Chapter 1

1. The term mysticism seems to defy definition. Very generally speaking, it is a doctrine that knowledge of ultimate reality or God, or whatever that may be, can be gained only by immediate intuition, particularly like the concentration of mind on, and absorption in, the divine essence, which provides a kind of ecstasy and gives a revealing vision of the supreme reality. Some thinkers like W. R. Inge have listed as many as 25 definitions of mysticism. The meaning of the term is highly culture-specific. In Hindu thought, it is believed to be indeterminate (nirvikalpa) or immediate. Another meaning of this word in the Hindu tradition is ‘deep significance’ (gudartha). In Greek mystery cults, it is known as muein (‘to remain silent’), perhaps signifying the secrecy of the initiation rites. The Christian term mustikos does not resemble our present understanding. William James thinks, as is evident from his well-known book, The Varieties of Religious Experiences, its closest meaning is ineffability. Second, he is of the view that it is not primitive or theoretical knowledge, nor argumentative in character, but provides an all encompassing sense of integration. Third, it is believed to be passive in character and presupposes some mental exercises, which take away the active character of the restlessness of the mind. Fourth, the term mystic seems to denote transience. In all major religious systems, this term, or one of its many cognates is widely used.

2. The controversy between creationism and evolutionism assumed a very acute and widespread character after the rise of the Darwinian Theory of Evolution. This happened because it was pointed out that this view clashes with the theory of creation as propounded by Christianity. In this connection, the works that deserve special attention are (i) Benz Ernst, Evolution and Christian Hope: Manˆs Concept of the Future from the Early Fathers to Teilhard de Chardin, tr. Heinz G. Frank (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1996), (ii) Philip Kitcher, Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1982) and (iii) Ernst Mayr, The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance (Cambridge, MA and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1982).

3. Conscience is rooted in the Latin word conscientia. Literally, it means consciousness-with. Though it has often been said that ‘erring conscience is a chimera’, in practice we find conscience has a hidden social underpinning which lends it a relativistic or context-bound character. Conscience(s) of different ethnic/cultural groups differ and, at times, even prove conflicting. In the West, conscience is traceable to the Hebrew scripture, the writing of Cicero and to those of Paul. In Hinduism, the word for conscience is antahsanjna or antahkaranah, and this is believed to be the seat of dharma. To Cicero, conscientia stands for an internal moral authority on important/controversial issues. In the New Testament, Paul uses the notion of conscience as he finds it in ordinary language of his time. In the writings of the philosophers belonging to the Moral Sense School, the term conscience was especially important. Before the quantitative approach was introduced and accepted in economics, this term also proved very important to writers on economic theories and views.

4. This view of mine will be borne out by Standard Encyclopedia on the biographies of great creative writers, scientists, and philosophers. See, for example, Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 16 vols, editor-in-chief, Charles Coulston Gillispie (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970–80). See also Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, gen. ed. Edward Craig (London and New York: Routledge, 1998). This high correlation between creativity and the concerned writers’ age factor may perhaps be best understood in terms of the concerned writers’ psychosomatic vivacity, intellectual penetration, and the capacity of imaginative exploration.

5. Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, Vol. 2, Stories and Prose, Vol. 3, A Miscellany, ed. Sisir Kumar Das (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1996).

6. The distinction that I draw between ‘class-room teachers’ and ‘teachers of mankind’ may not be acceptable to many people, particularly those who have been educated in the standard and widely prevalent system of education. Even if I accept the modern view, outwardly affirmed or espoused by people who refuse to accept the traditionalview of religion based on God, or some God-like principle, or Prophet, and teachings of religious leaders over the centuries, I find it, honestly speaking, very difficult to accept this rejection seriously. Most of them may not be practicing religion in all its details and in a regular way. All things being equal, I have noticed both in communist countries and academic campuses that they, generally speaking, have a sense of deep respect for the great religious teachers. The official political ideology of a country does not necessarily mean that all its people accept or follow the ideology. Their denial of God and debunking of the teachings of the prophets and saints are more for official or public consumption, than for honest expression of their own conviction. Of course, exceptions are there. Sweeping generalizations like this age or that country is committed to materialism, atheism and consumerism, and are less than even half-truths.

