Look at what is happening around the world. Look at the terrible deaths in Lal Masjid. There are Muslim clerics who don't understand what Islam represents. They declare fatwah for the most ridiculous reasons. A writer is knighted and they are incensed. This is definitely not what Islam is all about. 

Look at the situation with Guruvayur Temple where there is a huge hue and cry about the entry of an influential Minister's son (born of Hindu Ezhava and Christian parents) was followed by purification rites to 'purify' the whole temple. This is definitely not the gist of Lord Krishna, the presiding deity's idealogy as enshrined in the Bhagawad Gita where the bhakti or devotion is most important.   Lord Krishna is synonymous with love, equality and compassion. 

The era of narrow-minded religious pomposity that declares "My religion is the only true one" does not hold true because it never was true. There can never be only one route to reach God, there can be several routes. Some routes are comfortable and easier for a group of people but that doesn't give them the right to say that all other routes lead to Hell. 

Then why is there so much religious intolerance and confusion in every religion? 

Coming back to the recent issue in Vatican City , the source of dispute is a document released with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI which stated that Christ established here on earth only one Church which has it's full identity in the Catholic Church. This is a statement that caused deep anguish to members of other Christian Churches particularly the Orthodox and Protestant Christians.    

As some one who strongly believes in the message of Christ and it's relevance today, here are my thoughts: 

My understanding of Churches and their functioning has been somewhat bitter because of the undue influence and   pressure that I have personally experienced from nuns and priests to somehow convert those who respect and believe in Jesus. For securing an admission to a prestigious Christian institution in Kerala, I was told by the Mother Superior that I would definitely have got the seat if I could consider or if I were Christian. 

Suppose you believe this is a misguided notion from a misguided non-Christian, trust me, I am not alone in believing as I do. The famous singer K.J.Yeshudas has shared his personal experiences on the undue pressures that the Church imposed on him during the struggling years of his life. One of Kerala's previous Chief Ministers and today India's Defence Minister A.K . Anthony has shared his personal experiences with the hierarchy in Church and the kind of pressures they imposed on him to attend Church and Mass. 

Forget these people. There is none other than Mahatma Gandhi who has recorded the various attempts to get him converted to Christianity by the missionaries simply because he declared that he believed in Jesus Christ. 

In recent years, Pope John Paul II issued statements discouraging people from reading Harry Potter series and The Da Vinci Code. 

Is this fair? 

This is wrong. If I believe in Jesus, it doesn't mean I should read books that find favor with the Church alone. Where religion imposes irrational dictates on others, it tends to undermine the dignity, integrity and discriminatory power of human beings. 

If there are devout believers who think that is necessary, either my understanding of Jesus is misplaced or their understanding of his core values is incorrect. 

To those who believe the recent statement approved of by the Pope does not violate the core values of Christianity, my ignorance of the religion propels me to ask two questions: 

1.      When did Jesus Christ establish a Catholic Church?

2.      Is there any evidence in the Bible or any writings that state Jesus was Catholic? 

I believe in Jesus because he represents unconditional forgiveness and love. When someone deeply hurts me, I close my eyes and tell myself, "Think of Jesus, He could forgive and love those who crucified Him." 

For the same reason, I feel this belief is being violated when the Pope forgets who and what he represents to the rest of the world. 

Albert Einstein, the world's most celebrated genius stated, " My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality."