27. VARIETY IN BELIEF
Human nature is not uniform. We see this displayed in the food we eat, in the way we dress, in the manner we entertain ourselves, in our habits of thought and manners. And nothing is more glaring than the gamut of political views we hold! It is only Communism, Fascism and modern Leftism even in nominal democracies that do not freely allow variety in thinking.
When it comes to religious belief, we find that the ancient world was rich in variety, with multiplicity of gods, doctrines, philosophies. Only Judaism, Christianity and then Islam were Monotheistic, not allowing variety or even differences to exist. But history reveals that each of those religions were also subject to numerous divisions! What was not allowed officially by ruling groups could not be prevented in practice!
We see this rich variety flourishing in ancient Greece and Rome. Millennia before them, this doctrine was recognised and proclaimed in the Veda , the oldest scripture in the world, which said:
Truth is One. Sages call it variously.
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति
Ekam Sat.Vipra Bahudha Vadanti.
Pre-Socratic Philosophers
The West reckons its intellectual history from the ancient Greeks. We see a bewildering variety of gods and philosophies there already. Western philosophy proper begins with Socrates. But there is a mind-boggling variety and depth in the philosophers who preceded Socrates. The earliest attempt of the human mind to understand Nature and the world around it has been through Mythology. When some individuals were dissatisfied with this position and started raising questions such as, 'Where does everything come from, from what substance do they arise, why is there such variety in the world, etc ', philosophy proper was born! Many systems or 'schools' of philosophy are identified before Socrates. And they all existed along with him, and survived after him!
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- Milesian School:
Thales, Anaximander
- Pythagoras and his followers:
Philolaus, Alcmaeon, Archytas
-Ephysian School
Heraclitus of Epheseus
-Eleatic School from the town of Elea
Xenophanes
Parmenides
Zeno
Melissus of Samos
- Pluralist School:
Empedocles
Anaxagoras
-Atomist School:
Leucippus
Democritus (460-370 BC) ........>>>>
-Eclecticism:
Diogenes of Apollonia (c.460 BC )
As can be seen, these schools are named after the places of their prominent leaders or the philosophies they advocated. Many of these names are weighty.
Sophists
As we have weed among the crops, we do have psuedo- philosophers! They talk well, but that is all they can do! In ancient Greece they were called Sophists! Sophism is not a philosophy but a method of employing rhetoric to win a political or legal argument. We in India call it " Vidanda vaadam"- argument for argument's sake! But it had some brilliant advoctes: Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Thracymachus. Well, some of them ran into Socrates as we learn from the dialogues of Plato!
Ancient Names count
These names were not just ancient names. They continued to inspire later philosophers in surprising ways. Hegel was influenced by Parmenides, Karl Marx obtained his Ph.D by writing his thesis on Democritus and Epicurean ideas on Nature, Oswald Spengler's doctoral thesis was on Heraclitus!
Sri Aurobindo has also written on Heraclitus! Karl Popper gave a call for the pre-Socratics!
For Indians studying the pre-Socratics, there is a pleasant surprise! Like in India we have the "Sapta Rishis"= Seven Rishis, the pre-Socratics had 'Seven Sages of Greece' !
- Solon (c. 594 BCE) Nothing in Excess
- Chilon of Sparta (c. 560 BCE) Do not desire the impossible.
- Thales (c. 585 BCE) Know Thyself
- Bias of Priene (c. 570 BCE) Most men are bad.
- Cleobulus of Rhodes (c. 600 BCE) Moderation is best in all things.
- Pittacus of Mitylene (c. 600 BCE) Know thy opportunity
- Periander (625–585 BCE) Be farsighted with everything.
- Wikipedia.
In India, we have a group of different 7 in each Yuga. See how close they lived in Greece too! Most of them appear to be contemporaries! There are some who think that these seven were not really philosophers, but only clever people! There were three other philosophers too!
- Aristeas of Proconnesus
- Pherecydes of Syros ( 540 BC)
-Anacharsis (590 BC )
Flourishing variety
However, Diogenes of Apollonia is regarded as the last of the pre-Socratics. Nietzsche said that Socrates destroyed the pre-Socratic philosophical science! Of course, this is not correct. The ancient philosophies do find advocates in the modern day. In fact, every new thought in philosophy can be related to the old in some way. Only, some modern writers are too clever to disclose their sources of inspiration!
The beauty of the Greek system is that all these different schools of philosophy flourished while people worshipped the same pantheon of gods! More or less the same system prevailed in Rome later which became Hellenistic in spirit. As Wikipedia notes:
Plurality of gods and faith was freely permitted so long as the State gods were honoured ! We have the following words of Edward Gibbon on this:
The Romans gained from the Greek influence in other areas: trade, banking, administration, art, literature, philosophy and earth science. In the last century BC it was a must for every rich young man to study in Athens or Rhodes and perfect their knowledge of rhetoric at the large schools of philosophy. It was also a must to speak Greek as well as one's mother tongue in Rome.
