Walls Must Fall!

It is imperative that we stand together as one humanity and face the calamities that pose a threat to our very existence. Problems like global warming, pollution of our environment, and shortage of water loom large before us threatening the very existence of human race or even of all living beings on our planet. When we have such problems of global magnitude, we can’t afford to stand separated any more as nations or as religions or as races. Either we stand united and win or we stay divided and fail. We have to choose between life and death. Here I am making a humble plea to overcome our divisions and get united as one humanity. Also I am making a few suggestions of how we may overcome our divisions.

When we were children, the walls that separate humanity were invisible to us. But as we grew older, the walls became visible, and we realized that we are divided based on our color, race, class, nation, religion, and gender, and that the walls that separate us are too strong for us to demolish, and we had no choice but to pledge allegiance to our own group and fight with the others.     

Although we live almost the same kind of life, our understanding of our life varies. We breathe, drink, eat, sleep, work, dress, mate, speak, play, sing, learn and travel almost in the same way. We buy groceries from the same stores, eat food from the same restaurants, use the same means of communication and transport, live in the same kind of buildings, go to the same kind of hospitals, send our children to the same schools and colleges, and watch the same kind of movies in the same theaters. Although our life is the same, our view of life is slightly different. Our beliefs and our religious practices vary. We go to different places of worship.

Gender

We human beings exist as male and female, and they mate to procreate, without which our race cannot continue. As the male and female members live together in families and in other bigger communities, should they have equal status, or should one of the genders dominate the other? The male members, with their physical strength, have dominated and controlled the female members throughout human history holding the belief that the first human being was a male, and a female was created as a support and help for the male. They also hold the belief that God is male. Even today most of the people can’t even conceive God as female. If the male members continue to dominate and control the female members, there can’t be peace, love or joy in our families, and in our bigger communities. People of all places need to be taught that male and female have equal rights, and there should not be any domination based on gender difference. The followers of all religions need to actively propagate the idea that God must be beyond any gender differences, and the first mythological human being must have been a combination of both male and female elements.

Class

We human beings exist in several layers of classes based on the amount of wealth we own. In an ideal society, all members will have enough wealth to satisfy their basic necessities, and all people will have equal opportunities to create wealth. Although our societies strive toward the ideal, we are far from the ideal. Not only do we differ in the quantity of wealth we own, but we also conceive that the status and worth of human beings depend on the wealth they own. As a result, those with less wealth are dominated and controlled by those with more wealth. Traditionally, wealth is believed to be a mark of God’s blessing, and poverty is believed to be a mark of God’s curse. The followers of all religions need to spread the idea that God is actually on the side of the poor, helping to create an ideal society.

Race/Caste

We human beings exist in races/castes. Our physical and mental features may slightly vary according to racial differences. This is a natural development in human history. However, the belief that the racial difference was originally set by God, and that the status and worth of human beings depend on the race/caste they belong to has no basis. All human beings must have the same rights to exist regardless of their racial origin.

Nation

Most of the people in the world are citizens of one or other nation, and some are refugees. This is a temporary arrangement in the present development of the humanity. Eventually, let us hope that all human beings will be treated as the citizens of the world-nation, and the world will be free of refugees. All human beings must have the same status and worth regardless of their national allegiance. Those who belong to a certain nation must not be treated as having higher status than others, and refugees must not be treated inferior to the others.

Religion

Most of the people claim to belong to one or other belief system/religion. Even those who claim to reject all religions have their own beliefs. The beliefs are about the ultimate questions of existence such as what we are and why we are here. These are questions about which verifiable facts are not available. All we can do is to hold on to beliefs and try those beliefs in our life. We experiment with our beliefs in the great laboratory of the world.

Cooperation of Religion and Science

Science usually limits itself to questions regarding what we can perceive with our senses. It likes to deal mostly with facts, and not beliefs. However, religion cannot afford to limit itself to facts, for it takes upon itself the responsibility of offering a meaningful existence to humanity. Religion deals with all the questions that deal with human existence. Religion is as old as humanity, and its goal is to ensure the continued existence of humanity. It helps humanity to face the challenges of existence in whatever way possible. Science is much younger compared to religion. Its goal is to gain knowledge as much as possible, and to save humanity from the corruption of religion. In its infancy, science was seen as opposed to religion, but today, as science has grown mature, we realize that we need both science and religion for the well being of humanity. The primary focus of religion is the very existence of humanity, but the primary focus of science is gaining knowledge. Humanity cannot exist without knowledge and humanity cannot gain knowledge without existing. So humanity needs both religion and science. Science and religion need to stop being enemies and become friends.

Cooperation of Religions

 Religions also need to stop being enemies and become friends. The various religions have developed over thousands of years in various parts of the world. They vary from each other like the human languages. Although all languages serve the same purpose of communication, there are thousands of languages upon the face of the earth. Each language consists of a set of symbols and specific grammatical rules, which the people need to know to use this language. Religions are like languages. They all serve the same purpose -- ensure the well being of humanity by addressing the basic issues of human existence. However, there are as many religions on the face of the earth as languages. Each religion uses a set of symbols only its followers understand.

Just as there are language families, there are religion families. Just as we speak of Dravidian family of languages, we speak of Semitic religions.

Once we realize this similarity between religions and languages, we learn to respect all of them, and stop worrying of which is right and which is wrong. Just as all languages are good for those who use them, all religions are good for their followers. Just as you have a mother tongue, you have a mother religion, the one you were born into. Just as no second language can take the place of your mother tongue, no second religion can take the place of your mother religion.

