Religion is belief in someone else's experience. Spirituality is having your own experience. These words of Deepak Chopra find resonance in today's time. "I keep emphasising the importance of pluralism, as it is important to understand that each individual is unique, and it is this uniqueness that complements the other," says Professor Iwan Pranoto, Education and Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in India.

"This is what is also meant by unity in diversity. Culture is an important component of society, and should serve as an important platform to move forward, using the richness of its past." He was speaking on the occasion of the screening of two films ~The Prambanan Temple and Javanese Hinduism, Cosmic Harmony and The Buddhist Legacy of Indonesia,
Learning from Borobudur. 

In fact, the latter was the winner of several international awards. Pranoto elaborates using a simple example. "If I want to prepare a salad, I have to combine different components, which are unique in Nature. These when combined, not blended, and when allowed to retain their 'individuality', result in a delicious and colourful salad. Each vegetable
like lettuce, tomato, onion, and others is allow to retain its taste and flavour.

We see this bio-diversity in Nature too. Imagine if Nature's bounties were to be homogenous!" So, what is the gist of the films, both directed by Fred Wibowo and screened at the India International Centre, in Delhi? Harmony would be the simple answer, evident from simple examples like the 135 reliefs of Kalpataru trees at the Prambanan Temple area, not
to forget the structure and resident energy of the temple, in complete oneness with Nature and the cosmos.

The screening of the documentary, created with the objective to understand and explore the role of spirituality and religion in this modern world, was followed by a talk given by Dr Himanshu Prabha Ray, historian and former Chairperson of National Monuments Authority, and Professor, Centre for Historical Studies (CHS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The second film ponders on 'reflection and introspection', two very important aspects of the spiritual path. In fact, the Borobudur Temple ~ a monument for cultural and spiritual studies~ invites pilgrims to search for revelation inside the three temples of Mendut, Pawon and Borobudur.

These revelations are disclosed from the stories on the reliefs and statues in the temples ~ the stories of a rabbit, a quail, a deer, a lion and a woodpecker ~ inviting the pilgrims to reflect and introspect. The film screening was followed by a talk given by Lama DoboomTulku, Founder and Managing Trustee, World Buddhist Trust.

"The common value between India and Indonesia lies in the concept of pluralism. It is important to be open to interpreting, absorbing and learning from different religions or ideas. This done, there would never be any question of hatred or violence on the name of religion. In fact, this year, we will be marking 90 years of Rabindranath Tagore's
visit to Java and his works written there," adds Pranoto.

He goes on to explain the importance of pluralism as an employability skill, which makes complete sense in a globalised world, where different cultures seek to intermingle all the time and therefore demand more tolerance, openness, flexibility, understanding and adaptation than ever before.

The message of both films is clear, as Pranoto put it: foreign ideas are not threats. They are windows to amalgamations ~ amalgamations of indigenous ideas, present learnings and future hopes and aspirations. These are what serve as the ingredients for a better future. 

Who says spirituality and religion find no common ground? They do. It is up to the interpreter: Us.