text:
Atheism: Atheism is the foundation
stone of modern civilization. It literally means disbelief in the existence
of God. The atheists believe that the universe has come into being by
itself. It is operating by itself and will go on working without any help
whatsoever. The entire universe with all its wonderous expressions is the
outcome of the blind play of the mysterious chance. It has no planning nor
any motive or purpose behind it. This universe has come into being at
random, and quite abruptly it will come to its end. At present we are not
concerned whether this view of life is correct or wrong. What we are
concerned with here is about its actual contributions to man and
civilization. Apparently the denial of the existence of God makes no
difference at all to the life of man. It is therefore absolutely absurd to
drag this issue into discussion. This has nothing to do with the
precipitation of any crisis in the life of man. But this mode of thinking
will never help us. The issue calls for much serious and sober thinking. In
sober thinking it is atheism alone that has precipitated the present
horrible crisis. Atheism imperceptibly brings about radical changes in a
man's outlook. It transforms him very secretly. In the first place the magic
of atheism makes a man absolutely irresponsible. He thinks himself scot-free
and quite unanswered before any authority for his believe and actions. He
thinks himself free to do anything. Any person interfering with his whims
and fancies must be done away with. This mental change dawns upon him with a
basic change in character. He takes off his human mantle and wears that of a
body beast. The milk of human kindness and compassion decomposes to the core
and spreads its stink all around. Secondly an atheist is apt to think that
his existence carries no purpose at all. He has no duty to perform and no
obligation and responsibility to discharge. He has been thrown into a world
laden with unfathomable riches and boundless resources for his comfort and
pleasure. All these lavish bounties of nature have been awarded to him free
from obligations and without asking. This idea tempts him to fall a victim
to selfishness and greed----the main causes of all troubles in human
Thirdly the creed of atheism leads man to
believe that his life is limited to this world only. There is no life after
death. This idea adds abundantly to his currish spirit and brutish tastes.
He thinks that after his short sojourn on Earth he will be dead and gone for
ever. This induces him to take to hedonistic pleasure and enjoyment. This
idea is responsible for the creation of a separate school of thought in
philosophy. Their key word is represented by the following lines.
Eat, drink and be merry
For tomorrow thou shalt die.
If this idea takes root in a man his lust for
sensual pleasure will know no bounds. For the attainment of his objective he
will care little for the right of others. Blinded by his lustful passions he
may stoop so low that he may not hesitate to use such ways and means as
would spell disaster for others, for the whole nation or even for the
humanity at large.
This short analysis shows the baneful effects
atheism is pregnant with. It is true it does not make any impact or change
in the universe and its workings. But it makes a tremendous and radical
change on man's mind. In fact it kills the humanitarian value of a man and a
biped animal is left with a mind of a bloody brute. This change in man
alters the entire gamut of human behaviour and the whole world turns into a
den of cannibals.
Atheism has a number of other aspects as well.
Here only a few of the basic ones have been touched. The other aspects will
be underlined in discussions made hereafter.
Utilitarianism: The second basis of
western civilization is utilitarianism. This is a necessary result and
outcome of atheism. The main idea behind the theory is that every work
presupposes some gain or utility. Gain or utility is the motive force of
every work done by an individual. A work without a gain is unthinkable. The
idea is all correct and nobody can deny the truth of the proposition. But
what is gain or utility? The word has been taken to mean differently with
different ideologies. The utilitarian people have committed a blunder in
interpreting the import of utility and have been caught in a morass. By
utility they mean some reward received in this very world in the shape of
some material gain. Moreover the gain must give some sensual and hedonistic
pleasure, otherwise it is of no worth at all. This idea has tremendously
added to the greed and selfishness of the individual and makes his atrocious
temper a bit more inhuman. The utilitarian school has given rise to a new
school of thought which has entirely changed the character of modern
civilization and made it sensate in character.
Epicureanism: Epicureanism forms the
third basis of western civilization. This theory is advanced to explain the
meaning of utility by Utilitarian School. The theory is also known by the
name of Hedonism and Eudaemonism. All these have common aims and objectives.
They consider the attainment of hedonistic pleasures and the satisfaction
sensual passions to be the aim of human life. Much has been done to prove
the validity of these theories. The Epicurean school has made use of logic
and literature, passions and sentiments, sensual and sex appeals to attract
people towards this theory. It encourages all kinds of indulgence and
excesses and consequently makes a man lose control of himself and take such
steps as would endanger the life, honour and property of others as well.
Therefore Epicureanism works as a great destructive agent and is responsible
for many tragedies and crisis in the world.
Now let us see what kind of personality
emerges from the combined action of utilitarianism and Epicureanism. The
personality developed by them will believe that the sensual pleasure and
enjoyments are the real motive behind all actions. They are real values and
actual virtues. These are the only desirable things. They are the summum
bonum of life. Therefore, anything obstructing their attainment is a
veritable evil and heinous sin.
This concept has a far reaching affect on
Western civilization. Firstly, it strengthened the utilitarian and atheistic
propositions, made a man shake off all shyness, fear and hatred to do the
most heinous of crimes and discarded all sense of disgrace and defilement to
plunge headlong into moral turpitude and shameful acts of lewdness. All sins
now became virtuous deeds. He has lost his conscience for good. Secondly,
the concept of values underwent a drastic change. All values became
relative. The idea of permanent values was altogether abandoned. There is
now nothing good and nothing bad. The same thing is good at one time and bad
at another. Everything yielding some material gains and worldly pleasure is
considered to be virtue and goodness and all things doing vice versa are
considered to be vice and sin. Selfless service is a stupidity of the first
order. This theory swept away all moral conceptions. Mercy and compassion,
sympathy and sincerity, forgiveness and clemency and all noble and lowly
sentiments that give no material benefit are mere absurdities. To take pity
on a helpless widow, decrepit orphan and a poor or needy fellow is simply
foolishness imprudence. Even the services to mankind and works of public
good have become void of sincerity and true sympathy. They are all acts of
hypocrisy and deceit, done for some ulterior motive of material gains or
hedonistic pleasure. Thirdly, man came under the tight grip of destructive
and vandalistic forces and became a mere puppet in the hands of the basest
sentiments of animalism. Man is a supreme being. He has got the power to
soar up to unknown heights and at same time he can stoop to the lowest of
levels. When he surrenders to idea of God and the life after death he rises
to unfathomable heights but when he yields to mean and lowly sentiments he
falls down to the lowest level of vulgarity and degeneration. Atheism made
him irresponsible, utilitarianism and Epicureanism made him a slave of his
own desires and passions. This change administered a dose of strong poison
resulting in the death of the real man and leaving a monstrous beast in the
human body. One can expect nothing save death and destruction from such a
LiblLiberalism: Liberalism is another basis
of western civilization. It means enlightenment, broadmindedness and freedom
from prejudice and bias. It is opposed to conservatism, fanaticism and
obscurantism. It is a generous and tolerant attitude of mind free from
traditional orthodoxy. This doctrine caters to the needs of a corporate
life. It is an idea par excellence. It discards narrow mindedness and
self conceit. It has due respect for the opinion of others. It is,
therefore, a boon for the smooth running of our social life and collective
security. But modern liberalism has disgressed from the real stand of the
concept. It is an abnormal and unbalanced concept of toleration,
broadmindedness, generosity and freedom. In its present form it is almost a
revolt against all authorities. It wants freedom from bindings and
restraints in every walk of life----religious, moral, social, political,
economic. Democracy in politics, the policy of Laissez Fair in
Economics and the idea of individual liberty in social spheres are the
outcome of this concept. The liberalists believe in the unlimited freedom of
the individual. They want to do away with every restriction or interference
put in from any quarter---church, state or society.
Liberalism has made deep and far-reaching
effects on western civilization.
Firstly, in the economic field the idea of
lawful and unlawful, honesty and dishonesty, justice or injustice was thrown
to the winds. Man became scot-free to acquire and spend wealth according to
his own sweet will. He is not bound to follow any code of conduct in his
economic dealings. This led to the introduction of forgery, cheating and
fraudulent methods in trade and commerce. Gambling, speculation, interest,
lottery and the like have become common. Immoral and obscene literature,
intoxicants, fireworks, articles of fashion and luxuries and thousand of
such things as would be only harmful to man became more important than the
most important necessaries of life. Theft and burglary, drinking and
prostitution, murders and rape spread like epidemics. Corruption in economic
life made deep indents on moral, social, political and other aspects of life
as well. Exploitation, profiteering, selfishness, greed, characterlessness,
obscenity and ransacking assumed huge proportions. Like mad gods men began
to snarl, bite and fall upon each other, turning the world into a hell.
The thread binding the social institutions was
broken. Free mixing of females with males, co-education, your festival, and
other collective recreations in which your boys and girls may mix freely
came into vogue. Women stood shoulder to shoulder with men in all walks of
life. Obscenity, immodesty, sexual excesses and evils flowing from them
swept away all sense of purity and chastity, honour and prestige, refinement
and culture. All incest taboos even against the closest of relations are
being thrown to the gutter. Brothers, hotels, bars, recreation clubs,
lodges, dancing houses and studios have become centers of sex immorality and
lewdness. They defy all description. Marriages and divorces have been
reduced to mere pastimes. Family system is in disarray. Hippieism and
Teddyism and on the march. Social evils are on the increase. Suicides are
becoming common. The moral tone is at low ebb. Morality is the main pivot on
which human life revolves. Our moral turpitude and degradation, therefore,
have ruined the entire life of man, resulting in oppressions, exploitations,
miseries, privations, hatred and unprecedented blood baths and holocausts.
Secularism: Secularism is the fifth
foundation stone of western civilization. It is opposed to religion and
morality. It is a long story how secularism came into being. It is no
occasion to go into the details. But let us give a hint about it.
