Monday, December 31, 2018

NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS AND LONELY FOLKS


While most of us are getting into the joyous mood of New Year eve celebrations in the company of friends and families, some folks are lonely and ending the last few hours of 2018 just being alone.
In the company of their own self, they are away from society, families, and friends in the confines of their situations. Loneliness is not just being physically apart, it can be an emotional state as well.
Fortunately, those who are alone they have company in the tech world of today. Thru the internet and many other gadgets, people are connected all the time worldwide. The latest toy is from Amazon’s where Alexa gives a friendly company with questions from you and her spontaneous answers on topics and queries of both sensible and weird choices.
Home alone with lonely feelings maybe not an issue for many. But there are still those poor souls, not that tech savvy or forced by their circumstances, who will just let the year slip by and seek hope in the New Year.

Monday, December 24, 2018

PARTY IN MY LONELY ABODE!


I have company in my lonely abode
Arriving and departing, the door is open and revolving
The guests come, some offer bloom, others gloom.
They’re the memories, family, and friends,
Karmas’ notes, complaints, and compliments
Environments, weapons, wars, and fights
Politics, poverty, religions, and human rights
Cherishing hopes, jokes, and anecdotes
In this lively, and spirited noise
Consciousness joins as an in-house voice
And the party goes on, in my lonely abode.
-Promod Puri

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

POLITICS OF BJP DAMAGING TO INDIA’S DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS


It is the institutional damage which is a primary cause of concern for the survival and functioning of democracy in India.
And that is the major contrast between the years of governance by the Congress Party along with its united front allies, and the present ruling power politics of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) with its debilitated minor partners.
The once mighty Congress Party certainly gave the country its secular and democratic outlook.
But along the track, it drifted and distinctly mismanaged nation’s affairs where corruption has been the most dominant part of its legacy in power.
As of consequence that was the major cause of its fall.
The plummet of the Congress paved the way for the BJP to capture the power four years ago primarily by nurturing and exploiting its inherent strength in Hindu nationalism. It is under this ideological guideline that the BJP has got an opportunity to reshape the very character of India’s democratic institutions.
Judiciary, election commission, media, and statistics are some of the most operative integrals of democracy which keep it authoritative, functional, dynamic, and accountable. If any or all these systems are damaged, corrupted, compromised or abused, democracy becomes meaningless or even collapses.
Allegedly, all the democratic fundamentals have been brazenly as well as subtly fiddled with shrewd politics of religious fanaticism, fear, threats, murders, fake police raids, intrusions and influences in the media, obstructions and interference in the bureaucracy, and deceptive claims of accomplishments.
The autonomous, independent and credible status of the democratic establishments has been defaced and undermined.
The seventy-three years of the solid foundation of Indian democracy after the Independence in 1947 suddenly became fragile in just four years of the BJP rule.
It has been almost a Machiavellian leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi assisted and ideologically maneuvered by his trusted and crafty lieutenant Amit Shah.
To cash out the desired outcomes, crony appointments have been made.  Suitability and competence criteria along with academic and professional credentials have been secondary or trivial in this politically-infused drafting.
Examples being in the choice of supreme court judges, the governorship of states, Reserve Bank governorship, university vice chancellorships, Election Commision chief, Chief of the Indian Army and film censure board. Recently, a bureaucrat with only masters’ degree in history got the Reserve Bank governorship position.
As far as the constitution of the country is concerned, it carries only ceremonial value. Seeking direction from the prime minister rather than the constitution is the loyalty which is supreme under the BJP regime.
Most media, with due respect for some fearless and vigorous journalism, are the cheerleaders who are spun to report, misreport or ignore the news. Rather false news and biased views are manufactured in the party’s publicity machinery and delivered thru paid press and social media. Also, are tasked an army of loyal soldiers (known as Bhagats) for country-wide and world-wide spread of the fake commodity.
Cracking down on free speech, threats, murders of writers, dissident lawyers, and judges constitute the new and dreadful feeling of the current political climate in the country.
Along with that lynching of minorities followed by blessed and garlanded welcome support with job offers for those accused of these heinous crimes have happened quite frequently. Rallies, organized in support of rapists affiliated to the party, rather than consoling the victims, have taken place in the recent past. Example being the Kathua rape case of an 11-year-old nomad girl.
In this state of affairs, the credibility of established opposition politicians can be reasonably doubted as well. In their closets are enough skeletons which in reality are the exploitative treasures for the ruling party to keep the opposition quite or on selective criticism mode.
The silence of the Congress on many issues of national interest, example the Raffle scandalous deal, reveals the bedfellow relationship between the leadership of the BJP and the main opposition party.
If the BJP is responsible for the structural damage of democracy in India under the fervency of its Hindutva agenda, then the record of the Congress is not clean either.
Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, India’s democracy was subverted overnight with the declaration of Emergency in 1975. However, in the subsequent national election, the Congress was mercilessly beaten. Thanks to the intactness of the Election Commision which was not tinkered with weaponry of the Indira Gandhi emergency.
In that respect, we can say there is resilience in India’s democracy.
But this time it is the institutional chiseling which has been purposely done to carve out a non-secular nation based on narrow confines of Hindutva agenda.
This is an agenda which is fundamentally anti-Hindu. The identity of Hinduism lies in its wide open structure where liberal, secular and diverse customs and traditions co-exist and flourish.
Pursuing the Hindutva agenda also goes against the very spirit of democratic India in which its national institutions play non-religious, non-political, professional and bureaucratic roles crucial for unbiased, audit and scrutinized direction to the governing party in the conduct of nation’s business.
But when these institutions are politically fixed, controlled and manipulated by the governing party to uphold its power base just for electoral gains then the damage is done to them. And this is where the BJP’s legacy is being established by its leadership.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

