Dear Mr Mathew Mattam
I entirely agree with you that " Terrorism " is a state of mind and nothing to
do with a religious fundamentalism. Although there are people who will use and
continue to use religious outfits for commiting this heinous atrocity and
carnage. Interestingly Terrorists of one religion will dress themselves as a
stereotype of another religion (dressed as a muslim) so that the aftermath of
the carnage is seen as committed by another religion terrorist.
You and I know that CBI/FBI/ISI and Scotland Yard put together will never in a
million years will be able to eradicate "terrorism". Similarly the police being
corrupt as they are, will never be able to identify a genuine terrorist and
they will continue to victimise minority group irrespective of human rights.
In fact despite Maoists claiming the Murder of Hindu Swamy in Orrisa carnage
against the poor christian tribals continued. Irrespective of public inquiry
and report of their findings we will never know the truth. And even if the
enquiry is impartial there will be some amongst us who will never believe the
report ( especially if it is in favour of christian and muslim minority)
So where do we go from here... I am not trying to lure you (or anyone here in
the forum) to convert to Christianity, as I quote you the Ethic of reciprocity
found in various religious beliefs as below.
They say charity begins at home, but I say Love and Peace should begin at home
and spread to rest of the universe. AMEN.
Buddhism
Putting oneself in the place of another,
one should not kill nor cause another to kill.
One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other
beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.
In addition, the Dalai Lama has stated:
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy,
practice compassion.
Baha'i Faith
>From the sacred scriptures of the Baha'i Faith:
"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and
say not that which thou doest not." Baha'u'llah.
"Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah; "And if
thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which
thou choosest for thyself." Baha'u'llah.
Christianity
Within Christian circles, the ethic of reciprocity is often called the "Golden
Rule". Christianity adopted the ethic from two edicts, found in Leviticus 19:18
("Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love
your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.") and Leviticus 19:34 ("But the
stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and
thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I
am the LORD your God"). Crucially, Leviticus 19:34 universalizes the edict of
Leviticus 19:18 from "one of your people" to all of humankind.
Several passages in the New Testament quote Jesus of Nazareth espousing the
ethic of reciprocity, including the following:
Matthew 7:12
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this
sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Luke 6:31
"Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them."
Luke 10:25-28
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I
do to inherit eternal life?’
26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’
27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your
neighbour as yourself.’
28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will
live.’
Jesus then proceeds to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, indicating that
"your neighbour" means a total stranger, or someone that happens to be nearby.
Confucianism
Confucius said in the Analects:
"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." - Analects
XV.24, tr. David Hinton
The same idea is also presented in V.12 and VI.30 of the Analects.
Hinduism
The Golden rule appears in the Mahabharata, where Vrihaspati says:
That man who regards all creatures as his own self, and behaves towards them as
towards his own self, laying aside the rod of chastisement and completely
subjugating his wrath, succeeds in attaining to happiness. In addition to the
law of karma, the Bhagavad Gita contains a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna
with the statement:
That one I love who is incapable of ill will, And returns love for hatred.
As portrayed by Swami Vivekanand- Do good and forget, don't expect any reward.
Islam
In his Last Sermon, the Prophet Muhammad cautioned believers:
"Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you."
Jeffrey Wattles holds that the ethic of reciprocity appears in the following
statements attributed to Muhammad:
“Woe to those . . . who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact
full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less
than due”
The Qur'an commends "those who show their affection to such as came to them for
refuge and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the
(latter), but give them preference over themselves"
“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes
for himself.”
"Seek for mankind that of which you are desirous for yourself, that you may be
a believer; treat well as a neighbor the one who lives near you, that you may
be a Muslim [one who submits to God]."
“That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind.”
"The most righteous of men is the one who is glad that men should have what is
pleasing to himself, and who dislikes for them what is for him disagreeable."
Jainism
In Jainism, the ethic of reciprocity is firmly embedded in its entire
philosophy and can be seen in its clearest form in the doctrines of Ahimsa and
Karma
Following quotation from the Acaranga Sutra sums up the philosophy of Jainism :
“
Nothing which breathes, which exists, which lives, or which has essence or
potential of life, should be destroyed or ruled over, or subjugated, or harmed,
or denied of its essence or potential.
In support of this Truth, I ask you a question - "Is sorrow or pain desirable
to you ?" If you say "yes it is", it would be a lie. If you say, "No, It is
not" you will be expressing the truth. Just as sorrow or pain is not desirable
to you, so it is to all which breath, exist, live or have any essence of life.
To you and all, it is undesirable, and painful, and repugnant.
”
Saman Suttam of Jinendra Varni gives further insight into this percepts:-
All the living beings wish to live and not to die; that is why unattached
saints prohibit the killing of living beings.
—Suman Suttam , verse 148
Just as pain is not agreeable to you, it is so with others. Knowing this
principle of equality treat other with respect and compassion.
—Suman Suttam , verse 150
Killing a living being is killing one's own self; showing compassion to a
living being is showing compassion to oneself. He who desires his own good,
should avoid causing any harm to a living being.
—Suman Suttam , verse 151
Judaism
The ethic of reciprocity is set forth in Leviticus 19:18 (the Great
Commandment) ("You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your
countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD.") and Leviticus 19:34
("The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens;
you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I
the LORD am your God."
The Sage Hillel formulated the Golden Rule in order to illustrate the
underlying principles of Jewish moral law
That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole
Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn. Rabbi Akiba emphasized the
importance of Leviticus 19:18.
Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy
people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Not surprisingly, Israel's postal service quoted from this verse when it
commemorated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on a 1958 postage stamp.
Taoism
"Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your
own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien.
"The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as
his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is
kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful:
for Virtue is faithful." Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49
Take care
William Kisku
