| Awaken Bharata |
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| Books By David Frawley |
| SARVA DHARMA SAMABHAVA : UNITY OR CONFUSION OF RELIGIONS | |
| Such
respect for all religions is usually a one way street. Hindus are
told to accept Sarva Dharma Samabhava, which means that they should
not mind if Hindus are converted to Christianity and Islam and
should avoid criticizing these religions even if what they believe
appears to be a violation of what Hindus hold to be true. On the
other hand, under the same principle, Muslims and Christians are not
expected to reciprocate, stop their conversion efforts, or to become
Hindus.
The result is that Sarva Dharma Samabhava has served to erode the Hindu view of truth and encouraged Hindus to give up their critical faculties in matters of religion. It is contrary to the spirit of the yogis and Rishis in which all manner of debate was encouraged in order to arrive at truth. Please note the Shad Darshanas, the six systems of Hindu philosophy, for such a tradition of free, lively, and friendly debate. When a superficial agreement is required for political harmony all real examination must come to an end. For this reason there has been a decline of intelligence in India and a diminishing of critical thinking about religion. While we should all strive to be kind and not interfere with the religious views of others, this does not mean that we have to cease thinking in order to do so. Social tolerance should not be confused with equation of all beliefs and no longer discriminating between various religious teachings. To create social harmony Hindus need not give up defending their religion or critically examining the religions that oppose them. The logical result of this thinking would mean that Hindus should give up their religion altogether. Yet when Hindus try to defend their religion, they are accused of violating the principle of Sarva Dharma Samabhava. |
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