National And Patriotism

NATIONALISM & PATRIOTISM ARE INEPT FOR CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL SOCIETIES

I have been an anti-national ever since I understood the nature of its allegiance to the country one belongs to. At the same time, I am not a patriot either with its blurred image as it is often a consequence of nationalism.
Patriotism and nationalism have obscure borderline between them. It is a “problematic pair” to find independent definitions to isolate each concept. Both the words are synonyms to each other according to their dictionary explanations. Still, certain attempts have been made to detach the two.
Nationalism arises from the word nation. As such it seeks love, devotion, pride and unconditional loyalty for it. This commitment must be confined within a nation’s borders. It is an outright, and avid engagement with the country one resides in.
Nationalism also seeks pride in nation’s identities contained in monolithic societies.
One religion, one language, and one culture dominate the monolithic societies. Together these are showcased to represent the overall nationalistic character of the nation. The politics of the country is espoused and steered around the sensitivities linked with these aspects.
However, in the universality of the contemporary society, nationalism has confined perspective. It denies or ignores the fast-emerging reality of multicultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious expressions of nations. In the nationalism of the majority, minorities’ share is limited or unimportant.
As technology, internet, and social media are the current factors cementing the multi-facet character of the world’s societies, the sentiment of nationalism is not much of an appeal.
Moreover, nationalism thins out when people migrate due to political, economic and other reasons or as refugees. It is often a dilemma for immigrants settled in host countries to pick one national loyalty and reject the other.
Nationalism has lost its impact because no single identities are monopolizing cosmopolitan populations. But it is used as a political tool to arouse the religious, cultural and linguistic sentiments of the majority community.
Nationalism leads to the political exploitation of the dominating community apprehensive of being overwhelmed by the population mix of multiple and distinctive identities.
Xenophobia is thus forged thru the nationalistic politics.
Governments are elected in a manufactured atmosphere of fear and hatred for minorities, foreigners, and refugees. Enemies are concocted within a nation where bigotry, racism, and injustice are encouraged and played for political sovereignty.
Albert Einstein said: “Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.”
Nationalism finds accomplice in patriotism for political gains and opportunism. In this behavior, patriotism becomes a victim of nationalism.
Patriotism is derived from the word patriot. Its character is better understood in valor, bravery, sacrifice, duty and devotion toward the nation and its citizens.
The purity of patriotism lies in the concerns and care of nation’s people, devoting and even sacrificing for their protection and peace irrespective of their class, caste, religious or cultural affiliations. It encourages pride in the achievements of the nation, while seeks critical analysis of its failures which even involves governing leadership.
Nevertheless, patriotism is also an evocation to support and shield parochial aspect of nationalism. As it keeps subtle binding with nationalism, military patriotism is manifested.
But military patriotism induces an ever-escalating global war budget in the name of “defense.”
As patriotism is a major motivating factor, armed forces are raised and maintained with the spending of billions and trillions of dollars for the “defense.”
The question is: defense from whom?
Countries are not being invaded by other countries anymore. That era, which dominated the histories of humanity, ended with the Second World War 73 years ago.
The thirst of the political Left and Right ideologies for political dominance and expansionism are not the factors either. That period was over with the end of the Cold War between the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc in late last century.
What is aimed now is the business or corporate expansionism. The reason being an ever-increasing appetite of capitalism which significantly impacts both the democratic and communist political systems. Business-political nexus is thus created.
In this expansionist development over the last several decades, borders for battleground are not needed. But the war industry’s clout keeps the borders hostile. Aggressive patriotism, infused with nationalism, is set up across the border lines.
From that perspective, military patriotism is a deadly commitment.
Eighteenth-century French philosopher Voltaire said, “It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.”
We can admit that patriotism has been a motivating factor in the service of humanity. Both nationalism and patriotism have historical contributions toward pride, unity, independence, and sovereignty of a nation.
But the world has changed comprising of varied demographic character. Nationalism and patriotism are now divisive concepts within a nation’s borders. Most fights and conflicts worldwide are happening within a country, not between nations.
When nationalism stirrups patriotism, the latter develops into a chauvinistic tool of power politics.
Both nationalism and patriotism relate only to the confines of the nation’s border, while the world thru technology, mass communication, and social media is fast emerging a cosmopolitan mix of one world- community.
“Our true nationality is mankind,” H.G. Wells
As such, our concerns and issues are now at the global level of wellness of all the humanity. This empathetic awareness creates respect and understanding among peoples of the world irrespective of class, caste, religious or societal differences.
In this concern, our environments, which have no space in the nationalistic and patriotic jingoism, are also equal partners seeking their attention and protection.
As we are fast developing into a multi-facet global community, what we need is humanitarianism and environmentalism without the caging borders of nationalism, and the obscurity of patriotism.
-30-

