Evil and Philosophical View of World Religions

Evil is a part of human life. Although man was created by the God as believed by most of the religions, he has been given the option of ways of leading his life. He may choose a path of truthful living or get entangled and trapped in the vices and the resulting sins. The force that tempts a man to seek pleasures on a sinful path is referred as Satan (in Semetic religions) who has rebelled against the God. In Hinduism the evil is associated with Kali (source of evil). Buddhists refer it as Mara. Therefore, evil is also present in the world and it is for a person to decide and take decision for leading a life free of sin on this earth. Man is basically tempted by five traits such as greed, lust, ego, attachment and anger. All the world religions accept this fact. The Prophets (Peace be on them) of all religions always stressed that the mankind must try to overcome such traits. Apart from above, senses of pleasures are smell, touch, taste, vision and hearing. Human beings are prepared to go to any extent to derive pleasures through the above and it is likely that more a person enjoys the pleasures, more he would crave for these things. Evil lurks on these paths to grab them when limits are exceeded. Falling a prey to one evil leads to another evil. As an example, a person addicted to drinking alcohol is likely to crimes such as theft, murder or even rape as he has no control on himself. One evil leads to another evil. Every religion rightly condemns evil in it’s own way and no religion glorifies evil.

The Hindu Philosophical view of evil

Samkhya Yoga (Philosophy of wisdom), the earliest Vedic philosophy states the dualism of Purusha and Prakriti. Prakriti is the nature while the Purusha is the consciousness or silent spectator. Vedantic philosophy however denies Samkhya and states that Purusha and Prakriti are one and the same. Evil is matter of how much one is caught in the psycho mental illusions generated by Prakrit. The three Gunas (traits) contained are Rajas (passionate and agitated), Tamas (dull and inactive) and Satwika (Pure and noble) and out of these the first two contribute greatly to the manifestation and growth of evil in the world around us. Religion helps one to overcome the desires. But this is not easy and great pains and efforts are required to overcome desires (1). Evil is a part of the world and man has to live with it throughout his life and from one life to another life till he is freed from the cycle of birth and death. This could be achieved by seeking the truth and Ultimate Reality by meditation and overcoming the manifestation of evil in Prakriti. The various epics and Puranas (Religious Books) also give accounts of instances where even Gods have violated the code of conduct laid down by the scriptures and contributed to the growth and manifestation of evil in the world.

Many examples can be quoted from Ramayana (2) the highly revered Hindu epic. Lord Indra (Lord of thunder) who was greatly revered in Vedas committed adultery by seducing Ahalya, wife of sage Gautama. He took the form of the sage Gautama when he was not present and out of ignorance of the fact, innocent Ahalya yielded to Indra and having come to know the truth, sage Gautama cursed Ahalya to turn into a stone. Indra too was cursed and his whole body was covered with female genitals. Ahalya was liberated after several years when Lord Sri Rama, incarnation of Lord Vishnu while roaming in the forests touched the stone accidentally with his feet. Sri Rama, the hero of great epic Ramayana who is widely revered killed Vanara (Monkey) King Vali, most powerful brother of Sugreeva while he was roaming the forests in search of his abducted wife Sita. Earlier, Sri Rama made friendship with Sugreeva. Sri Rama did not face Vali in a duel and killed him by shooting an arrow hiding behind a tree while Sugreeva and Vali were fighting each other in great combat. Vali was immensely powerful and could not be conquered in direct fight due to divine boons. Sri Rama thus broke the code of conduct of a noble war fare. However, he justified the action by stating that Vali was an evil as he threw out his brother Sugreeva from the land and took over Sugreeva’s wife Ruma in to his harem and was enjoying conjugal relations with her. This was a very great sin as the wife of younger brother is like a daughter and the only punishment for such sin was death. Thus bigger evil had to be got rid off by any means even if it required committing smaller evil. Thus action of Sri Rama was justified. In another act, Lord Sri Rama while reigning at Ayodhya after coronation beheaded Sambooka a Shoodra (man of lowest caste in Hindus) who was going through penances (conducting Tapasya). Rama learnt that a young boy of a Brahmin died suddenly and prematurely and this has been attributed to the act of Tapasya by a Shoodra and this was forbidden in those ages. Therefore Sri Rama had to slay Sambooka and the dead Brahmin boy immediately came back to life. This alleged evil act by Sri Rama has been condoned as fair in those ages as per the laid down regulations. Entire affairs have been linked to the fruits of Karma (Once deeds and actions) and these evils had to take place as destined.

Another example can be quoted from epic Mahabharata (3). Karna the great warrior and an archer of high repute was fighting with Arjuna, the Pandava prince on the final battle at Kurukshetra supporting his king Duryodhana. Unfortunately, one of the wheels of his chariot sank into the ground and he had to get down, lay down the bow and was trying to lift and extricate the chariot. Arjuna was not willing to shoot at Karna in such state as it was against the code of conduct in warfare. It was prohibited to shoot at unarmed foe even in battle. However, Lord Krishna who was the charioteer to Arjuna persuaded Arjuna that Karna was an evil and had to be got rid off at all costs and it was the best moment. Therefore, Arjuna shot his fatal arrow from his divine bow Gandiva and Karna was at once beheaded. Arjuna no doubt had violated the code of conduct of warfare in which he shot an arrow at an unarmed adversary. However, Lord Krishna goaded and sided with the evil act of beheading un armed Karna on the battle field as Karna was a bigger evil and had to be got rid off at all costs. Karna has been seen as a great evil because he was fighting on behalf of evil Prince Duryodhana. He was an accomplice to the earlier act of great insult to womanhood in which Draupadi; Pandava queen was greatly insulted where attempts were made to disrobe her in the court of Dhritarashtra, the father of Duryodhana and the Kuru Emperror in full view of audience. Karna also earlier took part in killing young and brave Abhimanyu, Arjuna’s son breaking all the rules of warfare. Karna although had great virtues as a man who stood by his word and as the greatest philanthropist and donor has been dubbed as evil force as he supported evil actions of Duryodhana.All his good qualities were overshadowed by his evil actions and association with evil.

Yet, another example from the epics is quoted. God of fire (Agni) once was overtaken by the beauty of the wives of seven great sages while they were conducting a Yagna (sacrifice) and unable to bear and suppress lust was getting pale day by day. His wife Swahadevi having come to know the situation took the forms of the wives of the sages except Arundhati, wife of the greatest sage Vasishta and satisfied her husband’s lust. The sages having noticed the affairs of their pseudo wives were highly upset and rejected their real wives suspecting their fidelity. However subsequently the misunderstandings were removed by divine intervention of Lord Brahma (One of the trinity). This was a great evil on the part of God of fire and his wife Swahadevi too. As per Vishnu Purana, evil precedes and also accompanies creation by Lord Brahma (4). Thus, mankind has been seen as engulfed with evil. His creation of mankind has also darkness and passion surmounting the mankind. (Vishnu Purana1, 5, 1-18). It is also believed that Lord Brahma initially created living beings all being virtuous and good and they were reaching divinity on their own without any difficulty. This caused worries to the Gods and therefore Brahma has to induce evil in this world so that the human beings had to counter evil in order to attain the supreme. Brahma created evil in women. They became source of passion and men were overtaken by lust and uncontrolled bodily desires. Brahma also created anger, greed and attachment and thus mankind was soon among them struggling to derive pleasures out of all types of vices and evil prevailed. In Hindu philosophy, the universe undergoes cyclic variations of four Yugas (Time periods) and evil and good undergoes variations and evil can never be eradicated. It is eternal in universe and man has to live with it. There is no concentrated concern to eradicate evil from the world and the morality and the evil are reduced to secondary level and more emphasis has been laid in attaining Ultimate Reality by meditation and seeking truth by various methods propagated by the teachers. Man has been given the option of seeking evil free life by him on his own through controlled conduct and disciplined life. Evil prevails in the world and one has to be away from it and seek truth and Ultimate Reality. It must be remembered that hard work, devotion, virtues and dedication of a person would be recognized only amidst various difficulties, hardships and challenges trying to deviate him.

