A poem by Cecil Rajendra
Any religion
that sidelines
excludes
any one.
Any religion
that does not
open doors to
every one.
Any religion
that targets
fingerpoints
some one.
Any religion
that claims
it’s ‘the one
and only one’.
Any religion
whose language
is “we” / “they”
and not “us”.
All such religions
run against God
who is Oneness
& abhors divisions.
Cecil Rajendra is a Nobel nominated poet. He is much respected for his pioneering work as a human rights lawyer and environmental activist as well as his poetry. He was first published in 1965 while studying law in England. Since then Rajendra has explored the cultural, spiritual and material values of Asian society and critiqued both industrial development and development aid by means of his poetry. As an activist his passport was famously impounded by the authorities in the 1990’s for alleged ‘anti-logging’ activities. In 2005, Cecil Rajendra was the first ever recipient of the Malaysian Lifetime Humanitarian Award for his legal aid work and his inspirational poetry. That same year he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Text courtesy AHRC
