ONE INDIA :

SECULARISM  AND   HINDUTVA

THESIS, ANTITHESIS AND SYNTHESIS

(AVATARIKA)

INTRODUCTION

A lot of leadership energy in India is lost in the acrimony that surrounds the branding of the players in the political arena as 'secularists' or 'Hindutva' proponents. Strictly speaking, ideological positions such as these should and do act as checks and balances in a democratic polity. However, quite often they also impede progress and distort a sense of purpose and direction. Like the antlers of some animals interlocking and not letting the animals do anything else, ideological opponents sometimes are not free to devote their full energy to solve the innumerable problems facing the country that are crying out for urgent and consensual action. When the 'secularists' win elections they try to ride rough shod over the 'Hindutva' based parties. When the latter win elections the compliment is returned. The country as a whole suffers either way. If we rewind the videos of our Parliamentary proceedings of the past two decades this conclusion is inescapable. Enervated by this kind a of political dynamic, leaders are not able to give their one hundred percent effort to economic progress, eradication of crime and poverty, vital reforms in the institutions of governance, vigorous legislative action and securing the country against grave threats form several sources.

Against this backdrop, is there something we can do to unleash the full leadership potential of our country? Is there a better way of collective political functioning that would do us proud? Is it possible to fine tune our mindset that would lead us to function at our optimum efficiency?

The answer is definitely yes for two reasons. Firstly, Indian or Hindu civilization has been around for longer than most others. The Vedas representing some of the most ancient aspects of this civilization are the oldest body of knowledge recorded by man according to many scholars. They speak eloquently of consensus, of working with one mind, of the vital importance of structured congregations (Sabhas) and exchanging ideas in an atmosphere of mutual respect and regard. I am not quoting from the Vedas in support of all this for the sake of brevity. Indian civilization belongs to the whole of mankind. I am of the humble opinion that we will succeed in fine tuning our mindset towards greater collective efficiency because subconsciously we are programmed for it by the force of our civilization.

The second reason why it is possible to undo inimical political intercourse and move on to a more synergistic and holistic paradigm of collective living is based on observed facts and events as they are unfolding right now. From among many other events let us take the recent example of the process that elected our present President. At first I was pretty uncomfortable at the thought that the whole world is watching all the fractious goings on. Leaders dashing here and there, talking to the media at every twist and turn, backtracking like nobody's business, sometimes stabbing one another in the back, clearly wilting under veiled threats that are after all not so veiled, sometimes even using venerable icons of India's pride as a cat's paw or as a pawn, jockeying for positions and so on and so forth. On a little reflection I felt, what's the big deal? Let the world watch. If transparency is needed for a healthy democracy, then here it is. You can't have the cake and eat it too. You can't have transparency and also appear spik and span, neat and tidy in all aspects. Why should we apply cosmetics when the truth as it is needs to be seen? After all nothing indecorous or unbecoming is happening, though certain idiosyncrasies of expressing oneself may not look attractive or charming for some. From this transparency arises my hope that inimical and detrimental political interactions are slowly yielding to the dynamic of democratic consensus, howsoever wobbly and faltering it may appear now. This new dynamic is now clearly seen in TV debates during prime time. A senior bureaucrat turned politician who used to be invariably abrasive if not apoplectic or abusive sought to remind his co-panelists of the 'TV debate protocol' in a recent TV debate, when he said they should wait for their turn to speak as the anchor turns to them. He himself waited for his turn for a pretty long time and when he got his turn to speak he did so with clarity and without acrimony or acerbity.

In order to strengthen this whole process of exchange of ideas or debating an issue to arrive at a consensus, at a plan of action or, at a policy framework, perhaps a conceptual framework for building a healthy grid of energy between seemingly polar opposites of secularism and Hindutva here in India may be attempted. This exercise is worthwhile because, with minor variations, this kind of polarity damages the effectiveness of democracies the world over leaving them leaden-footed in responding to emerging realities in global realpolitik. In such a scenario, at best international diplomacy is tasked with handling such situations and at worst cloak and dagger operations are carried out. Both are obviously costly and opaque by their very nature. Both may play  less prominent and more transparent roles if the kind of conceptual framework referred to above can be arrived at.

