Imagine

At different levels, we somehow contribute to the survival of the fittest, one of the primary ideas of Hitler that we "publicly" detest. For a start to this series, let's look at the larger perspective, what if there was no religion or country for that matter. All religions focus on love as the central concept. But the longest wars in recent memory are due to religious differences. Religious intolerance has somehow found its way into our thinking process again at different levels. No one would want to associate themselves with Lord Vandemort in the famous Harry Potter series. The pure blood concept, wherein Lord Vandemort considers wizards born of mixed blood ( one parent is human and the other parent is wizard ) to be of lower status( mud-blood ) and unworthy to be called wizards, is something we find deep down even in "good" people who would normally not be willing to accept it publicly. Maybe atheists are better in this regard, because they'll not be judging people according to their religion.
Why can't one see and understand that we all worship the same God. We may seek him and address him differently because we were born into different religions or our circumstances led us to see the beauty and liberation in a new religion, thereby choosing it as the path toward salvation or moksha. Did not the same God create a christian, a jew, a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist, or an atheist for that matter.

The old testament from the bible may teach that Israel is God's own country and "believers" may believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation. Hindus may believe in Karma and that our current actions will influence the caste we fall into in our next birth or finally attain moksha. Islam(which means "to enter into peace") may teach that Allah is the one true God and Prophet Muhammad brought the all-comprehensive message. Is this what these religions teach as their central concept? What matters is that these beliefs were passed on to us by inspired people who taught us according to their individual experiences.

K

Yes, many tend to get so self-absorbed....me included....that we don't stop a bit to think about those who are hurting. Thanks for stopping by K, keep the HOPE burning though.

Yes.

What you write here is very true, and very sad. I think it's all too easy to forget that we could have been anybody, and that anybody else could have been us. That attacks in NE India, Pakistan, etc have almost become non-news is tragic. It's too easy to hate and too hard to understand.