Noting that “more lives have been lost in the name of religion than political ideology”, Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur on Sunday said the manner which a person chooses to practise his religion is between him and God and no third person has any business to interfere.
“Religion is personal. No one has any business to say how you practise your faith. The thought that ‘only my path is right’ has led to destruction, damage and bloodshed,” the CJI said.
“You are a Hindu if you pray and you are still a Hindu if you choose not to pray. Whether you want to pray in a temple, mosque, gurudwara or other houses of worship is your choice. Your relationship with God can be informal, formal, you can complain to God, you can pray or not pray. It is your choice. Ultimately all paths lead to God,” the CJI said.
The CJI was speaking at the launch of a book, The Inner Fire, authored by fellow Supreme Court judge, Justice Rohinton Nariman. The work by Justice Nariman is a first-of-its-kind analysis of the 238 verses of the Gathas — the most sacred text of the Zoroastrian faith.
‘Fraternity is crucial’
Justice Nariman, in his turn, said only fraternity can bring unity in a multi-religious country.
“How will there be unity among us unless we first learn to fraternise? Fraternity is a cardinal value of our Constitution. There will be fraternity only if we know something about the other person... Only fraternity will lead to unity,” he said.
He said he had once approached the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) with a proposal for a children’s book on the “gems” from each religious faith practised in India so that at least the next generation would live in a world free of strife, appreciating one another’s faith.
“As a lawyer, I found there were many misgivings felt by communities about each other. I wanted to write a book on the gems of each faith and get it to the children. Children ask questions at home, they are inquisitive... I felt at least they should learn about each other’s faith for a better tomorrow,” Justice Nariman, only the fifth judge in the history of the country to be directly made a Supreme Court judge from the Bar, said.
“The unfortunate reply [from the NCERT] was we live in a secular country,” Justice Nariman said.
In his speech, Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, who was the chief guest at the function attended by sitting and former Supreme Court judges, recounted an anecdote on the first arrivals of the Parsi community fleeing State persecution.
The CJI said a group had landed in Gujarat and was confronted by the local king of the region, who placed a jar filled to the brim with milk to indicate that there was no space for them in this country.
“The leader of the Parsi group put a pinch of sugar in the milk to show that his community was capable of sweetening the lives of all the other communities. They have led the country in every aspect of life from commerce, trade, industry... the Parsis have truly sweetened our lives,” Chief Justice Thakur said.
Calling his son’s book an “inspired work”, senior advocate Fali Nariman said precociousness, regard for truth and compassion were the qualities of a good judge. Admitting that he was not much of a “spiritualist”, Mr. Nariman said: “Is there a God? Nobody knows. Some say only God knows.”
