The world today is a mad house where
individuals exaggerate their racial superiority, religious pride or national
egotism and thus become victims of moral and spiritual blindness. It is also
disturbed by the compartmentalization of society into divisions which have
become sources of tension and conflict and is disturbing the harmonious social
relationship. In this age human existence is threatened by the prospects of a nuclear
war also. At the down of the contemporary age, Einstein with his rare foresight
had commented that the unleashed power of atom has changed everything. A new
cold war with its nuclear weapons is a threat to the survival of the whole
human race. The good spirit of humanity is challenged as never before. A common
humanity founded on a comprehensive view of man alone can guarantee the
survival of mankind.
Scientific developments- Its effects and defects:-
Humanity has made remarkable progress in accumulating knowledge
through scientific progress. Science and technology has given us tremendous
power which if used with wisdom and compassion, can eradicate poverty, illiteracy,
unemployment and malnutrition from the face of the earth. On the other hand,
the same science has produced the weapons of such awesome destructive powers
that they can eliminate the whole of humanity. In this situation mankind has to
summon up all its resources of wisdom and compassion to cope with grave threat
it has ever faced. But it is unfortunate on our part that in the application of
this knowledge mankind has failed. We see gross abuse of science in the field
of warfare. Man has used nuclear and thermonuclear energy to make weapons of
mass destruction and weapons of defence have now become weapons of universal
destruction. So it becomes the duty of everyone to try his utmost to prevent
the horror of another world war from descending upon us.
Science has achieved astonishing progress.
But, in spite of all the achievements of science and technology, man can no
longer rest upon secure foundations. There is something beyond the scientific
positive knowledge, and no thinking person can ignore it. “Swami Vivekananda
stressed the necessity of religion when the world was fast moving by its progress
in the field of science and technology. He firmly believed that India could
saved only by preserving its spirituality and cultural heritage. It includes
religion.”1 Religion is considered as the remedy to the particular
unrest felt by even when he is fully equipped with all the best in his life.
Religion: How it helps?
Religions have played a very great part in the evolution of human
civilization and culture. They
evolved a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the
universe and grew as an organized system of beliefs that bound people to become
a close-knit society. It can become a great unifying force in a world torn by
suspicion and hatred. As it is stated by Swami Vivekananda, “Religion, to help
mankind, must be ready and able to help him in whatever condition he is, in
servitude or in freedom, in the depths of degradation or the heights of purity,
everywhere, equally, it should be able to come to his aid”.2 It may
be described as the quality a life which is characterized by a fearless
single-minded and vigorous pursuit of truth that transcends human existence.
Religion, in its real sense is self-discovery. Again, according to Swami
Vivekananda, “Religion is the manifestation of the divinity already in man;
religion is realization; not task, nor doctrine, nor theories, however
beautiful they may be. It is being and becoming, not hearing or acknowledging,
it is the whole soul becoming changed into what it believes.”3
We have to realize the immense value
of the inner meaning and significance of religion. The essence of religion is
truthfulness, love and not hatred towards others. In the words of Swami Vivekananda
“If one religion is true others must be true. There are differences in
non-essentials but in essentials they are all one.”4 Therefore it becomes
an effective medium for human brotherhood and not social alienation. Religion
has thus supplied some deeply felt inner need of human nature, and the vast
majority of people all over the world cannot do without some form of religious
belief. It was made clear by Pandit Jawarlal Nehru when he stated that “the
religions have helped greatly in the development of humanity. They have laid
down values and standards and have pointed out principles for the guidance of
human life”5. Thus we find that religion serves a great deal in self
security, change of heart and renunciation in its unceasing attempt to create a
new social order through love.
Some drawbacks of Religion:-
When we go into detail, we find
that organized religion has more harm than good to offer and it even hinder the
moral and spiritual progress of man. Religion, as practiced, deals with matters
unrelated to our normal lives and thus adopts an ivory tower attitude, or is
allied to certain social usages, which do not fit in with the present age. It
seems to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma, bigotry, superstition and
exploitation and the preservation of vested interests. We find in religion
pre-conceived notions because of which it deliberately shuts its eyes to
reality for the fear that reality might not fit in with its notions. It seems
to be the enemy of clear thought, for it is based not only on the acceptance
without objection of certain fixed and unalterable theories and dogmas, but
also sentiments, emotion and passion. So people’s involvement with organized
religion becomes the main stumbling block in the way of nation’s progress. Thus
we find that though religion has brought comfort to innumerable human beings
and stabilized society by values; it has checked the tendency to change and
progress inherent in human society.
