Stray thoughts of Dr. Y. V. Rao-9
Rare is the individual who knows only
what he is doing at the moment and knows also that is doable, with no thought
about the past nor a care for the future but always living the present moment
to the full , keeping his mind receptive to the grandness of unheard melodies,
and unconsciously showing and leading humanity to the only goal like the pole
star guiding sailors to their respective havens – a saint and hermit with
vision beyond the sight, in silence and serenity, inspiring and uplifting
mankind through boundless saintly grace and causeless benevolence to every
greater heights.
Next comes he who’s conscience is beyond purchase , pressure or
blandishment and who , in addition to doing doable and doworthy things
irrespective of personal gain or profit , always putting social
responsibilities and obligations above personal rights and privileges ,
recounts on rare occasions some such deeds done till date to highlight the
hidden potentialities of men and how they can be actualized through sincere and
selfless effort , reconciling conflicting goals and converging interests
without ever laying himself open to the charge of immodesty and to enthuse
society to march ahead in earnest, challenging, sensible and purposeful way by
showing others how to do things right and how to find the right things to do—a
pioneer and a path-finder throwing open unsuspected vistas of opportunities for
fulfilment through assistance in the improvement of the quality of life in the
community.
Third in order are those that do what
is in the general inter
est of themselves as well as others, purely as a matter
of duty expecting neither bouquets nor brickbats, always casting about for
opportunities to serve society generally , and to help the down and out to get
back on their feet again particularly, either alone or in association with
other like-minded people –conscientious citizens setting examples of a
responsible , harmonious , happy and self-fulfilling life for others to
emulate.
A vast majority of people are supremely satisfied with doing things that
others do, seeking security in numbers and shunning the adventure of thinking
and acting differently, totally oblivious of exciting challenges unmet, golden
opportunities lost, or precious life wasted and rarely, if ever , regretting the
past comparing themselves unfavourably with their more fortunate brethren—each
such exercise invariably ending up in their indulging in the naïve pastime of
laying the blame for things gone wrong upon something outside themselves while
claiming credit for everything right—but never attempting to apply their mind
to sort out the present moment r analyse their predicament, and take time by
the forelock to get ahead and grow up, blind imitation being their
watchword—human weather cocks pointing to the prevailing patterns in the social
milieu, at best, and total strangers to the art of living , sleep walking
through life, at worst.
Then come those that are inclined to do anything tangible though not
desirable with the sole objective of impressing others, always wanting to be on
the right side of the people, the right side of the right people , and never
missing an opportunity to speechify, hector or harangue in order to project a
more favourable image of themselves taking scrupulous care to see that none ever
gets a peep at the face behind the mask , their image /persona being everything
to them—vain glorious fellows whose deeds are hollow and whose pious intentions
and tall promises running far ahead of their capacity to deliver.
Persons so engrossed with themselves that they
do anything only if it is in their best interests with no thought or concern
for others or their interests, and trample upon them if and when it suits their
convenience without any qualms of conscience constitute a category all by itself—a
brash and pushy lot , selfish to the core, who cannot see beyond the tips of
their noses and who treat others as mere bodies to be climbed over on the road
to material success.
Of course, the most self centred of all is that one who worships his own
ego to the total exclusion of everything else in life and does nothing unless
it gives him ego massage or takes him on yet another ego trip or both—an
egotist on the verge of becoming an ego maniac, ever alert to deprecate and
belittle his betters, in particular, and men of virtue, in general , with
churlish arrogance and an easy prey to the self serving sycophants and
shameless flatterers whom he usually surrounds himself with.
Closely allied with him is that disgusting specimen, the sadist who goes
to any length to inflict pain on others, his sole source of pleasure and
delight and enjoyment and ecstasy being others’ sorrow and suffering and agony
and anguish – the obverse of the coin of which the egomaniac is the reverse,
always on the lookout for self gratification at others’ cost.
At the far end of the spectrum is that fiend in human shape who,
painting his face to become an icon that people blindly worship and the party
assiduously promotes, foists himself on the nation/society as its saviour by mesmerizing
street mobs and hypnotizing people through rabble-rousing rhetoric and
well-honed oratorical skills, and smothering opposition and crushing descent by
controlling , conditioning and ultimately conquering minds through the skilful
use of iron-tight state and party machinery, all the while inciting one section
of the people against another in the name of some intoxicating
two-penny-half-penny theories and vain ideologies and vaporous isms based on
paltry philosophies, and presides over orgies of mass sacrifice of whole groups
of innocent people at the altar of his/her megalomaniac dreams and vainglorious
schemes , virtually a ruthless
extermination of the people on the other side of the ideological divide—a monstrous
aberration of humanity and a moving memorial of man’s inhumanity to man vying
for a place in history and even getting it apparently , however fleetingly it
be.