The Buddhist philosophical view of Evil

Buddhist Philosophy denounces Vedic scriptures. It states that people are ignorant of the non permanence of the world and are overtaken by the feeling of self and they continue to suffer. Buddha preached that birth, aging, sickness, death ,sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, despair, association with unpleasantness, dissociation with pleasure and inability to get what one wants are suffering. In nut shell, all the three factors such as greed, aversion (hatred) and ignorance cause suffering. Buddha teaches that feeling of self or personhood is an illusion and this is due to the collection of factors such as the body, feelings, cognition, mental construction and consciousness. The human being under the illusion feels that he personally exists and this results in suffering as he is overwhelmed by desires for worldly possessions and pleasures. These are never ending. The only solution that Buddha suggested was to get rid off the feeling of personhood with which the suffering disappears. This is because there is no person to feel the pains of suffering. Buddha identified the four noble truths of (i) universal suffering, (ii) suffering is caused by craving for desires leading to evils, (iii) sufferings can be prevented or overcome and (iv) the principles of Buddhism embody to remove the suffering. Craving for desires invariably leads to stepping onto the path of evil. Buddha preached the eight fold path to overcome suffering (5). Buddhism preaches that evils that are the paths of sins are present in the world and exhorts people to be away from them by following the eightfold path preached by him. The philosophy is akin to Hinduism and many see it as escapist philosophy. Although the philosophy is found in Upanishads, Buddha practiced and demonstrated these aspects for which he is highly revered.

The Sikh Philosophical view of evil

The religion which is only 500 years old was found in India in the midst of great atrocities and violence committed by Muslim invader Baber during 16 Th century. Baber who was the ruler at Kabul established Mughal dynasty in India (1527-1857). The Indian society was completely overwhelmed by the various practices of Hinduism such as Sati (Burning of Hindu widows on funeral pyres of their husbands), Caste system, dowry and other evils. Although Guru Nanak has accepted the good aspects of Hinduism, he has rejected idol worship and the aspect of incarnations of the Lord. Sikhism believes in the aspect of cycle of birth and death and transmigration and the law of Karma that is a strong Hindu philosophy. But the writ of Karma could be erased in this birth of human life by the grace of the one personal-absolute God not through the disinterested routine works ( Karma Marga) or the way of Jnana Marga( The path of knowledge), but by following the devotional way of Name ( Nama Marga) as enshrined in Gurus word. Fully associated with the life and yet not being attached to its fruits, was the culture of Name to be imbibed by the man. Sikhism believes that the life is not sinful by origin. However it believes that God has created good and evil both in the world. This is in tune with Hindu philosophy. Having emanated from a pure source life remains pure in the world, However impurities gather around as Maya (illusion) and these can be washed away and one sparkles as in Origin. The world is not suffering as stated in Buddhism and in some Upanishads. It is the abode of true one and is a garden of flowers where life is ever in bloom. However this is transitory for a person, but also is the only opportunity for him to realize the god and to remove weeds of evil. These might have grown in ones consciousness or out of oneself, in the own race or outside. These evils could be social, moral or political. A man is like a wrestler ready to fight the five aspects of anger, attachment, greed, ego and lust and riding to the God in full health and joy and like a bridegroom galloping to his bride singing the wedding song (6). The God that the human soul is seeking is not a God of mere mercy .But an all too human God like a bride groom longing to receive his youthful bride in his soothing embrace. The personal and absolute God has created good and evil both. God has not been seen as divine person ready in waiting to punish people for their sins. It is for the person to choose the Good and reject the evil in the world. The God is Transcendent and yet imminent. He is the god of whole mankind and universe. Life is not to be wasted in fruitless ascetic paths but to be lived (7). Guru exhorted people to follow a truthful living concentrating on God and his worship with full devotion. To choose good or bad is in their hands. Evil has not been given any personal status or a separate existence challenging God like Satan in Christianity (8). Good and bad exist together in the world. As Sikhism believes in Karma, evil becomes an essential part of the universe and the man has to overcome the illusionary veil separating him from the Ultimate Reality and in the process he has to undergo the process of Karma (deeds). Only in the middle of evil the worth of good would be known and appreciated. Sikhism has rejected practice of asceticism and preached that people must lead a purposeful life and face the realities of life and should not runaway from the evils. They must face and overcome by adopting a disciplined life. Satisfaction of natural urges is not sin or bowing to evil. This is evident from the fact that all Gurus were married men and had children. Moderate living without over indulgence is very important in Sikh religion. Sikhism has prohibited the evil of caste, idol worship, Sati (burning of women on the funeral pyres of their husbands) and dowry system. It has uplifted the cause of women and they have been given equal rights and status as men. The religion has an optimistic and dynamic outlook and completely rejects pessimistic views with whom Buddhism and some aspects of Hinduism are generally associated. The biggest advantage was that Sikhism evolved comparatively in modern times. It is only 500 years old and the Gurus had the advantage of watching and studying other religious scriptures, their practices, pitfalls, sufferings, failures and practical difficulties in the society.

