THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS.
At
the opening of the Session held in the Town Hall, Calcutta on Friday, the 9th
April 1909, H. H. the Maharaja of Durbhanga, who occupied the chair, said:-
Gentlemen,
It is
with feelings of very great pleasure that I find myself called upon to preside
over this great and representative gathering – an assembly consisting of men
belonging to all the principal religions of the world, met together in friendly
conference, to exchange their views with each other, with the main purpose of
finding out, not how far separate they are in creed or ritual but how near they
are to each other, when they penetrate through all the outward forms and come
face to face with the eternal verities which lie at the inner heart of hearts
of all the great religions of the world.
2. Such
conferences have been held from remote antiquity. The Brahmans, in the remote
period of Indian History did not, it is true allow other people to participate
in their conference, but a great change came upon Hindu society with the rise
of Buddhism in the 6th century, B.C. The first religious conference
in a recognized form was held by the Buddhists at Rajgir (Bihar) in 548 B.C.
under the auspices of King Ajatasatru. The next conference was held by them at
Vaisali (in Mozafferpur in 443 B.C.) Similarly a third conference was held by
the Buddhists at Pataliputra (Patna) in 255 B.C. under the auspices of Emperor
Asoka. The fourth conference was held in Jalandhra (Punjab) under the auspices
of King Kanishka about 78 A.D. As late as in the 7th century A.D.
King Harshavardhana of Kanyakubja used to hold religious conference at the
interval of every five years. Similarly the Jains used to convene religious
conferences of which the most notable one was held at Mathura in the 2nd
century A.D. Kumarilabhatta and Sankaracharya were perhaps the first batch of
Brahmanic reformers that advocated religious conference in proper forms. Though
their aim was a religious conquest they convened conferences of the followers
of all religious existing in their times and entered upon healthy discussion
with them. Even during the reign of the Emperor Akbar, we hear of conferences,
of the followers of different religions, and in more recent times religious
conferences, better known as Parliaments of Religions, have been held in
Chicago and Venice, and occasionally similar conferences are held in different
parts of Europe. Even on Modern India our religious gatherings, periodically
held in almost all parts of the Empire, call forth vast congregations of which
the greatest is the Kumbh Mela. These melas provide us with opportunities of
exercising practical piety and spirituality through the advantages they afford
of being filled with magnetism of the greatest saints of all sects and creeds
and permeated through and through with the vibrations of the spiritual
atmosphere by which the assemblies are generally pervaded.
3. Man
has been classified as a religious animal. For go anywhere you like throughout
the world, you will find even amongst tribes lowest down in the scale of
civilization, some acknowledgement of a higher power than themselves, good or
evil, of whom they stand in awe and worship after their various fashions of
religious ritual.
4. We
are met today as a Parliament of Religions. This reminds me of the meaning
which lies at the root of the word “Religion.” It signifies a “binding again” –
a binding of man to his brother man, and they again to God. This us, I trust,
the spirit which lie at the back of all our thoughts in the discussion about to
take place, and if so, we will find ourselves at the close of this Session,
companions-in-arms, although belonging to different regiments of that great
army, whose leader and commander is God, against all the opposing forces of
evil which surround us in this world.
There
are as many religions in the world as there are modes of worship of the Divine
Being. Brahmanism, Buddhism Jainism, Christianity, Mahomedanism, etc., area all
religions inasmuch as they prescribe divine worship in some forms or other.
Sree Krishna says in The Bhagavadgita:
“I
serve men in the way in which they approach Me. In every way, O son of Pritha,
men follow in my path.” (Bhagavad gita, Chapter IV, verse II).
A
poet says in Persian:-
“A
Mussulman is the slave of Thy face, a Brahman is a prisoner of Thy locks Thou
art in the Kaaba and in the Mosque and Thou art also in the Fire-worshipper’s
Shrine and in the Temple of the Hindu.”
5. The
various religions of the world represent in their votaries the cry in diverse
ways of human hearts hungering after their God, if haply they might find Him
and become acquainted with His character. But God is in them all, and is
leading His children through all their religions, and by disciplinary education
according as they are able to bear it into full light of His gracious
Fatherhood towards all the children of men.
The
time may not yet be near at hand, but the human race, through diverse ways, are
all marching on towards one universal religion, viz:- “The Fatherhood of God
and the Brotherhood of Man.”
We
are met here to recognize this great truth and to help to bring it about.
