Is Religion all about Rituals and a Fancy Dress Code?
Kippah of the Jews, the white sarees of the Brahmakumaris and the Arabian robes and tarboosh of some Muslim divines. Some had added the honorific ‘His Holiness’ before their names, while others insisted on prefixing their names with ‘Reverend’ or ‘Father’. If some were rabbis, others were maulanas, and some even considered it reasonable to write the word ‘Imam’ very carefully before their names. In this assembly of the divines, such insistence on sartorial refinement and its display left one greatly disappointed. I asked the pandit sitting by me the reason for this insistence on the part of the divines on wearing the particular dress of their community in the World Parliament of Religions, as it would accentuate perception of difference among religions. After a lot of arguments and debates on the issue, he finally came out with the frank answer: ‘People look up to us for direction and guidance. They want to see us as role models, different from the man on the street. It is obvious that
