By: Klinsa Kurien (Bureau Chief-ICN Kerala)
The ultimate end of all religions is to find an inner peace which should be spread around like a mother hen protectively surrounding her chicks.
Our land India is indisputably a Great one of multiple religions, cultures and festivities. Many religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Parsi faith have existed since time immemorial in it. The yearly calendar is divided into festivals which last all year long.
The unique feature of all the festivals is the spirit of oneness among people of not only the particular religious community but the other religions too as a whole. The spirit of sharing and the common brotherly feeling is beyond words.
With Diwali comes the idea of indulging in sweets and lighting of lamps or candles in the balcony along with the bursting of crackers. The festival of Id reminds one of the mouth- watering sheer korma and haleem along with tangy kebabs and tasty biryani.
With the coming of Guru Nanak Jayanti the passers by are served a kind of lassi which is made in the Gurudwara. Christmas rings in a familiar bell of cakes and goodies. Neighbours’ wait for cakes and Christmas tree decorations are fun and give a merry feeling.
All these seasons’ festivals remind us of a greater goal which is secularism and above all, the spirit of humanity. We should never be bogged down by discrimination in religion or culture. A peaceful co-existence has always been the aim of many a Great Indian mind. Flimsy and unimportant arguments which hurts the psyche of many an Indian should be avoided.
The ultimate end of all religions is to find an inner peace which should be spread around like a mother hen protectively surrounding her chicks. Most often kids get narrow minded and possessive about their religion. Of late there is a change in their psychological phenomenon too. They don’t compartmentalize things instead adopt everything. My 6 year old son who had a poster making event for an eco-friendly Diwali at school was not very enthusiastic despite my motivating him. He expressed to me, “mama, this competition is only for my Hindu friends”.
Immediately after that he went off to burst crackers with his father. Probably he felt that only his Hindu friends knew better about their own culture than anyone else and could make wonderful charts than the rest. Their social message could be the most impactful. His theoretical classification of facts concerning religion seems to be lop-sided but in practice he is a true secularist. I had a lot to learn from him!