6. We
may worship at different earthly shrines, and express our ecclesiastical creeds
by differing formulas, and worship through the various modes of ritual and
symbols by which our forefathers have worshipped God. But while we differ and
sometimes differ largely in these outward forms of creed and ritual; in the
things of the heart and the spiritual life, we find ourselves in the haven of
peace. In the other courts of Ecclesiasticism there has always been war, but in
the interior we find that Sainthood is one and the same all the world over.
7. Creeds
and Rites and outward Ceremonials and Symbols doubtless expressed some
spiritual meaning when they were first instituted and were meant to be helps to
the inner life, but it is the almost invariable history of all these things
that through the lapse of time these symbols largely become emptied of their
original interior significance and people keep on worshipping the husk when the
kernel is gone. This is true in all religions. As I have already said we may
dispute about the outward vestures of our faiths, but when we get into the
inner sanctum sanctorum, we are all
at one. There is no dispute about the great characteristics of the spiritual
life, such as love, purity, truth, righteousness, goodness gentleness,
helpfulness, forgiveness, brotherly kindness, hope, joy, peace, and all those
other qualities which blossom and bear fruit in the highest human character. In
this realm we are all at one.
In
taking a glance at some of the great religious represented in this Parliament,
time will only permit me to touch on them in a somewhat cursory manner. Nor is
more necessary, seeing there are friends here who will severally give
expositions of the Faiths to which they individually belong.
ZOROASTRIANISM.
8. In
Zoroastrianism we have an actual theological dualism. Two Spirits – once a God
creating all that is good, and the other an evil being creating all evil. The
pious Zoroastrian, after an honorable toil, goes to an immortality of
blessedness in thought, word and deed. According to the later avastas if not
pious he falls to Hell in passing over the Judge’s Bridge, and this Hell
consists of evil thoughts, words and deeds, as well as physical torment. His
body rises and he dwells on a rejuvenated earth, through the instrumentality of
a Savior born of Virgin. No religion has so clearly grasped the ideas of guilt
and of merit. On the works of men here below a strict reckoning will be held in
Heaven according to the deeds entered in the book. Zoroastrianism knows nothing
of the remission of sins but an evil deed can be atoned for by a good one. The
end of all things will be one undivided kingdom of God in Heaven and on earth.
BUDDHISM.
9. I
now briefly glance at the religion of Buddhism in India. In answer to a
question as to what he considered the summum
bonum, Gautama is reported to have said:-
i “To serve wise men, and not to serve
fools, to give honor to whom honor is due, - this is the greatest blessing.
ii. To dwell in a pleasant land, to have
done good deeds in a former birth, to have right desires for one’s self, - this
is the greatest blessing.
iii. Much insight and much education, a
complete training and pleasant speech – this is the greatest blessing.
iv. To succor father and mother, to cherish
wife and child, to follow a peaceful calling – this is the greatest blessing.
v. To give alms and live righteously, to
help one’s relative, and do blameless deeds – this is the greatest blessing.
vi. To cease and abstain from sin to eschew
strong drink, not to be weary in well doing, - this is the greatest blessing.
vii Reverence and lowliness, contentment and
gratitude, the regular hearing of the law, - this is the greatest blessing.
viii. To be long suffering and meek, to
associate with members of the Sangha, religious talk at due seasons, this is
the greatest blessing.
ix. Temperance and chastity, a conviction of
the four great truths, the hope of Nirvana, this is the greatest blessing.
x. A mind unshaken by the things of the
world, without anguish or passion, and secure, - this is the greatest blessing.
xi. They that act like this are invincible
on every side they walk in safety, and theirs is the greatest blessing.
Self-conquest
and universal charity, these are the foundation thoughts, the web and woof of
Buddhism, the melodies on the variations of which its enticing harmony is built
up.
ISLAM.
10. The
word Islam implies pious resignation and submission to the Divine Will. The
Great Arabian Prophet enjoined upon all Mussalmans the observance of five
duties: First, the belief that there is but One God; Second, the observance of
five daily prayers; Third, the giving of Sadka or alms; Fourth, the fasting for
one month during the holy month of Ramazan; Fifth pilgrimage to Mecca once in a Mussalman’s lifetime. A belief in a judgment
to come is an essential part of the creed, teaching men that they ought to live
their lives seriously and not to waste them in follies. Every Moslem is every other
Moslem’s brother. In social graduations the rich man is considered to be the
natural protector of the poor and the poor man takes his place at the table of
the rich. No here in Mahommedan society is there any invidious distinction
between rich and poor, and not less than one-fortieth of their goods is given
to the benefit of the poor. The above is the pure and true essence of the great
Mussalman religion.
CHRISTIANITY.
