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Perspective
Doubting Narens
by
J. Ajithkumar
 Doubts
have a prominent role in shaping the life of individuals, hence society
and nations. It is only individuals with never ending doubts and their
doubt-clearing gurus that have expanded the frontiers of knowledge thus
far. But for them the extent of Science would have remained a few minor
islets in the surrounding expanse of unknown and ideologies about God.
Dredging of the ocean of ignorance to expand the islets of scientific
knowledge is a permanent process powered by the doubts of billions of
humans. The process continues and it will go on till the end of our
present time. But doubts have a negative side too. If the doubter
chooses to remain a permanent one with no attempt being made to clear
his or her doubts, it can turn out to be counter-productive. It can
weaken their own selves and collectively their society and their nation.
The present condition of a large number of �educated� Hindus in India is
one such pitiable state of self-defeating doubts leading to shameful
indifference and slow death.
Anyone who is interested in Indian affairs is invariably intrigued about
the unlimited and unfathomable doubt clearing capacity of our ancient
Rishis. Without any hitherto known resources for physical exploration,
the amount of knowledge they could so correctly depict in their literary
works about the natural symmetry of universe from electrons revolving
around nucleus, planets around suns and galaxies around whatnot is
amazing if not astonishing. They had crystal clear concepts about the
omnipresent and omnipotent energy of God. But they never (mis)led any of
their fellow beings by posing as the only knower of God or the latest or
last prophet. Though incoherent in the first reading, the entire gamut
of ancient literature in India presents a unified picture about Brahman
which encompasses everything and anything that we can think of. Yet many
Indians, especially Hindus, are opting to be in constant darkness of
doubts. They need to look no further than the well known transformation
of a Doubting Naren to Swami Vivekananda to salvage themselves and this
great nation.
Naren to Vivekananda
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Experience
& belief are like chicken & egg in the science of God. Without an
experience, it is difficult to firm up one�s beliefs and without firm
beliefs it is difficult to get any experience of God. This syndrome
which is a sure recipe for disaster is being �effectively� used in
India�s education sector by the secular mafia that is ruling India for
the last one thousand years. In an open society like India, the role of
education was always for a free and unhindered pursuit of the eternal
truth. But the situation changed when organized faiths (or �political
religions� as more appropriately called) came in. First the Mughals
manipulated education to impose their own beliefs and then the British
(followed now by their remnants) used it to establish their rule. The
net result has been a set of deranged people who neither know anything
about God nor about their own identity.
Narendra Nath (Naren) is the best such example we can pick up from
India�s recent history and listen to his own words when he pestered an
ascetic like Ramakrishna about feeling God.
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This world is in chains of
superstition.
I pity the oppressed,
whether man or woman,
and I pity more the oppressors. |
�The touch at once gave rise to a
unique experience within me. With my eyes open I saw the walls and
everything in the room whirl rapidly and vanish into naught, and the
whole universe together with my individuality was about to merge in
an all-encompassing mysterious void. I was terribly frightened and
thought I was facing death....Unable to control myself, I cried out,
What is this that you are doing to me? I have my parents at home. He
laughed aloud at this and stroking my back said, All right, let it
rest now. Everything will come in time. The wonder of it was that no
sooner had he said this than that strange experience of mine
vanished. I was myself again and found everything within and without
the room as it had been before�.
Naren was not an ordinary and na�ve individual who could be fooled. And
Ramakrishna was not an educated and sophisticated trainer who could fool
others. We know that Naren went on to become Swami Vivekananda and
Ramakrishna become immortal as a Paramahamsa. Yet very few among us are
learning our lessons from such incidents and getting cleared of our
doubts.
Snobbishness to Wisdom
One of the most regrettable signs of our secular education is the extent
of snobbishness that is prevalent among our middle class. Education in a
foreign language right from an young age of three can never refine our
children. If at all it does anything it is only by way of silent
indoctrination of subservience that also promotes snobbishness as a
balancing force. Middle class Indians quoting more from Socrates and
Shakespeare than from Kautilya and Kalidasa is proof enough for this
snobbishness, perhaps even unknown to such individuals. India�s current
education system has no Indian content of any value and we are
deliberately taught nothing about India that we can feel proud about.
The secular framework ensures that we are told more about the atrocious
caste discrimination than about its scientific basis which is inevitable
in any human society which is at least ten thousand years old. There
seems to be hidden agenda behind this deliberate attempt to promote
self-pity among Indians in a free India. Most of the �best� schools in
India that has produced our current rulers are owned by Christian
institutions is a very significant point to be noted.
In the absence of any determined action by the state to promote true
wisdom, the only option open is for the enlightened non-governmental
institutions to intervene. Only a nation with its children full of
self-respect can ensure a better tomorrow. Instead of telling our
children that we were slaves for one thousand years, we should tell them
that we were leading the world (and never ruling others) for thousands
of years before that. India is so much full of untapped wealth that
finding resources for any such genuine attempts to promote true Hindu
wisdom among our children can easily succeed. Those who want to make an
attempt must remember that we Indians have gone through much tougher
times earlier. The dharmic concepts of India�s ancient wisdom are
indestructible. Like a human liver it can always blossom into a fulsome
from even one fragment. Even if all our souls get harvested, Sanatana
Dharma will come back with its full authenticity and authority. All that
we need is a genuine concern to evolve from being doubting Narens to
enlightened Vivekanandans.
So what is that simple wisdom that is sadly lacking in many Indians in
today�s world? It is the simple understanding that nothing is to be
assumed or taken for granted in the pursuit of knowledge for the eternal
truth. So many times it has been revealed to us that God can manifest in
the least expected of place and time. Our much desired self-realization
can take place due to the least significant incident in our life
triggered by the least sophisticated man or woman we know of. All that
we need to do is to shed our snobbish ego and repose faith in the
goodness of fellow humans. For each and every doubting Naren among us
there is a simple unsophisticated and perhaps uneducated but realized
soul (like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) who can guide us to the ultimate
truth. All that is needed is the willingness to seek the vehicle without
any pre-conceived notions and accept wisdom to reach our destination.
August 2, 2009
Image under license with Gettyimages.com
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