Selective Amnesia There was a point to this. But I forgot.

Why shy about religion as University courses?Whether all the Religions have a common root?

I have been a serious reader of English Novels, since 1964, and continue to read, though the pace and the frequency has considerably slowed down. Further, during my early days, I was able to appreciate only the story line and nothing beyond. However, my recent readings on novels like, Da Vinci Code, or Daemons and Angels or even to a certain extent The Alchemist, (The Word and The Detective—some dusting of my memory past), my thoughts go a little beyond the story line.

These books, talk about Academicians and Religion as a subject of study- may be symbology, ancient Cryptography, Apocalypses, or Bible research. Even after giving generous allowances for Fiction, these books lead you into a direct conclusion that American Universities are not shy of conducting serious research and to offer Academic course either at Graduate or Postgraduate level to willing Students. Further, you are also amazed that Religion, the discussion, ownership or the practices are not confined only to Pundits, Bishops or Mullahs, but also to professors, and students. Had this made them less Christian or has the power of Church any way diminished? No! on the contrary, I understand from a number of my friends that belief in God is growing, and growing day by day, ( may be more after 9/11).

In India, if BJP wants to introduce Vedic studies, every other Party starts shouting Safronisation of Education. Either they vote out, or de-safronize the education or introduce various other cleansing programmes, as if anything Hindu is contagious.

Ours is a democracy and so also USA. Is there sub sects and caste system within Democracy, as one system allows freedom of education and people’s choice in what they want to do, while the other sect of democracy says that people should get only what the parliament decides. The reason is not difficult to see. The parties in Government are more interested in protecting their length of rule/ Governanvce than to listen to their own conscience or what is called the Vote Bank. People at large like me and you are appeased with thirty silvers .

One of you may ask, “Why should there be education to common man in Universities than in VedaPada shalas, or in Madrasas or in Churches”. The so called Fictions or Novels, also talk about, how these religious institutions or the Protectors of Religion want to become more powerful than their own Gods, or even their agenda as to what should be taught or what should be documented or what should not be documented, and various other imposed controls. May be this is the reason why we see Religious Fanatics, fundamentalists or even terrorists. That is, terrorists are essentially misguided or wrongly programmed people by religious fanatics. Thus, it is my belief, that if religion is understood as much as we understand Physics, Chemistry or Mathematics or Psychology, it may lead us into universal brotherhood and understanding.

Over the years, I have been getting into a personal belief, that all the current religions are offshoot of one base religion, as much as we have seen in our own history that Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism have evolved from Hinduism. I have been drawing my own parallels from our Mariamman to Vigin Mary, Christ To Krishna, Deluge (Noah’s Ark) to Mahapralayam (Manu ), Christ feeding the multitude through five beads to Krishna feeding the Disciples of Rishi Dhurvasa, Similarities of birth, growth, and preaching of both Christ and Krishna, Star of David to our own Chakras, or even the sound of Namaz to that of Sama Gana to list only a few. Thus any open and unbiased or rational research in Hindu religion, undertaken as part of University curriculam might give a key to a common base of all religion.

C Gopalakrishnan (Senior)