Religion is one of the most
ancient and most universal institutions of man. From the very dawn of human
history man had been trying to unravel the mystery of nature and the ultimate
cause of the universe – an attempt which culminated in the recognition of a
superhuman controlling power called God. Accordingly, in the dictionary,
religion is defined as, “Human recognition of superhuman controlling power and
especially of a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship; effect
of such recognition on conduct and mental attitude”. This faith in a personal
God not only satisfies man’s enquiry about the ultimate cause of the universe,
but also sustains him during periods of stress. This faith evolves and gets
modified in the course of time ultimately to take the form of faith in three
things; viz. (i) faith in God (ii) faith in scriptures, (iii) faith in prophet
or God – man. All the recognized major religions of the world are based on one
or more or all of these three.
But this religion of faith has
certain difficulties. While it does support and sustain an individual and
integrate a group with common faith, it acts as a factor of social
disintegration as well. It excludes and separates people with different faiths
and consequently causes conflicts and quarrels. Faith is generally blind and
encourages bigotry and fanaticism. Says Swami Vivekananda: - “The intensest
love that humanity has known has also come from religion and the most
diabolical hatred that humanity has known has also come from religion. The
noblest words of peace that the world has ever heard has come from the men on
the religious plane and the bitterest denunciation that the world has ever
known has been uttered by religious men….No other human motive has deluged the
world with blood so much as religion, at the same time nothing has brought into
existence so many hospitals and asylums for the poor; no other human influence
has taken such care not only of humanity but also of the lowliest of animals as
religion has done. Nothing makes us so tender as religion”. (Complete Works of
Swami Vivekananda Vol. II p.375-6-1983).
Another problem with religion
based on faith is that it cannot withstand the onslaughts of present day
science and technology, nor can it face the searchlight of reason and research.
Science demands proof of the existence of God. It wants to see God as it sees
an atom in the laboratory. It does not
want to believe, but wants to see. On the practical side science gives man an
effective tool in the form of technology to fight against disease, old age and
death, and also modern weapons to conquer enemies.
For a period of time science did
succeed in alluring man to give up faith in God and worship the all powerful
Matter. But today modern man stands disillusioned. He has learnt that science
can provide him with physical comforts and sensory enjoyments but cannot
integrate his personality, nor give him mental peace, As a famous scientist has
put it, “Science simply prolongs life, religion deepens it”. Science can make
the tree of life tall, but it cannot deepen its roots, and with shallow roots,
how long can it stand?
Inspite of the limitations of science
to provide satisfactory answers to the basic problems of life, for most people
specially of the West, faith in God, prophet or scriptures has lost its
meaning. On the other hand the orthodox in a desperate bid to hold on to these
have become all the more intolerant.
Thus there are two groups of people one the non-religious, materialists,
men without faith, and the other the narrow minded fanatics fighting for their
own creeds and dogmas. The first group
of people may have comforts but are not happy.
They live in constant fear and tension of a modern, fast, technological
life. The second group of people too have no peace. They are on the defensive
against growing onslaughts of secular and liberal forces.
But there is also a third group
which is searching for a new religion. This is evident from the fact that newer
religious and spiritual societies are being formed all over the world.
According to a recent survey there are as many as1187 religious denominations
in U.S.A alone, outside the main stream of major religions. These are termed
variously as spiritualists, religious physics, occultists and assorted New Age
Sects. And it is noteworthy that not all of these have faith as their basis.
2
Thus we find that in modern age of
disenchantment, of attacks on established religions and of secularization of
institutions, religion has continued, not only to survive, but to
flourish. If the present age is one of
the disenchantment, it is also one of longing. It is not a period of religious
decline but of religious change.
There is an axiom: what has no function
ceases to exist. And the very existence of religion proves that it is a social
necessity. We must therefore, ask certain basic questions regarding the
function of religion. What are the functions, manifest or latent, of religious
beliefs and institutions in maintaining the equilibrium of a social system or
an individual ? What is the significance of religion in terms of the adaptive
and expressive needs of human beings? Why should man need something that transcends
experience, a transcendental reference, a something “ beyond” the empirical?
