The Way of Tolerance

of God. Similarly, the Quran is also the divine word sent by God. Hence, there is perfect harmony between the two. If people keep their common sense in their natural state, they will find Islam perfectly aligned with their common sense. After the Pune Interfaith Conference, I arrived in Solapur on November 11, 1991. I stayed at the Dak Bungalow there. A press conference was held there, which was attended by more than a dozen editors and journalists from various newspapers. One of them was an editor of an Urdu newspaper. The remaining were associated with Marathi newspapers. A representative from a Marathi newspaper stated that the most crucial task at hand is to eradicate religious hatred. I argued that what is often termed as religious discord in contemporary times is indeed another name for communal discord. We cannot eliminate it; however, we can protect ourselves from its harm with prudent measures. Such prudence is tolerance. There is nothing beyond it. A unique program in Solapur was organized under the auspices of the Rotary Club, where people from different religions participated, and everyone listened to my speech with keen interest. The following individuals contributed significantly to the success of the Solapur program: Shri Bala Sahib Jadhav, Shri Mohan Pasnor, Shri K. C. Mude, Shri Shanti Lal Batda, Shri Ramesh Grewal, and others. I received a letter dated November 29, 1991, from Dr. Ramesh Eshwardas Agarwal, the Secretary of the Rotary Club, Solapur, who had listened to my address. The letter included the following words: