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I had written an article long time back about Religion and fanaticism and
about how religious dogmas give rise to fanatics and fanaticism. While writing
that article I came upon a thought about whether religion suppresses
democracy or whether democracy suppresses religion. Either way the effect
would be explosive as in both the cases the fundamental freedom of man is at
stake. Therefore in this article I have decided to pen my thoughts regarding
that very question, whether religion suppresses democracy or whether
democracy suppresses religion. There is another very pertinent reason as why
this debate should have a logical conclusion. What we are seeing in India along
the Kashmir border, what we are seeing in Pakistan, Afghanistan We only point
our fingers to one culprit to all the troubles that are been endured by the
innocents in these places. Not only in these places but world over we have
started blaming one religion for the troubles and the problems and the
depleting economy of every nation in this earth. Have we ever tried to find out
the proper reasons for the anomalies that are perpetrated world over? Is it not
the responsibility of the elected government to set the things in its right
perspective? Here in lies the crux of the issue, the crux of the debate that
whether religion suppresses democracy? Or the other way round.
Let us then first start defining these two words. What do we understand by the
word Democracy. DEMOCRACY: the political orientation of those who favor
government by the people or by their elected representatives a political system
in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to
represent them majority rule: the doctrine that the numerical majority of an
organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group
Democracy, which derives from the Greek word "demos," or "people," is defined,
basically, as government in which the supreme power is vested in the people.
In some forms, democracy can be exercised directly by the people; in large
societies, it is by the people through their elected agents. Or, in the memorable
phrase of President Abraham Lincoln, democracy is government "of the people,
by the people, and for the people." And now let us define the word Religion. It is
very difficult to define religion because it encompasses not only one aspect of
human social behavior but it encompasses the entire gamut of human social
cultural intellectual behavior. Unlike democracy which just deals with the
political behavior of human beings, religion can be seen as a theological,
philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of
human kind. Again as said earlier to limit religion to only one of these
categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete
definition." There are many interpretations of what defines a religion but not
one that can be said to be the most accurate. A strong belief in a supernatural
power or powers that control human destiny. An institution to express belief in
a divine power. A belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the
practices and institutions associated with such belief. The sum total of answers
given to explain humankind’s relationship with the universe.
Robin Dunbar argues that the critical event in the evolution of the neocortex
took place at the speciation of archaic homo sapiens about 500 thousand years
ago. His study indicates that only after the speciation event is the neocortex
sufficiently large enough to process complex social phenomena such as
language and religion. The study is based on a regression analysis of neocortex
size plotted against a number of social behaviors of living and extinct hominids.
Having said a little about the origin of religion, how did democracy originate
then. Was it the function again of the same developed neocortex? Or was it the
fall out of the religious concept where by human beings devised a way to be
harmonious and progressive, and economically viable social group? There was
an article in the Deccan chronicle dated 8th August 2010 which I reproduce
verbatim for my readers to get an insights as to how and why religion laid the
foundation to democracy. “The beauty of being a Hindu lies in your freedom to
be who you want to be. Nobody can tell you what to do, or what not to do.
There is no central authority, no single leader of the faith. No one can pass an
order to excommunicate you, or like in some countries, pass a decree that
orders your death by stoning for walking with a strange man.
We don’t appreciate our freedom because we can’t feel the plight of others who
aren’t free. Many religions have a central authority with awesome power over
the individual. They have a clear chain of command, from the lowliest local
priest to the highest central leader. Hinduism somehow escaped from such
central authority, and the Hindu has miraculously managed to hold on to his
freedom through the ages. How did this happen?
Vedanta is the answer. When the writers of Vedanta emerged, around 1500 BC,
they faced an organized religion of orthodox Hinduism. This was the post Vedic
age, where ritualism was practiced, and the masses had no choice but to
follow. It was a coercive atmosphere.
The writers of Vedanta rebelled against this authority and moved away from
society into forests. This was how the ‘Aranyakas’ were written, literally
meaning ‘writings from the forest’. These later paved the way for the
Upanishads, and Vedanta eventually caught the imagination of the masses. It
emerged triumphant, bearing with it the clear voice of personal freedom.
That’s why Hinduism saw an explosion of Gods. There was a God for every
need and every creed. If you wanted to build your muscles, you worshiped a
God with fabulous muscles. If you wanted to pursue education, there was a
Goddess of Learning. If it was wealth you were looking for, then you looked up
to the Goddess of wealth — with gold coins coming out of her hands.
If you wanted to live happily as a family, you worshiped Gods who specially
blessed families. When you grew old and faced oncoming death, you spent time
in contemplating a God whose business it was to dissolve everything — from an
individual to the entire Universe.
Behind all this — was the silent Vedantic wisdom that Gods are but figments of
human imagination. As the Kena Upanishad says, “Brahma ha devebhyo
vijigye…” — All Gods are mere subjects of the Self. It implies that it is far better
that God serves Man than Men serve God. Because Men never really serve God
— they only obey the dictates of a religious head who speaks for that God, who
can turn them into slaves in God’s name.
Hindus have therefore never tried to convert anyone. Never waged war in the
name of religion. The average Hindu happily makes Gods serve him as per his
needs. He discards Gods when he has no use for them. And new Gods emerge
all the time — in response to market needs. In this tumult, no central authority
could survive. No single prophet could emerge and hold sway, no chain of
command could be established.
Vedanta had injected an organized chaos into Hinduism, and that’s the way it
has been from the last thirty five centuries. Vedanta is also responsible, by
default, for sustaining democracy. When the British left India, it was assumed
that the nation would soon break up. Nothing of that kind has happened.
The pundits of doom forgot that the Indian had been used to religious freedom
from thousands of years. When he got political freedom, he grabbed it
naturally. After all, when you can discard Gods why can’t you discard leaders?
Leaders like Gods are completely expendable to the Indian mindset. They are
tolerated as long as they serve the people, and are replaced when needs
change. It’s the triumph of people over their leaders, and in this tumult, no
dictator can ever take over and rule us. Strange how the thoughts of a few men
living in forests, thirty five centuries ago, can echo inside the heart of every
Indian. That’s a tribute to the resurgent power of India, and the fearlessness of
its free thinking people."
I am not preaching Hinduism here and that is not what this article is all
about. What this article has basically brought forward is the freedom that the
religion gives to human beings. To maintain these freedom and to enhance the
other freedoms like that of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of
expression and thought, right to freedom of religion and right against
exploitation it is the religion that gives the first impetus and human beings
then models the same in a larger context when it comes to the question of
ruling or governing a state. That is precisely the reason why the Indian
constitution says that it is a sovereign socialist republic by virtue of which
every citizen or every human being residing in India has a right to choose and
preach his religion peacefully and the state will not interfere in anyway in the
expression and practice of religion. Politics and religion are kept separate and
politics does not come in the way of religion or vice versa.
Hinduism is not the only religion where democracy took shape through
religion. Democracy is not new to Islam. The foundation of the first government
in the history of Islam was laid on democracy. “That Muslims attach great
significance to their organization as a political community can be seen in the
fact that their calendar is dated neither from the birth nor the death of the
Prophet, but from the establishment of the first Muslim policy in the city-state
of Madinah in 622. Before Madinah was founded, the Arabs had no state to
“establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.” (Ahmad,
2003)
You can become Hindu by your own free will by accepting Bhagavad-Gita,
essence of Vedas spoken by Lord Krishna as a final authority. The mythology of
Purana or the great epics Ramayana or Mahabharata explain the Vedas to
common people in a simple way. Numerous sects of Hinduism co-exist
peacefully under the supreme guidance from the Vedas. Hinduism offers lots
of freedom to operate. An individual decides his Guru, and follows him or her.
When many devotees come together a sect is formed. Like democracy, the
people select a leader. Sects come and go like political parties in a dynamic
democracy. Often, those of other faiths portray Hinduism as a religion of
confusion. It is like communist or a dictator might consider democracy as a
confused state where the news media, congressmen, senators, the president
and scholars challenges each other dramatically and sometimes unreasonably.
Like American democracy, where challenging a President or burning a flag is
tolerated - Hinduism tolerates challenges. Contrast to Hinduism, Christianity
and Islam offer very limited freedom and tolerance for other faiths.
According to Hinduism, there are different paths to reach God, just like there
are many ways to reach the top of the mountain. As you go higher, differences
between them are reduced. Anyone who believes that his is the only way to
reach God is full of ignorance just like a frog in a well unable to comprehend
the outside world. Bhagavad-Gita suggests the following Yogas to reach God:
Knowledge, Devotion, Meditation, and Karma. Karma Yoga is pure selfless
service. Missionary service is not Karma Yoga, as missionaries hope to convert
people to their faith and thus expand their power base to reestablish
domination of the church which will ultimately curtail democracy.
Vedas means knowledge. It is not only religious rituals with chanting of hymns,
but it includes philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and grammar.
When philosophy is the origin of religion, it permits freedom of speech and
thought, and acknowledges Atheism. Just like democracy, Hinduism accepts
Atheists as equal citizens. About 2300 years ago India peacefully became
predominantly Buddhist during the Maurya Empire. During that period,
Takshila University was the center of learning Hinduism, Jainism and
Buddhism and Atheism. Also, Nalanda University was formed 2000 years ago
with its 10,000 students and 1500 teachers. In the 8th century Hindu Guru
Shankracharya debated one to one Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Atheist women
and men gurus who upon defeat accepted his synthesis of Vedic metaphysics
philosophy and India became again predominantly Hindu.
People everywhere are today blaming the Islam religion and particularly the
Muslims for all the destability that the world is facing today. In many places in
India Muslims have started keeping a Hindu name. Muslims do not get visas,
Muslims do not get jobs. Muslims feel isolated and this feeling is universal
everywhere. Question is Why should the religion and the followers of this
religion be punished for something which it has never perpetrated?? Have we
brought the perpetrators to justice?? Did the corrupt, self-centered, criminal
politician get the boot? No because it is again the mathematics of number the
mathematics of majority, the mathematics of Democracy that has suppressed
the religion.
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