Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Thought to ponder

Yes, it's from Shantaram again. But this quote applies to today. And would have been really good to share with people over the past couple of years.

“Fanaticism is the opposite of love,” I said, recalling one of Khaderbhai’s lectures. “A wise man once told me – he’s a Muslim, by the way – that he has more in common with a rational, reasonable-minded Jew than he does with a fanatic from his own religion. He has more in common with a rational, reasonable-minded Christian or Buddhist or Hindu than he does with a fanatic from his own religion. In fact, he has more in common with a rational, reasonable-minded atheist than he does with a fanatic from his own religion. I agree with him, and I feel the same way. I also agree with Winston Churchill, who once defined a fanatic as someone who won’t change his mind and can’t change the subject.”

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