The Ayodhya dispute has been going on since a decade now. 

It boils down to a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. The site that is regarded among Hindus as the birthplace of Lord Rama which also historically locates Babri Mosque.

Religious leaders present their religion and its followers in a very extreme manner with a stark choice – either you are a Muslim or you are Hindu and you dare not tilt more towards another religion when you belong to one. Moreover, if you belong to one religion, you should reject all the other believes. 

It is truly astonishing that on most occasions people see God as a stern and worldly law giver, about whom we only know too much. We know exactly what he thinks about fashion, food, sex, politics and in this case he surely knows whether he wants a temple or a mosque to be built on this piece of disputed land. This image of angry god has been invoked too many times to justify violence, killings, and conflicts. 

One of the most important religious value is truth. If you have a very strong belief in some story, that does not mean that that story is true. Religion is a path for discovery of truth and truth of one person might differ from the truth of another person, from where stems the idea of patience and tolerance. As humans, we should not need a commandment from the any holy book to prevent us from killing one another. There is something deeply troubling and dangerous about people who avoid killing just because ‘God says so’ or who create violence just because they believe ‘god says so’.

To quote a few words from Yajur Veda, “The one who loves all intensely

begins perceiving in all living beings a part of himself. He becomes a lover of all, a part and parcel of the Universal Joy. He flows with the stream of happiness, and is enriched by each soul”.

People in our society are motivated by obedience rather than compassion, and it is horrifying to think what they will do if they come to believe that their god commands them to kill anyone who is not part of their religion and social order. 

Mediation has failed in the Ayodhya dispute from lack of any kind of agreement since the supporters of Hindu and Islamic religion are too attached to their religious orders and there is no space left for any flexibility to retain peace and harmony. Every religion, if we take a closer look, teaches us to retain the freedom to doubt, to check again, to hear a second opinion, to try a different path. Then how come the followers of the two most popular faiths in the world are so immersed in protecting their faith that they have become ignorant of what these religions stand for and what there true teachings really are.  

O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you.” (Holy Quran: 2, 208)

In fact, modern history has demonstrated that a society of courageous people willing to admit ignorance and raise difficult questions is usually more prosperous and also more peaceful than societies in which everyone must unquestioningly accept a single answer. People afraid of losing their truth tend to be more violent than people who are used to looking at the world from several different point of views. 

Our constitution is a secular one and still a dispute on religious grounds has been going on for years. What does it say about the mindset of our country? What does it say about the new low politics has reached ?

Since the era of independence and formation of our constitution, we have ignored the true spirit of secularism which lies in valuing the truth, developing patience, practicing compassion, adopting equality, taking responsibility and so forth. These values are not talked about nor practiced in our country. 

When religion of humans takes over, these values are lost which are supposed to be the underlying foundation of these faiths. Secularism does not mean a negative indoctrination that teaches kids not to believe in God and not take part in religious ceremonies. Rather, secular education teaches kids to distinguish truth from belief, to develop their compassion for all kinds suffering beings; to appreciate the wisdom and experiences of all the earth’s denizens; to think freely without fearing the unknown; and most importantly, to take responsibility for one’s actions. 

When I think of god I think of him as the god of the Islamic state imbibed with the values from Quran and I see him as a patron of the Hindu religious order of wisdom and goodness, and nothing beyond. 

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