Proud of my IndiaWe are proud of our heritage - a multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives.
For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism - it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
India led the way to the freedom movement, since 1947 every country has been liberated from colonialism. Indian democracy is a shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully transferred the powers. Indians are inherently secular and economically capitalistic. They believe in "live-and-let-live" life style, which is the essence of capitalism.
Through the years we have expressed the highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our embrace would be and we can cushion more differences. Let’s continue to honor the concept that there is always another side to the story, as finding the truth is our own responsibility.
Our goal is to seek ideas and make attempts to move towards solutions to ensure continuance of our Pluralistic Heritage. The world is one family; Vasudhaiva KutumbakamWe must be open to ideas from the fanatics of the divide to the intellectuals. It is the only way we can learn all aspects of an issue.
Any long term policy will have to be based on factoring in all expressions. We cannot overlook the voices that are meek or extreme, as some day they could be explosive. The stability of a civil society depends on how the powerful treat their weak. Mighty empires have come and gone, whereas good governance will last and be remembered.Multiple ways of worshipping the divine has been a way of life through out our history. Our people have believed that all rivers lead to the ocean. That open mindedness has allowed us all to embrace diverse ideas and expressions with ease. India is proud to have all expressions of divinity from Atheists, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Jewish, Sikh to a Zoroastrian.
Hinduism, the land’s oldest practicing faith can sum up one of the purposes of life is to become Brahman. When one becomes a Brahman, he belongs to all, and everything belongs to him. A man becomes free from all prejudices and the elements like ignorance, ill-will, malice, anger and desires. That is one’s struggle to get freedom from the bondages and one’s effort to be good to all mankind. That is the single most important item of faith that Prophet Muhammad taught thru Islam, and that was the message in every religious tradition. To be good to others and good will come to you.
I wish a very happy India Independence day to my fellow Indians around the world.
Now, it is your turn to bring independence to the millions who are entrenched in misery and poverty.
We also need to gain freedom from bias towards each other on religious, nationalistic or ethnic basis. We need to be free and achieve the Mukti, Nijaat, Nirvana, Moksha, Salvation and real freedom from our own littleness.
I am proud of my heritage and am proud to be an Indian-American. Please join me in the discovery of India at IndianPluralism@yahoogroups.com as time permits and share the wealth of knowledge you have on this forum. Play and enjoy the two versions of our national anthem:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh26zOjIh9I&feature=related
and listen to some 20 Patriotic Songs in a row -
Mere Desh ki dharti is repeated twice in a row
http://tinyurl.com/IndianPatrioticSongsbyMike
Jai Hind
Mike Ghouse is a speaker on Pluralism, Islam and India offering pluralstic solutions to the media and public on issues of the day. His work is encapsulated in 22 Blogs and 3 Websites listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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