Usually, I try to stay clear of controversial topics. But, I feel this is very important. Please let me know what you think.
Q: There is a position that all religions are the same. But we see them different and even people converting from one religion to another. What is your opinion?
A: No religion is a monolithic entity. Every religion has several aspects:
(1) philosophy – nature of God, man and world, and their relationship
(2) values – truthfulness, compassion, self-discipline, work ethics, service
(3) beliefs – goal of life, what happens after death, what is religious duty, etc
(4) spiritual practices – prayer, reading, chanting, meditation
(5) mythology and theology – stories of actions of gods and saints, creation, genealogy, historical fiction
(6) lives of saints – lives of historical saints and devotees
(7) religious practices – fasting, feasting, pilgrimage, festivals, daily rituals, rituals related to life incidents
(8) social practices – traditional dress, ornaments, music, dance, architecture, family customs, cuisine
Some of them are same. Some of them are similar. Some are very different. One thing that can be noticed is that as you go towards the core, they become more and more similar. As you move towards the external practices, they are heavily dependent on culture.
Almost all the religions acknowledge that there is one God and one humanity. Depending on the culture, the one God is called by various names and worshipped in various ways. Almost all the religions have the same core values like truthfulness, compassion, self-discipline, etc. Whereas, the religious practices vary based on the culture.
Thus, we can say that religions are the same in the core values and are different in their cultural beliefs and practices.
Q: Then what is conversion?
A: All religious conversion is cultural conversion. There is no conversion needed at the level of core values, because they are universal. A person does not become more truthful or compassionate by changing from one religion to another. There is some difference at the philosophical level and a large difference in the theological and cultural levels. The cultural allegiance of a person changes by conversion. Instead of praying towards East (which is the direction of the rising Sun) a person will start praying towards Mecca. Instead of believing Lord Krishna to be the savior, a person will start believing Christ to be the savior. It is just a conversion of cultural allegiance.
Q: Some groups have conversion as an agenda. What do you say about them?
A: They should be made illegal. No one can have conversion as their mission or agenda. That is a crime against humanity.
Q: How can you say that? Why do you say that?
A: I will give you an example. Bangalore is known for its linguistic diversity. Though majority of the people are Kannadigas, there is a sizable amount of people speaking Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Gujarati, Sindhi, etc. Suppose one of these linguistic minorities, say of language X, have an agenda to make Bangalore into a X majority area. They want to convert everyone, especially Kannadigas, into speaking language X. They want the people speaking language X to have a lot of children. They want people speaking language X to migrate into Bangalore. Suppose they have an agenda that in 20 years, Bangalore should be an area where majority of people speak language X. What do you think the government should do?
Q: Surely, that cannot be acceptable. The government should ban such an organization. No one should be allowed to alter the majority demography.
A: Yes. The same applies to religion too.
Q: But what about the people who are practicing the minority religions?
A: Same as in Bangalore. People speaking languages other than Kannada must be able to live peacefully. In fact, there are even Tamil and Telugu medium schools in Bangalore. There are theatres that always screen only Tamil movies. Every minority has the right to live peacefully and follow their own culture.
Q: But they cannot have an agenda to increase in number?
A: Yes, they cannot have an agenda to increase in number or even to dominate the society, business, education, government or politics. Minorities have the right to live peacefully as minorities. They cannot have an agenda to become dominant. That must be nipped off in the bud.
Q: But what about if a minority wants to enjoy being in the midst of his or her own culture?
A: They can always migrate to a place where their culture is majority. If a person whose mother tongue is X wants to be in the midst of people speaking the language, he or she can always move to such a city or state or even country.
Q: But is this not discriminating against the minority?
A: No. Every culture is important to the human race. Diversity must be preserved. The scientists take so much care to preserve diversity in biological species. Culture is also an organic heritage. Once it is gone, it is almost impossible to revive it. Every culture must be preserved. Every conversion kills one culture and replaces it with another. An individual is free to follow this culture or that. But there must not be any organized attempt to replace one culture with another. Culture here can be language, cuisine, religion, music, etc. Every minority in one place is a majority somewhere else. No one stops a person to move to a place where the culture that he seeks is majority. So this cannot be discrimination.
Q: What about conversion to the majority religion?
A: That is always welcome. Just as everyone in Bangalore must learn Kannada and the Kannadiga culture, the minorities must learn to appreciate the culture of the majority. Over a period of time, over a few generations, it is likely and natural that the non-Kannadiga speaking families will start speaking Kannada. That is the right path too.
Q: Should not non-Kannadiga speaking families in Bangalore prevent their children from assimilating Kannada culture?
A: No. An organized or intentional attempt to that will not be right. That will create disturbance to the peace in the society. If a family want to preserve its original culture, let them migrate to a place where that is the majority. If they live in a place as minority, they must be ready to get assimilated into the majority. That is natural and organic.
Q: Will the same be applicable to religion also?
A: Yes. Irrespective of his or her mother tongue, if a person in Bangalore does not know Kannada and about Kannadiga culture, it is not good. A Kannadiga in Bangalore has no obligation to know other languages. Similarly, everyone in Italy must know about Christianity. Everyone in Saudi Arabia must know about Islam. Everyone in India must know about Hinduism.
Q: What about voluntary individual conversion?
A: Everyone has the freedom to learn, follow and assimilate any culture – language, religion, music, dance, dress, etc. Every individual has the freedom. But no organization of any size has a right to have an agenda of conversion from majority culture to minority culture.
Q: What about conversion from minority culture to majority culture?
A: Do Kannadigas have the freedom to propagate Kannadiga culture in Bangalore? It is their duty. Every person of the majority culture has a duty to preserve and propagate their culture. That is how their culture can thrive. That is how cultural diversity in the world can be preserved and promoted.
Q: What is the right of minority then?
A: The minorities have the right to peaceful practice of their culture. And of course, they have all the basic human rights and all rights independent of this cultural context.
Q: So, cannot minorities have right to propagate their culture?
A: Again, think from the point of view of languages in Bangalore. The same would apply to religions everywhere. They have the right to propagate their culture among the people who are already following their culture. They have the right to showcase the positive aspects and greatness of their culture to people from other cultures, who are interested to listen. However, they cannot have an agenda to convert. That would be an attempt to disturb the society. That would be punishable.
Q: What about the evils and superstitious practices in religions?
A: Let the people of that religion take care of them. As long as a belief or practice does not violate basic human rights and universal human values, it is left to the practitioners of the religion. Non-practitioners within or outside the religion or culture cannot have a say in it.
Q: So, in summary, you are saying conversion is wrong. Am I right?
A: No. A minority community affiliated to any cultural aspect like language, religion, cuisine, etc. must not have conversion as an agenda. If a pizza chain wants to dominate masala dosa in Bangalore, it is wrong. If a masala dosa chain wants to dominate pizza in Rome, it is wrong. If masala dosa wants to dominate in Bangalore, that is fine. If pizza wants to dominate in Rome, it is fine. An individual is free to eat masala dosa or pizza in Bangalore or Rome. There can be and must be both masala dosa shops and pizza shops in both Bangalore and Rome. But minority of the region must remain a minority. Majority of the region must remain a majority. I am a Tamilian in Bangalore. I am a minority. I must not aspire Tamil to become a majority in Bangalore. If I want to be a part of the majority, I must learn Kannada and assimilate Kannadiga culture. Otherwise, I can move to any city or town or village in Tamilnadu, where I will be one with the majority. In Bangalore, I must be satisfied being a minority. I hope that is clear.
Q: Your position is clear. But it needs more thought.
A: Very good. Think deeply keeping aside all biases. Then you will understand. Replace the aspect where you are minority by an aspect where you are majority, and vice versa. Then you will be able to think from the other person’s position. Then you will get more clarity.