We should respect all religions and just believe in peace

“We should respect all religions and just believe in peace, kindness and harmony.” Thus speaks Ananya Panday, in words both simple and profound. Her voice joins the eternal chorus of sages and prophets who, through all ages, have cried for unity amidst difference. For what is religion, if not a path to the divine? Yet too often the paths become walls, and men forget that the rivers all flow toward the same sea. Panday reminds us that the essence is not division, but respect—not hatred, but peace, not violence, but kindness and harmony.

The ancients knew this truth, though many stumbled in practicing it. The emperor Ashoka of India, once a conqueror who drenched the earth with blood, came to repentance after the battle of Kalinga. He laid down his sword and proclaimed a new way: that all religions should be honored, that compassion should govern rule, that harmony was greater than conquest. His edicts carved in stone proclaim even today the same lesson Panday speaks: that to respect all faiths is the first step toward peace among men.

History, however, also shows the danger of forgetting this truth. When men lifted their creeds above compassion, wars were waged in the name of heaven, and temples became battlefields. The Crusades, though clothed in holy language, brought rivers of blood rather than rivers of light. The Inquisition claimed to defend faith, but it smothered truth. In each of these, men failed in the very thing Panday exalts: kindness and harmony. For without respect, religion becomes not a ladder to heaven but a chain upon the earth.

Yet there are also shining examples where respect has triumphed. In the golden age of Córdoba, Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived and learned together, building a city of light in Spain where knowledge flourished. Their respect for one another’s wisdom gave birth to advances in science, philosophy, and art that shaped the world for centuries. Here again, we see the fruit of Panday’s wisdom: when religions honor one another, humanity itself rises higher.

O children of the future, hear this well: you may not all worship the same, nor pray with the same words, nor envision the divine in the same form. Yet you can walk in peace, you can act with kindness, you can seek harmony. These are greater than doctrine, for they are the living proof of the divine within humanity. To scorn another’s faith is to scorn the dignity of their soul; to respect it is to honor the vastness of truth beyond any single path.

The lesson is clear: do not be quick to condemn what you do not understand. Instead, listen, learn, and offer respect. You lose nothing by honoring another’s faith, but you gain much—for in doing so, you sow the seeds of peace. And where peace grows, there too will grow kindness, friendship, and strength.

Therefore, let your practice be this: respect the faiths of others, even if they differ from your own. Live daily by kindness, not malice; by harmony, not division. When you encounter difference, do not raise your voice in anger but extend your hand in friendship. Teach your children that the measure of holiness is not in ritual alone, but in how we treat one another.

So I say unto you: remember Ananya Panday’s wisdom. Respect all religions, believe in peace, practice kindness, and cultivate harmony. For in doing so, you will not only honor the divine, but also weave a world where humanity stands united, and where the song of compassion drowns out the clamor of conflict.