| Pluralism means
that we must make the freedom of religious practice more important than the supremacy of
any particular belief. We should not only respect but uphold our neighbor's right to
follow another religion, even if we think that it is contrary to the real truth. This
means that missionary efforts to convert others by persuasion and intimidation should come
to an end and be replaced by a free examination of religious issues with honesty, courtesy
and friendliness. To arrive at truth in
any field we need freedom. Freedom creates diversity. Both freedom and diversity allow for
creative growth and inquiry. In this development truth can be arrived at as an individual
experience, rather than imposed upon the resistant individual as a collective belief which
makes it little more than a blind emotion.
Human beings naturally have their different temperaments, inclinations
and states of development. We should have learned after so much bloodshed throughout
history that to try to impose one way of thought on all people is an error. It is not only
not spiritual, it goes against nature and life which are filled with every sort of
variation. Should we insist that the wind only blow in one way or that plants only grow on
one type of soil?
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