EE7.5 - The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

Neohumanism is a world-view characterized by love for the Supreme. In the early stages of developing one’s spiritual devotion, the adoption of Neohumanistic principles – that is, abjuring all prejudices against other races, groups, religions, and less-evolved creatures – will safeguard and enhance the development of that devotion.

And once, in turn, a person comes to feel devotion for the Supreme, that devotion or love will ultimately overflow onto all objects created by the Supreme. One will come spontaneously to love all beings and objects as one loves the Supreme, free from any discrimination.

So devotion expands one’s world-view, and the more expansive the world-view, the more one finds the ecstasy and peace of devotion.

Yet in the course of fighting for a Neohumanistic society, one will have to use all one’s rational faculties and all the resources of information at one’s command. One will have to take a courageous and also a very hard-headed approach in identifying and combatting forces of selfishness and vested interest.

In The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism, Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar has laid the foundations of this sublime yet uncompromising philosophy. The eleven chapters of this book were delivered as discourses, mostly as Sunday discourses, between December 31st 1981 and March 29th 1982.

The author was clearly conscious of the latent global impact of this series of discourses, and perhaps more than in any other of his Bengali discourses, was careful to provide equivalents for key terms and phrases in the global language, English. While preparing this edition, the editors made it a point to identify those English terms, some of which had been overlooked in previous editions due to time pressures, and incorporate them into the text.

Footnotes by the translators have all been signed “–Trans.” Unsigned footnotes are those of the author.

Square brackets [ ] in the text are used to indicate translations by the editors or other editorial insertions. Round brackets ( ) indicate a word or words originally given by the author.

The author uses a certain shorthand for explaining etymologies of words. Under this system, a minus sign (–) follows a prefix, and a plus sign (+) precedes a suffix. Thus ava – tr + ghaiṋ = avatára can be read, “the root tr prefixed by ava and suffixed by ghaiṋ becomes avatára.”

Devotional Sentiment and Neohumanism (Discourse 1)

Published in:
Discourses on Neohumanist Education [a compilation]
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Universal Humanism [a compilation]

In my previous discourse, I said that human beings reach the culmination of devotion by subjective approach through objective adjustment. I also explained how devotion develops through various psychic expressions. Now we should clearly understand both the introversial aspect (the subjective approach) and the extroversial aspect (the objective adjustment). These should be crystal-clear to one and all.

The inner psychic movement of human beings, their existential awareness, is completely rhythmic. A portion of whatever happens in the outer world, in outer existence, is adjusted with the inner psychic rhythm, and another portion is not. When the happenings in the outer world are not adjusted with the inner psychic rhythm, one feels some distress. You may have experienced in your personal life that sometimes you feel very uneasy in the company of certain people, but you feel quite comfortable with another group. When the rhythm of your movement in the external world, the rhythm of your lifestyle, conforms to your inner psychic rhythm, you feel comfortable. But when these rhythms do not correspond, you feel uncomfortable. For progress in the external world there should be clear guidelines, a clear and well-integrated philosophical base. The society often lacks this; and that is why people tend to lose balance in social life. When those who have developed intellectually come in contact with an uncongenial environment, they find it difficult to adjust.

Present-day humanity has, no doubt, made considerable intellectual progress. But in the external world, there is a lack of adjustment. This is the reason that among the educated people of today the number of lunatics – people suffering from psychic disorders – is on the increase: because there is no adjustment in the speeds of the inner and outer worlds. Not only is there maladjustment in speed but also in rhythm; that is, the pattern of internal psychic rhythm is altogether different from the external rhythm of the objective world. Obviously clash is inevitable, and the impact of this clash is felt much more in the psychic realm than in the physical sphere. As a result, human beings lose their mental adjustment.

Many theories have been propounded in the world. Some of them were concerned mainly with the spiritual world; they had no relation with the rationality of the psychic world at all. Most of these theories have been thrown onto the garbage heap of history. There were some theories that showed some concern for the psychic realm as well, but they too could not develop the mental equipoise of society, and they too were rejected by the people. Some of these philosophies pertaining to the physical realm sounded very fine indeed, but they were not in perfect tune with the hard realities of the objective world. Those philosophies were quite satisfactory in the dreamland of theory, but they had no connection whatsoever with the practicalities of the earth.

Other theories, sounding somewhat pleasing to the ear, have spoken glibly of human equality; but upon application people discovered the ineffectiveness of these theories, because the fundamental principles of these philosophies were contrary to the basic realities of the world. Vaecitryaḿ prákrtadharmah samánaḿ na bhaviśyati [“Diversity, not identity, is the law of nature”]. The world is full of diversities – a panorama of variegated forms and rhythms. One must never forget it. Sometimes the superficial display of these theories has dazzled the eyes of the onlooker, but actually they contained no dynamism. And yet, dynamism is indeed the first and last word of human existence. That which has lost its dynamism is just like a stagnant pool. In the absence of flow, a pond invariably becomes overgrown with weeds, and becomes a hazard to health. It is better to fill this sort of pond with earth. Many philosophies in the past have rendered this kind of disservice to humanity. In the end they have only flung humanity into the quagmire of dogmatism, the breeding ground of innumerable mosquitoes. They did not contribute to the welfare of any human being.

The devotional sentiment is the highest and most valuable treasure of humanity. I have said in Namámi Krśńasundaram that Krśńa is the vaeduryamańi [brightest jewel] of the human heart. This element of devotion, the most precious treasure of humanity, must be preserved most carefully. Because it is such a tender inner asset, to preserve it from the onslaughts of materialism, one must build a protective fence around it, just as people put up a guard-rail around a small tender plant. Now the question is, what is this protective fence? It is a proper philosophy which will establish the correct harmony between the spiritual and material worlds, and be a perennial source of inspiration for the onward movement of society.

The sentiment that grows out of love for the indigenous soil of a country is called “geo-sentiment”. From this geo-sentiment, many other sentiments emerge, such as geo-patriotism, geo-economics and many other geocentric sentiments, including geo-religion. This geo-sentiment attempts to keep humanity confined within a limited part of this world. But the innermost desire of people is to expand themselves maximally in all directions.

Now, what is the role of devotional sentiment, the most valuable treasure of humanity? It is to transform the sense of worldly existence into the supreme spiritual stance. If a materialistic philosophy contains any narrowness, like the geo-sentiment we discussed, an imbalance is bound to occur between the inner and outer worlds, and psycho-physical imbalance will be inevitable. That is why, in spite of possessing everything, people will remain poor and deprived. In the past this geo-sentiment has caused enormous harm to many individuals and groups of people. Intelligent people must keep themselves aloof from this geo-sentiment and support nothing that is based on it, because it pollutes the devotional sentiment; it degrades human beings and undermines human excellence.

There is still another sentiment which is more expanded than geo-sentiment – it is socio-sentiment. Socio-sentiment does not confine people to a particular territory, but instead pervades a particular social group. That is, instead of thinking about the welfare of a particular geographical area, people think about the well-being of a group, even to the exclusion of all other groups. And in the process, while they concern themselves with the interest of a particular group, they do not hesitate to violate the interests and natural growth of other groups. Perhaps this socio-sentiment is a bit better than geo-sentiment, but it is not altogether ideal; it is not free from defects.

Socio-sentiment has, in the past, caused much bloodshed and created enormous division and mutual distrust among human groups, separating one group from another and throwing them into the dark dungeons of petty dogmas. Humanity’s movement is then no longer like a broad and flowing river, but like a stagnant pool.

There is still another sentiment – human sentiment. Many persons were born in the past who shed copious tears for suffering humanity. But strangely enough, after their eloquent speeches were over, they sat down comfortably at a dinner table and treated themselves to a delicious meal of hilsa and kaimách fish⁽¹⁾ – as if those fish had not suffered pain and death. This human sentiment has expressly violated the interests of non-human creatures, but its proponents have found nothing wrong with it.

Once I read in a certain book that a great saint used to live only on locusts dipped in honey. That saint did not seriously consider that those little locusts also had vital life force throbbing in them.

Obviously human beings will have to behave rationally; they must maintain their existence while adjusting with the external environment. It is true that living creatures are the food for other living beings (jiivah jiivasya bhojanam); and indeed, the vegetables that we eat every day also have living cells in them. But regarding food, I have expressed my opinion in some of my books.⁽²⁾

This concern for the vital rhythm throbbing in other human creatures has driven people to the fold of humanism, has made them humanists. Now, if the same human sentiment is extended to include all creatures of this universe, then and only then can human existence be said to have attained its final consummation. And in the process of expanding one’s inner love to other creatures, there should be another sentiment behind this human sentiment, which will vibrate human sentiment in all directions, which will touch the innermost recesses of the hearts of all creatures, and lead one and all to the final stage of supreme blessedness.

Vistárah sarvabhútasya Viśńorvishvamidaḿ jagat;
Draśt́avyamátmavattasmádabhedena vicakśańaeh.

[This manifested universe is the expression of Viśńu, the latent All-Pervading Entity. Therefore a wise person should look upon everything as his or her own, from an integral viewpoint.]

All molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, positrons and neutrons are the veritable expressions of the same Supreme Consciousness. Those who remember this reality, who keep this realization ever alive in their hearts, are said to have attained perfection in life. They are the real bhaktas [devotees]. When this devotional cult⁽³⁾ does not remain confined to a mere practice, but instead is elevated to a devotional sentiment, a devotional mission, to the realm of devotional ideation – when the underlying spirit of humanism is extended to everything, animate and inanimate, in this universe – I have designated this as “Neohumanism”. This Neohumanism will elevate humanism to universalism, the cult of love for all created beings of this universe.

