Remarks Given by Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON Minister of Communications During Religious Conference in Macedonia 2007
The World Conference on Dialogue Among Religions and Civilizations: “The Contribution of Religion and Culture to Peace, Mutual Respect and Cooperation”
Ohrid, Macedonia, October 26-28, 2007
Honorable Religious and Government Leaders, Scholars, and Friends:
I speak as a member of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a Vaishnava, or monotheistic tradition, within the broader Hindu family of faith.
The title of this section, “Religion in Education and Its Role in the Transformation of Society,” has two components. First, is the controversial question of religion in education, and second, the concept of religion as a transforming agent within society. I will touch briefly upon both ideas.
Many speakers over the past two days have pointed to the tendency of religion to lead to conflict. For some people in our world, this is a reason to turn from religion, or to discredit it, and to blame it for most of the evil in the world.
It is a fact that misuse of religion has led to many of the world’s most serious problems. Yet, religion in its essence is meant to be a vehicle of transformation. It is a form of education that transforms one’s character and heart. In my tradition, the practice of religion is said to evoke not just theoretical knowledge, or jnana, but vijnana, realization and personal transformation.
Many of us here are wearing different religious dress. We pray in different languages and we sing different hymns, or bhajans. When we enter our place of worship, some of us bow our heads; some bow on one knee; some on two knees; some prostrate themselves flat. Yet, the act of bowing remains is the same. It is meant to teach humility, respect, and a sense of awe and reverence for the Divine and each other.
In their essence, our prayers, chants, and rituals are meant simply to change our hearts and our consciousness. Otherwise, they have no use. They become “empty rituals.”
The difficult part is this: If religion is meant to help educate and transform society, we must first and foremost let it transform us. My Vaishnava tradition teaches that as we are transformed—if we are transformed—we become people of compassion, peace, caring, tolerance, and knowledge. Religion is not just an intellectual exercise, it must act on us, and change us.
In the Upanishads, the ancient Sanskrit texts, a story is told of two birds sitting in a tree. One bird represents the individual atma, or soul, while the second bird represents the Supreme Lord, Paramatma.
The first bird, the individual soul, is busy trying to enjoy the fruits of the tree. The tree represents this material world, and its fruit represents the various pleasures we seek. While the bird representing the individual soul tries hard to enjoy the tree’s fruits, the other bird, who is God, sits nearby, patiently waiting for the individual soul to give up its misguided endeavors to be happy in this temporary realm, and to turn towards God, our eternal friend and source of true satisfaction.
As men and women of faith, we are learning to see the Supreme Lord, the Divinity, within our hearts and the hearts of others. As we do so, our awareness broadens and our vision of this world begins to change. A primary symptom of one awakening this vision, is they begin to see how God is working in the hearts of others—in the hearts of the Christian, the Hindu, the Muslim, the Jew, the Buddhist, the Sikh, and the atheist alike.
It is this spirit of openness, and appreciation of God’s presence everywhere, that leads to the transformation of human society. Such a profound transformation is built upon an awareness that other people are not my competitors, but are fellow pilgrims.
For religion to be a positive, transforming force in the world, we, as religious leaders need to educate our followers in this understanding: The rituals, the dress, and the prayers of others may vary—but we must appreciate and honor the spirit of God within.
I will conclude by touching briefly on the second aspect of our theme, religion in education.
Many nations of the world now include education about religion in their curriculum. They realize that to be good neighbors and citizens of Macedonia, Serbia, Italy, the United States, or any other nation, or of the world, we must be aware of the diversity of religions faith, traditions, and cultures that surround and affect us all.
It is not that schools should proselytize, or endorse a particular faith. Certainly not. They should not advocate a particular religion, or religions. Instead, they should teach about the religions of the world. They need to teach young people how to understand each other better, including their common history, as well as the world’s diverse values, beliefs and cultures. It is not possible to understand the most important events of today or the past, without some grasp and context of religion, and its influence on people’s ideas, beliefs, and values.
To teach young people to better understand each other and our religiously diverse world will build a strong foundation for the future—one not based on fear, ignorance and prejudice—but of understanding, cooperation, and respect.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna.