The answer to the above questions can be
found in the three fundamental characteristics of human existence as a result
of which human society needs religion.
(1) Contingency
or uncertainty context: Man lives in conditions of uncertainty. His safety and
welfare are beyond his prevision. All human ventures however carefully planned
or expertly executed are liable to fail and cause disappointment. Even in
technically advanced societies uncertainties persist and emotional involvement
in events and endeavors leads to deep psychological trauma.
(2) Powerlessness
or impossibility context: Man’s capacity to control and effect conditions of
life are limited. Not every desire can be fulfilled. Man is absolutely
powerless in the face of death. Suffering, coercion and many other evils
persist inspite of all advances of science and knowledge.
(3) Scarcity:
Scarcity causes unequal distribution of goods and services. Hence there is
always a sense of relative deprivation and consequent frustration. Social order
implies authority and subordination, control and supervision. ‘Haves’ and ’have
nots’, ‘does’ and ‘donts’ are integral part of social existence.
Religion has a role in these brute situations
of human life. It is the most basic mechanism of adjustment to these
frustrating elements. Contingency and powerlessness lead man to breaking points
in socially structured rounds of daily existence, and raise questions which can
find answer in only some kind of “beyond”. As pointed out by the celebrated
Sociologist Max Weber, problem of meaning’ arises at these breaking points. Why
is there death, illness and failure? Why should one obey social laws, rules or
norms? Why meet the social expectations? Religion answers these questions by
providing a larger view which can explain and justify hardships here and now so
that life can have meaning. Religion supplies a super empirical view of a
larger total reality in which contingency, powerlessness and scarcity can be
seen meaningful in some ultimate sense. Thus religion solves the problem of
meaning, sanctifies social norms and rules, sustains at breaking points and
helps in emotional adjustment to frustration. In this sense, religion should be
better called ‘dharma’ which is defined in the Mahabharata as the factor which
sustains and integrates an individual or society.
To-day we stand at a critical period of
human evolution when human race is facing entirely new challenges. Although
phenomenal advances of modern sciences and technology have tried to minimize
contingency, human powerlessness and real or apparent scarcity of resources,
they have created newer problems. Competition at every level of life,and a fast
technologically oriented life with associated stress and strain are the novel
challenges which have to be met, and for which a newer brand of religion is
required.
Apart from the reasons discussed
above, Swami Vivekananda, in his famous lecture “ The necessity of religion”
presents two theories regarding the origin of religion, one the spirit theory
and the other the evolution of the idea of the infinite. According to the
spirit theory religion had its beginning in ancestor worship. According to the
other, religion arose out of an attempt to peep behind the gigantic forces of
nature. The sun, the moon, the thunder storm, the rain,etc. were personified
and thus religion originated in nature worship. These two views can be
reconciled on a third basis which according to Swamiji is the real germ of
religion viz. the struggle to transcend the limitation of the senses. And all
religions claim that human mind at certain moments transcends not only the
limitations of senses but also the power of reasoning. It then comes face to
face with facts which it could never have sensed or reasoned out. These facts
are the basis of all the religions of the world.
Every human being whosoever and
wheresoever he may be, has an ideal of infinite power, of infinite pleasure.
Most of our activities and struggles are for the attainment of that infinite
pleasure, and this attempt to transcend the finite is according to Swamiji the
real, and higher than sociological, basis of religion. When man discovers that
infinite pleasure cannot be obtained through the senses; when he renounces the
attempt to express or seek infinite at the finite level, and attempts to go
beyond, he takes the first step towards religion.
Aspiration for eternal life and infinite
knowledge are another basic urges of man. Upanishads provide answers to these
important questions. Kathopanishad begins with the question: What happens when
a man dies? Maitrayi poses a similar question to Yajnavalkya, the sage of the
Brihadaranyaka: Whether she could attain immorality through wealth. If not,
what was it which could make her immortal? And the question asked at the
beginning of the Mundaka Upanishad, is: What is it knowing which everything is
known? These are some of the eternal questions which reflect the innermost
aspirations of man. Religion provides the ultimate answer to these questions,
an answer, not merely speculative but definite and direct. It also shows a way
through which man can attain immorality, omniscience and go beyond sorrow.