The latest and the worst of all are the terrorists, and the extremists,
who, euphemistically describing themselves as “misunderstood idealists”,
“disadvantaged dissidents”, “religious perfectionists”, “freedom fighters”, and
“soldiers of God” and getting/being powered by fanaticism and propelled by a
false sense of hurt and humiliation and the flames of hatred fly on the wings of
incendiary rhetoric and inflamed oratory and swoop on / zero in on soft targets
like unsuspecting people in vulnerable places and wreak havoc leaving a trail
of mindless killings , rapes , tortures and wanton destruction in their wake ,
and the Mujahideen or Fidayeen (holy warriors), the ultimate scourge of mankind
, who , having martyrdom etched on their mind and indoctrination hidden in
their heart and willing to kill themselves to kill others place their own
twisted morality above mankind’s target high profile buildings , prominent
leaders and unwary crowds of innocent people and either explode themselves as
human bombs killing many and injuring and maiming many more, or lately , crash
planes or ram their vehicles laden with explosives into buildings causing
destruction of men and material on a colossal scale neither having any care or
concern for life and liberty, either their own or others’, in blind obedience
to the diktats of a fundamentalist fiend in the name of a holy war against infidels to satisfy their
God or in obsequious adherence to the compulsions of the cause, which they are
mostly ignorant of, the labyrinthine
ways and byways in the mindscape of these merchants of death and agents of
terror being too inscrutable to explore—bestiality, pure and simple, mocking at
humanity/humaneness (insaniat).
There are types and types galore and these are some illustrative and not
exhaustive. Even so, how amazing is this human heterogeneity / diversity
spectrum extending from the noblest to the basest, from the best of the best to
the worst of the worst, and accommodating a whole range of categories in
between , mirroring life itself with its mindboggling diversity and
multilayered complexity. Is it because “ Man with all his noble qualities still
bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin”, as Charles
Darwin asserts? Or is it to substantiate the description of human beings as the
elder brothers of the animals and younger brothers of the Gods?
‘Now, is all this necessary? Isn’t the noble half enough?’, asks the
questioning mind. Evidently, no, at least to the Maker of all this, including
the mind and its inquisitive/questioning nature.
Small and insignificant though the human being
is in comparison to the immensity and vastness of the boundless universe ,
infinite is the variety and awesome is the mystery hidden in the inmost
recesses of his bosom with its myriad hues and shades of emotion encompassing
compassion and courage , tolerance and sympathy, contentment and non-violence,
altruism and humility , hope and happiness , anger and animosity, greed and
jealousy, fear and grief, pain and anxiety , delusion and despair etc. etc.
Perhaps, this accounts for the astonishing highs and the astounding lows
in human nature. Is it any surprise if one wonders whether man , that
astonishingly wonderful creature holding so much and so stunning a complexity,
and such a vast and dumb founding diversity in his small frame could merely be
the end product of an accident? The implication or the hunch that there must be
a force , a source akin to , yet transcending human intellect of the highest
order imaginable which is the root cause of man is entirely valid and deserves
well of our deepest interest, keenest attention and closest scrutiny. As an
essential first lesson in apprehending that supreme source , one should learn
how to perceive the differential play of passions and instincts that gives rise
to this bewildering diversity overlying the essential humanity which is unity,
and the one that succeeds in comprehending,
through a leap in one’s understanding , the human situation on this
planet as also the higher meaning and purpose of life, is the one meant for the
greater glory of humanity. For such a one is destined to apprehend, through his
ability to accept with equanimity the dualities of worldly experience like
good-bad, joy-sorrow, birth-death, success-failure, health-disease and
prosperity-poverty, the underlying spiritual process and apperceive his true
nature—the iridescent self or atma. He is the one cut out for undertaking the
further exploration of the one reality creating, supporting and sustaining and
ultimately dissolving this kaleidoscopic creation into itself. That means the
ability to reconcile, harmonise and integrate the seemingly irreconcilable ,
discordant and conflicting emotions and instincts, desires and interests, and
loves and hates in one’s own nature by seeing them for what they really are is
the reducible minimum/desideratum for launching on the greatest adventure of unravelling
the mystery of the whole creation.
