The conflicts we have in society, among family members, communities, Republicans, and Democrats, are because we don’t listen to each other. Whether we agree or disagree, at least we must know and value different points of view. We were searching for information about Pluralism and came across the site Center for Pluralism, which defines Pluralism as “Respecting the otherness of the others in religion, politics, society and the workplace.” Jainism calls it Anekantavada – “No-one-perspective-ism,” resisting philosophical dogmatism and recognizing the good qualities of many different points of view. The Quran teaches how to conduct civil dialogue respectfully and never undermines the value of other religions, and it says in verse 109:6, “You have your religion, and I have mine.” Indeed, almost all religions have similar teachings; the analogy would be, “My mother is dear to me as yours is to you” There are no arguments about that, so should be the arguments about religions.

We came across an article, “Poisoning your kids,” and reached out to Dr. Mike Ghouse, founder and the president of the Center for Pluralism. We asked him about how he raised his children. Ghouse said he took his children to different places of worship to familiarize them with other religions and cultures. He did not want his kids to grow up to be bigots. He adds, “If my kids were to run for a public office, they would have a smooth sail, as they are not biased towards any American.”

Ghouse’s daughter asked questions at every place of worship; she would nudge him and ask, “Dad, what are they saying?” Realizing that a six-year-old will not get the whole meaning, he would filter it into a six-year-old’s language and say, “Sweetheart, they are saying God is great, parents are great, and we must thank them for the food, clothes, home, and good life.” This nudging and explaining business went on at every place of worship.

Ghouse continued, “Finally, at the DFW Hindu Temple, Ekta Mandir in Irving, Texas, we were chanting the bhajans in the sanctuary along with some 50 others, the nudging came, and my standard response went out. She screams in the middle of the hall, “Gee, Dad, God can be worshipped in so many different ways,” to thunderous applause. That is Pluralism in religion, as we understand it. Cultural Pluralism got currency after the 9/11 tragedy. When a few troublemakers were throwing epithets at the Sikh Turbans, Muslim women’s Hijab, Arab dresses, and other wears, we did not have the proper education then. Every human being wears something or the other on their head to cover from heat, sandstorms, rain, snow, or for other reasons. The type of cover evolves out of the material availability, environment, and culture. None is inferior or superior. They all serve the intended purpose.

We loved the statement on their site, “If we can learn to respect the otherness of the others and accept the God-given uniqueness to each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.”

We asked him where the mingling of races, faiths, and ethnicities would lead to?

Dr. Ghouse replied, “Ten years from now, wherever you go, be it a place of work, worship, playground, school, bus, train, restaurant, theater, or other public gatherings, you will find a display of diversity in every which way. You will also see people of different faiths, races, and ethnicities interacting, working, studying, intermingling, playing, and marrying each other. “These interactions lend to misunderstandings and are bound to create conflicts. As responsible members of the society, we must prevent such conflicts so that each member can live securely with their faith, culture, gender, race, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”

The website mentions its mission: “The Center for pluralism is committed to building cohesive societies, a society where every human feels secure about one’s uniqueness, whatever that might be.”

Mike Ghouse can be reached at mikeghouse@gmail.com.

(The author is editor of The Indian Panorama. He can be reached at salujaindra@gmail.com)