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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Communism, <strong>Fundamentalism</strong> or any o<strong>the</strong>r system would hardly be a remedy of <strong>the</strong><br />
problem. A century of human efforts, we Find, leaves man equally helpless <strong>and</strong><br />
unequipped to face problems of social cohesion <strong>and</strong> ethics. Nei<strong>the</strong>r Communism, nor<br />
Capitalism has been able to do so. In any case, this problem remains as acute as ever<br />
before.<br />
Our difficulty has been twofold. Most of our scientific <strong>and</strong> intellectual drives<br />
have been to gain power over nature, which logically led man not to love his neighbour,<br />
but lo move for his control <strong>and</strong> annihilation. Hence <strong>the</strong> power instinct of man, instead of<br />
being checked <strong>by</strong> any internal discipline, has been fed to an exhibition of brutal strength.<br />
Secondly, in order to find <strong>the</strong> roots of moral values, we start for a search of <strong>the</strong>ir base in<br />
<strong>the</strong> animal life. That search gave us <strong>the</strong> dogma of "survival of <strong>the</strong> fittest." This answer<br />
instead of giving us any moral health, or enlightenment, only gave us a maxim of<br />
tautology without any <strong>the</strong>ory of ethics, <strong>and</strong>, we came to <strong>the</strong> conclusion that "all morality<br />
is a defence mechanism" <strong>and</strong> "a reaction formation" against <strong>the</strong> environment of man. In<br />
short, our search for <strong>the</strong> roots of morality in <strong>the</strong> animal life has virtually been a failure,<br />
<strong>the</strong> difficulty being that while <strong>the</strong> moral problem is a social one, we could only<br />
experiment <strong>and</strong> probe in <strong>the</strong> field of life that is lower than human. Obviously, <strong>the</strong> results<br />
have been far from illuminating. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r h<strong>and</strong>, <strong>the</strong> pursuit of power over nature has,<br />
in <strong>the</strong> absence of moral brakes, inevitably led to threatening results, First, to <strong>the</strong><br />
concentration of unbridled nuclear <strong>and</strong> fire power in some states, <strong>and</strong> a serious risk to <strong>the</strong><br />
environment of <strong>the</strong> planet; <strong>and</strong>, second, to Consumerism <strong>and</strong> Individualism that militate<br />
against all social harmony <strong>and</strong> amity between classes, societies or nations. For,<br />
Schweitzer in his survey of <strong>the</strong> entire fields of Greek <strong>and</strong> Western thought comes to <strong>the</strong><br />
dismal conclusion that <strong>the</strong>re is no trace of <strong>the</strong> ethical in <strong>the</strong> working of <strong>the</strong> world or any<br />
sound basis for ethics in <strong>the</strong> world of thought, or any purposive evolution in which our<br />
activities can acquire a meaning.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> above context, <strong>the</strong> religious men of yore were faced with two questions<br />
<strong>and</strong> answered <strong>the</strong>m. The authors of dichotmous religions have proclaimed that <strong>the</strong> world<br />
<strong>and</strong> life are a suffering, maya or mithya or illusory. Accordingly <strong>the</strong>y recommended<br />
withdrawal from its tangled webs. But <strong>the</strong> whole-life religions have a positive approach.<br />
They suggest not only participation but also total responsbility in all realms of life.<br />
Participation raised ano<strong>the</strong>r problem as to <strong>the</strong> means or <strong>the</strong> use of force. Judaism, Islam<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong>ism accept its use, as a last resort, in defence of justice <strong>and</strong> freedom, <strong>and</strong> for a<br />
righteous cause. Christanity, although a societal religion, because of <strong>the</strong> Sermon on <strong>the</strong><br />
Mount, gives a pacificist answer. While it is unnecessary to give <strong>the</strong> long history of<br />
pacificism <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r worldiness in Christian Society, we may indicate some l<strong>and</strong>marks.<br />
St. Augustine, had come to believe that "<strong>the</strong> spread of Christianity would not ensure<br />
political <strong>and</strong> economic improvement. The earthy city of self-will would continue to exist<br />
amidst <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>and</strong> fall of states <strong>and</strong> empires." The goal being a heavenly life, slowly<br />
monasticism, celibacy <strong>and</strong> nunneries, gained roots in Christianity, which is o<strong>the</strong>rwise a<br />
societal religion. Following <strong>the</strong> Reformation, <strong>the</strong> Church accepted <strong>the</strong> virtual supremacy<br />
of <strong>the</strong> national state. After <strong>the</strong> rise of Science, Secularism gained almost complete control<br />
over <strong>the</strong> empirical life of man. The twentieth century brought its wars, catastrophies,<br />
miseries <strong>and</strong> disillusionments.<br />
The reaction of <strong>the</strong> North American Churches, as stated above, was evidently to<br />
avoid <strong>the</strong> dismal hold of Secularism on modern culture. For similar reasons, two o<strong>the</strong>r