THE BATTLE OF IDEAS ... 1
Christianity and Islam battle for supremacy in a shifting world where doctrinaire religion is becoming increasingly obsolete and the Indian dharma traditions are slowly and almost imperceptibly gaining ground. Science is driving sledgehammer blows into the citadels of the Semitic religions and will in course of time drive them into total submission. What is being seen in the world as proliferating terrorism is the reaction to this rejection of faith by modern man which is being construed as an attack on archaic civilisations. Added to this is the impact of neocolonialism of the West on the oil-rich countries of the Middle East and you have a more comprehensive picture of the total scenario.
There is a great battle going on in the world for ideological space with the forces struggling to retain their ground even as they stretch their reaches into uninhabited regions. This expansionist attitude which is so central to the politically minded religions like Christianity and Islam is keeping the world on tenterhooks in an age when armament has reached annihilation proportions and a single false step may eclipse human civilisation for good. Judaism is a non-proselytising religion and, so, poses no such threats to civilisation. But Islam converts and so does Christianity, and these two rival faiths are on a collision course today much in keeping with their historical bloody rivalry.
Here Hinduism must show the way but then the Hindus enmasse do not much care to study their scriptures well enough to be able to enter this ideological dialogue. Sanskrit is hardly known to the average Hindu and, so, he remains ignorant of the texts in which the principles of the Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) are recorded. Ignorance leads to indifference and absorption of superstitious practices and even, in the worst case scenario, to conversion to other religions that have laid the trap and the bait about to fish in this sea of humanity that India is.
The battle is on for survival through expansion and the key players in this unfolding drama of competitive existence are Science, Christianity, Islam, Atheism and the Indian dharma traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and the like. The resulting clash and collision of ideological forces will resolve out the future of humanity, hopefully in a positive direction of development and averting the possibility of futile destruction.
Written by Sugata Bose
Photo : The Chicago Parliament of Religions where the diverse currents of religious thought met in 1893 and from such a confluence arose Swami Vivekananda as the embodied harmony of all the discordant ideological forces assembled.
Christianity and Islam battle for supremacy in a shifting world where doctrinaire religion is becoming increasingly obsolete and the Indian dharma traditions are slowly and almost imperceptibly gaining ground. Science is driving sledgehammer blows into the citadels of the Semitic religions and will in course of time drive them into total submission. What is being seen in the world as proliferating terrorism is the reaction to this rejection of faith by modern man which is being construed as an attack on archaic civilisations. Added to this is the impact of neocolonialism of the West on the oil-rich countries of the Middle East and you have a more comprehensive picture of the total scenario.
There is a great battle going on in the world for ideological space with the forces struggling to retain their ground even as they stretch their reaches into uninhabited regions. This expansionist attitude which is so central to the politically minded religions like Christianity and Islam is keeping the world on tenterhooks in an age when armament has reached annihilation proportions and a single false step may eclipse human civilisation for good. Judaism is a non-proselytising religion and, so, poses no such threats to civilisation. But Islam converts and so does Christianity, and these two rival faiths are on a collision course today much in keeping with their historical bloody rivalry.
Here Hinduism must show the way but then the Hindus enmasse do not much care to study their scriptures well enough to be able to enter this ideological dialogue. Sanskrit is hardly known to the average Hindu and, so, he remains ignorant of the texts in which the principles of the Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) are recorded. Ignorance leads to indifference and absorption of superstitious practices and even, in the worst case scenario, to conversion to other religions that have laid the trap and the bait about to fish in this sea of humanity that India is.
The battle is on for survival through expansion and the key players in this unfolding drama of competitive existence are Science, Christianity, Islam, Atheism and the Indian dharma traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and the like. The resulting clash and collision of ideological forces will resolve out the future of humanity, hopefully in a positive direction of development and averting the possibility of futile destruction.
Written by Sugata Bose
Photo : The Chicago Parliament of Religions where the diverse currents of religious thought met in 1893 and from such a confluence arose Swami Vivekananda as the embodied harmony of all the discordant ideological forces assembled.
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