New Delhi

Hindu Dharma is very, very modern and boasts of many virtues and values, which today’s world order should acknowledge and possibly imitate, said former Norwegian minister Erik Solheim on Wednesday.

The gushing praise for Hinduism and Sanatan Dharma by Norway’s former minister of Climate and Environment comes days after he took a holy dip at the sacred Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj.

In a special interaction with IANS, the veteran Norwegian diplomat and politician drew comparisons between Hinduism and other religions including Christianity and explained how the values inscribed in the former are the pressing need for today’s world order.

“Hindu dharma looks very, very modern because it is answering two of most important issues of our times – first is its immense tolerance and second the awareness and concern towards Nature,” Solheim remarked.

Further elaborating his views, he said that those following Christianity wouldn’t hesitate to kill those, even making small deviations from the established dogmas but that was not the case with Hinduism.

“Hinduism is much more tolerant. You can venerate the Gods, the way you like. You can pray to Lord Shiva, Vishnu or Ganesh or Lord Ram. It's a very tolerant religion. That is what the world needs today,” said the veteran ex-diplomat, who also served as a noted peace negotiator in previous stints.

The second reason he cited for effusive praise for Hinduism was the latter’s concern and respect for Nature and Mother Earth.

“Ancient Indians were much more conscious of Nature. In Western thinking, God and humanity were far above nature. They thought that humans could kill animals, destroy forests and do everything to their delight, believing that they were superior beings. But, that’s not the case with the Hindu faith. Here, humans are part of nature. They have centred their livelihood around nature and its surroundings,” he pointed out.

He also spoke about the dilemma of almost every nation in holding on to their values from getting ‘Westernised’ while riding on the path to modernisation.

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“It may have looked a bit old-fashioned, maybe about 200 years ago but now looks so modern and so much in sync with callings of our time,” Solheim further said, sharing his interesting observation on the religion, boasting of a history of over 4,000 years.