What is Religion?

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:।"

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.