The earth's magnetic poles are not at war. They envelop us in a magnetic shield but for which the earth with all its life and beauty would be inconceivable. In an analogous manner, if we in India can generate a political grid of energy between 'Hindutva' and 'secularism', maybe we will progress and evolve faster. This blog, though amateurish, is such an attempt. It may not be very convincing in some aspects. It may not cover the whole gamut of its subject matter. There may be errors. But if it generates some fruitful thought or discussion notwithstanding its defects, it would have served its purpose.

Incidentally, the structure of discourse loosely used here is based on the paradigm of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. It is called as 'poorvapaksham', and 'siddhantam' in ancient Indian literature. The 'poorvapaksham' contains or anticipates the antithesis while the 'sidddhantham' rebuts the antithesis and arrives at the thesis with 'pramana vakyas', the Vedas being the last word in 'pramanas'. Since latter day discourses and debates have partial truths on either side, the synthesis is left to the reader who has to distil the best holistic truth from both sides. This kind of exercise gives us a rigorous discipline of abstract analytical thought.

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of such opinions”.

                                                                                       ALBERT EINSTEIN

HINDUTVA AND SECULARISM

THESIS AND ANTITHESIS

THESIS

(1) India is a secular democratic republic according to our Constitution. Therefore any talk of Hindutva or attempts to unite the Hindu people of India on the basis of Hindutva is unconstitutional.

ANTITHESIS

Only Hindutva as State policy making India a Hindu theocratic State is unconstitutional. Hindutva as a body of knowledge about Hindus in all aspects of what makes them Hindus is not unconstitutional. Hindutva is an attempt to unite a people divided by several castes simply as Hindus, an attempt at helping them bond together on the broadest and most universal aspects of Hinduism. It is an enlightened attempt at eradicating the evils of selfishness in the caste system and other inequities that have plagued Hinduism. This would conduce to greater harmony.

THESIS

(2) Any talk of Hindutva divides Indians as a whole on religious and sectarian lines. These divisions inflame passions and result in sectarian violence. Hindutva should be completely obliterated so that we have peace and harmony among all Indians.

ANTITHESIS

Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence has many historical roots, the most recent and the most violent of which was the partition of India at Independence, a partition that was more engineered than spontaneous. Would you believe that one English Prime Minster actually wrote to a prominent Muslim leader in the Congress Party to insist on a separate land for Muslims just to incite the division of India? You can actually see this letter in the British Archives of that period that have since been declassified. All over the world colonialism has left behind continuing strife, though counterbalanced by a legacy of modern education and industrialization. There is no point in emoting about it now. The present Prime Minister of the UK had recently said Britain is ready to express its regret for its acts as a colonial power. This shows him and his country in a better light because his country is able to say sorry and learn from the past. I wonder how many would do that in our own country.

Hindutva per se is not the cause of sectarian violence. It is indeed true that some proponents of Hindutva had tried to hark back to the golden past of Hinduism with a certain zealotry, thereby creating a feeling that Muslim invasions and British colonialism have robbed them of their glory and power. This has spawned antagonism between some sections of Hindus and Muslims. But today's poor Muslim is no invader! Nor is today's Hindu a victim of any invasion or colonialism! All Indians are one people today!!There is no room at all for hostility TODAY !! If India had a golden past, a golden future too beckons it. In fact, as the idea or the discussion of Hindutva grows and matures, the true catholicity of Hinduism will bring about enduring peace and harmony among all. Timeless words like “Vasudaiva kutumbhakam”, (the entire world is truly just one family) “eko devah sarvabhoota antaratma” (there is but one Lord and He is the indwelling Spirit of all beings) and so on will help us bond together across all divides. This is the true potential of Hindutva.

THESIS    

(3) Hindutva takes us back to the dark ages. There is no place for it in today's age of reason, of science and technology and human progress.

ANTITHESIS

“We must conquer nature, both outside and inside” said Vivekananda. East and West are integral parts of one whole mankind. The West has progressed in mastering Nature outside in recent centuries. They have made great scientific progress. The East has mastered spirituality, in conquering Nature inside. The true power of Yoga and meditation are slowly coming to light. Hindutva addresses the issue of the Hindu aping the West blindly and losing the civilizational gains he had made in conquering Nature inside. This aping is happening apace. Hindutva calls upon the Hindu to keep alive his quest for spiritual truths by reminding him of his rich legacy even as he benefits from the progress achieved by Science, a progress to which Hindu or Indian civilization has contributed enormously in earlier centuries. This is not going back to the dark ages. In fact, as we slip from morality due to lack of understanding and mastery of our inner forces, no amount of scientific progress can ensure our happiness or survival. On the contrary, without much more of Science, morality alone is capable of making us happier today than we are collectively. Without morality we may go back to the dark ages of the past in future through the time warp of blind science. Hindutva warns us against this danger.

THESIS 

(4) Hindutva is only a tool in the hands of cynical politicians who use it to gather votes. This weakens democracy because the voter is swayed by the appeal to his emotions through the Hindutva plank, when he should be weighing the merits of competing candidates in terms of their performance and potential. As a result, undeserving candidates get elected.

ANTITHESIS

Politicians do indeed use any tool to get elected. They use caste, businessmen, actors and actresses, plenty of unaccounted or slush money, criminals with history-sheets, state machinery, bribing voters with alcohol or wining and dining and lobbying and so on and so forth. This trend is slowly changing for the better. There was only one occasion when some aspect of Hindutva stirred the voters to vote for its proponents. That was the occasion when the Ram Janma Bhoomi was used to win an election and chants of 'Jai Sri Ram' were heard in the Parliament. This period was immediately preceded by the TV serial Ramayana which brought alive India's great epic, the Ramayana, to its people. It had the highest TRP ever anywhere in India. The story of Rama and Seeta is a moving story and evokes deep feelings in Hindus and others too even today. Barring this one election, the Hindus have not been swayed by Hindutva to any great extent in voting during elections. In fact, Hindus have often voted to power people based on caste and other considerations as stated above. Even this is changing. Voters now seem to look for leaders who can deliver on real all round development and healthy growth. Moreover, election of undeserving candidates will continue even without Hindutva till electoral reforms are put in place and voter awareness improves.

THESIS

(5) Hindutva leaders will not be seen as doing full justice to protecting the interests of those other than Hindus. This will breed discontent and disharmony in the country.

ANTITHESIS

This is not borne out by facts. Instances of injustice to non-Hindus under the rule of non-Hindutva leaders since Independence outnumber those under Hidutva leaders. As Hindutva matures and finds its true moorings in timeless affirmations like 'stayam eva jayate naanrutam' (truth alone triumphs, not untruth) 'ahimsa paramo matah' (non-violence is the highest religion) and so on, Hindutva leaders are likely to ascend to higher levels of probity and selfless service. People would expect them to practice what they preach. One of the most common prayers of the Hindu is 'sarve jano sukhino bhavantu' (may all that is born be happy). This level of love and empathy is the ultimate goal, the real indestructible root of Hindutva. This has indeed kept Hindutva alive from times immemorial, in the face of many depredations.

THESIS

(6) India is heavily dependent on Islamic countries for import of oil. If Hindutva leaders come to power these countries will become hostile to India.

ANTITHESIS

This is untrue. Even if there are misgivings due to lack of personal interactions between leaders of other countries and proponents of Hindutva. these will be dispelled when it will be seen that dealing with Hindutva leaders will be transparent, fair and for the benefit of all concerned. As a matter of fact, any Indian leader transacting business with other countries will be increasingly imbued with these qualities.

THESIS

(7) Similarly, a majority of developed economies of the West are Christian countries. They will not take kindly to Hindutva leaders if we elect them. The peoples of these countries are agnostic or atheistic or Christian. India will suffer if Hindutva is allowed to become strong in India.

ANTITHESIS

These countries are mostly liberal and pluralistic to a fault, though of late a minority among their peoples are illiberal and intolerant of outsiders. They do business with all types of regimes so long as there is no genocide and such grave threats of humanitarian failures. Many riots have shaken India in the past but trade with the Western economies has not been affected. On the contrary, because India has strong democratic values and institutions, because India can promote peace and harmony in its neighbourhood, Western economies continue to trade with India increasingly and empower it to play its role in its area. As explained above repeatedly, Hindutva leaders are likely to be guided by the most universal values of Hindutva. In such a scenario the West or any country would have no problem in doing business with India. Genuine Hindutva can establish lasting rapport with Western nations and across the globe when once they realize that Hindutva is a force for harmony and peace.

THESIS

(8) What is the need for Hindutva? It is a complete waste of time to discuss it. Far more pressing problems need our attention.

