Do you need a religion?

Thank you

mike
Mike Ghouse, President
America Together Foundation 
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
............................................................................................................................... Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism, Islam,India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film "Sacred" to be released on 9/11 and a documentary "Americans together" for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com - Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

Is Hinduism a violent Religion?

The extremists among Hindus have hijacked the religion of peace and non-violence, just as the extremists among Buddhists, Jews and Muslims have done it with their religions. It is time for the moderate Hindus to speak up; if not, the new narrative would be Hinduism is a religion of violence, fascism and forcible conversions.

I urge you to read the whole article before drawing conclusions.

Hinduism is indeed blessed not to be slapped with 9/11-like terrorism label on it, despite the massacres of 3000 Sikhs in New Delhi by the violent Hindu mobs in just three days, for a total of 8,000 Sikhs within a week. Nearly a thousand Muslims were butchered by the fanatic Hindus in Gujarat within two weeks in 2002. Christian nuns were raped, their churches pillaged and some of the missionaries were burnt alive including Rev. Graham Staines. What is done to the Dalits, formerly known as untouchable, is unforgivable. The historic 500-year-ld Babri Mosque was destroyed in 1992 by extremists Hindu mobs.

No good Hindu should be offended by the above; they did no wrong. They would be wrong if they don't speak out against it.

Continued at: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Is-Hinduism-a-violent-reli-by-Mike-Ghouse-Bharatiya-Janata-Party_CONVERSION_Fascist_Hinduism-150115-386.html

Conservatives v. Progressives

First of all, it really should be Conservatives V. Progressives.  Indeed, they are two forces that pull and push the society to stay put or move forward. Yester year’s progressives are today’s conservatives.  In social terms, it means the acceptance of un-married couples “living together” by an average conservative was a liberal idea 50 years ago, and 10 years from now acceptance of GLBT community without reluctance would be a conservative ideal.  

Both are essential to maintain a continuous equilibrium in a given society.  |

If conservatives had won the full battle – we would still be thinking the world would be flat; we would not have allowed modern medicine to save lives; we would not have allowed newer delicious foods that we enjoy today or even allowed the movies to flourish and would have lived in caves.  

On the other hand if Liberals had won the full battle – we would have fallen out of the orbit of the earth; individualism (me, me and me) would have taken over to the detriment of family, community and societies;  and we would have had a society that goes nuts with no regulations.

Neither of them will ever win the full battle, there is always going to be a give and take to accommodate the overwhelming majority of moderates, who see the value in both conservatism and progressivism.

What has been short in supply is the voice of moderates and the peace makers.

I have chosen to be a passionate moderate, who would assert the values that work for all of us; the conservatives, progressives and the rest of us, who make up 90% of the society, any society. Where do you stand?

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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Texas Faith: Is it crazy to pray for your team to win the Super Bowl?

IS IT CRAZY TO PRAY FOR YOUR TEAM TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL?

God does not take sides in Super Bowl, why should he? He, she or it does not micromanage our lives either, nor does he favor one over the other.  God is just and merciful and created a world of harmony, and gave us the free will and emotions to manage the balance within and with what surrounds us; life and matter.  Mike Ghouse

My weekly take on issues at Dallas Morning News: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/01/texas-faith-is-it-crazy-to-pray-for_28.html

TEXAS FAITH: Is it crazy to pray for your team to win the Super Bowl?
By Wayne Slater
wslater@dallasnews.com
12:01 pm on January 28, 2014 | Permalink
   
Two things Americans take seriously are religion and football. With the Super Bowl set for Sunday, here’s a question: Why do so many people pray for their favorite sports team to win? Is it just a ritual? An act of faith? Or a hedge, just in case?

A new survey finds that half of American sports fans say they believe God or a supernatural force is at play in the games they watch. That includes Americans who pray for God to help their team (26 percent), think their team has been cursed (25 percent) or more generally believe God is involved in determining who wins on the court or in the field (19 percent).

So is God the 12th man on the field at kickoff when the Broncos and Seahawks meet in the big game this weekend? The Great Odds Maker in the Sky?