So the actual task of human beings is to maintain a subjective approach – that is, they will advance psycho-spiritually towards the Supreme Consciousness, inspired by Neohumanistic ideals – while at the same time they must strive for the expansion of humanistic principles and thus establish a social structure based on universalism. Otherwise, their inner psycho-spiritual rhythms will not be able to properly maintain equilibrium with narrow sentiments such as geo-sentiment, and this will have a disastrous effect on society.

As we have already said, the greatest human treasure is devotional sentiment, devotional wonts. This devotional wealth must be preserved; otherwise humanity will lose its most valuable possession. The people of the present-day world have made considerable progress, so now they must not permit this highest human treasure to be destroyed. Whenever we see that the pressure of external circumstances threatens this life essence, we should appeal to the Supreme: “O Lord, please be kind enough to protect our inner vitality from total destruction. Save us from the agony of total loss.”

(2) See especially A Guide to Human Conduct (1961) and Caryácarya Part 3 (1965). –Trans.

(3) “Cult” is used here in the sense of “practice” or “process”. –Trans.

Bondages and Solutions (Discourse 2)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

The other day I was discussing “Devotional Sentiment and Neohumanism”. In discussing devotional sentiment, I said that lack of adjustment with the external world inhibits the internal devotional sentiment. To avoid such obstructions to one’s devotion, one should pray to the Supreme Consciousness, “O Lord! Save me from these obstacles! Kindly save this most precious treasure of mine – devotion.”

I also said regarding the path of devotion that devotion should not be taken as a mere cult or as a mere principle; it should be accepted as the highest mission in life. Devotion leads humanity towards the stage of subtlety, and finally ensconces a person in the state of supreme bliss. That is why in the scriptures devotion has also been called puśt́i márga, that is, a path by which all of human existence becomes spiritually strengthened: the mind becomes more stable, one realizes more and more spiritual bliss – in a word, the whole of human existence becomes blissful.

Otherwise, in the absence of devotion, life seems to lack rhythm. It becomes dull, dreary and miserable. So if human beings become more extroversial, they ultimately lose their internal treasure.

It is just like a sprout shooting from a palm seed. The sprout grows fast externally, but inside there is emptiness. First the kernel becomes porous, then gradually the whole seed begins to fall apart bit by bit, and finally it loses its existence altogether in the earth. At present, in most of the countries of the world, cynicism⁽¹⁾ is becoming rampant.

In my discussion the other day, I said that of all the factors that cause this imbalance in the external world, the primary one is geo-sentiment, which concerns itself with the interests of one’s own locality at the expense of other localities. People will have to fight against geo-sentiment in their individual lives in order to direct their inner beings towards perfection, to develop their latent humanity along the proper channels, and to elevate the demi-humans, or half-humans, and the quarter-humans⁽²⁾ to the level of fully-developed human beings.

And at the same time, intelligent people should no longer remain silent, but rather exhort the people to oppose this geo-sentiment. They must not act like goody-goodies, seeing evil but continuing to tolerate it. This is very bad.

I also said that other sentiments – geo-patriotism, geo-religion, geo-economics and many more – are based on this geo-sentiment; and in the future clever people may create still more sentiments based on it. All these sentiments certainly hinder the inner growth of human beings. So people must remain vigilant, lest this precious treasure, their inner asset, be destroyed. It is said:

Pát́hato násti múrkhatvaḿ jagato násti pátakam;
Maonináḿ kalaho násti na bhayaḿ cásti jágratah.

“O clever human being, if you want to be a fool, give up studying. If you want to be a sinner, avoid feelings of sympathy for others. If you want just to live a peaceful life and never be disturbed, then keep silent. And if you hope to completely avoid danger, then you must never close your eyes.”

Now then, what is the most powerful weapon with which to fight this geo-sentiment? What is the most solid ground on which to challenge it? The answer to both questions is, rationalistic mentality. Rationalistic mentality has to be developed in two ways: First, through the study of various subjects (studies both of the kind called pát́ha in Sanskrit [pát́ha means “study” – that study may be of any subject], and of the kind called svádhyáya [“study of spiritual subjects”]). But what about those who are illiterate? Can they not join the fight against geo-sentiment? Certainly they can. They will learn by listening to the discourses of others; thus it is the duty of those who have understood, to make others also understand. In this way, all will be able to develop their rationalistic mentality to fight against geo-sentiment and protect their precious psychic wealth.

How will people make their human existence glorious? By rising above geo-sentiment, and by helping others to rise above it also. This geo-sentiment attacks not just from one direction, but from many directions at once. It spreads its roots into all spheres of human life. Just as a single banyan tree spreads its roots under all corners of a mansion, ultimately causing its total collapse, in the same way, this geo-sentiment attacks the whole human personality and annihilates all its noble qualities. The only way to protect oneself from the all-out attack of this geo-sentiment is to develop rationalistic mentality.

Next comes socio-sentiment, which promotes the interest of one’s own society at the expense of other societies. Based on this sentiment are many other sentiments, such as socio-patriotism, socio-religion, socio-economics, socio-art, -architecture, -literature, and so on.

A social group’s own deity “says” to the people, “Your God is the true God: all other gods are false. You are the chosen people in this universe: all others are cursed!” These are the preachings of socio-religion.

Similar is the case with socio-patriotism and socio-economics: “Let that country be destroyed. I will conquer that nation and drain its vitality for the sake of my own country” – this is socio-patriotism, also called “fascism”.

“Let others be ruined. I will exploit that country to serve the interests of my dearest homeland” – this is socio-economics.

What is the way to counteract this socio-sentiment? The only way to eliminate it is to develop proto-spiritualistic mentality. The basis of this proto-spiritualistic mentality is sama-samája tattva [the principle of social equality]. When people understand this principle from the core of their hearts, they spontaneously develop proto-spiritualistic mentality, proto-spiritualistic psychic structure. So this sama-samája tattva is very necessary to fight against socio-sentiment. There is no other way.

If one avoids this sama-samája tattva and thinks, “I will be a virtuous person, I will be a devotee of the Lord, I will do all sorts of good deeds – but I will not raise my voice against injustice,” I must say that will be foolish. Trying to do good while avoiding this sama-samája tattva is just like placing the cart before the horse. The cart should be placed behind the horse; it is foolish to place it in front.

Sama-samája tattva teaches that the basis of dharma [righteousness] is the collective march of all in unison.

Vishvajaner páyer tale Dhúlimay ye bhúmi Sei to svargabhúmi Sabáy niye sabár majhe Lukiye ácha tumi Sei to ámar tumi.

[This dusty earth which humanity treads – this is indeed heaven; You who are within all, hiding in every heart – You are indeed mine.]

This sama-samája tattva is the firm foundation of society. And what is it that maintains social dynamism on this firm foundation? It is the proto-spiritualistic psychic structure, the proto-spiritualistic mentality.

This proto-spiritualistic mentality has been moving eternally towards the Supreme Entity. Its undulating waves have no beginning or end. They spread out in all directions, endlessly. No one can stop its movement; no one has the power to stop it. And the Supreme Consciousness also wants this proto-spiritualistic systaltic movement to continue endlessly, until it finally merges in Him.

Once a person is established in this proto-spiritualistic flow, what happens within his or her mind? Devotion as a cult is transformed into devotion as a principle. Only at this stage, when devotion becomes a principle, can one fight against socio-sentiment.

Next comes the so-called humanistic sentiment. I say “so-called” humanism because it is not motivated by any perennial source of inspiration. The humanism which is not motivated by any perennial source of inspiration is bound to become a formality only, devoid of real sincerity. It may die out at any moment, like a river which ends in the sands of the desert. So it must be motivated by a constant and perennial source of inspiration – which I call Neohumanism. When this Neohumanism operates in the external sphere, then internal devotion as a principle is transformed into devotion as a mission.

Finally, the source of inspiration for this Neohumanism is spirituality as a cult. And when this surging Neohumanism overflows in all directions, making all things sweet and blissful, unifying individual life with collective life, and transforming this earth into a blissful heaven – that very state of supreme fulfilment is the state of spirituality as a mission. That is the highest state of attainment in human life, the source of all inspiration.

The other day I explained the external factors that disturb the balance of mind. And today I have spoken about the psycho-spiritualistic processes to counteract those destabilizing factors. Those who move along this path make their lives glorious and effulgent, and their sweet radiance illumines and glorifies all other minds in this harmonious universe. In that state, whatever they come in contact with in the world, they will be able to distinguish the pure gold from the impure, the true from the false. On these people alone can all of humanity rely. Their victory is assured.

Geo-Sentiment (Discourse 3)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

I was discussing humanism. This is a very deep and intricate theory of philosophy. Devotion and love for God, the most valuable treasures of the present humanity, are repeatedly endangered by onslaughts from the external world; people should acquire sufficient resources to resist them. Last Sunday I discussed how to resist these onslaughts; how these geo-sentiments, socio-sentiments, and other sentiments are to be counteracted; and how to safeguard the sacred inner assets of the human heart.

Now let us examine various sentiments, such as socio-sentiment, geo-sentiment, and even so-called human sentiment.

