But
to extend this principle to sanctify all religions as good would be
just as naive as to use such a higher truth behind any human seeking
to justify the various, often imperfect and sometimes erroneous
forms this seeking takes. While we must honor the higher truth
behind our human aspirations we must also recognize how easily the
human mind can distort higher aspirations for its egoistic ends.
While we should be open to truth
wherever we find it, this does mean that we must blindly and
indiscriminately accept all religions as true in order to do
so.
That some aspect of truth exists in
all religions does not mean that all aspects of all religions are
true, or that all religions are essentially the same. There is an
aspect of truth in art, science and non-religious aspects of human
culture. Does Sarva Dharma Samabhava require equating all these as
well? Should we therefore equate Einstein with Buddha, or
Shakespeare with Christ? Hence we
must be very careful in associating Dharma with religion and
insisting that different religions are inherently as harmonious as
different Dharmas. In fact different religions have inherent
disharmonies that will require much time, study and communication to
sort out.
They are as disharmonious or
harmonious as the individuals, nations and cultures that follow
them. It may be possible to
eventually integrate all religions of the world into a broader
religion, in which each religion of humanity has its place and its
value. But it cannot ultimately give all human religions, which is a
vague definition anyway, an equal place and value. This integration
first requires that exclusive beliefs give up not only their
exclusivism but also their aggressive attempts to convert others.
When Sarva Dharma Samabhava fails to challenge the poison of
conversion under the guise of respecting and tolerating all beliefs,
it only ends up sanctioning religious division and intolerance. |