The Islamic philosophical view of Evil

Islam is a Semetic religion and it is most misunderstood. It believes in Universal God and he is called Allah. Muslims believe that there is no other God but Allah who is merciful and omnipresent and most benevolent. This forms the fundamental aspect of confession of faith as discussed in earlier paragraphs. Evil is represented by Iblis, the Satan who was an angel created by Allah along with men. The angels were required to bow to the man that he refused. Allah banished him from the paradise for his arrogance and disobedience. The evil in the world is represented by Satan as per Muslim belief and Holy Quran warns and cautions its followers to be watchful of Satan who would try to lead them on the paths of evil bringing disaster to them in the form of eternal hell at the time of judgment.

Islam states that people are born innocent and are not born victims of evil as sinned. They remain so till they commit an evil deed, thereby drawing sin. They are no more born fallen. Adam’s disobedience is seen as his own act and it was pardoned by the God when Adam repented. Instead of declaring people as born with sin thereby demoralizing them, Islam reassures them by declaring that God has created them with all the powers and intelligence and gave them mastery over his creation. Man has been given the ability to be above all the creations in the world and thus they are expected to meet divine will in the world (9). Islam is of opinion that people are not ethically powerless. They can do good and bad. By doing good deeds and being away from evil, he improves his pride and glory. By willfully doing evil he draws damnation and punishment that he can not escape. Islam in one stroke prohibited four vices in the world such as consumption of alcohol, gambling, astrology and idol worship. Holy Quran proclaimed:

“O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones and Divination by) arrows are an abomination, of Satan’s handiwork, eschew such abomination. That ye may prosper” (Holy Quran Sura 5:90)

Although Islam considers idol worship as a serious sin, Hinduism does not accept this theory and maintains that the idols worshipped by Hindus are not Gods, but only a symbolic representation of God for developing concentration and Hinduism thus came to be identified with Idol worship. Islam has not considered sex as a sin. It has to be enjoyed with restraint and discipline. In modern society Plural marriages are considered as a social evil. In India and West such marriages are banned. However Holy Quran permits plural marriages as stated:

“If ye fear that ye shall not be able to do justly with the orphans, marry woman of your choice, two or three or four, but if you fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly(with them), then only one, or that which your right hand possesses. That will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice” ( Holy Quran Sura 4:3)

