I was born into a Hindu family but studied in a convent. For me going to church was as important as going to the temple. I prayed with as much fervor to the Christian god as I did to my Hindu gods. I invariably prayed to the Lord Jesus when the matter pertained to my studies or to Mother Mary before exams, but for other spheres in life I turned to the Hindu gods as readily. If a dal got burnt or we had done something that we didn't want my mother to find out I often prayed to the Hindu gods. I was very comfortable with this duality and never felt it was unusual.
It is only as I grew in years that people would often question me about my religion for they could not comprehend how I could think of Jesus and Krishana or Rama at the same time. Since I had offered Religious Knowledge as a subject in my Senior Cambridge my knowledge of the Bible was definitely more than my knowledge of the Hindu scriptures. But I never thought of myself as anything but Hindu. The fact that many people viewed me as a Christian had never occurred to me.
The awareness was brought home to me one evening when we had some German guests to dinner and I dared to argue with them and quoted at length from their religious books. The guest looked at me and asked me: "Are you a Christian?" I came out with a vehement "No" but my father had answered simultaneously that maybe by faith I was. That really hurt me and shut me up for the evening. So once the guests had departed I asked my father why he had said that. His answer was very simple, "You know the Bible so well, but how well do you know the Ramayana or the Mahabharat?" of course I had no answer. I tried to fumble that for me it was just like learning a subject but that didn't change matters.
I might say that was like a wake-up call. I decided to buy the Hindu scriptures and began reding them regularly until I felt I was equally well-versed in them. Having read and mastered these I became possessed by a great thirst to learn more about other religions too. I then went and bought the Koran. It was blasphemous to be reading the Koran in a Hindu house, but I persisted despite my mother's questioning. She was convinced I must have acquired a Muslim boyfriend but there was no way I could argue with her to convince her to the contrary. However, I went on to read about the Buddha and Lord Mahavira after that. About Guru Nanak one had always known quite a bit even if it was vague and more like folk tales.
The good that came out of all this reading I feel is that I am very much at home with everyone and do not find religious differences between people a barrier to friendship or even love. In the minds of most people religious differences are a dichotomy and that becomes the root of conflict, but in my mind all religions teach the same thing basically and instead of a dichotomy I am aware of a duality or a multi- whatever.
When I read about religious wars or communal conflicts I am unable to understand what is at work and often wonder how can we be so stupid, but thats not the answer. When I think about it I feel maybe we should have religious knowledge as a subject in our schools where not one but the basics of all religions are taught. This would create an awareness of the commonality of all religions instead of focusing on petty things like who eats beef or who is circumcised. It would definitely create for a greater chance at world peace.
