39 PVK Blog Post Dr Ajai Kumar Singh’s (I.P.S.)’Unity of All Religions’ and PVK’s response.

39 PVK Blog. Dr Ajai Singh’s essay ‘Unity of All Religions’ and PVK’s response with abook list.

This was mailed to me in July 2021. In late September 2021, I mailed Dr Singh my response.

Introductory note: In August 2021, Dr Ajai Kumar Singh I.P.S. mailed me an essay he had written titled ‘The Unity of All Religions’. Dr Singh is this extremely polished, well read, courteous gentleman who retired from the post of Director General of Police of the State of Karnataka. He held this post, at a time of great political and social turmoil in Karnataka, with exemplary distinction. He was unfailing fair and dealt with cases with equanimity and fairness. No one ever complained about how they treated him. Not once.

He came from fairly modest background from a village near Agra. He is my uncle. His wife, the brilliant Tara Ajai Singh, once Tara Govinda, is a first cousin to both my parents. She is my father K. Prabhakaran’s first cousin, her mother Anandalekshmi being the youngest sibling of Bhanumathi Amma, Mahakavi Kumaran Asan’s wife. She was also my mother, the beautiful, rational and Indian archetypal good wife and mother and daughter-in-law. She loved reading, as did my father. Both my parents were graduates. My father had a degree in Chemistry from the University College, Trivandrum and my mother a BA in Economics from an equally distinguished institution, the Union Christian College in Chengamanad, Aluva, near Cochin.

It is virtually impossible to meet someone more cultured, refined, well-read and courteous than Dr Singh. Even after retirement, he continues to help the State Police of Karnataka and, often, other states. He lectures regularly at Police Academies on the nitty gritty of police work, on the pressures police officers and constables face, on how to cope with such pressures and so on. In short, he is a one-man treasure box with innumerable compartments, all with gold or diamonds or gems that are not just glittery things to show off, but precious resources to use in daily life.

Dr Singh is also a multi-lingual scholar, a poet and critic, a public speaker, a PR man for good causes and generally an ambassador for much that is best in human beings. He can, I am told, me tough and even hard, but only where he is dealing with hardened criminals and similar types of undesirables.

His equanimity, as I have suggested, is exemplary. I have never known him to get angry or to shout, but I assume, wrongly I judge, he is capable of a bit of yelling, in its softest forms, I am sure. He is also human, after all.

If he has a weakness, it is “gods” and “godmen”. He is a worshipper of ‘Shri M’ the stylish, ‘Park Avenue’ style ‘guru’. Shri M, with his crisp cotton kurtha and dothi is as handsome as they come, complete with a neatly tied pony tail.

When ‘Shri M’ gives an audience in Trivandrum, I have watched how much he relies of Dr Singh. Dr Singh, who smiles easily and laughs a lot, is often by his side, introducing guests or making small talk, Dr Singh is full of anecdotes and incidents and can come up with a story that is sure to entertain, amuse and edify at the same time.

By the way, ‘Shri M’ is a second cousin to my beautiful, charming and creative genius of a wife. Khyrunnisa A, the creator of ‘Butterfingers’ a character based on whom she has written more than 10 books. Khyru’s short stories regularly appear in ‘Dimdima’ a Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan publication. Though a “Hindu” outfit, Dimdima’ and recognize quality when they see it and are always requesting Khyru to contribute. She has been doing so for years. Sometimes, her short story collections contain contributions she originally made to ‘Dimdima’. But that is no problem, because the copyright rests with her and she contributes to ‘Dimdima’ on the understanding that she will publish later in her collections. An altogether satisfying arrangement, civilized and legal. A win-win situation for all.

Dr Singh’s devotion to godmen does create cringe worthy moments for me.

I was brought by rational, humane, moderate parents who were non-believers. Asan himself was an atheist. This fact is hardly known since he wrote many prayers and was involved in consecrating temples and offering poojas in them. What is not well known is that the triumvirate who ushered in modernity to Kerala – Dr Palpu, Kumaran Asan and Guru Narayana – were all atheists. They kept their views private, knowing that discretion was the better part of valour.

Dr.  Palpu and Asan are on record as stating that one had to keep ones lack of belief hidden. Otherwise one would lose the following each had. They were clear-eyed about their tactics: pretend to be full of faith, conduct poojas and rituals and take your people along with you. In a generation of two, when atheism was more acceptable and considered both respectable and a matter of pride, one could get a little more aggressive about lack of faith in the “supernatural” and belief only in a natural world led by the forces of physics and chemistry and biology. And, of course, sociology and psychology, to understand the mysterious and quite incomprehensible ways in which humans behave.

In August  2021, Dr Singh mailed me his essay ‘The Unity of All Religions’. I read and reread books I had in my collection, checked out material on the internet and finally came out with my response in late September 2021.

Here, I am reproducing the original essay and my response, both copied and pasted from emails over which they are exchanged.

They are in the following order:

1) Dr Singh’s essay ‘The Unity of All Religions’.

2) PVK’s response to Ajai Singh’s essay, with a short book list.

**

1) Dr Ajai Kumar Singh’s essay ‘The Unity of All Religions’.

Note: Dr Ajai Singh originally wrote this essay in July 2021. It was mailed to me and, after reading it and organising my counter arguments and compiling a book list, which I thought would be the best counter argument, I mailed my response in late September 2021.

Here is the original essay by Dr Singh, emailed to me in July 2021.

Dr. Ajai Kumar Singh

Former Head of the State Police, Karnataka.

“One religion is as good as another and the reading of each of the World religions is quite rewarding to all.”

“If we want to grow from intellect to spirit, we have to adopt ways of tolerance, appreciation and respect for other people’s faiths”¹

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Former President of India.

Part I

1. In the name of religion much blood has been shed in the history of mankind; untold miseries have been inflicted. Religion continues to be used to divide people and to cause mental and physical harm to one another. Often the victims are innocent poor people. Often the perpetrators are ignorant of the basic tenets of the religion in whose name and for whose sake they are prepared to and actually cut throats of the so called adversaries whose religion too they do not understand, perhaps have not cared to understand. They are, by and large, propelled by blind hatred whipped up by vested interests. These interests are mostly communal, economic and political but hardly religious, if ever. Religion is used just as a façade.  History is replete with such examples.  Such dehumanizing incidents continue to happen even today all over the World. In our beloved India that is Bharat too.

2. Let us see what the actual meaning of the word religion, which has become so controversial, is. ‘The Webster Universal Dictionary’ gives a few meanings of the word, two of which are relevant to our discussion. Religion means:

i. Belief in, acknowledgement of a super-natural power which controls the Universe and directs man’s destiny.

ii. Specific system of belief in God, including a group of doctrines about Him and His relations to man and the Universe and customary rites to be observed in worship.    

3. The ‘Chambers Dictionary’ defines the word religion thus_

i. Belief in, recognition of or an awakened sense of a higher unseen controlling power or powers, with emotion and morality connected with such belief

ii. Any system of such belief or worship.

iii. Rites and worship

4. Some Hindu scholars argue that the word religion does not convey the right sense of what we call Dharma and that religion is not the right word for Hindu Dharma. It is not difficult to discuss this point in details and deal with the argument. But due to constraints of space we shall not digress too much. It should suffice to say that whatever interpretation of the word religion or Dharma we may have, all these interpretations have to be seen in the light of modern ideas of democracy, justice, equality and other universal human rights. Scientific temper is a must whether we are interpreting the concept of Hindhu Dharma or the tenets of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, or any other religion. Some people also say that there is nothing called Hindu Dharma, there is one and only Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion. We hope to touch upon this in our discussion.

5. The ‘Sanskrita-EnglishDdictionary’ edited by Vaman Shivaram Apte and published by Motilal Banarasidas gives the following meanings of the word Dharma–

i. Religion, the customary observances of a caste, sect etc

ii. Religious or moral merit, virtue, righteousness, and good works

iii. Duty, prescribed course of conduct

iv. Right, justice, equality, impartiality

v. Piety, propriety, decorum

vi. Morality, ethics

vii. Devotion, religious abstractions

These and other meanings of the word Dharma in the Sanskrit dictionary do not specifically refer to belief in God or some supernatural power controlling the universe and human affairs. But it does refer to religion and religious abstractions. Religious abstractions may mean the same as contemplation on God or Supreme power and connected matters. Interestingly it refers to justice, equity, impartiality, piety, propriety, morality and ethics as being aspects of Dharma.

6. We can see that religion has two aspects – inner and outer. The inner aspect deals with some ultimate questions like creation, the creator, our origin, purpose of life, our destiny and power/s influencing it and the concomitant human behaviour. The outer aspect basically pertains to worship and rituals etc.  These customary rites are often confused with the whole concept of a religion, particularly at the popular level. The vested interests ensure that it remains so. It may be said that the deeper aspects of a religion are difficult for the masses to contemplate on the daily basis.  By the very nature of the questions religions concern themselves with, faith and beliefs play an important role.  The answers provided by any religion cannot be proved or disproved. Faith and beliefs involve emotions which are open to manipulations and exploitation.  Though we claim to be rational animal, most of our important decisions in life are more based on emotions rather than logic and rationale.  This is what is exploited by vested interests to exercise power over masses in the name of the religion.  This is what the vested interests do. When Karl Marx says that religion is opium, he is most probably referring to this aspect of religion.

7. We can also see that all religions are, by and large, dealing with the same questions.  Religion per say is that eternal enquiry, man’s eternal quest through ages for understanding the secret and mystery behind the whole existence, including his own, and for finding an ideal way of life.  Some of the issues religions are trying to understand and explain and express are too vast and too deep to be fully comprehended by a single mind or by a particular group of people. Shloka 3 of ‘Kenopanishad’ thus describes the Atman, the cause and essence of everything

The eye cannot see it, nor speech talk about it, nor mind comprehend it. We do not therefore know It, nor do we know any process of instructing about It.

And shloka 5 declares that unknown alone is Brahman and not this that people here worship.

8. Different religions are trying to understand, explain and express the ultimate Truth and an ideal way of life as per their understanding.  There are bound to be differences.  Jiddu Krishnamurty says that the Truth is a pathless land. He does not mean that there is no path to it. What he means to say is that there is no one or two or few paths only to reach it, there can be innumerable paths and one can choose any one of them or make one’s own path. That is what people have done throughout history and that is what various religions present themselves as.  Nobody can claim to have fully understood and explained fully all the issues religions are trying to deal with.  Any such claim would be a false claim.  More than one answer is possible.  It is quite okay to say that what we are saying is true.  But we cannot say that what we are saying is the only truth and our explanation is the best or the only explanation.  Because what we say is true does not rule out all the possibilities of somebody else saying something different which is equally true.  We experience this in life quite often.  This is the case with religions.

9. All religions are product of their time and space history and geography.  This itself accounts for some differences in them.  However sublime a religion may be to begin with, over time it suffers contamination, interpolation and corruption. Some aspects become outdated but vested interests refuse to let go of them. All religions go through this process. We find that all religions contain some subline ideas and they, as practiced today, contain some dross. 

10. If we care to study with some care, we shall also find that religion per se and organized religion as dished out to and practiced by masses are two different things.  The organized religion gives more importance to outer aspects of the religion like worship and rituals. The emotional aspect is highlighted and turned into sentimentality which, when mixed with deliberate and cleaver misrepresentations and misinterpretations is easier to arouse and manipulate to create a false enemy to fight against and to sacrifice for vague and manufactured benefits. This is true of almost all organized religions which provide people a sense of security in numbers.  There are people in all religions who see through or understand this machination and manipulation.  That is why there have been so many religious reformers from time to time.

11. Let alone the ultimate Truth, we have practically seen in life that more than one eye witnesses of a particular incident describe it differently though all of them are honestly telling the truth as they perceive. One person may emphasize one aspect or some aspects of the incident whereas another person may emphasize some other aspect or aspects of the same incident. Even one person may describe the same event/ incident slightly differently at different times. The Truth of the incident/event is not changed by such different descriptions. This is applicable to religions too. Some of us may be aware of a class room exercise called “Chinese whisper” where a person is asked to repeat in a whisper to the person sitting, let us say on her left, a message which she has received in a whisper from the person sitting to her right. This is repeated till the message is heard and conveyed in whispers by 10-15 persons. Just over a few minutes and a few persons, the original message gets quite distorted. May be that is how all religions have gathered dross over a period of time.

12. Sometime in the late 1980’s I happened to listen to a lecture by (now Nobel Laureate) physicist Roger Penrose in the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The lecture was amazingly scientific and philosophic. The talk was on “Consciousness” (with capital C). He implied that scientific enquiry has to intermingle with spiritual quest for any meaningful understating of the phenomenon of Consciousness. He drew on the black board a cloud of Consciousness (one can replace it with God or the ultimate Truth) and then drew many lines emanating from this cloud, representing various perceptions of various people about what the cloud is. All these understandings are true but none of them, he said, is the whole understanding of the phenomenon of Consciousness in totality. This is exactly what can be said of various religions of the world.

13. Referring to the discovery that at quantum level (read sub-atomic) an electron behaves both as particle and also as wave and that this behaviour is affected by the act of observation itself, sometime in 1950’s Nobel Laureate and leading quantum physicist Niels Bohr explained this contradictory phenomenon by using the word “complementarity”² meaning that the fact that an electron sometimes behaves as particle and some time as wave does not make this behaviour of the electron or this observation contradictory to each other but that these two behaviours of the electron and the two observations are complementary to each other. Can we not apply this scientific understanding of differences as complementarity to the field of religion to understand, accept and appreciate differences among them rather than erroneously and arrogantly claim ours to be the best if not the only true one and pickup fight with others? 

14.  We can rightly say that all religions are true, each perceiving something of the Truth. But the Truth remains undiminished and much remains to be revealed or known.  I am reminding of what shanti mantra (peace chanting) of many Upanishads says-

Om, poornamadah  poornamidam  poornet poornamudachyate

Poornasya poornamadaya poornamevavashishyate

Om, shantih, shantih, shantih

Om. That (supreme Brahman) is Infinite Whole and this (conditional Brahman or the world) is infinite whole. If this infinite whole is taken away from That Infinite Whole, what remains is the Infinite Whole. Om. peace, peace, peace.

We can also say that all religions are part of one Eternal Religion which is that eternal enquiry we talked about earlier.

15. It is equally true that there are some differences among various religions.  These differences are function of the very issues they are dealing with.  All religions or religious knowledge like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism etc. can be said to the branches of that one Religion just as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Nano-technology etc. are all branches of what we collectively call Science or scientific knowledge.  But differences in some aspects of religions are repeatedly misused by those who aspire to gain power over the minds of people and then have the power to rule over them. So, more often than not, at the back of such misuse of religion is what psychologist Alfred Adler, one of the trinity in the field at the time (Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung being the other two), called “Will to Power”.  We can see glimpses of this will to power behind many social, political and economic activities all around us.  An extreme form of this is the source of many autocratic regimes of the World.  Adolf Hitler misused it by thoroughly misinterpreting Fredric Nietzsche. 

16. In Jainism there is a concept called “Shyadvad”.  They give an example of a pitcher which is being observed by a few persons sitting around it. Anyone of them can see only parts of the pitcher visible to him from his position around the pitcher. None of them can see the whole of the pitcher at a time without changing his position.  This fairly describes the position of all religions with respect to the Ultimate Truth and concomitant principles.  Their differences should neither be surprising nor disturbing. Differences cannot be ground for discrimination or injustice.

Part II

17. The first Shloka of one of the major Upanishads namely ‘Ishavasyopanishad’ says –

Isa vasyam idam sarvam yatkinch jagatyam jagat 

In simple terms meaning that whatever is there in this World is pervaded by Isha that is God.

If everything in the World is pervaded by God, certainly all human beings of the World too host the God. And if that is so, hating anybody, particularly on the ground of religion will amount to hating God.

Shlokas 6 and 7 of the same Upanishad prescribe to us the attitude and outlook of seeing all beings in ourselves and ourselves in all beings.

18. In chapter 7 called ‘Jnana Vijnana Yoga’ of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’, in Shlokas 5-10 Lord Shri Krishna discloses to Arjuna how he (Shri Krishna) is the source of everything and how he pervades everything.  That should, we can safely presume now, include people belonging to other religions too. Quarrels and fights on the basis of some differences among religions are rendered absolutely foolish and anti – Lord Shri Krishna.

19. There is a very famous and oft – quoted richa in the ‘Rig Veda’:

Eko sat viprah bahudha vadanti

The Truth is one, learned men describe it differently.

One Eternal Religion, all religions its partial revelation, shall we say!  

Another richa of the Rig Veda reads as follows –

Aa no bhadrah kritavah yantu vishvatah

Let the noble thoughts come (to us) from all directions.

This is a shining example of open mindedness.

20. In the chapter 12 called ‘Bhakthi Yoga’ (path of devotion) of the ‘Bhagvad Gita’, one of the most important and certainly the most popular religious book of the Hindus, Arjuna asks Lord Shri Krishna as to who is better among the devotees or Yogis (in the Gita everything is Yoga – from the sorrow of Arjuna to Sankhya to Devotion) – the one who worships the God with the form or the one who contemplates on the God without form.  Lord Shri Krishna replies that the both types attain him provided they have certain qualities. And what are these qualities? Some of them are –

Faith in Him

Control over his senses

Commitment to the welfare of all the living beings

Even mindedness everywhere (samabhava)

(‘Gita’ 12/13,14).

By prescribing commitment to the welfare of all the living beings, what the Lord is prescribing is unconditional love, compassion, kindness, generosity towards all.

21. In the ‘Holy Quran’³ (4/3/144) Prophet Mohammed says that in various communities at various points in time, God has sent His prophets. This is acceptance of past, present and future apostles of all religions and their teachings. At another place he says that people have divided religion and formed their own sects but those who do it have very limited knowledge and such sects are guided by this limited understanding. Is he hinting at one Universal Eternal Religion, the Sanatana Dharma which various religions are partial expressions of? It is said that Sarmad one of the Sufi saint of India, a contemporary of Moghul Emperor Aurangazeb, when asked by the Orthodox clergy to declare that the Islamic creed was the only book and the only revelation, refused to do so at the cost of certain death⁴. 

22.  In Sura 16/17/9-10 it is said that the simplest path shown to the mankind by the Holy Quran is to do good deeds and maintain one’s integrity. It does not say good deeds to Muslims alone.  A man can maintain his integrity as a human being only by being pure in thoughts, words and deeds, which is possible only through love, compassion, kindness, generosity towards all human beings, to all living beings. Is this not what Lord Shri Krishna recommended in the ‘Bhagwad Gita’?

23. Sura 11/10/37 says that the ‘Holy Quran’ does not teach any new religion to mankind. The ‘Quran’ is just elaboration on the beneficial teachings of the prophets of the past, it is just confirmation of what has been said in other God-inspired religious texts. Here again the ‘Quran’ appears to be talking about one Eternal Religion portions of which have been delivered to mankind at different times again and again through prophets, saints and wise men like the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Lao tse, Prophet Mohammed, Guru Nanak, Ramakrishna Paramhams and many others in many other religious traditions. 

24. Sura 3/2/256 of the Quran says that religion is not at all a matter of force and coercion.

25. Look at Sura 1/2/115 of the Holy Quran_

                        East and West all belong to Him

He is all pervading

Whichever direction you turn your face

Everywhere He is there

Does it sound familiar?  The all-pervading Brahman of the Vedas and Upanishads! Which particular religion can claim this assertion to be exclusively theirs’s? It belongs to the one Eternal Religion. It belongs to all religions.

26.  Many of the prayers of the Quran remind one of the prayers of the Rig Veda. The ascetic practices of Sufism are exactly same as the practices of Hindu Yogis. Sufis say that it is a mistaken notion if a sadhaka or a practitioner thinks that he can gain favour of God by his own efforts though religious practices and efforts are indicated and prescribed, but they are basically to purify the mind, words and deeds of the practitioner. The favour of the beloved (Sufis call God their beloved) descends on the one whom the beloved chooses to bestow His favour. This exactly is the idea of Kripa, Anukampa of the Hindus and Grace of Christianity and many other religions. A shloka in ‘Kathopanishad’ (2/23) reads thus:                                                                                   

Na ayam atma pravachen  labhyo

Na medhaya na bahuna shruten

Yamevaish vrinute ten labhyas

This Atma (the soul of everything) is not to be obtained through discourses, nor through intellect and arguments or by listening to scriptures. It is to be obtained by those whom it chooses.

27. In the ‘Bible’, the Holy Book of Christianity, there are many passages which are very similar to what we can find in Vedas, Upanishads, Quran and other religious texts. Here are a few examples from the chapter 4 of the New Testament (Sermon on the Mount.)

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Verse 7)

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Verse 8)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Verse 9)

29. The Bible prescribes hunger and thirst for righteousness (Verse 6)

In verse 17 Jesus Christ declares –

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

and in verse 44 he says –

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

28. Buddhism stresses purity of motives, humility and service of all creatures. Right deed is that action which is free from selfishness or self-interest.  Buddha chose not to talk about God. He chose to deal with complex, complicated and rather sorrowful predicament human beings find themselves in in the World. He very much talked about ethics, morality and above all compassion. Compassion towards all living beings.  Familiar again?

29. We are familiar with the famous precept of “Live and Let Live” of Jainism. We also know of their extreme emphasis on non-violence (Ahimsa ‘Parmodharmah:  Non-violence’ is the ultimate truth.).  Non-violence is possible only through understanding, acceptance and compassion towards all.  One of their religious texts namely ‘Sutrakritang’ declares that no ‘Theerthankara’ of Jain religion came to proclaim a new religion. What they have proclaimed is the continuation and follow up of the religions which came earlier. This is what Quran also says.

30. In the ‘Japuji Maharaj’⁵ (utterings of Guru Nanak immediately after his enlightenment) Guru Nanak says that the God is the Truth; He has innumerable names and places where we cannot reach; when we talk about Him different languages and different attitudes and emotions are employed (4,19). Nanak also says that everybody talks about the God, but nobody knows the Reality (21).  This simply is acceptance of differences without any animosity or acrimony.  

31. If these are the tenets of some of the important religions of the world, then how can the followers of these religions be source or part of any terrorist activity, forcible or surreptitious conversions, discrimination and exploitation?  Unless, of course, religion is misrepresented, misinterpreted and misused for ulterior motives. We must go to the core of the religion and discard the dross gathered over time and what has become out – dated.  Then we shall find that no religion supports hate, anger and violence. Differences have to be understood in the right context. What Dr. Radhakrishnan said can be of great help.

Part III

32. Of late a new narrative steeped in hatred and divisiveness on the ground of religion has found currency in India to justify discrimination, even violence.  Frequently individuals or violent mobs take or appear to have been allowed to take law in their own hands with impunity.  Such acts are rarely, if ever, condemned even in words by those in power. Sometimes such acts appear to have been encouraged by them. The ideologues justify such acts in the name of righting the “historical wrongs” or as expression of “pent up feelings”.  It is said that we are not against any religion, but people are angry at the historical wrongs done in the past and now the pent of feelings are finding expression.  This is a manufacture argument; false and bogus.  These historical facts have been known for centuries.    The question is what is to be done now. Impartial, authentic, honest, sincere research is to be done to find out if some parts of our history as taught today are factually wrong and on the basis of the findings of such research, historical facts are to be corrected where ever required.  Such research cannot be left to a coterie of some “chosen ones”. It has to be open and honest and impartial. On the other hand, if anybody belonging to any community or religion does indulge in any illegal activities, laws of the land should be applied strictly and impartially. But can a person belonging to a particular religion be humiliated/discriminated against today because of some misdeeds by somebody centuries ago?  The argument is illogical, cruel and unjust; it is violative of human rights and the provisions of the Constitution of India. If we accept this argument, nobody is safe. Some ancestor or other of ours may have committed some wrong or other to somebody in the last fifty or hundred years.  The descendants of that person will now have almost legal right to take revenge on us or anybody else in our family if this argument is accepted.  Taken to its logical conclusion, it will completely destroy India as a Nation. Did not Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation, said that if we follow the justice system of an eye for an eye, the World will soon be full of blind people. 

33. A question is asked how can a nation forget and attack on its parliament or killing of innocent people like 26/11 in Mumbai?  How can it pardon those who played a role in it?  The law should take its course.   Killing innocent or unconnected people is not the answer.  Blaming and counter blaming, attacking and counter attacking can be endless with only a series of destruction as outcome.  No one side can claim to be blameless.  Incidentally, for argument’s sake, what about historical wrongs done to and pent up feelings of people who have been called ‘outcastes’, ‘untouchables’ and who are now referred to as Scheduled Castes and Tribes?  They have been suffering untold atrocities for thousands of years.  We should come out this revenge mentality found in some of our mythologies and further fuelled by our crude TV serials. Can two wrongs make one right? Nelson Mandela did not allow a similar argument in South Africa.  The centuries old acrimonies between blacks and whites were sought to be resolved by a Conflict Resolution Committee headed by Nobel Peace Laureate father Desmond Tutu.  I am not suggesting such a thing in India.  I am just talking about the spirit behind the idea.  Wounds should be allowed to heal.  New wounds should not be inflicted.  Efforts should be made to heal the wounds, not to keep them fresh and festering; they can become incurable gangrene in the psyche of people.  The Nation cannot be allowed to go sick due to a few wounds or due to wounded psychology of some sick people.  

34. Patriotism and Nationalism are other parts of the same argument.  People cannot be expected to wear patriotism on their sleeves or wear it as a badge. Some people would like us to believe that all those who criticize any policy or action of the Government of the day are anti-national and un-patriotic. Patriotism is not the personal property of some people only.  There is no one or two ways to be patriotic, there are innumerable ways.  We may also say that if a person belonging to a particular community indulges in any illegal, anti-social or anit-national activity, the whole community cannot be condemned or branded. In the same way if a person belonging to a particular community is arrested as per law for a criminal activity, hue and cry cannot be raised that the whole community is being targeted.  Of course the allegations should not be trumped up allegations. 

35. In a democracy those who get majority of seats in the Legislature, get to form Government. But majoritarianism is undemocratic and a retrograde idea.  Once a Government is formed it becomes Government of and for all citizens of the country, not only for those who voted for it.  A Prime Minister is called the Prime Minister of India.  India means all citizens of India irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, place of birth, gender, income etc.  He / She is equal protector of all of them; duty bound to work for the welfare of all of them.  The same is true of the Chief Minister of a State.  Therefore, intolerance and hatred should not be allowed to become our National currency and source of our energy. We should do everything in our capacity to prevent such a national tragedy from happening. If hatred is the source of our energy, we may succeed in harming the person/s whom we hate, but we shall be open to harm too. Even if they do/cannot harm us, we shall be harming ourselves internally – ethically, morally and spiritually; we shall be diminishing and demeaning ourselves as human beings and as representative of what is good in our own religion. If we follow the path of hatred and division, we shall be jeopardizing the future of our great Country. Man is what he wills to be, the Existentialist philosophers said. The same is true of societies and Nations. What does India wills to be? Garden of peace and harmony or a battlefield ravaged by violence fuelled by hatred, misunderstanding and mistrust.?  Do we want to sail in the ocean of love and peace or do we want to inhabit an abandoned old well of hatred?

36.       Sometimes one wonders if what is being professed and practiced is religion or spurious and sentimental religiosity or religionism; excessive, extravagant devotion to religious practices and morbid zeal for religion which soon becomes  bigotry. Being religious means⁶–

                        Believing in, professing and practicing religion

                        Being pious, devout, godly

                        Being scrupulous, conscientious, strict

                        Bound by vows to religion and a monastic life

Contrary to this, the vested interests are interested in making people of their religion as religious zealots who can then be brainwashed and used as zombies. That is how crusades are fought and terrorists are created and societies, even nations, are torn apart.  We experienced this during the partition of the Country. We do not want to experience anything like that again.

            Religion is to be saved from this ambush.

Part IV

37.       Etymologically⁷ religion is that which binds human beings to each other in the bonds of love and sympathy and mutual rights and duties; binds them all also to God; endeavors to lead them to that World-Soul. For holding together, biding together, perpetual give and take is necessary. That is ‘Yajna’ or ‘Qurabani’, sacrifice.  A truly religious person will not apply these principles to the followers of his religion only; he will apply them to the whole mankind while following his own religion / tradition which he is most familiar and comfortable with.  For him it has to be ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ the whole earth as a family.  Most world religions have said so. 

38.       Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest integrator of all times. It may be worthwhile to have a look at some of his most famous teachings, culled from his voluminous writings at different times⁸.

“By religion, I do not mean formal religion, or customary religion, but that religion which underlies all religions, which brings us face to face with our Maker.

            “Indeed religion should pervade every one of our actions. Here religion does not mean sectarianism. It means a belief in ordered moral government of the universe.  It is not less real because it is unseen. This religion transcends Hinduism, Islam, Christianity etc.  It does not supersede them. It harmonizes them and gives them reality.

            “My Hinduism is not sectarian. It includes all the best that I know to be the best in Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism.

            “Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal?”

“The need of the moment is not one religion, but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of the different religions. We want to reach not the dead level, but unity in diversity. The soul of religions is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms. The latter will persist to the end of time.”

39.       Narayan Guru⁹, the philosopher – poet and socio-religious reformer of Kerala taught that man is of one caste, one religion, one God. Man’s humanity marks the human kind as bovinity proclaims the cow. He said that even if there are differences in the principles, the aim of all religions is the same –  leading a proper life and doing practices helpful in understanding, realizing and experiencing the Truth. All religions aim at and recommend upward(positive) orientation. All religions are useful to their followers. Nothing should be accepted as the only Truth; everything can be used as instrument in the search for what is true. The founder of the Arya Samaj, Swamy Dayananda Sarasvasti believed in the infallibility of the Vedas. He, however, rejected some parts of them which he found to be incongruous to the general message of the Vedas and the need of the twentieth century as interpolation. Narayana Guru boldly recommended that all religious leaders should do so. He also used to ask that if all the six schools of Philosophy – ‘shaddarshan’ – are called by general name of Hindu or Indian philosophy though they profess different and contradictory views, why not all religions be accepted as parts of one religion. 

40. We know that most world religions have many sects within them.  Hinduism, Buddism and Christianity perhaps top the list.  But all the contradictory sects are treated and accepted as part of that particular religion.  For example, monism, dualism, qualified monism are all parts of Hinduism as are Vaishnavites, Shiaivates, Shaktas and those who believe in formless God.  Why then, should it be difficult to treat and accept various religions as complementary parts of one Religion? 

41. Late Swami Ranganathananda, the former, President of Sri Ramakrishna Matha used to call ‘samavaya’ (concord) as condensation of India’s age-old wisdom with respect to religion and culture. He wished people to recapture this Indian wisdom¹⁰.  This is the need of the hour if India is to fulfil its destiny. No one should aspire to be the World-Guru by professing anything other than love, understanding and tolerance. The proof of strength should not be force to be used at will but compassion. 

42. In 2015-16 my wife Tara and I were part of a ‘padayatra’ -walk on foot – from Kanyakumari to Srinagar. When we reached the outskirts of Bengaluru, one evening there was a public meeting where leading citizens belonging to various religions spoke. In his speech, Shri Veerendra Heggade, the Jain dharmadhikari (Head) of a famous Shiva temple at Dharmasthala, Karnataka, said that a person who knew his religion well would naturally respect other religions. A simple but remarkably profound statement. Only those who do not know their religion will spread canard against another religion. Dislike, fear, apprehension, anxiety, hate, violence are progeny of ignorance and misunderstanding. Understanding leads to acceptance, harmony and peace. There is no point in our wasting time, energy and resources in trying to belittle and weaken each other. Even if we succeed, we shall still be weak and little.  Let us understand and accept each other and work unitedly for peace and prosperity for everyone.  It is foolish to say that one religion is a way of life and others are not. All religions are ways of life. Only through one’s way of life can one follow/practice one’s religion. There is no other way.

43. It is quite easy to agree with those who talk about ‘Sanatana Dharma’, the Eternal Religion, provided it is not claimed that theirs’s is that Eternal Religion. Religion per se, as we have discussed, is one.  It is eternal too in the sense that man has always been contemplating on these issues. We should love and respect our religion, we can even be proud of our religion.  But undue pride of superiority by the followers of any one religion and / or looking down upon others’ religion is baseless. Some aspects of a particular religion may be more appealing to some people whereas some other aspects of some other religion may be more appealing to some other people. Differences should be contexted to history and geography behind various religions.  While pointing out and highlighting the dross in other religion/s, we tend to overlook the dross in our own religion. All religious traditions have their saints and wise men and their charlatans too.

44. The question is the followers of which religion should take the initiative now in professing and practicing this true and pacifist understanding of religion. The leaders and followers of various religions think that if they do it and the other/s do not do it, they will be overtaken and overwhelmed by other/s. The fear is not entirely unfounded. It is here that the statesmanship of political leaders, particularly those in power matters a great deal. Religious leaders of various religions have to demonstrate their true understanding of their own religion and religion per say. They should sincerely preach and practice acceptance and appreciation for other religions.  Blinkers have to be discarded.  Whereas the majority and the stronger section of the society has to show magnanimity, the minorities have to refrain from taking undue advantage of such magnanimity.  An improbable scenario? What is the alternative? Hate and violence? Peace is a practical need of any community, society or Nation. No progress of any kind can take place in the absence of security of peace. All Indians are equal citizens.  They have equal rights, equal duties and equal responsibilities in shaping the destiny of the nation; all have to share the joy of their contribution to it.

45. Religion is a tool.  We can use it to strengthen or build new divisive walls or to demolish such falls walls.  If religion is a lamp in our hand, we can easily and simply allow it to drop. It will break into pieces of no use.  But if we light it(understand religion in its true spirit), it can spread light;  light of knowledge, love and understanding to dispel the darkness of ignorance, misunderstanding and hate.  Let us use religion as a tool for our upward movement.  Let us, in all sincerity, act according to our traditional invocation prayer–

            Om sarve bhavantu sukhinah: sarve santu niramayah.

            Sarve bhadrani pashyantu ma kashchit dukhabhag bhavet.

         Om shantih, shantih, shantih

Let all be happy, free from diseases. Let all see the good, let no one suffer from miseries. Om peace, peace, peace.

46. The great Sufi Ibn Arabi’s poem “The Love Religion”⁴ is also inspiring –

            The inner space inside that we call heart

            Has become many different living scenes and stories.

            A pasture for sleek gazelles, a monastery for Christian monks,

            A temple with Shiva dancing, a Kaaba for pilgrimage.

            The tablets of Moses are there, the Quran, the Vedas,

            The Sutras and the gospels.

            Love is the religion in me.

47.       May India realize its full potential sooner than later. May we all Indians play our part in achieving that goal while realizing our own individual potential fully. 

            Amen.

References:

1. Glimpses of World Religions, Jaico Publishing House.
2. Quantum Theory, Oxford University Press.
3. All references to Quaranic suras, Jyothipath –  Basheer Ahmed Mayukh, Rajpal and Sons.
4. A Year with Rumi, Coleman Barks, HaroerOne.
5. Japuji Saheb, Manoj Publication.

6,7. Webster Universal Dictionary

8.  Essential Unity of All Religions, N. A Palkhivala, Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan.

9. The Unitive Life, Vinaya Chaitanya, One-World University, Wayanad, Kerala.

10.The Christ We Adore, Rama Krishna Math, Kolkata.

PVK’s notes.

For all the refinement and polish and apparent scholarship, I found the arguments of Dr Singh tedious, repetitive, unintelligent, guilty of avoiding logic and epistemology and calling itself “philosophical” while actually being ideological and only about ideology. Mostly political ideology, though political ideology is no innocent thing. It impinges on all aspects of social life, from broad questions of who rules over us – a thug with his chief qualification being his ability to organise burnings and lynchings of people of different religions – to how religion, Indian’s chief noise generating mechanism and mankind’s greatest generator of hatred, division and malevolence.

I responded with just a reading list. I am convinced that most intellectual arguments can be settled if the right kind of arguments are presented. And they can be presented if one reads the right authors – deep, learned, exceptionally clear-thinking epistemologists and logicians.

I must point out that not one epistemologist is in Dr Singh’s list. Not even the better ones from India. Like Pradeep Gokhale, or Lalitha Chattopadhya.

These are just some of the books I have read which have had a role to play in forming my mind about religion and related aspects.

This was my reading list. They were originally prepared to help me explain to Ulleck P of ‘Open’ magazine what my views on Narayana Guru were.

Here it is:

A reading list

Aiyappan, A. (1982)‘The Personality of Kerala’. Trivandrum: Dept of Publications, University of Kerala, 2019.

Ambedkar, B. R. 1936. ‘Annihilation of Caste: The Annotated Critical Edition’. New Delhi: Navayana, 2013.

Amrith, Sunil, S. 2013. ‘Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants’. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2015.

Amrith, Sunil, S. ‘Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons Have Shaped South Asia’s History. London: Penguin, 2020..

Applebaum, Anne. ‘Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends’.

London: Allen Lane, 2020.

Arora, Namit. ‘Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization’. Gurgaon: Penguin, 2021.

Arnold, Edwin. 1879. ‘The Light of Asia”. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1926.

Asan, Kumaran N. 1933. ‘മതപരിവർത്തന രസവാദം’ / ‘The Alchemy of Religious Conversion’. Thonnakkal: Sarada Book Depot, 1971.

Asan, Kumaran N. ‘Duravastha: Tragic Plight’. (Translated by P. C. Gangadharan. Thonnakkal: Kumaran Asan Memorial Committee, 1978.

Asan, Kumaran N. ‘ബ്രഹ്മ ശ്രീ നാരായണ ഗുരുവിന്റെ ജീവചരിത്ര സംഗ്രഹം / A Brief Sketch of the Life of Brahama Sree Narayana Guru’. Thonnakkal, Kumaran Asan Memorial, 1979.

Aiyappan, A. ‘Social Revolution in a Kerala Village: A Study in Culture Change. Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1965.

Aves, Yuvan. ‘Intertidal: A Coast and Marsh Diary. New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 2023.

Ayyub, Rana. ‘Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up. Self Published. 2016.

Baas, Michiel. ‘Muscular India: Masculinity, Mobility and the New Middle Class. Chennai: Context, 2020.

Balakrishnan, P. K. ‘ജാതി വൃവസ്ഥിതിയും കേരള ചരിത്രവും’ / ‘Jathi Vyavasthithiyum Kerala Charitravum’ /. Kottayam; SPCS, 1988.

Basham, A. L. 1992. ‘The Origins of and Development of Classical Hinduism’. New Delhi, OUP, 2003.

Bermstein, William J. ‘The Delusion of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups’. London” Atlantic, 2021.

Bharati, Swami Agehananda. ‘The Ochre Robe’. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1961.

Bharati, Swami Agehananda. ‘A Functional Analysis of Indian Thought and Its Social Margins’. Varanasi: The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, 1964.

Bharati, Swami Agehananda. ‘The Light at the Centre: Context and Pretext of Modern Mysticism. London’: George Allen & Unwin, 1961.

Bharati, Swami Agehananda. ‘Hindu Ways and the Hindu-Muslim Interface’. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981.

Bhatta, Jayanta. ‘Much Ado About Religion. (‘Ãgamadaambara’). Edited & translated by Scaba Desgo. ‘The Clay Sanskrit Library. New York: New York UP, 2005.

Bhasa. (1993) ‘The Shattered Thigh and Other Plays. (Translated by A. N. D. Haksar.) New Delhi: Penguin, 2008.

Bhupinder, Heera. 2011. ‘Uniqueness of Cārvāka Philosophy in Traditional Indian Thought’. New Delhi: Survodaya, 2020.

Blackmore, Susan J. ‘Seeing Myself: What Out-of-Body Experiences Tell Us about Life, Death and the Mind’. London: Robinson, 2017.

‘Chanakya Niti: Versus on Life and Living’. (Translated from the original Sanskrit by A. N. D. Haksar. Gurugram: Penguin, 2020.)

Chandramohan, P. ‘Developmental Modernity in Kerala: Narayana Guru, SNDP Yogam and Social Reform’. New Delhi: Tulika Books, 2016.

Chattopadhyaya, Lathika. ‘Scepticism in Indian Thought: Carvaka Philosophy Re-examined’. Kolkata; New Age, 2013.

Churchland, Patricia. ‘Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality.’ Princeton: Princeton U P. 2011.

Churchland, Patricia. ‘Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition’. New York: W.W. Norton, 2019.

Cohen, Richard. ‘Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past’. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2022.

Damasio, Anotnio. (1994) ‘Descarte’s Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain’. London: Vintage, 2006.

Damasio, Antonio. ‘The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness. (1997) London: Vintage, 2000.

Dasgupta, Subrata. ‘Awakening: The Story of the Bengal Renaissance’. Noida, Random House, 2011.

Deb, Siddhartha. ‘Twilight Prisoners: The Rise of the Hindu Right and the Decline of India’. Chennai: Context, 2024.

Dehaene, Stanislas. ‘How We Learn: The New Science of Education and the Brain’. London: Allen Lane, 2020.

Dev, Kesava P. 1959. ‘എതിർപ്പ്’ / ‘Ethirppu’. Kottayam: D C Books, 2015.

Devika, J. ‘Thinking with Sree Narayana Guru / ‘ഗുരു ചിന്തന: ഒരു മുഖവുര’. Kochi: Uru Art Harbour, 2017.

Dunn, Rob. ‘A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us About the Destiny of the Human Species’. London: Basic Books, 2021.

Durant, Will. ‘The Case for India’ Bombay, Strand, 2007.

Dutt, Bahar. ‘Green Wars: Despatches from a Vanishing World’. New Delhi: Harper Collins, 2014.

Edgerton, Franklin. ‘The Elephant-Lore of the Hindus: The Elephant-Sport (Mātanga Lila) of Nilakanta. (Translated from Sanskrit with an introduction, notes & glossary by Franklin Edgerton.

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. ‘A Foot in the River: Why Our Lives Change – and the Limits of Evolution. Oxford: Touchstone, 2001.

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. ‘Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature. New York: OUP, 2015.

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. ‘Out of Our Minds: What We Think and How We Came to Think It. London: Simon and Schuster, 2019.

Fisher, Max. ‘The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World’. London: Quercus, 2022,

Flanagan, Owen. 2011. ‘The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 2009.

Flanagan, Owen. 2011. ‘The Bodhisattva’s Brain: Buddhism Naturalized’. New York: 2013.

Fukuyama, Francis. ‘Liberalism and Its Discontents. London: Profile Books, 2022.

Grayling, A. C. ‘The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind. London: Bloomsbury, 2016.

Graziano, Michael. S.A. ‘Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience’. New York: W. W. Norton, 2019.

Gokhale, Pradeep P. ‘Lokayata / Cārvāka: A Philosophical Inquiry. New Delhi: OUP, 2015.

Godfrey-Smith, Peter. (2017) ‘Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life’. London: William Collins, 2021.

Ghosh, Amitav. ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis’. Gurugram: Penguin, 2021.

Guru, Narayana. ‘Narayana Guru: Complete Works’. Translated by Muni Narayana Prasad. New Delhi: National Book Trust, 2006.

Hamilton, Sue. ‘Indian Philosophy: A Short Introduction’. New Delhi: OUP, 2007.

Hitchens, Christopher. ‘God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything’. London: Atlantic Books, 2007.

Hitchens, Christopher. ‘Unacknowledged Legislation: Writers in the Public Sphere. London: Atlantic Books, 2000.

Iype, Sosamma. ‘വെച്ചൂർ പശു ഒരു പുനർജ്ജന്മം’. Trichur: Vechur Conservation Trust, 2021.

Jason, Stanley. ‘Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. London: Footnote, 2024.

Jha, D.N. ‘Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History’. New Delhi: Manohar, 2018.

Jeffrey, Robin. 1976. ‘The Decline of Nair Dominance: Society and Politics in Travancore 1847-1908’. Delhi, Manohar, 1994.

Jadhav, Narendra. ‘Outcaste: A Memoir’. New Delhi: Viking, 2003.

Jaffrelot, Christophe. ‘Dr Ambedkar and Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting Caste’. Delhi: Permanent Black, 2004.

Jaffrelot, Christophe. ‘Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy’. Chennai: Context, 2021.

Jahren, Hope. ‘The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here’. London: Fleet, 2020.

Jeffrey, Craig. ‘Modern India: A Very Short Introduction’. Oxford, O U P, 2017.

Jeffrey, Robin. 1992. ‘Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala Became ‘A Model’’. New Delhi; OUP, 2001.

Joseph, Josy. ‘The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State’. Chennai: Context, 2021.

Joseph, Tony. ‘Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From’. New Delhi: Jaggernaut, 2018.

Judt, Tony. ‘When the Facts Change: Essays 1995 – 2010. London: Vintage, 2015.

Kalidasa. ‘Malavikagnimitram’. Sanskrit text with a translation by N. P. Unny. New Delhi: New Bharatiy Book Corporation, 2013.

Kapikkad, Sunny M. ‘ജനതയും ജനാധിപത്യവും’ / ‘People and Democracy’. Kozhikode: Vidyarthi Publications, 2017.

Katz, Vernon and Thomas Egenes. ‘The Upanishads: A New Translation’. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher / Penguin, 2015.

Keay, John. ‘India Discovered: The Recovery of a Lost Civilization’. London: Harper Collins, 1981.

Kesavan, C. (1968) ‘ജീവിതസമരം; ആത്മകഥ’ / ‘Jeevitha Samaram: Aathmakatha’. Trivandrum: Prabhat Book House, 1999.

കേശവൻ, സി ഓ. ‘മഹാകവി കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ’. കേശവൻ, സി ഓ. ‘മഹാകവി കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ’. (1958). Trivandrum: The State Institute of Languages: 2021.

കേശവൻ, സി ഓ. ‘മഹാകവി കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ’. 1958.

Khilnani, Sunil. ‘Incarnations: India in 50 Lives’. London: Allen Lane, 2016.

King, Mary Elizabeth. ‘Gandhian Nonviolent Struggle and Untouchability in South India; The 1924-25 Vykom Satyagraha and the Mechanisms for Change’. New Delhi: OUP, 2015.

Koestler, Arthur. ‘The Lotus and the Robot’. London: Hutchinson, 1960.

Komireddi, K. S. ‘Malevolent Republic: A Short History of the New India. Chennai: Context, 2019.

Kunhukuttan, Matampu. ‘Outcaste’. (Translated from the Malayalam by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan. New Delhi: Aleph, 2019.

Krishna, T. M. ‘Sebastian and Sons: A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers. Chennai, Context, 2020.

Lal, Vinay and Roby Rajan, editors. ‘India and the Unthinkable: Backwaters Collective on Metaphysics and Politics’. New Delhi: OUP, 2016.

Lelyveld, Joseph. ‘Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India’. New Delhi, 2011.

Levitsky, Steven and Daniel Ziblatt. ‘How Democracies Die: What History Reveals about Our Future’. New York: Penguin, 2019.

Lieven, Dominic. ‘In the Shadow of the Gods: The Emperor in World History. London: Allen Lane, 2022.

Marayil, Ushadevi. ‘അയ്യങ്കാളി; പൊറാട്ടങ്ങളുടെ നായകൻ’ / ‘Ayyankali: Warrior and Leader’. Kottayam: SPCS, 2016.

Madhavan, T. K. ‘ഡോക്ടർ പല്പു: ജീവചരിത്രം’ / ‘Doctor Palpu: Biography’. Kayamkulam: Sitara Books, 2015. 

Mateer, Samuel. ‘Native Life in Travancore’. London: W. H. Allen and Co. 1883.

McIntyre, Lee. ‘Post-Truth. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 2018.

McIntyre, Lee. ‘The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience’ Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 2019.

McWhorter, John H. (2014) ‘The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language. Oxford: OUP, 2016.

Menand, Louis. ‘The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War. London: Fourth Estate, 2021.

Miller, Sam. ‘A Strange Kind of Paradise: India Through Foreign Eyes’. New Delhi: Hamish Hamilton, 2014.

Mohan, Peggy. ‘Jahajin’. Gurugram: Harper Collins: 2007.

Mohan, Peggy. ‘The Youngest Suspect’. Gurugram: Harper Collins: 2012.

Mohan, Peggy. ‘Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India through Its Languages’. New Delhi: Viking, 2021.

Mitta, Manoj. ‘The Fiction of Fact-Finding: Modi and Godhra: Gurugram: Harper Collins: 2014.

Mitta, Manoj. ‘Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India’. Chennai: Context, 2023.

Mundassery, Joseph. ‘Autumnal Days: Life and Time of a Public Intellectual. (Translated by Mini Chandran). Trissur: Cosmo Books, 2015.

Namboodiri, and Sudheer N. E. ‘ഇന്നലെ’. Kottayam: Indulekha Pusthakam, 2022.

Nilakantha, Ksemendra and Bhallata. ‘Three Satires’ New York: NY UP, 2005.

Nisar, M and Meena Kandasamy. ‘Ayyankali: A Dalit Leader of Organic Protest’. Calicut: Other Books, 2007.

Nixey, Catherine. ‘The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World. London: Pan Books, 2017.

Nanda, Meera. ‘A Field Guide to Post-Truth India’. Gurugram: Three Essays Collective, 2024.

Nanda, Meera. ‘Postcolonial Theory and the Making of Hindu Nationalism: The Wages of Unreason. London: Routledge, 2025.

O’Grady, Selina. ‘In the Name of God: A History of Christian and Muslim Intolerance. London: Atlantic, 2019.

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Omvedt, Gail. ‘Understanding Caste: From Buddha to Ambedkar and Beyond’. New Delhi; 2011.

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Pillai, Manu. ‘Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of Modern Hindu Identity’. New Delhi: Penguin, 2024.

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Rajasekharan, Thottam. ‘നാരായണഗുരു: നായകൻ / Narayana Guru: Leader’. Trivandrum: Thottam Books, 2011.

Ramachandran. ‘ഹിന്ദുത്വം  ഉറപ്പിച്ച കുമാരനാശാൻ’. New Delhi: Indus Scrolls Bhasha, 2024.

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Ramesh, Jairam. ‘The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined the Buddha’. Gurugram: Viking, 2021.

Rauch, Jonathan. ‘The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defence of Truth’. Washington D C: Brooking Institute Press, 2021.

Ravindran, T. K. ‘Asan and Social Revolution in Kerala: A Study of His Assembly Speeches’. Trivandrum: Kerala Historical Society, 1972.

Ravindran, T. K.’ ‘ശ്രീ നാരായണഗുരു: ഒരു പഠനം’ / ‘Sree Narayana Guru: A Study’. Kozhikode, Grass Roots, 2018.

Roberts, Patrick. ‘Jungle: How Tropical Forests Shaped the World – and Us’. Dublin: Viking, 2021.

Romig, Roll. ‘I Am on the Hit List: Murder and Myth-Making in South India’. Chennai: Context, 2025.

Rukmini, S. ‘Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us about Modern India: Chennai: Context, 2021.

Rustad, Harley. ‘Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas’. 2022.

Rutherford, Adam. ‘A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes’. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 2016.

Schaberg, Christopher. ‘The Work of Literature in an Ae of Post-Truth’. New York: Bloomsbury, 2018.

Saket, Soni. ‘The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labour and Immigrant Dreams in America.’ New York: Algonquin Books, 2024.

Sandal, Michael J. ‘The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good’. What’s Become of the Common Good. London: Allen Lane, 2020.

Sankar, Achuth. ‘തരിപ്പ്’. Kozhikode: Olive Publishers, 2019.

Sanoo, M. K.’Dr Palpu: The Champion of Justice. (Translated by Radhika P. Menon). Alappuzha: Open Door Media: 2019.

Sankar. ‘The Monk as Man: The Unknown Life of Swami Vivekananda’. (2003) Gurgaon: Penguin, 2011.

Sadasivan, K. ‘കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ: ചില സ്മരണകൾ’ / ‘Kumaran Asan: Some Memories’. Thonnakkal: Sarada Book Depot, 1951.

Saradamoni, K. ‘In Search of Answers: A Memoir’. New Delhi: Tulika, 2023.

Sekhar, Ajay. ‘Sahodaran Ayyappan: Towards a Democratic Future: Life and Select Works’. Calicut: Other Books, 2012.

Singleton, Mark. ‘Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice’. New York: OUP, 2010.

Shaw, Julia D. ‘Making Evil: The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side’. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2019.

Shearer, Alistair. ‘The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West’. Gurgaon, 2020.

Singh, Upinder. ‘Ancient India: Culture of Contradictions. New Delhi: Aleph, 2021.

Sobhanan, B. 1985. ‘The Nadars and Temple Entry Movement.Trivandrum: Vaikunda Swami International Centre for Study and Research, 2017.

Sreenivasan, K.’ Kumaran Asan: Profile of a Poet’s Vision’ Trivandrum: Jayasree Publications, 1981.

Srinivas, M. N. ‘Social Change in Modern India’. Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2003.

Strevens, Michael. ‘The Knowledge Machine: How an Unreasonable Idea Created Modern Science’. London: Penguin, 2021.

Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. ‘Europe’s India: Words, People, Empires 1500 – 1800. Cambridge, MA, Harvard UP, 2017.

Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. ‘Across the Green Sea: Histories from the Western Indian Oceans 1440 – 1640’. Ranikhet: Permanent Black.

Surendran, K. ‘മഹാകവി കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ: ജീവിതം, സാഹിത്യ ദര്ശനം’. (1963)Trivandrum: Sreshta, 2017.

Suzman, James. (2017). ‘Affluence without Abundance: What We Can Learn from the World’s Most Successful Civilization. London: Bloomsbury, 2019.

Suzman, James. ‘Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time’. London: Bloomsbury, 2020.

Temelkuran, Ece. ‘How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship. London: 4^th Estate, 2019.

‘Therigatha: Poems of the First Buddhist Women’. (Translated by Charles Hallisey.) Cambridge, MA. Murty Classical Library of India & Harvard UP, 2015. ,

Thottam, Jyothi. ‘Sisters of Mokama: The Pioneering Women Who Brought Hope and Healing to India. New York: Viking, 2022.

Thagard, Paul. ‘Natural Philosophy: From Social Brains to Knowledge, Reality, Morality and Beauty. New York: OUP, 2019.

Thapar, Romila. ‘The Past as Present: Forging Contemporary Identities Through History’. New Delhi: Aleph, 2014.

Thapar, Romila. ‘The Present Colonizes the Past: The Future Forsaken?’ London: Seagull, 2026.

Thapar, Romila. ‘Voices of Dissent: An Essay. London: Seagull, 2027.

‘The Laws of Manu. (1991) (Translated by Wendy Doniger with Brian K. Smith.) New Delhi: Penguin, 2000.

Trautmann, Thomas R. ‘Elephants and Kings: An Environmental History’. Ranikhet, Permanent Black, 2015.

Thagard, Paul. ‘Natural Philosophy: From Social Brains to Knowledge, Reality, Morality and Beauty’. New York: OUP, 2019.

Ullekh, N. P. ‘Kannur: Inside India’s Bloodiest Revenge Politics. Gurugram: Penguin, 2018.

Unny, E. P. ‘Spices and Souls: A Doodler’s Journey through Kerala. Kottayam: DC Books, 2001. 

Unny, E. P. ‘R K Laxman: Back with a Punch. New Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2022.

Vaidk, Aparna. ‘My Son’s Inheritance: A Secret History of Lynching and Blood Justice in India’. New Delhi: Aleph, 2020.

Van Leeuwen, Neil. ‘Religion as Make-Believe: A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity’. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2023.

V. K. N. ‘കാവി’. (1994). Trissur: D C Books, 2020.

Yajnavalkya. ‘A Treatise on Dharma’. (Edited & translated by Patrick Olivelle.

Washington, Booker T. ‘The Story of My Life and Work. Cincinnati: W. H. Ferguson, 1900.

Washington, Booker T. ‘Up From Slavery’. New York: Dover Publications, 1995.

Whatmore, Richard. ‘The End of Enlightenment: Empire, Commerce, Crisis. Dublin: Allen Lane, 2023.

Whitmarsh, Tim. ‘Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World’. London: Faber, 2016.

Wilkerson, Isabel. ‘Caste: The Lives that Divide Us’. London: Allen Lane, 2020.

Wynne, Alexander. ‘Buddhism: An Introduction’. London: I B Tauris, 2015.

Yeilding, Nancy. ‘Narayana Guru: A Life of Liberating Love’. New Delhi: D K Printword, 2019.

Washington, Booker T. ‘The Story of My Life and Work. Cincinnati: W. H. Ferguson, 1900.

Whatmore, Richard. ‘The End of Enlightenment: Empire, Commerce, Crisis. Dublin: Allen Lane, 2023.

Wynne, Alexander. ‘Buddhism: An Introduction’. London: I B Tauris, 2015.

Xygalatas, Dimitris. ‘Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. London: Profile, 2024.

PVK’s note: Out of this list of 266 books, I have actually read 190 books. I have kept notes on these, so I can, now and then, refresh my memory. Most of them are in my personal library.

I personally feel that the case against Dr Singh is overwhelming. Just one of two books or authors will annihilate any argument against ‘god’ and similar supernatural agencies. Antonio Damasio, David Quammen and Agehananda Bharati are top of my list of book bombs that can vaporize the arguments about ‘god’.

But one cannot argue with believers. I admit it is true, to some extent, to me too.

P. Vijaya Kumar  / PVK

profpvk@gmail.com

Thank you. Nandri. Namaskaram.

14/June/2026.

Note: The following paragraphs ‘Note on Narayana Guru’ are

October 2022)

Note on Narayana Guru

Narayana Guru had charisma, in the Weberian sense, and that helped him be such a powerful moral force at a crucial time in the history of Kerala. But one should not forget the context in which he appeared and made his mark.

Narayana Guru came from a section of society that was rich in knowledge, but poor in material terms and in terms of social prestige. That was the way the caste system worked.

His people had abundant empirical knowledge. They cultivated the land, with skill and zeal. They grew food and had knowledge of the multiple uses of the coconut tree. A kalpaka vrisham does not drop wealth on anyone’s lap. Wealth has to be extracted from it through hard labour. As global trade along sea routes increased, so did the importance and value of coir; the production of this was almost entirely in the hands of Ezhavas. (Caste laws prevented them from extracting oil from the coconut, but they could cultivate it and make copra.) Weaving, ayurveda or traditional medicine, distilling, house building and masonary and some trade were among the other occupations Ezhavas were permitted to indulge in. Their primary activity was agriculture.  

All this made them masters of empirical knowledge in some vital areas. This was not recognised as knowledge. The tools used for their occupations were often taxed. This is true of Ezhavas and other avarna groups.

The metaphysics or philosophy or ideology of the time ensured this. Knowledge was supposed to reside in mantras and in the minds of yogis who could impart it through blessing people. The occupations the Ezhavas were engaged in were considered degrading. Those who had knowledge and skill were therefore treated as polluters.

It is possible to distil some empirical knowledge out of the scriptures in India, particularly in the areas of social or individual psychology. But otherwise it is just poetry or fiction. The success of the Brahmins and their ilk was in selling the idea that the holy books contained all knowledge. Most, if not all, of society came to believe this. (This was one of the greatest confidence tricks in the history of the world. Similar to the golden lie of the Greeks.)

Narayana Guru’s hymns and slokas are basically a retelling of ancient Indian ways of looking at things. These, as we know, received a boost thanks to developments connected with the Bengal Renaissance. Even before that, the sanyasin or renouncer was revered in India. This reverence, and Narayana Guru’s success at articulating a new, 19^th century view of Vedantic philosophy (at least that is what some people believe he did), would account for part of his success.  This gave Indians the illusion of being world leaders in knowledge which in turn filled them with self-regard. Confidence and self-esteem are great motivators. So while the metaphysics has little value in describing the world, it is unparalleled in its ability to generate meaning and thus move people.

Narayana Guru is often seen as a totally indigenous phenomenon. He did not know English and was not familiar with European thinkers. But ideas about non-discriminatory social justice, equality and egalitarianism did not flourish in India before such ideas arrived from abroad. And when they did arrive, they reshaped the minds of most Indians. Hindu philosophers performed the necessary gymnastics to make their religion look egalitarian and universal and even superior to those theologically based ethical systems that were also very old (like Buddhism and Christianity).

Narayana Guru saw the need to embrace modern forms of empirical knowledge. So did his people. Dr. Palpu’s role is this was decisive. Not religious or spiritual by inclination, he was devoted to learning and knowledge and was driven by a strong ethic of work, thrift and endeavour. He turned to Swami Vivekananda not to seek spiritual enlightenment but to look for solutions to the real problems faced by his peers in Travancore. The mass movement that could bring about change was more likely to succeed, SV told him, if it was led by a person in a religious garb or with a spiritual aura.

Dr. Palpu was a voracious reader. Most of the books he read were in English. He passed them on to friends and acolytes as soon as he had finished with them. The two years he spent studying in England must have opened his eyes as much as Asan’s eyes were opened when he was in Calcutta. So when he helped set up the SNDP and had conversations with Asan and NG, it must have been about training, education, industry, enterprise etc etc and not the soul and its connections to the universal spirit. (I remember his daughter Anandalakshmi, Anandaakka to my parents and me, telling me how much her father hated idleness and gossip. On his walks every evening, Dr. Palpu used to trek part of the way to Aruvikkara. He would pick up stones thrown up by the canal being dug for the pipeline to Vellayambalam and give them to his daughter and ask her to polish them. He showed her how it was done. I have seen a necklace or two that she had fashioned. Anandaakka spoke excellent English and was one very polished lady.)  

In 1895 one of Dr. Palpu’s close friends, G. P. Pillai, spoke at the Poona convention of the INC. He spoke about the injustice faced by the Ezhavas of Travancore and made a case for the removal of restrictions in place both in educational institutions and government jobs. The facts and figures were given by Dr. Palpu. Remember, Dr. Palpu, and his brother Velayudhan, had a significant role in the preparation and presenting of the Malayali Memorial of 1891 and, later, the Ezhava Memorial. Asan, Dr. Palpu and other leaders of the SNDP were in constant touch with NG. There were some disagreements at times, but the broad contours of the landscape they shaped were clear – modern, secular education and equality of opportunity as rights. These would lead to progress and prosperity.       

NG was able to galvanise a land, Kerala, for more than two generations. Today he is one god among many. But for most Ezhavas, he is the most important in the pantheon.

The votaries of Hindu metaphysics make much of his contribution to Hindu thought. They see his Aruvippuram prathista as a “dharmic act”. [The phrase is from Roby Rajan’s ‘Backwater Disclosure: Ontological Politics and the Dialectics of Intercommunality’.] There is no action a metaphysician will not be able to rationalise as a dharmic act.

V. K. Krishna Iyer saw it “as a radical challenge to the status quo ante.” Krishna Iyer went on: “The entire edifice of Brahminism and the caste structure suffered a collapse when, by installing Siva in a temple built by him, Narayana Guru worked a miracle of spiritual transformation and social reformation. What was at stake was not an Ezhava Siva installed by an Ezhava Sadhu with access to all regardless of caste, creed, or religion or sect but an irreverent subversion of an obscurantist order which dominated and blinded the masses of Hindus.”

When Rosa Parks sat down on a seat on a bus it had similar symbolic value; it also resonated far and wide. It was a deed of outstanding courage; also a moral act. But its political symbolism far outweighed any spiritual heft it may have had.

Why is NG’s appeal limited to Kerala and, even here, mostly to his caste men?

One reason could be his very success. The ills and evils Dr. Palpu and his comrades petitioned against have largely disappeared. No saint needs to ask anyone today to pursue modern knowledge. (And if one does ask people to abhor liquor, few will listen. Vegetarianism is a different matter, though.)

With the passing of time, metaphysics will lose the limited appeal it has. Even Hindu metaphysics. Naturalistic explanations for phenomena including such constructs as the soul and the universal spirit will slowly, generation after generation, lose traction. The idea of atman and reincarnation and so on will continue to be embraced by believers, but versions peddled by people who cater to the demotic tastes of the future may gain greater acceptance than NG’s poetic version. 

NG has a long life, though, in Kerala, as a symbol. For Ezhavas he will continue to be an identity defining icon. His ideas and thought will mostly be forgotten. His pictures will sell. All politicians will claim to revere him. This is not likely to change so long as there are elections and so long as the SNDP has the largest stock of unaccounted liquid cash in Kerala. (The argument about the liquid cash was made to me by a relative of the current would-be Pope of the Ezhava church. I have no idea if it is true.)

Outside the context of Hinduism, NG’s work does not have much relevance. From the Buddha to the Beatles people have been ambassadors of love and compassion. It is a crowded field.

Within Hinduism, I suspect his caste status probably militates against greater acceptability. Avarna Hindus, willing to consider NG a great saint, still place him below Chattambi Swami.  

Manu Pillai suggested that if NG had delivered his discourses in English, he might have been a more visible person. As Manu put it, “the emerging ‘national’ elite in India used English” and English ensured greater reach. As he remarked, the colonial needed the language of the coloniser for his fight for decolonisation.  NG only needed some European ideas seeping through to his land. So, there probably is a language issue here. That, I think, is an irony that NG himself would have chuckled over. Can’t Sanskrit earn you a national stature? No, not even when combined with Malayalam and Tamil. Hindi may have helped.

He does not appeal to the nationalistic Indian. Though caste existed in every part of India, his appeal is less broad than it might have been. Was he too cerebral a saint?

NG was born into a feudal, theocratic, deeply divided, cripplingly restrictive, poverty stricken and deeply unequal society. When he died a giant wave had begun to transform Travancore, a wave he helped unleash. Today we live in an electoral democracy that has a constitution that guarantees equality and rights to everyone. But our culture is still largely feudal, undemocratic and theocratic. With some affluence, all segments of society are turning into smug consumerists. A religio-consumerist, self-congratulatory culture, very different from the time of NG, defines today’s Kerala.

We can see two Narayana Gurus. There was one who embraced modern knowledge and egalitarianism and was, while restrained in behaviour, impatient for change. There was also the one who sought comfort in the myths of Hindu metaphysics. One must remember that it was the first who stood out when Narayana Guru met Gandhi during the Vaikkom satyagraha. Gandhi tried to take the moral high ground, lecturing Dalits he met on cleanliness and their eating habits and asking Narayana Guru to promise to spin yarn every day. (Little did he know that the Guru came from a community that had slaved at the loom for generations and was eager to learn textile technology and start mills of their own but could not.) Gandhi came out as a lesser leader, an apologist for the unearned privileges of the savarnas, while NG came out as a champion among leaders who knew which way society had to move and how. It was towards the kind of society his own disciple Shahodaran Ayyappan had already envisaged and was taking steps to reach.

Narayana Guru’s ideal was a casteless society. He may have tried to interpret Hindu philosophy to make this point. It was a brave but ultimately futile attempt. Futile for two reasons – one, without caste, can there be Hinduism? I suspect that NG was stating that it was not possible. The second reason is that NG’s attempts to sketch a philosophy for a casteless society have been hijacked and is now being presented as the philosophy of a perfect religion.  

One should never equate the SNDP with NG. For Dr Palpu and others his charisma was of limitless value. So were some of his ideas. They must have really believed that they could translate NG’s ideals into reality. But the world is a messier place than those idealists thought. That is why the organisation that was launched to propagate NG’s teachings is now seen as a casteist, sectarian entity.  

Let us not forget that as the SNDP got more and more powerful, it turned more partisan and less casteless. NG disassociated himself from it. Indeed, the first case the SNDP filed was against Narayana Guru.  

One must not forget either that NG worked with the metaphors and symbols available to him at that time and place. He envisaged a far, far better world than the one he was living in, and saw that such a world lay in the future that we could craft if guided by love, knowledge and a sense of justice. He never believed that a better world lay in the past and that we should try to revive it. He was a visionary, not a priest.

NG’s fate seems to be similar to that of the Buddha’s. Despite their teachings they themselves began to be treated as gods. Devotionalism and ritualism followed. The subtlety and sophistication of their thought was lost on their followers. There is a difference in degree, though. The Buddha has near global reach. NG is revered by Ezhavas, globally.

P. Vijaya Kumar

Further note:

The following is an email to N. E. Sudheer on how Guru Narayana would have reacted to the news of famine in South India.

Email to Sudheer N E on 10/Oct/2022 on how NG must have reacted to the news of famine in south India and what questions he must have asked himself when he rode on the railway and on steamships.  (A shorter version was mailed to Dr. Sivapriyan, my close friend, relative, dentist and, in many ways, mentor.)

In the 1870s there were famines across the globe. In many parts of Africa and Asia and, needless to say, in south India. 

NG, as a curious youth, would have been aware of this. The famine did not spare Travancore. I suspect that this was when Travancore began importing rice from Burma. 

Take a look at this piece, please. 

https://scroll.in/magazine/855532/who-was-the-photographer-who-took-these-dehumanising-images-of-the-madras-famine

NG would have been aware of the starvation and the suffering. “Naturally” avarnas would have suffered more. I don’t think he consoled himself that these were examples of the jivatma merging with the paramatma. 

There had to be a more rational answer. I think the intellectual component of NG’s quest would have, at least partly, been about the ultimate causes of these things. But he would not have been indifferent to the more proximate causes; why some were fat and some were starving. 

Today we know that the famines were caused by two things — a rare El Nino phenomenon and the British led move away from food crops to commercial crops. 

NG would not have had the advantage of knowing this. 

Factors like this, and the kind of thoughts that must have entered NG’s head as he saw the steam engines that pulled trains and pushed ships across seas must be taken into account when we try to figure out his thinking and behaviour. 

NG used both forms of transport, not in the 1870s perhaps, but later. What impact did this have on his mind, say, when he stood on the deck of a steamship while travelling to Ceylon?

Did he leave behind stray remarks or comments on these? Did he think that all these (from the crow waiting for the starving boy to die to the black smoke emanating from the chimney of his ship) were manifestations of the divine, different forms of an all encompassing atman? 

If he did, did his thought not evolve? If so, in which direction? 

These thoughts have been triggered by your remark, Sudheer, that Muni Narayana Prasad’s idea that NG was primarily a vedantist and that other thoughts have been tagged on to him, ignoring his essence. 

I suspect that the muni is not correct. NG must not have been primarily anything. He must have kept evolving, at least intellectually. 

P. Vijaya Kumar  / PVK

profpvk@gmail.com

Thank you. Nandri. Namaskaram.

PVK 14/June/2026.