Yesterday, I was invited to a Multifaith Tribute to Pope Francis organized by the Catholics in Bangalore. There were several Hindus, Parsees, Jains, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Bahais, and a number of monks, nuns, and devotees of Catholic faith. On behalf of Hinduism, a sister from Brahmakumaris and I spoke. Here is an outline of my address.
My salutations to the monks and nuns of various religious traditions assembled here. My salutations to brothers and sisters of all faiths. This multifaith congregation is a fitting tribute to Pope Francis.
In September 2024, when addressing a multifaith group in Singapore, Pope Francis said, “All religions are paths to God. I will use an analogy, they are like different languages that express the divine.” This made headlines in news reports the following days. Many Catholic preachers and institutions rejected or diluted the Pope’s words saying, “he did not mean what he said”, etc. Even today, you can see a lot of debate on this recorded on the internet. I think, Pope Francis meant every word of what he said. Just a few minutes back, we saw videos of the Pope washing the feet of people different religions during his annual post-Easter ritual.
The comparison of different religions to different languages immediately brings to mind a Parable of Sri Ramakrishna. There is a pond with four flights of steps in different directions. An Englishman comes down one of the steps and calls it “water”. A Frenchman comes down on another steps and calls it “aqua”. A man from Delhi comes and calls it “pani”. A man from Bengal comes and calls it “Jol”. It is the same water called by different names by different people. Similarly, the same God is called as “Vishnu” by the Vaishnavites, “Shiva” by the Shaivaites, “Jesus” by Christians, and “Allah” by Muslims.
The words of Pope Francis is just a restatement of this parable. The Vedas say, “ekam sat, vipra bahudha vadanti” – “Truth is One. Wise people talk about it in different ways.” There is one God, who is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Compassionate. He knows the innermost thoughts of everyone. He can be approached by any name, through any form, and by any ritual. As the Omniscient Lord, He knows the devotee is calling on Him. As the Compassionate One, He is sure to respond. Any claim of exclusivity that God should be worshipped only by this or that name or form or ritual is denying Him of either Omniscience or Compassion. It is a blasphemy against God to say that there is only one way to God.
In the Parliament of Religions at Chicago, Swami Vivekananda said, “Truth, purity, and salvation are not the exclusive possessions of any creed or denomination or religion.” I repeat, “Truth, purity, and salvation are not the exclusive possessions of any creed or denomination or religion.” To claim that is a blasphemy against God.
What Pope Francis said is not different from what is said in the Vatican 2 documents. There is a document called Nostra Aetate published in 1965 as a part of the Vatican 2 structure, which talks about the Catholic Church’s position in relation to other religions. The document accepts that there is Light in the scriptures of all the religions of the world. It talks very highly of Hinduism, referring to its ascetic traditions, philosophy, meditation practices, and devotional practices. It also talks about Buddhism, Judaism and Islam in positive light. This document paves the way for Catholics to accept all religions as true and engage in meaningful interfaith dialogue.
This multifaith congregation is a fitting tribute to Pope Francis, who carried the message of acceptance of all religions as different paths to God. I am sure, he will be very happy about people of various faiths meeting here in his name.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantih.