Why to name the religions?

-          Prof. Dewakar Goel

Our country is having second largest population in the world but if we count the number of religions I think we are on the top with no other country matching with us. When we talk about the names of the religions it is Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Jews, Parsis and so on. We have different places of worship, different ways of worship and different modes and means of worship. It is there in every country.

If we talk about Christianity, we have different churches which have bifurcated the religion as Protestians and Catholic. In Muslims also, Shiah and Sunny are there. Sikhs have also divided themselves by way of different Gurudwaras. Besides above, during last three decades I have come across large number of people saying that they do not believe in any religion. But somehow, my lengthy interaction with them made me to convince that they do have the real meaning of religion because they are being able to experience the existence of
God in their conscious. The sensitivity, emotions and feeling are the signs of being human which differentiate us from animals. Sorrow and Happiness are the natural happenings in the life of every human being. We look for empathy in both these situations. When a person is sad he needs a shoulder to rest his tiring head someone who can wipe his tears and ask - Why you are sad? The people who do not have belief in any religion are having strong will power and recognize super natural powers in their conscious with whom they can talk in weak moments of life.

Though we are having different religions but somewhere we are all convinced that there is only one God with whatever name we may call. Today you will find temples , Gurudwaras, Masjids and Churches nearly in all the countries. Some religions flourished  in the countries which are much away from their place of origin like Buddhism.

Who teaches us about religions? It is Mother then Father, teachers, environment, friends and also the acquaintances of early age. We find meaning of religions from our elders. In the later stage of life our faith and belief in religion gain strength from experiences. Today we are witnessing a golden period when husband and wife are having different religions, they love it and allow their children to choose any religion. It comes from within as to what meanings I should give to God and Religion. Somewhere I feel that my Parents are living God for me and today when I have crossed the age of fifty, lost my parents I easily find them when their images are reflected from the statues of God. Going to the temples and worshipping I can easily have the experience of talking to God because the images of my parents emerged from the statues.

Let me come back to the core issue of this article about the God and Religion. Can we say that there is a super natural power which is controlling all activities of the world. This concept is more relevant when the scientists are hopeful of finding many more earths like ours in the Universe. They have propounded the theory which give rise to a new research leading to the search for an Earth like ours where human beings may be living parallel to us without our knowledge.

I personally felt in my life that though I am Hindu by birth having great sanctity for various sacraments, values and ceremonies which have been inherited by me from my parents. But over a period of time especially on the base of having education in the Christian Institutions I was convinced that the religion should be taken as way of life.  Worshipping in temple, Mosques, Gurudwaras and Churches is a wasteful exercise unless one is being able to concentrate towards God from his inner soul what we call as meditation which teaches us to feel the breadth as soul coming in and going out perhaps the same way we need to have concentration towards God .

Why do we go to a religious place for worship? I think the answer is to have an environment much away from the worldly things. Why do we study the earth with the aid of the globe? When we know that the globe is not the earth, may be because it is difficult to visualize where is England, America or our own country India? Globe makes if easy to understand the existence of various countries, mountains, oceans etc. on the earth.  A detailed study of globe with proper concentration helps us in understanding the whole world. Similarly a statue of God with whatever name we may call cannot be the God in Reality. But we need a statue or a place of worship like we need a globe to understand the world. The God is so vast that we cannot concentrate unless we are a good meditator. But a statue of God makes it easy to worship.

