By Vishnu Makhijani
New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Right from a young age, Bhupendra Kumar Modi, an Indian-born Singaporean businessman and philanthropist whose vision is evolved in the motto of ‘One Sun, One Earth, One Family, One Future’ had the opportunity to interact with various religious groups in the country and listen to their philosophic discourses.
“What impressed me most was the philosophy of the Hindus, which in the plenitude of its wisdom and range of its thoughts seemed unsurpassed. It answered many questions that arose in my questioning mind relating to life and even after life,” he says.
The quest led to his authoring three books over an 11-year-period that examine the nuances and intricacies of Hinduism. Now released as a set, these three books are a valuable one-stop guide to all that there is to be known about what is perhaps the oldest religion in the world.
“It was while studying Chemical Engineering at Banaras Hindu University that I began to see the scientific basis of Hindu thought. It became dear to me that there was more to Hindu mythology than met the eye. Behind every story was a proven theory that latter day science has since attested to,” Modi, the son of Gujarmal Modi, the founder of the Modinagar industrial township on the outskirts of the national capital, writes in the first book, “Hinduism, The Universal Truth”.
“I had the privilege, both while studying abroad and during my frequent business trips to countries in Europe American and the Far East to meet friends professing other religions and I could notice the vast difference between Hinduism — or Sanatana Manna — and the newer religions. It fell to my part to explain to these friends such as were interested in knowing more about Hinduism what ‘Sanatana Dharma’ is all about,” Modi writes.
The second book, “India and Hinduism”, is the Big Bang, pointing to the three power centres of the world — three countries with a population of over 250 million — India (Bharata), the US and China.
At the historic Millennium World Peace Summit organised by the UN in New York in August 2000, Modi writes, “more than 1,200 religious and spiritual leaders of several faiths and beliefs of the world were present to discuss the role they could play in bringing peace to the world at large. The largest delegation (of) 108 revered spiritual leaders were from Bharata”.
“During the Summit, the organisers in particular and the delegates in general realised that the ‘spiritual dimension’ presented by the Himalayan traditions could provide a direction towards long-term solutions to the conflicts in the world. Dharmagurus emphasised that the single largest malaise was ‘man is not at peace with himself, the collectivity, the environment and the ecology’. They explained that it was only when the ‘spiritual dimension’ generated peace at individual level could one become a member of a ‘spiritual collectiveness (society)’ that would ensure co-existence, cooperation and co-creation among the family of nations.”
“As seen with the eyes of a Bharatiya, this book makes a humble attempt to explain the role of ‘Bharata and Sanatana Dharma’ for heralding world peace,” Modi writes.
The third book, “Different Paths, One God”, sums it up beautifully.
“Today, when the world is moving toward the dismantling of geographical boundaries, then it is our duty to caution ordinary people about those who bind themselves into religious boundaries and create a frenzied situation for their own self-interest. People who make religion an instrument of fulfilling their own vested interests can be found in every religion, In such a situation, teachers of all religions, after mutual dialogue, should strengthen the feeling of equality among them all. They can establish a world organisation to propagate the actual aim of religion and separate and control those who make religion a means of fulfilling their vested interests,” Modi writes.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
–IANS
vm/pgh
