Patheos.com: Religious Freedom, Violence, and Shanti
Troy, MI (May 11, 2011) -
The following article by HAF Executive Council member, Padma Kuppa, appeared on Patheos.com. Please post your comments directly Patheos.com by clicking here.
Seeking shanti has been very difficult these last few weeks; the equanimity I strive for through my daily routines and rituals is akin to looking for a lake without any ripples. Like stones skimming the lake's surface, imbalance results from a parenting choice that I wasn't sure of, or something that I said that brought back a hurtful rejoinder. The actions and reactions are both mine, something I have control over; daily pranayama and meditation usually help me to center myself, to achieve the balance I seek.
But recent actions that are not mine have made such shanti elusive. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report identifying what the U.S. finds to be the world's worst religious freedom violators. The Commissioners heard testimony from many parties, but it appears some voices are more equal than others. While Egypt was cited for the first time, India is on their watch list for the third time, alongside Afghanistan, while obvious violators such as Bangladesh and Malaysia are not. As a Hindu American, the impact of this decision as related to Hindu Indians troubles me, as it does Suhag Shukla, co-founder and Managing Director of Hindu American Foundation, and Sheetal Shah, Senior Director of HAF. The majority Hindu Indian pluralistic ethos—which gave rise to Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism—was given less validity than the political clamor of India's detractors. My Hindu brethren, (remember, the whole world is my family?) are not free to practice and retain their religion, free from predatory proselytizing.
USCIRF is a quasi-government body, and its commissioners heard testimony from HAF, but their perspective, and their judgment, is colored by the limitations of their Abrahamic lens: the Commission doesn't have anyone representing the Eastern faiths. The decision of the commissioners seems similar to the might-is-right and religious-right mentality that tends to drive American foreign policy. Consider Commissioner Nina Shea's track record, reported by the Right Web, of using human rights to push for military intervention. The Right Web is a program of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) that "assesses the work of prominent organizations and individuals who promote militarist U.S. foreign and defense policies, with a special focus on the 'war on terror' and the Middle East" (as stated on its website).
While I searched for answers by reaching out to interfaith friends, for why USCIRF's understanding of India is so different from mine, a boulder dropped into the already-disturbed lake. Shanti became unattainable even through daily centering, as I watched jubilation at Osama Bin Laden's death alongside President Obama's calm statement. One can wish that the actions of the U.S. Navy Seals could be the end of the war on terror. Via email, I shared my thoughts a couple of days after the incident with Imam Elahi of the Islamic Center of America, and others of the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Detroit:
. . . My first response to the news was, we should not feel triumphant, as one of my colleagues was feeling this morning . . . I felt very sad to hear him say, "It took us ten years, but we cut the head off the snake!"
The snake is hatred, stereotyping, and ignorance—and no, we have not cut off the head. Almost 70 percent of Americans don't know a Muslim, and make judgments about what Muslims believe. At congressional offices I have visited as part of the Hindu American Foundation, an advocacy organization that I have been on the Executive Council of since last year, one congressman asked, "Are you Shia or Sunni?"
We must do everything we are doing to continue to strive toward better understanding, a more pluralistic society, and deeper friendship through faith. My prayers are for the wellbeing of all, and hope that everyone finds an opportunity to do something meaningful and inclusive on the upcoming National Day of Prayer. We will be celebrating the 7th Annual Day of Prayer in Troy, at an event held at the Troy First United Methodist Church at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Troy-area Interfaith Group. Out of something bad, we have worked to achieve something good locally amongst our neighbors, and I believe that our efforts must continue in that direction.
Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti
Shalom, Salom, Peace
Similarly, Aseem Shukla's essay on Bin Laden's death generated some electric, electronic back and forth within the leadership of Hindu American Foundation. The Hindu holidays that I celebrate to mark the death of arakshasa (demon) is, for me, an analogy—the person or creature is a personification of an aspect of our own natures that we must overcome. Reading and re-reading the Bhagavad Gita is a means to conquer the demons within, not a means to justify war. HAF Executive Council Member Sachi Lamb's stance, most akin to mine, led me to find the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote from Strength to Love:
Are we seeking power for power's sake? Or are we seeking to make the world and our nation better places to live? If we seek the latter, violence can never provide the answer. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Thankfully, much has been said both about the jubilation and justice served, and I slowly find solace in words such as MLK's.
So seeking shanti becomes both an action and reaction. Since I wish ahimsacould be practiced by more people, my reaction is to push harder for peace both inside and out. I lose myself in the devotional music of southern India at Sarovar 2011 and use the power of the pen to speak out for what I believe in.