Going  down  the  memory  lane    i  may  recall  my  visit  to  ajmer  with  my  wife  for  the  dargaha  of  khwaja  moinuddin chishti ..see  we  were  hindu  so  it  was  quite  a  strange  situation   for  not   knowing  the  procedure  of  worship ..we  were  looking  here  and  there when  suddenly   we  came  across  a  very  old  moulwi sahib ..who  guided  us  in  very  polite  manner  ...he  said  it  is  the  dargaha  of  a  sufi  saint    who  was  very  close  to  allaha    you  are  going  to  approach  him  here  with  your  ilteza ..say  khwahish   tell  him  to  listen  you   and  forward   the  same  with  his  recomendation  in  such  a  way  that  allaha  may   kubool   means  accept  it  ...in  other  words  do  not  say  directly  to  allaha  but  make  khawaja  sahib  as  mediator  .. it  was  quite  rare  thing  for  us   we  did  the  same  and  he  accompanied  us  to  different  corners  of  shrine  explained  about  urse  festival ,  we  were  amazed  to  see  very  big  bowls   with  stairs   where  the  food  for  lacs  of  pilgrims is  prepared during  urse ...when  we   were  praying  ... we  found  that  moulwi  sahib   is  not  there  as  if  he  disappeared .  we  search  everywhere  but  could  not  trace  him  .....finally   with  a  guilt  of  not  being  able  to  thank  him  ,  we  came  back  .....after  a  month  or  so  our  ilteza   say  khwahish  came  true  in  reality  ,  we  got  ..what  we  wished  there   and  it  was  the  time  that  we  decided  to  go  there  again  for   thanksgiving  in  the  form  of  presenting  a  silk  chaddar  say  sheet  there .....this  time  also  we  looked  for  moulwi  sahib   who  met  us  earlier  but  he  was  not  there   we  felt  it  was  some  paigamber   sent  by  allaha  to  guide  us ......there  was  no  religion  involved  there ,  we  were  not  hindu  or  muslim    but  only  insaan ....i  strictly  feel  humanity  is  the  best  religion ...we  distributed  food  and  clothes  to  poor persons  there   which  gave  so  much  satisfaction  that  it  is  not  possible  to  express  in  words  here

Let me narrate  another  live example rather an incident when I experienced the existence of God that too in Mother Mary. While working in the government my management always had the pleasure of transferring me from one station to another in the middle of the academic session throwing a challenge open as to how I manage the admission at the new place of posting? My children were studying in Bombay when I moved to Calcutta. It was the month of November. All my attempts to stay at Bombay failed and I was forced to go there. The initial month was spent in utilising all my influences for securing admission of my children. But there was no hope. I wanted to have admission of my daughter in Auxilium convent but everyone discouraged by saying that it is impossible because earlier even Mother Teresa and now Sister Nirmala’s Telephone could not make it possible for children of my senior bureaucrat colleagues. I was really in a pathetic stage, went to Auxilium school but could not get entry. What to say about talking with Sister. Rose.!

The above incident made me helpless to recall my days in Bombay when I used to attend the Novina prayers at St. Michael Church Mahim. Having studied Bible as my subject till 5^th standard I did have strong belief in prayers by every human being irrespective to the religion he professes. So I prayed to mother Mary and Infant Jesus too for my wish to admit my daughter in Auxilium convent. I was quite sincere in my prayers and somehow I could have proper concentration in visualizing myself as if I am standing before the statue of Mother Mary in Bombay Mahim church.

One day, it was my imagination, hallucination or a dream that I experienced a rare moment when by closing the eyes I could see Mother Mary telling me that my prayer is answered by her and my daughter is admitted in Auxilium convent. I asked the Mother for directions  as to how it will happen. Mother Mary smiled and said that I should go to the convent with her message, not to disclose to anybody about the request for the admission of my daughter. I was directed to have the entry in the convent by saying that I have come with the message to be conveyed to Sister Superior Rose and then I should inform Sister Rose about my prayer which has been answered. I could not realize as to whether it was a dream or reality. It was still a state of uncertainity in my mind but somehow my inner consciousness compelled me to obey the directions of Mother Mary.

Next day morning I went to the convent and as anticipated, the entry was denied, the Gatekeeper refused entry at any cost. Because he had seen me earlier, coming with the request for admission of my daughter. I stressed that I have come with the message for Sister Superior Rose which can be disclosed to her only and it is a message from   St. Michael Church Mahim, Bombay. The Gatekeeper could realize  the seriousness  of my talk and went inside, After a few minutes he came back and allowed me to go to Sister superior’s Room. I went to Sister Rose and wished her.