ANTITHESIS

A little thought will show that ethics is strengthened by morality, morality is strengthened by faith, prayer and hope, intermittent moral failures notwithstanding. Hindutva beckons us to rediscover our faith and rekindle our hope. It is for lack of ethics that politics and businesses have brought upon us the current global economic crises. Barack Obama, during his campaign last time said, 'we must rebuild morality'. He was only echoing the perception of many ordinary people. How can we fight increasing crime and degradation of human life without rebuilding morality worldwide? Police and courts and hospitals will have to come to every street corner in the absence of morality and ethics. “Everyman, I will go behind thee and watch thy every step and catch thee in thy most criminal act” will become the motto of governance, to paraphrase “everyman I will go with thee and be thy guide in thy most hour of need.”

This is already happening in the advanced Western countries. That is the reason why their public expenditure is so high. Any amount of taxes and borrowing is not enough to meet those expenses. Welfare economics without morality is a sure recipe for collective disaster whether in Western economies or elsewhere. This kernel truth will be recorded by future historians when they study the present global economic crises and other social ills like alcoholism, breaking down of the institution of family, addictions to nicotine and narcotics, heinous sexual crimes, human trafficking and so on.

'WE MUST REBUILD MORALITY'.

Hindutva is India's contribution in this area.

THESIS

(9) Hindutva is essentially based on religion. All matters of religion are purely personal. There is no room for them in public life, much less in politics.

ANTITHESIS

Sociologists say 'man is a social animal'. Anthropologists find that across all human clusters man is a 'religious' animal too. From the totem pole to the majestic church steeples to the minarets of mosques and towering temples people gather in solemn and sacred places to pray together, to seek salvation or enlightenment. The social and religious animal that man is at the same time, how can religion be cribbed and caged to the private domain? Almost all countries constitutionally mandate the freedom to practice and preach one's religion, the freedom to congregate in places of worship. It is so with Hindutva too. If Hindutva should not be in the public domain, no religion, no whiff of faith, no personal mark or emblem of faith should be seen in public, including politics. This is just impossible, unconstitutional and unscientific too from the point of view of sociology and anthropology. Secularists will do well to ponder deeply if symbols of religion per se divide people or cynical and selfish people and people with deep seated psychological problems exploit religion and religious symbols to satisfy their selfish needs or to cover up their psychological problems, albeit of traumatic origins beyond their control. In normal day to day life I had never come across religious strife or quarrels among common folk. Unless strongly instigated or paid for, the large masses of people are busy earning their daily bread or pursuing their chosen avocation keeping their religious practices to their homes, to their places of religious congregations, to their accepted social and cultural traditions and festive occasions. 

THESIS

(10) Hindutva is propounded by a small group of people called RSS. They are responsible for the assassination of the Mahatma. They preach hatred of other religions, particularly Islam. This is proved by the fact that in Gujarat whose Chief Minister is from that organization there was mass killing of Muslims after the Godhra train massacre. If Hindutva becomes stronger, these riots and mass killings will increase in intensity and frequency.

Taking all the above into consideration there is no way Hindutva and Secularism can act in synergy for the good of the country and its progress. Hindutva has no place in India.

ANTITHESIS

First of all Hindutva straddles many millennia. RSS came into being hardly ninety years ago. RSS stands for Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh meaning those dedicated to serving the nation by themselves, without depending on others. Secondly, RSS had nothing to do with the assassination of the Mahatma. This has been proved. One has only to go through the relevant court proceedings and other related literature patiently. To repeat this accusation even now is nothing but uninformed prejudice. I vaguely remember that one A G Noorani once attributed the Mahatma's assassination to the RSS and, he had to retract it when challenged, in or out of court, I can't recollect. The statement that the RSS assassinated the Mahatma could be actually libellous and defamatory now. Just like the Mahatma, the RSS does not believe in the caste system that adheres to untouchability. It has a cadre of dedicated workers who serve the country as much as they can. True to their name, the RSS have earned a reputation for immediate voluntary service by its cadres in times of natural catastrophes and calamities, even before the authorities respond. The Divi island cyclonic disaster in Andhra Pradesh, India, in the seventies is an example. Soldiers were rushed there. When they arrived they found RSS workers already working in the midst of rotten carcasses and unbearable stench without any masks and equipment. The then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi had complimented the RSS about their work. The Godhra train massacre and the riots that followed are a blot on the image of India and a drag in the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Hindus. So are the many other riots in many parts of the country since Independence. The causes of these riots have been dealt with earlier above in some detail. When talking about the condition of Muslims in India the Nawab of Arcot used to say that the Muslims in India fare far better than those in some Muslim countries that are torn by internecine strife and almost daily killings of Muslims by Muslims.

