Letter to Pakistan!

Recently got the opportunity to read Karen Armstrong's book: "Letter to Pakistan". The author is a historian of world religions. It was a delight reading the book, the writer's grasp over religions is fantastic, and the subject of the letter is worth a read. Though it is a letter to humanity in general but it might have been a matter of gesture to address Pakistan in particular. She often visits Pakistan and also came to the Karachi Literature Festival some years back.

What makes Karen Armstrong a good Historian

The fact that she believes that a historian must empty his/her mind of all prejudices and give up their own opinions in order to analyse things in true perspective. And I have gone through some pages of her book on history of Islam where she has proved herself to be free from all negative prejudices that people often have about Islam. She writes:

"Getting to know one another demands that we 'reform' our prejudices, received ideas, and convictions about their cultures, religions and nations, and this can be difficult, because our opinions about others are often bound up with a sense of our own identity"

She further tells that a well known scholar of comparative religion Wilfred Cantwell Smith would ask his students to celebrate all the festicals and Rituals of muslims while teaching Islam!

The Golden Rule

Karen Armstrong believes., rightly so, that 'compassion' is the base of every religion. And that every religion follows the golden rule in different wordings and I would explain it here in my own words that; Not to inflict upon others what you would not like to be inflicted upon yourself. or always treat others the way you want them to treat you. 

She further says that the faith communities who should be solving the problem are actually a part of the problem and fail to recognize and practice their own beliefs. 

In this book she has explained twelve steps towards a compassionate life, in which is even teaches about how to argue and behave in day to day life. 

Some excerpts

"Compassion is not for the timid. We have to get beyond the selfishness and 'me-first' egotism 'all day and every day' to quote Confucius (Analects 15.23)"

"... were condemned by the Quran for kufr (ingratitude). English translations of the Quran often translate Kafir as unbeliever bu this is misleading. The problem was not with the theology of the kafirun but their arrogant behavior... " 

"...Compassion is greater than mere mercy or pity..." 

"But so opinionated are we these days that people often prefer to be right rather than compassionate"  

"Every human being has the potential to become the living breathing mirror of the divine" 

"The last thing anyone intends is the change of mind. We are extremely talkative but we are not good at listening"