This
shows that the world production of only
eight edibles goes up to more than 121 crore
tones. This list does not include pulses,
oilseeds, green and dry fruits, vegetables,
meat, eggs, fish, milk and a lot of other
things used as eatables in different lands
and by different peoples. All these taken
together must exceed double the quantity of
the above edibles. According to a
conservative estimate the production of
foodstuffs is well over four time the
requirements of the total population of the
globe and if a planned programme of all the
arable land is drawn up the area of
cultivable land and its production will go
up still higher.
In
order to have a correct estimate of the
situation the expected revolutionary change
in the domain of food production must also
be kept in view. It is said that man is
about to take a big leap by which he will no
longer have to depend on plants and animals
for his food stuffs. He will get food from
sea water and air. He will have refined,
healthy, tasteful and nutritious food quite
easily and at a very low cost. Man will
totally forget the present food tastes and
standards. His food reserves will be
infinitely increased.
2.
Clothing: Cloth occupies the
second position in the necessaries of life.
Exact figures of cloth production in the
world are not available. Nevertheless an
estimate can be worked out very easily. In
1965 Indian Cotton Mills numbering 526 only
produced 7745 million meters of cloth. The
production by handlooms, power looms and
other sources of manufacture is not included
in the figure. The total production from all
sources may amount to well over 9000 million
meters per year. It is estimated that the
world production may well exceed the Indian
production at least by hundredfold. The
world production of cloth therefore may vary
between 900 to 1000 billion meters. Allowing
15 meters of cloth for every individual on
an average the total requirements of cloth
goes up to 55.5 billion meters per year.
This makes it quite clear that our
production far exceeds our actual
requirement. It has been rightly claimed
that the present production of cloth is so
abundant that after meeting the world
requirements in full the surplus stock may
go round the Equator more than once.
The
number and speed of cloth mills are
increasing by leaps and bounds. Cotton and
numerous other fibers are being used for
manufacturing clothes. Several nonfibrous
materials are being also used for the
purpose. Raiment’s made out of terylene;
nylon and rayon are now very common.
Experiments are being carried on to use
glass and aluminum for the manufacture of
clothes. It is also expected the world is
about to take a big leap in this direction
and the world production may exceed the
present one by manifold.
3.
Housing: It is long, very
since man has come out of caves and rocky
dwellings. Now-a-days he lives in big towns
and villages, housed in buildings both big
and small. Architecture has taken startling
strides. Modern buildings have attained high
degree of perfection in all respects, in
beauty and workmanship, in comfort and
luxuries, in height and space; in decency
and neatness. Sky high buildings rising well
over hundred stroyes are no wonders in
modern times. There are innumerable
buildings each accommodating a population of
a small town. It is said about the famous
Empire Buildings of New York that it houses
25 thousand people in it. To crown it all,
air conditioned buildings are increasing
fast. The process of air conditioning has
worked wonders to render relief and comfort
and to do away with the rigours of climate.
Again the pleasing decency, the cosy
softness and the ornamental finish of modern
furniture defy all description. It is said
that man has reached the threshold of
plastic age. In this age metal and other
building materials for the construction of
houses and furniture will cease to be use.
Everything will be made from plastic.
Plastic buildings are expected to be built
with greater speed and with much less cost.
4.
Medical Aid: Medical aid
occupies the fourth place in the necessaries
of life. The position of the present world
in this respect is quite different from that
of the bygone ages. Facilities for medical
aid are found in abundance in modern times.
There are thousands and thousands of
government, semi government and private
clinics spread all over the world.
Innumerable institutions for medical
education, laboratories for experiments
research centers for investigation and
enquiry and working round the clock to save
men from diseases and ailments.
Specialization in different branches of
medical science is moving apace. Development
in surgery had reached a new high. Even
heart, brain and lungs are operated upon
with amazing success. New ones are being
planted in place of old ones. Plastic
surgery however astounding it may appear, is
no longer an outstanding fear of medical
science. Hectic search for DNA and Enzyme is
on to have control over death. Very recently
man has succeeded in finding out the
particular enzyme which can dispense with
old age and make youth a permanent things
Apparatuses which can help treat various
diseases have been prepared. It is said that
in near future a number of diseases will be
completely wiped out of existence.
The
Robot age: Very recently man
has been blessed with a new gift. It is said
that our world is about to enter the robot
age. Robot is a mechanical device. It is a
man made of iron. Robot will do everything
that a man servant does these
days—marketing, cooking, washing, upkeep
of the house and carrying out the orders of
its master. It will even read out books to
you when you will so want it to do. Robot is
therefore expected to free man from the
tyrannies and burdens of labour and toil. It
is said that robot is now a reality. It has
come out of the experimental stage.
The
above survey is brief but revealing. The
position of the present world is crystal
clear. The present world is a world of
plenty having knowledge, power, and wealth
in amazing size and enormity. Man has done
much to relieve him self of the pain and
distress of life. His labours have been
fully rewarded. The generous Nature is
showering its bounty upon man almost every
moment. The whole story conjures up a
picture of the present world before our
eyes. There is one very important aspect of
the picture, which can explained well by a
hypothetical method. Suppose for a moment
that you are on Mars surrounded by the
Martian people. The Martian people will be
simply stunned to hear about the plastic and
robot ages. They are bound to come to the
conclusion that the Earth must be nothing
short of a paradise. The people there must
be the most fortunate souls and must be
living in perfect peace and happiness. They
must have no problems at all. Each and every
evil must have been wiped out. The life
there must be all mirth and joy free from
all miseries and sufferings, sorrows and
pain.
Now
let us come down to the Earth and face the
realities. The appalling poverty, the
gruesome miseries and sufferings and the
smarting want and hunger are most pronounced
in human life. Today man sits on huge piles
of food stuffs but he is a victim of acute
hunger. He stands on Himalayan stocks of
cloth, but he is naked. He is surrounded by
sky-high houses and is abundantly rich in
means of medical aid but is practically
quite deprived of them. The situation has
become elusive and defies explanation. It is
an amazing example of scarcity in the land
of plenty. The world has reached a point
where everything aggravates and nothing
relieves. This is the climax of the crisis
man is faced with.
But
why is it so? Has man gone mad? Does he lack
in knowledge, power or wealth? We have
already discussed it. He lacks none of
these. He is not mad. On the contrary he is
intelligent, scholarly, learned and wise.
But nothing is coming to his rescue.
Everything appears to be frowning at him.
The defect lies in our modern civilization
also known as Western civilization. This
civilization with all its apparent glamour
and outward attraction is solely responsible
for the diabolical change in man’s out
look reducing him to the position of brutes
and monsters. This remark reads
uncharitable. To ascertain the truth it is
necessary to examine some of the basic
foundations of our modern civilization.
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 societies.
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 creature.
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 politics.
·
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 secularism.
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 today.
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 disposition.
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
negatived.
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 etc.
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 unconscious.
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.
STRUGGLE
OF ASPIRATIONS
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
thing.
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 condition.
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.
The
Solutions Presented By Our Modern
Civilisation
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 hell.
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.
The
Communist View
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 exploitation.
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.
The
Capitalist View
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 society.
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 ends.
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 wretched.
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 consideration.
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
mischievous.
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 disorder.
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.
What
is 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 measure.
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
traveler.”
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 property.
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 hot.
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 death.
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
apostle.”
“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 law.
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 rested.
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 reject.
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 cost.
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 virtue.
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 division.
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.