In 1453, Muslims took possession of
Constantinople which was the seat of learning and culture those days. Men of
knowledge and learning fled the country and spread all over Europe. They
brought the lamps of learning with them. Europe at that time was all bleak
and dark. These scholars from Constantinople encouraged the spirit of
research and enquiry in all branches of knowledge. This led to the revival
of learning known as Renaissance in history. Christianity was the religion
professed by the whole Europe at that time. The religion inherited by the
church had a large number of superstitions are baseless materials crept into
the original. The Greek philosophy formed the fundamentals of the creed. But
the church people were adamant that all these were original and true
Christianity and hence anything going against the creed was necessarily
wrong and incorrect. On the other side, caravans of learning and research
were taking startling strides. Inventions and discoveries poured in from all
sides. But they were contrary to the belief of the church, Who characterized
them as heretical and irreligious. The church men could not tolerate this
insolence on the part of laymen, as these men of letters and learning were
called. The church was unable to give out arguments or proofs to contradict
the laymen. They wanted to convince them by force and coercion. The result
was that eminent scholars, mighty brains and great men of the age had to
suffer unspeakable miseries at the hands of the churchmen. By the order of
the Inquisition hundreds of scientist and scholars were committed to the
flames alive, thousands were sent to the gallows and a greater number of men
were sent to jails to live under the rigours of inhuman tortures and
travails. Bruno, Galileo and men like them were mercilessly done to death.
The violent and unwise attitude of the church divided Europe in two hostile
camps—The Church and Scientists. In the struggle that followed the church
was disgraceful defeated and had to vacate the position of leadership for
the laymen. The latter were bloodthirsty enemies of the church. The blind
enmity made them fanatically hostile to religion and morality. In a fit of
their violent hostility of the church the new leadership rejected all the
values that came through religion. The new class began to construct the
society a new a on a quite a different foundation. Religion and morality
were completely discarded from the new concept. As this class was equipped
both with pen and sword, it took little time to create a new mind
fanatically hostile to religion and morality. Religion became a mark
ignorance, superstition and obscurantism. Hostility to the religion was
considered to be a symbol of liberalism. The atmosphere thus created proved
congenial to anti-religious ideas known as secularism. It became a fashion
of the day to put religion to all sorts of ridicules, mockery and scorn.
"This must be true because the church is opposed to it" indicated clearly
the strong feeling against the church. The above expression was the fashion
of the day.
Secularism made ruthless inroads into
religion. It completely ignored the divine guidance and discarded all
possibilities of the existence of God and the life hereafter. It gainsaid
all the moral values and declared them to be only relative in character.
Religion was thus dislodged from its position and forced out of power. This
was one of the most tragic happenings for man. He lost the real anchorage
and began to order his own career with complete disregard to the divine
guidance and thereby courted unprecedented disaster for himself on Earth. He
became a mere slave to his own passions and desires.
Nationalism: Nationalism is the sixth
basis of western civilization. It is necessary consequence of atheism. Man
is a born slave. He is helpless. He cannot change his status. He must live
like a slave. As a matter of fact he is a slave of God, but he has been
given a bit of freedom as well. He is free to choose God as his lord and
master or totally deny to do so. But his denial does not make him free and
independent. By refusing to become a slave of God he becomes a slave of some
other demigods like his own passions and desires, tradition and customs,
nation and homeland, race and colour, power and pelf, name and fame and the
like. Atheism by denying the authority of God created a big void and exposed
man to the dangers of obeying masters other than God. The void so created
was fitted in by Nationalism.
Nationalism is now the master of the people.
Sovereignty vests in nation. The greatest virtue now is to sacrifice for the
nation. The greatest crime is to go against it. What is profitable for the
nation is good and virtuous, no matter if it be against truth and justice.
What is harmful to the nation is necessarily a vice and therefore
condemnable whether it be just according to truth and honesty. The
expression "My nation, right or wrong" is redolent of a nationalist mind.
The great propounder of nationalism, Machiavelli, an Italian statesman, in
his book 'The Prince' has unequivocally advocated.
The separation of religion from
Ends justify means. Therefore in
politics every means even forgery, perjury and the most fraudulent methods
must invariably be used to gain one's end.
Rulers must have double faces
and must practise duplicity. They should not speak out their minds to the
closest of their associates.
They must not hesitate to criss—cross
the dearest virtue to save the state.
The concept of nationalism proved a death blow
to the moral code and humanitarian view in one's individual and social
affairs. Firstly, the idea of the unity of man was completely exploded.
Humanity divided itself in innumerable units and groups on the basis of
homeland, language, race, colour, caste, class and community. This helped to
create a number of prejudices. Every group is locked in a ceaseless struggle
and trying to get the better of others in spreading hatred and
misunderstandings against one another. This state of affairs has unleashed
forces of disruption at all levels. Gross material ambitions have divided
mankind into innumerable narrow compartments. In short, man has become the
slave of man. Secondly, man became double face. This inauspicious turn in
man's character gave a death blow to the noble human sentiments and roused
giant forces of animals instincts ever ready to play the traitor beast. The
trust and confidence reposed in him have become with things of the past. The
mind staggers to think to deal with such men.
Thirdly, the separation of religion from
politics is one of the greatest tragedies in human life. This has reduced
religion to become a private affair between an individual and God. It has
also deprived man of the invaluable guidance of religion in social and
collective affairs. The result is that man has been caught by the brute
forces of merciless high-handedness and cruel torture provided by insane
Modern Democracy: Modern Democracy is
another basis of our modern civilization. The aim and spirit of the doctrine
is well intentioned. It aims at ending the rule of one man or family. It is
contradictory to monarchy and dictatorship. It is government by consultation
and discussion. Thus in democracy everybody is a ruler. It claims to promote
the freedom of conscience freedom of speech, freedom of faith and belief and
freedom of the individual, It advocates the idea of equality and fraternity.
It promises social justice and equal opportunity for all. All these points
render the democracy to be an ideal proposition. But the basic creed and the
modus operandi have defeated all its purposes and good intentions.
The basic creed of modern democracy has been
summed up in the expressions. "Sovereignty vests in the people", this
conception is the source of all troubles. According to this philosophy the
people are the arbiters of their own fate. The 'general will must prevail'.
The will of the prople is the only thing that counts. The conception of
lawful and unlawful, right and wrong, good and bad are notions not to be
reckoned with. This idea reduced man to the position of a toy in the hands
of his passions and desires. Modern democracy gave the slogan. "Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity", but practically compelled man to accept the
slavery of his own will. The decision was most unfortunate and quite
disastrous for the interests and aspirations of mankind.
(a) Another weakness of modern democracy is
inherent in its modes of operation. It operates through elections.
Candidates have to do a number of things highly undesirable and utterly
disgraceful. They have to canvass support for themselves, indulge in
selfpraise, use unfair means, make false promises, speak lies openly, hold
feasts and dancing and drinking parties. The idea of doing general good is
thrown to the winds. The good of the self or the family or at best the party
is kept in view. Voters are at times threatened and at times tempted with
some personal gain. Rowdies are employed for intimidation. Caste and
communal feelings are fanned and riots are arranged. Officers are bribed.
Bogus votes are caste. Candidates and voters are kidnapped. Fraudulent
methods and speeches are used to mislead the voters. Tall talks and promises
are freely made without any intention of fulfilling them. Such actions have
never been approved by even the most characterless mediocres before.
A few months before the elections, parties and
individuals launch their election campaign. Feverish activities begin
slogans of conflicts and strife rend the air. The whole atmosphere is
surcharged with activities of working hand is glove, of hatching plots and
using fraudulent methods. The situation becomes tense. Friends fall apart.
Enemies conspire together. It comes up like a storm and every individual is
exposed to the dangers of violence and rowdyism. Third degree methods are
extensively used.
(b) The second weakness of the modus operandi
is that the people after electing their masters are rendered powerless and
invalid. It is because the people actually place at the disposal of the
elected coterie the entire resources of the country---treasury, military,
police, administration and full legislative powers. All these make them too
potent to be controlled by any other power of the land. They oppress and
loot the people in all possible ways. They amass fabulous wealth. They
befool the people in hundred ways and live like emperors and monarchs. But
nobody can have the means and even the courage to correct them. The
upholders of democracy very easily convince the people that the real masters
are the people of the land. They can easily make and unmake governments. But
in modern democracy the removal of bad elements from the government is most
difficult is not impossible. It is all the more difficult to elect men of
character and ability.
(c ) The third weakness is that worthless and
irresponsible people, incompetent even for the post of a chaprasi can be
raised to highest position in the country. He can get possession of the
resources of the country and the life, property and honour of the people and
spoil the whole lot through his foolishness and incompetence.
3. In modern democracy, politics has become a
profession. It is at present the most easy the most profitable and the
safest profession. There is no parallel to it. Every profession needs some
ability, capital and time. But democracy requires none. The only
qualification needed is opportunism. In democracy ministry is master key
which opens the gates of multipurpose prosperity and progress in almost a
negligible space of time. The pauper of yesterday becomes a millionaire of
4. With the advent of democracy the sanctity
and reverence for law and constitution came to a close. When the source of
law and constitution was divine guidance, they quite naturally commanded
great respect, reverence and sanctity. Man felt a kind of delight and
consolation in putting these laws into practice. He got his sense of
devotion and worship satisfied. It is why people felt real pleasure in
obeying them even if it entailed difficulties in doing so and a departure
from time was considered to be a sin and the conscienced felt a pinching of
reproach. Therefore people obeyed these laws and constitution voluntarily
and without any pressure from outside. Modern democracy by giving
legislative powers to Parliament disbanded all sense of respect and sanctity
for law. Parliament is composed of ordinary men in no way superior in
character, intellect and learning. Hence it is impossible for it to command
sanctity and reverence. Moreover the established laws are repeated and new
ones are enacted every now and then reducing them to the ordinary and common
place level. The blot encouraged lawlessness in all quarters. Contravention
of laws by even the makers of laws is common and frequent. The protectors of
law are by no means an exception. The contravention of laws on such a large
scale and without fear and hesitation is being done due to two reasons.
a. The contravener has full confidence to
escape the clutches of law by putting a cover on his unlawful activities. To
conceal a crime and make a pompous show of innocence has become an art a
creditable deed these days. Even the most efficient intelligence agencies
fail to detect the so concealed crimes. It is said of Hitler and Stalin that
they executed a large number of innocent people without letting them know
that they had a hand in their murder and execution. Everybody in the last
moment of death cries out the slogan "Hail Hitler" and "Long live Stalin".
