Documenting religious peace

With so much faith- and culture-based unrest in today’s world, it’s difficult to believe there’s a little slice of India that has a 2,000-year-old history of harmony between several of the world’s religions.

Located along the southern west coast of India, Kerala measures only 360 miles in length. But from the first century A.D., Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism have had a happy home in a small region there, joined by Islam in the seventh century.

Dr. N. S. Xavier, a Birmingham psychiatrist and Vestavia Hills resident, said he has always been taken with the tale of Kerala and decided to tell the story in a film, “The World’s Most Enlightening Region.”

“I decided to make the documentary to enlighten people about the area’s unique 2,000 years of ongoing interfaith harmony and instances of peaceful resolution of extremism,” Xavier said. “The lessons from these examples can promote peace and happiness at various levels from individual to global.”

Xavier is personally familiar with Kerala, having been born and raised in St. Thomas Christians, a community of the region. He attended high school there before pursuing his medical education, receiving his psychiatric training at the University of Virginia. He has practiced psychiatry in Birmingham since 1979.

“I am from one of the oldest Christian communities in the world,” Xavier said. “Christianity in India was started by Jesus’ disciple, St. Thomas, in 52 A.D.” 

According to Xavier, the idea of documenting the story of Kerala has been a dream of his for a very long time, and he began developing the project over three years ago. With a film crew, he traveled throughout the ancient region, chatting spontaneously with experts and people on the street around locations such as the St. Thomas Shrine, the Cheraman Mosque and the Cochin Synagogue, as well as the editor of the Encyclopedia of St. Thomas Christians of India.

“For thousands of years, this area has welcomed merchants, fisherman and settlers along with their attitudes from around the world,” he said. “People can learn from this how religion and culture promote peace and happiness when they nurture conscience which, in turn, can be extremely useful in helping people to lead fulfilling lives promoting love and peace.”

In mid-October, “The World’s Most Enlightening Region” was shown at a workshop of the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2015 conference in Salt Lake City. First held in 1893, the parliament is the oldest and largest gathering of people of all faith traditions, drawing crowds of 10,000 to 15,000 from 80 countries to cultivate religious harmony and worldwide engagement.  

But Xavier, who has also authored The Two Faces of Religion and Fulfillment Using Real Conscience, books acclaimed by Nobel laureates, said he wants to make sure the film is available to anyone who wishes to view it. It was recently screened at the Vestavia Hills Public Library and a combined Sunday school gathering at Canterbury United Methodist Church.

Xavier said he plans to eventually put “The World’s Most Enlightening Region” on YouTube, but anyone wishing to arranging a showing of the documentary can contact him at nsxaviermd@gmail.com. There is no charge, but donations to cover expenses and further promotion of the film are welcome, he said.

Understanding and sharing the documentary with others about “the method in the madness and goodness of religion and culture” continue to inspire him, he said. 

“In one hour people can learn a great deal about religions, history, culture, psychology, philosophy and the mystical world view of several spiritual masters and many great scientists,” Xavier said. “It’s in sharp contrast to the conflicts among religions and with science, extremism, violence and superficiality of different groups in the ongoing story of the world.”