Religious Diversity Quotes

“The black, the white, the brown, the red, the yellow, the hetero, the homo, the trans, the poor, the rich, the literate, the illiterate, the weak, the strong – all are my sisters and brothers. My life is their life. And till the last breath in my body, I shall be serving you all with all the power in my veins. And beyond death, my ideas shall be serving you for eternity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Am The Thread: My Mission

“I have often noticed that these things, which obsess me, neither bother nor impress other people even slightly. I am horribly apt to approach some innocent at a gathering, and like the ancient mariner, fix him with a wild, glitt’ring eye and say, “Do you know that in the head of the caterpillar of the ordinary goat moth there are two hundred twenty-eight separate muscles?” The poor wretch flees. I am not making chatter; I mean to change his life.”
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

“I work to make human beings out of human bodies. I work to make conscience out of mindlessness. I work to make Gods out of obedient worshippers.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Am The Thread: My Mission

“O my brave Almighty Human, with the ever-effulgent flow of courage, conscience and compassion, turn yourself into a vivacious humanizer, and start walking with bold footsteps while eliminating racism, terminating misogyny, destroying homophobia and all other primitiveness that have turned humanity into the most inhuman species on earth.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Am The Thread: My Mission

“Give me your soul and I will give you a unified humanity replete with courage, conscience and compassion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, I Am The Thread: My Mission

“It's about religious acceptance, it's no longer about religious tolerance.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“I'm going to start a religion in the name of my pal up there, Mr. NOT. I am going to call it nuttism. All nuts are welcome. And by that I mean you all, following every other nutty ism.”
― Fakeer Ishavardas

“In light of religious diversity down through the ages and across continents, almost any behavior or belief might be defended or sanctioned if one leans on an isolated phrase, sentence, or story from sacred texts, or an obscure religious document. Therefore, when assessing the importance of religious assertions, it is important to determine whether or not the basis for a given assertion is found in primary or secondary texts, whether the teachings are credited to an individual who carries little or much weight within the religious tradition, and whether or not the assertion is an anomaly in a tradition that overwhelmingly supports an opposing point of view. It is also important to scrutinize translations when assessing critical passages.”
― Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions

“Swept along by the religious revivalism known as America's Great Awakening, scores of charismatic preachers had descended upon the communities surrounding the Erie Canal to win the souls of its citizens and convert them to a variety of evangelical and radical sects.”
― Nancy Rubin Stuart, The Reluctant Spiritualist: A Life of Maggie Fox

“Once a man came up to me on the street and asked furiously, 'you keep shouting about religious harmony - what is your own religion?' I smiled and said, 'if you are catholic, think of me as a muslim and hit me - if you are a muslim, think of me as a kafir and hit me - if you are an atheist, think of me as a believer and hit me - because my friend - to love in exchange of hate, is my religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Şehit Sevda Society: Even in Death I Shall Live

“A Jew may say, Hebrew is the language of god. A Christian may say, Aramaic is the language of god. A Muslim will say, Arabic is the language of god. A Hindu will say, Sanskrit is the language of god. I only know that kindness is the language of a human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervish Advaitam: Gospel of Sacred Feminines and Holy Fathers

“Test of Faith (The Sonnet)

How many gospels are there?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
How many apostles were there?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What are the commandments?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
How many vedas are there?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What is the meaning of basmala?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What are the words of mool mantar?
Civilized answer is, who cares!
What god wants of us, who the fudge cares!
To be human for all humans is what matters.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervish Advaitam: Gospel of Sacred Feminines and Holy Fathers

“Not all christians are loving, but anyone who is loving is a christian. Not all jews are just, but anyone who is just is a jew. Not all buddhists are compassionate, but anyone who is compassionate is a buddhist. Not all muslims are peace-loving, but anyone who is peace-loving is a muslim. Not all hindus are advaita or nonsectarian, but anyone who is nonsectarian is a hindu. Not all humanists are accountable, but anyone who is accountable is a humanist. Our religious identity says nothing about our character, but our behavior towards others says it all.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Reformist or Terrorist: If You Are Terror I Am Your Grandfather

“Republicans are the Taliban of the West. But please don't hate them. Now more than ever they need our help, for they are ill, terribly ill. They are suffering from a condition, I call, Clinical Caucasianitis, or White Supremacy Syndrome. So next time you see one, offer them a flower and say - get well soon!

In a way (sarcastically speaking), no other political party on earth has done more to eliminate Islamophobia than the republican party, by boldly revealing themselves to the world as the face of new age christian terrorism. Finally, thanks to the republicans, the people of planet earth get to relive the atrocious days and ominous nights of the roman catholic crusades - which by the way, is the very antithesis of Christ's "love thy neighbor" - just like it is the antithesis of something Mohammed said - that Muslims should help their neighbors rebuild their churches, synagogues and monasteries if they burn down (22:40 Quran).

The point is, one who has integration in their heart, will find integration everywhere, but those who have nothing but hate in their heart, will remain hateful no matter how many messengers of love come and go.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Divane Dynamite: Only truth in the cosmos is love

“Fundamentalism is not a neurodivergence, fundamentalism is a lethal neuropsychiatric condition, which requires immediate medical attention.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“Take the beliefs of any fundamentalist, and replace all mentions of their particular religion with any other religion, and you won't be able to tell the difference. Why? Because fundamentalism changes only label from one religion to another, but the underlying prejudice, biases and bigotry remain the same. Because underneath every fundamentalism, there is the same old primitive, animal mind trying its darndest to defend the integrity of its personal mental universe.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sin Dios Sí Hay Divinidad: The Pastor Who Never Was

“Interfaith Sonnet

Not every christian is a good human,
But every good human is a christian.
Not every muslim is a good human,
But every good human is a muslim.
Not every jew is a good human,
But every good human is a jew.
Not every hindu is a good human,
But every good human is a hindu.
Not every buddhist is a good human,
But every good human is a buddhist.
Not every humanist is a good human,
But every good human is a humanist.
Goodness is universal, vessels may vary.
Some call it water, some agua, some pani.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Mukemmel Musalman: Kafir Biraz, Peygamber Biraz

“In worshipping the moon in the water of the well people forget about the real moon up in the sky. They take the reflection to be the real thing and the well to be the entire sky. And over time as this habit grows stronger through generations by tradition, the very thought of a moon and a sky outside the well strikes like blasphemy.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Centurion Sermon: Mental Por El Mundo

“The same sun and the same moon are reflected in all the lakes and ponds in the world - neither of them is superior or inferior to the other. Likewise, the same love and the same human condition are reflected in all the religions of the world.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Centurion Sermon: Mental Por El Mundo

“Life is but life's religion, Life is but life's philosophy.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Centurion Sermon: Mental Por El Mundo

“Discipline of the Sikh,
Enthusiasm of the Christian,
Brotherhood of the Muslim,
Nonviolence of the Jain,
Senility of the Buddhist,
Groundedness of the Hindu,
Rationality of the Atheist,
Resilience of the Jew -

Take the good from everyone,
Mind expands through assimilation.
Past errors mustn't continue as tradition,
Oneness is divinity, division is damnation.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Dear believer, I don't believe in an Almighty God.
Do you hate me for it? If yes,
you have learnt nothing from your faith.
Dear atheist, I don't believe in supremacy of facts.
Do you hate me for it? If yes,
you have no mind but machine, my friend.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“To sum up, we may say that, according to its own understanding of itself, Christianity stands at one and the same time in both a positive and a negative relation to the religions of the world: it recognizes itself as being linked with them in the unity of the concept of a covenant relationship and lives out of the conviction that the cosmos and its myth, just like history and its mystery, speak of God and can lead men to God; but it is equally aware of a decided No to other religions and sees in them a means by which man seeks to shield himself from God instead of leaving himself open to his demands.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions

“You can be a believer and still be human,
You can be an atheist and still be human.
You can be whatever and still be human,
But there's no such thing as a fundamentalist human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

“Plenty Room For All (The Sonnet)

Turban, Hijab, Habit or Tuxedo,
Wear whatever feels like second skin.
No need to justify to judgmental apes,
Life's too short to be wasted on fiends.

Let them just fade away,
as vestigials of evolution.
Savagery requires treatment,
not serious consideration.

To be treated as a human being,
One must behave as human being.
Faith, intellect, both are poison,
If the heart remains ever so mean.

There's plenty room for all thoughts,
No matter the measures of books 'n brain.
Fiction, reason, all are welcome,
On my earth where but love reigns.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Turban, Hijab, Habit or Tuxedo,
Wear whatever feels like second skin.
No need to justify to judgmental apes,
Life's too short to be wasted on fiends.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Belonging is my Bible, kindness is my Quran.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yaralardan Yangın Doğar: Explorers of Night are Emperors of Dawn

“World Gospel (The Sonnet)

So long as there is selfishness,
There is no Christmas.
So long as there is occupation,
There is no Hanukkah.
So long as there is cruelty,
There is no Ramadan.
Till we end militant atheism,
There is no Humanism.
Till you conquer superstition,
There is no Diwali.
So long as there is division,
There is no Vaisakhi.
So long as there is inequality,
There is no Fourth of July.
Till we abolish hate from earth,
At half mast all flags must fly.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“To be treated as a human being,
One must behave as human being.
Faith, intellect, both are poison,
If the heart remains ever so mean.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Istanbul to Alpha Centauri,
Intolerance is not civility.
If you can't tell faith from hate,
You are the posterape of infidelity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yüz Şiirlerin Yüzüğü (Ring of 100 Poems, Bilingual Edition): 100 Turkish Poems with Translations