As Hindutva becomes stronger and the universal values as explained earlier above gain ground, peace and harmony have a better chance to succeed.

It is likely that some politicians would prefer to have a perpetually fractious, caste-ridden Hindu society so they can continue to exploit castes to gain votes. If Hindus get rid of their caste baggage by practicing the universal aspects of Hinduism explained above and truly unite under Hindutva, many politicians would become outdated. They can no more manipulate caste politics. This may be a subconscious cause of the secular politician's berating and condemning the proponents of Hindutva almost with a visceral hatred. Such unbridled hatred is always a dead giveaway of selfishness and a secret agenda whether it is found in the proponent of Hindutva or the secularist.

As for synergy between Hindutva and secularism, Hindutva has enough room for the secular person. Hindutva does not proselytize and attempt to convert the secular, non-religious person into a religious person. It just lets him or her be.

Synergy means the effects of two independent causes are enhanced if those causes work together. The outlook of the secularist and the universal values which Hindutva promotes can indeed reinforce each other through mutual understanding and regard. We will see more of this below.

The spread of education, improvements in hygiene and health, urbanization, inter-caste marriages of true lovers who stake their all on their love and many such factors are already breaking down caste barriers. Hindutva tries to further cement this process of harmonious living. That is all.

SYNTHESIS

In public life and especially in politics, working together by the secularist and the proponent of Hindutva alone can bring about rapid progress in India. The one cannot wish the other away. Fortunately for us, our democratic institutions and constitutional provisions, customs practices and usages, give us enough room for us to work together. If we have a vision unclouded by prejudices, Hindutva and secularism can work in tandem, within the ambit of the rule of law. Tolerance and mutual regard is the key. This seems to be already gaining ground.

India has had communal riots at many places over a fairly long period of time. The reasons are complex and historical. Politics too has played a major part in all this. It would be unfair to say that Hindutva is the reason for all the riots.

It is true that the Godhra train massacre and the Gujarat riots in which many Hindus and Muslims lost their lives reflect poorly on us. It is true that all this is part of a long and vexations chain of events of the past. We have had a very tragic historical baggage. However, Hindutva as a call for Hindus to regain the most essential and universal aspects of their ancient cultural and religious legacy, as a call to rejuvenate themselves and do away with the selfishness hiding behind castes, as a call to unite as one, is indeed good for Hindus and good for India.

Secularists are free not to believe in God. They are free to propagate their views. They are free to label the Hindu's ancient cultural and religious heritage as bunkum.

The proponents of Hindutva are free to hold the view that it is precisely because of secularism that morality and ethics have taken a beating, that businesses without ethics have brought about the massive global economic crises we are facing, that families are breaking down and bestial behaviours are going berserk in human societies. Had leaders not jettisoned the universal values of faith and religion there would not be so much corruption in every sphere of life and consequent degradation of human life, the proponents of Hindutva may hold. They are free to do so.

The freedom to hold positions, to take a view or a stance is indeed essential in a democracy and inevitable too.

However, there is such a thing as tolerance of the views of the other. Politics is the art of the possible. And it is possible to put aside one's views and focus on the art of consensus in problem solving. The doable can be done, if one's view or ideology does not solidify into egotism. This is precisely the trap that prevents collective problem solving, the trap of one's egotism masquerading as ideology, as a viewpoint. Is there a test we can apply to ourselves to find out if we are holding on and acting according to a view because we believe in it or if we are acting out of egotism? Perhaps there is. If we ask ourselves how we feel towards the other person who is holding an opposite view, we may find the truth about ourselves. It may take some time and training to see how we really feel. We are so much used to lying to ourselves, to not go deep into ourselves and see ourselves and admit our feelings to ourselves. However, with honesty and perseverance we will get to see the truth of our feeling. If it is one of revulsion, contempt, revenge, jealousy or anger towards those who hold a view opposed to ours, we may be certain we are operating out of egotism, that our arguments, however clever, will not build bridges. Also, if we feel the need for approval and acclaim, of wanting to be accepted any how for the views we hold, we may be operating out of egotism. We cannot build bridges with the other, the opposite. Consensus or problem solving will elude us. It may be alright for ordinary people, for the faces in the crowd, to operate from egotism. They may not cause any great damage. In a leader, either by design or by destiny or by dynasty, egotism is a very costly luxury. Leaders in any field shape events. Theirs is the power to act, to make a difference. If they are egotistic, they get bruised by the sheer force of circumstances and they will learn to go beyond ego. But the price society pays for their egotism is usually very high. However, a little thought and effort will propel them into a higher trajectory of achievements beyond ego, causing no damage to society. This is what needs to be done by the Hindutva leaders and the secularists : build bridges beyond ego and serve India by tackling problems that cannot fester any more. Problems of corruption, crime, poverty, injustice, dysfunctional institutions of governance, of not planning with foresight, vision and passion for a future now .