Friday, November 9, 2018

TRAVEL ADVISORY: INDIA CHANGING NAMES OF ITS MAJOR CITIES


It is the case of old wine in new bottles.
And a lot of new bottles are needed by some provincial governments in India when it comes to filling up with new names to the ancient cities and towns in the country.
While they can’t change the historical and cultural character of the cities, but the new labeling seems to be the current political hype running across India, especially in the saffron-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh.
If you’re visiting India and going to Allahabad, don’t get confused when the landing sign reads “welcome to Prayagraj.” Yes, that is the latest name change for the city known for its biggest religious fair in the world, called “Kumbh Mela.”
Allahabad, I mean Prayagraj, was the hometown of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and it is for the country’s most popular film star Amitabh Bachchan.
Another name-change casualty occurs to the major rail junction town of Mughalsarai, near Varanasi (formerly Banaras) as it is now officially called Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
And if you are traveling down to the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cosmopolitan city of Ahmedabad has been recently renamed called Karnavati.
For those who are visiting India after a long time, the name-change travel advisory includes that Bombay is now called Mumbai, Bangalore is Bengaluru, Chennai replaces Madras, and Trivandrum to Thiruvananthapuram.
(I had to copy and paste the last one to avoid mis-spelling).
So, if you are visiting India, don’t feel lost in your favorite cities adopting new names. Some of them need little practice to pronounce correctly. However, these are the same towns and cities with the same character and the same hospitality.
It is just the same old wine in a new bottle.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

CELEBRATION OF LIGHT


Diwali, the celebration of light
In this light there is hope.

Diwali, the celebration of sharing
In this sharing there is caring.

Diwali, the celebration of love
In this love, there is compassion.

Diwali, the celebration of faith
In this faith, there is bliss.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

LEARNING FROM SUNFLOWER IN PRAYERS TO SUN GOD



sunflower 2

by Promod Puri
Surya Devta or Sun god enjoys a unique status in Hindu iconography as the visible divine personality emerging from the horizon every day.
But when it is not seen because of rain or cloudy sky, a devotee can learn from the devoutness of sunflower towards the Sun.
Sunflower is a true devotee of Sun God. Rain or shine sunflower always follows its God in the direction it moves in the celestial circle.
Sun’s celestial arrival frees a devotee from ritualistic customs or caste-based barricades and taboos to have an independent face to face obeisance and worship. The sun god is approachable without any medium.
The Sun’s universal distribution of light and energy has been recognized since Vedic time as the ultimate source of life, the cause of our existence and the environment it nourishes.
From a metaphysical viewpoint, light and energy occupy fundamental ranking in Hindu faith. And the Sun is the spirited and analogous force in this numinous discernment. Light and energy are the divine elements to lead us to the path of knowledge, reality, and truth. The Gayatri mantra predicates the divinity of light and energy.
The life and soul of the universe are the Sun.
(Photo credit: Ashok Bhargava, Vancouver, Canada)

WITH WORDS AS BRICKS WRITING IS A CONSTRUCTION JOB



“words are the tools of writing.”
But not quite so!
Words, in fact, are the bricks and mortars we select and gather to build a structure. Its architecture and construction are based on our thoughts, opinions, and feelings, perceptions and impressions, or sharing of information, knowledge, and experiences.
In our learning faculty, there is a library of words being accumulated from early childhood. We retrieve them from our memory cells to begin the composition of a story, novel, essay, poetry, and all other literary and non-literary works or writing a simple personal diary.
Moreover, voluminous dictionaries offer thousands of words stacked in alphabetical order.
Just like bricks, words are cast in different sizes, but each carrying its own identity and impact. It is in this semantic profile that words give an outlook and character to writing.
Words are liberal in their nature. If a word is not the right one or it does not fit into the rigid demand of a writer, it offers a whole stockpile of alternative synonyms choices.
Words are not the writing tools, but when they are put together by the skills of a wordsmith, the whole composition becomes a tool by itself. Primarily, a composition is the tool of communication which we need as a compliment to speaking. But writing goes beyond spoken words. It stays longer or forever.
Is writing hard work? Not really, so far as there are enough bricks around in different sizes and shapes, along with a sound idea or subject matter, that a structure can be built and redesigned or even renovated.
The technicality of writing lies in its grammar as well as those little but indispensable characters, called punctuation marks, offering control and disciplinary mechanism in this creative development.
However, objectivity, sensitivities, and rationality are the basic guidelines in raising a writing structure which is otherwise stalled when these feelings lack honesty and sincerity.
Under these guidelines, writing offers good companionship. As well as “writing is the only way to talk without being interrupted.”(Jules Renard, novelist, and playwright).

Monday, September 17, 2018

“Adarsh Bahu” University Certification


“Adarsh Bahu,” that is not the title of a forthcoming Bollywood release. But it is a newly-introduced three-month course offered by a university in Bhopal, India.

After the completion of the “Adarsh Bahu” curriculum, a certificate will be handed to the successful graduates.

Unlike most other courses which help in securing jobs, this one will “prepare brides who will keep families intact. It is part of the women empowerment”, according to the vice chancellor of Bhopal’s Barkatullah University.

Two issues come to mind about this innovative university-level course.

1. Will it be an added qualification for girls which can help the future in-laws in their selection of “Bahus” for their desirable and reliable sons. Or without this university qualification if it could be a disqualification, in other words, “rejection.”

2.Why the course with all its good intentions, is not simultaneously launched with the title “Adarsh damaad,” meaning ideal bridegroom.

-Promod Puri

Sunday, September 9, 2018

RIGHT TO CHANGE RELIGIOUS VEHICLE


Religion basically is just a vehicle for delivering goods of spirituality, ethics, and morality. If the vehicle fails to deliver the desired goods or it is loaded with unethical and immoral junk by its operators, the recipient can refuse to accept that delivery. And rightfully seek another vehicle which only delivers the good stuff.

In his apostasy, this is what social reformist and anti-caste crusader Dr.Bhumirao Ramji Ambedkar did.

-by Promod Puri

Friday, September 7, 2018

THE PUN IN BEING AN INTELLECTUAL


By Promod Puri

Sometime back my nieces and nephews along with a few of their aunties and uncles formed a family group on the social media and named it “The Intellectuals.” The idea was to stay in touch with each other wherever we’re globally settled.

Since its formation, the group, despite being calling itself as intellectuals, hardly has any intellectuality in its social conversation or gossip communications. The Intellectual bunch uses the WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. to convey greetings on special occasions, and share family news. And in lighter moods, many of the posts are simple jokes, sensible as well as pointless and ludicrous.

In its informal mandate, the question is, why the group call itself “The Intellectuals.”

Since the family social club originated in India, it seems the title has appealed to its membership as being intellectual in the country these days has an irony of pun in it. In fact, the ‘intellectuals’ rather be non-intellectuals to avoid the snobbery generated in its labeling.

