A few days ago I was invited to a Catholic school to celebrate a Holy Mass for the repose of the soul of a staff member. I had reached there a little early and was lucky to be an observer in the shortened school assembly that day.
The striking lines from their national pledge that kept reverberating in my mind were, “India is my country; All Indians are my brothers and sisters; I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage; I shall always strive to be a loyal and worthy citizen of it. To my country and people I pledge my devotion. In their well-being and prosperity alone lies my happiness. May God grant her peace and prosperity!” The Mass for the staff member became quite emotional with everyone feeling spiritually uplifted in the end.
That very evening I witnessed the unbelievable scene unfolding on various TV channels of the huge exodus of young people leaving some cities and heading towards their home state. While the blame game went on for a while, the so-called brothers and sisters of our beloved motherland ran
helter-skelter, finding, in the bargain, that the pledge of devotion to our country and its people is lip service.
The pride in the “varied heritage” of our country is repeated ad nauseam and often preached at the foreigners, through the use of the phrase “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family)”, only to be forgotten as soon as we are faced with people who profess a religion different from ours, or speak a language that we do not understand, or eat food not to our liking or even wear looks that we don’t see in our ordinary daily encounters. One wonders, why there is a lurking suspicion about those who are unlike us.
One of the eligibility criteria laid down by Jesus Christ for being received in heaven is, whether we are able to welcome a stranger in our house, or give food to the hungry and water to the thirsty… (Matthew 25: 35). Jesus also says, “If you love only those who love you, what reward will you get? …And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?” (Matthew 5: 46-47).
While we are undoubtedly strangers to one another in some ways, we are still all children of God, who, as Jesus taught, “He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Love of God and love of neighbour are rated as the most important commandments given by Jesus. His appeal to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12: 31), remains relevant in all ages and cultures.
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/father-dominic-emmanuel-614
