Toward the
unity of Conscience Dr. Angelo
Fernandes, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi, outlines the steps IF YOU take
the religious experience of man down the centuries, the different aspects of
facets that figure in all of them constitute doctrines, myths, historical
events, ethical teachings, rituals, social institutions, and religious
experience of various kinds…. If you have rituals without personal impact, that
is disastrous, But it is ritualism that unfortunately seems to be unduly
prominent in the world today; and that is not good enough. Spirituality is not
some of this some of that; it should be all, it should be a wholeness. A truly
spiritual person is not just one who is given to spiritual exercises or who has
opted out of society for prayer or contemplation, or one who pursues the path
of austerity, or is solely committed to ethical or moral enterprises or social
work and social service. Here too there
must be a harmony, for the person is concerned at three levels—physiological,
super-natural; all these come into play.
Since we are here in a spiritual conference, we can say that holiness is
this wholeness of life, and it must be seen and put into effect with regard to
all aspects of religion described above—we can’t pick and choose. Man must grow; we are here, and our only
business is to help each other to grow.
I am saying these things in the hope, under God, that they may help us
to grow. Man must grow simultaneously
in his mastery over himself, the closeness of his relationship with God our
Father, and in love and service to his neighbor. A spiritual person is a whole person; such a person enjoys and
grows in fellowship with God and man in a positive, active, dynamic,
ever-in-creasing way. This is more than just not doing wrong, or any sin, or
any harm against one’s neighbor—that’s negative—and that’s why this world is in
a sorry mess: there are far too many people today, so-called good people, who
sit on the fence and watch the world go by; they want other people to pull the
chestnuts out of the fire. And they say
to themselves, and perhaps to the world, “I mind my own business”—as if we were
not all concerned about each other. A
correct attitude seems to be to call for an open, expansive, “love in joyful
service” attitude, which is at once the recipe for happiness and the best
contribution to society. What is
fellowship? It can stem from religion understood in this broad perspective, and
from man understood in his quest for wholeness of life. True fellowship should derive from the wholeness
of approach taken in both these ways.
The world is very rich; it is we who have been very poor in our
attitudes to the existing riches; we who have been limited in our grasp,
appreciation, and understanding of the problems facing us. The second
part of this approach is collaboration between all living faiths—all together
working to bring about these possibilities: the possibility of wholeness life
for each individual—as a whole man, and as man on his way to God—for all men
everywhere. We should be committed to
such an approach of fellowship; only then could we say we are really spiritual
people, otherwise we are not. The second
point is to focus all this on man. If
you want to apply this, notice that down the centuries there has been a common belief
in all religions that there was a golden age when men lived in peace and
innocence; and then something happened that disrupted this blissful existence
and ever since man has lived in misery and turmoil. The fact is that greed,
selfishness and stupidity continue to plague the dealings of men with each
other at all levels of life. And religion today, if it is to be relevant to the
young people groping and questing for meaning—if what we are all here talking
about is to be relevant, then this multi-dimensional experience of God must
relate to God’s children everywhere. We
can’t limit it to a purely individualistic approach; we cannot just be
concerned about ourselves. We can’t
pretend to be having a loving experience of God Who is the Father of all, and
ignore any single person who goes by the name of man. And now I want
to ask you to pause a while and ask yourselves: What are we doing to each other in the world of today? No man
is an island. In an interdependent
world, it is a common good of all men that must be part of the quest—if we are
wedded to any religion whatsoever.
