Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan
Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan
Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan
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state, morals, education, etc., should be independent of religion. In short, Secularism not<br />
only envisages complete control of <strong>the</strong> empirical life of man, but also seeks to evolve an<br />
ethics that is independent of religion, but makes for cohesion in society. But, in <strong>the</strong> last<br />
about three hundred years, since Secularism has its survey in <strong>the</strong> empirical life, it has<br />
been unable to create an ethics, even for <strong>the</strong> individual state, much less a universal ethics<br />
that should embrace humanity as a whole.<br />
After <strong>the</strong> Reformation <strong>the</strong> national slate came into being with <strong>the</strong> Christian<br />
Church becoming a wing of <strong>the</strong> State, Catholicism went on <strong>the</strong> decline, <strong>and</strong> lost its overall<br />
supremacy in <strong>the</strong> Western world. Science <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Industrial Revolution, gave major<br />
blows to religion, <strong>and</strong> many a thinking person felt it was really superfluous for <strong>the</strong><br />
empirical life of man. Until <strong>the</strong> first quarter of <strong>the</strong> century, Science generated consider<br />
able optimism for <strong>the</strong> future of man, <strong>and</strong> his capacity to create his own destiny. The two<br />
World Wars, <strong>and</strong> especially <strong>the</strong> events following <strong>the</strong> Second World War, have, apart<br />
from shattering many hopes, created serious doubts as to human capacity to live with his<br />
neighbours.<br />
Toynbee laments that for <strong>the</strong> last about three hundred years we have been in <strong>the</strong><br />
grip of <strong>the</strong> idea of a national state, involving a rapid narrowing of our vision, affinities<br />
<strong>and</strong> affiliations. He observed; "The secularisation of <strong>the</strong> Western civilisation in <strong>the</strong><br />
Seventeenth century, so far from producing a stable way of life, raised <strong>the</strong> question : what<br />
is going <strong>the</strong> Fill <strong>the</strong> temporary spiritual vacuum that this deconsecration of Western life<br />
has created in Western souls ? Alternative attempt" to fill this vacuum have constituted<br />
<strong>the</strong> unstable spiritual history of <strong>the</strong> Western world during <strong>the</strong> last 250 years." "The<br />
transfer of allegiance from <strong>the</strong> Western Christian church to parochial Western Secular<br />
state, was given a positive form borrowed from <strong>the</strong> Graeco-Roman civilisation <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Rennaissance." "On this political plane <strong>the</strong> Rennaissance revived <strong>the</strong> Graeco-Roman<br />
worship of parochial states as goddesses. This unavowed worship of parochial state was<br />
<strong>by</strong> far <strong>the</strong> most prevalent religion in <strong>the</strong> Western World in AD 1956,"'U Toynbee views<br />
that Secularisation having replaced great world religions, has led to 'nationalism,<br />
communism <strong>and</strong> individualism,' systems that are "all three equally impersonal <strong>and</strong><br />
dehumanising.'""<br />
In <strong>the</strong> empirical field <strong>the</strong> facts of life are too ugly <strong>and</strong> obvious to ignore.<br />
Secularisation in this century created two monsters. Hitler <strong>and</strong> Stalin, who could<br />
sadistically <strong>and</strong> cynically destroy, 6 millions <strong>and</strong> 12 millions respectively, of <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />
peaceful citizens. And, <strong>the</strong> unfortunate tragedy is that <strong>the</strong> tribe of mini Stalins is far from<br />
being extinct. The drum-beating for <strong>the</strong>m is too loud to permit <strong>the</strong> faint voices of sanity<br />
to be heard. Hiroshima <strong>and</strong> Nagasaki are stark realities of modern life. Since 1914, apart<br />
from <strong>the</strong> two world wars, we have fought over four dozen hot wars, involving, in this<br />
century, <strong>the</strong> destruction of more human beings than did <strong>the</strong> rulers of various civilisation<br />
in all <strong>the</strong> earlier wars of man. Despite all talk of disarmament we are spending about a<br />
1000 billion Dollars on armament each year. No wonder, Toynbee strikes a dismal note<br />
about secularisation <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> doubtful role of our scientific genius.<br />
"After having been undeservedly idolised for a quarter of millenium, as <strong>the</strong> good<br />
genius of mankind, he has now suddenly found himself undeservedly execrated as an evil<br />
genius who has released from his bottle a jinn that may perhaps destroy human life from<br />
earth. This arbitrary change in <strong>the</strong> technician's onward fortunes is a severe ordeal, but his<br />
loss of popularity has not hit him so hard, as his loss of confidence in himself. Till 1945