Tracing the roots of my quest for Pluralism.
I
am an
Indian American, and take immense pride in the pluralistic ethos of
India. Indeed, I have made a commitment to nurturing
those values, and share them with fellow Americans in my talks, articles
and media appearances. Let me be clear; everything is not hunky
dory, India has deep scars and wounds that need healing, these wounds** if not treated, will continue to be a drain on nation's spiritual health. At times, the frustrations can reach the tipping point leading into riots, massacres and Genocides, in the process hurting every one.
Collectively,
as Indian Americans, we contribute to the richness of America in the
fields of medicine, science, engineering, biology, politics, religion,
information technology and smart corporate management. However, the time
has come for us to give fullness to our participation by contributing
in social sciences.
As a social scientist, my contribution would
be sharing my motherland's pluralistic heritage with my homeland as a
gift to America. By the way, India was one of the first three nations
on the earth to recognize American independence in 1776, it was Tippu
Sultan, the head of the state of Mysore (Karnataka) then along with
Morocco and France.
Two decades of research work on Pluralism
In
the last twenty years, through Asian News Magazine (1993-2001), Asian
News Radio (1996-2001), Desi TV (1996), Yahoogroups (2003 -now), and
various blogs like Mike Ghouse for India, Sulekha (1999 - now) and
several (30) sites for each topic, I have shared our pluralistic
heritage.
The Asian News Magazine featured the essence of every
religion, and the multi-cultural aspect of India and its inclusiveness,
the Asian News Radio featured weekly hour dedicated to presenting the
essence of religious festivals so we can learn about each other. We also
produced more than 500 hours of talk show radio on religion, every
beautiful religion, Pundits, Pastors, Imams, Rabbis, Shamans and
Religious clergy from each faith joined me daily to share the wisdom of
his or her religion, indeed, Atheism and pluralism had its own slot.
There
is not a public forum where I have not been inclusive. A few years ago,
one of the business radio stations (AM 1360) in Dallas was doing a show
about ‘giving’ during Christmas season. They invited a Rabbi and a
Pastor and wanted me to fill in for Islam, and I did with a condition
that I am allowed to acknowledge and mention charity in every faith
including Hinduism, Baha'i, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and other
traditions.
For two years we conducted two sets of workshops
called Understanding Religion, all the beautiful religions (Atheism was
part of the learning). We had a Rabbi, Pastor, Pundit, Imam, Shaman and
respective religious ministers joined in presenting a three hour
workshop - on each faith. Funds permitting, I hope to recommence the
workshops, and create a replicable model. The idea was to demystify the
myths about each faith. Two of the most misunderstood faiths are
Hinduism and Islam, and we cannot let people rot in mis-information, we
have to do our share of the work in creating a bettter world. Of course,
finding the truth is our own individual responsibility.
Each one
of us is capable of standing up for others, when we do that; all of us
would be safe. We cannot demand peace, when we are not peaceful within,
we cannot ask others to be hateful, when we are full of it.
Media Presence
As
President of the Foundation for Pluralism, I contribute an article a
week to the Texas Faith column at Dallas Morning News for over two
years, and just about every piece weaves through several religions. The
articles appear regularly at Huffington Post, and occasionally at
Washington post. Heck, when I wrote a tribute about my late wife, father
and mother, I found them reflecting the values of most religions, if
not all.
The TV, Radio, Print, Web and Social Media has been good
to me, giving me a strong national and local presence including Sean
Hannity’s Show on Fox News (over 50 appearances), and many nationally
syndicated Radio shows.
Over 1500 articles on the topic of
Pluralism, Interfaith, Politics, India, Israel, Middle East, Islam,
Human rights and conflict mitigation have been published. Major news
papers in the United States and across the world, including Iran,
Somalia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, European and other Asian Nations have
carried them. I have not checked if Timbuktu news papers have carried
them as well.
The international forums including the Council for a
Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia; the Middle
East Peace Initiative in Jerusalem; and the International Leadership
Conference in Hawaii, Chicago and Washington have also provided me the
platform to speak about Pluralism.
It is a blessing to have
served as a commissioner for the City of Carrollton and president of
many a organizations including Home Owners Association, North Texas
Cricket Association, and a board member of several non-profits such as
the Dallas Peace Center.
No matter where I go, my identity is Indian.
Indian democracy
We
are the original Pluralistic Democracy in the world, and can serve as a
model to nations where they are experiencing co-emergence of multiple
religious people in work place, schools, dining, playground and
different aspects of living. They all can look up to India about moving
forward despite the difficulties, India's diverse population has
successfully co-existed for centuries in relative harmony. Thanks to the
founding fathers for embracing that tradition and opting for a Secular
democracy upon Indepedence in 1947. Where else on the earth, can you
have personal conflicts resolved through your own religious guidance?
Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Jains and
others have their personal laws to square with the personal and family
issues as an option. America can benefit from such practices.
Unresolved Issues
I
am glad; we are a pluralistic democracy rather than an autocratic,
monarchic or dictatorial system where critical issues take time to
resolve through consensus, rather than imposition. Because of the
nature of our governance, we have piled up unresolved conflicts that
will take time to heal. Among them are; Sikh Massacre, Babri Masjid-Ram
JanamBhoomi, Kashmiri Pundits, Gujarat Massacre, misogyny, and
discrimination against the minorities. There are other issues, but my
focus is social issues.
We should not dump these issues onto the
next generation, we are conquering the space, we can conquer our
prejudices too, that is the greater Jihad (inner struggle) Lord Krishna
and Prophet Muhammad had called for. The nation is moving forward
despite the issues, and we need to take the initiative and bring closure
to them in our life time. They will not go away by burying our heads in
the sand.
Standing up for others
Standing up for others is
the right thing to do, every human goes through a period of
invincibility to vulnerability, if we don't stand up for those who are
vulnerable, then who will stand up for us when we are vulnerable?
The
idea of alms, charity, taking care of the elderly, weak, sick and the
children is a common theme in every religious tradition. It is indeed
the insurance for every one's well being. I cannot be at peace when
others around me aren't, and hence it behooves me to take care of the
ones who need assistance.
It’s been my life time honor to stand
up for everyone from Atheists to Zoroastrians and every one in between
(www.StandingupforOthers.com ).
Inclusive
attitudes are cultivated
Our sense of
responsibility is akin to wearing the seat belt. If you live in America, and
don't wear the seat belt in the car while you drive, not only you feel guilty, but certainly
uncomfortable. It was not the case before the seat belt was made mandatory for the
driver and the front seat passenger. It is indeed a consciously learned behavior.
I feel the same sense of discomfort, when I get to the podium and not mention
or include different religions in the speech. My only fear is excluding others
in the public square even by mistake. To
allay that fear; I have learned to start my speeches with Pluralism greetings
and prayers that are inclusive of every one including my Atheist friends (Pluralism
Speaker).
Thanks to my
father, mother, and grandfather who lived their lives as an example inculcating
Islamic pluralism in my brothers and the sister, like millions of Muslim
parents whom you may have not met. In my
talks, I share small examples and incidents where small things do matter. We
learned the Islamic version of Vasudaiva Kutumbukum; the whole world is one
family.
Indeed, Pluralism flows in my veins, and that is respecting the
otherness of others and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one
of the 7 billion of us.
Boldly changing the course of history
My
father was a Mayor of the town of Yelahanka in the fifties, and we
always had construction work at our apartments or remodeling at our
historic house, originally owned by the founder of Bangalore, Hon. Kempe
Gowda in the 16th century. My father was a maverick, and dared
challenging the abusive but prevalent norms of the society, he had the
Dalits (shameful word: Untouchables) work at our place, my mother would
make them tea or give them food in the plates and cups we used, it was a
big no-no in the society at that time, you ‘kept them' away from your
house, just as it was for the Blacks in America then. I am proud of my
father, and my mother for supporting him in breaking the uncouth norms.
He was constantly called on to quit, and at times threatened, but the
dare devil held on to his ground firmly and the town loved him dearly
and gradually followed his example.
I saw humiliation in the eyes
of men, women and children, who came to collect water from the public
tap on each corner of the street, the upper caste person would wash the
tap three times before he or she collected the water. It was difficult
for me, and I played out my share of the drama and mumbling in protest.
Despite the significant progress made, we have a long way to go in the
housing discrimination, indeed, even in America we have ways to go, but
we are all going forward.
As I am writing this, I grudgingly
acknowledge that I have learned nothing new; my father did everything
that I am doing now, Gee, a drop of tear rolls down my cheek in
reverence to Mahatma Gandhi for becoming a catalyst in uplifting the
down trodden and restoring their God-given dignity to them. I just have
to pray for the Mahatma for saving the Indian souls by getting rid of
guilt from ours minds, by having us open our hearts and minds toward the
fellow beings, just as MLK did in America.
Early influences of Pluralism
Early
on in my life, even though I had chosen to be an atheist, and I stayed
the course for the next thirty years, but never looked down on any faith
like a few of my fanatic Atheist friends do. I have had the opportunity
to know and learn about different faiths and sub-cultures. I went to
Mahabodhi (Buddhist) Society on Thursdays, Mosque (Muslim) on Fridays,
and Bhajan Mandir (Hindu) on Saturday nights. The Interaction with my
Jain neighbors and friends, and my mother’s Zoroastrian friend was
productive.