7. I substantially accept Mahatma Gandhi’s description of politics. For example, he writes, ‘If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircle us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish, therefore, to wrestle with the snake.’ (Young India, 12 May 1920). The negative and destructive aspects are so well known that one need not dilate the same here. However, the positive aspects of politics and war, though often unintended, deserve attention. For example, the history of war, both of antiquity and subsequent periods, bears evidence, among other things, of (i) ethnic migration, (ii) cultural interaction or even integration and (iii) spread of the effects of arts, sciences and technologies. The process of globalization has often been facilitated by the positive effects of war, war-related factors and forces just mentioned.

8. Among the many revolutions that left a durable impact, and a very important one at that, on the subsequent course of history, students and scholars, generally speaking, take special interest in the events leading to and the fallout of the French Revolution and those of the Bolshevik Revolution. For an authoritative overview of the French Revolution (1789–1815) D. M. G. Sutherland, France 1789–1815: Revolution and Counterrevolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986) and William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989) deserve mention. The interested reader may also consult David Thomson, Europe Since Napoleon (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973). Personally speaking, I found the following multi-volume works helpful: E. H. Carr, History of Soviet Russia, 14 vols (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1950–78), and Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents of Marxism, 3 vols, The Founders, The Golden Age and The Breakdown, tr. P. S. Falla (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978).

9. Wars are of different kinds and are studied under different heads, namely, with reference to different countries, historical periods, religions, and the scopes of the concerned religion. However, it should be added that the distinction between religious war, political war, and ideological war has often been found to be overlapping. In some studies of war, economic factors have been given priority, in other cases strategic consideration has been accorded higher importance. It is interesting to note that in some studies of war even the sophisticated mathematical Game Theoretical techniques have been used. Of late, particularly since the end of World War II, guerrilla warfare, or war of low intensity is being widely used. See for example, J. B. Dasgupta (ed.), Science, Technology, Imperialism and War, PHISPC, Vol. 15, Part 1 (New Delhi: Pearson Longman, 2007).

10. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (in Japan) was an extended part of the Manhattan Project with which many great scientists of the time, including Einstein, and statesmen like Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, were directly and indirectly associated. Later on, several of the scientists expressed remorse for their association with this project that inaugurated the most dreadful part of the history of war affecting the destiny of humanity as a whole. For the development of thermonuclear weapons, see Herbert F. York, The Advisors: Oppenheimer, Teller, and the Superbomb (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1976) and Hans A. Bethe, ‘Comments on the History of the H-Bomb,’ Los Alamos Science, (Fall) 3(3): 1982, 43–53. Literature on the subject is vast. From the discovery of subatomic particles, and that of the discovery of radioactive and stable isotopes, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion are among the main subjects studied under the theme of the atom bomb. Technology has also been undergoing significant changes. Steven Weinberg, The Discovery of Subatomic Particles (New York: Scientific American Library, 1983), Robert P. Crease and Charles C. Mann, The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth Century Physics (New York: Macmillan, 1986), Bernard G. Harvey, Introduction to Nuclear Physics and Chemistry (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969) and Francis F. Chen, Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (New York: Plenum Press, 1984) are among the most important works on the subject.

11. For understanding the human roots of science, technology, philosophy, and culture see, for example, D. P. Chattopadhyaya, Interdisciplinary Studies in Science, Technology, Philosophy and Culture, PHISPC (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1996, reissued 2004).

12. War and Peace, like life and death, have remained interrelated from time immemorial. The hypothesis of an idyllic antiquity which has been claimed by many writers, religious teachers and philosophers is not borne out by the available evidence of archaeology, anthropology, history and literature. It seems that war is as ancient an institution, as the human yearning for peace. For and against both war and peace in all forms of ethico-religious literature, great minds have expressed themselves. In the epics of different cultures, a distinction has often been drawn between (i) just war and unjust war and (ii) just peace and unjust peace. By implication it is being claimed that neither war nor peace in itself is just or unjust. It depends on the attending circumstances and involved principles.

13. Georges Sorel, Reflections on Violence, tr. T. E. Hulme and J. Roth with an introduction by Edward A. Shils (Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1950). See also Irving Louis Horowitz, Radicalism and the Revolt Against Reason: The Social Theories of Georges Sorel (London: Routledge, 1961).

14. V. Gordon Childe, The Prehistory of European Society (London: Cassell, 1958). See also his New Light on the Most Ancient East, 4th edn (New York: Praeger, 1953).

