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Varanasi massacre diminished humanity

17 March 2006, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Sona Kanti Barua, President, Canadian Buddhist Council, Toronto
17 March 2006, 18:00 PM
Why would anyone want to bomb a holy Hindu temple in India, which is the House of God? Terrorists wanted to incite Hindus and play the political game as occurred in Gujarat. But they did not understand the deepness of the Indian understanding of racial riots. This kind of sinister conspiracy and mockery game of the Kashmiri terrorists is over. Peace loving people all over the world will have been shocked upon reading the massacre at Varanisi's Sankat Mochan temple premises on March. Hindus never invaded non-Indian country. Varanasi is the holy city of the Hindu world. Kashmir was the Buddhist land of emperor Kaniska. Buddha preached his immortal message of non-violence at Saranath near Varanasi. Nobody could destroy the peace by violence. Many evil forces come and go. But the force of peace remains forever. We believe the degradation of Brahmins, Muslims, Dalits in Varanasi temple's explosion is also our degradation.

It is remarkable that the triumph over prejudice and ignorance is a triumph for us all. Humanity is like the ocean. Nobody could divide it in the name of religion. Any human being should not condemn other civilizations and religions, thinking 'I will glorify my own civilization and religion by using bombs and violence in destroying others.' In so doing he or she injures his or her own religion more gravely. Even the British Muslims deplore Varanasi blasts. Greed and hatred are roots of many problems of human beings. In order to really address these problems, it is necessary to bring greed and hatred under control.

During the 10th and 11th centuries, Buddhism in South Asia was eclipsed by foreign invaders and terrorists while political turmoil and racist war wiped out Buddhist universities and communities. Foreign invaders came to India and Emperor Aurangazeb's (1658-1707) ultimate aim was conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. In the name of religion some Muslim kings even confiscated their rights and dignity. But we have to find world peace in loving kindness, compassion and non-violence. In the name of religion south Asian sub-continent was divided. Our mental darkness creates a wall and geographical boundaries. Where there is a division, there are conflicts. Only compassionate wisdom could solve them.

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In his famous book entitled "Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology and Ideologies of Western Dominance," the author Michael Adas' writes, "In the long term interests of the peoples brought under European rule." (p. 200). Clash of civilisations started when Europeans became supermen with scientific invention and technological progress. Thus Western colonial rulers and Christian missionaries delved deep into Indian and Asian philosophy, ethics and civilizations not for edification, but for destructive criticism and disparagement.

But the heart of the land as well as the society shows "Truth alone is victorious."