The Music of the Soul

Coffee Bean, located at Subang Parade, has been in operation for over two decades. I've been coming here regularly all these years, working on my laptop every time, tackling the various projects I've taken on. I'm sad to see that the Starbucks cafe located on the opposite side has closed down; it was another one of my favourite working spots.

I suppose I will start working more from cafes next year, since I will be enjoying more flexibility again. I feel more relaxed in cafes, being anonymous in the crowd, drowned in ambient noise. Hopefully, I will also be more productive and creative in my output.

There's a piece of news that caught my attention this week about JD Vance, the US Vice-President, who talked about his Catholic faith and how he hoped that his Indian wife, Usha, who has a Hindu upbringing, would one day convert to his religion too.  It disturbed me a little bit because the first thought that came into my mind was: Why not the other way round? Wouldn't it also be equally plausible that JD Vance gets converted to Hinduism instead? 

I guess what troubled me was the Vice President's religious chauvinism. I admire the Catholic faith, and I can fully understand why Vance would find his spiritual awakening there. But how much does he know about Hinduism? Why does he think that a Hindu (at least someone born into the faith) should be converted to Catholicism, to be 'saved'? Are certain religions superior to others? Is monotheism better than polytheism?

People who have read my posts about religion on this blog will probably know my position on this matter very well. The religion of your choice is a matter of taste, similar to one's preference for music. To feel a certain sense of superiority of one's religion over another's is to exhibit one's ignorance about spirituality. It's like insisting Baroque music is superior to Jazz. Limiting your knowledge or listening to only one particular narrow genre of music is to miss out on a whole gamut of auditory pleasures that are available out there. 

You can have your favourite genre, and if you are a professional musician, very likely you'll also specialise in one. If you are a devout Catholic and find meaning and peace in your faith, congratulations to you. You already have the spark of spiritual insight within you. Feel free to share your joy and insights with others, but be humble enough to realise that other religions are equally rich and insightful.  To insist that your religion is superior to others and that people should be converted to yours, to me, is the most troubling aspect, and my biggest beef about religion. Humanity should outgrow this spiritual naivete. 

There will always be a multitude of religions, just like the many varieties of music that human civilisation has produced. New forms and genres will be created because current ones will evolve to meet the changing zeitgeist. There are no 'deviationists' in religions, only creative innovators and improvisers. 

Let a thousand flowers bloom; let there be a marketplace of religions, because spirituality is a basic need of every human. Bloody wars will continue to be fought over them if we choose to embrace a chauvinistic attitude towards faith. 

JD Vance could one day even become the President of the United States. How beautiful it would be if he, the Catholic convert and the First Lady, perhaps becoming a born-again Hindu, sets an example to the world as an interfaith First Couple, acknowledging and celebrating the spiritual diversity that's humanity's beautiful heritage. No human should be forced to embrace any religion. And if you should choose to be agnostic or atheistic, that's equally fine. 

The true measure of spirituality is not conversion but compassion. Religions are the music of the soul—none superior, but simply attempts at being human. Humanity's task is not to choose one over another, but to learn how to play together.