Why do we hate?

Why hate?

In recent times, we find that there is an increase in violence motivated by hatred. These ‘hate crimes’ are the proof that humanity has still a long way to go before calling itself the so-called ‘civilized’. Why do we hate? The simple answer is ‘The other person is not like me’. He is not like me in colour, in attire, in intellect, in religion and, therefore, I take a gun and shoot him.

Why religious hatred is stronger?

Therefore the difference in colour, name and form makes me to hate the other. The difference in name, form and colour becomes more tangible in religion. Racial hatred is more of difference in colour; whereas, religious hatred combines the differences in colour, intellect, names and forms and therefore, are stronger. We all know how many wars are still fought on these grounds.

The Prophets:

The prophets or founders of religion were great men, infinitely greater than vast majority of men. They took the humanity to the next level. They solved the fundamental problems of life. They are like pathfinders and torchbearers, who lead the vast masses of mankind from darkness to light. They found the so-called religious principles upon which the whole gamut of life and phenomena is based.

Principles explained:

It is difficult for the vast majority of mankind to understand the principles of religion and, therefore, the prophets simplified them. Say, for example, if you ask the great author, Leo Tolstoy, ‘Sir, can you please explain greed’, He will tell you in the form of a story ‘How much land does a man need’. And if you ask him, ‘Sir, Please explain unselfishness’, again he will tell you in the form of a story, ‘what men live by’, and so on. So, here the point to be noticed is that religion taking concrete shape.

To explain a principle, you need a character, which embodies the principle and again you need a language to explain it. The environment surrounding the story has to be taken into account. So, in simple terms, the character became Gods and Goddess. The stories become the religious texts and scriptures. The language of the text also plays a part. So in different environment (topography), obviously there are differences in stories, language etc. to explain the principle.

Another example:

Please go to school and ask the kids about love. The kids wonder how to explain love and therefore, one kid says, ‘My mama loves me more’. And now you form a religious school based on love of mama. Another kid says, ‘My father loves me more’. And now you form a religious school based on love of papa. Another kid says, ‘My Brother loves me more’. And now you form a religious school based on love of bro. After all it is love which is all they tried to explain. But the differences in explanation took concrete names and forms like mama, papa and bro.

The Institutions:

The prophets explained, and the disciples formed institutions around the teachings of the prophet. They build temples, wrote innumerable scriptures and instituted rituals for the continuation of the institutions. The institutions were the guiding lights for the vast majority of people to seek peace and solace. Religion is easy to grasp because of the familiarity of the story, environment and language etc. But at the same time, the institutions, at best, preserved the differences of mama love, papa love and bro love. The conflict is mainly about whose love is greater!

Buddha’s dilemma:

Buddha understood these conflicts and at best tried not to provoke differences. For example, when asked about love, the kid thought of saying ‘My sister loves me more’ but eventually kept quiet. The kid thought ‘Love is love; how to explain?’ therefore keep quiet. Buddha kept quiet for these questions. But ironically, because of his keeping quiet led to many speculations about the significance of his silence and therefore, the disciples split and each one of them formed their own schools, interpreting the silence in their own words.

Next, Buddha was completely against name and form. Till his last breath, he warned his disciples not to fall into name and form and not to depend on it. His last dying words were ‘Be on your own, work out your own liberation’. Buddha was strongly against the dependencies on name and form (worship in a statue). But again, ironically, the statue of Buddha was the most replicated in the world.

Conclusion:

So far I tried my best to explain the differences in religion in simple terms and the origins of hatred. Religion is after all love. Love is independent of institutions, books, names and forms. Therefore love.


For Queries:

Email - vishnushankarpv@gmail.com