15. The two names, which to my mind, have been extensively used during the last two centuries in the context of the struggle for existence, and quest for peace are those of Charles Darwin and Karl Marx. While I say this, I am not forgetful of the negative aspect of social Darwinism, and the detailed theoretical and practical arguments for and against such well-known theories as (i) class struggle, (ii) polarization of different classes, (iii) gradual withering away of the class-based State and (iv) anarchism of abolition of the State, leading to the fullest possible human freedom. While it is true that Marx expressed himself on all these issues, Darwin, being primarily a life scientist as he was, did not develop his views, at least not in detail, on these important themes.

16. Among Bertrand Russell’s numerous books dealing with his social and political views, some of the most important and interesting ones are: Roads to Freedom: Socialism, Anarchism and Syndicalism (London: Allen & Unwin, 1918), Power: A New Social Analysis (New York: Norton, 1938), Authority and the Individual (London: Allen & Unwin, 1949) and New Hopes for a Changing World (London: Allen & Unwin, 1951). In Chapter 17 of the last book, one finds a very interesting discussion on the aged facing death. In connection with the Marxist view on religion, the two books that I have found most authoritative are Gustav A. Wetter’s Dialectical Materialism: A Historical and Systematic Survey of Philosophy in the Soviet Union, tr. Peter Heath (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1958) and Soviet Ideology Today, tr. Peter Heath (London: Heinemann, 1966).

17. See Wetter, Soviet Ideology. See also Daniel Chirot, Social Change in the Modern Era, gen. ed. Robert K. Merton (San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986) and Jack A. Goldstone (ed.), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative, and Historical Studies (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thompson, 1986).

18. D. P. Chattopadhyaya, Philosophy of Science, Phenomenology and Other Essays (New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research, 2003).

19. R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism, and Minor Cult (Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1965, originally published in 1913). See also Sanjukta Gupta, et al., Hindu Tantrism (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1979).

20. The origin of Jainism, like that of Buddhism, seems to be oral, very old, and not reliably documented. Bardhamāna Mahāvīra—a contemporary of the Buddha—is ordinarily is believed to have started preaching his views in the sixth century BC. Both these schools of thought departed from and questioned many tenets of Vedic dharma. They rejected the existence of God, and their systems of ontology also differed from those found in the different Vedas. Buddhism and Jainism are basically protestant in character. However, Buddhist schools had similarities on some points with the Vedic views. While Buddhism started declining in India and spreading to other countries, Jainism, though mainly confined to India, gained in popularity. Both these schools, with the passage of time, gave rise to several sub-schools and sects. The ideal of liberation received prime attention of the teachers of these two schools. The ideal of non-violence was defended very systematically, both by Jainism and Buddhism. The Jaina logic of Anekantavāda, the many-sidedness of truth, has received pointed attention of many modern scientists and logicians. The works of D. C. Kothari, P. C. Mahalanobis, J. B. S. Haldane and T. K. Sarkar are worth recalling in this connection. English translations of selected Jaina texts by A. L. Basham are included in a compilation by William Theodore de Bary et al., Sources of Indian Tradition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1958). See, for example, Wolfgang Beurlen, The Doctrine of Jainas: Described After the Old Sources (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1962).

21. The Jewish people have two broad identities of their own, ethnic and religious. They are both historical people in their own right and are sustained by the Jewish religious tradition. From very ancient times, the Jewish people have been interacting with the Persians, Turks, and other peoples. Judaism, influenced all the civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea and made its presence felt in far-off countries like north Europe, Russia, Central Asia, China, and India. The Jewish diaspora, spread over different countries and continents, has influenced and in turn has been influenced by the peoples amongst whom they lived. However, in most cases they have been found to be closely knit peoples and therefore they have proved, historically speaking, more influential than influenced. Only in the last few centuries they started opening up to other religions and cultures. Though many Jewish peoples have been religiously disposed but some of them committed themselves to secularism. See, for example, Simon Dubnow, Nationalism and History: Essays on Old and New Judaism, ed. Koppel S. Pinson (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1958); Joseph L. Blau, Judaism in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976); Jonathan Frankel, Prophecy and Politics: Socialism, Nationalism and the Russian Jews, 1862–1916 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981) and Yehuda Bauer, The Holocaust in Historical Perspective (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1978).

22. James H. Charlesworth, Jesus Within Judaism: New Light from Exciting Archaeological Discoveries (New York: Doubleday, 1988).

23. Roger Brooks and John J. Collins (eds), Hebrew Bible or Old Testament: Studying the Bible in Judaism and Christianity (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1990).