One of the greatest threats
that the world faces today is that of international terrorism. To a great extent,
this type of organized religion is one of the major factors leading to it.
Terrorist are a group of people sharing common goals and objectives determined
by certain requirements towards the achievements of which each and every member
puts in his or her competent skill. Religion which is actually a great refuge
of man in distress has becomes a source of torture and wickedness and it has
created religious fanatics throughout the world. They consider their religion
as the only true religion and their activities are guided by an urge to punish
those who do not believe in it and has led to terrorism. Violence in the name
of religion, caste and language has caused untold harm whenever it has
occurred. So these fanatics are the greatest enemies of humanity as they do not
tolerate the views of others.
Humanism as a Religion:-
Here we see that organized religion is
found to be a challenge to the idea of world community. War and global
terrorism have marred the modern world more than ever before. The world today is
divided and afflicted by formidable evils. Humanity is living is living perhaps
through the most dangerous period in all its history. Men have a feeling of
insecurity in deep. We are aware of the emptiness of our life but we are not
able to find out a way out of it. The dogmas of traditional religion cannot
solve our problems anymore. This is because they have neglected the deeper
humane element. The cause of present tension is the lack of adjustment between
science and humanism. They are complementary to each other and whenever a
proper co-ordination is kept between them, life become pleasurable at the
individual and social level. Science has to be coordinated with the spirit of
humanism and that is the most urgent need of mankind today.
Man must and will have some religion because
to live without faith is impossible. Since the close of 17th century
there has been a progressive displacement of traditional religion by one form
or other. Attempts to save the individual on a secular rather than religious
basis have become popular. As it is written by M.N.Roy “The need of our time is
a philosophy which will restore confidence in the creativity of man, which will
show man his own power, that human power which is in him. Then only man’s faith
in himself is restored, he can start to remake his world, then only a third
alternative will open before mankind and gloom which is hanging on the world
today will left to open up new vistas of brighter future.”6 Thus we
see that propagation of humanism is a remedy for the present crisis and also
the promise for a bright future.
Humanism-What is it?
Humanism is a philosophy in which man
occupies the central place. It is an attitude which attach primary importance to man and his faculties,
affairs and aspirations. It recognizes the infinite potentialities and
possibilities of man and may be defined as an attempt to explore ways and means
to bring about common welfare and progress of mankind through all round
enrichment of individual lives. The supreme concern for man is at the centre of
every humanistic philosophy. It elevates man above everything else and over the
rest of the creation. Thus it is an outlook to demonstrate his supremacy which
recognizes the value or dignity of man and asserts the centrality of human
being. As it is described by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, “In recognizing the central
importance of man in the scheme of things-and emphasizing his freedom and
individuality, and creative power –his role in shaping and molding his environment
with a view of making a better and happier world, humanism preached the gospel
of activism, full of hope and promise for the future of mankind a philosophy
likely to rescue man from the slough of despondency and vivify him with self
confidence and faith in his own power as the shaper, not only if his own
destiny, but as one who is also destined to play an effective part in the larger field of human welfare and
progress.”7 Here we find that humanism is a word-view which is
inclined to see man as the centre.
Humanism may be defined as an
integrated system of human beings, goals, values and harmonious programme of
fulfillment, individual and collective. It seeks to clarify and enrich man’s goals,
values and ideals and achieve his full humaness through bringing him in ever
deeper and more intimate kinship and harmony with surrounding life and society.
It aspires for the upliftment of human beings in all fields- social cultural,
political or economical and advocates that rational thinking and intellectual
acumen must aim at the well being of man. It is held that the panacea for all
the evils lies in spreading the message of international friendship and
essential brotherhood of mankind.