Thus there could be a number of urges
and aspirations motives and reasons for man’s search for a supernatural, state
or Being, named variously as God, Nirvana, Samadhi, etc. These motives can be
best summarized in the worlds of the Bhagwad Gita : “O Arjuna, foremost of the
Bharat dynasty, four classes of people of virtuous deeps adore Me ( the Lord) :
the afflicted, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the man of
knowledge” ( 7.11). The afflicted, being attacked by thieves, beasts, disease
etc. and thus overwhelmed by sorrow, is in distress and seeking to be saved
from it takes refuge in God. The seeker of knowledge who wants to know the
reality of the Lord-the ultimate cause of the universe, too worships the Lord.
The third is the seeker for wealth and objects of enjoyment. Finally one who is
already having intellectual knowledge aspires for liberation. Such a Jnani also
becomes endowed with one pointed devotion because he finds no one else whom he
can adore. Human love can find fulfillment in loving God alone and none of the
human dolls.
3
From the foregoing we may safely
conclude that religion is a constitutional necessity of man. Human nature
abhors a vaccum in systems of faith. If the old Gods are removed it will create
new gods, or even make reason and science objects of emotional attachment and
centres of faith. We must therefore try to find out what type of religion and
which concept of God would be suited for the present times.
No definite or categorical answer
can be given to this question because individuals differ widely in their
temperament and mental makeup. Although the basic needs of humanity are common,
there are various shades of likes and dislikes, aptitudes and interests, needs
and challenges. The concept of God would therefore vary according to
person,race and culture. The concept of God which would satisfy an aborigine of
Africa would be entirely different from that of a businessman living in a
sky-scraper in New York. This problem of diversity of religious belief and
practice was deeply studied by Sri Ramakrishna and later codified by Swami
Vivekananda. Sri Ramakrishna’s statement “ As many faiths, so many paths”,
points to the same truth. Elaborating this cryptic remark of Sri Ramakrishna,
Swami Vivekananda said that the future religion would be a religion of sects.
No single religion would rule the world. Instead there would be innumerable
sects and sub sects, so much so that a time may come when there may be as many
sects as there are individuals.
In spite of the stupendous advances in
scientific knowledge a large section of the world population requires an anthropomorphic
God to fix its devotion on. In highly organized religions however, God takes
the form of unit abstraction either of abstracted presence, an omnipresent
being, an abstract personality, or a Universal Moral law or an abstract essence
underlying all existence. In those religions where no personal God is
acceptable, an Ideal Human Being a Buddha, a Jina who is omniscient, is
worshipped. In some form or the other, either as an Ideal state or an ideal
unit abstraction or an Ideal Being, the highest absolute Ideal must always be
before man. The rational religion of Vedanta with its concept of an omnipresent
unchanging conscious reality as the substratum of the whole phenomenon is most
acceptable for the modern times and times to come. An almighty God sitting on a
throne somewhere above the clouds is an obsolete concept suited only for the
most primitive minds. The living God present every where around us in the form
of innumerable living beings as preached by Swami Vivekananda is the one which
modern man is seeking. Swamiji says:
“Look upon every man, woman and everyone
as God. You cannot help anyone. You can only serve; serve the children of the
Lord, serve the Lord himself if you have the privilege…. Do it only as a
worship. The poor and the miserable are for our salvation, so that we may serve
the Lord coming in the shape of the diseased, coming in the shape of the
lunatic, the leper and the sinner”. And in his famous poem he exhorts the
friend:
“From the highest Brahmin to the
yonder worm,
And to the very minutest atom,
Everywhere is the same
God, the All Love;
Friend, offer mind, soul,
body at their feet.
These are His manifold
forms before thee,
Rejecting them, where
sleekest thou for God?
Who loves all beings
without distinction,
He indeed is worshipping
best his God."
