A poem by Cecil Rajendra
Any religion
that sidelines
excludes
any one.
Any religion
that does not
open doors to
every one.
Any religion
that targets
fingerpoints
some one.
Any religion
that claims
it’s “the one
and only one”.
Any religion
whose language
is “we” / “they”
and not “us”.
All such religions
run against God
who is Oneness
& abhors divisions.
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Cecil Rajendra is a Nobel nominated poet. He is much respected for his pioneering work as a human rights lawyer and environmental activist as well as his poetry. He was first published in 1965 while studying law in England. Since then Rajendra has explored the cultural, spiritual and material values of Asian society and critiqued both industrial development and development aid by means of his poetry. As an activist his passport was famously impounded by the authorities in the 1990’s for alleged ‘anti-logging’ activities. In 2005, Cecil Rajendra was the first ever recipient of the Malaysian Lifetime Humanitarian Award for his legal aid work and his inspirational poetry. That same year he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Text courtesy AHRC
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God, one, poem, Poetry, Religion
This reminds me of Jain philosophy of which I wrote about on my blog some time ago.
Anek?ntav?da is the principle of pluralism and multiplicity of viewpoints. It is the idea that truth and reality are perceived differently from different points of view and no single point of view is the complete truth. Proponents of Anek?ntav?da apply this principle to religion and philosophy, reminding themselves that any religion or philosophy, even Jainism, that clings too dogmatically to its own tenets, is committing an error based on its limited point of view.
Makes sense to me
Thanks Cubano – this is just an inclusive statement that does not single out any particular ‘right’ path. It is about the spirit and not dogma as you rightly say
yes it makes sense to all of us – only if we are willing to acknowledge it.
No such religion exists in this world, I believe. The tragedy, of course, is that many religions are made out to be that way, even by some of the followers of those religions.
Idealism keeps us on the right path. To question the validity or the existence of idealism is to admit despair, a commitment to hopelessness. Let idealism live on; even if it’s only in the mind!
“God who is Oneness and abhors divisions” – absolutely! Yet our world seems to be getting more and more polarized.