"All my experiences in India would be for naught if I hadn't come away with a great appreciation for the value of other religions. What follows are some of the things that I've come to value in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam.
"From Buddhism I've learned the importance of understanding and controlling the mind in all spiritual striving. I've come to appreciate the practice of meditation, and I now believe that much more can be accomplished in the spiritual life through effort alone than I had previously assumed. I have also learned to appreciate the lofty ethical ideals articulated in various brands of Buddhism, culminating in the bodhisattva vow to work tirelessly for the liberation of all suffering beings.
"Hinduism has shown me that there are many different paths of spiritual growth, each one tailored to suit individual needs, temperaments, and levels of awareness. It introduced me to new ways of thinking about the mystery of divine immanence and authentic selfhood. From Hinduism I have learned to value meditation and yoga. Also, I have come to appreciate the genuine love of God and trust in divine grace and mercy expressed in countless theologies and practices of Hindu devotion as exercised by the great majority of Hindus. I find that I now have a deeper awareness that the whole world and everything in it, including plants and animals, should be regarded as sacred. Finally, I have come to value the 'four stages of life' as a blueprint that honors life in the body and society while recognizing the need to finally transcend time and worldly life altogether so as to attain the eternal Divine. And much more.
"From Islam I have come to appreciate the focus on the mystery of God's transcendence and otherness and simultaneously God's total claim on human life, as well as the readiness of so many Muslims to place the whole of their life under the guidance and direction of the divine will. Through the practice of Muslim daily prayer I am given an impressive example of the remembrance of God throughout one's day. I also have come to value the spontaneous generosity of Muslims toward the poor. And in Sufism I find compelling examples of married saints who choose to remain in society rather than withdrawing from it, knowing that they are surrounded and embraced by divine love.
"Christians should take care not to contrast Islam and Christianity too strongly on the issue of God, pitting a Muslim God of wrath against a Christian God of love. It is easy to generalize about other religions and to compare what is worst in theirs with what is best in ours. The fact is there are many understandings of God in Islam, ranging from the strict legalistic and wrathful Judge of militant extremists to the many Sufi theologies and spiritualities of divine love and mercy at the opposite end of the Muslim spectrum. My experience with most Muslims is that they are somewhere in between; there is legalism to be sure, but also a sure sense of God's goodness and mercy. And, too, along with the many good and loving Christians in the world there are also plenty of angry and heartless ones, acutely afflicted with the demons of neurosis, anxiety, and hidden repression, people who have not yet been deeply touched and transformed by the experience of a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness.
"Above all, I have learned to appreciate so much more in my own religion, Catholicism, as a result of my exposure to other religions. Its sacramental life, its devotion to Mary, its rich heritage of saints and varieties of spiritual schools, its vast treasury of spiritual literature come immediately to mind, as well as its continuous emphasis on the dignity of the human person. Catholic reflection on the dignity of the human person has given rise to what I believe is the most developed social teaching among the world's religions, with its promotion of human rights and justice in all spheres of life — social, economic, and political.
"All these strengths derive from Christ, whose uniqueness I have also come to appreciate more and more. Even after all the comparisons have been made and the many commonalities with the saints and sages and holy ones of the world religions have been established, I find much in Jesus that remains unique and authoritative and that inspires me to discipleship. I find nowhere else anyone quite like Jesus, a man who is the embodiment of divine love in human form. He represents divine mercy taking on our human condition of vulnerability, suffering, and even death. His call to repentance, too, makes me take a deeper look into my heart and recognize how far I am from the holiness of God and how, in turning to God, I may receive the strength and freedom of forgiveness. And it is in Jesus's resurrection that I am given a glimpse of the mystery that awaits us all, the victory of love in a broken world, the rescue of the human by divine love, the full participation and liberation of the human family in the eternal mystery of the Divine.
"Jesus, moreover, brings the poor and the oppressed into the center of our theology and spirituality. His Gospel ethic is simple: love God with your whole heart, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself (Lk. 10:27). And to love your neighbor means to practice mercy and to act with justice. The followers of Jesus are called to see the human race as one family, transcending all religion, caste, ethnic, and political divisions and power relations. Jesus establishes a relation with God not limited by the dictates and laws of a particular religion or tribe or social class; it is a relation with God beyond all religious compartmentalism or division. All are welcome into God's fellowship, both the saint and the sinner, female and male, those born as high caste and outcaste. Jesus is thus both within and beyond the religions. He proclaims a 'people come first' religion."
