Religion has become a bad word because of the violence and hatred it is seen as engendering in its wake. Interpretations of religion by devout followers to suit their political or personal goals, blind faith, and an overpowering commitment to a single religion over all others all result in a catastrophic vision of what religion ‘should’ be in contemporary society. This is a distressing phenomenon that must be urgently addressed before it becomes overwhelming through its heady mixture with politics of a particular kind, to permanently damage the social fabric of democracy.
At the same time, it is essential to remember the role of religion in the development of a humanist approach, and a world view that is not restricted to any one religion but addresses the human condition in its tenet and practice. If this understanding of religion is glossed over, we are likely to lose sight of the definitive role that religion has played in Indian society. A profound variety of religious discourses emphasise interfaith harmony, of overcoming difference through the practice of compassion and service to others.
In understanding the role of religion in contemporary India, we need to perhaps also dwell on some of the enduring characteristics of religion that lie outside the hurly-burly of political gain and personal aggrandisement. Let us not forget the contributions of the Kashmiri Shaivite mystic Lal Ded, Guru Nanak, the saints and poets of the Bhakti tradition, and many, many others. A present-day exemplar are the teachings of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
Humanism todayIn the packed hall of a temple complex in McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh, there is a sense of awe, stillness, and anticipation in the air. The Nalanda Shiksha teachings on an eighth century Buddhist text, Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara, or A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, are set to take place. Over 1,200 people, all gathered together after travelling long distances, some crossing international borders, await for the next three days the arrival of their Buddhist teacher. He is revered the world over not only in his spiritual avatar, but also as a unique personality who speaks of the human condition, who seeks peace and well being for everyone, and who does not worship at the altar of pelf and power. The 14th Dalai Lama does not proclaim Buddhism as the only religion for the world but speaks of many religions. This ‘Guru’ has sought to promote interfaith harmony not only through his private meetings with religious leaders, seeking religious unity, but also organising discussions among them to develop mutual understanding, trust, and goodwill.
There is a diversity of people in the hall, and what unites this disparate crowd is perhaps their spiritual practice. Their coming together also reflects their love for a man who is as distant as he could be from a ‘religious’ teacher: humble, gentle, and jocular — about himself (‘I talk too much... blah, blah, blah...’), about politicians, and the strange upside-down world we live in.
This unusual teacher exhorts the audience to not accept whatever he says out of faith, but to question and understand through reason whether or not the teachings have any value. “Scepticism is essential,” he says, as the Buddha taught. Doubt, question, analyse, discover, and practice is the message, so that blind faith, ardent devotion, and ritual have no place in this way of understanding oneself and one’s relationship to society. The idea of the fixed self has no place in this doctrine. The emphasis is on “oneness with humanity”, as the Dalai Lama puts it. He adds: “I am a global citizen.” There is an evident effort to emphasise the interconnectedness between people, religions and nationalities.
Buddhism as a scienceThis is a spectacular event, not only for the Buddhists but also for the many others who seek to understand Buddhism as a science. The Dalai Lama said: “Buddhism is not a religion; it is a science of the mind”. It is about human psychology. The possibilities for training the mind through mindfulness and introspection lie within each one of us. It is up to us to take a call on how we wish to spend the rest of our lives: with conflict, despair, and suffering, or by using human intelligence to make an effort to rein in negative thoughts, and live a life of harmony with other individuals.
At the same time, the Dalai Lama is well aware of the conflicts surrounding religion, created by “mischievous elements”, and the distinctions of caste that create differences and exclusion. There is a need to recognise our connectedness with all people, he argues.
In recent decades, the Dalai Lama has began to engage with scientists with a view to establish a scientific temper among young monks. Science education is now an essential component of monastic education in the Dalai Lama’s monasteries. In the field of education, he has been pushing for bringing in secular ethics into the curriculum. At his initiative, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed a draft curriculum on secular ethics for implementation in schools that seek it out. The outcry in India to restore religious-based or classical tradition-based ‘values’ in education has supporters, no doubt. This will definitely have disastrous consequences not only in its implementation but also in its outcome, where children would unwittingly become firmly entrenched in particular religious traditions and see others as ‘different’. Rather than building religious harmony, the emphasis on values emanating from religious discourse will only serve to reproduce conflict. The Emory University initiative stands out for its completely secular approach to the preparation of a curriculum that seeks to restore ‘ethics’ (without any religious connotations) as a core value in school curriculum.
It is in this sense that we may speak of religion with a humanist face. That religion must only be used to divide and destroy, to manufacture and indoctrinate, to motivate and engender violence is a very limited view of religion and its possibilities. As citizens who seek a future free from violence and fear, not only for ourselves but also for our children, we must ensure that petty political ambitions with a narrow world view do not overshadow the larger goals of humanity and its enduring potential.
Meenakshi Thapan is Professor of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics.