Human existence is more psychic than physical. The existence of animals is primarily physical, but human existence is mainly psychic. Suppose someone wounds your feelings and then offers you delicious food and drink – you will not be inclined to accept it. You will be more afflicted when someone speaks ill of you or reproaches you than when someone beats you, because you are a predominantly psychic being. The word manu came into existence meaning “mind-predominant being” [in Sanskrit man, “contemplate”, plus suffix un equals manu]. And manu + śna = mánava [human being].

Now, the mind performs various activities like thinking, remembering, etc. In addition, the mind works in three different ways.

Discrimination: One of these is the way of discrimination. What is its nature? “I should do this! No, I should not do this!” – to do or not to do. When, in judging and discriminating between proper and improper, human beings select the proper path, this is called viveka [conscience]. And the path of discrimination is called “rationality”. When one is moving forward, guided by conscience, these alternatives exist side by side: propriety and impropriety, dos and don’ts. There is movement involved and its speed may be increased, but not by much. One must examine both the propriety and impropriety of an issue; then when one takes a decision on the side of propriety, it is called “conscience”. When I examine first this side and then that side – analysing and then taking a step – naturally it is rather difficult to move quickly in this process. There is advancement, but the degree of speed is comparatively slow.

Sentiment: The second way of psychic movement is sentimental. One is not discriminating between the just and the unjust; one merely has a liking for something and allows the mind to run after it. In this process of letting the mind run after something, perhaps what I did, from start to finish, was proper or desirable. On the other hand I may have acted improperly or undesirably from start to finish. But this is a very risky path, because if there is impropriety in the beginning, middle and end, not only will a particular individual be destroyed, but he or she may lead a whole family, a whole social group, a whole state or a whole society towards utter destruction. A great danger! This running blindly without discriminating between the proper and the improper is called “sentiment”. One races after the idea that has come into one’s mind like an unbridled horse, without considering its good or bad consequences. The horse may move along the right path, or it may fall into a chasm. One cannot be certain.

Now, human beings are capable of judging between right and wrong because their minds are somewhat developed, but the minds of creatures other than humans are not so developed. Because of their undeveloped minds, they cannot follow the path of rationality, the path of discrimination, which almost every human being can. Those who say that there is no need of study – “Leave your books aside!” – are incorrect. Study is essential, knowledge is essential, and association with learned and enlightened people is essential. Listening to learned discourses, studying and understanding the scriptures, all have their importance.

But animals less-evolved than humans are incapable of this. They cannot follow the path of rationality or conscience. The more-developed animals merely follow the path of sentiment. When an animal likes something, it runs after it; when it does not like it, it does not run after it. For instance, a dog runs toward a piece of bread without looking to either side. Or, for example, some grains of rice are spread under a net. Suddenly a bird catches sight of the grains and alights on the ground. It thinks: “Let me go down and eat them!” So it is caught in the net. But had it pursued the path of rationality, it would have thought: “Hmmm, rice is strewn in such a remote woodland! This is unnatural. There is neither a village nor rice fields nearby – so this is indeed strange. Let me think this over for a while… Aha! A net has been spread and ropes are laid on all sides. I must not alight there!” This is the way of logic. But if it follows the path of sentiment it will alight and be caught in the net.

Instinct: Undeveloped creatures are devoid even of this sentiment. They act according to inborn instinct only; they act with the limited minds which they have inherited at birth. An octopus catches a crab with the help of its limited mind. A mosquito, guided by inborn instinct, sucks blood whenever it sits on another’s body. We cannot judge their actions as good or bad, nor are they guided by sentiment – they do not possess these things at all. In the case of developed animals, sentiment exceeds inborn instinct. And more-developed beings, such as human beings, possess sentiment and rationality and the faculty of discrimination as well.

If someone moves along the path of sentiment instead of the path of rationality, there is a hundred percent probability of great danger. Those who move along the path of sentiment do not discriminate between the proper and the improper, but merely silently accept all superstitions surrounding the goal towards which they have been running. Even the least question regarding propriety or impropriety does not arise in their minds, because they are moving along the path of sentiment.

Now as a human being, what should one do? One should follow the path of rationality. Rationality is a treasure of humanity that no animal possesses. And those who possess the inner asset of devotion within their hearts and follow the path of rationality in dealing with the external world, must be victorious. They alone can accomplish worthy deeds in this world.

Those who are motivated by sentiment may earn temporary applause, but ultimately people realize, “No, they committed a mistake, they did not follow the path of rationality. They themselves were caught in the current of sentiment, and they drifted the society also in that current. As a result society has been destroyed.” From then on, people start forming bad opinions about them. So those who once earned the highest positions of respect in different fields of life, later find that their thrones of glory lie shattered in the dust. This is the lesson which history teaches us.

At a particular time, people treat someone with great respect, give him or her great importance, and elevate him or her to a throne of glory; but a time comes when the same people drag him or her down to the dust, saying, “Your days are finished. You have done much harm.” Those who follow the path of rational judgement may perform great and glorious deeds, or mediocre deeds, or perhaps they do not even do anything worthy of mention at all – but at least they do no harm to society. So whatever degree of respect they have earned, remains unaffected, because they did not injure society at all.

What is that geo-sentiment which inflicts the first blow on the inner asset of humans? It is to let one’s sentiment flow towards a particular territory. One does not consider whether what one is doing is right or wrong, logical or illogical. In this situation, sentiment is substituted for logic; and in the next phase, superstition is substituted for logic. All those religious, economic, political or social theories which are based on geo-sentiment, yield to superstition from their very inception. The so-called religions which have mouthed high-sounding ideals but are essentially motivated by geo-sentiment, become converted into reservoirs of superstition, into oceans of blind faith. They submerge humanity in a quagmire of superstitions, and people struggle in that filth for ages. Their progress is checked forever.

I have already said that when people move along the path of a particular geo-sentiment in the social sphere – even worse than in the case of geo-sentiment in the religious sphere – they do not think at all of others. They thrive on the lifeblood of others, thinking this to be natural. The other day I said that in practical life, fascism is born from such a mentality – and also imperialism, capitalism, oligarchy and bureaucracy. Thus you can easily understand how dangerous this mentality is, and how detrimental to the progress of humanity.

This is regarding geo-sentiment in social life; the same is the case in economic life. “Although there is no iron ore or cheap electricity, we must have a steel plant in our area.” This is nothing but an expression of geo-economic sentiment. “Although crude oil and cheap electricity are not available, we must have oil refineries in our area!” – another expression of geo-economic sentiment.

Let me give another example in this connection. The jute industry of Dundee [in Great Britain] flourished because a supply of jute came from Bengal and, again, the finished products were sold in the markets of Bengal. What a peculiar situation! This was a case of non-utilization of Bengal’s potentialities and resources; and for Dundee it was an irrational industrial plan with every possibility of failure. If the jute had not been supplied from Bengal, the factories of Dundee would have closed. If finished jute products had not been sold in the markets of Bengal, the industry in Dundee would have failed.

Under such circumstances the industrially-developed countries, to ensure a permanent supply of raw materials and the continuing availability of markets for their finished products, resort to imperialism, economic and political fascism, and so on. They try to create an arena of satellite markets to ensure the supply of raw materials and markets for their finished goods. When the developing, or undeveloped, countries detect the intentions of the developed countries, conflict arises between the developed and undeveloped countries, and this poses a great threat to world peace.

The jute mills of the present-day Bengal are not adequately supplied with the jute produced in Bengal, and thus it is necessary to purchase raw jute from outside of India. To make the jute industry flourish, we must follow the path of rationality, not the path of sentiment. We should allow only such numbers of jute mills to operate which can be supplied with the raw jute from Bengal; the rest must be closed. And we must produce fibres of different grades instead of producing finished jute products in those jute mills which will be allowed to operate. Those fibres should be distributed among the weavers and farmers through jute cooperatives. These jute cooperatives will produce only such products as are in demand in Bengal and to some extent outside also. Now in practice we see that there is a great scarcity of fibre products in Bengal. Commodities produced by these cooperative industries will remove that scarcity of fibre products. As a result of this decentralization of industry, the masses will be economically benefited. It will be still better if the jute fibres, instead of being produced in large jute-mills in the cities, are produced in the small towns of Bengal on a decentralized basis.

Now let us come to the main point. I have already said that this geo-economic sentiment is causing enormous harm in social life. Here, there is not the least concern for rationality. Rationality is a human quality only; no animal possesses it. The same applies to geo-religion. There is a place of pilgrimage in a certain country where if even a crow dies during that pilgrimage, it is sure to go to heaven, what to speak of a human being!

There are some people who want to make a show of their devotion, saying, “I am a slave of Vrindavana.”⁽¹⁾ This is an extreme geo-sentiment. Vrindavana is a place – how can you be its slave? Have you lost your reason? Another says, “No, no, not slave! I am the dust of Vrindavana.” What are you saying? You are a human being; you are made of the five fundamental factors; why should you become dust? Still another goes a step further and says, “No, no, not dust, I am the excrement of a crow of Vrindavana.” This is the height of devotional display. They have lost all sense of rational judgement, and have not the least vestige of logic. This is an expression of geo-religion. Some people say, “Since I must die, I will die only in Kashi [Benares].” How strange! All countries have been created by the Supreme Consciousness, so all countries are equal. The universal concept of dharma that God is all-pervasive – Vistarah sarvabhútasya Viśńorvishvamidaḿ jagat [“This universe is the expression of Viśńu, the latent All-Pervading Entity”] – this essence of dharma has been forgotten. Ultimately dharma has been reduced to a geo-sentiment centring around Benares.

“At least once in your life you should visit such-and-such place of pilgrimage – then a cottage in heaven will be reserved for you!” What sort of mentality is this? All countries are equal; why worship with your face turned only towards the east, or the south, or the west. All countries, all directions, are equal.

“East, west, north, south, northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, upwards, downwards – my Parama Puruśa encompasses all the directions.” Then why should I give undue importance to any particular direction? To do that means geo-religion; not dharma, but simply a religion.

Now let us see what the impact of geo-sentiment is. This geo-religion, geo-economics, geo-sociology, geo-social sentiment – these “geo’s” are limited to a particular country or a particular direction. And those countries or directions which are beyond its confines are considered profane. To one group, judging according to this so-called holiness or profanity, the east is sacred, while to another group the west is sacred. Thus conflicts arise between these contradictory sentiments, leading to war and bloodshed. People have forgotten the fundamental spirit of humanism, and deviated from the principles of dharma.

So now we see that the greatest threat to the inner asset of humanity is this geo-sentiment. Where does this geo-sentiment come from? Where does it originate? It is born in that place where people do not follow the path of rationality, the path of conscience. Dharma is the ultimate goal of the path of conscience – it is not related to geo-sentiment.

Geo-sentiment is very cheap. The Supreme Consciousness is not attainable by superficial means. Something very great is attainable only by greatness. One must pay a high price to buy a costly thing. The Supreme Consciousness is not so cheap; it is not attainable by geo-sentiment.

Some people adopt geo-socialism, geo-politics or national socialism, thus limiting socialism to their countries only, but this is not possible. Geo-socialism, geo-religion, geo-economics, etc., which are based on this geo-sentiment, not only confine people in the bondages of limitations, but also alienate one particular social group from another. And – what is more harmful – different groups become violent towards each other, which is extremely dangerous for human civilization.

Inner Asset

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

While discussing Neohumanism, I said that study and rationalistic mentality are required to counteract geo-sentiment, and a proto-spiritualistic psychic structure is required to resist socio-sentiment. But geo-sentiment and socio-sentiment and the means of resisting them are matters of the objective world. Geo-sentiment is entirely limited by geographical boundaries (it is confined in space); while socio-sentiment is limited to certain groups. By resisting these two sentiments (one relating to “space” and the other relating to “person”) with rationality and sama-samája tattva respectively, it is possible to move towards the Supreme Subjectivity. So these two are completely associated with the external world.

The movement of the inner life of humanity is entirely an internal affair, a matter of devotion – a path to the inner world with devotion as a cult, as a mission. In the world of rationalism, human beings do not attain anything of inner life; and in the realm of devotion, there is no ism that can establish humanity in the supreme spiritual stance. In the case of devotion, human beings become resplendent in their own glory. This is entirely an inner process. For that there is a path of devotion, a devotional spirit, and the sweet mission of devotion. In that case there are only two entities – I and my Lord. There is no one to create barriers, no one to exploit, no one to impose geo-sentiment or socio-sentiment – there humanity is one and indivisible. In this situation, human beings proceed towards Supreme Consciousness with every step. This is beyond rationalistic approach and study, and it has no concern with the objective mind.

However, in the course of one’s journey through the inner world, one cannot altogether deny the rationalistic outlook of external life. This is also necessary because, in the absence of rationality, the internal thoughts may be disturbed. But it is also true that the mind should certainly be directed towards the Supreme Consciousness – because one’s inner assets are directly nourished by the thought of the Supreme, by running towards Him with tremendous speed. Rationalistic outlook and study are required to facilitate this onward movement towards the Supreme.

Rájá hate cái ná go Má
Sádha nái go Má rájá hate,
Ámár mát́ir ghare báṋsher khuṋt́i Má
Pái yena táy khaŕ yogáte.

[I do not long to become a monarch – For this I have not the least desire. I have a hut of mud and bamboo: I only want enough to thatch its roof.]

A truly righteous person should be ever ready to respond to the clarion call of the Great, to its irresistible attraction. The Dolyátra of Shrii Krśńa [the Colour Festival] which Mahaprabhu introduced to Bengal about five hundred fifty years ago, has two aspects – the social and the spiritual.⁽¹⁾ Mahaprabhu brought this festival from Vrindavana, but he invested it with spiritual significance, and named it the Dolyátra of Shrii Krśńa.

When human beings rush towards the Supreme, they may sometimes think, “I am a sinner. I have committed so many sins that I am immersed in sin.” The particular mental colours of the sinners’ minds are the combination of so many thoughts of sin, which may leave a profound mental impression. As a result, the speed of their movement will automatically be retarded. The inner significance of the Dolyátra of Shrii Krśńa is this: “By surrendering all the colours of my mind to You, I want to become colourless.” This surrender to the Supreme Consciousness propels human beings towards Him. So this colour festival is not merely an outward play; it is purely a psycho-spiritual phenomenon. This very psycho-spiritual phenomenon is operating behind the process of varńárghyadána [offering of colours]:⁽²⁾ “O Lord, make me colourless so that I may move towards You without any hesitation.”

The more human beings are established in Neohumanism, the more they will be absorbed in the colours of their inner minds instead of the colours of the external world. It is not that they will avoid the social festivities of the colour festival of Dolyátra, but the social side should not be taken as everything. Rather, by offering all their psychic colours to the Supreme Consciousness, they will become more concerned with their mental colours than with the external ones.

This intensely close proximity to the Supreme is the real Vrindavana, the Vrindavana of the mental world – the state of absolute mental purity. It is natural for human beings to become soiled with dust in the course of their journey in the physical world. But this is not to continue forever. They should make their minds completely unblemished by offering all their mental colours to the Supreme. Forgetting the external aspect of the play of colours, they should accept the internal colour-play as the ultimate in human life – and thus establish themselves in the true Vrindavana, the Supreme Desideratum of human life.

(1) The spiritual aspect will be explained in the following paragraph. The social aspect involves a celebration in which, after collective meditation, all play among themselves using áviir [coloured powder] or flowers of colours of their own choice. –Trans.

Living Beings and Their Mentality (Discourse 5)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

The living world is divided into two categories according to natural law: one lives collectively, and the other lives individually. Now let us examine these two classes.

Those creatures whose minds have just started functioning, whose ectoplasms have been activated – those unicellular entities instinctively feel: “This is my food, that is not my food. Now is the time for sleep, now is the time for waking.” These undeveloped creatures have only this narrow sense of the minimum essentialities of a living structure. This sense is as predominant in multicellular creatures as in unicellular ones, but the difference between the two is that, while the unicellular creatures are incapable of providing their own minimum essentialities, the multicellular organisms can do so quite efficiently. In the case of a multi-cellular organism, since many cells are functioning collectively, there is greater scope for clash and cohesion. As a result, the lower mind is powdered down and transformed into the subtle mind.

And what is the consequence? At this stage, the multicellular structure itself feels the necessity of an impulse, a momentum. This momentum certainly operates on the physical layer, and on subtler layers as well. And this movement to subtler layers, this switch-over of physical momentum into subtler momentum, is known as the “sentiment” of living beings.

Now, this sentiment works in two ways. One category of subhuman living beings goaded by this sentiment thinks, “I will shine in my own glory – I will establish myself by my own strength.” And that is the reason why they do not want to live collectively; they prefer to roam about the world individually. They do not even have any family life. Tigers, dogs and many other creatures are extremely sentimental; their sentiment flows according to an individualistic mental tendency.

There is another category of living beings who think, “If I unite my individual intellect with another’s intellect, and still another’s intellect, and in this way we combine the intellects of twenty, thirty or fifty individuals, then we shall become very strong intellectually. We are already strong physically, and we will become strong intellectually.” Thus they choose to live collectively. For instance, lions, elephants and pigeons all live collectively, and they have family lives as well. In this way they advance.

This collective tendency or individual tendency does not always depend upon the degree of intellect. For example, sheep have very little intelligence, whereas elephants are considered to be very intelligent; but they both live in groups. Lions have very little intelligence, yet they too live in groups.

So if we analyse these two categories of living beings, we see that human beings belong to the category of those having collective, or group mentality. This collective mentality depends on one’s psychic framework, on the manner of thinking. Some living beings think, “If we remain in a group, we shall be greatly benefited, so let us live collectively.” Others think instead: “Let us live separately – it will be more conducive to our development.”

Some people are of the opinion that this difference depends upon the dental structure: those creatures with canine teeth belong to one category, while those without canine teeth belong to another category. But this system of categorization is entirely incorrect, because among those with canine teeth, some live separately and others live collectively. Lions have canine teeth and they live in groups; cats also have canine teeth but they live separately. It depends upon their mentality. This proves that the progress of living beings does not depend on tooth, nail or paw; rather, it depends on mental constitution.

Humans are social beings, but their intellectual level is much higher than that of all other creatures. Although they have a greater degree of intellect, they still possess inborn instincts and sentimentality like other creatures, and their sentimentality is of varying degrees. But the greatest human treasure, which animals do not possess, is a logical mind.

