Even in recent times, injustices continue to be committed against rationalists. If we think about why terrorism is thriving worldwide today, the answer we arrive at is, isn't it, religious fanaticism? Religious extremists are running amok in their attempt to establish religious empires. They are spewing hatred toward other religions — and no religion is exempt from spewing such hatred. We can see, right before our eyes, people who survive by exploiting religion, caste, and regional identity for politics. It only remains for us to recognize them. Much more could be said on this subject. But the immediate duty before us is this: to recognize and honor those noble individuals who lived without religion, to take them as role models, and to move forward, each within our own sphere. As for those who speak of divinity — they should, please, step outside without enjoying the fruits of human achievement, and prove for themselves what they truly are.
In the ninth century, the Jain philosopher Jinasena wrote the Mahapurana. In it, he wrote something like this: "Some foolish people claim that God created this world. But if God is indeed the cause of this creation, then where was He before creation took place? Suppose one argues that He needs no basis and could have existed even in a state of suspension — but since creation has already occurred, where is He now?" This very same argument also appears in Carl Sagan's book Cosmos.
According to Hindu philosophy, there are two schools of thought: theistic (Astika) and atheistic (Nastika). The first — theism, which believes in everything from the Vedas and God down to even lizard-omen astrology — spread explosively across the world, flourishing into branches such as Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. The second kind — atheism — did not believe in liberation (moksha), heaven, or souls. Those belonging to this tradition also branched out extensively, flourishing over different periods as the Jain, Buddhist, Charvaka, and Ajivika schools. They introduced ideas that directly opposed theistic beliefs. While each school had its own distinct philosophy, the Charvakas stood out prominently among them. Moreover, they emerged even before the time of Christ. They rejected God and the soul, and insisted on the need for direct, verifiable evidence.
They held that everything in existence was formed from just four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Setting aside the notion of divinity, they were able to articulate, even then, a genuinely scientific insight! Contrary to what religious preachers claim, those who reject God did not suddenly appear in modern times. Atheism was born alongside theism itself. It is not moral recklessness. It is not an anti-social force. It is not a sin. All of that is simply a falsehood propagated by theists! Atheism is a school of thought — a way of reasoning, a way of life. Truth becomes clear to those who patiently and carefully analyze fact from fiction. Blinders are put on a horse-drawn cart's horse so it cannot look sideways. Those who have faith in God wear similar blinders, insisting on viewing the universe only from their own narrow perspective — but that will not do. Such people cannot arrive at a complete understanding. They must remove their blinders and come forward!
The "Brihaspati Sutra" and other Charvaka texts composed by the original founders of the Charvaka tradition were lost to the depths of time. About two hundred years later, in the eighth century, Jayarashi Bhatta published a text called Tattvopaplavasimha. In the fourteenth century, Madhavacharya wrote Sarvadarshana Sangraha, a summary of Indian philosophical schools, in which he wrote about the Charvakas — prominently, in fact, in the very first chapter. These two texts, from the 8th and 14th centuries, were the work of what may be called a "second generation" of Charvakas. Certain elements from them continued to be passed down to later generations, and they taught people how to question.
They demanded direct evidence and proof. A similar effort took place in Tamil Nadu as early as the nineteenth century. Between 1882 and 1888, the Madras Secular Society published a journal called The Thinker (Tattva Vivechini). Articles in it were published without authors' names. Selected articles from the London Secular Society's journal were also reprinted in it. In those days, the Madras Secular Society functioned as an affiliate of the London Secular Society.
In the twentieth century, Satyendra Nath Bose (1894–1974) was not merely a mathematical physicist — he was also an atheist! He brought quantum mechanics to light, and his work later became the foundation for Bose-Einstein statistics. Meghnad Saha (1893–1956), renowned as an astrophysicist, was not just someone who explained the chemical and physical states within stars — he too was an atheist! Likewise, another astrophysicist, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995), who worked on stellar evolution and won the Nobel Prize in 1983, was also an atheist — a non-believer!! India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), who wrote his autobiography Toward Freedom (1936), did not believe in any god.
He strongly condemned superstitions and expressed outrage over the harms caused by religion. Our own Gora — Goparaju Ramachandra Rao (1902–1975) — was a social activist who fiercely criticized caste and religion! Along with him, his wife Saraswati Gora (1912–2007) also actively participated in the rationalist movement. In 1940, they established the Atheist Centre and worked tirelessly for social change. Gora's writings became a source of inspiration for Telugu society. In 1972, he organized the first World Atheist Conference, conducting it with great success. As a result, the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations was established in 1997. The 21st-century Indian economist and Nobel laureate, Professor Amartya Sen, is also an atheist, who has argued that atheism within Hinduism should be recognized as a distinct tradition under the name "Lokayata." In 2008, the "Nirmukta" website (www.nirmukta.org) was launched, working toward free thought and secular humanism. In 2009, Meera Nanda published a book titled The God Market.
That book examined how globalization has been influencing India's middle class. The reason for recalling all these individuals is that they dedicated their lives to the welfare of society without any fear of, or belief in, God! They worked tirelessly for world peace and for human values!! Now, it is up to us — and to the generations that follow — to act with good sense. Shall we believe in an unseen God? Or shall we place our faith in the visible intelligence and self-confidence of human beings? Shall we trust the grand fraudsters who deceive innocent people in the name of God and divinity? Or shall we hold them accountable and silence them? Each person must make that decision for themselves. Writer Gopichand's father, the eminent writer Tripuraneni Ramaswamy Chowdary, as well as actors like Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Kamal Haasan — along with millions of others — made that very choice.
They did not believe in God or divine incarnations. And yet, did they not reach the highest peaks in their respective fields? In 2009, the Catholic Bishops' Council issued a directive urging people not to vote for political parties that promote rationalism. A similar directive was issued again in 2010. On March 10, 2012, Sanal Edamaruku exposed a fraud in Vile Parle — he proved that the "weeping" statue of Christ was a hoax, caused simply by water leaking from a drainage problem, and he stated this publicly in television debates. Unable to accept the facts, certain people had a police case filed against him and subjected him to considerable harassment.
What else can people who cannot let go of religious fanaticism do? No case against him ultimately held up. Even in recent times, injustices continue to be committed against rationalists. If we think about why terrorism is thriving worldwide today, the answer we arrive at is, isn't it, religious fanaticism? Religious extremists are running amok in their attempt to establish religious empires. They are spewing hatred toward other religions — and no religion is exempt from spewing such hatred. We can see, right before our eyes, people who survive by exploiting religion, caste, and regional identity for politics. It only remains for us to recognize them. Much more could be said on this subject. But the immediate duty before us is this: to recognize and honor those noble individuals who lived without religion, to take them as role models, and to move forward, each within our own sphere. As for those who speak of divinity — they should, please, step outside without enjoying the fruits of human achievement, and prove for themselves what they truly are.
— Dr. Devaraju Maharaju
Recipient of the Central Sahitya Akademi Award!
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