Dialogue for Peace:
The Contribution of Religion towards Living Together

Swami Smaranananda

Swami Smaranananda is the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Belur Math. This is the text of his lecture delivered on 12th September 2002 at the Cumhuriyet Universitesi, Sivas, Turkey, where he went on invitation to take part in the Inter-national Seminar on Dialogue for Peace .

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I am very happy that I could come here and meet representatives of different religions and share my thoughts on 'Dialogue for Peace'.

I belong to a monastic order of India, which, although founded only a hundred years ago, is a part of an ancient religious tradition, whose tenets were practised and preached by Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886). I would like to say a few words about him, before I proceed to the subject of our discussion, for he was a messenger of Peace and Harmony for the modern age.

Sri Ramakrishna, born in 1836 of poor parents in a remote village of Bengal, gave himself to the realization of God at a young age, and practised for twelve long years all known paths of religion. He realized the Truth through every one of them and declared that all paths lead to the same Goal. He never read books. His was a voyage into the unknown and his discoveries led to the following conclusions which he placed before modern man:

1. God is true and could be realized.

2. God-realization is the supreme goal of human life.

3. The path lies through renunciation of selfish enjoyments and practice of intense love of God.

4. All religions are like so many paths leading to the same Goal.

5. Service to man is service to God.

6. Speaking the truth is the greatest penance in modern times.

Soon after Sri Ramakrishna's passing, his chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda, organized the young disciples of the Master into a monastic brotherhood by name Ramakrishna Math (Order). Vivekananda spoke at the Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in September 1893. He presented his master's teachings in the modern context. The Swami was acclaimed all over the U.S.A. as the greatest speaker at the Parliament of Religions.

He declared at the Parliament of Religions:

If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written, in spite of resistance: 'Help and not Fight', 'Assimilation and not Destruction,' 'Harmony and Peace and not Dissension'.

Neither Sri Ramakrishna nor Swami Vivekananda attempted to start a new religion or philosophy. They were first and foremost religious luminaries who habitually lived in the transcendental realm of the Spirit. They inherited the spiritual heritage of India at a time when it was facing a grave crisis. They purified it, enlivened it and enriched it, but did not allow themselves to be limited by it. Rooted firmly in India's spiritual heritage they reached out to other religions and cultures and became messengers of a universal spiritual vision for the whole of humanity. The philosophical ideas of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda are expressions of their universal spiritual vision.

On his return to India, in 1897, Swami Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission as a social service wing of the already existing monastic Order of the Ramakrishna Math. Swami Vivekananda placed before his brother disciples the twin ideals of 'one's own salvation and the welfare of all humanity.'

Today, this monastic organization the Ramakrishna Math (Order) and Ramakrishna Mission, working for more than 100 years with the help of lay disciples and devotees, occupies a pride of place in India. It is recognized all over the world as an organization contributing to harmony, peace and welfare of the world. It has now 110 branches in India and 37 branches in other parts of the world including USA, UK, France, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, etc.

I am thankful to the Organizers of this Conference for inviting me to participate in it and represent the Ramakrishna Mission as its Secretary General.

The ancient sages of India declared that God is beyond name and form and beyond all related things. He or She or It transcends everything and at the same time is all-pervading and is the innermost essence of all living beings, giving substance to the body-mind complex. He is the Absolute and Unchanging. Seeking Him alone, and attaining Him, man transcends all limitations and merges in the Pure Consciousness, which the Divine is.

The above, in short, summarizes the ultimate conclusions of the ancient rishis or sages of India. But they assert at the same time that there could be innumerable paths to reach the Ultimate. Thus every spiritual aspirant was given the utmost freedom to take up any one path to reach the Goal. In the words of Swami Vivekananda:

'Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy-by one, or more, or all of these-and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.'

The tragedy of the world is that we have been quarrelling about these secondary details. We have given up the grain and are taking care of the chaff. Politics emphasizes the differences between religions, instead of their underlying unity. The result is quarrels and fighting and killing of thousands of people, through the centuries.

We have to develop this faith that all religions are valid paths to God. It is like climbing a mountain from four sides: north, south, east and west. Suppose four persons start climbing the mountain from the four sides, at the start the distance between them is great. But as they ascend higher and higher the distance reduces though they are not aware of it. But when they reach the summit, they meet each other and shake hands.

Religion, true religion, is the pursuit of the Highest-man's attempt to transcend his animal nature and realize his divinity. Religion should not get entangled in politics, breeding hatred and fear.

All of humanity should be able to gather together under the umbrella of God, without losing or giving up their special characteristics. Religion should create love, fearlessness and peace in place of hatred and fear, sown by politics. For this purpose, understanding of the other man's religion is essential through inter-religious dialogue.

One more point that I would like to emphasize is that all major religions of the world speak of certain eternal truths realized by their prophets and some temporal directives formulated by lesser persons who wanted to organize society on those lines. They hoped to make it possible for most men and women to aim at the highest by following these moral codes. Most of the quarrels among religions start when one tries to present these temporal values as eternal truths. These have to change from age to age, to suit the ethos of the times. The emphasis should be on the eternal truths which the prophets have known through direct realization.

The post-modernist philosophical concept of religious pluralism views religions of the world as different expressions of man's concern for the Ultimate, which is conceived in different ways and therefore it is not proper to make value judgements on them.

That is indeed a laudable attitude. But what western pluralism lacks is an experiential basis. Giving pluralism an experiential basis is the great work done by Sri Ramakrishna. He actually followed the paths of different religions and demonstrated through direct experience that they all lead to the same goal. With this, pluralism has got established as a valid religious doctrine and philosophical principle. Its main tenets are:

1. Every religion is basically a pathway to the Ultimate Reality.

2. The Ultimate Reality is one, but known by different names.

3. The Ultimate Reality can be realized through various paths.

4. Religions of the world are true as they all lead to the realization of the Ultimate Reality.

I think these four points constitute the minimum requirement for establishment of harmony among the religions of the world.

'That society is the greatest where the highest truths become practical,' said Swami Vivekananda. We live in a pluralistic society and pluralism is a fact to be recognized, but it is pluralism with a big 'P' meaning positive approach. We do not aim at syncretism. In a pluralistic society everyone can follow his own path, without disturbing others in following their paths.

Inter-religious dialogue should find ways and means of bringing about this understanding, not only among the elite and the learned, but among the commoners, including those poor and illiterate brethren who should be able to follow their own path to peace and prosperity.

I congratulate Cumhuriyet Universitesi, Sivas, for organizing this inter-religious Conference at an international level. In this age of globalism, such conferences can create a wider and more liberal understanding of world religions, and thus pave the way for lasting peace all over the world.

Let us all resolve to work towards this end. I pray to the Lord Almighty to lead us forward in our voyage towards Peace, Prosperity and Truth.