We are now going into the very essence of the Synthesis, the Siddhanta, the synthesis that flows from the thesis and the antithesis of the subject matter, the poorvapaksham and the Siddhantam in abstract analysis according to ancient Hindu way of thought.

Man is a social animal say sociologists. Man is a religious animal too say anthropologists. Psychologists and neuroscience compel us to admit man is a cerebral, thinking, logical and scientific animal too, full of abstract thought. It can be argued that abstract thoughts of philosophers has influenced the course of man's evolution to what he is today significantly. Therefore we may now attempt to explore the relationship between science and secularism on the one hand and religious bonding between people on the other, and arrive at a conceptual or philosophical framework that may underpin our worldview and our motivation.

Science is secular. At the level of the smallest subatomic particles Science says there is only one substratum that exists as matter-energy continuum. All differentiation depends on the tools used to examine what exists at that level. If the tools used are meant to detect a particle, then particles are detected. If the tools used are meant to detect a wave function of energy, wave function is detected. What exists is one but duality or multiplicity arises from how we look at it. Mathematically too, beyond Einstein's E=mc squared, scientists are attempting to cover all matter-energy states including gravity in one elegant mathematical equation which may unlock the mysteries of Black Holes and Dark Matter in the universe and explain every phenomenon. They may succeed.

Advaita philosophy of Hinduism says that there is but one substratum of all that exists, namely Brahman. Advaita is the bedrock of Hindu thought. Hindutva at its root, at its most sublime level, will have to stand by Advaita. There is a meeting point between Science and Advaita. Science calls the what is, as matter-energy-gravity continuum. Advaita calls it Brahman. Ruth Ryena, a physicist, has written a book 'The Philosophy of Matter in the atomic era : a new approach to the Philosophy of Science'' interpreting modern Physics in terms of Advaita. It is worth reading to understand this whole train of thought. (I have quoted the book from memory. I have not been able to quote from it.)

When this synthesis of thought is internalized by both the secularist and the adherent of Hindutva, they will see that all differences are at the level of naming or of method, not of substance. Science of the secularist and Advaita of the Hindu thought are one and the same at their deepest level.

Our actions flow from our thoughts and feelings and our worldview, 'Weltanschauung' as the Germans call it. When we internalize the clarity of thought arising from the unison of science and religion, harmony and peace blossom and our evolution as a species is quickened. This is the goal of synergy between Hindutva and secularism in their purity. Or for that matter synergy between any religion-based unity of man and secularism. Clashes between religions occur for want of purity. Religion per se is not their reason. Vivekananda says, “....these are not at all necessary for salvation-neither wealth, nor position, nor power, not even learning- but what is necessary is that one thing, purity : “Blessed are the pure in heart,” for the Spirit in its own nature is pure. How can it be otherwise? It is of God, it has come from God. In the language of the Bible, “It is the breath of God”. In the language of the Koran, “It is the soul of God”. Do you mean to say the Spirit of God can ever be impure? But, alas, it has been, as it were, covered over with the dust and dirt of ages, through our actions, good and evil. Various works which were not correct, which were not true, have covered the same Spirit with the dust and dirt of the ignorance of ages. It is only necessary to clear away the dust and dirt and then the Spirit shines immediately. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you....”.... ”

There is also another level at which Science and Religion can be reconciled. It is in Yoga. By absolute inward concentration of mind, the Yogi knows whatever exists by sheer Yogic power. Science on the other hand depends on outward concentration of mind to know whatever exists. At a certain point the scientist will be compelled to concentrate on knowing the 'knower'. Science then departs and Yoga in its purest form emerges. Whatever needs to be known is known without the intermediation of the sense organs. When the 'knower' is known in Yoga in its selfless purity, everything is known.

We may adopt whatever conceptual framework appeals to us from the above. If we are sincere and true to ourselves, if we are pure at heart, the goal of synergy between apparently opposite mindsets and transcendence of conflict and disharmony is achieved.