Now, the sentimentalized collective life – groupified life, groupism, demi-social mentality⁽¹⁾ – develops because humans have sentimentality like other beings, and also have logical mentality, rationalistic psychology, so between the two a conflict may arise – even within the same individual. Sometimes rationalistic mentality is victorious, sometimes sentimentality.

With the development of intellect, inborn instincts gradually wane. For instance, no one teaches a child to drink its mother’s milk, no one teaches a child to laugh or cry – it acquires all these things as inborn instincts. Undeveloped creatures survive only because of these inborn instincts, but not developed creatures. As their sentimentality develops, their inborn instincts become somewhat obscured. And as the logical minds of humans develop, sentimentality in its turn wanes.

Now, within the stage of sentimentality, as mentioned previously, living beings become divided into two categories, one gregarious, or collective, and the other solitary. The collective tendency of human beings remains intact as long as they are within the scope of sentimentality, but that kind of collectivity, that groupism, that group feeling, that demi-social mentality, is goaded by sentimentality.

But when logic develops, the scope of sentimentality wanes and contracts. Wherever groupism exists, sentimentality also exists. When logic starts to operate, then people realize to their dismay, “Ah! We gave such undue importance to such-and-such religious leader – now we realize it was all merely priestcraft and gurudom – he didn’t contribute to the welfare of the people in the least!”… “Ah, we gave him so much respect; but alas, now we discover that he introduced seven hundred castes into the society, and divided it into innumerable groups, thereby bringing about society’s ruin!”… “We wrongly thought that personality to be great but now we find that he did enormous harm to society by propagating national socialism!”

At this point people begin to analyse in this way; previously they could not analyse anything logically, because their sentimentality confined them to groupism. But the moment logic developed, sentimentality decreased and simultaneously groupism was adversely affected. Rationality says, “No, no, that is not the correct path. Since all living beings of this world have originated from the same source and will merge into the same goal, into the same desideratum, they all have the equal right to survive and fulfil their needs.”

Sabái ámra samán bujhi
Shiitátap kśudhá trśńar jválá,
Kaci káncáguli dánt́o kare tuli,
Váncibár tare samán yujhi.

[We all equally feel cold and heat, We all feel the pangs of hunger and thirst; To raise tender plants into mighty trees We struggle equally hard.]

A collective tendency, a tendency to live in groups, that is based on sentiment, is called “socio-sentiment”. Socio-sentiment is a million times more harmful than geo-sentiment, because socio-sentiment leads people much further from proper thinking than does geo-sentiment. As long on this earth as group mentality or collective mentality – a collective mentality behind which operates a sentimentality based on innumerable superstitions – persists in a noticeable form, it is bound to cloud the otherwise clear human intellect – unless a rationalistic mentality awakens in humans. In the absence of rationalistic mentality, human beings are bound to harm other groups, and even subgroups of their own groups. (Here “subgroup” means a smaller group, including one’s own family. Family interest represents one’s individual interests also.) Many individual hopes and aspirations are antagonistic both to the hopes and aspirations of other individuals and to collective hopes and aspirations. If a person’s sentimentality and groupism do not get sufficient nourishment from one’s group, or subgroup, or family, or from one’s individual abilities, he or she will become a cynic.

Today this group mentality based on sentimentality is on the increase; on the other hand, human logic is not increasing at the same rate. As a result, the number of suicides and mentally-disturbed people is rapidly growing. This is all due to sentimentality, or group mentality based on sentimentality.

When a particular group, motivated by socio-sentiment, thinks only of its own socio-economico-political interests, it completely ignores the socio-economico-political interest of other groups, which ultimately results in conflict between the groups or communities. Those who seek to be victorious in this conflict and defeat others, while at the same time preaching the message of peace, are motivated by hollow vocal sentiment. They say: “Let us stop the use of this weapon or that weapon.” But they are totally guided by sentimentality and groupism – demi-socialism based on sentimentality. They are the first-class hypocrites of the world. Their inner psychology is, “Preach the gospels of peace, but keep your powder dry” – so that at any moment you can load the cannon.

At present civilization has reached such a state. Human beings will have to save themselves from the dreadful consequences of this group mentality, this demi-social psychology based on sentimentality. For this, as I said previously, study and a rationalistic mentality are essential.

Besides that, something more is necessary. A firm foundation will have to be created which will support humanity to face all these conflicts. What is that firm foundation? It is the realization that all the creatures which have come to live in this world, do not want to leave it – they all want to survive. Thus we must grant them their right to remain in this world, their right to survive. We must forever fulfil their needs so that they will not have to leave this world prematurely. We must make arrangements for the food, clothes, education, shelter and medical treatment of each and every individual, so that all can live in this world as long as possible and become assets to the earth. We must provide them with the inexhaustible resources for their forward movement towards their spiritual goal. This very mentality is known as sama-samája tattva. All the expressions of human life will have to be based on this sama-samája tattva.

(1) “Demi-social mentality” refers to a degree of social consciousness which is not strong enough to resist narrow-mindedness.

Sama-Samája Tattva (Discourse 6)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 8 [a compilation]

Dynamism is the essential characteristic of this world. The world is called jagat because it is always in motion.⁽¹⁾ Just as there is individual movement, there is movement in collective life as well. This very movement requires three things: First, an inspiration – an impetus from behind. When one person stops moving, another will have to push from behind, saying, “Move ahead!” Secondly, the capacity for movement – that is, the one who moves forward must have the requisite strength to do so. In the absence of adequate strength, how can one move forward? Thirdly, the goal of movement. These three factors are absolutely essential for any movement.

The movement that the ancient human beings started, collectively as well as individually, has not yet come to an end. Nor will there be any comma, semi-colon, colon or period to check that movement; it is uninterrupted.

Now the question arises, by what inspiration, by what strength, and towards which goal do human beings move? It has been observed that human movement is inspired by two ideas. In my recent book Sabhyatár Ádibindu: Ráŕh I have used two terms for these ideas, átma-sukha tattva [principle of selfish pleasure] and sama-samája tattva [principle of social equality].

Whatever human beings do motivated by átma-sukha tattva is for the sake of pleasure. This principle of selfish pleasure rests on dogma. All the social, economic and geographical forces that normally motivate human beings are guided by dogma; and this dogma in its turn is entirely based on átma-sukha tattva. Human beings yield to this dogma with the sole intention of attaining selfish pleasures; even educated people knowingly submit to dogma. They know that they are surrendering their intellect to dogma, and that the outcome will be undesirable; they know and understand everything – why, even then, do they knowingly submit to it? They are all deliberate sinners and intentionally accept dogmas as truth. They observe that these dogmas are based on átma-sukha tattva; but they think, “I don’t care whether it does good or harm to others, because at least I have got some pleasure out of it!” Being motivated by this idea, they enslave themselves to dogmas.

In the civilized world, even educated people knowingly follow dogmas because they have a desire in the back of their minds to attain some mundane pleasure in this physical world. Even in this civilized world where so much progress has been made in the field of knowledge, people are still following these dogmas, as if they are blind. The snares of dogma will have to be shattered to pieces; the iron prison gates of dogma will have to be crushed to dust.

The second principle is sama-samája tattva. Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness] is the goal of everyone. We are all moving towards Him, both individually and collectively; but we will not be able to move ahead if we compromise with all the disparities and inequalities of collective life. We should eradicate all these inequalities, while at the same time we move together towards our spiritual goal. The progress of all would be accelerated if the inequalities were uprooted, if this were the motivation behind our movement towards the Supreme. We may not attain selfish pleasure, but we will enjoy spiritual peace, and pure spiritual bliss in the realization of Cosmic grace.

So the endeavour to advance towards the ultimate reality by forming a society free from all inequalities, with everyone of the human race moving in unison, is called sama-samája tattva. That is why I say categorically, that we must totally reject all those hypocritical ideas which are contrary to this sama-samája tattva, and we must welcome all those ideas which will help human beings to be established in it. All opposing theories must be removed mercilessly, just like thorns from our path.

And in this process we must not give indulgence to any dogmas or supernatural ideas. This should be the task of today’s human beings; all people should combine their efforts and strive unitedly to accomplish that end.

It is futile to think of an individual’s past; we must not discriminate whether one is black or white. We should only remember that we must establish ourselves in the ultimate reality, by forming a new social order based on sama-samája tattva. When we have embraced the ideal of sama-samája tattva, when we have attained the physical strength, psychic intellect and spiritual wisdom to materialize it – should we not play a successful role to implement this noble and sublime ideal? Our coming to this earth and our remaining here, our every breath, every vibration of our existence – should this not attain supreme fulfilment? Should we not, by utilizing all our physical, psychic and spiritual powers, attain the pinnacle of human glory?

(1) The Sanskrit word jagat is derived from the root verb gam plus the suffix kvip, which means “an entity that has an inherent tendency to move”.

Exploitation and Pseudo-Culture (Discourse 7)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 8 [a compilation]

Notes:

Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections that did not appear in the printed version.

At the very outset let me state that many theories have been propounded on this earth. Some of them survived for some time and then gradually passed out of existence; others emerged like meteors, exhibiting their dazzling radiance for a very short time, and then vanished into darkness. The mere existence of a theory is not the essential point; what is important is whether the theory promoted the welfare of all, the spiritual well-being of all – otherwise its advent on this earth was quite useless. Such useless theories are not even worth mentioning.

Any theory will contain the seed of well-being if its firm foundation is sama-samája tattva. It may survive for a very long period – even for eternity – if it cherishes the ideal of forever promoting the welfare of all. This is the essential point.

