– R.K. Sinha
The country got a new, grand and dignified Parliament building. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But, it is also sad that the former Prime Ministers did not even think about the need to change this Parliament of slavery of the British, why so? An all-religion prayer meeting was organized before his inauguration. It is India only where the idea of ​​Sarva Dharma Prayer Sabha has been imbibed. Mahatma Gandhi had started all-religion prayer meetings in his meetings. Before the opening of the new Parliament, scholars from all the major religions of India read excerpts from the holy books of their respective religions. Whoever saw the program of the prayer meeting in the new parliament complex, his heart was filled with sorrow. Scholar of Hindu religion Dr. Baldev Anand Sagar also read 5-6 verses of Gita. He has also been participating in prayer meetings on Gandhi Jayanti. They also usually recite the prayer of Panchadev.
The idea of ​​universal prayer is really very big and comprehensive. It gives an important message that followers of all religions in India can sit together and present the main points of their scriptures. It is expected that in the new Parliament too, MPs coming from all religions, classes, regions etc. of the country will have a healthy debate. Debate, controversy, dialogue are the soul of democracy. Where there is no debate, it would be meaningless to call it a democracy. On the other hand, from Christianity, Father George Solomon remains a part of the prayer meeting. Christian prayer was introduced in Mahatma Gandhi’s interfaith prayers from the very first day itself. He was introduced to Christianity, Babylon and the work of missionaries when he lived in South Africa.
George Solomon recites the Bible at interfaith services held at various locations. They say that Narendra Modi’s government treats everyone equally in India. The presence of all-religion prayer meetings even in government events is a testimony to the fact that the Indian government’s attitude towards all religions is the same. Like the texts of other religions, the path of the Bible also gives the message of love and brotherhood to each other. Gandhiji got the opportunity to know the Bible and Christianity closely in South Africa. Whenever Solomon gets an opportunity to attend an interfaith prayer meeting, he does not miss that opportunity. Being a part of it is an amazing experience in itself. He is confident that under the leadership of India, the world will overcome hatred. A new era of peace, truth and tolerance will begin in the world.
You will remember that Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, had raised objection some time ago when the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir administration has instructed schools to organize all-religion prayer meetings on Gandhi Jayanti. Mehbooba Mufti was being troubled because hymns loved by Hindus were also to be sung in all-religion prayer meetings. That is, he got a chance to draw a meen mekh even in Gandhi ji’s all-religion prayer meeting. Apart from the prayer meetings organized by the Government of India, 85-year-old Katsu San is also the permanent face of all-religion prayer meetings held on 2 October and 30 January at Raj Ghat and again on 30 January Marg (Birla House).
He Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, K.R. Narayanan, APJ Abdul Kalam, Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, Ramnath Kovind and Presidents like Smt. Indira, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now Narendra Modi has read prayers from Buddhist scriptures. Can’t even imagine an interfaith prayer without Katsu san. Everyone calls her Katsu sister. His loyalty to the principles of truth and non-violence is undeniable. Gandhiji was the first to organize interfaith prayer meetings when he came to stay in the capital’s Valmiki temple from 1 April 1946 to 10 June 1947 and then at the Birla temple till 30 January 1948. Then all-religion prayer meetings were being held daily. It is necessary to mention that during the lifetime of Gandhiji, there were no prayers of Baha’i, Jewish and Zoroastrian religions. These were added later.
An all-religion prayer meeting was also organized during the groundbreaking ceremony of the new building of the Parliament House, in which prayers were offered from Buddhist, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Baha’i, Sikh, Christian, Jain, Muslim and Hindu religions. It started with Buddha prayer. Then the Bible was read. The representative of each religion gets 5-6 minutes in the Sarvadharma prayer meeting. Ms. Neelakshi Rajkhowa recited the prayer of Baha’i religion. They were followed by the prayer of Judaism. Jewish prayer was followed by Jain prayer followed by reading of Guru Granth Sahib and then verses from Quran. It is not necessary that the participants in the Sarvadharma prayer meeting will be associated with the religious place of their religion. They can be scholars of their religion. At the end, the Gita was recited. So this is the secular character of India.
Secularism does not mean that a country should give up its religious traditions and cultural beliefs. This is an impossible thing. The original copy of the Constitution of India has a picture of Shri Krishna preaching the Gita to Arjuna. There is also Lord Buddha preaching peace on the original copy of the Constitution of India. Centennial lotus, another important symbol of Hinduism, is also present everywhere on the original copy of the constitution. Pictures of Rama, Krishna and Nataraja are also printed on the original copy of the Constitution. Had these pictures been put up today, some knowledgeable people would have strongly opposed this move by calling it communal. Mughal emperor Akbar is also visible in the original copy of the constitution and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, is also present there. The portraits of Sultan Tipu of Mysore and the heroine Rani Lakshmi Bai of 1857 are also engraved on the original copy of the Constitution. So it is very clear that secularism has very deep meaning for India which has to be understood by those who argue without any reason.
(The author is a senior editor, columnist and former parliamentarian.)
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