As the discussion has run into the realm of religion, a few words about
the latter will be in order.
Religion , essentially, is an attempt at answering the receptively
simple but supremely profound question, ‘Who am I?’, that has been engaging the
attention of man since the dawn of civilization . as every religion seeks to
guide man in his quest for understanding himself and the universe , in which he
finds himself, including the inalienable bonds that link him with his fellow
beings and finally with his Maker, with a promise to usher in a Golden Age of
justice, peace and harmony, and bring personal salvation as the ultimate reward
for virtue, piety and righteous conduct , it is an indispensable means to
confront man’s eternal challenge and attain his pre eminent purpose, viz ‘to
know thyself’. So it has to necessarily keep in focus the mindboggling panorama
of human nature with its myriad highs and lows as also the bewildering panoply
of characters ranging from the most virtuous to the utterly vicious , from the
godlike to the animal-like , all shaped by nature and nurture and be prepared to cater to the needs of all,
if it has to achieve its objective of elevating man from bestiality to divinity
, it has to fulfil itself by successfully guiding man through this transforming
and regenerating process and seeing that he comes out as a more enlightened and
wiser being. As the foundational
fundamental of this project , every religion realizing that one can lift
oneself to the higher planes of divinity only on the wings of soaring humanity
has laid the foundation of moral order
extended the bounds of human sympathy, underscored the values of humanity like
charity, compassion , purity , truth , love, tolerance, universal brotherhood
and respect for the sanctity of all forms of life infused faith in a
transcendental divine order and awakened the inherent divinity of the human
being. Even atheistic religions like Buddhism prescribed a rigorous religious
way of life for man for deliverance from suffering routed in desire, and
elevation to higher planes of humanity. For, they all are aware that one who
scales the peaks of humanity will be knocking at the door of divinity while one
who is grovelling at the lowest rung of humanity is in imminent danger of
degenerating into the depths of animality. But the inevitable contextual
changes , local customs , formalities , traditions , rituals and conventions
that get injected , by way of cultural colouring and regional flavor, into
religion , initially as innocuous accretions, begin to acquire a life of their
own and become so dominant with the passage of time as to push the more
fundamental and profounder aspects of religion dealing with man’s eternal
quest and the answers found together
with the values emphasized and principles highlighted by it into the
background. Consequently the popular version of very institutionalized religion
today presents itself dressed in the habiliments and hidden in the trappings of
the former kind while keeping its core content concealed under its coat tails
lest it should reveal its basic identity and essential oneness with what other
religions stand for—its fellowship with other faiths – thereby undermining the
uniqueness and superiority claimed for
it by its custodians with the ulterior motive of perpetuating their authority
and safeguarding their vested interests. It is perhaps because of this that the
commentaries on, and interpretations of religious texts like the Bhagavad Gita
, the Pitakas , the Zindavesta, the tall mode , the Bible and the Koran and the
related spiritual texts are invariable vast and vague, full of spurious
arguments based on specious reasoning besides irreconcilable inconsistencies ,
unwarranted assertions, indefensible contradictions and ambiguous promises so
that everyone finds passages of his/her liking in them, which usually tell us
more about the person who selected them than about the particular religion.
Religiosity or the belief in rituals and rites , icons and symbols, rules and
formalities , modes and places of worship, dogmas and ceremonies , epics and
myths come to take the centre stage pushing the core content of the religion
into total obscurity.
In parenthesis, “the Koran is a vast , vague book , filled with
…contradictions” wrote Fareed Zakaria (span Nov-Dec 2001). “There are verses in
the Koran that advocate violence and non-violence, peace and war, socialism and
capitalism. It is a religion which lends itself to contradictory
interpretations. How we see our own truth depends on our way of
interpretation.” According to Dr Ziad Abu Amu, a colleague of Yasir Arafat
(quoted by Anees Jung in ‘Peace in Winter Garden.’) “On the question of
treatment to be meted out to a non- believer (Kafir), there are 2 positions: 1)
that he be converted on the point of the sword and 2) he be allowed to persist in the solace of his
faith on the ground that there is no compulsion in matters of faith”, wrote
Imtiaz Ahmed (The Hindu , May 17, 2003) “What we read the Quran to be saying
depends on who reads it , how and in what contexts … wherever Muslims live , we
are socialized to accept the same patriarchal misinterpretations of our
scripture”, pointed out Asma Barlas in her ‘Islam, Muslims and the US—Essays on
Religion and Politics’. If this is the case with the Koran which is unique
among religious texts in that only one version of it being the direct record of
Prophet Mohammad’s holy utterances exists , one can imagine what might have
been the case with other religious scriptures which were codified centuries
after their teachers’ demise.
