The story of religiosity in India is not just the story of conflict, demolition or massacre. It is also the story of interfaith prayer, embracing another religion’s customs and rituals without shedding one’s own. Even as the dogmatic take extreme positions and incite intolerance, common people across the country live in harmony and brotherhood, in peaceful oneness.
They reflect, in various shades, the exalted tradition of enlightened teachers like Sankardev and Kabir, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Shirdi Sai Baba. This is but natural in a country that has seen Dara Shikoh translating the Upanishads into Persian; and in modern times, an ordinary Muslim of Chhattisgarh, Razzak Khan Tikari, performing the last rites of his Hindu friend Santosh Singh in 2015; and Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit doing humble service at the Baba ki Dargah in Nagpur. The custodian of the dargah was invited to the swearing-in of the chief justice this August.
Almost all pilgrims to the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, Kerala, also worship at a mosque dedicated to Vavar, a Muslim warrior, on the way. The Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site for the Sikhs, attracts people of different religions every day. The Baha’i House of Worship, better known as Lotus Temple, in Delhi encourages people of all faith to participate in its prayer service several times a day.
In the following pages THE WEEK takes you through soul-stirring stories of interfaith worship from across the country.
SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Mountain of faith
Ritualism and fanaticism can be overcome by true devotion and spiritual elevation
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 18, 2022 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 18, 2022 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
War Over Wounded Earth
For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra
Say no to continual elections
Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.
Fabulously, fashionably funny
The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?
All in the family
The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.
Death no bar
Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States
The Lotus POTUS
You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.
RAY OF HOPE
Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).
PRESSURE POINTS
Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world
