Rationality, Religion and India

This is actually a comment written on E=mc^2 as response to the author's "Rejection of Rationality" Series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5). Since I took such a long time writting the stuff, I thought I might as well include it on my blog.

It is really sad that majority of our population has been blind to rationality from many centuries. But yes, we do have our Vedas that are said to be based on scientific observations (I haven’t read them myself, but many intellectuals have who say they are indeed scientific - and I have taken their word; including Carl Sagan, who in his Cosmos has beautifully summed up the astronomical history of mankind and includes ancient Indian scriptures as evidences along with many other civilization's texts – I mention Carl Sagan’s opinion as worthy not because he is from the "west" but because he was a noted scientist famous for his science books).

I think the issue is, where and how in history was this kind of thinking or the Vedic legacy lost?

One reason could be its inapproachability to common man due to the complicated language (Sanskrit was spoken and read by only some elite few) and complexity of thought. Some of the elite few would have tried to preach and spread the message but knowingly or unknowingly misinterpreted/skewed facts vs. opinions during the process. Some could have deliberately attached religious tags with practices to make masses understand and follow the point. The rulers could have observed that people are generally God-fearing and would do what is told whole heartedly if everything is associated with religion and God – and it got filtered down generations in a completely twisted form – in the form of rites and rituals. Starting of Sati/Johar could have been the act of one fanatic maniac female absolutely in blind love with her man and found suicide a better idea than widowhood; and then was martyrized so much that it became a ritual. This was an unfavorable hypothetical analysis – a favorable one could be about vegetarianism, where some intellectuals found its advantages and coupled it with religion to make it a generally acceptable practice. Just a thought – and I am not at all suggesting that this is what actually happened or the “west” is spiritually imitating or following us. But there is no denying that our ancient culture did have traces of science and rationality.

Today the agenda/manifesto of our political parties also includes religion and related stuff. Our leaders want us to remain blind about facts and glamorize religion. This could have begun centuries ago and since we did not embrace the "Age of Enlightenment", we have remained ignorant on the whole.

My point is - it is not about "west" or "east" or their religion or our religion or their science or our science. Yes, there are cultural differences which are bound to come and have evolved as huge rifts because of different geographies, climates and historical circumstances.

Masses everywhere are the same. Its not that people of the "west" are not superstitious - the number 13 is a prime example – there is no 13th floor in some hotels in the "west" – where is their rationality now? Isn’t the floor numbered 14th actually 13th then? Or is this their shedding of "excess rationality"? Its not that they don’t use phrases like "Fingers crossed" or "Touch wood" or "Thank God" or words like jinx, voodoo, taboo – they do, sometimes more than we do. Superstition in itself is irrational, not that ‘we’ or ‘they’ are ‘more’ or ‘less’ irrational. It has to be got rid of. Everywhere. In our country specially because it’s our country and we want it to improve.

Rulers and the way of they rule is different. It’s a shame that ours are still using religion and "ritualistic Hinduism" is being promoted. I think the "west" learnt this the hard way during holocaust and American civil war (racism should also not be the basis of any rule). And have moved on to other ways of uniting people and making them pay taxes, like promoting and advertising science (NASA and its missions); their role as international policemen, etc. It’s high time we learnt it too.