Islam is highly critical of homosexuality and considers it as a sin. It also does not approve family planning and considers it as an evil. It however it has permitted plural marriages to maintain stability in it’s society. In the days of Prophet Mohammed (Peace be on him) many males were getting killed in battles and the orphaned widows and children had to be catered- for and taken care of. Therefore, the provision was made for plural marriages. But this was not an order and compulsion. The Prophet married again only after the death of his first illustrious wife. Unfortunately in modern society, the provision has been misused by a section of Muslims and this has resulted in poverty and backwardness in many underdeveloped countries having sizeable Muslim population such as India, Pakistan , Indonesia, Bangladesh and Arab countries.. Women have been equal rights in Islam. However in practice men are found to be superior economically, politically and socially. There is a strong allegation that women are suppressed and exploited in Muslim societies and the evil prevails. Every religion respects women and yet the same time lays down a code of conduct for the welfare and order in the society. This is equally true for Islam. Holy Quran proclaimed that mothers should be respected who bore them and God has ever been watching over them. Quran has seen women in very positive light (10). One of the most frequently quoted verses against Islam is about striking of women. In the same chapter few lines away, it has been proclaimed that men have authority over women as God has made one superior to others because they (men) spend their wealth to maintain them (women). Good women are obedient. As for those, from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, for sake them in beds apart and beat them if he gets feeling of insecurity (Holy Quran 4:34).

Prophet Mohammed (Peace be on him) never used force against his wives and whenever he was disturbed, kept himself at a distance for some time and that solved the problem. Several times, he said

“Could any of you beat his wife as he would beat a slave and then lie with her in the evening”. He said ‘Never beat Gods handmaidens”.

Sura 4:34 states, “follow admonition, Talk out the problem, Leave them apart in bed, and use force (if inevitable)”. But this is not a command to beat at slightest pretext. Probably, the practice in Arab society during those days of Prophet Mohammed (Peace be on Him) would have been so. Striking is a last resort when the wife is guilty of obvious immoral conduct. If at all it has to be resorted to, the act should not cause pain; it should be a simple nudge. Islam always recommends compromise, non-violence and no harsh treatment is warranted forcing women into submission. Amicable settlement is what required (11). However the Suras appear to have been misunderstood by many and thus women suffer. However this can not be attributed as evil in the provisions. It is rather human failure and taking advantage of the scripture. Unfortunately, many honor killings are being committed in tribal societies particularly in Pakistan and some other Arab countries as a result of these misinterpretations. Women who raised protests against suppression of women such as Irshad Manjis (12), Aryan Hirsi Ali (13) and Talima Nasreen (14) were persecuted and they had to flee their countries to safety.

Islam faces serious allegation that it justifies evil of violence (Jihad) against non believers. But Jihad has to be seen in a proper perspective and in the real meaning Jihad is defined as an action of purifying himself and as a struggle to improve self. However this word has been highly misinterpreted in the world and fundamentalists have taken advantage. Islam considers suicide as a serious sin and condemns such actions. However fundamentalists take cue out of some other Suras in Holy Quran that State that those who die fighting for the cause of Allah go to paradise directly to enjoy all pleasures. In the words of Dr Al Faruqi, all kinds of human problems in the world are seen as problems of Muslims and they are expected to accept these challenges and seek morally worthy solutions and to work out them. It assures that God would grant merit in proportion to their effort, commitment and success in their job (15). Except Turkey no other nation has adopted Western style laws limiting Shariah to marriage, divorce and succession. In most of the Muslim nations, the provisions of Holy Quran (16) are made applicable in all aspects. The proclamations of Quran are considered final and applicable eternally and are not open for discussions. However certain sections are voicing protests seeking revision of certain provisions as applicable to changing times. However such demands are vehemently opposed by the traditionalists.

The Christian philosophical view of evil

It is believed that God has created all things in the world and he appreciated that his creation was good. He did not create evil. But fact is that in the world, there is lot of evil. From where it has come? It is also believed that the God is omnipotent and loves his creation and extends his helping hand to all. Then why he is not eliminating evil? Does he have no power to remove the evil or he does not want to eliminate the evil although he is capable? It is believed that although God is capable of eliminating evil at once from the world, he does not want to do it as it would result in instant condemnation of many people and God does not want to do it arbitrarily and wants to give people who have gone astray a chance to realize their mistakes and repent for them. God is ever loving and is not an enemy of mankind. God is all powerful (1: John 4, 8), (Revelation 19, 6). God is eternal and exists by himself. Absolute is triune God and besides him nothing is there. No other shall have attributes like him. Evil is not inherent quality of God or of his creation. Evil can not be an illusion. It can not also exist on its own as an independent identity as only God can exist independently on his own. Evil is the degenerated state of his created beings. It is the wickedness among the human beings. When good is lost and is degenerated wickedness flourishes and takes over human beings taking them on evil path. No evil of any kind is laid outside and independent of will. Non existence of good is evil and is highlighted. The evil has no substantial existence and the creator, the God has made only those things that have substantial existence. He is not responsible for things that constitute evil. The loving God has made light and brightness and can not create darkness for human beings in the form of evil at the same time. Evil has emerged due to the perversions of his created beings.

