Namaste, Aloha and best wishes to you all! I’d like to send my heartfelt regrets for not being able to attend this wonderful Hindu-Catholic Dialogue being held in Maryland today. I really wish I could be there.
When I saw your conference theme “Love of Neighbor in the Catholic and Hindu Traditions, I smiled, because it reminded me of my upbringing as a child. For those of you who don’t know, I was raised by a Catholic father, and a Vaishnava Hindu mother. So as a family, we studied the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible, side by side. I loved hearing about Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield, as well as the stories of Lord Jesus Christ, teaching us to love the Father. (By the way, my Dad actually attended seminary to be a priest for a year when he was younger, but changed his mind. I’m glad he did; because otherwise, as you Catholics know, I wouldn’t be here today!)
If we truly want to “love our neighbor” and solve the problems of nationalism, war, and poverty, it’s going to take each of us cultivating our love for God and others, which means surrendering our minds, our hearts, and our love to the transcendental teachings of Lord Jesus Christ and Sri Krishna.
Love, or aloha, is the solution—individually, and collectively on a global level. Ultimately, Jesus’ first and foremost commandment, to love the Father with all our heart, mind, and being, is identical to Krishna’s message in the Bhagavad-Gita, Ch.18, Verse 66. Krishna, which literally means “the All-Attractive” Supreme Lord, tells Arjuna, his dear friend, “Abandon all varieties of religion, and just surrender unto Me.” In other words, Krishna is saying put aside your fears, your concerns about salvation, your worries about going to heaven, the thoughts of practicing mystic yoga or silent meditation, and simply take shelter in Me. He’s saying love Me and take shelter in My love for you.
So, the more we grow in our love for God, the more we will love others, regardless of their nationality, their race, their religion, or any other differences that we might have with them. The more we love our neighbors, the more we will see war as a last resort for solving problems. We’ll become more sensitive to the cost of war, the suffering that it inflicts upon people, other living entities, and the environment. The more we love others, the more we’ll feel this natural inclination to help those who are poorer than we are in material things, as well as those who are poorer in happiness—or spiritually poor.
The first step is we need to be cultivating our love for God. Now, one can ask the question: Can we cultivate our love for God independently from taking care of our neighbors or being concerned about other living beings? The answer is no. Both Christian and Hindu scriptures teach us that in our quest to have a closer relationship with God, if we neglect the wellbeing of others who are all God’s children, then this will stunt or impede the growth of our love for Him—our closeness to God. It will interfere with our intimate relationship with God because it will be displeasing to Him. In other words, we get closer to God by trying to do what is pleasing to Him and refraining from doing those things that are displeasing to Him. What could be more pleasing to God than taking care of His children—working for the material and spiritual wellbeing of His children?
So, the point is this: ultimately, what can bind Hindus and Christians together is the very thing which binds us as individuals to God and to our neighbors. It is love. Cultivating our love for God and our love and caring for others. This is the foundation and this is the solution to all of our problems. Again, my very best wishes to you and your families. Mahalo for all that you do in God’s loving service.
Namaste and Aloha.
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