Unity of Religions
What Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is saying is most relevant to the contemporary situation. There is at present a crisis looming in many spheres of modern life, not the least of which concern science and its achievements, religion, philosophy, education, and health (both physical and mental). Politics and economics are also not immune from the malaise that has set in; one does not have to look far to see this.
But while many in these fields are aware of the impending crisis and the present destructive tendencies inherent in certain of the advanced fields in science—for example, in nuclear and biological breakthroughs—very few, in the West at least, would consider it absolutely essential to turn to Eastern teachers for a solution to problems they consider local and historically determined.
Take the moral crisis in the West. The best authorities will voice the opinion that this problem, for most part, is a result of the remnants of the clash between the extreme moralism of Christendom and the liberated ethics of the materialist and secular society the West has come to witness after the scientific revolution… In order to resolve the conflicts and contradictions that have emerged, little need is felt to turn to the East immediately.
Again, let us examine the deadlock within the major churches and Christian denominations in the West. Attempts are being made to patch up differences and engage in ecumenical dialogues. Despite the endeavor toward increasing tolerance for each other’s faith, nothing like a united Christian church has been achieved as there are problems that go back a few centuries, posing formidable obstacles for Church unity, an ideal much spoken of in the West presently.
Despite this sad situation, few church leaders have considered it useful to turn to the East for re‑appraising their own difficulties in this attempt. Their attitude is mellowing and slowly changing in this regard, though, as shown by the receptions given by church leaders, theologians, and academics in the field to His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV during his recent visit to Australia. The Dalai Lama participated in a number of interfaith and inter-religious dialogues and meetings held in his honor, and he did not hold back his own thoughts on the important matter of the unity of humankind despite differences in religion, race, and philosophies. The Dalai Lama brought to Australia a timely message that no spiritual leader of his caliber has yet come to Australia to proclaim—namely, that all religions share the same goal and strive for an end to human suffering, and that for such a task we should put aside our differences and with love and compassion unite as one humankind.
He repeated the message in his inaugural address to the seventh annual conference of the Australian Association for the Study of Religions. The church leaders and those present at these meetings applauded the Dalai Lama’s call for a harmonious co‑existence of religions and an acceptance of religious differences in the spirit of real tolerance and understanding. Such lofty sentiments and ideals could have only come from the heart of one soaked in the wisdom of the East, where such ideals have been lived through for centuries.
One cannot help but wonder, however, how the same group of people would respond to the message of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba that is depicted appropriately in the Prasanthi Nilayam emblem. Here, too, one sees a stress on the unity of religions and a call upon mankind to minimize their differences and to maximize the common core of religious quest that all humans share. But would not the emblem be too radical a drawing‑card for western intellectuals on the whole? Is the West fully ready to turn to the purer teachings of the East, particularly of Indian origin? Likewise with philosophy, education, and other fields? Opinion at present appears to be divided on this issue.
But with the increasing interest in the higher teachings that have been coming out of India—not just the minor interests in yoga, arts, and styles, but the wealth of wisdom that both Hinduism and Buddhism have to offer—one can say that the East has begun to shine brightly on the western horizon. This point has recently been made quite pertinently by Father Frederick C. Copleston, a famous historian of philosophy and authority on theological dialogue, in these words: “The fact is that a need can be felt in our modern western culture that can have an influence on conceptions of philosophy and its function. Some people have felt driven to turn to the East for enlightenment.” (Philosophies & Cultures, Oxford University Press, 1981, p14)
~Purushottam Bilimoria, Melbourne, Australia
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, July 1983