The Public Religion Research Institute finds that football fans are the most likely to pray for their own teams to win. About one-third say they ask God to intervene in games. When it comes to whether God rewards religious athletes with health and success, about half of Americans say yes, about half say no. The belief that God will help religious athletes was most prominent among white evangelicals (62 percent) and non-white Protestants (65 percent). When it comes to the religiously unaffiliated, only about 20 percent feel that way.

So why do so many Americans pray for God to help their team? Or believe that God rewards religious athletes?

Do they really think God works this way? Or like Pascal’s wager, do people figure — hey, I’ve got doubts, but what if it works, what if it’s true? Why not be on the winning side?

We put that question to our Texas Faith Panel and the result was a funny, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining set of answers from some of the smartest people on matters of religion and faith in Texas. It’s not so easy as you might think. Some of the answers might surprise you.

Herewith a perfect bit of pre-Super Bowl Sunday reading. MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas
An old friend fits Pascal’s wager perfectly. He did not believe in God, but went to church on Easter and Christmas just in case there is a God, and he would conclude, I want to play it safe. What we cannot earn, we want it miraculously.

Ghalib, the legendary 19th century Indian Poet is known to have said a couplet on just about every aspect of life, and he wrote:

Ham ko Maloom Hay Jannat Ki Haqeqat Lakin
Dil Kay Khush Rakhnay Ko Ghalib Yeh Khyal Acha Hay

I know the truth about heaven; mere hallucination,
however, it is a good idea to believe in pleasantries for the moment.

In the Super bowl scenario, we root for our favorite team, and when it dawns on us that our team is not doing well ‘hope’ takes over.  The average person goes into the belief-gear and expects a miracle to happen, like an interception or a fumble.

Indeed, God is the last resort for those who believe in divine intervention, and we daydream about a positive change without working for it. It’s a game of chance, and not a bad idea to believe in the pleasantries.

If neither of the teams is our favorite, our approach towards the game is different, we enjoy the competition, and we root or hoot depending on a good play rather than supporting or praying for a team.  Our sobering attitude stems from a realization that when two teams go to play, only one wins, and any team can win any time.

No matter how rational we pretend to be, emotion rules! That is the reason so many Americans pray for God to help their team win. We don’t care how much the fans of other teams are praying, we want ours to win.

When there is an interception, some of my Muslim friends scream out loud with joy “Allahu Akbar” – God is great! What should the fans of other team say? God is not great? Fortunately, we rarely blame God if our team loses.

God does not take sides, why should he? He, she or it does not micromanage our lives either, nor does he favor one over the other. God is just and merciful and created a world of harmony, and gave us the free will and emotions to manage the balance within and with what surrounds us; life and matter.

To read the other opinions, please visit Dallas Morning News at : http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/texas-faith-is-it-crazy-to-pray-for-our-team-to-win-the-super-bowl.html/#more-33616
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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. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong 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 all his work through many links.
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Creation, Religion and God's will.

Creation, Religion and God's will.

I see Islam and Qur’aan as a universal systems and not the exclusive religion of Muslims. Legitimate criticism and appreciation is invited. You are welcome to express it in the comment section at the end of this article.

Essence of creation, religion and God’s will.
Mike Ghouse

We exist, and that is a fact of life and perhaps depending on our orientation, we can trace us back to a singular source; be it the intelligent design, big bang or the evolution. For the sake of using a common word or a generally acceptable identification of that causer, we can name that creator and the sustainer, a God**(note below)*, love or simply the causer of life.

When the matter and life came into being, each one was designed to seek its own balance. For example, the Planet Jupiter has been precisely set to circumambulate around the sun, and it has been doing that for millions of years; it has its own place in the scheme of things, and designed to stay on its course, it respects the other planets' space and co-exists with them.

Whereas, the humans were not put on that trajectory, they were given the freedom to create their own space and balance. The creator is all about love and intentionally reached out to each one of the seven billion of us and delivered a beautiful formula called religion through the spiritual masters to live in peace with oneself and others.

Even though the claims of the self appointed guardians of religion tend to be based in arrogance, religion itself is opposed to arrogance. Indeed, religion is about humility. The claims of truth are fine, but when that truth is based on denying other versions of the truth, then it is sheer arrogance and strips the humility from religion and becomes dirty politics. Furthermore, claims like the best, the oldest, the wisest, the peaceful, the non-violent are all colored with arrogance and goes against the very grain of the religion; humility. We need to go back to the basics and do the research and give credit to God’s wisdom; let’s not lock up God and confine his words to mean exclusive benefits to us. God cannot be a small guy in his outlook towards his creation.

When you find in peace with yourselves and what is around you, when you feel that you do not hate any one, do not cultivate ill-will towards others and do not look down upon others, then you have become a peace maker yourselves. You have understood the wisdom of your own faith, and you would have earned the capacity to be a contributor towards peace and balance towards what is around you. You cannot be secure and safe when others around you are not. As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I would say, faith is in the heart of the believer.

Please remember that God did not skip any one, (Sura Hujurat 49:13) he reached every soul, every tribe and every community. Furthermore, he did not sign a deal behind any one's back to favor one over the other, or privilege one or the other, he just cannot do that, if he did that he would be a sneaky God and that is not what God is all about. Just as we love whatever little we create, God loves us all despite our shortcomings. He has blessed us with an opportunity to be our best in creating balanced societies (One self, to ones' own family to the world) where one can live without fear, where justness is the norm of the society.

What is God’s will?

Qur’aan has stressed our duties and obligations towards others, think of it, there are two parts to Islamic teachings; i) Connecting with the Creator for serenity and peace from within and ii) extending and sustaining that balance with others.

Islam has crated beautiful pathways to be in peace with oneself. Every act of worship; fasting, sharing (zakat), and Hajj has the component of bringing the communities together – to create harmony and build the idea of co-existence.

One who does good to others is dear to God. God cares those who care themselves (not exclusive but inclusive themselves) Doing goodness involves the existence of others. Prophet Muhammad explains the good deed as an act of planting the tree, knowing well that you may not be the beneficiary of its fruits and shade.

What is the ultimate will of God?
It is the harmony in creation through Justness.

Each one of us is dear to the creator and it is our individual and collective responsibility to keep that ecological, social, moral or spiritual balance within us and with what surrounds us; life and environment. Those who sin, i.e., creating an imbalance in the society through murder, theft, falsities or taking advantage of others, will pay a price for it in terms of un-settling emotions and discomfort within. Those who work for keeping that balance intact will rejoice a balanced tranquil life.

The verse of Qur’aan 49:13 can be summed up in the following manner. Please remember that God did not skip any one, he reached every soul, every tribe and every community.

Jesus was a Pluralist, he embraced every one and set the example to us that we should not reject any one because they are lepers, prostitutes or whoever we don't agree with, he was representing God's point of view. Moses was a Pluralist uniting the tribes to live in peace under One God; Muhammad was a Pluralist who brought all the differing tribes and faiths to co-exist and live their own traditions under the Madinah pact and he declared no man is superior to the other and that all are equal (acknowledging the otherness of other) in God's presence. Buddha was a Pluralist and taught the principle of pain (internal hell) and pleasure (paradise), Mahavir taught to accept the different views to find solace within; Krishna the Pluralist said whenever there is immorality on the earth, he will emerge and restore the balance back to the society; Zarthustra the Prophet of Pluralism taught the concept of what is good and bad some five thousand years ago; Pluralist Nanak said service to mankind with a blind eye amounts to creating beautiful societies, and Bahaullah, the pluralist said we are all one race and one humankind and all religions are beautiful. The Shamans in Cherokee, Mayan, Toltec and all other native traditions in America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia taught us to co-exist, live together with our differences. They were all God's men and women and God is all about pluralism; i.e. co-existence.

The day is not far when individuals of every faith, race and ethnicities will work with you in the same office and live in the same neighborhood, perhaps it is the same street and the same community. We have to learn to live with all and keep that elusive balance, and it comes from learning to accept the otherness of other, and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

It is sad that a few men, including a handful of Muslims attack the idea of co-existence. A majority of people in all faiths understand that Pluralism is not a religion, but a practice of 'living and letting others live'. It is simply an attitude of accepting the otherness of other and respecting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. Pluralism is an attitude of religious co-existence, letting others to be who they are and resisting the temptations to look down upon others who believe differently. What is the need for it?

By initiating and signing the Madinah pact, Prophet Muhammad boldly acknowledged the otherness of other religions and peoples and taught us not to live in denial. The Sura Kafirun incorporates the idea of co-existence and embodies the ideals of a civil society - http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer on Islam, Pluralism, interfaith, peace, civic issues and India. He initiated the World Muslim Congress with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for others and vice-versa for the world to co-exist in peace and harmony. He expresses his ideas through several forums and Blogs dedicated to each topic. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network offering pluralistic perspectives on issues of the day. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net.

Shouting Match on Hannity Show about flawed Pew Survey. Its between Sean Hannity, Bill Cunningham and Mike Ghouse.

 SHOUTING MATCH ON FOX NEWS LAST NIGHT

Here are my talking points about Sharia Law and the flawed Pew survey after losing a shouting match on Hannity show with Bill Cunningham and Hannity.  The video is embedded in the article at Huffington post link below.
 

1.  Radical Muslims are the mirror image of Radical Republicans who...
2. The survey has failed to recognize lack of alternative laws in Muslim majority nations; this makes the survey questionable in its authenticity.....
3. Sharia laws need serious updating, the laws on divorce, rape, apostasy, blasphemy, inheritance and adultery are not only outdated, but  some do not reflect the values of Quran ..
4. But Pakistanis and Bangladeshis have spoken strongly against it with 97% and 96% of them supporting freedom to practice religion
5. This may be bad news for the likes of Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Bridgette Gabriel, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, John Hagee
6. American Muslims closely resemble other Americans than they do Muslims around the world..
7. American Public is cheated out of knowledge on Hannity Show on May 1, 2013 with Mike Ghouse, Bill Cunningham and Mike Ghouse
8. I am committed to building a cohesive America, where no American has to be apprehensive or fearful of the fellow American. 

If you do like the article, please click "LIKE" at Hufington post, and if it makes sense, please tweet and share on Facebook, please write your comments as well.  This is how we build momentum to do good things.

Huffington post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/a-few-talking-points-about-sharia-after-losing-a-sean-hannity-shouting-match_b_3200730.html

Full Survey is at: http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-worlds-muslims-beliefs-about-sharia.html 

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 all his work through many links.

 

 

Indian American's committment to Pluralism.

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 Mrs. Puttama (she had a little restaurant) 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:

1. The Ghouse diary . www.TheGhouseDiary.com
2. Curriculum Vitae - http://www.mikeghouse.net/MikeGhouse-CV-09192012.pdf
3. My profile -  http://www.mikeghouse.net/Profile.asp
4. Mike Ghouse for India - http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
5. My Real name - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-name-is-mike-ghouse.html
6. Pluralism Speaker - http://www.mikeghouse.net/InterfaithSpeaker_MikeGhouse.asp
7. Muslim Speaker - http://mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp
8. Linked in profile -  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3451402&trk=tab_pro
9. Foundation for Pluralism - www.FoundationforPluralism.com
10. World Muslim Congress - www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
11. Quraan Conference - www.QuraanConference.com
12. America together Foundation - www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
13. Standing up for others - www.Standingupforothers.com
14. Reflections Annual Holocaust and Genocides - www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
15. Unity Day USA - www.UnitydayUSA.com 
16. 30 Blogs - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/11/mike-ghouse-list-of-sites-and-blogs.html
17. Video- Trailer Americans Together - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8
18. Video- My story, Part I -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs
19. Video- My story, Part II - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs
20. Video - My latest talk at Gurdwara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNxrf8fFU0I
21. Video-  July4th Tippu Sultan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXNS365UEw4
22. Video - Quraan Translation/Bhagvad Gita - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZOFLQSAOhA
23. Video - Immigration Rally - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrjU0KULv-Y
24. Video- Pluralism Prayers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mc9D9guPMY
25. Video- Pluralism greetings, Chicago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3a8wX6SXQ
26. 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; ----------
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.