As per the Old Testament, evil has appeared in the world when angel Lucifer (Angel of light) rebelled against God. God created Angels much before he created human beings and they were made personal, immaterial beings with free will with a view that they would integrate themselves into divine harmony through obedience and communion. They have nature different from God. They have mind, will and no limitations of physical body. God never meant them to be mere robots by denying power of thinking and will. Free will is essential for perfect communion with God. Thus, God allowed evils such as disease, theft, adultery, murder and war in the world. These evils represent the cost of preserving good in the world. The angel Lucifier rebelled against the God as he was overtaken by pride, desired to be independent of God and desired higher status than was granted. He wanted to be independent of God. Therefore, he was banished from the heavens along with his supporters. Thus, the angel Lucifer turned into Satan and hell was his permanent abode. The Satan and his followers try their best to thwart all noble attempts of God towards the mankind. The Satan also interferes in all the good pursuits of human beings on the earth. In Eastern religions like Hinduism, there are many demons (Rakhshasas and Asuras) that creates disorder in the world and these are seen as temporarily misguided persons who are needed to be corrected. Lord Vishnu in his incarnations eliminated evil by killing various cruel oppressors of mankind. Lord Krishna himself conducted and guided the great Mahabharata war in which all wicked men were eliminated from the world. Lord Buddha also was tempted by Devil Mara before he attained Nirvana. However these religions have no personified evil as Satan that is peculiar to Christianity and Islam.

Lord Jesus has been very clear about evil and the role of Satan. He also cast out demons (Mark 1, 21-28).He spoke to Satan at the moment of his temptation (Matthew 4, 1-11). Peter warned that Satan is real and dangerous. He exhorted people to be self controlled and alert and beware of Satan. He said:

“Your enemy Satan prowls like a ferocious lion to devour” (1 Peter 5, 8);

Lord Jesus in a parable said:

“In a field, the owner sowed good seeds and in the night, his enemy stealthily came and sowed weeds in the field. The seeds and weeds sprouted and grew up. The servants noticed and went to the owner and informed him and suggested that they would pull out the weeds from the field. The owner replied that this should not be done as the good plats also would be pulled out along with the weeds and they should be allowed to grow till the time of harvest. At the time of harvesting, he called his men and asked them to pluck out the weeds only first and burn them. Consequently all the weeds were plucked out and subsequently, the entire field was harvested and taken home to the Barn”.

Meaning of the above parable is as under:

The one who sowed the seeds was the Son of the Man and the good seeds were sons of the kingdom. The field is the world and the weeds were the sons of evil and the one who planted stealthily was the Devil. The harvesting is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. All the weeds are pulled up and burnt in fire indicates the end of age. The son of Man will send angels and they will weed out from the kingdom everything that is causing sin and all those who are causing evil. They will throw them into fiery furnace. There they will weep and grind teeth. The righteous persons will shine like son of Man in the kingdom of their father (17) (18). Christianity considers Homosexuality as a great sin and efforts of some gay societies to obtain a legal stamp for such activities and marriages between the persons of same sex neither has not met success in USA. In US this has been a great controversy. The Roman Catholic Christian Church considers abortion as a serious sin amounting to murder in the womb.

