Dear Dr. Rai,
Indeed! I hold you in my highest esteem and respect. Your efforts, dedication and invaluable contributions to preserving and keeping alive our ancient Dharmic culture and traditions testify to your genuine commitment to this noble cause in the preservation of one of the few remaining cultures of our global human civilization and way of life.
I have often wondered, in dismay, how so many highly educated and intelligent people can become so narrow-minded and obsessive in their dogmatic beliefs and persuasions to claim God, Allah, Jehovah, etc. as a jealous and extremely possessive creator/owner of all things…including ones’ soul, life and heads. They steadfastly hold that their exclusive faith-based doctrines were ordained to them and that they alone are the gatekeepers to heaven. Access to this regulated paradise is only by joining and following their prescription – unquestioned. Were we not born, as free spirits, to pursue and give expression to the innate talents and creativity that is unique to each individual…as a miracle of the divinity that is embodied in each life form…as we know it? How did human beings morph into becoming so conceitedly arrogant and dogmatically judgemental to be the arbiter for entry into hypothetical heaven or hell?
Worst, they champion their faith with the vilest form of human suffering and subjugations. Honestly, upon inquiry, which benevolent and omnipotent creator of this magnificent universe would truly approve and condone the heinous and barbaric desecrations, horror and sufferings that are still being inflicted on innocent people today? Every single life comes into being and existence with divine grace and compassion. We are merely temporary caretakers. Yet! we continue to see such an unbridled quest for power and materialistic greed foisted by wars and despicable geo-political tyranny. We have callously proven to be masters of destruction, terror and human suffering…but paradoxically, we have not been able to decode the ultimate definitive formula for life and death. Each moment is still a mystery, as to the anticipatory outcome. Herein, lies our human frailty, compassion and humility to embrace the world and this glorious universe with gratitude and appreciation for the gift and blessing of this phenomenal human experience.
The absurdity of this presumption, in my opinion, reduces the omnipotent God/Creator to the self-limiting construct of individualized subjective interpretation of the governing precepts that the self-proclaimed authorities impose on their faithful duty-bound followers. The complexities and marvels of this glorious creation are certainly beyond the egotistical and judgemental scope of our human capacity and competence to condemn. Rationally speaking, what right do self-righteous religious faiths have to claim superiority and subjugate, with forced conversions, the indigenous people of the world, who have fostered integrated cultures and life-affirming traditions, spanning thousands of years? Especially when they really do not have any intrinsic knowledge and understanding of the cultures that they have looted and mercilessly plundered. Undeniable, each moment is still a mystery, as to the outcome, for every person that is alive.
Sanatan Dharma and its Vedic body of literature and knowledge have evolved over thousands of years by our industrious and noble life-affirming ancestors. Their quest to plumb the depths of the physical and cosmic universe became an impassioned pursuit and inquiry to gather empirical evidence which proved the possibility and birthright for every human being to experience deep spiritual and mystical awareness and realization. They have established proven Yoga pathways, disciplines, practices and behaviours which can bridge and connect us to higher transcendental states of our manifest existence and symbiotic relationship with all life forms…here on earth.
We hold the maxim, as a truism, that all life is sacred and that our conduct and actions provide the foundational characteristics for establishing greater understanding, unity and harmony for a world that is now besieged with
chaos, misery and gross ignoble human atrocities.
In closing, the question begs as to which God would actually welcome a demonic murderer into his heavenly abode. It is a shameful abomination that any religion could, in reality, promote such barbaric mutilations and inhumane beheadings of innocent people for their inalienable right to embrace and practice the proven, time-tested, ideals of their ancestral way of life, culture and traditions. Incomprehensible disgraceful to say the least!
Cliff R