24. D. P. Chattopadhyaya, Societies, Cultures and Ideologies: Analysis and Interpretations (Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2001).

25. See also D. P. Chattopadhyaya, Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx: Integral Sociology and Dialectical Sociology (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988).

26. Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, Vol. 13 (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1970). The author gives an original interpretation of the teachings and ideas, both theoretical and practical, of this very important book of Hinduism. See also Paramahansa Yogananda, The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda, As Remembered by His Disciple, Swami Kriyananda (Gurgaon: Ananda Sangha Publications, 2006).

27. The issue of death, like that of life, is too vague to be squarely addressed and satisfactorily answered. Yet, the importance of these issues can hardly be ignored in practical life and dismissed in a banal manner. I have personally found the issue of death as being dealt with most instructively in different mythologies, philosophical and religious systems. The wide difference expressed in different views indicate, among other things, changing views of the concerned peoples in the light of their experience, fear, hope, and scientific findings. That explains the lack of unanimity of views, mythological, theological, philosophical and even scientific and legal.

28. To me, death seems much more enigmatic than life. Neither in its ordinary sense, nor in its scientific sense is death really lived. From different sources, perceptual, scriptural, medical, and so on, we can form only an idea of death. Its experience in personal life proves ever-elusive. We experience and hear of others’ deaths, but our own death is directly not available to ourselves.

29. Man’s attitude to death makes a difference to both his beliefs, sentiments, and actions related to life and death. Let’s take some paradigmatic examples, say, Socrates, Galileo and Bruno. Socrates faced death calmly and ungrudgingly, mainly because of his conviction that the law of the land one lives in, should not be disobeyed. He did not raise the more fundamental question whether the law of a land itself is necessary and just. Tradition tells us laws, which are man-made, are as fallible as their authors themselves. Galileo did not like to enter into a conflict with the religious order of his time. Through himself, in his personal life, he was convinced of the truth of Copernicus’s heliocentric view of the universe but under the pressure of Church authorities and the weakness of his own nature on the issue he recanted his earlier expressed view and confessed that he was wrong. In contrast, Bruno, also a scientist and not irreligious, stood by his conviction of the truth of the Copernican hypothesis of the universe, agreed to die for the sake of truth, and in fact, did die at the dictate of the Inquisition.

30. The cases of Socrates, Galileo, Bruno, and (individual and collective) suttee are all obviously different in their ethical/legal implication. Some of these cases are, one might say, socially induced and yet others are rooted in religious or social conviction. It is not easy to draw a sharp line of distinction between what is said to be self-induced, and what is believed to be religiously, culturally, or externally imposed in determining the borderline between the two. Several other considerations enter into the picture. A close analysis of the mental components of courting or inviting death, because of conviction, true or false, compulsion, persistent persuasion, ideological fanaticism, infatuation, military norm, the use of force together with ethical or religious conviction, make it more or less clear that all these facts and factors raise the fundamental question of the freedom of will and its limits, external or internal. All these issues raise the fundamental question of relation between the ethics of the individual and that of collective entities.

31. In different ways our modes, contents, and aims of knowing and doing are relevant to decide the issues and questions, which are caused by the concerned individuals or determined by attending circumstances, including the views and values of the person related to the responsible moral agents.

32. It is obviously difficult to credit love, in its received sense, to make life beyond death possible. What I mean is this: Our love for our ancestors accounts for not only mental remembrance but also the performance of related rituals like ancestor worship and prayer for well-being of our own selves, during our own lifetime, and of the descendents yet to be born. These backward and forward attitudes and actions indicate our yearning to go beyond our present life. Both in comparative anthropology and theology, we widely encounter these cultural phenomena. It is a fictional, as distinguished from theoretical, expression of our will to relive and preserve our lineage. Needless to add, our yearning to go beyond life, backward and forward, by itself is no sound evidence, still less a proof of our existence beyond our birth and beyond our death.

33. Hans Kohn, The Idea of Nationalism: A Study in Its Origins and Background (New York: Macmillan, 1944, rev. edn 1967), Elie Kedourie, Nationalism, 4th expanded edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993), Ernest Gellner, Nations and Nationalism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983), R. Emerson, From Empire to Nation: The Rise to Self Assertion of Asian and African Peoples (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960). See also D. P. Chattopadhyaya, Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx: Integral Sociology and Dialectical Sociology (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976, reissued in an enlarged new edition, 1988).