Meeting the clergy in London

June 13, 2002

Yesterday afternoon I was invited to meet a group from 'Churches together'(consisting of clergy from Church of England, Baptist, Methodist, Quaker,and Evangelical churches) forum in Pinner. Let me share with the list someof the themes we touched on.The reason why they wanted to talk to me were:-(1) In this part of London one third of the population is Hindu - sothey wish to understand some of the basic concepts of Hinduism. e.g.How would the Hindus look on conversion? asked the Evangelist : )(2) Since September the 11th, religions face the following seriouschallenge. How can religions co-exist without feeling threatened orwithout having to water down their beliefs?The way to go about this, I suggested is:-Theological acceptance of pluralism.The fact that there seems to be more than one path leading to the(possibly) same ultimate has to be reconciled theologically within eachfaith. This, at the moment is impossible and yet will have to happen if wedo not want September the 11th being repeated over and over again.This will mean having to re-examine and re-interpret the scripturesand theological foundations of religions, making allowance that howevergrand these teachings may have appeared - they can only have contextual(not absolute) significance. It is not only Islam which will strongly disagree

to any such re-interpretation, the Church will have great problem too!The all-inclusive ideas within Hinduism that allows for and in factpromotes 'pluralism' in spirituality is a very important tool that has tobe invoked.It says that spiritual growth at all stages from the crudest to the mosttheologically sophisticated, all have room and validity; as they allowfor and appeal to mankind at various levels of spiritual growth. This isnot a statement of compromise. It is a practical requirement. Spirituallywe can only progress from where we are and not where others are.The path that relates to me and allows me to progress from where Istand is the best path for me. This gives me the freedom to growspiritually from where I stand without feeling threatened or withouthaving to compromise the integrity of my chosen path. This is pluralism.I suggested that even though the Interfaith movement at the momentmay appear 'Incidental' or if I want to be more unkind 'A token gesture'with little or no relevance to the real world - the unfolding world eventswill thrust 'Interfaith movements centre-stage'. To coin a phrase: Thislittle vehicle is about to be hi-jacked to take on a far greater role for thebenefit of mankind.

On the issue of conversion I had a bit of fun. I said my problem is Christians

emailing me asking me how to become Hindus... I have to tell them you are fine

where you are. Christianity is a valid, tried and tested pathway - you must carry on,

do not become Hindus. This is pluralism in practise. On a more serious note I said

that lessons the Christians and Muslims can learn about conversion comes from the

first missionary religion the world saw - Buddhism.....it spread without force, fear,

fraud or financial inducement. If you have to resort to these to spread your religion

you demean your Christ.

There are some other issues that come to mind (which I did not discuss at this meeting)

but which are relevant. Let me share my thoughts with the list - In the final instance

the validity of each religion has to be the God-men of various religions and their

spiritual experiences. They are the only proof or validity all religions can offer. If pluralism

and interfaith ideas are thrust onto centre-stage to deal with the present threat faced by mankind....... then a serious theological question will arise. To justify 'pluralism' as

theologically valid we will now need a God-man who claims highest spiritual

experiences prescribed not just by one main religion but by a group of them

(preferably Christian, Muslim and Hindu!). Where do we find such a personality.

I wonder : )

jay (dilip)

Vivekananda Centre London