Speech of Didi Talwalkar

The cultural tradition from where I come, defines religion as ‘धारणात् धर्म इत्याहु: धर्मात् धारयते प्रजा: dharnaat dharma ityahu dharmat dharayate praja’ that which holds and sustains humankind and gives moral order, is religion. ‘यतोऽभ्युदय नि:श्रेयस सिद्धि: स धर्म: Yato abhyudaya  nishreyasa siddhi sa dharma’ It has capability to qualitatively elevate material life in this world and lead to eternal bliss thereafter. It can bring about unity and harmony in the society. We consider this as the religion in its broadest sense. Looking at such a colourful portrayal of religion, anyone would naturally be attracted. The question is, why such a divine medium is challenged? When these challenges are faced by religions throughout the world, why single out Asia? I would like to view this subject on a larger canvas. What is prevalent in Asia, is more or less prevalent all over. As a result, the religious eco systems that held together human race for hundreds of years are becoming vulnerable and ineffective.  

 

The religion, for a very long time, enjoyed unquestioned authority; a supreme position in the society and blind following. It became dogmatic. It has not made any effort to resurrect itself or rationalize itself. It only entails performance of set of rituals in typical dress codes by the priests and by masses, recitation of sacred hymns and delivering sermons by the preachers at congregations.  However, there has been a meteoric rise in the level of education and literacy all over. Education broadens one’s perspective, breaks shackles of blind faith and develops curiosity for knowledge. Hence people have started seeking rationale behind the postulates and rituals of religion. When they don’t get convincing or satisfactory answers, they either find their own interpretation or distance themselves from religion. 

 

Influence of science is posing another big challenge to religion. Religion propagates spirituality and spirituality is abstract. And the rituals, which showcase the religion are far from being perfect or rational. So it is impossible to get support from science, as it believes in the matter that can be weighed, measured or counted. Human feelings, thinking, intellect, relations, faith, etc., the basis on which one leads one’s life, do not even touch the peripheral areas of science.

      

There is a quest in people to understand the true form of religion. Due to complacency or uncaring attitude of the religious leaders in enlightening mankind with the essence, rationality and other transformative powers of religion, it is greatly weakened. The reverence it commanded is eroded and is branded as unnecessary in the day to day life of people. A divine medium meant to be an ideal medium of God attainment is reduced to a position from where it is using the fear of God as a shield for its own survival. Religion has gone into the hands of self-serving, fanatical power brokers that use it for their own survival and wellbeing. 

 

Materialistic thinking has pulled the mankind away from God. Today people, most of the time, prioritize success, status or power over personal qualitative growth, kindness or goodness and that in itself is a profound commentary on the effect of materialistic thoughts on human nature. In all aspects of human life ‘I’ is in the center. It is always, ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘me’ in one’s mind ‘my pleasure, happiness, benefit’; totally self-centered existence. One accepts only that which one likes or which one is comfortable with, for the rest, one has nothing to do with it. Due to this self-centeredness, one remains detached in every relation; personal, familial, social, official, religious, as all of them try to pull one away from self and they become unwanted. Any relation that does not result in material gains for one, is unwanted. That is why these thoughts challenge religion. Blind pursuit of that path does not offer any respite and peace in which one can think of self, the Almighty, Religion.

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Today, I wonder whether I should be pained at the religion being tormented by challenges or be glad that these challenges have stirred and awakened intellectual minds for finding solution to the situation. I am neither pro, nor against religion but I am thankful to God almighty that I got an opportunity to study and analyze religion as one of the major elements needed for the holistic development of the society that I live in.  

 

It is sad that being religious or not is now a days decided by what one eats or doesn’t eat or whether one observes fast or not. Whereas those aspects are there only for development of mental control on material cravings and has no spiritual value. Religion started preaching abstinence or renunciation for the material life but this is not easily acceptable in the society. Abstinence or renunciation is also needed for God attainment in human life so it is not wrong to preach them, but it should be done at the right time and in right manner. Religion should diligently instill love for God in the hearts and mind of mankind. That would ease human relating with the Divine. 

 

If the thoughts that originated hundreds of years ago survived and sustained humanity, retain their original purity, they would stand tall in face of any and all challenges. It is with great pain that I have to say that the religion which was created for serving humankind has remained only for the service of the select few in the society.

 

To me, Religion is an ideology, a way of thinking, a way of worship and a way of life. Any one should have freedom to choose any religion that appeals to one and freedom to live life according to that religion. In such a scenario, the cases of forced conversions and proselytizing would disappear. Today, we do find intra religion unity and harmony, yet inter religious unity and harmony is totally elusive.

 

Looking back at history of last 100 years, we find many efforts having been made in small ways and in smaller groups to synchronize religion, social unity and modern thinking. I doubt if there was ever an effort on a major scale to initiate such a thought process and action plan.  

 

Revered Mr. Athavale, from India, diagnosed the problem and had a clear idea of the strength and limitations of religion. More than 70 years ago, he initiated a devotion based initiative and called it ‘Swadhyaya’. It places God at the center of everything. Devotion to God, meaning, loving expression of Gratefulness to God, is the only motivating factor for hundreds of thousands of volunteers who work selflessly in the society.   This initiative is inclusive and doesn’t discard modern way of thinking and living. It has found acceptance in cross section of the society including all age and gender groups of the human society. I am proud to be a part of that initiative.

 

I am happy to share that over past 70 years, we in Swadhyaya, have made significant strides in that direction where modernity lovingly shakes hand with ancient wisdom. Overcoming the challenges of class, caste, creed, colour, language, nationality, faiths, economic divide, gender divide, etc. a divine family of millions that happily lives and works together, has been created across the globe. In 1997, the Templeton Foundation, while honouring Rev. Athavale, by The Progress in Religion Prize stated that over 20 million people are influenced by Swadhyaya.   

 

From our own and other Global experiences, I can say that many a times Religion is used to divide humanity, however Devotion to God almighty can only unite and never divide the mankind, as there is only one God Almighty. Understanding fully the power of devotion, Rev. Athavale had proclaimed in 1954 at the Second World Religious Congress in Tokyo, that “Bhakti – Devotion is a social force”. In the villages where Swadhyaya is deep rooted, we find people from all major religions and major faith groups live, work and enjoy life together.

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I humbly state to this august forum that till the Universal Interfaith dialogue works on internalising the concept of one God in all, and the devotion to God as the prime factor for all action plan goals, Universal unity and harmony will remain elusive for us. It may take a generation or two for people to internalise this idea and realise the goal, but, I am confident that with His Blessings, we can definitely achieve it.   

 

TOGETHER WE ASPIRE

TOGETHER WE CAN