Any belief which is not consistent with reason and logic should be discarded at the earliest. Any inference which can not be verified directly at some level of consciousness by experimenting or experience is useless. This is a basic proposition of Sanatan Dharm. This is also the basic proposition of science. The claims by a scientist should be verifiable and repeatable.
Let
us understand it this way. All of us have different levels of
consciousness. If a statement or teaching of Bhagwad Geeta, Upnishads
or Veds does not stand to the test of direct experience when the
experimenter has attained the required level of consciousness, then
the teaching is superfluous and useless.
Directly
opposite to this proposition are the monotheistic creeds. None of
them allows its proponents to follow the path of logic and reasoning.
They offer a circular argument as proof. The existence of God is to
be believed because their prophet is saying (or has said) so and
prophet is to be believed because God is saying so (which only
prophet can hear).
To
understand and appreciate this difference between Sanatan Dharm and
prophetic creeds, we will take examples from the texts of the two
traditions.
In
the present times, the advertising industry has used the principle
laid down in Bhagwad Geeta to their advantage. To what extent is the
advertising industry using this principle ethically is not the point
of debate here.
The
verses 62 – 63 of second chapter says:
ध्यायतो
विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते
।
If
one keeps on thinking about an object, he/she develops an attraction
for it.
सङ्गात्संजायते
कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते
॥
This
attraction leads to a desire of possessing the object. This desire
leads to anger/frustration, if not immediately gratified.
क्रोधाद्भवति
संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः
।
Once
possessed by anger, it leads to obsession. Obsession results in a
loss in the sense of right and wrong
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्
बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति
॥
Which
leads to destruction of intellect. Loss of intellect opens the doors
for disaster.
This
sequence of thoughts and actions can be observed in any shopping mall
or automobile showroom. Since the advertising agencies are not
concerned with the last two lines of the shlok, we can ignore that
part for our experimental verification of the claims. The results are
there for us to see.
Belief
in Krishn
Did
Lord Krishn exist? If yes, was he an avtaar of Brahm? Was he an extra
ordinary human being, and a good motivator?
Whether
the answers to these questions is Yes or No is immaterial for the
sustenance of Hinduism. The emphasis is not on the person but on the
message. No one is going to issue a fatwa or will imprison you for
blasphemy even if you outrightly reject Krishn as a fiction. No one
is going to ex communicate you or call you a Kaafir. Everyone has a
right to have his/her opinion.
Belief
in Jesus
Now
let us turn to the claims of prophetic creeds. Islam and
Christianity, both believe in prophets mentioned in Bible. The
Christians claim that Jesus was the 'son of God', not only that, he
has been the only son of God.
As a result he was a unique person and no other human being can
achieve that status. The
Muslims are ready to accept Jesus as one of the many prophets but do
not grant him the exalted status of 'son of God' which Christians
expect. The same is mentioned in their book Quran, supposed to be
dictated by Islamic god called Allah to their godman Muhammad.
Let
us look at the stand of Muslims regarding Jesus:
(Quran: Chapter 19, Verses 88 to 93)
They say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!"Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous! At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin, That they should invoke a son for (Allah) Most Gracious. For it is not consonant with the majesty of (Allah) Most Gracious that He should beget a son. Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to (Allah) Most Gracious as a servant.
So,
according to islamic doctrine, the Christian stand is monstrous. It
is not a logic but a mere statement which has to be accepted as
it is because Quran says so.
This
brings Christianity in direct conflict with Islam because if the
church accepts or even tolerates this, whole of the creed crumbles.
It loses its self proclaimed sole franchise of God.
Fortunately
for the world, the west has undergone a period of rationalism in
the last two and a half centuries, which
helped it to see through the dogmatic stands of church. The
rationalism helped Europeans and Americans outgrow Christianity.
Moreover, with advances in historical research and its allied fields
like anthropology and archeology, it has been established that there
is no proof of Christ being a historical character. Going
by the dead sea scrolls, the person called Jesus was almost the
direct opposite of what he is portrayed to be by the church.
The
concept of 'only son of God' is so alien to the pluralistic Hindu
world view that average Hindus fail to understand its significance
for the survival of Christian creed. It was Gandhi who was able to
articulate the Hindu stance regarding this assertion.
I regard Jesus as a great teacher of humanity, but I do not regard him as the only begotten son of God. That epithet in its material interpretation is quite unacceptable. Metaphorically we are all sons of God, but for each of us there may be different sons of God in a special sense. Thus for me Chaitanya may be the only begotten son of God. God cannot be the exclusive Father and I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus.
Harijan: June 3, 1937
Here
it is pertinent to mention that this comment was based on taking the
stand of church at its face value.
Belief
in Muhammad
Contrary
to a very big question mark on the very existence of Jesus Christ,
the historicity of Muhammad is not questioned. Therefore, for the
present discussion, we assume that Muhammad was a historical person.
According
to Islamic doctrine, the creator of universe is to be addressed as
Allah or his other names approved by islamic theology. Calling
him by any other name is an unpardonable crime in Islam. Ipso facto,
he can not
be called Raam, Krishn, Shiv, Durga or Jesus.
This Allah has been sending prophets from time to time who act as
medium of transmission of message of Allah to humans. Thus, the
creator talks to his created beings through proxy and not directly.
The last prophet in this list was Muhammad. The message given by
Allah to humanity, via Muhammad, is claimed to be recorded in Quran.
It
is the complete message from which nothing can be removed and to
which nothing can be added.
Existence
of Allah has to be accepted as Muhammad said so and the status of
Muhammad as the final prophet has to be believed because Quran says
so.
Since
Muhammad had borrowed generously from Bible, therefore Jesus is
mentioned in Quran but since Bible predates Muhammad, it is silent on
the status of any final prophet. But
it has very clear instructions regarding for the question 'how are
future prophets to be treated?'
In
fact, according to Bible, anyone claiming to be a prophet for other
Gods is to be killed. anyone who worships any other God except the
Biblical God called Jehova/Yahweh/God/Elohim should be killed.
(Bible, Deuteronomy 13, verses 1 – 5)
If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
As
a result, Muslims are worshipping 'other God', a category deserving
the same treatment as their prophet. (Bible, Deuteronomy 13, verses 6
– 10)
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Naturally,
Christians
completely reject Muhammad as a final prophet. They consider him an
imposter or a false prophet. It has resulted in the worst blood baths
on the planet between the two prophetic creeds for more than a
thousand years. The Crusades were a response to the Islamic Jihad. In
the post colonial world, a school of thought has changed its line of
attack. They have started sending feelers with an aim to convert
Muslims to Christianity. In
this tussle of market share, they
say that we are willing to accept Muhammad as a prophet if you are
willing to accept Jesus as 'only son of God'. This trade off is
harmful to the Islamic cause as it reduces Muhammad to one of the
prophets and
not the final prophet,
thereby reducing his status of being the final prophet whose word is
supposed to overwrite that of all others, including Jesus.
Readers will have to use their discretion to chose between Direct Experience and Blind Faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment