Is Religion an insult to human dignity!

 Is Religion an insult to human dignity!

A famous saying by the Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg has long been a favorite of mine:

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it, good people would do good things and evil people would do evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”

Such aphorisms are compelling. They are easy to recite and create an illusion of being profoundly thought-provoking. However, upon closer examination, they often reveal a simplification of reality. We tend to craft our rules and maxims for extremes—the upper class or the lower class, the saint or the sinner—while ignoring the vast, complex middle ground where most of humanity resides.

The Spectrum of Human Nature

Society cannot be neatly divided into two classes. You've likely noticed that some people understand things through gestures, while others need a detailed explanation. Others will not understand even after being shown, and a fourth group does not even care to try. This spectrum of understanding and motivation is why binary divisions fail. Even the laws of physics are often situational, working only within a specific range of conditions. If this is true for the physical world, how much more must it be for social rules, which must also account for the ever-changing, multifaceted human mind?

While some civilized people can become uncivilized under the influence of dogmatic religion, many uncivilized people can also become civilized because of it. The Indian tradition is rich with examples of radical transformation, such as the redemption of the brutal robber Angulimala or the sage Valmiki after they embraced a spiritual path.

Identifying the True Culprit: Organization

I agree that religion can be an insult to human dignity, but this applies mainly to those humans who are already civilized and self-regulating. For them, rigid dogma can be a step backward. The real, universal danger is not faith itself, but the concept of organization that so often crystallizes around it.

Organization is a mechanism for acquiring power, especially for those with weak minds who are ruthless, cruel, and ambitious. In nature, we often see rigid organization in brutal, pack-oriented creatures such as wolves, hyenas, and wild dogs. Solitary and powerful animals, such as lions and tigers, are inherently anti-organization. Some herbivorous animals live in herds, but they are not "organized" in the same way; they are a collective. As soon as one is attacked, the rest scatter to save themselves. Any help offered is typically rooted in immediate family bonds rather than a structured group ideology.

Power is gained from organization, and from power, the ego is born. This ego, in turn, gives rise to the desire for domination. In the hands of uncivilized or unevolved people, this proves destructive. History is filled with hundreds of such destructive examples, carried out in the name of organized religion.

I do not believe any spiritual organization, once it develops into a sect, has retained spirituality as its true objective. In my view, such organizations form more often because of human ambition—the desire for recognition, authority, influence, or institutional continuity—than because of the pursuit of spiritual realization.

An organization also gains strength through numbers. A follower of a particular belief or ideology may therefore desire to bring others into the same fold. This can reinforce the person's own confidence, validating the belief that their way of thinking is “correct” simply because others share it, and helping them avoid any sense of inferiority. Moreover, the more adherents there are, the stronger the impression of superiority over competing beliefs or ideologies. This may be one reason why proponents of various religions and political ideologies seek to persuade others to adopt their views.

There is nothing inherently wrong with sharing an idea or letting someone consider it freely. The problem begins when persuasion turns into pressure, inducement, manipulation, or compulsion. Such a practice is fundamentally flawed because it assumes what suits one mind must suit another.

Every individual is distinct, both physically and mentally. Our physical structures are largely similar—which is why, for example, a quinine tablet can work against malaria in people whose bodies differ in countless other respects. At the mental level, however, the differences are far greater. Our intellect, ego, mind, experiences, and ingrained dispositions (saṃskāras) are never exactly the same. Consequently, an idea that seems convincing and appropriate to one person may not resonate with another, or may simply not suit that person's particular nature and circumstances.

This matters especially in religion, philosophy, and politics. A preacher, political leader, or ideological advocate may sincerely believe that the path he or she follows is the right one. But sincerity does not make that path universally suitable. To pressure another person—or offer material or social inducements—to make that person adopt one's own viewpoint is to disregard the individuality of the other mind.

Perhaps the wiser approach is not to create more followers, but to help people think more clearly. A truly valuable idea should stand on its own, without requiring uniformity of minds.

The Vedic Exception: A Path, not a Prison

Vedic culture stands as a notable exception to this pattern. In the Vedic framework, concepts such as religion, God, and worship emerge as part of a temporary system. They are functional tools, or sadhana, designed to help an individual achieve liberation from worldly desires and attachments.

Crucially, the Vedic scriptures also clearly mention the final step in this process. The ultimate goal is liberation not only from the world but also from the very religious and conceptual tools used to transcend it. The path is not meant to become a permanent address.

---------------------------Raghvendra Khare

The Human Abstract—William Blake

(Critics of the poem have noted it as demonstrative of Blake's metaphysical poetry and its emphasis on the tension between the human and the divine.)

Pity would be no more
If we did not make somebody Poor;
And Mercy no more could be
If all were as happy as we.

And mutual fear brings peace,
Till the selfish loves increase:
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.

He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the grounds with tears;
Then Humility takes its root
Underneath his foot.

Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the Catterpiller and Fly
Feed on the Mystery.

And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.

The Gods of the earth and sea
Sought thro' Nature to find this Tree;
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the Human Brain.

.—William Blake

यह कविता संगठित या संस्थागत धर्म के विरोध में लिखी गई। पेड़ का सांग रूपक स्पष्ट है। जहाँ तक प्रतीकों का प्रश्न है, काला कौवा मृत्यु का प्रतीक है और इल्लियाँ वग़ैरह clergy की। फल प्रतीक है नकारात्मक भावनाओं पर आधारित धर्म का। ऊपर से यह फल आकर्षक है, पर वस्तुत: घातक है। -- अनुवादक

दया का आस्पद न होगा कोई जन
बनाएँ हम यदि न उसको अकिंचन
और करुणा भी कहाँ उपजेगी जब
जैसे हम हैं वैसे ही हों सुखी सब

और पारस्परिक भय से शान्ति है
स्वार्थ-पोषित प्रेम जिसकी भ्रान्ति है
क्रूरता फिर डालती है जाल अपना
चार फैलाती है ख़ूब सँभाल अपना 

ईश-भय से प्राप्त करती क्रूरता
दूसरों के आँसुओं की आर्द्रता
अश्रु-सिंचित भूमि में तब विनय-छल
जड़ जमाता क्रूरता के पाँव तल

पेड़ की छतरी गभीर रहस्य की
पत्र-अवली अंध तम-सी श्यामली
डाल पत्तों पर अनेकों पल रहे
कीट-इल्ली-शलभ, पात कुतर रहे

वृक्ष पर पैदा हुआ छल-छद्म का
रक्तवर्ण औ' स्वादु फल, मन को छला
और तरु के गहनतम कोने में जा
कृष्ण कौवे ने बनाया घोंसला

सर्वव्यापी देवगण संधान में -
कहाँ है यह वृक्ष प्रकृति-वितान में
पर हुए निष्फल सभी उनके यतन
पेड़ का आश्रय स्वयं मानुषी मन

अँग्रेज़ी भाषा से अनुवाद : शिव किशोर तिवारी

Advance Chapters on Vedic Astrology: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H44YMJ46

Some Chapters on Vedic Astrology: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HDTXXZRC