The fact was so astutely concealed that nobody knew the actual hands that
led to their murder.
b. Secondly, a man escapes the clutches of
laws by bribes and blackmail. This is a well known technique and needs no
explanation. Bribery prevails at all levels and in hundred shapes and forms.
These reasons have devalued laws and likened
them to a cobweb, which entraps the weak, and flies into pieces by the
strong. This has become a great source of countless evils and vices.
8. Darwinism: Darwinism is another name
of the theory of evolution propounded by the great naturalist and biologist
Charles Darwin (1809-82). In his opinion the first speck of life appeared in
the form of microscopic organism, known as amoeba. This primary sign of life
branched off into two directions, one leading to the origin and growth of
the vegetable world and other world and other to those of the animal world
and man. Amoeba is thus the first and man the last link in the world of
living organisms. This wonderful development was made possible by Evolution.
Darwin has propounded this theory in his two
famous works. 'The Origin of Species' and 'The Descent of Man'. According to
him "Species originate by means of Natural selection or through the
preservation of the favoured races in the struggle for life". He maintains
that the various species of plants and animals have acquired their several
characteristics by the slow and continuous accumulation of minute
differences through countless generations and that the human race itself has
been developed through innumerable accumulated minute variations from some
groups of anthropoid apes whose own origin, again, may ultimately be traced
to the humble organic things. Even man therefore is no distinct creation.
His nearest cousins at the present day are the apes and his pedigree extends
backwards until it joins that of the lowliest zoophytes. In other words the
life of every living creature has to struggle constantly to maintain its
existence against other rival living creatures and the force of nature. In
this universal struggle those living creatures that prove to be the fittest
alone survive or maintain their existence and they may be said to be
selected by nature as the fittest for existence to the rejection of a number
of unfit ones. Again, according to Darwin and his followers living creatures
are constantly undergoing spontaneous modifications or variations. No two
creatures are or ever have been born exactly alike. Protoplasmic cells are
extremely complex and unstable, and therefore liable to variation and
spontaneous variation in the germ cell cause variations in the nature
organism. Now fortuitous organic variations are sometimes beneficial to
creatures in their struggle for existence and sometimes detrimental. Those
changes or variations inherited by posterity go on increasing from
generation to generation until at last through the assemblage or
accumulation of variations in the same direction, a new species or variety
of living being is produced. If the variations are beneficial the variety
will be quite fit to maintain itself in the struggle for existence but if
the variations are injurious the new variety will be last evolved totally
unfit for the struggle and will have to perish inevitably.
The theory is attended with evils of
unparalleled monstrosity. It has brought about radical changes in man's
outlooks and reduced him to the lowest pitch of inferiority.
1. Man became social animal. He took off his
mantle of a human being and became an animal by origin, nature and
2. Man became a purposeless creature that has
come into existence by mere play of blind chance. His creation has no
planning and no meaning at all.
3. The idea of atheism has been strengthened
and the concept of the Day of Judgment is negated.
4. All the nobler qualities of man have been
denied modesty, chastity, shame, respectability etc. have been gainsaid and
5. All notions of moral values like mercy,
sympathy, love, sincerity, forgiveness etc are declared to be unnatural and
fit for fools and buffoons. These were replaced by brute sentiments like
death and destructions, envy and grudge, rage and fury, forgery and perjury
6. Religion and morality, revelation and
inspiration and the moral, intellectual and empirical assets necessary for
the formation of human and noble character have been completely annulled.
7. The law of the jungle, 'might is right'
prevailed in human society. Man lost all sense of mercy and compassion. The
struggle for existence began to rage at all levels and the world was reduced
into a den of wolves and wild animals.
9. Dialectical Process: Propounded by
the well-known German philosopher Earnest Hegal it had a wonderful effect on
western civilization. According to Hegal the evolution of everything in this
world and of the world as a whole takes place through the dialectic process
of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. Indeed, this dialectical process is the
means by which the ultimate being or reality realizes its own nature. It
makes explicit or unfolds the opposite or different potentialities or
tendencies latent in its nature, reconciles them in higher synthesis and
thus evolves the world system and realizes it self as a concrete self
conscious spirit.
Karl Marx made use of the theory to explain
his own Postulates. He sees the dialectical process working every where in
the universe, which is, in his opinion nothing but matter. Thus he
formulated two theories, one of dialectical materialism and the other of
historical materialism. In his opinion "the material, sensuously perceptible
world to which we ourselves belong is the only reality….. Our consciousness
and thinking, however suprasensuous they may seem are the product of a
material bodily organ, the brain. Matter is not a product of mind but mind
itself is merely the highest product of matter".
(K. Marx, selected works, vol. I, page 332).
Lenin says "Matter, nature, being, the
physical ----is primary, and spirit, consciousness, sensation, the
psychical-----is secondary" (Lenin Vol. XIII, pages 119-120). Again on page
288 he says "the world picture is a picture of how matter moves and how
matter thinks". On page 125 he again says "the brain is the organ of
thoughts". Emile Burns a great exponent of Marxism, summerises dialectical
materialisms in these words. "It (dialectical materialism) is the view which
holds that reality exists apart from our consciousness of it and that this
reality is not in isolated fragments but interdependent; that it is not
static but in motion, developing dying away; that this development is
gradual up to a point, when there is a sharp break and something new
appears; that the development takes place because of internal conflict and
the sharp break in the victory of the rising factor over the dying factor"
(what is Marxism page 73).
Karl Marx has a unique interpretation of
history. It is most strikingly his own. In his Manifesto of the Communist
Party he says "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history
of class struggles.
"Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian,
lord and serf, guild master and journeyman, in a word oppressed and
oppressed stood in constant opposition to one and other carried on an
interrupted, now hidden, now open fight---a fight that each time ended
either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large or in the
common ruin of the contending classes"
Human society is undergoing constant change
under the dialectical processes. It has traversed many epochs of history
that is primitive, communal, slave, feudal and capitalist. The capitalist
system is now tottering and giving place to Communist system, which is the
highest point of social development.
Exploitation and all injustices will be
completely wiped out in this system. The dictator ship of the proletariat
will be established. A classless and stateless society will come into being
and man will reach the age of millennium.
This transition from capitalism to communism
cannot be brought about peacefully. According to Marx "Force is the midwife
of every old society pregnant with a new one". Communism, therefore, is a
call to arms. It entails a programme of third degree methods, fraudulent
means and use of force and violence for the achievement of its objects. The
theory is responsible for innumerable ills and afflictions of man all over
the world.
- The theory has brought about a complete collapse of moral, spiritual and religious values. "Law, morality religion are so many bourgeois prejudices…."
- The idea that ends justify means has practically led to the introduction of fraud and hypocricy in every walk of life. The absence of a code of conduct has become a common feature of our society.
- History repeats itself has been proved to be an impossibility. On the contrary it has been endeavoured to prove that world is progressing every moment. It has no setbacks. Hence everything new is valuable and represents the progressive and everything old is out of date, useless and defunct. Every social system or for that matter any system of life suits a certain time and environment, but becomes useless if a change in time and environment is affected.
The dialectical process proves that every old
system is useless as compared with a new system which is essentially more
advanced and improved. This proposition makes communism the worst of the
system as according to Marx it was man's most primitive system of life. It
is also established that every subsequent system was better than communism.
Secondly, according to the dialectical process
history can never repeat itself and therefore there is no question of
communism coming up again. But the advocates of communism hold that the
first system of man's life was communism and that last system will also be
communism is nothing but to deny the validity of the dialectical process.
Communism is unable to remove this contradiction inherent in its postulate.
It favours law of determinism; Marx says, "In
the social production of their life men enter into definite relations that
are indispensable and independent of their will, relations of production
which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material
productive forces" (selected works vol.1 page 269). Stalin says "the third
feature of production is that the rise of new productive forces and of the
relations of production corresponding to them…. Takes place not as a result
of the deliberate and conscious activity of men, but spontaneously,
unconsciously, independently of the will of men". (Dialectical and
materialism, page 56). These show that time, environment and the dialectical
process and some other external forces are driving man to a course uncharted
and not thought out by him. Man is helpless in the hands of these agents.
Man has no hand in changes brought about since creation.
The individual is a mere tool in the grip of
the society. He has no existence of his own independent of society. Every
individual belongs to society. The individual has no property rights as such
there is no such things as private property.
10. Macdugal's Theory of Instinct: It
has a great influence on western civilization. According to Macdugal man is
an animal whose all actions are directed and guided by instincts. Instincts
are potential energies provided to men by nature. They compel men to work
and move on a particular direction. These instincts are of two kinds:
- Attractive instincts: These instincts feel charm and attraction to the materials that serve man to maintain, preserve and protect his life.
- Repulsive instincts: They induce and compel man to hate and recede from the materials that threaten to harm him.
In short nature has created instincts only for
the self preservation, self protection and self propagation of human beings
just like all other animals on Earth.
11. Freud's psycho-analysis is gaining
increasing importance almost daily. According to Freud human personality is
hidden in his unconscious brain. His conscious self is a very small part of
his personality. His ideas and opinions, his feelings and sentiments, his
tastes and inclinations all gush out from the unconscious. There is in every
person an undying sexual impulse which forces him to work for its own
satisfaction. But his unquenchable impulse of the unconscious can be
satisfied only through the conscience which intensely feels the necessity of
satisfying it, but very frequently it cannot do so. It fears the censor of
the society. People withhold most of the demands of the unconscious by force
to escape disgrace and disrepute to gain name and fame. This leads to a
number of very disastrous results. They develop a kind of restlessness and
nervousness and begin to suffer from a number of mental diseases. Sometimes
they fall a victim to hysteria, lunacy and some nervous diseases. To save
men from these diseases, the society diverts their attention to some didoes
like religion and morality, art and literature, philosophy and learning etc.
The didoes have no importance and no value. They simply keep people in bluff
and deception and sometimes keep them safe from the mental ailments
resulting from the dissatisfaction of the crazes and passions of the
12. Alder, a great admirer and upholder
of Freud, gives him unstinted support but he rejects outright the idea of
sexual impulse always raging in the unconscious. He holds that it is not a
sexual impulse rather it is the sense of superiority that urges man to act.
But notwithstanding this basic difference he ridicules religion and
morality, art and culture, knowledge and philosophy and considers man to be
an animal.
- Darwin holds that man is a direct descendant of apes therefore he is an animal.
- Mocdugal maintains that like animals man is a puppet in the hands of instincts, hence he is an animal.
- Marx opines that like animals man is a slave of his economic and sexual needs, therefore he is an economic animal.
- Freud observes that like animal man is a votary of sex and hence he is a sexual animal.
- Adler declares that all actions of man are governed by his ambition and conceit, hence he is a self conceited animal.
- Some other scientists equate man with animal because the qualities of animal are also found in man and those of man are found in animals.
In short, man has been equated with an animal
from all angles—biological, physical, economical and psychological—by
persons of great eminence and stature.
The above resume though very brief, gives a
clear idea of the nature, character and foundations of Western civilization.
It is almost impossible to give a picture of the society and the mental
setup of its individuals formed by the above ideas and ideologies. It can
however be anticipated that under the circumstances stated above man will
become far more merciless than the bloodiest of brutes. His greed,
selfishness, lust for power and pelf, dishonesty and brutish passions and
desires will know no bounds. He will given to hedonistic and sexual
excesses. Canine hunger for the pursuit of pleasure will spell disaster for
the human race. He will be an opportunist, a double—faced hypocrite, a
characterless plotter, irresponsible, shrewd and crafty tyrant, a cursed
hoodlum and a ruffian of the first order.
One aspect of man must not be lost sight of.
Man is not merely a structure of flesh and bones, wrapped up with a skin. He
is something more. He has some feelings and sentiments, some tastes and
inclinations, some passions and desires, some traits and talents. He has his
needs and requirements. His soul, body and nature have their own
requirements. Again man's corporate life brings innumerable complexities and
delicacies in its twain. This delicacies go on increasing with the progress
of civilization and cultural life. Further individually and collectively man
is related to the countless articles of the universe both directly and
indirectly. These relations have complexities of various categories and all
of them influence his life deeply. Every desire, every need, every sentiment
and every feeling wants to be satisfied and to achieve its objective it
exercises pressure from within. Hunger demands food and thirst demands
water. Sense of superiority wants to rule others and the desires of the
flesh aspire for their gratification.
On the other side the Earth along with the
whole universe has been given orders to provide man everything needed for
the fulfillment of all his wants and desires. In other words our globe is a
vast table bedecked with countless varieties of necessaries and luxuries in
unfathomable quantities. In other words imperceptible forces of demand and
supply are there in full play. Hard pressed by his desires main proceeds to
pick up something from the common table but is prevented from doing so by
another fellow who claims that the entire wealth of nature belongs to him
alone. Now the position is that the nature's bounties have become a bone of
contention. They are lying on one side and on the other side everybody is at
arms to appropriate everything for himself wholly ignoring the rights of
others. The present tense situations is not due to want and scarcity. It is
due to moral turpitude and degradation.
Let me cite an example from my personal
experience taken from everyday life. One of my dearest Hindu friend died. I
joined his funeral procession. According to Hindu belief and tradition coins
were thrown into the air to be picked up by poor children present there. A
25 paisa coin fell a bit far off where two boys were waiting for the fall.
Both of them rushed at it. The coin rolled on and lodged near a drain. The
boys locked themselves in a fierce fight to take hold of the coin. Now the
coin lay on one side and the boys were engaged in tough fight. God knows how
long the fight went on and who became victorious for I left the place with
the procession in a few minutes. This is a common experience and not a new
War on the Dining Table: The situation
of the present world is exactly like this. The world is laden with all kinds
of necessaries and luxuries. If man takes to reason and sanity he can be
most happy and cheerful. But greed and selfishness and lust for power and
pelf have deflected every individual and every nation from the right path
consequent upon the showering of untold miseries and sufferings on humanity
at large. Every nation and on smaller sphere every individual wants to
appropriate everything for himself. This is the real cause of the cold war
going on between the big powers today. Agricultural and mineral products,
petrol, raw materials and the discovery of other natural resources are no
longer a boon to humanity. On the other hand they are a curse upon it.
Smaller and weaker countries are made victims of the plots and conspiracies
of big powers and consequently lose their integrity and freedom due to them.
If these discoveries are made in bigger countries, they may become a menace
for the whole of the world by effecting an increase in their power and
resources. This is why most of our learning and knowledge, science and
technology, power and resources, time and talents are being employed to
devise ways and means and discover weapons and contrivances to kill man,
spread devastating destruction and finally to explode the entire world in
the twinkling of an eye. The atomic energy has got the potentialities to
turn this world into a paradise, but its first use is a great slur on the
part of man. The first use was made on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in the shape of bombs resulting in the complete destruction of the
two cities. Hardly a few people were saved but in a badly mutilated
This is perhaps the greatest tragedy of human
history. Even so these explosions have a bright side as well. The Great War
which began on 1-9-39 came to close on 13-8-45. The Axis powers were humbled
down to submission and the Allied powers came out with flying colours. The
map of the world once again underwent a drastic change. The United Nations
Organization came into being. The Charter of Human Rights was drawn up. The
world heaved a sigh of relief and thought that violence has been eliminated
for ever.
But soon all hopes were shattered. The Allied
powers themselves fell a victim to extreme selfishness, greed and jealousies
against one another. The whole edifice of unity fell down and the
preparation of the third world war began with a rapid pace. The giant bombs
thrown on Hiroshima and Nagasaki became obsolete. A race for the preparation
of more destructive weapons was switched on. The result is that weapons of
incredible destructive power and intensity have already been prepared and a
number of them are on the anvil. Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Megaton, asteroid bombs
and ballistic missiles are safe in our stockpiles. It is said that a greater
part of time, energy and money are being spent to search out means for the
easy and speedy destruction of human life and property. The present
stockpiles, the report goes, are enough to completely exterminate man from
the surface of the Earth. But man's hunger for destruction has only been
whetted to the sharpest point. The big powers are busy to forge out some
weapon that can explode the whole world with one single stroke. Will man be
satisfied even with this dreadful weapon? There are serious doubts about it,
as there is no end to man's desires.
The present situation is grim and ominous. The
humanity appears to be doomed for ever. The last moment is in the lurk.
Nobody knows when the big powers lose their balance of mind and come into
conflict with one another and throw the entire world to its final doom.
Every person with a thinking mind is greatly concerned with the gravity of
the situation. The great personalities who are said to control the destinies
of man have been completely outwitted. Every remedial measure is aggravating
the trouble and adding enormously to our miseries.
Among the various solutions for the
emancipation of man from the present morass, presented by Modernism, two are
in the field and the rest have either died out or become defunct. Both claim
to turn the world into a paradise but in fact they have thrown it nearer to
One of them is Communism. It is a complete
code of life with its own concept of man and universe. It has its own
interpretation of history known as historical materialism. This is no
occasion to discuss these philosophical speculations here. Let us take the
needed part of the idea.
1. The According to Communism the root cause
of all ills is economic disparity. Some clever people have amassed fabulous
wealth while the multitude is on the very of starvation. This state of
affairs is alone responsible for all disorders.
2. The accumulation of wealth in a few hands
opens the flood gates of all evils and misgivings.
(i) It divides the society in two hostile
camps, the have and the have-nots. Their conflicts now open and now hidden,
give rise to innumerable intricate problems.
(ii) The capitalists exploit the labourers.
They take away the entire wealth produced by the labourers and allow a
paltry sum just enough to keep them alive only to be used for further
The communists, therefore, propose the
expropriation of private properties as the only remedy to meet the present
situation. This will eliminate the capitalists and put an end to
exploitation for good. This can be done by nationalizing the total resources
of the state and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. They
further contend that this change can be brought about by means of force and
bloody revolution alone. This is the only way which can rid us of the filth
of our present society.
The Capitalists have serious doubts and
objections on this point of view.
1. They think it impossible to eliminate
capital and Capitalists. It is beyond man's control. If the total assets of
a state is nationalized, it cannot wipe out capital and the Capitalists. It
will only add to the bulk and enormity of the capital and reduce the number
of Capitalists to only one. The state itself will become the biggest ever
capitalist. This new and lone capitalist will now only be the sole
proprietor of the total resources of the state but will be armed with
police, military and administrative machinery and legislative powers of
which the Capitalists in non-Communist states are completely devoid. This
makes Communist State a formidable totalitarian power in which man will be
reduced to a automations clenched under the iron wheels of the dictators. He
will cry and weep but will never be heard anywhere for the state owned press
will always paint a rosy picture about his condition.
2. The Capitalists are of the opinion that the
scheme of nationalisation and abolition of private property will increase
exploitation to unknown heights. They contend that exploitation is inherent
in capital. The greater the capital, the greater will be the exploitation.
Now in a Communist state the state will be an unrivalled capitalist armed
with absolute powers of government. It is but natural that the exploitation
exercised by the Communist state will reach the last limits if not get
beyond it. The very imagination of such a state is horrible.
3. The Capitalists argue that a bloody
revolution is never a solution to any problem. It is on the other hand a
source of innumerable problems. It is a vicious circle. Once it is started
it will be difficult to get out of it. History gives us innumerable examples
of this vicious circle. Fear, misapprehension, conflicts and jealousies can
never create the atmosphere of love and amity, sympathy and sincerity.
There are people who wrongly believe the
communism envisages an equal distribution of wealth and the dumb millions of
India are often promised such a distribution to attract them to come within
its fold. They quote the following passage from Emile Burns in support of
their claim.
"Did Marx consider that this inequality would
be a permanent feature of the future society? No, in the sense that a stage
would be reached when it was no longer necessary to give people a share
proportionate to the service they render to the society."
The above passage does not envisage an equal
distribution of wealth in a Communist society. Anyway even it is so the very
idea of equal distribution of wealth is preposterous.
1. Equal distribution of wealth to the
members of society is unnatural and hence utterly impracticable. It can
never come into being. If the scheme is implemented by force it cannot
survive even a couple of days.
This can very well be demonstrated by handling
over a sum of say five thousand rupees to two persons each. One with his
exceptional merits may increase the amount to fifty thousand while the other
due to the lack of talents will waste away the whole amount and the gap of
zero and fifty thousand may again be created.
The fact of life is that man is not equal in
talents. Unless the talents are made equal, the idea of parity in wealth
will remain an impossibility. By no stretch of imagination man can be made
equal in physical, mental, moral and other talents and abilities. The born
blind, lame and otherwise disabled cannot be made sound and healthy in every
way. Hence it is only a wishful thinking that is never likely to see the
light of the day.
3. Nowadays we measure our status in terms of
money and the game of exploitation is played through it. If money is removed
from our midst some other medium will come into play and game of
exploitation will be tied to the new medium. Hence it is no use
concentrating on the redistribution of money by force.
4. Not only the internal qualities of man's
body, head and heart and unequal but the conditions external to the body are
extensively different. The environment, the climatic conditions and natural
and cultural facilities are variously distributed all over the Earth. There
are cold regions and hot belts, deserts and jungles, sterile soils,
abounding in beasts and poisonous reptiles. In these parts men are always in
danger of losing their lives. There are beautiful places and health resorts.
Some places are on beautiful hills and mountains while others are on sea
coasts. Some enjoy the benefits of civilized life while there are countless
regions and places which have no facilities at all. It is quite impossible
to make them equal in every way. If it is so man can never enjoy equal
status by equal distribution of wealth. For what do you mean by wealth? It
is not coins alone. All the above factors combine to form wealth. Therefore
the idea of economic equality is a misleading slogan, a wishful thinking and
a kind of self deception. This is therefore an absurd idea that can never
come to stay.
But mere criticism cannot do. The Capitalists
have therefore mooted their own plans to correct the world of all its ills
and misdoings.
In their opinion the economic inequality is
natural and can never be done away with. The only problem of human society
is the uplift of the down trodden. This will, in course of time, emancipate
the have-nots from want, hunger and poverty and this miserable world will
become a paradise and really a fit place to live in.
1. The first thing to be done in this
connection is to increase the production of all necessaries and luxury
articles to such an extent that every individual under the sun can be
supplied a bit more than what he actually needs.
2. The other thing is to raise the standard of
living. The present standard of living is a very bad reflection on human
3. But the standard of living cannot be raised
unless the family planning scheme is not sincerely implemented by means of
contraceptives and abortion, so that the population may become constant.
This stand is exposed to even more severe criticism.
1. It is impossible to supply every individual
according to his need, by merely increasing production. The present world
production is four times more than our needs. But the vast majority is not
getting its due share.
2. Let us suppose the impossible. Suppose for
a moment that this goal is achieved at a certain point of time, even then
men cannot have peace of mind. The great proverbial saying that man is never
satisfied must always be kept in mind. Every increase in production and
supply will result in greater increase in demand and the desire to have it
in even more quantity. Therefore mere increase in production is no remedy.
3. Moreover the raising of the standard of
living entails a number of complexities.
1. It presupposes a colossal waste in as much
as the standard of living cannot be raised by the bare necessaries of life
only. To raise the standard of living you must have luxuries as well. This
will only give a fillip to hunger and want, for you will have to produce
luxuries only at the cost of the production of necessaries for life.
2. Moreover there is no yardstick to measure
the standard of living. Nobody knows where the standard begins and where it
Therefore the introduction of this factor in
man's life will create more troubles. It will bring a host of jealousies,
hostilities and bad blood in its twain. Life will become more miserable and
Birth control and abortion are separate
subjects and call for detailed discussion. Here I shall point out certain
pertinent points of the issue. The problem is one of the most narrow minded
outlooks of the modern age. This is the most merciless, selfish and ugly
form of child killing. It opens floodgates of all kinds of moral turpitude,
debauchery and obscenity. There is no justification in killing our own dear
children for the sake of a care-free life. What a dirty selfishness on our
part it is!
As far as the problem of over-population is
concerned there are certain other aspects which call for serious
1. It is just possible that the very idea of
overpopulation may be absolutely wrong and fantastic. Experience reveals
that nature determines everything with utmost care. Goats are daily
slaughtered in million but their number is always sufficient. On the
contrary dogs are seldom killed but their number never increases in spite of
the fact that they bear more pups at a time as compared to goats. This is
true of all the animals of the world. Man is undoubtedly different from
animals. But who knows for certain that in future the Earth will be unable
to support man's population?
2. It is also possible that in future man may
invent something which may be able to increase food production to such
extents that it can support populations of any size whatsoever. There are
reasons to believe in this wise.
3. By practicing the present scheme of birth
control man stands in the danger of losing some great personalities who may
prove to be a saviour for the humanity at large.
4. The sense of self preservation and self
propagation are said to be naturally inherent in man. The suppression of
this sense by artificial means is likely to develop a number of bodily,
mental, moral and social diseases and evils.
5. Experience shows that the habit of using
contraceptives often ends in sterility.
Therefore the whole scheme of birth control is
nothing but an invitation to a number of ills and evils in the vain hope of
averting quite an uncertain danger.
The opponents of capitalism therefore hold
that like communism this system too is preposterous, ruinous and rabidly
Both capitalism and communism have therefore
miserably failed to deliver the goods. The result of their efforts are
before our eyes. The world has been divided in two hostile blocs, each
trying to get the better of the other in armaments and material prosperity.
Both are trying to establish their supremacy over the rest of the world. For
this a chain of intrigues, machinations, and fraudulent camouflage has been
let loose throughout and man has been caught in the deathtrap of their dark
deeds. The world situation has become highly explosive. Only a tiny particle
of fire is needed to explode the world. The particles have already been
provided in Vietnam, Korea, Middle East, Berlin and apartheid South Africa.
These are the danger points in the world. Moreover every bloc has fallen a
victim to greed and selfishness and has been divided against itself. The
Communist bloc has been divided into Chinese and Russian blocs. These two
blocs along with their satellites are engaged in machinations against one
another. Very recently they have indulged in armed conflicts as well.
The capitalist world has been split in several
camps. America, Britain and France have turned hostile towards one another.
A number of political, economic and cultural prejudices and selfishness have
resulted in a tense situation throwing the entire world into chaos and
In spite of these differences both capitalism
and communism are one and the same as far as their approach to man's
problems is concerned. Both are of the opinion that the real cause of our
miseries is economic disorder. All schemes proposed so far to ameliorate
human sufferings are economic. All our thinkers appear to be shut up in the
economic shell and it is almost impossible for them to come out of it. They
think that man can be corrected by economic prosperity and that a square
meal, necessary clothing and housing facilities and medical aid in time of
need are sufficient to give him peace and happiness. But experience goes
against it. Had economic prosperity the power to build mans characters, the
present capitalists must have been our saints and seers. But experience
shows that the richer the man the greater is his greed and selfishness.
Economic prosperity has often increased corruption. Take the example of
multi millionaires only. Their desire for more wealth has increased to
highest pitch. They are shamelessly sucking human blood for further increase
in their enormous wealth. Their mercilessness, brutality and desire for
hedonistic pleasures defy all description. We think that theft and robbery
are committed by only the have-nots. But those who are rolling in
wealth-----capitalists, professors and students are no exception. Wealth and
status determine the size of bribery and illegal gratification. From time
immemorial our saints and sadhus have been treating opulence and wealth as
filth and mud. They have always condemned it and regarded it to be great
factor for spreading corruption. This is our daily experience as well. Let
me cite one example. A fast friend of mine, a Congressman and really a noble
soul became affluent after independence. Before independence he was very
poor, honest and a man of character. But with the touch of wealth he became
a hard drunkard, a debauch and a corrupt rake. Once I asked him why he
stopped so low and shook off all his nobility of character. He admitted that
he was led astray by wealth. He contended that money urges man to take
hedonistic pleasures (Manoranjan) and finally corrupts him. He said if he
dies the money he had earned would be of no use to him. It would all go down
the gutter. He also admitted that wealth had taken away his peace of mind
from him. It had made his life miserable.
This is not a new or staggering experience. It
is common knowledge. But even then we look towards wealth for our
correction. Lord Acton has also confirmed this belief. He says "Power
corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
This being the fact of life the basic approach
and all the tall talks, propaganda and publicity of the two theories,
capitalism and Communism, are completely exploded. But is it enough? Will
the fate of humanity remain hanging in balance? Is there no way out? No,
there is a way out and it is the only way. It is Islam.
Islam declares in unequivocal terms that the
real cause of our miseries is not economical. It holds that economic
disorder is not the cause but a direct effect of moral degradation.
Character building and development of moral health are the only remedies man
is in need of. Without them social, political, economic or any other reform
is simply unthinkable. Moral health is the master-key that opens all gates
of progress and prosperity. It is the only power that can chase away all
injustices, jealousies and the causes of conflicts and bad blood. To have a
clear idea of the method we must know the real position of man.
The real man is not the human body or part
thereof. Human body is as a matter of fact only a house in which the real
man sits. We see only the body. We have no means to see the real man housed
in it.
Fortunately or unfortunately man is shrouded
under heavy curtains. The body is never the index of the real man. Nobody
can know a man from his body whether he is good or bad, genius or a fool,
virtuous or vicious.
Let us take help from a story of Mahabharat.
It is said that the Mahabharat battles were in full swing. The dead bodies
lay scattered in lacs. Thousands of people were squirming and wringling in
pools of blood. In a remote corner a vulture was sitting silently. Narad
Muni appeared there and addressed the vulture in a touching tone with a
feeling reference to the unprecedented blood bath presenting the most
ghastly scene. The great Muni expressed great surprise and sorrow over the
vulture's attitude. It appeared to be unmoved and taking pleasure in the
unfortunate human sufferings. The vulture raised its hoary head and replied
that he was not there for pleasure's sake. The added that his wife was very
ill and that she would not be recovered unless she is served with a bit of
human flesh. The great Muni pointed to the millions of corpses lying
scattered over the field and asked the vulture to notch out some flesh from
any of them. To the great surprise of the Muni the vulture replied that none
of them was a human being and handed over his spectacles to the Muni to see
the corpses through them. The Muni saw the corpses through the spectacles
and found that they were actually the dead bodies of so many animals like
dogs, cats, foxes, asses, swines and jackals etc. The Muni was taken aback.
