History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.374
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.374
- Language
- English
v7.c94.374.1
The followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (all believing in one God and one Book) did not hesitate for centuries to inculcate their doctrines and practices by terrible persecutions and bloody wars. This spirit is very shocking to people brought up in Hinduism or Buddhism. If Rationalists substitute blocks of humanity or the leaders of such blocks for worship and authority, humanity itself would soon be wiped out. Conceding for argument that the existence of an omnipotent and omniscient Power cannot be proved to the satisfaction of the so-called rationalists, the present writer feels that it is for the good of most societies consisting of millions of common men and women that they believe in God and the individual soul. Most men are influenced to keep to the path of virtue and right by the fear of God, by the prickings of conscience (which is the inner light implanted in man by God), by the fear of public opinion, and by fear of punishment at the hands of the rulers of the State (vide Śāntiparva quoted in H. of Dh. vol. III. p. 389 note 619). Those who reject the first of these would have to reject the 2nd also and would have to fall back upon hedonism (the greatest pleasure for themselves) or the idea of greatest good of the greatest number or progress towards some ideal state of society painted by imagination. The pursuit of purely secular or worldly happiness is incompatible with the precepts and ideals of Hinduism and all higher religions.
v7.c94.374.2
Rationalism accepts the postulates which science finds convenient and useful. Though these postulates work well up to certain limits, it must be said that those limits are very narrow. Science aims at establishing general rules or laws. From those laws we know only the behaviour of nature and how man can utilize natural forces for realizing human aims, but science does not tell us what those aims should be, it is amoral and not concerned with morals or spirituality. Rationalism appears to smother many experiences of the human mind which are beyond the present machinery of science. When the scientific method is adopted in social studies, there is little to show that it leads to increased wisdom about the values that should be pursued. Rationalism insists that all our beliefs ought ultimately to be based on tangible and definite grounds and that modern scientific method is the only reliable method for acquiring knowledge of all kinds. But there are sub-conscious and non-rational impulses, beliefs and intuitions in men that are held by men to be truer or of a higher order than what is on the rationalistic level (vide W. James' 'Varieties of religious experience' p. 74, ed. of 1920).
v7.c94.374.3
It should be the endeavour of leaders of thought in each generation to find out what is essential and vital in tradition (without believing in the infallibility of all traditions) and to present reasoned dogmas which, while retaining the essential elements of tradition, will meet the demands of modern thought and conditions and environment. It is not necessary to say here more about modern rationalism For over two thousand years our ancient writers and smṛtis like those of Manu (XII. 105-106 which are relied upon by Kumārila himself as shown on p. 1261 above) have allowed to *tarka* a place in the matter of finding out what Dharma is and have been most tolerant of differing views even on fundamental matters as shown above and brought about great changes even in religious rituals, philosophical views, social customs and practices without perpetrating atrocities and indulging in wholesale persecutions. A man may be a monotheist, or a polytheist or an image-worshipper, an agnostci, or atheist or an idealist philosopher holding 'nirguna brahma' as the only reality, yet he may nevertheless be held to be a full Hindu, if he conforms to the general attitude towards Veda and social usages. A more radical tolerance than what our people showed throughout the ages is almost unthinkable. Western writers while admitting great tolerance in religious views and practices harp often on the requirements about observing caste rules in matters of food, marriage etc.
v7.c94.374.4
But caste is more a social institution than a religious one and therefore just as in Western countries there were rules of etiquette and observance (such as the number 13 and the regulations against working on Sabbath and against theatre going, card playing and physical exercise except walking) that had to be observed meticulously, in India caste rules had to be observed. Besides, even when caste rules were broken the offender had in a meeting of the caste people to admit his mistake, to pay a fine to the caste or village temple and then was restored to all privileges of the caste. As the Christian churches were extremely intolerant of the slightest departure from religious views held at particular times, there arose in Europe the emphasis on rationalism and freedom to hold opinions. Government could effectively mould the opinions of its subjects by controlling education, by censorship of books and by inflicting severe penalties on those who expressed opinions opposed to those espoused by them. The Roman Church prepared an Index of forbidden books and an Index expurgatorius (a list of passages to be expunged from books that were otherwise permitted). The first Index Librorum Prohibitorius in its latest edition (before 1949) contains 5000 titles. Lecky in his 'History of the rise and influence of rationalism in Europe' ²⁴²³ points out to the extirpation of Christianity from Japan, of Protestantism from Spain, of the Huguenots from France, of most Catholics from England.
v7.c94.374.5
The Jesuits acted on the ²⁴²⁴ principle that the end justifies the means.