The Saturday afternoon discourse between the Shia
Scholar and my Sunni maternal Grandfather and my father laid the
foundation of civil dialogue for me. Then, I enjoyed the interaction
with Sikhs, Adivasis, Tribals, Khandaris and Banjarans at our mill where
we grounded their grain in to flour. The Sikhs were in the Air force
and the Tribals were breaking the nearby hills into crushed stone
manually, I felt connected with all of them, and did not feel a barrier
between me and them.
In the first few years of my childhood I
spent Christmas evenings with our neighbors, and I was also dressed up
as Krishna with the Makhan (butter) when I was a baby. In my college
days, I had serious dialogue with my English Teacher Ramachandran, a
Saibaba devotee and my weaver friend Mohamed Fakhru, an Islamic scholar
in his own right.
The only religious group I did not interact in
India was the Jewish community, but learned about Eishman, the killer of
six million Jews, the book was in Urdu language, and my mother
prevented me from reading, as she was concerned about her child’s well
being, but it created a sense of incompleteness in me for not reading
the forbidden book. The completeness to my life came when I organized
the first Holocaust commemoration event in 2006 in Dallas. It was the
first such event in history, by non-Jewish people. It is our moral duty
to understand the atrocities we humans have inflicted upon each other
and educate others to say no to such tragic events from even seeding.
I
have spent a lot of time reading, I was always in the library and I
enjoy going to the Libaray to this day. Some of my early influencers
were Mahatma Gandhi, Jiddu Krishnamurthy, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Swami
Vivekananda, Allama Iqbal, Buddha, Abraham Kavoor, Dale Carnegie and a
German Scholar who wrote about comparative religions.
It is a
blessing to have seen Mahatma Gandhi twice in my dreams in the early
70’s with Bangalore University’s Vice Chancellor Narsimaiah, and the
next time in early part of 2000. In both instances, all he said was, son
you have work to do and patted on my back, and that has been my
inspiration all along to commit to pluralism. It was Gandhi for me.
Gender Pluralism
We
grew up with Gender equality, the four brothers and the sister were
equals in every aspect of life. My father never treated my mother any
less, he always consulted her and regretted when he did not. I would
have been a farmer or a politician in India, had my mother not insisted,
and my father listened to her, here I am today. The images we grew up
with were of gender equality, treating men and women the same. The four
of us brothers and our sister have all agreed to share the proceeds of
the sale of the property of our parents equally. We never questioned it
and never thought there could be difference in inheritance laws.
In
the early sixties, we had our first woman mayor in my town Yelahanka,
and nearly twenty years later when I visited San Francisco, celebrations
were on for electing the first woman mayor in America; Diane Feinstein!
I said wow!
Communal riots
My father is my hero and opened
the doors of wisdom to us. Pluralism indeed runs in my family. He taught
us one of the biggest lessons of my life in social cohesiveness and
dealing with extremism that I continue to reflect in my talks, acts and
write ups.
During the communal riots in Jabalpur (India) in the
early sixties, both Muslims and Hindus were killed in the mayhem, as it
happens every time. I wish every father in India, America and elsewhere
teaches this lesson to his kids. He was crystal clear on his take; He
told us the "individuals" are responsible for the bloodshed and not the
religions. If we get the guy who started the conflict and punish him for
disturbing peace, rather than calling it a religious issue for the
communities to jump in and aggravate it further, we would have saved
many lives. He would emphasize that you cannot blame the intangible
religion and expect justice, we must blame the individuals who caused it
and punish them accordingly for disturbing the peace and thus bring a
resolution to the conflict by serving justice. He said you cannot
annihilate, kill, hang or beat the religion, then why bark at it?
What is pluralism?
Simply
put, it is respecting the otherness of the other and accepting the
uniqueness of each one of us. In cultural terms, it is recognizing your
culture as a beautiful expression of life to you, as my own is to me.
When it comes to food, it is appreciating the Rice you enjoy over the
Naan I delight, or vice-versa. For Americans, it is medium rare stake
versus the well done. In religious terms, it is learning to honor the
way your worship or bow to the creator in gratitude, is as divine as my
own.
Our future is Pluralism.
By the end of 2020,
there will not be a major work place America or India and other places,
where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures,
ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working,
eating, playing, marrying, and doing things together.
We need to
prepare ourselves for those eventualities to prevent possible conflicts
and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and effective
functioning of the societies. Exclusive communities will become a thing
of the past. (Foundation for Pluralism, Pluralism Center)
Being a
Muslim, I am deeply committed to nurturing the pluralistic values
embedded in Islam (World Muslim congress). The role of a Muslim is to
mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, most people get that, a few
don’t, just as with any other religious group.