All religions have their beliefs about the basic questions of human existence. These are beliefs, for they don’t have evidences. The questions religions deal with cannot be answered with facts, but can only be experimented with our life in the great laboratory of this world. Religions may compete with each other in evolving  better models and patterns of human existence.

Religions may also be related to the various medical systems such as Allopathy, Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, etc. They all have the same goal-- heal the sick people. But they have varying perspectives in the diagnosis of sickness, and also in treating sick people. If the practitioners of these diverse medical systems can cooperate, they all can learn from one another, and brand new ways of healing can be evolved. Similarly, if the followers of various religious traditions can cooperate, they can help humanity gain greater strength and stability.    

Conclusion

We began this essay talking about the walls that separate us. The good news is that these walls exist only within our minds, and once we identify them as walls, they lose their power, and they crumple. If I can see all human beings as human beings without discriminating them based on race, caste, color, nation, language, class or gender, I don’t have the walls within my mind. Let us ask this question to ourselves! Are there walls within my mind?   

John D. Kunnathu

The Why and How of Community Life

Summary of the talk given at the first meeting of St. Mary's Prayer Fellowship in Sugarland, Texas.
മലയാളത്തില്‍ ചെയ്ത പ്രഭാഷണം ഇവിടെ കേള്‍ക്കുക

Dear brothers and sisters,

As we are having the first meeting of St. Mary’s Prayer Fellowship, I am honored and humbled for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of this celebration and share your joy and excitement.

This new beginning gives us an opportunity to ask the basic questions about our community such as why we exist as a community and how we should exist. This will help us to lay a very strong foundation to our community so that it can grow to its full potential.

Why we exist as a community is the primary question we need to consider. Why can’t we live our life as individuals? Why should we live together? A community is basically a support group in which the members support one another. We never live in isolation apart from a community. We are born into a community called family. This community is actually a family of families.

Let me explain why we all need to be in a community supporting each other. There is an old story of a blind man and a lame man living together. In isolation, each had a very miserable life. When they started living together, life became a lot easier for them. One could see for both, and the other could walk for both. In isolation, every human being is handicapped. Our handicap may not be physical; it could also be emotional, intellectual, or even economical. When we live together in a community, our handicaps will be compensated to some extent. Apostle Paul explained this idea with a beautiful metaphor. He said that a community is like a body. A body is made of various organs. These organs exist only as parts of the body. In isolation, they don’t have existence. The eyes can see. But that is the only ability of the eyes, and so in isolation, eyes are handicapped. The eyes see not just for themselves, but for the whole body. Similarly, the ears hear, legs walk, and the nose smells for the whole body. Like the organs in a body, we are all different from one another. Our skills and aptitudes are different. But each of us is good at something. Whatever we are good at, let us use it for the good of the whole community.

Together, as a community, we do not exist in isolation from the rest of the world. This small community is a part of the human community at various levels. This parish community is a part of the global community of the Indian Orthodox Church, and thus of the Christian community in the world. This community is also a part of this nation, and thus of the global human community. As a community, we have to find out what we are good at, and we need to use it for the good of the higher levels of human community.

We have already seen why we exist as a community. Now we need to turn to the question of how we can serve this purpose.

The first thing is that we need to stay united all the time. The primary characteristic of a community is that it must have unity. There cannot be a comm-unity without unity. Whatever happens in a community, we should not sacrifice our unity. We must keep our relationships intact. Let me explain how this is possible. Every relationship is based on an agreement between/ among the parties involved. When a party breaks an agreement, the relationship will be broken. If this happens, immediately the party that breaks the agreement has to apologize for the mistake, and the other party has to forgive. This way, broken relationships can be immediately mended.

I want to point out two examples from the Bible. One is an example of what we should do, but the other is an example of what we should not do. The story of Adam and Eve gives us an example of a bad relationship. Their relationship with God depended on an agreement. They broke the agreement, and thus they broke their relationship as well. What they did or didn’t do after the relationship was broken is crucial. They didn’t do anything to mend the broken relationship. They aggravated the problem by placing the blame on others. They didn’t apologize for their mistake, and so God couldn’t forgive them either.

The story of Esau and Jacob is an example of a good relationship. Jacob Cheats Esau, his own brother. He realized his mistake when he was cheated by his own uncle. He went back, willing to apologize. He knelt down seven times before his brother and asked his forgiveness, and Esau forgave him right away.

Any relationship can be broken any time. But any broken relationship can be mended if we are willing to apologize and forgive. We all need to learn to apologize and forgive in preparation for a broken relationship that can happen any time. It is like being prepared for a fire by having the fire-extinguishing equipment and by practicing fire drills. Before getting into any relationship, we need to practice the apology-forgiveness drill so that we can save relationships and be in unity.

If we need to stay united among each other, we need to stay united with God as individuals and as community. Our relationship with God is also based on agreements. If we break an agreement with God, immediately, we should apologize, and reconcile with God right away. Without maintaining unity with God, we cannot maintain unity among ourselves.

Our Qurbana, our prayer meetings, our Sunday school, our women’s association, and our men’s association—all these must have the primary purpose of maintaining unity with God and among ourselves. If we grow in unity, we will be able to serve our calling. We will be able to support each other within our community, and we, as a community, will be able to serve the human community.

Thus we will become a community of people that serve each other, and serve the world. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ modeled for us in his life, and this is what we are called for. That is the will of God for us. May God bless us to fulfill this calling!