I have already said several times, and I repeat, that while moving towards the inner world, human beings have to maintain equilibrium and equipoise in the external world. If some declare that Brahma satyaḿ jaganmithyá [“Only Supreme Consciousness is real and the world is false”], they will not be able to do anything in this “false” world. They are simply deceiving themselves – it is a sign of hypocrisy. An honest person should never resort to hypocrisy in any sphere of life; under no circumstances must he or she compromise with any unjust theory. This is the rule; this is correct. Propriety dictates this.

So you who want to be real human beings, must continue your sádhaná [spiritual practice] in your inner life and strive ceaselessly for God-realization, and with equal effort you must see to it that no irrational, undesirable or detrimental theory is propagated in the external world, which can harmfully influence the human mind. You must be ever-vigilant in this regard. That is why I told you to be vocal against all sorts of injustice. Otherwise your goal will not be achieved.

In the objective world, human beings have their religious, cultural, political and economic lives, and so on. Who can deny these? Whoever denies them must be an impostor; he or she is distorting the truth. Such people can never do any good either for themselves or for their world. They always suffer from the disease of dualism (that is, there is no correspondence between their inner minds and their outer expressions). This psychology of duality within a single personality creates a very serious psychic disease which will ultimately destroy them. Sama-samája tattva or Neohumanism will liberate people from this disease of dualism, so they will be able to do good to themselves and to others also according to their abilities; for everyone is endowed with some degree of ability.

In this world we find different varieties of group sentiment and socio-sentiment. For example, a small group may be composed of only a very few people, which we call a family. There are still larger groups, such as castes, communities,⁽¹⁾ tribes and nationalities; and behind all those groups the same mental weakness, the same psychic disease, is operating. As a consequence of this disease, people confine themselves within a particular group, and due to this confinement, they suffer from different types of complexes. Sometimes they praise and applaud each other, saying, “How fine this gentleman speaks! How nicely he acts!” Actually this applause comes from those who share the same psychic complex.

Within a gang of thieves, one of them says appreciatively, “Oh! The sleight-of-hand of such-and-such other thief is marvellous – he has made a fool of me!” Here one pickpocket is praising another, because they belong to the same group. But one who does not belong to that gang of pickpockets will never appreciate it.

In actuality, it so happens that a person belonging to a group whose boundaries are larger will always disparage and denounce a group whose boundaries are smaller. The person who is concerned only with his own family and nothing else, merely goes to the office, strolls home and reads the newspaper. Those who have formed a group on the basis of caste – the organizers of the “All-India Such-and-Such Association” – what will they do? They will criticize that person, saying, “He is concerned only with his family.” Again, those who are involved with a slightly larger community – the “All-India Such-and-Such Society” – will say about them, “Pooh! They are concerned only with their caste! Is this proper?” But those whose minds are still more expanded, what will they do? They will say, “Pooh! These communities, these castes – they are contrary to nationalism. If we concern ourselves with caste, community, etc., it will weaken the foundation of our nation. They are enemies of the state – they cause harm to society by spreading communalism and other narrow ideas!” They forget that they are all suffering from the same disease – the only difference is, one’s circle is slightly larger than the other’s.

They may indeed be quite conscious of the fact that they are all suffering from the same disease, but still they propagate these sorts of idea because they are motivated by selfish interest. Thus those who confine themselves within any specific circle, regardless of its circumference, all come within the scope of socio-sentiment.

Where there is no such limitation or confinement, where socio-sentiment is transcended, I call this “general humanism”, but this is not something noble to gloat over either.

Now, in socio-sentiment, it happens that a certain group exploits another, and that exploited group in turn exploits a third. In Hindu society you will notice that there are many divisions of caste, high and low. You will hear many people saying lightly, “It is the Brahmans who are responsible for all this!” But the same person who holds the Brahmans responsible, will refuse to touch the people of a caste slightly lower than his or her own, so as not to pollute oneself by their contact. Still others hold two or three castes responsible, but they themselves also refuse to touch lower-caste people. A person of the low Tentule Bagdi caste says, “Dule Bagdi caste people are lower than me – so I will not touch them!” But the same Tentule Bagdi caste person complains, “We are ruined by the Brahmans!” In fact these are all expressions of the mental disease I referred to. One who is confined within a certain circle condemns other groups. You should never hold any particular caste or community responsible for the ruin of the society – this is completely false. You yourself are responsible for it.

Now, those who are courageous enough to speak out this truth in clear language – those who say, “Shatter this bondage of limitation!” – their path is called the path of revolution. And those who say, “Everything will be done gradually… why so much haste?” – their path is called the path of evolution. They can never accomplish any glorious task.

There are still others who say straightforwardly, “No, no, how can I contradict the way followed by my ancestors – my father, my grandfather?” They are reactionaries. They suffer from a mental disease. They are afraid to accept the new; they suffer from fear complex. They utter high-sounding phrases, but their hearts are filled with fear complexes. Not that they are terribly reprehensible. They say outwardly: “We are just doing the same as our ancestors did.” But their ancestors used to wear wooden sandals instead of shoes, and shawls instead of tailored shirts, eat guŕ [raw sugar] instead of refined sugar, and drink water from wells instead of from taps – do they follow this also?

I know a certain lady who never drinks tap water, because, according to her, “People of all castes work in the waterworks – how can I drink such water?” She drinks only pure Ganges water – as if that water were touched only by the holy Brahmans! Behind this reluctance to accept the new in place of the old lies a fear complex.

Motivated by socio-sentiment, one group harms and exploits another group in the social, economic, cultural and religious spheres.

Such groups perpetuate exploitation in the social sphere by injecting a fear complex in the minds of those whom they want to exploit. They infuse the feeling in their minds, “We are inferior, and they are superior.” As the inevitable result, the so-called low castes of India really consider themselves to be inferior, and this becomes an ingrained habit. Even if you catch hold of their hands and cordially invite them to sit on your cot, they refuse, because over the centuries they have developed such an inferior mentality. By creating fear complexes in others’ minds, such groups indirectly inject inferiority complexes in them and superiority complexes in themselves. This is how they widen the social gap, until the framework of society is broken. Thus a well-knit society can never develop.

When those with superiority complexes possess even the slightest degree of power, they fulfil their desires by injecting inferiority complexes in others. Forty-five or fifty years ago [in India], some special train compartments were reserved for those people who wore European dress, and those in Indian dress would be rejected. This is a clear instance of injecting an inferiority complex into people’s minds. What was the result? It merely paved the way for psychic exploitation, and based on this, all other kinds of exploitation could easily take place.

Some time ago, those who could not speak English were considered to be uneducated, and even now this is the case, even if the person is a scholar in Sanskrit. This is another result of injecting inferiority complexes.

The very purpose of injecting an inferiority complex is to exploit people on the psychic level, and this is exactly what happens in many spheres of social life. In some places you may notice some signboards written in a language not used by the local people. What is the purpose of putting up a signboard? It is just to give the local people certain information. If the letters are written in the language of the ruling exploiters and not in the language of the exploited – or if the local language is printed in small and humble letters underneath – what reaction will this create in the minds of the exploited? It is bound to generate an inferiority complex regarding their language and social position (the language of slaves is derogatorily called “vernacular” in English), and they will continue to suffer from this mental disease. Thus the ruling exploiters create indirect pressure on others’ minds so that their language maintains its high prestige and an inferior feeling arises in the minds of the people: “Ah! That is the language of the rulers!”

The moment an inferiority complex is created, the ruling class uses it to exploit them psychically; those who are motivated by socio-sentiment continue their social exploitation in this manner. They infuse the same inferiority complex in other spheres of life also; then psychic exploitation occurs as a matter of course.

Psychic exploitation is twofold. Sometimes it occurs only in the mental sphere, and sometimes partially in the mental sphere and partially in other spheres, such as economics, politics, culture or religion – in all spheres of life. That is why I said previously that socio-sentiment is much more harmful for society than geo-sentiment. What is socio-sentiment? People forget their own rights, and even forget that they are human beings, that they too have the right to live with dignity. Thus socio-sentiment is more harmful. Socio-sentiment perpetuates psychic exploitation by injecting inferiority complexes in others’ minds, and this psychic exploitation is the basis of other types of exploitation.

This happens in the economic sphere. One social group, guided by a particular type of social sentiment, exploits another group. First, the exploiters inject the idea in the minds of the exploited that the latter are degraded while the former are elevated – so they are entitled to greater rights, even to the right to exploit the inferior group. They are the first-class citizens, and the exploited second-class.

If you analyse the history of the world, you will find that whenever one group exploited another in the economic sphere, they first created psychic exploitation by infusing inferiority complexes in the minds of the exploited mass. You will find that in each case of economic exploitation, psychic exploitation was the foundation: if you go deep into the background, you will discover a continuous and cunning attempt to create inferiority complexes in the minds of the exploited.

Economic exploitation is perpetrated in two ways: one of the two is psycho-economic exploitation, as I have said, and the other is politico-economic exploitation. Where psycho-economic exploitation is combined with politico-economic exploitation, it becomes doubly dangerous.

In the past, most countries of the world were victims of politico-economic exploitation – and many are even today. In order to save humanity from economic exploitation (whether politico-economic or psycho-economic), you must raise the people’s consciousness, otherwise they will never be able to successfully resist psycho-economic or politico-economic exploitation.

