44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 22, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/22/22 6:19:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to be able to resume the remarks I was making previously on this bill to create Hindu heritage month, a bill recognizing the immense contributions of the Hindu community to Canada's national life in so many different areas.
The last time this motion came up, I was also speaking about the way we have moved from using heritage months to recognize ethnocultural communities to now increasingly recognizing religious communities as well. I think these acts of recognition for faith communities are of some particular importance. For many people faith is more fundamental than ethnocultural identity. It also has a different kind of substance and depth.
It is relatively easy for us to go through the process of experiencing the food, dress and language of another ethnocultural group, but it is much harder to try to really understand the internal logic and view of the good life advanced by another religion on its own terms, but in a pluralistic society that understanding is very important. Of course, understanding does not mean agreeing. Understanding and respect can be very consistent with also firmly asserting the truth of one's own convictions, but living out a healthy pluralism is about still seeking to draw from the insights of particular religious traditions other than one's own, recognizing that our understanding of the human condition and of the world around us is well served by a willingness to draw ideas and insights from different religious traditions.
I believe that pluralism is not just a feature of a political system, but it is a virtue to be developed by individuals. To develop the virtue of pluralism is to seek to understand other ideas on their own terms and to be able to think about the internal logic of the other without losing one's own grounding in one's own tradition. It is to cultivate the ability to step into the intellectual space offered by another religious tradition, while still being fully able to see its potential flaws and step out of it. In this sense, I am defining pluralism as an intellectual virtue, a quality of the mind that citizens and leaders should seek to develop.
Virtues are defined by Alasdair MacIntyre as qualities of character that allow an individual to achieve good internal practices and sustain us in the relevant quest for the good. The good practice of pluralism requires intellectual curiosity and substantive open-mindedness on the part of individuals to the insights of religion and of different religions. This goes beyond mere acts of recognition and seeks to understand and learn from the ideas of others.
One can and should develop this virtue while still retaining a sense of one's own grounding. Pluralism is different from relativism. Relativism denies that things can be true and false. However, pluralism is to emphasize that I can retain the sense that there are objective points of true and false, while still being able to mentally put on the thinking of another tradition long enough to really understand it and to take it seriously, and that I can learn from insights of that tradition or way of thinking.
I have tried to develop this kind of understanding of Hinduism. For those of us from Abrahamic religious traditions, Hinduism as a religion can be particularly difficult to understand. This is because the typically Abrahamic way of thinking about religion is very different from the Hindu tradition. The different communities really mean something substantively different even when they use the term “religion”.
The Abrahamic faiths, particularly Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are rooted in the concept of a single all-powerful God who provides direct and decisive revelation, who outlines the moral framework for us to live by through that revelation and who expects to alone be the object of worship. These faith systems do build on past revelations, with Christianity seeing itself as building on Judaism and Islam seeing itself as building on both, but they are also senses in which these are revolutionary ideas, in that they call for a decisive separation from other religious practices. All the Abrahamic traditions emphasize some concept of one God, one truth, leading to one right path.
For the practitioners of the Abrahamic faiths, religious doctrines that are absolute in nature can coexist with political doctrines that are pluralistic; that is, we do believe in the existence of one right path and we also believe in the freedom of individuals to find it on their own. Religious freedom in the Christian tradition emphasizes that human free choice and freedom to pursue God without state interference is a consequence of the absolute belief in created human dignity.
Hinduism is different from the Abrahamic faiths in that it has the concept of plurality directly within it theologically. An expansive open-ended pluralism is not just defended as a valuable feature for political communities. It actually exists right within the religious community of Hindu believers. We can find monotheists and polytheists and people with very different ideas about moral questions and aspects of religious practice who all identify as Hindus.
Hinduism is not defined by a belief in a particular god or gods and it is not defined by a creed. Hinduism is a kind of family of spiritual practices and religious ways of life. As it has developed into its modern form, it has continued to grow and adapt as an organic thing, preserving the past while adding to it. This is most notable in how the early Vedic traditions of Hinduism evolved with the development of the Upanishads, introducing monotheism into Hinduism as a kind of superstructure over top of but also including the older polytheism.
Hinduism finds ways of preserving aspects of the old while developing the new. Hinduism has also developed a unique kind of pluralism within itself that willingly incorporates ideas from other religions. The best summary of a religious dialogue between Hindus and members of Abrahamic faiths is this apparent exchange between the founders of India and Pakistan. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I am a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, a Parsi, a Jew.” To this, Jinnah replied, “Only a Hindu could say that.”
