A few years ago, Zakir Naik had allegedly told his Muslim audience that it’s easy to convert Hindus. Muslims only need to point to Ganesha, with his Elephant head, big belly, love for laddus and a mouse as his vehicle and ask them whether this is their God whom they worship. He threw a challenge to prove that Ganapati is God.
By Maria Wirth
Zakir Naik is again in the news. His organisation is allegedly involved in financing the CAA protests and Delhi riots.
He tries to appear as a scholar but his scholarship is based only on unverifiable belief – the belief that Muslims need to dominate the world. Only then Allah would be happy and the world at peace.
Many are impressed by him. It flatters people if they are told that their group is superior to all others and soon they will be ruling the world. Unfortunately, they don’t question if their belief is based on truth.
A few years ago, Zakir Naik had allegedly told his Muslim audience that it’s easy to convert Hindus. Muslims only need to point to Ganesha, with his Elephant head, big belly, love for laddus and a mouse as his vehicle and ask them whether this is their God whom they worship. He threw a challenge to prove that Ganapati is God.
On my blog someone commented, “We Hindus are pathetic. We complain about feeling insulted, but we don’t counter him.”
This comment stuck with me, but who was I to counter? It would need to be done by a Hindu representative. But probably no Guru, Swami, or Sanskrit scholar would do it. Hindu representatives generally don’t criticise other religions in spite of the fact that Christian and Islamic clergy not only criticise, but demean Hinduism badly. Zakir Naik is only one example. Do Hindus even know what is preached in the innumerable churches and mosques across India? I know for sure that Hindu gods are called devils by Christian clergy. Yet strangely, Hindus neither explain their faith nor challenge the unacceptable dogmas of those religions which claim they alone are true and those who don’t accept it, will burn in hell.
So I sat down and gave a counter to Zakir Naik.
Namaste Dr. Zakir Naik,
You challenged to prove that Ganapati is God. I assume you mean by God the Supreme Being that Muslims call Allah. Now what do we know about Allah?
Foremost, Allah is compassionate and merciful, thus starts Al-Fatha, the first Sura of the Quran. Allah also knows what all human beings are doing, but he is separate from them. It is claimed that Allah has communicated his final words to Prophet Mohamed. Those words are in the Quran. Allah declared that Islam alone is true. So, all human beings must follow Islam because other paths are wrong. And they must hurry up, because every human being has only one life.
Those, who do not accept Islam during their lifetime, will be thrown into eternal hellfire where “boiling water will be poured over their heads that not only melts their skin but also the inner parts of their bellies…” (Q22.19-22)
Clearly, here is where Allah’s mercy ends. He does not brook any dissent. And Al-Fatha, which started compassionately, ends with: “Oh Allah, guide us to the Right Way. The Way of those whom You have favoured, not of those who have earned Your wrath…”
This means, Allah is merciful only to his followers who are called Muslims and he is wrathful to those who are not Muslims.
Dr. Zakir Naik, I am confident that I got the concept of ‘God’ in Islam right because Christianity has a similar concept. And I dare to claim that this concept is not true. Can you prove (and this challenge goes also to Christian clerics) that Allah/ God is indeed so unfair and divisive? Can you prove there will be this huge cauldron of fire where billions of people will burn for ever after Judgment Day? Do these claims of “eternal hellfire for unbelievers” not rather have the purpose to keep the flock in check? To divide and rule?
There are about 2 billion Christians, who are told they have to remain Christians, otherwise they can’t go to heaven. And then there are about 2 billion Muslims who are told that they have to remain Muslims, otherwise they can’t go to paradise. Both religions had plenty of time to sort out which one is true, but they did not do it. Why? Because they cannot prove it. They can only make claims and counterclaims and fight among themselves, between Muslims and Christians and with heathens or infidels. They do this for the last 2000 years.
Under these circumstances, can anyone claim that Islam or Christianity is beneficial for humanity? Is it not time to have a thorough check of what REALLY is the truth?
In regard to the absolute Truth, Dr. Zakir Naik, your ancestors, the Indian Rishis, made valuable contributions and you can be proud of them. In ancient times, long, long before Christianity or Islam appeared on the scene, the Rishis had a very mature understanding of Brahman which would be ‘Truth’ or ‘Supreme Being’ or ‘God’ in English. Brahman is not personal, not a superhuman entity somewhere in heaven, not male or female, not jealous of other gods, not revengeful if ignored, but is Sat-Chit-Ananda, the conscious, one essence in all names and forms – like the one ocean is the essence of all the waves.
The Rishis realised that this universe is a wrong perception of Brahman. They called it Maya, not really true, only apparently true.
For anything to qualify as absolute Truth, it has to be always – past, present and future – and it has to be self-evident.
The Rishis came to the conclusion that nothing fulfils these criteria except pure (= thought free) consciousness. This consciousness is here and now, always, everywhere. Yet we miss it because we focus only on things or thoughts, emotions, etc. – like, when we focus a torchlight in a room only on the furniture and miss the empty space. Infinite space, which throbs with life and love is actually a good metaphor for Sat-Chit-Ananda – the highest truth that underlies names and forms (nama-rupa).
Science has meanwhile discovered the Sat-aspect of the truth. Oneness is there. To discover that this Oneness is also aware (Chit) and blissful (Ananda) scientists would need to turn to their own consciousness to research further instead of looking outside. Let us see whether in future the scientists will support also the claim of the Rishis that this whole manifestation is alive and full of bliss.
In one point, however, you are right, Dr. Zakir Naik: There is only one Truth, one God, which the wise call by different names. But the nature of that one God you got wrong. It does not send non-Muslims or non-Christians
Article Courtesy : www.mariawirthblog.wordpress.com
