Why to name the religions? Prof. Dewakar Goel

Our country is having  the second largest population in the world but in terms of  the number of religions, I think we are on the top. When we talk about the names of the religions it is Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Jews, Parsis and the list continues. We have different places of worship, different ways of worship and different modes and means of worship for the respective religions. It is indeed there in every country.

If we talk about Christianity, we have different churches which have bifurcated the religion as Protestians and Catholic. In Muslims also, Shiah and Sunny are there. Sikhs have also divided themselves by way of different Gurudwaras.

Besides above, during last three decades I have come across large number of people saying that they do not believe in any religion. On contrary, my prolonged and close interaction reveals that they do have the real meaning of religion because they are being able to experience the existence of  God in their conscious minds.

The sensitivity, emotions and feeling are the signs of being human which differentiate us from animals. Sorrow and Happiness are the natural happenings in the life of every human being. We look for empathy in both these situations. When a person is sad he needs a shoulder to rest his tiring head on; someone who can wipe his tears and ask passionately - Why are you sad? The people who do not have belief in any religion are having strong will power and recognize super natural powers in their consciousness with whom they can talk in weak moments of life.

Though we are having different religions but somewhere we all converge; We all are convinced that there is only one God with whatever name we may call. Today you will find temples , Gurudwaras, Masjids and Churches nearly in all the countries. Some religions flourished  in the countries which are much away from their place of origin like Buddhism.

Who teaches us about religions? It starts with the Mother followed by Father, teachers, environment, friends and also the acquaintances of early age. We attempt to find the meaning of religions from our elders. In the later stage of life our faith and belief in religion become stronger from invaluable experiences. Today we are witnessing a golden period when husband and wife are having different religions, they love it and allow their children to choose any religion. It comes from within as to what meanings I should give to God and Religion. Somewhere I feel that my Parents are living God for me and today when I have crossed the age of fifty and lost my parents, I easily find them when their images are reflected from the statues of God. Going to the temples and worshipping I can easily have the experience of talking to God because the images of my parents emerged from the statues.

Let me come back to the core issue about the God and Religion. Can we say that there is a super natural power which is controlling all activities of the world? This concept is more relevant when the scientists are hopeful of finding many more earths like ours in the Universe. They have propounded the theory which gives rise to a new research leading to the search for an Earth like ours where human beings may be living parallel to us; apparently it is still out of our vicinity.

I personally felt in my life that though I am Hindu by birth having great sanctity for various sacraments, values and ceremonies which have been inherited by me from my parents. But over a period of time especially on the base of having education in the Christian Institutions I was convinced that the religion should be taken as way of life.  Worshipping in temple, Mosques, Gurudwaras and Churches is a wasteful exercise unless one is being able to concentrate towards God from his inner soul what we call as meditation which teaches us to feel the breadth as soul coming in and going out perhaps the same way we need to have close attention towards God .

Why do we go to a religious place for worship? I think the answer is to have an environment that is  much above from the earthly matters. Why do we study the earth with the aid of the globe when we know that the globe is not the earth? May be, because it is difficult to visualize where is England, America or our own country India? Globe makes it easier to comprehend the existence of various countries, mountains, oceans etc. on the earth.  A detailed study of globe with proper attention to minute details helps us in understanding the whole world. Similarly a statue of God with whatever name we may call cannot be the God in Reality. Instead, we need a statue or a place of worship like we need a globe to understand the world. The God is so vast that we cannot comprehend unless we are a good meditator. It is certainly true that a statue of God makes it easier for us as it has got a definite shape.

Let me narrate a live example rather an incident when I experienced the existence of God that too in Mother Mary. While working in the government, my management always had the pleasure of transferring me from one station to another in the middle of the academic session throwing a challenge open as to how I manage the admission at the new place of posting? My children were studying in Bombay when I moved to Calcutta; it was the month of November. All my attempts to stay at Bombay failed and I was forced to accept the transfer. The initial month was spent in utilising all my influences for securing admission for my children. Unfortunately, there was no hope. I wanted to have admission of my daughter in Auxilium convent but everyone discouraged by saying that it is impossible because earlier even Mother Teresa and now Sister Nirmala’s Telephone could not make it possible for children of my senior bureaucrat colleagues. I really reached at a pathetic stage, went to Auxilium school but could not get entry. What to say about talking with Sister. Rose.!

The above incident made me helpless to recall my days in Bombay when I used to attend the Novina prayers at St. Michael Church Mahim. Having studied Bible as my subject till 5th standard I did have strong belief in prayers by every human being irrespective to the religion he professes. So I prayed to mother Mary and Infant Jesus too for my wish to admit my daughter in Auxilium convent. I was quite sincere in my prayers and somehow I could have proper concentration in visualizing myself as if I am standing before the statue of Mother Mary in Bombay Mahim church.

One day, it could be my imagination, hallucination or a dream that I experienced a rare moment when by closing the eyes I could see Mother Mary telling me that my prayer is answered by her and my daughter is admitted in Auxilium convent. I asked the Mother for directions as to how it would happen. Mother Mary smiled and said that I should go to the convent with her message, not to disclose to anybody about the request for the admission of my daughter. I was directed to have the entry in the convent by saying that I have come with the message to be conveyed to Sister Superior Rose and then I should inform Sister Rose about my prayer that has been responded. I could not realize as to whether it was a dream or reality. It was still a state of uncertainty in my mind but somehow my inner consciousness compelled me to obey the directions of Mother Mary.

The very next morning, I went to the convent and as anticipated, the entry was denied, the Gatekeeper refused entry at any cost. The gatekeeper had seen me earlier, coming with the request for admission of my daughter. I stressed that I have come with the message for Sister Superior Rose which can be disclosed to her only and it is a message from   St. Michael Church Mahim, Bombay. The Gatekeeper could realize the seriousness of my statement and went inside, I had to wait just for a couple of minutes, he came back and allowed me to go to Sister superior’s Room. I went to Sister Rose and wished her.

There were some posters in my hand with pictures of Jesus and Mother Mary which were purchased by students from St.Paul, Santacruz, Bombay. While giving the posters to sister rose, I told about the message for her which has come from Mother Mary. She looked at me with a great surprise and said “what are you saying?” I repeated, “Yes, It is a message from Mother Mary that my daughter has been admitted in your convent”.  She looked at me in a different way and said “you seem to be a person holding senior position, a well-educated man but are you in your senses? How Mother Mary can talk to you? Don’t try to be in fool’s paradise, I have already refused your daughter’s admission. There is no question of admitting the child when the Half-Yearly Exams have already been over”. She advised me to come next year. If my daughter can qualify the entrance test etc., I said firmly “sister, my daughter has already been admitted by Mother Mary and you are here just to comply the prayer which has been answered by Mother Mary, rather you are a messenger to execute the blessings of Mother Mary”. She was still in a confused stage and told me “Are you serious?” I said “Yes sister” and I narrated the whole incident of my dream to her. Now it was her turn to be serious about the whole incident. She closed her eyes for a minute and said, “Come with me to the church, let me also ask Mother Mary as to what she says to me?”

Thereafter we both went to the church and stood before the statue of Mother Mary. Sister Rose told me that she would like to confirm with Mother Mary about the integrity  of my statement. I said “sister, we are human beings to keep double standards but God always says the truth. If Mother Mary has responded to my prayer, it is to be the same for you also”. Sister Rose reacted to my statement and said “O.K, Let me have my prayers, and by the time you will return from Bombay I may have the confirmation from Mother Mary”.

It took about 15 days when I came back to Calcutta with my family and shifted my residence. Soon after joining the Office my P.A. told me, “Sir, there was a call from Sister Rose of Auxilium convent , She has asked you to meet her with your daughter”.  Next Day, I went to Auxilium convent with my daughter where I got the biggest surprise of my life. Sister Rose accepted my greetings and said “You were right, your prayer was really granted by Mother Mary, I have admitted your daughter in my convent and let me inform you that it is for the first time in the history of this convent that a child has been admitted in the middle of the session. I must respect the sincerity of your prayers and the blessings of Mother Mary to You and your daughter”.

The above incident may not be the only one which has happened with me. There are many, who are publishing thanks giving in newspapers. On the contrary, it was a rare experience of having encounter with God. It can happen with any God you may give the name. It could have been Allah, Lord Shiva or Guru Nanak. It is a matter of belief. For me it was Mother Mary since I visualized the church. The same happenings are there when a person goes to Makkah-Madina, or to Tirupathi Balaji or Golden Temple at Amirtsar. The purpose of this article is to express my feelings and convictions which says that there is only one God, we all human beings are alike though we are from different countries, professing different religions.  I would like to ask “ Is there any need to give name to the religion? For me it is Humanity which is the best religion.

The author Prof. Dewakar Goel is General Manager - Human Resource, Airports Authority of India for all Airports of Southern states with base at Chennai Airport. He is IATA qualified instructor from Geneva Switzerland on the expert panel of International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal Canada

Prof. Goel is a visiting professor for many prestigious business schools, including IIT’s and NMIMS university, Mumbai. He has authored more than 10 books which includes the books on management. Recently he was the chairperson and speaker for Asian Airports Summit 2008 at Singapore as the only Indian among representatives from 16 countries. He is delivering lectures on the topic of “influence of stress on performance” based on his research for PhD

Prof Dewakar Goel can be contacted at dewakargoel14@gmail.com and mobile -09445067070 with address Bungalow D-3 Airports Authority of India (IAD) Colony Chennai Airport, Chennai -600027 India