In short, one sees in them what one is looking for, so much so that the
extremist cites quotations and instances in support of his/her horrific hate
crimes and bestial conduct with the same ease and felicity with which a
sage/saint quoted passages to guide people on the path of virtue and
righteousness and to goad them to be good and to do good to fellow beings. So
many interpretations are possible that one might almost say “quot capita , tot
sententiae” (as many meanings as individuals). Each of these scriptures is “a
classic, a book that has never finished saying what it has to say”, in the thoughtful
words of Italo Calvino. For, the core content of each such scripture is wrapped
up in innumerable layers of meaning waiting to be unravelled assiduously and
patiently with care and concern, equipoise and composure and open mindedness.
Thus, it is that practically every religion in the world has come to acquire
more than one face and begun to speak in several tongues at the same time. One
can pass almost anything in the name of religion. No wonder the Leftists go the
whole hog and dub religion as an illusion-creating, reality-masking ‘opium of
the masses’. Hence , there is an enormous scope for further misinterpretation
of religion and mischief on a monstrous scale.
Ironically, the variability of the popular religion to bring people
together by creating a sense of community / communality through emotional and
psychological bonds in forges among them ensures that people belonging to
different religions , even when brought together , stay apart. Thus , religion
is both a source of harmony and discord , a cohesive and a divisive force , a
unifier and a divider ,holding humanity together and tearing it asunder at the
same time. According to the place and time of their origin, different religions
emphasize different aspects of life, highlight different values, uphold
different ideals, set different goals and celebrate different things and
different occasions which impart them their separate identities , which, in
their turn, often give rise to inter-religious strife and intra-religious
violence due to clashes between different sects and creeds of the same
religion, communal conflicts and at time holy wars, whose paths of glory are
red with the blood of murder. No wonder ,human history ,at any rate an overwhelmingly large part of it, is
nothing but a sordid account of all those horrendous wars fought , worst crimes
committed , mindless violence perpetrated and all that havoc wreaked , and
destruction and devastation wrought in the name of religion. In the wise words
of Jonathan Swift, “ we have just enough religion to make us hate each other ,
and not enough religion to make us love each other.” Every religion , perverted
and distorted beyond recognition as it was , ended up betraying its original
objectives and belying the initial expectations, aspirations and hopes of human kind. What ought to be a
source of inspiration and guidance for the collective well being of mankind has
turned into a menace threatening the very survival of man on this planet.
In refreshing contrast to the other religions, Hinduism , which for
Gandhiji is a religion of humanity, however , has been empirical in approach
and hence, open minded and non dogmatic. It never claimed any
supremacy/superiority either for its God or for itself despite its hoary
antiquity , never insisted that it’s is the sole way, truth and light, never in
it’s long history sought to convert adherence of other religions, either
through coercion or persuasion, and absorb them into its fold, (if ever there was any attempt at conversion
by the Hindu saints and savants, it was only to convert ‘the lapsed Hindus to
Hinduism’) never held up hope of rewards in another world in return for
sacrifices made here and now as the be all and end all of life, never thought
it fit to place before its followers any supreme value or cause to fight over
nor set apart any day like Moharram or Good Friday to grieve over. It never
urged them onto jihads or crusades, nor put people to death for their heretical
views, for it is not premised upon the notion that the final truth was revealed
to any of its “prophets” and that it must in the end vanquish all ‘falsehood’,
other religions necessarily vouch for .The defining elements of Hinduism are a)
its refusal to be predicated upon the notion of final truth ,b) its total
reliance on the concrete fact of spiritual experience which is not limited to
any particular religion but found among the followers of all religions and c)
its innate inclination to celebrate diversity as against emphasizing
differences and the attendant ill will and hatred.