The word is slang both in political and social terms. It suggests intellectuals are ignorant of ground realities despite their academic and idealistic learning.

Willfully calling somebody as an intellectual is to mock the narcissist nature of an individual who is otherwise loaded with bookish knowledge.

Intellectualism has been sarcastically ridiculed and criticized for its failure to communicate at the level in which ordinary folks can comprehend. Their wisdom and idealism remain circulated within their own isms.

Mostly Leftists scholars and thinkers are the victims of intellectual sarcasm. For that reason, it is often a bitter taunt by the political Right against the political Left.

There is some truth in the egoistic psychology of the elite community of intellectuals. Subtly and satirically that the nature of intellectuals has been a wit for “The Intellectuals.”

( Promod Puri writes on human interest, social, political and religious topics. He is the author of “Hinduism beyond rituals, customs, and traditions.” Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)

THE PUN IN BEING AN INTELLECTUAL


By Promod Puri

Sometime back my nieces and nephews along with a few of their aunties and uncles formed a family group on the social media and named it “The Intellectuals.” The idea was to stay in touch with each other wherever we’re globally settled.

Since its formation, the group, despite being calling itself as intellectuals, hardly has any intellectuality in its social conversation or gossip communications. The Intellectual bunch uses the WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. to convey greetings on special occasions, and share family news. And in lighter moods, many of the posts are simple jokes, sensible as well as pointless and ludicrous.

In its informal mandate, the question is, why the group call itself “The Intellectuals.”

Since the family social club originated in India, it seems the title has appealed to its membership as being intellectual in the country these days has an irony of pun in it. In fact, the ‘intellectuals’ rather be non-intellectuals to avoid the snobbery generated in its labeling.

The word is slang both in political and social terms. It suggests intellectuals are ignorant of ground realities despite their academic and idealistic learning.

Willfully calling somebody as an intellectual is to mock the narcissist nature of an individual who is otherwise loaded with bookish knowledge.

Intellectualism has been sarcastically ridiculed and criticized for its failure to communicate at the level in which ordinary folks can comprehend. Their wisdom and idealism remain circulated within their own isms.

Mostly Leftists scholars and thinkers are the victims of intellectual sarcasm. For that reason, it is often a bitter taunt by the political Right against the political Left.

There is some truth in the egoistic psychology of the elite community of intellectuals. Subtly and satirically that the nature of intellectuals has been a wit for “The Intellectuals.”

( Promod Puri writes on human interest, social, political and religious topics. He is the author of “Hinduism beyond rituals, customs, and traditions.” Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com)

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Back Lane Environmentalists



My salutation goes to those poor and destitute trash collectors who carry shopping carts or plastic bags collecting refundable empty beer, liquor, soda bottles, cans and juice containers while picking up the litter for a cleaner environment.

Monday is our garbage, compost and recycling pick up day.

The back lane becomes a goldmine. It has more foot traffic for collectors. The empties are the gold. These are dug out from garbage containers and blue boxes. And the booties are loaded in wobbling shopping carts or carried in tattered bags.

How much one can collect depends on how much the previous collector could not pick up. The exploration continues until the big trucks haul everything away.

The recycling is a bonanza for the street environmentalists. And Monday is their day to earn few extra coins.


Friday, August 24, 2018

When Immigrants Become Anti-immigrants


By Promod Puri

With compassionate temperament, an immigrant is not expected to be an anti-immigrant.

But without that sentiment, immigrants can be anti-immigrant. Or they are selective in their prejudiced choice of immigrants.

The sentiment of humanism over time fades as mindset attitudes toward fellow human beings based on religion and ethnicity take over.

The prospective immigrants are thus categorized as “illegal and “legal,” refugees and migrants.
But, except being a criminal, nobody is illegal.

And those refugee claimants and migrants who “jump the queue” do so in desperation because there is no dedicated queue with considerate sympathies.

Politicians of the alt-right exploit the changed feeling of being anti-immigrant in the vote-rich immigrant pool.  Expressions like “extreme multiculturalism” and “too much diversity” are coined.

Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, who quit the Conservative Party of Canada August 23, is breeding an anti-immigrant temperament, perhaps knowing some immigrants are anti-immigrants too.

His appeal is based on the fear that “Canadian values” will be marginalized with “too much diversity.”

But Canadian values and its culture constitute an evolving phenomenon in which immigrants play the most significant role.