11. I would
now briefly refer to Christianity. Jesus Christ lived in Palestine nearly 2000
years ago. Here we tread on historical ground. Jesus Christ lived to the age of
33 years. He claimed to be the Son of God and the Son of Man. His great
distinctive message to His own countrymen and through them to the world, was
that God was not only the Creator, the Upholder, and Ruler of all things, but
that above all these, He was a Father seeking to bring His human family back to
Himself in order that they might live the Blessed life in this world and
afterwards in the Eternal home above. Jesus Christ lived up to His own
teaching. He wrote nothing, but imbued His own immediate followers with His
wonderful sayings and with His own spirit. These men in turn lighted up the
then known world with the words of their Master and so the religion of Christ
spread until we behold the Christendom of today. Jesus Christ, after a three
years public ministry, was put to death on the Roman Cross, but His followers
believe that He rose again on the third day to die no more; that His Spirit now
pervades all things; that the attractive power of His Cross was never felt so
much as it is today, and that the law of His life of sacrificial love was
maintained by simply doing the will of His Father and in placing implicit trust
in Him. The great principles of the kingdom which he wished to set up on earth
was the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. Christianity holds out
the forgiveness of sins and the sure hope of an eternal life after death.
HINDUISM.
12. The Hindu Religion to which I belong is
one which stretches far back into antiquity. Today it is the religion under
various forms, of two hundred seventy millions of the people of India. Hindus
are divided and marked off into manifold interior diversities of worship
belonging to different ages and different grades of society, and the rites vary
with the places at which they are practiced and the incarnations to which they
are addressed. Like nearly all the older religions of the world, it has a set
of forms for the common people, and a different inner meaning for the educated
and initiated. The inner meaning is that all the great elemental forces of
Nature are manifestations of the all-pervading divine energy and that man
himself is but a vessel which contains the divine particle giving thought and
utterance to visible humanity. The Hindu doctrine is that God pervades all
Nature, so that in worshipping Nature, you actually worship the Divine Spirit
in every atom of matter. Manu, the well-known founder of Hindu socio-religious
institute, speaks of ten injunctions as follows:-
“Resolution,
patience, self-restraint, honesty, purity, restraint of the organs, devotion,
knowledge, truthfulness and absence of anger are the ten constituents of Dharma. Brahmans, who study these ten,
and having gone over them act up to them, attain a supreme course of
existence.” (Manusamhita, Chap. VI, verses 92, 93).
Similarly,
Manu speaks of ten prohibitions as follows:-
“Covetousness,
malice and skepticism constitute the threefold evil act of the mind. Abuse,
untruth, back-biting and frivolous irrelevant talk are the fourfold evil act
done by the voice. Stealing, killing without the sanction of law, and adultery
with another’s wife are called the threefold evil act of the body.”
(Manusamhita, Chap. XII, verses 5, 6 and 7.)
13. The
ultimate good revealed through the Hindu religion is the freedom of the soul
from the body to anything that has sensation, and its return through a
succession of existences to the infinite Spirit whence it came. The books of
Hinduism are full of moral precepts and virtuous maxims enjoining piety,
austerity and the abnegation of self for the conduct of life in this world. A
good Hindu is a good man. He claims that a pure Hinduism is the spirit of true
religion, Santana Dharma, a definition which proclaims its catholicity and
universality. According to the Vedas and Shastras there are seventy-two
divisions and innumerable sub-divisions of Sanatana Dharma, and these
sub-divisions are again divided in numerous branches which I will not trouble
you to name, but will put them in an Appendix to this address for future
reference.
14. I
must now draw these remarks to a close. Delegates and representatives of the
various religions of the world who have come from far and near to attend this
great Congress, I extend to you a most cordial welcome, and our heartiest
thanks are due to all who have come prepared to read papers on their own
distinctive faiths and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of the
Session. I trust you will return to your homes feeling that you have had a real
pleasure in being here, and that you will carry away with you the reward of
having contributed in no small degree to a better understanding of one another
and of the several faiths to which we belong.
Gentlemen,
in conclusion, I have to thank you for the patience with which you have
listened to me. I have great hope as to the results which will follow this
Parliament of Religions. The grand ultimate test of the value of any religion
is its ability so to mould its worshippers as to turn out good men of high spiritual
character. A religion that fails to do this is of little use to humanity. Amid all
our diverse faiths there is only one end in view and everything is moving on, independent
of our wills, to –
“One God, one law, one element,
And one far-off Divine event,
To which the whole creation moves.”
In the end there will only be one religion
which will express itself in Love to God, in Love to out Brother Man. May this Parliament
be the means of helping on that glorious day in the history of the world
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