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BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has inspired a global phenomenon of
compassion and service. A spiritual leader and humanitarian, his
programs have impacted more than 25 million people worldwide. He is the
founder of the Art of Living Foundation, a multi-faceted organization
that offers a wide array of educational and humanitarian programs that
uplift individuals, make a difference in local communities, and foster
global change.
Fraudulent and unethical practices
committed by Swamis or religious authorities should be condemned
unequivocally. When a religious/spiritual leader commits a crime, he not
only harms people, but also brings disgrace to the spiritual tradition.
If proven guilty, stringent action should be taken against them. In
fact, the severity of the punishment should be many times more than what
would be given to normal people.
While Islam is blamed for terrorism, and Christianity went through child
abuse scandals in some parts of the world, it is now Hinduism which has
gotten a jolt in Kerala due to malpractices. During these moments of
crisis, one would think that Hinduism needs an authority that could
check these malpractices.
Since there is a lack of hierarchy, and no authority to install a Swami
or Guru, or dethrone them, the Sanathana Dharma is more vulnerable to
being misused. On the other hand, Sanathana Dharma has always believed
that religion and spirituality is an individual's choice; it has allowed
people to find their path and lead others as well. That is why in India,
no prophet was ever crucified, and the freedom of thought, expression
and propagation of faith is inbuilt in to the system.
While a few miscreants have misused the system, religion per se should
not be blamed or ridiculed. There are possibilities of innocent people
being caught in the trap and blamed for nothing. I would advise them to
take this as an opportunity to go inwards, especially on the spiritual
path. History has shown that many innocent people were accused and had
to bear the brunt of society for quite some time, but finally the truth
prevailed. We must remember that society has not even spared people like
Kabir, Adi Shankaracharya, Jesus Christ, and many of his apostles. Adi
Shankaracharya was excommunicated. Gnanadev, Buddha, and many spiritual
and religious leaders were considered as heretics and traitors in their
time. Today, close to one third of the humanity are followers of Jesus
Christ, but during his time, his teachings were considered blasphemous.
It was the same with the Sufi Saint, Mansoor, who was eventually hanged.
Not so long ago, a Swami from a prominent Mutt in Karnataka was accused
of child abuse and was imprisoned for 20 years; he was later proven
innocent by the Supreme Court and all charges against him were dropped.
Another such victim of conspiracy was Swami Omkarananda, who does not
even know how to lift a gun; but he was accused of illegal possession of
arms. He was put in a jail in Switzerland for 27 years, and later proven
innocent.
Religious and spiritual people are there to propagate dharma, knowledge,
self-confidence and emotional and spiritual upliftment of people. Any
deviation from their goal is bound to boomerang on them. A religious
seat should be considered a seat of service and higher knowledge, and it
is unfortunate that these institutions are sometimes used as seats of
power. Prevalent hypocrisy in religion, spirituality, politics and
business is the most harmful thing for a society.
The media has a responsibility to expose those who are fraudulent.
However, the media should restrain from sensationalising such incidents;
even if one innocent image is tarnished, it causes a lot of pain and
suffering. Before the charges are proven, public humiliation and
'bashing' of the accused should be avoided as it can cause irreparable
psychological damage. We have seen this in Iraq where, in the name of
extracting the truth from the culprits, thousands of Iraqis have
suffered enormous mental anguish.
In case of charges being proven false, the irreversible psychological
and emotional damage caused is unpardonable. Media and zealots should be
aware that in the name of catching the culprits, they should not cause
humiliation and psychological harm.
Unwarranted negative portrayal of spirituality and prejudice will only
lead to more suicides and desperation in society.
We must not create prejudice against any section of society, or any
religion as this can be dangerous. For example, after 9/11, Sikhs and
Muslims were tortured as terrorists. American troops have killed
thousands in Afghanistan and later apologized for mistaken identity. In
the Middle Ages, many women and scientists were dragged into the streets
of Europe and burnt alive.
The police cannot play the role of the magistrate. In the past, wise
people would take pride in admitting their mistakes. People should have
that level of consciousness to admit their mistakes and walk towards the
truth. Admitting one's mistakes will enhance one's character. A safe and
secure space should be created for people to come forward and admit
their mistakes. This cannot happen in an atmosphere of fear and
blame-culture. When too much shame is associated with making a mistake,
then people will shy away from admitting them. Mistakes happen,
knowingly or unknowingly. In the past, when spiritual masters realized
their mistakes, they would do their own Prayaschitta (personal attempt
for atonement for wrongs committed), sometimes even harder than the
stipulated punishment.
Religious and spiritual institutions should expose the injustice within
their own religion if any, rather than shield it. If this is done from
the outside and by those who do not believe in religion, it is likely to
be perceived as prejudiced. In the case of the Communists, while they
are absolutely right in denouncing age-old dogmas, they should not
forget that both Stalin and Mao Tse Tung eliminated close to 10 million
people – scientists, socialists, journalists, men of literature - to
stay in power.
In today's complex world, to escape from mounting stress, people look
for easy ways and go to anybody who offers magical solutions. Instead,
they should turn towards pranayama and meditation which is the heart of
Indian spirituality. Millions worldwide have taken recourse to it.
Sanathana Dharma has laid out some of the best principles for humanity
to achieve equality, social justice, a violence-free society, and a
prejudice – free mind. Let every Indian strive for educating oneself and
the society in these golden principles.
To learn more about the teachings of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar and Art of Living courses in Atlanta, please visit
www.artofliving.org/atlanta or contact us at 877-AOLIVING or atlanta@us.artofliving.org.
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