enigmatic, enchanting and most of all secular nation that has given birth and absorbed a variety of religions and religious sects. However, the majority of present-day Indians are Hindus and this is being reflected in many aspects of the shared culture across the country. Hinduism itself has over the centuries absorbed and evolved a number of different philosophies and approaches from the Advaita of Shankara to the Bhakti Movement. The coexistence of significant minority faiths with the majority faith of Hinduism has by no means been peaceable. But it has not been peaceable. We can change it now and make it peaceable. Millions of Indians worldwide irrespective of caste, creed and religion come together to watch a cricket match - 'religiously' if I may add - either on television or live in the stadium to cheer our country on to victory. Now in the same way let us come together really and truly religiously and not only cheer but also lead our country on to victory for unity and peace. Think of it as a kind of cricket match but slightly different - everyone and anyone can play, but all play with and for each other, not against. More fun, isn't it?
India's unity in diversity has been a topic for many a poet, writer, historian or artist. This is mainly due to its religious tolerance, the coexistence of so many religions. Despite so much of religious diversity several common factors have emerged which people have begun to understand. Thus in spite of being a multi-religious society there is still harmony in some aspects and where there isn't, we can still make it happen - starting now! Religion has never been a divisive force by itself in India. It is only when it takes on political overtones that problems emerge. All religions have common tenets of love, non-violence, community, faith, trust, devotion, etc. which people follow. Even though belief systems and practices differ the religious essence is the same. Thus in spite of religious differences in India there are certain points in Indian religions which have always united the people and kept them together.
Like many countries, India is a country made up of different spheres viz. economic, social, political, civic, religious, etc. But it is the religions of India which together open up a new world, a hidden India, a parallel dimension to a civilization and culture so old and yet so new, lying silent and peaceful yet so aggressive and strong. It is these religions that make India a living culture that nurtures the essence of the past yet continually updates itself with modern elements. Today it is a living complex. Tomorrow it may become a self-reliant and self-sufficient multi-faceted enterprise. But this can and will happen if, and only if, the religions of India leave aside their differences and come together when otherwise they would not; stop these atrocious and barbarous acts in the name of religion which can be stopped by the people and the religions themselves; come together for peace and in peace to forge together on the anvil of life a country - an India - ready for the future, living with and in the present and in touch with the past.
'RELIGIONS OF INDIA - COME TOGETHER FOR PEACE' read the morning papers' headlines one day. The report goes on to say that all religions have come together and are going to stand by each other no matter what, where or how and give peace a chance and let it reign supreme. Let us harmonize, unite and make this one day a reality.
PRAYER OF ST FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred...let me sow love;
where there is injury...pardon;
where there is doubt...faith;
where there is despair...hope;
where there is darkness...light;
where there is sadness...joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled...as to console;
to be understood...as to understand;
to be loved...as to love.
For it is in giving, that we receive;
it is in pardoning, that we are pardoned;
it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.
BAHA'I PRAYER FOR PEACE
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in judgement, and guarded in thy speech,
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness,
and a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind,
and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew to the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
BUDDHIST PRAYER FOR PEACE
May all beings everywhere plagued
with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power,
and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wilderness -
the children, the aged, the unprotected -
be guarded by beneficial celestials,
and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
JEWISH PRAYER FOR PEACE
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
that we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
and our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation -
neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
HINDU PRAYER FOR PEACE
Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on Earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome,
and may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself bestow peace on all
and may that peace come to me also.
JAIN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Peace and Universal Love is the essence
of the Gospel preached by all Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma.
Forgive do I creatures all,
and let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of
all miseries in the world.
Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage.
"Do not injure any living being."
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable
way of spiritual life.
A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be,
can always be superseded by a superior one;
but no weapon can, however,
be superior to non-violence and love.
MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us
and made us into tribes and nations
that we may know each other,
not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace,
do thou also incline towards peace,
and trust God, for the Lord is the one that
heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God,
most gracious are those who walk on
the Earth in humility, and when we
address them, we say "PEACE."
NATIVE AFRICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Almighty God, the Great Thumb,
we cannot evade to tie any knot;
the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees;
the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees
even the footprints of an antelope on
a rock mass here on Earth.
You are the one who does
not hesitate to respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.
NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Oh Great Spirit of our Ancestors,
I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds,
and to Mother Earth who provides
for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children
to love, to respect, and to be kind
to each other so that they may grow
with peace of mind.
Let us learn to share all good things that
you provide for us on this Earth.
SHINTO PRAYER FOR PEACE
Although the people living across the ocean
surrounding us, I believe are all our brothers and sisters,
why are there constant troubles in this world?
Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will
soon puff away all the clouds which are
hanging over the tops of mountains.
ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world:
that understanding triumph over ignorance,
that generosity triumph over indifference,
that trust triumph over contempt, and
that truth triumph over falsehood.
SIKH PRAYER FOR PEACE
God adjudges us according to our deeds,
not the coat that we wear:
that Truth is above everything,
but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,
and only victory endures in consequences
of which no one is defeated.
CHRISTIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,
for they shall be known as Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies.
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
To those that strike you on the cheek,
offer the other one also;
and from those who take away your cloak,
do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
and of those who take away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you,
do so to them.
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