Thus, in Christianity evil has no illusionary status and is the result of degeneration of those whom the God has created. The evil is represented by Satan who is always at his work thwarting the noble works of God in reaching out to his people. Satan is eternally has made the hell his home and lures people on the earth towards evil ways there by he thwarts the noble attempts of the God in reaching to his people.

Conclusion. The Eastern religion such as Hinduism believes that God has created both good and evil and at any point of time, the world will be manifested by these two traits. It is for the man to choose between the two and lead a purposeful life and attain Ultimate reality. Evil has to manifest and the aspect of Karma necessitates its presence. Sikhism absorbed many good philosophies of Hinduism. But did not accept that the world is full of sin. In the existing human life itself, a person can attain Universal Truth by overcoming evils and treading the path shown by the Guru. Buddhism concluded that the world is full of Sin and evil and the only way is to overcome the evil is by following the eightfold path. Buddhism refused to speak on the aspect of God and his creation. Jesus proclaimed that he would forgive all the present, past and future sins if one believed in him completely. Christianity and Islam have opined that God is benevolent and has not created evil and it’s presence is due to the downfall of the subjects that were created by him. Satan who rebelled against the God out of pride, arrogance and selfishness was banished from the heavens and he is the perpetuator evil in the world. Satan is constantly interfering in the lives of people creating obstacles in their path in seeking the truth and the people are being lured towards evil paths. On the whole, every religion is aware of the presence of evil as a fact of life in this world and exhorts it’s people to desist from following the paths of evil and attain Ultimate truth by following the virtuous path shown by the respective religion. No religion has glorified evils. It is only misguided human beings who misinterpret and glorify evil as divine sanctions. In the world today.

Bibliography

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2. Sriman Dasarathi Rangacharya, Srimadramayanamu( Prose in Telugu), SriRama Book Depot, Secunderabad, AP, India, 1976

3.Sriman Rajagopalachari, Mahabharatha (Prose), Bharateeya Vidya Bhavan, Kulapathi KM Munshi Marg, Mumbai, India, Edition 28, 1987

4.Akkapeddi Mohana Murali Sarma, Vinayaka Vrata Kalpamu, Published by Prabhala, Fourth Lane, Bradeepeta, Guntur, AP, India, 2002, PP 19,21

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6. Dr Gopal Singh, Cultural and Religious patterns in India , The Sikhs, published b jointly by Seshachalam and Co and popular Prakashan, Bombay, Edition 1970,

7, RN Singh, Analytical study of Sikh Philosophy, (Jivan Mukti), New Delhi, Common wealth, 2003, ISBN 81-7169-706-2, PP xii

8. www.panthkhalsa.org/sdpn/sdpn_philosophy.php

9. Ismail R Al Faruqi, Islam, Major world religions, Argus Communications, Niles, Illinois, 60648, USA, ISBN 0-89505-022-6, 1979, PP 10-11

10.. Hesham A Hassa Balla and Kabir Helmenski, Forward by Akbar Ahmed, The beliefnet guide to Islam, Three leaves press, Double day, New York, ISBN –0-385-51454-9, 2006, USA, PP 155

11. Ibid, PP 161,162

12. Irshad Manji, The trouble with Islam, St Martins, griffin, New York, USA, ISBN 0-312-32700-5, 2003, PP 133-136

13. Ayan Hirsi Ali, Caged Virgin, Free Press, 1230 Avenue, New York, London, ISBN 0-743-29501-3, 2004, PP 11

14. Tasleema Nasreen, Lajja, LGF, ISBN 2253139246, 1996

15. Dr Ismail R Al Faruqi, Islam, Major world Religions, Argus communications, Niles, Illinois,60648, USA, ISBN0-89505-022-6, 1979, PP 8

16. The Holy Quran, Translated by MA Haleem Elaisii, English translation by Abdullah Yousuf Ali, Al Ittehad publications, B 35 Basement, Nizamuddin West, New Delhi, India, Edition 1, 2004

17. New Testament, Contemporary English version (CEV), American Bible Society, 1865, Broadway, New York

18. Holy Bible, The Gideons International, Nashville, USA, TN 37214-0800

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