The vulture took his spectacles back from the Muni and said there were only
a few human being in the battle field and that he was waiting for their
death. If any of them was killed he would get a bit of his flesh for its
ailing wife.
The story beautifully explains the real
position of man. Human bodies do not guarantee the presence of man in them.
They often carry animals and beasts within them. Every biped is not
necessarily a man. He may be an animal, beast or a monster. Man has got
certain attributes. If these attributes are taken away from him he is
reduced to an animal although he still possesses the body of a man. Man has
been divinely bestowed with love, compassion, sympathy and an urge to serve
his fellow men. These are the basic human qualities. A biped devoid of these
attributes is a mere animal.
(a) It is common experience that a man of very
grand personality with an air of holiness around him comes as a traveler,
stays at the house of a stranger and to the utter surprise of the host
leaves the place with some house hold articles at dead of night. The
appearance so noble and lofty and the deed so black and dirty.
(b) A naked ascetic apparently without the
least worldly greed was found to cut off the head of a lovely girl simply to
take hold of her golden earnings. What a contradiction in a body and mind.
(c ) A man in a foppish suit and a charming
personality, an embodiment of modesty and culture is caught red handed
committing a daring burglary and shooting down many innocent lives during
the action.
These are the hard facts of life.
Secondly, the construction, size, complexion,
beauty and health of a man's body do not make any impact on his moral
character. A man sound in body may be a debauch and a bad character while
man diseased in body may be a man of excellent character.
Thirdly, a man has absolute powers on his
body. The body is helpless and powerless. It cannot go against the will of
the man housed in it.
Let us explain this point by an example. Take
the best motor car available under the sun, well equipped with fuel and
other necessaries. But it cannot move an inch. It is useless unless a driver
comes in to drive it. If the driver is in his senses, a trained and
responsible fellow, he will save it from all hurdles and pitfalls. But if
the driver is untrained and in a drunken state he will come across accidents
and collisions every now and then. The cars are therefore not responsible
for the accidents. They are the sole responsibility of the drivers. If you
think that accidents can be avoided by making the cars more strong by
improving the polish it is your mistake. These improvements in the cars will
spell even greater disasters, for it the cars are weak their collision may
result in their own destruction, but if they are shining their collision
will destroy not only the cars but the things around as well.
This is exactly the case with man. Our bodies
are like motors cars and we ourselves are our drivers. If you think that a
man living plenty enjoying all the facilities of life will become virtuous
and a boon to society, it is your mistake. This tantamounts to making the
motor car more strong and improving its polish. As the polishing of the
motor car cannot reform the driver it is impossible for the man to become an
honest and righteous person if his body grows fat. As a matter of fact the
fat and strong body will a greater terror for the society. A weak and
diseased person will comparatively do little harm than the man who possesses
nerve, energy and capacity to do evils.
Keep this undeniable fact in your mind and
closely examine the solution proposed by Islam.
Islam is a divine revelation. It does not
therefore suffers from the weakness and defects inherent in man's thinking.
Allah is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent. He has perfect knowledge.
He is the real and only well-wisher of man. He is the only selfless being.
He has no interest of His own at all. He is therefore the only being Who is
in a position to carve out a system of life, best suited to man's well being
and aspirations. He knows well that the economic needs of man can improve
his body only. It will have no effect on the man himself. Therefore the
basic approach of His revealed code of life is not economic. The genius of
man is quite competent to meet all the economic requirements of the body.
Islam has therefore concentrated on the real man who sits in the human body.
He is the main figure and enjoys absolute control over the body. If this
figure is corrected, everything under its control will automatically be set
right. All our economic, political, social and other evils and wickedness
are simply due to the fact that the real man, the central figure has gone
out of gear. Therefore, Islam gives top priority to deal with him and cure
him of all his ailments. Islam wants every person to understand his correct
position. The Holy Quran says:
And assuredly We have created man We know
whatsoever his soul whispereth in him and We are nigher unto him than his
jugular vein.
Behold: when the two receivers
receive—one on the right hand and on the left sitter. Not a world he
uttereth but there is with him a watcher ready.
And the stupor of death will Come in truth:
This is that which thou hast been shunning. And the trumpet will be blown:
This is the day of the threatening.
This clarion call of the Holy Quran explains
clearly the correct position of man on Earth. It makes it quite clear that
man is not scot-free. He is not irresponsible and free to strike everywhere
he desires. But he is a creature. He has been created by the one Allah, his
only Master, Ruler and Sustainer. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and
Omnipresent. He knows every wave of thought that rises in man's mind and
heart. He is nearer to man than his jugular vein. Man is responsible before
such a perfect being.
Secondly, the Quran gives out that man is
being constantly watched. Two angels have been placed on his right and left
to record all the activities and every thought of the individual. These
angels are invisible to man but watching all his activities all the time.
Verily there are for you guardians, Honourable
scribes. They know whatsoever ye do.
Thirdly, death is inevitable. There is no
escape from it. In other words the life of this world is temporary and
transitory. Every person must have in his mind that he is not a permanent
settler in the world. Moreover the Earth itself is transitory.
Fourthly, everything on this globe has some
purpose, and is in a given proportion.
Verily everything We have created it by a
Again whatever happens in this world is
recorded to minutest details.
And everything small and great hath been
written down.
This recording has a definite purpose.
Everything that has been placed at our disposal on this earth will be
accounted for in the life hereafter.
"Then on that Day, ye shall surely be asked of
the delights."
The overall position of this world is of a
waiting room or the shade of a tree. We are sitting in an examination hall
or we are engaged in cultivating crops for the life hereafter.
"The world is a farm of the life hereafter".
This means whatever we will sow in this world
we will reap the same in the life hereafter.
"Live in this world like a foreigner or a
In other words this world and all its
belongings are in fact an amazing deception. All the belongings would be
gone as soon as one breathes his last. Very often they become useless even
in this life, for example a diabetic is deprived of the pleasures of sugar
and sweet things in his life time. The Holy Quran, therefore, brands the
worldly belonging as (Mataul Ghoroor) a deceptive and a treacherous
Again the Quran asserts that there will come a
time when everyone will have to account for his life on Earth. The Holy
Quran goes on:
And the Book shall be placed and thou will see
the culprits alarmed at that which is therein, and they will say: Ah woe
unto us; What aileth this Book that is leaveth not any sin small or great
but it hath computed it, and they shall find all that they had brought
present: and thy Lord wrongeth not anyone."
"Then whosoever hath worked good of an atom's
weight shall behold it. And whosoever hath worked ill of an atom's weight
shall behold it." Then as for him whose balances are heavy, he shall be in a
life well-pleasing. And for him whose balances are light, his dwelling shall
be the abyss and what shall make thee know which she is? A fire vehemently
Fifthly, there is a life beyond death. This
life is eternal and the real life. The success of this life depends on the
goods deeds done in this world. We will lead the life after death in eternal
bliss and unheard of ease and comfort. But on the contrary if we pass our
worldly life in misdeeds and evil doings and are lost in the false glitter
of the dubious world we will be placed under unimagined torture and pain and
subjected to most wretched humiliation and disgrace in the world beyond
Let us pause and ponder for a moment. It is
now quite easy to ascertain that a man with a living idea of God and the
life hereafter, with a sense of being watched by God and the life hereafter,
with a sense of being watched by God and his faithful angels and the horror
of the Day of Judgment and results of misdeeds and crimes, will conceivably
never have the audacity and courage to go near crimes big or small. He will
never be so foolish as to lose the eternal bliss and permanent pleasure of
the next world for the imaginary and short pleasures of this world.
Therefore it is but natural that under the impact of Islamic teachings a man
is bound to become truthful, honest and noble in character. He may even
become an emblem of humanity. Any injustice, any act of brutality or bad
blood is simply unthinkable by him.
For the purpose of inculcating these noble
doctrines and to show mankind the right path Allah was pleased to send his
messengers from among men. Adam was not only the first man on earth but the
first messenger of Allah as well. He preached the message of Allah among his
progeny and set their life on a right pattern. After his death the system of
life preached by Adam was distorted, by adding something new in it and by
removing some of its original teachings. This led to morbid corruption in
man's life and a great disorder followed. Allah however sent another Prophet
along with the same teachings that were revealed to Adam. Peace was
established. But after his death people again lost the divine guidance and
were faced with serious breaches of peace. This story was being repeated for
thousands and thousands of years.
Population went on increasing. The
civilization and culture underwent countless changes. The need for a divine
guidance was greatly felt in every human society. Allah the Merciful sent
his messengers to every people.
The Quran says:
"And for each nation there hath been sent an
"And assuredly we have raised in every
community an apostle."
"And for each community there hath been sent
an apostle."
This shows that the messengers of Allah have
been sent in every country and every nation. These noble souls propagated
the word of Allah to their people and established peace among them. At
present we find clear traces of moral guidance and humanitarian outlook
scattered throughout the world. Even the most primitive and backward peoples
are no exception. These somewhat similar and brilliant teachings are due to
those prophets of Allah. But all the teachings have been lost by men. Some
of the revealed books are of course there but their teachings have suffered
change, distortion, variation and practically lost their original purity.
The authenticity of these teachings have become doubtful. But the need for a
divine guidance in its original freshness and purity grew more acute with
the advancement of man's social, political, economic and moral life on
earth. The early seventh Century A.D. was one of the darkest periods of
history and called for radical change in man's thinking. The atmosphere was
ripe for a glorious revolution. It is at this opportune moment that the last
of Allah's Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be on him) was sent in Arabia. It
was declared that the Divine Code of Life (Al-Deen) was completed.
"Today I have perfected for you your religion
and have completed my favour upon you and I am well pleased with Islam as
your (Deen) religion."
This Al-Deen has been codified in such a way
as would hold true in all times and climes. This is the same Al-Deen which
was revealed to about 124 thousand prophets from Adam (Peace be on Him)
right down too the last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be on him). The
Al-Deen has been completed and saved for ever.
Now Al-Deen is well preserved in its original
pure form and spirit without any change, distortion or variation in the Holy
Quran and will suffer no change whatsoever in future. Its most authentic
commentary in the shape of AHADITH is also safe. The presence of these two
sources render the continuance of Prophethood quite unnecessary. Of course,
leaders and reformers will always come out for the removal of
misunderstanding about Al-Deen that may arise from time to time.
All the religious now know by different names
were revealed from the same source and as such they are one and the same. If
we want to know the real and original teachings preached by all prophets we
have no option but to look to the last revealed book, the Holy Quran. This
is the only authentic and authoritative version of same in its pristine
purity and original freshness without change, distortion or variation. This
was the duty of the Muslims to place Al-Deen before the world and remove all
misunderstandings about it. But they failed to live up to the ideal. This
created a world of misunderstandings and made the world cultivate a
fanatical bias against it and rest content with the distorted teachings they
inherited from their forefathers. Thus faiths and religions of innumerable
varieties got footing in different nations and different soils. The greatest
tragedy is that they have developed a fierce hostility based on these
distorted teachings among themselves. If the original teachings are placed
before them they may understand the point and accept the truth and thus the
estrangement due to misunderstanding in religions may go away forever.
Having explained the real position of Allah,
the Universe, the world and the man, a clear cut plan of living, a detailed
description of what is good and what is bad and a clear idea of the pleasure
and displeasure of the Al-mighty were solemnly bestowed on man, so that he
may not to be led astray. The last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be on him)
enforced Al-Deen in life and put all the clauses of Al-Deen in practice. He
constructed a society and a state based on Al-Deen. The society and the
state survived for a good number of years even after the Prophet's death.
As far as the two systems-Islamic and
non-Islamic---are concerned they stand poles apart. But one thing still
remains to be verified. The question is what practical results have been
experienced by the working of these two systems. We are living in the modern
period. It is therefore very easy to collect information about the results
accrued from the working of the modern civilization. But there is a distance
of about 14 centuries between us and the true Islamic period. But history
has preserved true account of the period and with little effort we can get
the important features of this life.
Let us have a glimpse of the society in which
the mission of Islam was preached. The society in Arabia was steeped in
darkness. People were illiterate, poor and uncivilized. Highway robbery,
theft, pillage and plunder were normal features of life. They were cut off
from the then civilized world. They lived in tribes and clans. Tribal wars
were rampant. Sometimes such wars continued for centuries. They used to urge
their progeny to carry on the tribal war even at the time of death in their
last will. Obscenity, vulgarity, immodesty, sexual anarchy and all kinds of
indecency were at a very high pitch. Drinking gambling, debauchery and
becoming naked in assemblies were the fashion of the day. Women went round
the Ka'aba stark naked. Abusive language and indecent poetry were the soul
of Arabic literature. Voluptuous dealings with cousins and near relations
were matters of pride and boasting. They had a morbid superiority complex
about the Arabic language. They called the rest of the world Ajam (Dumb).
Barring a few exceptions all of them were idolators. There were 360 idols
installed in the Ka'aba itself. Moreover there were separate idols for each
clan and each family. They were under heavy burdens of countless
preposterous rites and rituals. They considered the birth of female children
disgraceful and often buried them alive. They inherited their step-mothers
and could marry them. There were thousands of evils and misdoings eating
into the very vitals of the society. At the same time most of them were very
rough, obstinate, rude and rustic. They were victims of many
superstitions-----sorcery, with-craft, magic, occultism, spiritism etc. Of
course, they had certain good traits of character as well. They were good
hosts, active, bold, reliable and generous. But all these good qualities
were serving the cause of evil and dark forces.
In short, Islam had to face very low people.
The conditions were disappointing and the society as a whole was unyielding.
But in a short span of only 23 years the entire society underwent a
miraculous change. It was an all-round, all-pervading and a glorious
revolution. It did not make its impact on the country's laws and leadership
only but the individual and social life of the Arabian people underwent a
total change. It was a change of head and heart. The angle of vision, the
mode of thinking, habits and manners, characters and behaviours, urges and
aspirations, in short the whole life was changed a new. Each and every evil
thinned away into nothingness. Idolatory, superstition, pride and vanity,
sexual anarchy and all sense of caste, race and language were completely
wiped out. Broken hearts were set aright. All hostilities were done away
with. Those who had fallen apart were made to embrace each other in love and
amity. The whole country turned into one single home of the sons of one
single parentage. The universal brotherhood in the true spirit and sense was
established. There was no master and no slave. Tyrants who took pleasure in
bloodshed and barbarous acts and who buried their daughters alive became so
tender-hearted and compassionate that they could not bear the sight of the
slaughter of birds and fowls. Thieves and free-boosters became honest and
trustworthy. Bandits and robbers were so changed that at the time of the
conquest of the Persian capital the royal crown worth crores of rupees fell
to the lot of an ordinary soldier who handed it over to his general wrapped
up in a blanket in the thick darkness of night in order to avoid public
admiration by a show of honesty and rectitude. The debauch, the drunkards,
the vagabound, the immodest and lustful became saints and seers. Those who
did not hesitate to go naked in assemblies and gatherings felt abashed to
become naked in bathrooms and lonely places. Their judges established
records of impartiality in the administration of justice. Their generals
were embodiments of human sublimity. Their sense of responsibility was
simply exemplary. Even murderers and adulterers would offer themselves
voluntarily to be punished with death sentence only because they would be
saved from appearing before Allah as criminal.
The sense of equality and fraternity reign
supreme. The distinction of high and low was completely exterminated. The
standard of man's greatness underwent a radical change. Learning and
knowledge, power and pelf, age and birth were no longer the arbiters of
man's greatness. Man's greatness was made to confine in those persons who
were the most God fearing. This change in the standard revolutionized the
entire life of the people in as much as moral values gained ascendancy in
public life. The Caliph, the governor and the highest authority all were
reduced to the social status of a commoner. People having the highest posts
walked with the common people on roads and other places. They tried to
understand the sufferings and needs of the common people and endeavoured to
remove them. They had no porters or darbans on their doors. A common man was
free to meet the highest authority at his will in order to appraise him of
his difficulties. All were equal in the eyes of law. The head of the state
was made to stand in the dock along with an ordinary citizen. Sometimes the
head of the state won the case and sometimes lost it. The case of one of the
most exalted Caliph against a Jew was dismissed only because the Caliph had
no witness except his own slave. In modern times the art of administration
is considered to be most advance. But the present constitutions of most
advanced countries do not permit the hands of law to be extended to the
heads of the state. The old dictum 'The king can do no wrong' still holds
good with the enlightened people. The President of India, Empress of Britain
and President of America and France cannot be sued against in any court of
The sense of the fear of God was at its
height. People dared not commit a crime even in places of safety for they
knew that Allah is Omnipresent and sees everything. Once the Jews of Khyber
tried to bribe a tax collector for tax evasion. The revenue officer refused
the heavy amount offered to him and divided the total produce of land in two
mounds and asked the Jews to take any one of them and leave the other for
the Government. The Jews were stunned at the administration of justice and
proclaimed that this was the kind of justice on which the Earth and heaven
People tried to give comforts to others at the
cost of their own. They starved only to provide the hungry with food.
Self-sacrifice, charity, service to humanity were on the increase and were
done selflessly and sincerely. People were neither very rich nor very poor.
They walked under the cover of night with money in the lanes of Medina to
help the poor but could not find one. The atmosphere was surcharged with
love and sincerity, unity and harmony, compassion and sympathy. Emancipation
of women was also complete. They had shaken off their centuries old slavery
and backwardness and had become quite free. They were given their due
position in society. They were not only given the right to inherit but were
actually made the main figure in household affairs.
A society with such a pious environment and
with such a wonderful play of noble qualities must be a rare experience of
the heavens.
Let us now have a glimpse of the achievements
of the modern civilization. The material, the environment, the time which
the modern civilization got are far better than those faced by Islam. As
compared with the pre---Islamic Arab people the Western civilization
inherited a better society as far as education, culture and civilizations
are concerned. The society had a higher moral character and a far better
economic condition. There were big cultural units rolling in wealth and
plenty. There were centers of learning, educational institutions and big
universities. Innumerable branches of knowledge were working for further
progress. The world had taken wonderful strides in means of travel and
transport. The world was an integrated whole connected with strong ties
among different countries.
Of course the question of moral degradation,
selfishness, oppression, treachery, fraud, thievery and robbery were there.
But honesty, truth, generosity and the moral values were also practiced.
Selfishness, greed and materialist point of view were considered
undesirable. There was a standard of acquiring and spending money. Honest
methods were generally appreciated while fraudulent means condemned.
The society was handled by modern thoughts and
current leanings. The result is before our eyes. The modern thoughts and
material achievements have combined to rob man of all that was good and
virtuous in him. The result is that the world situation has become highly
explosive. It is heading towards its own destruction with a rapid pace. The
spirit of unfettered materialism has unleashed forces of disintegration at
all levels. The very existence of man stands in danger. Lured by the glitter
of science and technology man has lost sight of his supreme status and
sublime position and has been caught in the death-trap of greed and fear so
thoroughly that all efforts to get out of it have so far miserably failed to
deliver the goods. Gross material ambitions have divided mankind into
innumerable narrow compartments, shut up within the walls of race, language
and creed. Selfish prejudices are eating into the very vitals of our
society. Differences in out look and ideologies have culminated into
unprecendented blood baths. The two world wars are great human tragedies and
the preparation for the third is far greater. Although out material progress
is at its peak we are living under the grim shadow of scarcity, starvation
and death. Moral degradation, class conflict, economic exploitation, social
insecurity, political chaos and rabid corruption in all walks of life are
the order of the day. Our thinkers have all been completely outwitted. The
destiny of man appears to have been doomed for ever.