There were some posters in my hand with pictures of Jesus and Mother Mary which were purchased by students from St.Paul, Santacruz, Bombay. While giving the posters to sister rose I told about the message for her which has come from Mother Mary. She looked at me with a great surprise and said “what are you saying?” I repeated, “Yes, It is a message from Mother Mary that my daughter has been admitted in your convent”.  She looked at me in a different way and said “you seems to be a person holding senior position, a well-educated man but Are you in your senses? How Mother Mary can talk to you? Don’t try to be in fool’s paradise, I have already refused your daughter’s admission. There is no question of admitting the child when the Half-Yearly Exams have already been over”. She advised me to come next year. If my daughter can qualify the entrance test etc., I said firmly “sister, my daughter has already been admitted by Mother Mary and you are here just to comply the prayer which has been answered by Mother Mary, rather you are a messenger to execute the blessings of Mother Mary”. She was still in a confused stage and told me “Are you serious?” I said “Yes sister” then I narrated the whole incident of my dream to her. Now it was her turn to be serious about the whole affair. She closed her eyes for a minute and said, “Come with me to the church, let me also ask Mother Mary as to what she says to me?”

Thereafter we both went to the church and stood before the statue of Mother Mary. Sister Rose told me that she would like to confirm with Mother Mary about correctness of my saying. I said “sister, we are human beings to keep double standards but God always says the truth if Mother Mary has answered my prayer it is to be the same for you also”. Sister Rose reacted to my statement and said “O.K, Let me have my prayers, and by the time you will return from Bombay I may have the confirmation from Mother Mary”.

It took about 15 days when I came back to Calcutta with my family and shifted my residence. Soon after joining the Office my P.A. told me, “Sir, there was a call from Sister Rose of Auxilium convent , She has asked to meet her with your daughter”.  Next Day, I went to Auxilium convent with my daughter when I got the biggest surprise of my life. Sister Rose accepted my greetings and said “You were right, Your prayer was really answered by Mother Mary, I have admitted your daughter in my convent and let me inform you that it is for the first time in the history of this convent that a child has been admitted in the middle of the session. I must respect the sincerity of your prayers and the blessings of Mother Mary to You and your daughter”.

The above incident may not be the only one which has happened with me. There are large number of people who are publishing, thanks giving in newspapers. But for me, it was a rare experience of having encounter with God. It can happen with any God you may give the name. It could have been Allah, Lord Shiva or Guru Nanak. It is a matter of belief. For me it was Mother Mary since I visualized the church. The same happenings are there when a person goes to Makkah-Madina, or to Tirupathi Balaji or Golden Temple at Amirtsar. The purpose of this article is to express my feelings and convictions which says that there is only one God, we all human beings are alike though we are from different countries, professing different religions.  I would like to ask “ Is there any need to give name to the religion? For me it is Humanity which is the best religion.

Brief profile of Prof. (Dr.) Dewakar Goel

           

Prof. (Dr.) Dewakar Goel is a Science & Law Graduate with Masters in Business Administration.  Having specialized in Labour Laws from Indian Law Institute, he did his Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations and also in Training & Development from ISTD.  A Ph.D. in Management under guidance of Prof. (Dr.) Sadhan Das Gupta, Calcutta University. He acquired INDIA -ICAO Fellowship in the year 2010. 

In the beginning of the career, he practiced as Advocate at Delhi High Court.    Dr. Goel has authored 12 books which includes books on Management and Law published by eminent publishers. His books have been translated into Bangla, Tamil, Urdu and other languages.

Having served in the private sector for over seven years as a hard core HR Professional dealing with Personnel & Administration.  He topped in the merit list for selection at managerial position in the government sector and stepped up in the   ladder of hierarchy while serving in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai. He rose to the level of HR head during last one decade in the most prestigious schedule “A” PSE.

            Dr. Goel is Doctoral Research Supervisor in Business Management, Banasthali

University and also Advisory Board Member, Centre for Financial Planning Training

& Research for Women, Banasthali University, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad

American University of India, Kodaikanal and Pondicherry University. He is also

Research examiner for Indian institute of public administration and other reputed universities.

Adding feathers to his cap, he is HR Consultant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Montreal, Canada and Human Performance Technologist of International Air Transport Association (IATA) Geneva, Switzerland.  He is a Visiting Faculty and Advisor of highly regarded Management Institutes in India and abroad.  He has addressed large number of National & International Conferences as Chairperson and Key Note Speaker.  

As multi-faceted personality, he has been profiled by print & media in newspapers and TV channels for his poems, stories, articles and research papers are published in national & international journals.