Pluralism is our
future, and as a futurist, based on the trends, I foresee, that two
generations from now, we would be comfortable in saying, my religion,
culture or life style is one of the many choices, and further down the
road, a significant number will proclaim that my way of life is not
superior or inferior to any.
They will consider ‘claiming
superiority’ would be sheer arrogance and religion (a major part of life
to many) is believed to imbue humility that builds societies,
communities and nations in creating that elusive kingdom of heaven where
all of us can live without apprehension or fear of the other.
We are one nation
We
are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
We are represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language,
culture and religion. We see God as one, none and many and in every
form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being,
nameless and with innumerable names. Indeed, we must preserve the
pluralistic heritage of America.
About India
We are
Adivasis, Atheists, Baha’is, Bos, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Hindus,
Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribals, Zoroastrians and every possible
grouping. We are Brown, Black, White, Yellow and green with envy and
phir bhi dil hai Hindustani (My heart is Indian).
Our Motherland
is represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture
and religion. We see God as one, none and many; and in every form; male,
female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being, nameless and
with innumerable names.
We are proud of our heritage - a
multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic
society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people
have lived their lives. For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of
pluralism - it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha'i and
Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions;
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
What we need to do
We
may want to consciously start thinking and acting as one people, one
people within a nation and a community and one people globally. It's
like home when we are conflict free. I do hope each one of us purges
any bias towards the other, there is joy in being free from ill-will.
Try to be free from it this day forward… free from anything that
prevents you from being a part of the parts or the whole.
Our
combined philosophies believe in one world ; Hinduism describes the
world as Vasudaiva Kutumbukum, the whole world is one family, the idea
of Ek Onkar(one) in Sikhism, you are all created from the same couple as
Quraan puts it and Jesus embraced every one regardless of who any one
is... similar philosophies are grounded in all our religions.
The book and the Movie
Insha
Allah, my book, The American Pluralist will be released shortly, it is a
chronicle of how things work in bringing the communities together, it
is dedicated to India’s pluralistic heritage; India’s gift to America.
The movie is about building a cohesive America, where no
American has to live with anxiety, apprehension, discomfort or fear of
the other. One must be free to live his or her life to the fullest in
pursuit of happiness.
I believe the civility of a nation is
determined by how it treats its weak, economically backward, the men and
women in ditches, the voiceless, its women and the minorities.
A few links referred to in the writing are:
- The Ghouse diary . www.TheGhouseDiary.com
- My profile - http://www.mikeghouse.net/Profile.asp
- Mike Ghouse for India - http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
- My Real name - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-name-is-mike-ghouse.html
- Pluralism Speaker - http://www.mikeghouse.net/InterfaithSpeaker_MikeGhouse.asp
- Muslim Speaker - http://mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp
- Curriculum Vitae - http://www.mikeghouse.net/MikeGhouse-CV-09192012.pdf
- Linked in profile - http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3451402&trk=tab_pro
- Foundation for Pluralism - www.FoundationforPluralism.com
- World Muslim Congress - www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
- Quraan Conference - www.QuraanConference.com
- America together Foundation
- www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
- Standing up for others - www.Standingupforothers.com
- Reflections Annual Holocaust
and Genocides - www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
- Unity Day USA - www.UnitydayUSA.com
- 30 Blogs - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/11/mike-ghouse-list-of-sites-and-blogs.html
- Video- Trailer Americans Together - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8
- Video- My story, Part I
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs
- Video- My story, Part II - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs
- Video - My latest talk at
Gurdwara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNxrf8fFU0I
- Video- July4th Tippu Sultan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXNS365UEw4
- Video - Quraan Translation/Bhagvad
Gita - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZOFLQSAOhA
- Video - Immigration Rally - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrjU0KULv-Y
- Video- Pluralism Prayers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mc9D9guPMY
- Video- Pluralism greetings,
Chicago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3a8wX6SXQ
-
Video - There are over 200
links on the YouTube.
** There are many such issues, that no one has dared to bring a resolution, for example; the atrocities committed by some of the kings from the Mughal era have deeply wounded the psyche of our Population, Hindus among us are hurt and are subconsciously enslaved to the idea of getting even with Muslims, who have nothing to do with what those kings did, and Muslims on the other hand have not washed their hands completely off the Moghuls, as if they were our relatives. The Sikh Genocide of 1984, the Gujarat Genocide of Muslims, the abusive treatment of Dalits (the misclassified lower rung of the society), and the unchecked reservations system has boomeranged discriminating the well qualified because they are not classified in the lower rung. These will not go away, the simmer inside and act out in denying simple opportunties of life to another Indian. Shame on all of us, that we have not let a fellow Indian feel secure in the pursuit of his or her happiness.We should not let economic problems
Jai Hind
Mike Ghouse
In Summary;
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and
Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks,
he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His
personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.