In India, the masses were inspired to fight for independence without arousing their consciousness. As a consequence, India ultimately attained political independence, no doubt, but the people have not attained politico-economic independence as yet. Even today, they are victims of psycho-economic and politico-economic exploitation.

Motivated by socio-sentiment, one social group tries to forcibly dominate another group, with the intention that “We will utilize the exploited group or their land” – here the group is more important than the land – “as a source of raw materials. The finished products will be manufactured within our area, and then we will utilize the exploited country as the market for our goods.”

What can the financially-handicapped groups do in this situation? They are forced to enslave themselves to the powerful countries or groups because of their fear complex born of their impotence or poverty. And what is the outcome of such slavery?

In the next phase, the exploited painfully find themselves reduced to the position of suppliers of raw materials and purchasers of finished products. They are economically ruined. Such things happen as a result of both psycho-economic exploitation and politico-economic exploitation. Intelligent people should analyse this carefully.

When this exploitation is perpetrated by the application of brute force, it is politico-economic exploitation; but when it is done not through brute force but through the application of cunning intellectual strategy, it is primarily psycho-economic exploitation.

Now, whatever may be the nature of this psycho-economic or politico-economic exploitation, its inevitable outcome is that the [[exploiters]] not only exploit the people directly or indirectly, but also govern them. This makes the exploitation easier for the rulers.

What about those who do not rule but exploit indirectly? They purchase the rulers with their wealth. And what is the result? – the ruling classes do their utmost to please those by whom they were bought, win elections with their money, and outwardly speak against the social, economic and political exploitations. But in fact they support these things. I have branded these people as “vocal revolutionaries”. They deliver long lectures against exploitation, but they do the opposite in practice.

I have already said that the reformists are somewhat better than those vocal revolutionaries. The reformists say, “Let us go slowly on the path of reform.” But actually they intend that the process of exploitation should continue without interruption. There were many reformists in the world, but in reality they did not want the welfare of the society; they only wanted to perpetuate the process of exploitation by bringing about some patchwork improvements.

You may have observed many people in the world who delivered long lectures against caste discrimination and untouchability, saying, “No, all are equal. I will take food touched by any caste. If you give me filtered water in a clean glass I will not hesitate to swallow it – just watch me drink!” And the audience applauded, “Very good! Very good!” These people are called reformists; but their inner intention was to maintain the caste system. Had they really wanted to remove caste discrimination, they would have declared, “The cause of this untouchability is the caste system. Because of the caste system, discriminations have emerged between high and low, touchable and untouchable, one caste and another. So let us first of all break the bondage of caste!”⁽²⁾ If they had had the courage to proclaim this directly, they would have become revolutionaries. But they lacked such boldness, and thus they did enormous harm to humanity by delaying revolution.

The reformists of any age are not the real well-wishers of society. Rather they seek to preserve the defects of society by any means. They are motivated either by a fear complex or by a despicable cunning. And when awareness finally dawns on those who were so long exploited in the politico-economic field, the reformists lose their prestige, and also their popular support.

Those who have been exploiting directly on the politico-economic or the psycho-economic levels, and indirectly supporting other exploiters, are bound to ultimately lose their popular support, because when the people’s eyes are opened, no tricks or stratagems can succeed. At that time, the exploiters cannot move even one step forward without the help of their bureaucracy, and, goaded by this bureaucracy, they continue their activities. They can no longer face the awakened masses; they cannot act independently. Thus in this process, the bureaucracy is gradually transformed into a kind of oligarchy, and this abominable oligarchy oppresses society like a heavy load. This is indeed a ruinous and unendurable position for society.

To liberate society from this unbearable situation, consciousness will have to be aroused among the people; their eyes will have to be opened by knowledge. Let them understand the what’s, the why’s and the where’s. Thus study is essential, very essential.

Besides this, there is the domineering influence of religion on the human mind. You know that religions are based on dogmas. The propagators of religion never cared to preach Bhágavata dharma – the universally applicable human dharma free from all narrowness – rather they always feared and avoided it. What have they preached instead? They have always declared, “I am not speaking with my own voice, I am speaking with the voice of heaven. I am the messenger of God. Don’t take these words to be mine – they are the message of God, and so you will have to accept them. You must not question whether they are right or wrong; to question is a sin. If you question, your tongue will fall off!” They have tightened the noose of dogma around the people, so that they fear to take a single step over the line, thinking, “How terrible! If I do so I will be burnt in hellfire for eternity!”

Thus those who sought to confine different groups within the bondage of dogma in the aforesaid ways are the so-called religious leaders or gurus; they have done enormous harm to the human society. The various religious groups have fought many bloody battles, because their dogmas were totally contradictory; if one group turned to pray towards the north, the other turned towards the south. Their leaders, meanwhile, fulfilled their own petty, selfish interests, saying, “These are God’s commands.”

In this way one group has tried to capture another group to be its arena of exploitation. As in the socio-economico-political field, so in the religious field. They have tried to create satellite groups. For instance, an affluent group tries to utilize a less-developed group as its satellite group. That is, they want to obtain their raw materials and force them to buy the finished products, which they produce in their own factories. It occurs just this way in the religious field also. And, being supported by the money of those who want to create satellites, the propagators of religious faiths idle away their days. Most of these propagators of religion are not even aware of the fact that they are helping the exploiters create satellite groups; but some are doing it consciously.

You must awaken those religious people who are not aware of what they are doing, and make them aware. Let the ideals of Neohumanism reach their ears and be implanted in the core of their hearts. With their liberated intellects they will throw all their illusions into the dustbin.

But those who are deliberately propagating dogmas as the agents of injustice, will become furious and violent when they hear the propagation of truth. Let them so become – let them fill their cup of sins to the brim. Their destruction is inevitable – their annihilation is the inexorable decree of fate.

So in the sphere of religion also, if you look carefully, you will see that behind those who have been knowingly or unknowingly operating the machinery of exploitation, there are certain wealthy parties. Those parties want to create their satellites. In every sphere of life you will find such wealthy people in the background.

Now, there is another aspect: culture. As you know, the subtler and sweeter expressions of human life are generally termed “culture.” Suppose someone offers you food: you may eat without washing your hands and feet, or you may eat after washing thoroughly. The refined manner of eating in a hygienic way is called the “culture of eating”, while those activities expressing the subtler and sweeter aspects of life are called “culture” in a general sense.

Human culture is one, though there are some local variations in its expression. But a particular group which is motivated by socio-sentiment to exploit others, tries to destroy the local cultural expressions of other groups. It forcibly imposes its language, dress and ideas on other groups, and thus paves the way for exploitation by paralysing those people psychologically. This is how people guided by socio-sentiment perpetuate exploitation in cultural life.

This is occurring throughout the world. Is it not your noble duty to save these simple and persecuted people from exploitation? Certainly it is. Those of you who did not understand this before, now do understand it clearly; or you will come to understand it later from others. Human beings must be saved. Why should innocent people be forced to live like sacrificial lambs? This must not be tolerated.

Suppose a particular group has a high standard of arts (theatre, cinema, etc.), but the number of rich people in that group is comparatively few. The culture of another group, on the other hand, is very undeveloped, but among them there is a greater number of wealthy people. Now, the latter group wants to maintain its exploitation over the group that has a more developed cultural heritage, because one way that psycho-economic exploitation can paralyse people in the psychic sphere is cultural exploitation – to impose vulgar cinemas and dramas upon those good people.

As you know, the mind has a natural tendency to degrade itself; it flows more easily downwards than upwards. So if some people, by virtue of their wealth, impose vulgar cinemas and dramas on others, this will break the latters’ spines and they will become paralysed. And those paralysed, spineless people will thenceforth never be able to stand unitedly against cultural or any other kind of exploitation. They will never be able to do so, because mentally they will be completely dead – their capacity to raise their heads in protest will have been crushed forever. How can they raise their heads again?

This exploitation in the cultural sphere is accomplished by the propagation of pseudo-culture. Every honest, virtuous, rational person must fight against this pseudo-culture, and inspire others to do the same. If this is not done, the future of humanity will be sealed. It is proper for human beings to struggle for political freedom, for social emancipation; but if their cultural backbone is broken, then all their struggles will end in nothing – like offering ghee into a fire that has died out.

If one’s spine is shattered, it is impossible to hold one’s head erect. Can those whose necks and backs are crushed under the weight of pseudo-culture, be expected to hold their heads high in any sphere of life? Hence it is the bounden duty of every rational person to save innocent people from pseudo-culture.

(1) “Community” and “communal” as used throughout this book generally refer to religious communities. –Trans.

(2) It is the very concept of caste that is defective. Any talk of abolishing inter-caste injustices will remain hollow until that defective concept is eliminated. See also pp. 83-84. –Trans.

Pseudo-Humanism (Discourse 8)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 8 [a compilation]
Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours [a compilation]

Notes:

this version: is the printed Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours, 1st edition, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections that did not appear in the printed version.

Published in Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours as “Pseudo-Humanism”. Published in –
Part One
Human Beings and the Non-Human World in the Light of Neohumanism.

[[We were discussing socio-sentiment. When sentiment expands beyond the limit of an individual to embrace others also, it is called “socio-sentiment.” Where does it end?]] Just as zero cannot have any radius, infinity has no radius [[either]]. You can form a circle with a radius greater than zero but less than infinity; only in this circumstance can it exist. Unless the radius of anything is greater than zero and less than infinity, its existence becomes meaningless. Then there may be existence in theory but not in actuality.

