Misconceptions about Other Peoples Religions - Research Paper Example

The idea never occurred to me that we are prone to breed some sort of misconception about others people’s religions until I discovered my own misconceptions about Hinduism. I recently got a chance to attend Holi, a famous religious festival of Hindus, upon the invitation of one of my dad’s colleagues, who is a Hindu. This was my first experience of attending a religious ceremony of a religion with which I was utterly unfamiliar. The only knowledge I gained about this festival was either through Television or newspapers, where I had seen pictures of people throwing colors on each other. To me, Holi was merely a spring festival that was celebrated in fun and colorful way. Until then, I did not know that this religious festival had some kind of history, and it celebrated the battle between the good and the bad. I was informed by my host that we shall have to come for two days: firstly for the religious service, and secondly for the festivities. The religious service was performed a day prior to Holi and it is called ‘Holi pooja’. It is performed on the day before Holi, called ‘Holika Dahan’. “People light bonfires on the eve of Holi festival to celebrate the victory of 'good' over 'bad' which is called Holika Dahan.” (SCFI) The religious devotion of the people in that ceremony really inspired me and I could not help relating the phenomenon of victory of good over bad with my own religious faith. I was surprised to feel that the sense of unfamiliarity started to fade away as the service proceeded and I began to understand what the history of Holi was all about. According to the historical tradition, The name Holi comes from a princess named Holika. A story relates that many years ago Holika tried to kill her brother Prahlad. She did so at the instance of her father [who] wanted to be worshipped as a god, but one person stood in his way. That person was his son, Prahlad... [the King] ordered Holika to sit inside a bonfire and hold Prahlad on her lap... Instead of Prahlad being burned to death, it was Holika who perished. (Haze, pp. 20-21) I had not the slightest idea that the history of this religious festival dated back to ancient times and how important the victory of good over bad was important to them. Thus, the bonfires that are lit on the eve of Holika Dahan are re-enactment of the trial between the good and the bad. Hindus put the effigies of Holika (that symbolizes the bad) and Prahlad (that symbolizes the good). To my surprise, the effigy of Prahlad did not burn while that of Holika burnt to ashes. My host later told me that the effigies are made of different materials. The effigy of Holika is made of combustible material, while that of Prahlad is made of incombustible material. I witnessed people walking around the bonfire until it extinguished. I was later told that traditionally, people are supposed to start gathering wood for lighting up the bonfire forty days before the religious service. The atmosphere of the religious service was serious and infused with religious fervor. However, the festivities of Holi were splashed with colors, just the way I had seen in television. Despite the fact that I did not have complicated misconceptions about Hinduism, yet my experience of attending their religious service changed my perspective towards their religious morals and principles. I think the cause of misconceptions about others’ religions is a result of limited information or interaction between people belonging to different faiths. This way, we naturally visualize incomplete pictures of their religions and unconsciously breed misconceptions, which is detrimental to healthy relationships between individuals belonging to different faiths. It is important that people should exchange some sort of information regarding their respective religions with each other, as it not only removes misconceptions but also enlightens people about the similarities between different religions. This is a great way of promoting religious harmony between people belonging to different faiths and eliminating any sort of discrimination made on the basis of religion. In this regard, interreligious dialogue can prove to be an effective way of removing misconceptions about other people’s religions. “Interreligious dialogue is a very elastic concept. Sharing experiences and sharing lives, working on common projects for a better world, wrestling together with questions of religious truth- these are some of the approaches to interreligious dialogue.” (Sharma, p.219) Today, people belonging to different faiths are working together in different walks of life. It gives us numerous possibilities to share experiences just like the one I had while attending a Hindu religious service followed by a religious festival. Sharing our experiences broaden our perspectives towards other’s views and let us look at their experiences from their perspectives. Such gestures enable others to change their perspectives about our religions and they may also get rid of any misconception they have about our religion. Thus it is important not only to respect people of all faiths but also not to breed misconceptions about their religions, as this may cause religious or social intolerance and discrimination on the basis of religion. Interreligious dialogue does not imply that people argue between the similarities and differences between their religions; but it should be based on understanding the morals, philosophies and virtues of other people’s religions and emphasizing more on similarities rather than differences. …we should first search for those common threads of similarity which all religions surely have, before we overemphasize their differences- which they also obviously have. Then the placing of less emphasis on their differences and more on their similarities- while still accepting the former- can only benefit to peace and stability in the world. (Trowbridge, p.79) The first step that needs to be taken to remove misconception is to get first hand knowledge or experience about a particular religion. It is important to understand whether the misconception has arisen as a result of limited knowledge or some sort of prejudice towards that religion. Interreligious dialogue can really help, if one really wants to understand the values of other’s religions. It also allows people belonging to different faiths to come together to promote religious harmony which shall benefit everyone in a society. Thus, the aim of removing misconceptions of people about other people’s religions would be to create a society where people have the freedom to observe their respective faiths and they are not discriminated on the basis of their religion. Each member of the society can play his part to remove mutual misconceptions about each other’s religions through interreligious dialogue and make this world a better place to live. References Hazen, W. (2003). Inside Hinduism. St. Louis , Missouri: Milliken Publishing Company. Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (SCFI). Retrieved from http://www.holifestival.org/holi-pooja-process.html Sharma, A. (2011).The world's religions: a contemporary reader. Minneapolis, USA: Fortress Press. Trowbridge, T. (2004). Beyond tolerance: why tolerance cannot solve the problem of religious-based conflict and what the real answer is. Bloomington, USA: AuthorHouse. Read More