Inter Religious Dialogue- An Interface of Pluralities

This book describes and narrates the subject 'Inter-Religious dialogue' in detail. It goes deeply into the meanings and dimensions of various types of dialogue. It examines thoroughly some historical evidences to prove the effectiveness of dialogue. In a multireligious and multicultural society like India everyone must have at least a minimum knowledge of the inter-religious relationship.

The rise of hatred and hostility among the people from different religions and cultures is making the common living difficult. The cordiality of the people is slowly disappearing from the society. Division and quarrels among the people on the basis of race and religion is growing fast. Individuals and some organizations are deliberately trying to spread an attitude of enmity in the society. These are the realities today. This work will help to orient the people on right teachings and understandings to overcome the social calamities. Here is the relevance of dialogue. This book aims at a new human society that lives on right understanding, mutual respect and happy living, for which a new path and goal gets revealed through a genuine 'Inter- religious dialogue'.

Rev. Dr. George Y. Odanavattom, hails from a small village Odanavattom, Kottarakara, Kerala. He is a minister of the Marthoma Church and did his postgraduation in Religion and Philosophy from Pune University. He completed his doctorate after submitting his research in Banaras Hindu University. He is an educationist and has been the principal of St. Thomas Higher Secondary School, Ranchi. Also he has served as the administrator and manager incharge of the B.Ed College, Ranny. He has participated and organized several dialogue meetings in India. As a participant he has presented his research papers in various national and international seminars and meetings. He has got a wide range of interests in learning, teaching and dialogue activities.

Plurality is one of the basic characteristics of Nature with Diversity as its beauty and richness. It hasn't been a recent development but it has been there from the very beginning of the creation. Therefore, either plurality or its diversities must not be a point of conflict. All exist complementing each other to nourish and beautify life. With this understanding only, we have to evaluate and reflect on the Indian context.

India is the cradle of all major religions of the world along with several minor religions and tribal religions. Therefore, it is quite natural to have diverse cultures, languages and lifestyles which make the nation colourful and rich in heritage. India has never been an isolated country with closed geographical boundaries. It has been magnanimously open to other cultures and languages, as such various migrations have been taken place in the past. Today's people of India and their life practices are, to a large extent, the result of long historical process of transformations.

Unfortunately, the diversity and plurality in the cultural context have been misunderstood or misinterpreted by many in the present day Indian society. It created hostility and hatred in the minds of common mass by the vested interests. It leads to communal clashes in the name of religion and culture. Also it provokes some to indulge in social evils, discrimination and exploitation. All these elements destroys the peaceful social fabric of our country. Actually all people love to live in peace and happiness. But there are people who spread hostile attitudes and wrong interpretation of religious tenets for their own reasons and gains. They create instances of antagonism in the name of religion and cultural practices. It is our responsibility to identify all these social corruptions and aberrations and help the common people to move away from such evils to keep our society peaceful. We need a society of pro-existence disregard of religion or race to nurture peace, justice and happiness for a healthy living in Indian context particularly. With such a sincere intention this small effort is put before the readers.

India is famous for its richness of diversities diversity of religions, cultures, languages and so on. Its special characteristics and features attract the world. "Its natural resources are the envy of many. The climate and the climatic variations within its four corners hardly leave anything to be desired. Its coastline would probably meet the most exciting demands of any tourism promoter in the world. Its manpower is as vast and staggering as it is intelligent, precocious, diligent, creative, innovative and versatile. It has within its boundaries a diversity of races, cultures, customs, languages and dialects whose variety, immensity, worth, depth and possibilities even a few thousands of scholars, writers and experts may not be able to study and uncover for generations. A country more colourful, fertile and unique may be difficult to come by on this planet." Therefore, India is described as a land of promise. In the field of scientific achievements and technological advancement India is at the fore front. Today, the whole world is looking at this subcontinent with great expectation for doing business or making investments or making friendship with. In the past also people from different parts of the world were very much attracted to this land. India had a rich cultural heritage. She is the cradle of all the major religions of the world and many minor and tribal religions. Plurality of culture is a part of it. The plurality and diversity of her culture and religion is the result of the migration of the people from various parts of the world in the past. "India has never been a closed country, isolated from the world outside its well defined geographical boundaries. On the contrary, it has a turbulent past, marked by migrations, invasions, conquests and settlements. The people of India as constituted today are the fruits of these historical processes. The first to migrate to India and interact with the indigenous people were the Aryans. Despite recent politically motivated attempts to establish the native character of Aryans, scholarly opinion and historical evidence point to their external origin. Between 500 BC and 500 AD several other groups arrived in India - the Persians, the Greeks, the Sakas, the Kushans, the Huns and the Christians. They were followed by the Arabs, the Zoroastrians, the Jews, the Turks and the Mongols. And then came the Europeans the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British. Except for the Europeans, everybody else settled here, made India their homeland and became a part of Indian society. In most cases, these migrants, invaders and conquerors were not accompanied by women and hence they inter- married, leading to racial admixture... the indigenous culture and religion did not absorb or assimilate all that came from outside. Both co-existed, mutually influencing as well as mutually contending. Diversity rather than homogeneity is what history gave to the people of India.

**Contents and Sample Pages**