Material progress today has outstripped the mind, and threatens to do so
even more. It is time the spirit caught
up with the race, to give the much-needed soul to society and the world and
this whole entire enterprise in which we are engaged. Such a goal, which must always have this in mind—wholeness of
life, for each and all –is a consummation devoutly to be wished. There are many
obstacles to be met with, and they must be faced. But when the world is burning and rotting to pieces, how can we
who profess a religion and an experience of God—how can we sit on the sidelines
and watch? Isn’t it for all to enter
the fray?—in whatever way they can, to contribute their insights, their vision,
their dynamism, their motivation, whatever they have, in the service of God’s
children as a religious experience? Stemming from the personal
intercommunion which they have with God Himself? Religion—our
experience of God and our dealings with each other—has to be situated in the
reality of today’s world. We cannot
afford to bypass the legitimate hopes and aspirations and strivings of the
working class, for instance; their aspirations to equality and to responsible
participation in the economic and cultural fields and in political
activity. You may wonder how I am
deliberately straying into these fields. Man and his life are intertwined with
all these activities; and if we want wholeness of life for each man, and all
men, and wholeness of life in our approach to God, then we have to touch all
these. But: with a breath of the
spirit. In India, the
U.S., and Europe today we have secular states – naturally so--- where no
premium is put on any religion and all are free to worship in their own way and
follow their own paths. In India, our constitution guarantees your freedom to
practice, preach and propagate, within the limits of law and order, your own
religious convictions and faiths. The United Nations is also a secular
organization. But isn’t it sad that in this whole process of the modern,
secular world, which is trying to create some sort of cooperation and
brotherhood, striving after peace in a variety of ways--- isn’t is sad that
religious motivation is not in the picture? Isn’t it sad and isn’t it almost
futile for people to think that this development in its true sense--- wholeness
of life for each and all --- can be had without bringing in the insights, the
values, the vision, the strength, the force, which comes from religion in one
way or another? The harnessing, therefore, of religious motivation for the
process of development, brotherhood and peace, is one of our big challenges in
the world today: not just that we personally relate well with God, ourselves,
and each other, but that we reach out in ever-widening circles to bring people
of all faiths together in this fashion. What is the
quality of life today? Who has this wholeness? Three-fourths of humanity can’t
have it because they lack the simple preconditions for human existence. And those
who have too much, they cannot be said to have wholeness of life; they have to
be cut down to size in order to have wholeness of life. Why can’t our relations
one with another in the world of today be so organized, be so inspired, that
all can grow in this fashion? That’s God’s plan. When two
people get married in a church, there are two places where the couple kneels
down; but notice--- they are not facing each other. Though they are going to
take each other for man and wife and live with each other for the rest of their
days, the two kneelers are facing the altar, God, and the future. In that I see
a method of approach: that we can work together and learn to appreciate and
understand each other and go from tolerance, which is only a beginning, to respect
and reverence for each other--- to fellowship in the full sense. And it’s
through living and working that this happens; not just by talking about it. So
as a practical measure, I would like to suggest that this is the kind of thing
that could be done everywhere. T think the task is the creation of unity of conscience. Nations are made up
of human beings, and the real task is to build brotherhood, harmony, concord,
peace, into their minds. The
independent investigation of Truth will lead to this: the acceptance of the
oneness of humanity; the conviction that all men are brothers and that they
must work together--- for the full human rights name of man. Universal
brotherhood and peace is of great importance, but to achieve this we need a
unity of conscience, which means the abandonment of all prejudices which divide
men into hostile sects, groups, etc. And a unity of conscience must be created
and deepened around the basic convictions shared by all living faiths. Where will the
force come from to bring this about? From a deeper interiority which will make
each of us full harmonized human beings. Signs ourselves, and symbols of that
wholeness of life which we want for others, and the dynamic, corporate quest
for which is what I call Peace --- Shalom. The distinctively human part
of us--- our freedom in the spirit--- must be given full play; only so will we
be able to transcend our limitations and become Peace ourselves. If
experiencing God in this fashion, the mystic element of religion referred to
just now--- if experiencing God in the intimacy of the heart (in true Bhakt )---
if this became the experience of men everywhere, then they would live in
harmony with themselves and with those around them, and bridges of
understanding and brotherhood would be built at the grass roots level. And
therein lies man’s greatest hope for brotherhood and peace in the world. |