The diverse contribution of immigrants enriches the Canadian culture of multiculturalism.

When immigrants become anti-immigrant, and they are being played in the hands of alt-right politics, the secular and diverse foundation of Canadian heritage of being multicultural and multi-racial society becomes insecure.

(Promod Puri is a journalist, writer, and author of Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, and Traditions. Websites: promodpuri.com, progressivehindudialogue.com, promodpuri.blogspot.com)  

Friday, August 17, 2018

Legacies of Rajiv Gandhi And Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Soon names of streets, airports, schools, colleges and universities and other institutions in India will be dotted with the name of Atal Bihari Vajpayee by the BJP government, just like Congress did for Rajiv Gandhi.

In the public eye, both leave a legacy of being gentleman-politicians.

But for both them, their legacy also includes inciting and supporting the most heinous crimes against humanity. Rajiv Gandhi for being responsible for the carnage against Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of northern India. And Vajpayee for the anti-Muslim riots following the demolition of Babri Masjid and in Godhra, Gujarat.

FORGIVE AND FORGET


“Forgive and forget” is a popular simple lecture or preaching which is easy to give and accepted, but hard to follow.

For our own peace of mind, we may accept and attempt to follow the forgive-and-forget doctrine and move on with our lives.

However, the hurt feelings take time to heal in our reconciliation effort.

One can forgive. But forgetting can’t go away just by our wish.

The latter is influenced by the biology of our memory.

Whereas, forgetting involves our brain cells to evacuate an offensive infliction, forgiving needs to absorb in an expanded big heart.

Forgiving can be possible, but forgetting hangs on.

-By Promod Puri

Thursday, August 16, 2018

VAJPAYEE: A GENTLEMAN POLITICIAN


The first time I saw Sh. Atal Behari Vajpayee was speaking at a public rally on the ground of a Hindu temple in Jammu. That was way back in late 50's or early '60s. I was still a kid but mature enough to understand a bit of politics with interest. The long speech was interesting and entertaining with lots of wits which really impressed me with his oratory and thoughts. And I became an admirer of him till the time I realized that he belonged to the party which did not match up with my own political thinking of being left of the center, respect and equal opportunities for the minorities, and all that related to socialist ideologies.

Moving forward, as a working journalist I had the opportunity to meet him in Vancouver in mid 80's when he was the foreign minister in some coalition government. This time he again impressed me, but for a different reason. And that was his passionate spirit of nationalism or patriotism to speak for the interest of his country on foreign soil. His style was simple and friendly, but poor in expression, perhaps he was not comfortable speaking in English.

Those were my two personal encounters with Late Vajpayee. But being in the news business, following him was natural because of his towering status in the politics of modern India. My overall impression is that Sh. Vajpayee was a gentleman politician, not much sophisticated in political ideologies as well as in intellectual contribution as a popular public figure commanding utmost respect.

-Promod Puri.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Beyond The Confines Of Atheism And Theism



By Promod Puri

When atheists reject the concept or existence of God, their conclusion is based on limited perception because we human beings are like a speck of creature in this colossal universe incapable of fathoming its enormity.

Their case does not win credibility either by just ridiculing those who believe in God.

And those under theism believing that God exists in physical form or in some supernatural and transcendental actuality, and offers a sensory experience, then it is merely an unjustified and ritualistic impression. This conception can be easily rejected in the face of the rationale-seeking contemporary society.

Likewise, if one has understood God thru rituals and customs, then what has been understood is not God.

In the vast celestial arrangement and the unseen sub-atomic fields where humanity is mystified as who caused all this phenomenon, as well as when we accept and revere the senseless ritualistic customs, the concepts of atheism and theism can find limited argumentation in the non-believability or believability of God.

In both the convictions, the inherent human limitations in reasoning and observation, along with our blind obedience to one supreme deity, there is no confirmation that God does not exist or the belief that God exists.

But God is an established institution which can not be eliminated despite lack of rational outlook.

REVIEWING UNDERSTANDING  OF GOD

In the enlightened existing culture where both empirical evidence and convincing rationale are unavoidable factors, the concept of God can be reviewed to establish a fresh and meaningful conception and realization.

The review process is also helpful for those who have a rigid mindset belief in God’s presence because of ritualistic impacts.

In this reassessment, God’s perception can be altered, rationalized or perhaps restored with pragmatic understanding and awareness. Nevertheless, God cannot be rejected for lack of empirical evidence or accepted in solely ritualistic or blind-faith image.