In conclusion, we are all blessed to live in a country where we can practise our faith, share our traditions and learn from each other. Our Canadian pluralism ought not be taken for granted, as we are seeing threats to religious freedom on multiple fronts. From violent extremists who vandalize temples, mosques, churches and synagogues to make people feel unsafe in their religious practice, to governments that deny people's ability to practise their faith openly in the name of so-called secularism and governments that fail to respect conscience and the charitable status of faith-based organizations, we see that threats to religious freedom are growing in Canada. I am committed to fighting in this place to defend pluralism and religious freedom for as long as I am here.
Once again, I thank the Hindu community for its significant contributions to this great nation.
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- Sep/22/22 6:51:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in strong support of M-42. The motion before us simply seeks to declare that every November will be Hindu heritage month. I want to at the outset take this opportunity to acknowledge the member for Nepean. He is someone I have gotten to know over the past seven years that we have served together in this place, and he is someone I consider a friend. I want to acknowledge his leadership in bringing this motion forward, the member himself being of Hindu heritage.
Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religions. Indeed, it has been said to be the world's oldest religion, with an ancient history dating back more than 5,000 years. It is also one of the world's largest religions, with more than 900 million people from all corners of the world practising Hinduism. Hinduism is, beyond that, a set of religious beliefs. The member for Nepean in his eloquent speech, when he spoke to the motion, spoke of the rich, diverse and ancient heritage that underpins Hinduism, including wisdom, traditions, literature, festivals and, as the member noted, most importantly samskaras, or sacraments, in their homes.
Hinduism is a religious tradition. It is a way of life, or dharma, with a message centred on tolerance, on religious freedom and in universality. Indeed, a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts, when translated into English, means, “the world is one family”. Consistent with this, pluralism is very much inherent in the beliefs of Hindus. These principles, including the pluralism, tolerance and universality that I spoke of, are rooted in the sacred Hindu text, the Rig Veda, which provides that truth is one and sages call it by many names.
Hindus in Canada have a long history, dating back more than 100 years, when a small number of Hindu families came from Punjab. It was not until the 1960s that a larger number of Hindus came to Canada, mostly from northern India. In the 1970s many more Hindus from other parts of the world, including countries in east Africa, Trinidad, Fiji and Guyana came to Canada. Many of those Hindus were fleeing religious discrimination and persecution in their home countries, and I have to say that one of the great things about Canada is that we are a country of religious freedom. Canadians have a right, and indeed it is a fundamental right guaranteed to all Canadians, to peacefully assemble and practise their religion freely. Consistent with that and in that spirit, this motion reflects the cultural and religious pluralism that is Canada.
Today the Hindu community is a vibrant one. It is more than 600,000 people strong and growing. It is a community that is recognized to be peaceful, community-oriented, productive and highly educated.
Hindu Canadians have contributed to virtually all aspects of Canadian society, including technology, science, the arts, law, medicine and politics. Speaking of Hindu Canadians who have contributed politically, I want to acknowledge the member for Nepean. That hon. member came to Canada not many years ago. In 2003 or 2004, he came here, like many Hindu Canadians, as someone who was highly educated, and he brought professional expertise as an executive in high technology. He came to build a better life for himself and his family, to work hard, to give back and to contribute to Canada as a dedicated volunteer in his south Ottawa community. Quite remarkably, in little more than a decade after arriving in Canada, the hon. member was elected to serve the people of Nepean, where he has served over the past seven years, during which time he has made substantive contributions.
I also would be remiss if I did not acknowledge our late former colleague, Deepak Obhrai. Deepak is someone I was fortunate to get to know when I was first elected in 2015, and I served with Deepak until his untimely passing in 2019. Deepak's political career is a storied one. He did many things, including running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Although he was very much an underdog and, frankly, did not come close to winning, he did contribute in a substantive way to the leadership race and made many contributions to our party, but more than that, he made many contributions in this place, where for 22 years he tirelessly and effectively represented the people of Calgary East and Calgary Forest Lawn. For many years, he served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He represented Canada on the international stage in that capacity.
In closing, let me say that passing this motion and declaring November as Hindu heritage month would rightfully acknowledge the significant contributions of Hindu Canadians. More than that, it would provide a unique platform, an opportunity for Canadians of Hindu heritage to promote their culture and traditions and to tell their stories, the stories of their ancestors that are interwoven into the fabric of Canada.
This House has a long tradition of passing bills and motions that celebrate communities that make up Canada. In that spirit, I hope that this worthy motion receives the unanimous support of the House and that every November we can celebrate Hindu heritage month.
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