Article – Pluralism

Imagine if everyone were just like you. Life would be so boring! Just as there are countless different flowers on planet earth, there are different people. Different flowers have different colors and aromas, just as different people have different biometrics. Pluralism is not about sameness and equivalence; it is about equal respect and dignity among diversity.

Religions across time and place have attempted to advance these same messages. There is nothing contradictory about having deep faith rooted in one particular religious tradition while still acknowledging the truth and value in others.

I was born in Old Delhi, which remains one of the most religiously pluralistic places in the world. As a child, I was exposed to the living traditions of many religions. In our family temple we had the picture of Prophets from all religions, along with a copy of the Holy Qur’an, since the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, cannot be depicted visually. My dad would read from various scriptures and say that God has incarnated as Krishna, Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, and so on. He would quote the Rig Veda (1.64.46): “Ekam sat vipra bahuda vadanti” (truth is one, but called differently by many).

Hindus depict God in the form of a vast pantheon of beings (“gods”) with both humanlike and animal-like qualities that each represent different ways in which God is manifested throughout the universe. This allows each Hindu to form their own personal connection to God based on each person’s subjective preference for one or more of these representations over others. Because we are all different, we all imagine God in different ways, and Hindus are very conscious of this fact in their worship.

The particular conception of God that each person chooses to implement in pursuing this shared goal of seeking connection with God is akin to one liking the color yellow or the other liking green. The god or goddess you choose to focus on, like a color, is simply a personal choice that doesn’t indicate any kind of superiority or inferiority in belief or worship. Others will not judge or hate you based on such differences. What matters is the intention and practice itself.

The other religions of India were founded on similarly pluralistic values. Buddhism opposes exclusivism, recognizing that there are many paths up the same mountain, with the Buddha expressing only one formulation of the journey toward enlightenment. And the Indian emperor Ashoka, who famously converted to and helped spread Buddhism, turned those principles of religious tolerance and pluralism into sociopolitical laws.

Muslims are commanded to extend a special degree of respect toward Jews and Christians, ‘People of the Book’, who share many of the same prophets, beliefs, and scriptural stories. The Qur’an also encourages Muslims to extend this kind of respect even toward those religions which are not as closely familiar. And pluralism is especially emphasized in Sufism, the mystical sect of Islam which embraces and synthesizes the beliefs and practices of many religions.