Modern civilization has not only awaken the
giant forces of greed, ambition, selfishness and self-indulgence but has
placed man's entire life at the tender mercies of these forces. This has
made the very redeeming factors turned hostile. The naked satanic dance of
obscenity, debauchery, and sexual anarchy is on the increase. The Damocles'
Sword is hanging on man's head and nobody knows when this sword will cut off
his throat and relieve the Earth of his undesirable burden.
These are two ideologies, distinct and clear
before you. It is for you to decide which is to prefer and which is to
The comparative study of these ideologies
makes it clear that the non-Islamic ideologies, in spite of their apparent
difference and contradiction in form and shape, are one and the same as far
as their origin and spirit are concerned: Hence there can therefore be only
two sharp divisions in different ideologies of the world. One is Islamic and
the other non-Islamic. They have certain marked differences in some basic
and very important features.
1. The basic difference lies in the concept
of the origin of universe and man. This is the real difference which results
in a series of other differences in outlook, method and approach.
2. The non-Islamic ideology proposed to
correct and control man by providing him with his economic needs. Its
approach is purely economic. On the contrary the Islamic ideology bases its
programme on the reformation of the driver. In other words its approach is
moral. It does not ignore the economic or other needs of man but believes
that the other requirements if provided will never work if the moral side of
the man is neglected. It therefore gives top priority to the correction of
the real man housed in the human body. The correction of real man means the
correction of everything connected with man.
3. The non---Islamic ideology is helpless
and quite unable to correct the real man. It is the Islamic ideology alone
that has the means to do the job. The fear of Allah, the care for the next
world, belief in prophethood, angels and the revealed book of Allah are the
only reliable and sure means to control man. There is no way out.
4. The none—Islamic ideals can use only two
forces to control man---law and police force. Man can evade both of them
very easily and more often the real culprit remains at large and an innocent
fellow is punished in his stead. The reason is not far to seek. Government
can catch hold of the criminals in light but it cannot pounce upon them in
the dark. If the criminal is bound down there is still a way to escape
punishment. It is by means of bribe. The club-stick of the police and the
pen of the judge can be purchased at any moment. They carry no weight these
days. Therefore the infringement of law has become a common feature of our
society. On the contrary the Islamic ideal moves the inner sentiments of man
and prepares them to accept laws and regulations in their true form and
spirit voluntarily and without any pressure from outside. Moreover the sense
of responsibility of the Islamic society is so sharp that it cannot tolerate
the infringement of law and justice. These two invaluable and mighty forces
are nursed by the concept of God and the next world. Thus to control man
Islam makes use of man's voluntary urge to obey law, his moral attitude, the
pressure of the whole society to serve the cause of justice, laws and
regulations and the Government power. All these forces combine to make the
breach of law a highly difficult job if not an impossibility.
5. In the non-Islamic system justice and fair
play, large-heartedness and generosity, sympathy and sincerity are mere
paper performances. The proceedings and resolutions of the U.N.O. and the
charter of Human Rights are master strokes of literature. They are full of
love and best whishes for mankind. But they are mere lip-services. In fact
the non-Islamic system is by far a paper work, a piece of lip-service and an
article for show and display. When the question or practice comes up,
constitutions, principles and laws become defunct and most of the decisions
and promises are broken and thrown to the winds. The makers of law
themselves dishonour them. By nature this system is double faced. It
contradicts its words by its own deeds. On the contrary the Islamic system
has only one face. It words and deeds know no difference.
6. The non-Islamic system is utilitarian in
outlook. It can dishonour its own principles for the sake of some worldly
gains. On the contrary the Islamic system is ideological. It can never
sacrifice its principle for any gain whatsoever.
7. The non-Islamic system believes in the
principle of "Ends justify means" whereas the Islamic system believes that
good causes can be served by only good means.
8. The non-Islamic system lacks in proper
authority to decide what is right and what is wrong. Whereas the Islamic
system has got an unquestionable authority in the revealed book of God (The
Holy Quran). It is the final authority and decides everything on real merit.
9. In non-Islamic system the moral values are
all relative. The same thing in a certain surrounding and at certain time is
right but in other time and space it becomes wrong. On contrary in Islamic
system all those moral values which are permanent cannot be changed at any
10. The non-Islamic system is characterless
inasmuch as it does not care for breach of contract and promises, it does
not care for the rights of others and it does not care for meeting the ends
of justice. Whereas the Islamic system has a spotlessly clean character. It
guarantees truth and honesty in every dealing, upkeep of every promise and
contract and honouring of the rights of others. It cannot brook any unclean
method. It shoulders the responsibility of eradicating evil and establishing
11. The idea of oneness of man is foreign to
the modern society. It has divided mankind into innumerable tiny
compartments of race, colour, nation, caste, birth etc. On the other hand
Islam strongly believes in the oneness of man. According to Islam all men
are the children of the same parents, Adam and Eve. Hence they are all are
brothers. The whole humanity is one family and the whole world is one home.
The artificial walls erected by the modern society between man and man must
therefore be razed to the ground and man must be freed from the tyrannies of
12. Islam frees man from the bondage of his
own passion and desires, of the thraldom of the traditions and customs of
his forefathers and of the clutches of other men, nation or other demigods.
In short it frees man from the bondage of man. The non-Islamic systems have
no means to do so, for man must obey some laws. If he obeys laws formulated
by a man, a family or the entire humanity, he becomes a slave of these
lawgivers, for slavery consists in obeying one's laws and commandments. If
you obey laws formulated by a man you are a slave of the said man. The
non-Islamic systems cannot even conceive of laws formulated by an agency
other than man. Therefore they can never free man from the bondage of man.
It is only Islam that can do so, for it claims to obey laws not formulated
by man but by the Almighty God Himself.
The above discussion may create a
misunderstanding in some minds. They may think that science and technology
are the real source of our miseries. Hence the present material progress
must not only be stopped forthwith but the progress made so far also be
destroyed and we should go back to nature. In other words Islam wants only
moral and spiritual progress and is opposed to material progress, inasmuch
as there are a number of evils clung to it.
Such notions about Islam are not only wrong
and baseless but are opposed to the very soul and motive of its ideology. As
a matter of fact Islam opens for man the door of all round progress in every
field and urges him to rise to unknown heights. It enjoins upon man to make
use of his talents, abilities and free man from all his economic and
material needs. It also makes his bounden duty to perform everything that
goes to benefit man and desist from every thing that harms him. Therefore it
is very necessary that man should try his level best for the all round
progress in every sphere whether material or non-material.
But one thing is of utmost importance. In our
universe the secret of every progress lies in keeping the equilibrium in its
different spheres. If the balance is lost every progress turns hostile.
Lopsided growth is no progress. It is really a setback and a decay. Like all
other laws of nature the law of equilibrium is also true and unalterable and
cannot tolerate any infringement in this regard. Therefore Islam gives top
priority to the problem of keeping equilibrium in all spheres of life.
Extremist and one sided view is only an invitation to the wrath of justice.
Human life has innumerable sides. They are not
equal in importance. Some of them are more important whereas some are of
less importance. The real progress in human life consists in the
simultaneous progress of all sides and spheres—physical, mental, material,
moral and spiritual---just in proportion to their degree of importance. If
we go on progressing materially and neglect the other spheres of our life,
the balance in different spheres will be disturbed and in spite of our
extraordinary material progress we will fall a victim to unprecedented decay
and decline. Nature will never tolerate this insolence.
Let us try to understand the point by an
example. These days railway trains have attained the speed of 60 to 70 miles
per hour. If this speed is raised to 200 miles per hour but the other
factors—coaches, railway line and others----are not remodeled accordingly,
disastrous accidents will be inevitable. This increase in speed will in
common parlance be an extraordinary progress but in truth in cannot be a
progress for this unwise increase in speed will result in the derangement of
the balance consequent upon the colossal loss of life and property.
When the Japanese engineers wanted to
introduce the Super Express also known as bullet train with a speed of 125
miles per hour between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 320 miles, they had to
construct 66 tunnels covering a distance of 40 miles and 281 bridges
covering 27 miles in order to make the rail route straight. They had to make
the rails more heavy and sizable and design the coaches in a new model and
devise many other ways and means in order to establish perfect harmony in
different spheres. In spite of these precautions the passengers felt
unbearable noises and a severe pain in their ears. Therefore, the bogeys
were changed. New methods for driving were adopted. Then the balance on all
sides was established and the train was made available for public use.
From the Islamic point of view our material
progress is still in its primary stage. Islam wants to attain unknown
heights in material progress. But mere material progress will lead to
disastrous results. Therefore, it is most necessary that along with material
progress, the other sides---moral, spiritual—should also be proportionately
Material progress has another aspect also.
Matter is lifeless. It has no will of its own. It is at the disposal of man.
He may put it to whatever use he likes. Therefore, matter is quite innocent.
A sharp knife used by an expert surgeon saves the life of a person by
operation. But when the same is used by a miscreant human lives are lost.
The responsibility of these acts does not lie with the knife. It lies with
the wielder. The knife itself is faultless and innocent. When this is the
real position of matter and material progress, it is a stupidity to neglect
it. Of course, we must avoid lopsided progress.
As a matter of fact Islam is not opposed to
science and technology nor does it neglects material progress. It considers
every progress beneficial to man and helpful to the realization of human
values as a gift from Allah the Almighty. But the most important point
should not be missed. Balance in all spheres of life must be maintained at
any cost. This balance is the master key. If it is there everything in the
world is a boon from Allah and if it is lost the same thing becomes a
courage for mankind.
The present world suffers from the want of
equilibrium in human life. Man has been thrown out of a gear. He has no
moral strength to bear the burden of his unprecedented material progress.
The lack of moral strength has reduced man to the position of an insensible
child with a highly sharp knife in his hands. Nobody knows when she meets
his end by plunging it in his body.
Anisuddin Aahmad
#Foundation of #Modern #Civilization
#Modern #democracy
#Dialectical process
4. #Struggle of #Aspirations
War on the dining table
5. The #Solutions Presented by Our Modern Civilization
The #communist View
The #Capitalist View
6. #Islam Shows the Way?
#What is man?
7. Islam shows the way
8. A #misunderstanding Removed.