[Watch] What is the point of so many Hindu gods?

Also read: The good, bad and ugly side of religious texts

Each religion is unique in its own way, offering certain ideas and ideals, but the trouble that modern societies face with regard to religious fundamentalism seems to be similar. In Eastern faiths like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, there is an inherent openness and tolerance due to the possibility of dissent, thus leading to more iterations and reformations. The Western monotheistic faiths have lesser possibility of dissent, yet there have been many attempts at dissidence and reformation. In the modern context, the possibility of raising questions is almost a requirement, but not every faith is open to it.

Different though the various religions might be, we always find a group of literalists who are unwilling to accept any change to the original writings. On the other hand, we always have a group of rationalists who are unwilling to grant any merit to the ancient works. To bridge the gap between tradition and modernity (for the lack of a better phrase) we need people who can empathise with both groups - the Rabindranath Tagores, Joseph Campbells and Neil deGrasse Tysons of the world.

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