It is said that man is a social animal. He cannot live in isolation or
cut off from social contacts or group life. He is perpetually in search of
individual happiness. He has to reconcile his individual claims with those of
the society in which he lives. The problem of reconciliation between the two
conflicting claims puzzles him. What is more, he is not exclusively devoted to
pursuits of sensual pleasure and worldly creature comforts, but he has
spiritual yearnings, pious feelings and divine emotions. How to refine and
strengthen these feelings is one of the problems that demand his attention and
serious thought. Religion provides a comprehensive and effective answer to all
his queries. Religion, thus, tries to guide him when he is helplessly groping
in the dark and wandering about the various problems he has to face and solve.
Therefore we shall try and define what Religion is and bow in various ways
Religion helps and guides man.
We start from critical evaluation of religion; Religion seems to have
caught the fancy of the people of the twentieth century. People discuss the
subject of religion in a learned and scholarly manner. But whether can
religion, after all, really be a subject matter of discussion and learned
treatises? No, Religion is not a subject matter of debates, discussions and
discourses.
Let see western approach to religion, it was Lessing Ferder who was the
pioneer of such anthropological literature. In his "Education of Human
Race" he discussed Christianity and Judaism, their growth and development.
Sir William Johns made the beginning of studying Indian Religion and Culture.
In the ancient time Charvak had attempted to make a study of religion but it
cannot be called a systematic and proper study. Considering all these treatises
and scholarly works on religion, we feel that western approach to religion is
narrow and one-sided. It is my humble opinion that they have not been able to
grasp the real and deeper significance of religion. Religion is a mighty and
potent force which has sustained human race. Besides, religion is an essential
aspect of our day to day life in the material world. What is more they have
failed to appreciate that religion is a social force to be reckoned with. This
particular aspect of religion has been ignored by them. Instead they have
ruthlessly exposed savagery, illusions, superstitions, deceits and deception
prevailing in the name of religion. No doubt that is indeed a good thing they
have done. But their approach to the subject remains narrow, myopic and absolutely
one-sided.
Religion, no doubt,
consists of faith, devotion, love, spiritual yearnings, intensive divine
feelings and all that is associated with heart, but then we must not forget
that its rationalism, either in an organized or unorganized form is at the
basis of religion. Religion thus is a happy combination of qualities of heart
and head.
The universally accepted maxim - "man does not live by bread
alone" - seems to have been accepted by Karl Marx - the Father of
Socialism - too, is not very clear on the subject of religion. In his 'An
Introduction to Critique of Political Economy' he divides the structure of
society into its two constituents - (1) Material structure, (2) Super structure
(Spiritual structure). Marx maintains that, besides material basic necessities
of life, man requires something more. We may call this extra requirement as
urge or hunger for spiritual yearning. But the followers of Marx in their
anxiety to achieve material equality of man have very conveniently forgotten
all about what Marx called Super structure (spiritual requirements of man) and
they no longer speak about it. But the fact remains that Karl Marx, an apostle
of communism, too, acknowledged and admitted that besides material needs, man
does need something more.
Having considered the great and learned treatises and analysis of
religion presented by the western thinkers, we still continue to be assailed by
the paramount question - What, then, is religion? Does it consist of thoughts
of the material world and all that is worldly? Or is it concerned with all
about the other world or is it purely spiritual?
A true religion seeks to satisfy material as well as spiritual needs of
human beings. We cannot have two water-tight compartments of the two
constituents of life - material needs and spiritual requirements. A true
religion, then, seeks to promote material and spiritual welfare of man. Both
together constitute life, both of them are essential and necessary for
all-round progress and for fuller and richer life. Both of them are concerned
and connected with each other. That is the reason why Indian culture does not
consider them separate from and independent of each other. That is why our
fore-fathers defined religion as a happy reconciliation of two conflicting
claims - material and spiritual.
We all read in our science text book, "Maharshi Kanada was ancient Indian scientist, sage and philosopher who founded the philosophical school of Vaisesika and authored the text Vaisesika Sutras or Aphorisms. He pioneered atomic theory, described dimension, motion, chemical reactions of atoms. He called that indivisible matter anu, i.e. atom." Along with all of this, he gave us definition of religion.
"यतो अभ्युदय: नि: श्रेयस सिद्धि: स धर्म:।"
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| Maharshi Kanada |
Religion, thus, promotes our welfare in the material world and at the
same time it secures for us 'the glorious hereafter' the blissful life that is
to follow the present one. Only vedic religion has reconciled the two and has
given us the best of both the worlds. Let us examine what vedic religion has to
say about the worldly things such as money, material pleasures and the pursuit
of pleasures and let us also see what the vedic religion has to offer us on the
matters spiritual and philosophy of life.
While considering religion, we often wonder whether religion should be
concerned with this materialistic world or it should be entirely spiritual in
its thought and contents, or it should be concerned with both the aspects.
Vedic Religion is a happy combination of both for it treats rationally both
these aspects of the world we live in and the glorious hereafter. It thus is
the best synthesis harmoniously achieved of conflicting material and spiritual
claims. But some western scholars maintain that religion has no rational basis
and that it is not at all concerned with the work-a-day world. They further
argue that religion is merely confined to worshipping of Gods and Goddesses and
various rites and rituals. Some go to the extent of presuming that values deal
only about the world we live in. But such a belief is erroneous and unfair.
Religion consists of and is concerned with the material and spiritual welfare
of the people. Hence
religion is rightly defined as a happy synthesis and harmonious reconciliation of both the aspects of human life - material and spiritual.
Some western thinkers often speak of two aspects of life - material and
spiritual. However, Vedic culture and religion taking a comprehensive view of
life, does not accept such an artificial division.
Various social sciences taught under the modern scheme of progressive
education seem to be at loggerheads. Economics, Political Science, Ethics -
seem to be unrelated with one another. The very idea that economics has nothing
to do with ethics seems ridiculous. On the same token what a grossly mistaken
belief it is to maintain that sociology has nothing to do with politics? Can we
divide human life into separate independent water-tight compartments? No,
never.
Similarly, when we consider religion and religious texts (scriptures) we
must adopt synthetic rather than analytical approach. The approach adopted by
the western thinkers is largely analytical. The same is true about their eating
habits. All their dishes are not served at the same time, but strictly
according to their menu one dish follows the other separately and
independently. Whereas Indian eating habits like our approach to religion are
highly synthetic and comprehensive and that is why all our dishes are served
simultaneously. After making offerings to Gods we take our food. Modern
education, too, is highly analytical and therefore one can hardly expect to
cultivate all-comprehensive synthetic approach to life and religion. As a
matter of fact the very basis of Vedic religion is such synthesis and that is
why vedic religion seeks to reconcile harmoniously material and spiritual
claims or in other words it seeks to achieve the best of both the worlds.
Since religion
embraces all aspects of life both material and spiritual the definition must be
broad based. Religion must focus its attention to material and spiritual
advancement of man. Vedic religion is such an all-embracing and comprehensive
religion, touching and treating all aspects of life. That is why it has proved
a perennial fountain of inspiration and well-being for the entire human race.