Humanism as a form of Religion:-
Humanism assumes that man is by
nature good and that evil rests in society in the condition which surrounds man
and if these are removed man’s goodness will emerge and progress will be
achieved. Organized religion on the other hand, believes in the radical
insufficiency of human nature. Again to quote Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, “humanism
is a legitimate protest against those forms of religion which separate the secular
and sacred, divide time, eternity and break up the unity of soul and flesh.
Every religion should have sufficient respect for the dignity of man and the
rights of human personality. We cannot preserve them, if we repudiate religion.
Religion is the perfection of the truly human”8.Mankind’s highest
destiny is to become more and more capable of sympathetic understanding.
We must get away from a religion
which has lost the power of creative expression in conformity with the needs
and demands of our age. To live without faith is impossible. But man no longer
stand inside the cloistered wall of traditional religion. Because no religion
can hope to survive if it does not satisfy the scientific temper of ours and
foster the unity of the world. So what is needed today is the preservation of
the precious substance of religious reality by translating it out of the modes
and thoughts of other times into terms and needs of our own day.
If our society is to recover its
health, it must regain its faith through humanism which considers the welfare
of mankind as its central theme.In the modern period there is a definite
upsurge of humanism and it had developed into a system based upon the essential
dignity of man, expressing deep concern for welfare and his all round
development.
Some concluding remarks:-
Religion is the expression of the
permanent nature of man - the aspect of divinity, the element of essential
goodness present in every man. When we go through the teachings of various
religions we find that none of them neglect this innate goodness in man. This
belief in the essential spirituality and goodness of every man lead Gandhiji to believe in the essential unity of
mankind and so he says, “I believe in absolute oneness of God and therefore
also of humanity…..Though we have many bodies, we have but one soul. The rays
of sun are many through refraction, but they have the same source.”9.
All religions have their basis on the same principles of truth and non-violence
and they propounds the law of love or Ahimsa. Hence all religions are to be
considered as different paths leading towards the same goal. A study of
different religions shows that they have philosophical depths, spiritual
intensity, holiness, purity, chastity charity and above all universal
brotherhood. All of them tries to build up a fellowship of believes and are
bound together in a holy partnership to advance for the cause of peace, justice
and freedom. As Dr.S.Radhakrishnan said about the goal of religion,
“Universality, social service, practice of religion and transformation of the
human individual are the goals of religion. These are the lessons which
Vivekananda taught us in his great life. These lessons have a purpose, a
validity and relevance even today.”10 These are the basics ideas
upheld by humanism also. So humanism may be put forwards a new religion in
which mankind can rely upon. When the humane element in man is highlighted, we firmly
believe that, most of the problems we are facing today can be solved. Therefore
we can conclude that by practicing and propagating humanism we have a world to
win where we shed hatred and violence. Also through that we can establish the
sterling virtues of love, mutual understanding and human brotherhood which are
the basics of all major religions of the world. Together we can help and find a
way for the establishment it of it because there should be only one religion in
the world and that should be the religion of humanity and nothing else.
References:-
1. Devaraj.Dr.P.I:
Spiritual Humanism of Swami Vivekananda-A
new religion for humanity. Thrissur:Drishya Books,1997,p89
2. Vivekananada,
Swami:The Complete Works of Swami
Vivekananda.Vol.II,Calcutta:
Advaita Ashram,1989, pp.300-301
3.
,, ,, : Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol.II, Calcutta:
Advaita Ashram,1989, p.396.
4. ,,
,, : Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol.I,Calcutta: Advaita Ashram 1989, p.318.
5. Nehru,
Jawaharlal: Discovery of India, Bombay: Asia Publishing, 1980, p.622
6. Grover,Verinder:
Political thinkers of Modern India, M.N.Roy (ed.),
NewDelhi: Deep& Deep,1997, p.118.
7. Radhakrishnan,
Dr. S: History of Philosophy-Eastern and
Western, Vol. II,London : George Allen & Unwin,1967, p352.
8 ,, ,, : Recovery of Faith, London:
George Allen& Unwin,1953, p50.
9. Gandhi, M.K: Young India, dt, 25.9.24.
10. Radhakrishnan,
Dr: Our Heritage, Delhi: Orient Paper backs 198, p.90.
Dr.DEVARAJ.P.I. &
Dr.SYAMALA.K,
E-mail: pidevaraj@rediffmail.com.
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