God and religion are the two synonymous influences which are subjected to evolution in the ongoing social construction of humankind.

In this evolution, atheism can contribute too because of its creditable roots in various religious ideations. The main reason is for its earnest call for humanism in the conduct of our lives.

The fact is, since the time God was institutionalized in the religious orders, atheism despite being firm on His non-existence, has played a challenging and stimulating role in man’s spiritual and divine pursuits.

For those reasons, atheism has been accepted as a valid philosophical concept in the religiosity of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Taoism.

ATHEISM IN HINDUISM

In its liberal and democratic discipline, atheism is part of streams of thought in Hinduism. Both Sankhya and Mimamsa, the two known and oldest faculties of Hindu philosophy have rejected the involvement of God in the creation and management of the macrocosm.

“Who really knows, and who can swear,
How creation came, when or where!
Even gods came after creation’s day,
Who really knows, who can truly say

“When and how did creation start?
Did He do it? Or did He not?
Only He, up there, knows, maybe;
Or perhaps, not even He.”

-The Rig Veda Chapter X, Para 129 in the Hymn of Creation (Nasadiya Sukta)

Hindu commentator and a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Markandey Katju, has even claimed that out of nine Hindu philosophical systems “eight of them are atheistic as there is no place for God in them. Only the ninth one that is Uttar Mimansa, which is also called Vedanta has a place for God in it.” (source Wikipedia under “Atheism in Hinduism”).

Both Astika, believing in God’s existence, and Nastika, meaning an atheist, are the concepts which are factors in the democratic tradition of Hinduism.

The Nastika philosophy has been traditionally the base of both Buddhism and Jainism as well.
And in Taoism, an ancient religious Chinese philosophy, “there is no omnipotent Being beyond the cosmos, who created and controls the universe.”

The guiding force in Taoism is Tao who is not a God or god. Tao means ‘way’ or ‘path’ in Chinese.’ Taoism believes that the universe organizes a natural path by itself. And there is no central controlling principle or order. Instead of delving into the existence or non-existence of God, Taoism focuses on “living a simple and balanced life in harmony with nature.”

The concept of God in all these religious isms is more of a  metaphysical nature rather than physical or supernatural existence. And that is the reason there has been almost no objection to accommodating atheism in their numinous thoughts. Instead, these religious orders got enriched with a diversity of thoughts, philosophies, and appeals. Hinduism is the prime example to harbor atheism in its vast structure.

Atheism and theism in our religious thinking are the not the topics in the virtuous conduct of our lives. Rather, like Taoism, the ethical conduct of life has been the basic tenet of all the world faiths, and this is where the practicality of God lies.

COMPREHENSIVE NATURE OF GOD

But in that practicality, the understanding of God does not end.

A simple and brief, but still far from complete, characterization of God can be: the sum-total of everything and every process in this universe and beyond is God. Everything, known or unknown that exists is what a universe is all about. (Source: Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions, Amazon publication)

It is from this perspective that an overview of astronomical creations both in the celestial world and in the tiniest of atoms is supportive in our study and evaluation of that mysterious force or energy.

This very energy is the cause of everything, living or non-living, observable or non-observable present in this universe and beyond. And that includes the space where all these entities are placed.

What is that energy which keeps the sub-atomic particles moving, the earth and many other planets spinning, and keep everything alive in one form or the other?

Known physicist Late Stephen Hawkins says: “If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God.”

The answers we seek, as Hawkins puts it in the “science of God” can reveal as well as change our whole concept and perception of God which can be more acceptable in our questioning society.

What we are seeking is a renewed understanding of God which is in line with contemporary thinking based on rationalism and intelligent perception.

This undertaking can represent the wholeness of God from the celestial world to the tiniest of particles. Also lies in the renewed comprehensiveness of God are the ethical and spiritual needs of humanity with detachable rituals and customs.

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(Promod Puri is the author of Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions, and writer of several essays on religion, politics and human interest. Websites: progressivehindudialogue.com, promodpuri.com, and promodpuri.blogspot.com).

Monday, August 13, 2018

DEMOCRACY IN INDIA

Judiciary, election commission, media, and statistics are the four pillars of democracy which keep it authoritative, functional, dynamic, and accountable. If any or all these institutions are damaged, corrupted, compromised or abused, democracy becomes meaningless or even collapses.

The case under observation is democracy in India.