It perceives divinity as an infinite non dual
multifaceted and many splendoured truth underlying all that exists, animate as
well as inanimate and it’s sears and
saints have assigned diverse names and forms to it – ekam sat vipra bahudha
vadanti (Rig veda)—depending on the way they experienced It, offering a wide
choice to people to exercise with discrimination according to their mental
disposition and level of spiritual evolution and attainments. It’s empirical
approach as opposed to belief in scriptural authority based on the teachings of
one prophet or a single tenet encourage its adherence to train their
understanding and spirituality and enable them to witness the splendours of the
world of spirit thereby promoting universalism and toleration. They should not
only have faith in that Supreme Reality but must also realize it as the Self of
all existence and act accordingly. They thus see God in everything , everything
is divine to them ,different aspects of the divinity being presented in
different images each with its own name and form. The hallmark of Hinduism has
been its all pervasiveness, tolerance and flexibility to adapt itself to
changing time and needs. Even their language is pictorial and vivid. As such,
Hinduism can have no quarrel with any religion over its choice of divinity or
God just as it can have none with any individual over his, as it considers it a
matter of the choice between him and his conscience. And this broad based
conception of Godhead as against the belief that there is only one true God,
one true faith, and one true way to practise religious devotion is the tap-root
and life-breath of the age-old philosophy of tolerance preached and practised
by all genuine Hindus. It must ,however, be noted here that not all can
envision and experience such omnipresent divinity nor can stay tuned to /
anchored in such awareness. Hence the need for more concrete forms for
visualizing God such as images , symbols , icons and idols as aids or props to
concentrate one’s mind on some aspect or facet of that infinite formless all
encompassing divinity. Thus, the Hindu scriptures present an inclusive vision
to accommodate the capacity and outlook of each spiritual aspirant and worship
a particular form which appeals to his heart before graduating to the stage of
meditating on the formless absolute in his quest for God realization , the
summum bonam of human existence. Contrary to the common perception , Hindusism
is neither polytheistic and Hindus do not worship a plurality of Gods but many
manifestations, facets /aspects, forms of the one and only one divinity—the one
known by many names—the idol of one’s choice serving as a physical symbol of
the Lord to focus one’s mind so as to be able to easily relate to him and pay
obeisance. The devotee worships the divine presence in the image and not the
inert symbolical form. A superficial observer often mistakes this pantheistic
approach for polytheism and idolatry. Here, pantheism, not in its narrow
intellectual sense but win all its infinite spiritual dimensions and
connotations is meant and it embraces all that is patent as well as latent,
imminent as well as transcendent , Hinduism being thus a multi dimensional and
many splendoured approach to Godhead appears as an amorphous and diffuse
amalgam of belief systems and practices. It gives the option to a devotee to
choose any form and name of God to adore
him in tune with its fundamental tenet that God exists in each and everything
thereby leaving enough scope for universalism, flexibility and inclusivity. It is
worth reiterating here that freedom to choose one’s means or mode of worship
suited to one’s won temperament is both necessary and practical as no single
method will be appropriate for all aspirants as also different practices will
be required to be followed by the same person at different stages during the
course of his spiritual evolution. The basic premise is that the Supreme Being
sportingly embraces all such man made distinctions and there is hardly any room
for bigotry and the consequent intolerance of and disrespect for another’s
belief. The many religions are but different paths leading to the same goal.
This philosophy and flexibility, together with the absence of authoritarian
voices makes a Hindu extremely accommodating to any mode of worship of God
irrespective of religion in sharp contrast to institutions of exclusivity based
on singular faiths. Another important feature of Hinduism is that it has left
absolutely no scope for it to ever become an institutionalized religion or get
itself personified in human beings , thereby obviating the possibility for
power concentration and the consequent corruption and debasement or for the
emergence of true believers with their certitudes and fundamentalists with
their authoritarian dictates. Exemplars there may be but prophets there never
will be. Further , it has always looked upon itself not as something that is
part of life but as that which gives meaning to all of life. That is why it is often asserted that
Hinduism is not a religion in the conventional sense of the word but a way of
life based on a certain philosophy of existence—an eternal dharma or perennial
philosophy—wedded to the pursuit of knowing who you are, how you are bonded to
your fellow-beings and ultimately to your maker, and through Him, to the
Supreme Reality. It does not exclude anyone or any thought from its ever
expanding horizons.
Hinduism has been flowing on all these countless years like the mighty
Ganges without let or hindrance and has weathered many a gale and storm in the
form of external aggression and internal upheavals, and stands like the
majestic Himalayas ever visible to the far
corners of the world. Its contribution to human thought and its greatest gift
to mankind everywhere are its unifying concept “atmavat Sarvabhutani” (every
being as one’s own self ) and its noble ideal of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam” (the
global family). These messages are ancient and yet ever new when viewed through
the lens of this “sanatana dharma” (perennial philosophy) which is a confluence
of varied paths of religious discipline for God realization and a concourse of
various spiritual experiences. The concept of religion takes on a newer meaning
and acquires wider dimensions and deeper ramifications.
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