The farthest memory that I could recollect from my childhood of being told about India was that this country was once a “golden bird” (Sone Ki Chidiya). It was a wealthy nation once & poverty was nowhere. Plato’s utopian concept is commonly known here as “Satyug”, the golden age where no lived hand to mouth & truth prevailed everywhere. The contemporary India that stands in front us today presents an entirely opposite picture. In mythological terms we are right now living in Kalyug, the age of darkness where sins & insanities are at their extreme. As far as mythology is concerned this giant leap was inevitable & a part of the changing cycle. As far as logic is concerned we strangled ourselves in order to decay into a rotten & malodorous society.
Why this happened to one of the most ancient society in the world?
India always looked towards the religion for every solution. Religion in India maintained a very narrow verdict regarding the material world. Adi Shankara traveled all across the country, debating with priests of various sects, preaching his “Advaita” philosophy in which the material world is considered as an illusion & the inner world sole truth. His victory in debates all over India made him one of the most prestigious saint of all time, at least in India. He revived the Hinduism which was badly affected by Buddhism & Jainism. Hinduism once again became the prime factor in Indian mindset. Shankara’s philosophy “Jagat Mithya Brahma Satya” (World is an illusion, God is truth) became the common philosophy all across the nation. This led to a disaster. India turned itself away from the materialistic world. Every thing was to be renounced. “Sanyaas” reached at its pinnacle. If the world is an illusion then all the material things became useless. Karl Marx, in west, took the opposite turn. He claimed the spiritual affairs useless, terming the religion as the opium of mass. Matter, he considered the sole base of humanity. He was the western version of Charvaka, though penetrating deeper into the human mindset.
Life as such cannot be monotonous. Newton’s third law of motion “To every action there is an equal & opposite reaction” can also be put simply that if one end of a thing is true other end too is bound to be true. If the world according to Adi Shankara is an illusion then the God must also be an illusion. Like wise if according to Marx the God is false then the matter also must be false. If one pole of a magnet bears magnetism the other pole is bound to be magnetic yet in opposite nature. Both bear the same property equally & in opposite nature. But there lies a point exactly situated between both of them which is netural yet bears the property of both poles. If I put this into the words of Soren Kirkegaard’s Either/Or (though he may not agree) then Either God & world both are true in nature Or both are false. Adi Shankara or Marx cannot be accepted separately.
The monochrome life-style of India in which the material world is considered to be useless led India to poverty. Nearly 1/3 rd people of the society which comprises of 1/6 th of humanity are living hand to mouth. This was the fruits of the seeds that were sown centuries ago.
A few days back while sipping coffee in a coffee bar I heard a poor man shouting in the counter for his wages that was being denied by the manager. He was shouting at the top of his voice for mere Rs 40. Some college students sitting next to my table started making fun of him. The poor man didn’t left until he got his money. For majority of Indians few rupees have become the matter of life & death. The poor man, for me at least, is the result of all the stupid philosophies that India followed.
The society which was once a king now has become a pauper. Still the time is in our hand. The India which I dream of is rich not only from outside but also from inside. It is neither Carl Jung’s extrovert nor introvert personality traits but instead an ambivert.. India should be a perfect balance of matter & spirit. Adi shankar in its totality will bring nothing more than poverty & Marx in its totality will make us nothing more than a machine.
India has to decide.
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