Indian Intellectuals: Please spare Ram and Krishna:

Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at - Post Comment

The History  text book “Ancient India” for class XI standard has been revised by the noted historian R S Sharma. The revised edition says that there is no scientific evidence to prove the existence of “RAMA” and “KRISHNA”.  And  why Sharma only, the other great Historians of modern India like Irfan Habib,Romila Thapar,Satish Chandra, and Arjun Dev also fall in the same league not to talk of thousands of others whose minds have been indoctrinated by these intellectuals.

As a reaction the pro-BJP elements took law in their own hand and burnt effigies of these Dons. Society is again drawn into  a debate of tolerant Vs intolerant, secular Vs Communal, bigot Vs rational and so on so forth. Arjun Singh may be a happy man and people confused and saddened by the series of toxification and detoxification drives.

Nothing in the world of humans is without a motive. And when you talk of intellectuals then it is foolish to even imagine that these great people may have written such scientific papers without any motive. Anyway what ever is the motive, whether it is an attempt to see the realities of the world from the eyes of empirical senses and rationalistic minds by applying mind even where the realm of  reason ends and the realm of faith starts or to become an agent of those politicians who aim to create a social environment by convincing the young generation that the God  whom they revere is nothing but an expression of a pack of unscientific myths and thus would have a secular solution to the present bone of contentions viz Ayodhya,Kashi & Mathura by constructing some library or monument on the disputed sites rather than a temple in Ayodhya while maintaining status quo at other places :the motive is challengeable.

The whole Indian society and its culture has been based around the concept omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Brahman of whom Lord Ram and Krishna are the most prominent expressions. Even if they are product of mythical weaving of ideas, there influence is so strong on Indian mind that it starts with the birth and end with the death only.  

 The great debates in the west about the theological dilemma whether GOD exists or not has never ended with any definite conclusion. The greatest rationalists  of all time in the west were rather forced to accept the existence of GOD. If Kant said that “reason should make room for faith” in order to believe in GOD then Hegel too was in favour of Supreme ideas as GOD. Durkhiem went to the extent of calling the social collectivity as GOD. The greatest scientists of the world accepted the existence of GOD with all humility. All the great religions of the world whether Hinduism, Christianity or Islam are based on the existence of GOD and none of the followers even in West goes beyond a limit to prove the non-existence of GOD.

The concept of GOD has functional utility too. It is an answer to your uncertainties. A boatman going into the sea doesn’t know when the sea will become violent and whether he will be able to come back home or not, how the homes of the thousands innocents killed in New York’s twin towers or in Iraq will be run is left conveniently on GOD, the more competent historians than R S Sharma and Romila Thapar etc. couldn’t get promotion or social recognition or money remain content because they believes in GOD. The failure of science to explain the evil in the world is a cause in believing GOD. The fact that science or reason has not disapproved the existence of GOD is a reason for believing in GOD. The fact that the world has several times more theists than atheists or agnostics makes one believe in GOD. And there may be so many arguments why one believes in GOD.

Take the case of either US or France or England or for that matter any western country from where the source and inspiration for secularism is derived by most of the intellectuals. Has anybody dared to ask why the Americans recognize Christianity in their constitution, why the Americans targeted every Sikh/Muslim in US after 9/11,why the French don’t allow the Indian Sikh students to wear turban in the French schools as they believe only in Catholicism and not in the existence of any religion, why the Britons have targeted the Sikhs and Muslims after 7/7 and why all the head of the States went to Vatican on the death of Pope and the take over of the new Pope? Why don’t the greatest rationalists de recognize Christianity as religion when they represent the state.

The Christianity is based on the myth that Jesus was born to virgin Marry. Is it scientifically possible to even imagine that a virgin girl may give birth to a child. But even then the Christians don’t go probing into the myth by applying their scientific mind and accept the premises as they are. People of Islamic faith, however modern or uneducated they were, cried foul when Salman Rushdie wrote the blasphemous comments about prophet Mohammad.   It is only the modern glamour savvy Indian intellectuals filled with inferiority complexes who apply their mind and senses in disproving that Ram or Krishna didn’t exist. Why don’t they just leave GODs like in other faith it has been? The dogmatic practices in the religion must be disapproved and rejected but the attempt to disapprove the very existence of GOD is the most unscientific thing under the sky. There is no alternative theory which else would be better replacement of the concept of GOD for the very survival of mankind. In fact by doing so Indian intellectuals are no better than Togadia. On the other hand they are strengthening the hands of fanatics like Togadia.

The role of religion is as important for the existence of society as is the role of politics and economics for the governance and nourishment and growth of the society.

In view of the totality of narrations, it is therefore, the role of the state to keep itself away from meddling with the religious feeling of the people of India. Arjun Singh, in connivance with the left would do irreparable loss to the Indian society by getting such doctrines imbibed in the mind of Youth. It is easier to destroy the society than to build it strong, emotionally, socially, economically, politically, ethically and spiritually. Build a strong and vibrant India then. 

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