Plurality of gods and faith was freely permitted so long as the State gods were honoured ! We have the following words of Edward Gibbon on this:
- The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful.
- - Edward Gibbon (1776) The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol.1, chapter ii
- (This idea is attributed to Seneca and also Lucretius but I could not find the sources )
This ideal situation was disturbed and destroyed by the Christians after they captured Rome and became the State religion. They systematically went about destroying all the old philosophies and religions. Muslims too later followed the same method- wherever they went, they destroyed the existing faiths. However leading Christian theologians St.Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas were influenced heavily by Plato and Aristotle, respectively and attempted to reconcile Christian faith with Greek thought. But Greek thought is too rich to fit comfortably in the Christian theological well.
Hindu Philosophical Bazar
In India, we have such bewildering variety of philosophies and theologies, the modern mind could easily lose its way. The Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita,and BrahmaSutra are the three sources of our philosophies, called 'Prastana traya'. But they have not forced us to believe any one theory or interpretation as "the only true " view. For us Hindus, the ultimate authority is personal experience of the Truth. (aparoksha anubhuti ) We are not required to subscribe to any system as a matter of faith, though we may begin with some as a working proposition. We are born into a family holding on to one or another, but that is how the journey begins. Theology is one thing, philosophical insight is another.
Way through Variety
How to make sense of all this variety and find our way? How to retain our sanity amidst all these rival claims? Dr. V.Raghavan gives a beautiful method:
( Dr.Raghavan in the middle with Dr.S.Radhakrishnan )
"There are several schools of philosophy and by their very name Darsana , these present themselves as so many different visions of the one truth, the 'Ekam Sat'.
To analyse scientifically all these variations:
There are only two fundamental points on which the schools make their different approaches; and all the approaches on these two points could be reduced to three possibilities.
Now, the first point relates to the theory of causation, and three forms of it emerged, as 'Arambha, Parinama and Vivarta'.
The second is the relation between the Supreme Soul on the one hand and the individual soul and the world on the other, which again could be seen in three ways: Abheda, Bhedhabheda, and Bheda.
Another triad of ideas which could help us to make a scientific analysis of the diverse forms of worship and approach towards the realization of the spiritual goal is the three paths of Jnana, Bhakti and Karma.
If we can get away from the overweighing burden of the historical and cultural background , the anthropology, of the religions of the world,we should be able to look at them all from the above mentioned analytical points of view in an objective manner.
All the religions known to us could be reduced scientifically into the three paths of Jnana, Bhakti and Karma. The Lord tells Uddhava in the Bhagavata that these three answer to the three psychological needs in the human make up, an explanation which includes the doctrine of personal taste, eligibility and equipment- Ruchi, Adhikaribheda and Paripaka."
[ An Anthology on Aspects of Indian Culture, Dr.V.Raghavan Centre For Performing Arts. Chennai-20, 2002, page 98-99 ]
Cultural pluralism?
In the modern day, we talk of "Cultural pluralism". But the reality is that the two monotheistic religions- Christianity and Islam are based on the notion of world domination. As such, they are incompatible with each other, and intolerant of other religions. Wherever they go, they convert. It so happens that the educated Westerner is becoming secular and is turning away from Christian theology, while Islam does not permit its members the liberty of free thinking. There is strife in every Muslim country in the world, even among sects within Islam. Ironically, Muslim refugees from troubled areas do not go to other Muslim countries but seek asylum in the democratic secular West. Such is their 'brotherhood'! But Muslim faith is such that it does not let them integrate smoothly with the host communities, fully accepting their civic laws. This has caused tension throughout Western Europe though the ruling groups are keeping studied political silence. Bless the Oil!
Real multiculturalism is possible only when the monotheistic religions truly concede that all faiths are equal and deserve unrestrained and unconditional acceptance. Neither the Pope of the Catholics, nor the authorities of Islam have accepted this position. As such, they resort to conversion. Pope John Paul II did specifically ask the Church to concentrate on conversions in Asia in this millennia ( as they did in Europe in the first millennia, and Americas in the Second millennia) Consequently, passive faiths such as Hinduism and Buddhism become soft targets and suffer.
Pope John Paul II today told Roman Catholic bishops in Asia to respect other religions, but not to lose sight of their " call to conversion " in the next millennium.
In the twilight of his papacy, the ailing 79-year-old pope has made the renewal of evangelization throughout developing countries one of his highest priorities. Today, he issued a document that serves as a pastoral guidebook for Asia, where Catholics remain a tiny minority. The pope noted that other faiths can lead to salvation, but stated that Christianity is the true path. ''Respect,'' the pope explained, ''does not eliminate the need for the explicit proclamation of the Gospel in its fullest.''
New York Times, November 7. 1999.
The monotheistic faiths, militant or not, are fundamentalist in the sense that they are based on the fundamental idea that they alone are the true path. They have acted on this belief since they came into existence. This is the greatest threat to the variety and freedom in the world of philosophy and faith today.
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