Now, family sentiment is also a kind of socio-sentiment, but its radius is very small. Greater than this is the radius of caste sentiment, and still greater is that of community sentiment, national sentiment, international sentiment, and so on. Now, the narrowest of all the socio-sentiments is technically called “socio-sentiment minimitis”, and the greatest is called “socio-sentiment maximitis” or “socio-sentiment excellencio”. What is the difference between these two terms?

The small theoretical gap between excellencio and maximitis makes little difference so far as the collective welfare is concerned. It merely soars high in the realm of theory, just like the argument whether the pot contains the oil or the oil is contained in the pot, or the argument whether the palmyra fruit falls first or the sound of its hitting the ground comes first. This is how the ancient logicians used to endlessly debate.

It is said that once the scholars in Navadwip researched for a long time whether the sound is produced before or after the palmyra fruit hits the ground. The story goes that the scholars carried on this debate for three days and nights, and five maunds [approximately 411 pounds] of snuff was consumed in the process! After three days and nights, it was found at daybreak that almost all the scholars were dead. And what was the cause? The palmyra fruits fell on their heads, and that is how they died!

Now, this socio-sentiment, in its stage of excellencio or in theory maximitis, is called “humanism.” Suppose I was working for a particular nation, but now I am working for all nations. When I admit the existence of nations and say that I am working for all nations, then it is neither humanism nor universalism – it is merely internationalism. When I use the term “internationalism”, I am admitting the existence of separate nations, and along with this I must naturally also think, within the nations, of the people’s five fundamental requirements of life (food, clothes, education, shelter, and medical care). But when I discover that one nation is trying to thrive on the life-blood of another, I oppose it, and this opposition ultimately leads to world war. So internationalism is not the solution either.

Now, if we enlarge the circumference beyond the scope of nationalism or internationalism and embrace all people within one fold, this is called “humanism”, or, still better, “ordinary” or “general” humanism.

What is this humanism? It is socio-sentiment maximitis. Is this the panacea for all problems? Does it provide answers to all questions? No, it does not, for two reasons. The first is that even within humanism there is still intra-humanistic clash; and secondly, in the living world, humans are not the only living beings – there are many other creatures as well. If people completely ignore them, indeed this may not create any great conflict in the external world, because non-human creatures are psychologically undeveloped. (Even if they are physically developed, mentally they are undeveloped.) Thus it is easy for human beings to destroy the animal and plant kingdoms. But this destruction will upset the balance among the plant, animal, and human worlds and result in the catastrophic ruin of human life as well.

Now, what does “intra-humanistic clash” mean? Suppose I find that a particular social group is suffering from starvation, and I provide food for them. This is humanitarian, no doubt, but at the back of my mind I am thinking, “Let me utilize these people as the suppliers of our raw materials and the purchasers of our finished products, because these people are now obligated to us.” This sort of mentality will one day destroy peace in society. So the humanistic approach is not perfect; it is adulterated.

Suppose we discover that a particular group is educationally backward. We feel pity for its people because they are also our fellow human beings. So we think, “Let us introduce them to the printed word at least!” and actually we do something towards that end. But through this so-called “literacy drive”, we inject ideas in their minds that paralyse them mentally, and then we ultimately govern these mentally-paralysed people as colonized people. In this way the peace of the world will be destroyed. This is all “intra-human conflict.” The intention is to develop them socially in the way we like and thus destroy their originality. This is the mentality at work.

What is the reason for this type of mentality? “I pity them” – this vanity, this superiority complex, will eventually create satellite social groups. This adulterated [humanism] is not genuine [humanism], nor is it true humanistic spirit; it is ordinary human sentiment or pseudo-humanistic strategy in another form. It has some affinity with pseudo-reformist strategy.

How does pseudo-reformist strategy work? What is its nature? It arises within socio-sentiment: “Yes, what my opponents [revolutionaries] say is correct; but if this really materializes, it will greatly inconvenience me and disturb my individual sentiment. So what we must do is to try to adjust with the existing situation. We don’t want any great changes; we will just go ahead step by step. Externally we may speak of reform, but in our heart of hearts, we have decided not to allow any change to take place.” This is pseudo-reformist strategy.⁽¹⁾

And what is “pseudo-humanistic strategy”? “Outwardly we preach the gospels of humanistic idealism, but in actuality we stab others in the back.” In the absence of a firm foundation, this sort of ordinary human sentiment remains unstable. This situation is prevalent all over the world today; you must make sincere efforts to see that it no longer continues.

Intra-humanistic clash is a continuing phenomenon, and as a result there are constant conflicts between individual and individual, between group and group. What is the reason? It is because this so-called ordinary humanism or general humanism is nothing more than an enlarged form of nationalism: only its radius is large, or maximitis, as I said in the beginning. That is the only difference.

So you see, socio-sentiment minimitis and socio-sentiment maximitis, although they differ in radius, are both mental diseases which demand our equal attention. Suppose in someone’s body there is a certain disease in one place affecting a limited area, and the same disease in another place affecting a broader area. The disease is the same; the difference lies only in the magnitude of the affected area. The socio-sentiment maximitis or excellencio that is included in socio-sentiment results in clash not only among human beings, but also in mutual clash among humans, animals and plants. If, instead of firmly establishing one’s mind in humanism, one is guided by pseudo-humanistic strategy, one is bound by some means or other to bring the social group to which one has given aid within the scope of one’s own socio-sentiment. Thus today or tomorrow they will become exploited, either directly or indirectly, and the exploitation will be more intense in the economic sphere than in other spheres.

This has one very interesting aspect, which most people overlook. Depending upon the degree of economic affluence, some countries are called “developed”, some “developing”, and some “undeveloped.” Now the interesting thing is that none of these so-called developed countries can stand on their own legs. They are simply compelling the developing and undeveloped countries to buy their industrial goods by creating circumstantial pressure on them. None of these countries becomes developed by developing its own resources.

In those countries which are developing their own resources, the resources are not equally distributed among them, so naturally some countries’ resources will become exhausted sooner than others’. And when this occurs, they will have to use force – either physical or intellectual – against others.

So as long as there are bondages of nationhood – maximitis bondages (not to mention minimitis) – the tendency to exploit individuals or the collectivity will continue to exist. This is bound to have its repercussions on political life as well as religious life. I said yesterday that religion is being used to create satellites; the propagators of religion are performing this unjust action consciously or unconsciously. But behind all this lies the wealth of those who seek to create satellite groups as suppliers of their raw materials or customers for their finished products. Thus there is pervasive corruption in religious life. None of these religions is Bhágavata dharma, the all-embracing human dharma.

There is degeneration in cultural life also. Once one’s cultural life is controlled, one becomes a slave. The rulers and exploiters, who are motivated by socio-sentiment maximitis (otherwise known as general humanism), want to exploit people in all spheres of life – social, economic, political, cultural, and religious. Hence humanism cannot be considered the panacea; it is not a perfect remedy.

Often certain social groups – be they international groups or the largest social groups – seek to preserve their existences by destroying non-human creatures – animals and plants. But all animals and plants also have the urge for self-preservation; no creature dies willingly. This destructive tendency is operating not only in the inter-creature world (the torture of animals and plants), but also in the intra-creature world (within the human world itself). The kind of persecution which is being perpetrated against animals today may be perpetrated by one social group against another tomorrow, because the very tendency to torture others is predominant in the blood of exploiters. They are not free from this disease – they merely mouth high ideals. That is why I said that this is all pseudo-humanistic strategy, not even humanistic strategy.

What do people do to meet their growing needs for agricultural lands, for industries, etc.? They bring about large-scale deforestation; but no one bothers to think about the creatures that live in those forests. Thus the tigers and elephants haunt the villages, kill the people and demolish their houses. Why? Out of their instinct for self-preservation. We have destroyed their natural habitat, the forests, but we never bothered to consider any alternative arrangements for their shelter. We have recklessly destroyed large areas of forests without caring to think that thereby we are destroying the balance among the human, plant, and animal worlds. And we never realized – and still do not – that this wanton destruction of the animal and plant worlds will be of no benefit to human beings. Rather it will be a great loss for human society, because each and every living entity, whether plant or animal, has two types of value: one, its utility value, and the other, its existential value.

Human beings usually preserve those creatures which have an immediate utility value for them; for example, cows. Human beings protect them for their own benefit, because cows have some utility. Nowadays horses have lost their utility value. Thus horses are rarely found in large numbers in the streets these days; you do not see many horses around at all. After some time, people will have to go to the zoo to catch a glimpse of a horse; they will not be found anywhere else. Since horses no longer serve human needs and their utility value is nil, human beings are not eager to preserve them.

Similarly, when people are able to prepare synthetic milk by chemical process, they will also stop breeding cattle. That day people will either kill the cows by starving them, or they will themselves eat the cows. This is the situation.

Who says that those creatures who have lost their immediate utility value have no right to exist? No one has the moral right to say this. No one can dare to say that only human beings have the right to live – and not non-humans. All are the children of Mother Earth; all are the offspring of the Supreme Consciousness. Most creatures have existential value, although they may not be valuable to human beings, or we may not be aware that their existence has some significance. This existential value is sometimes individual and sometimes collective, and sometimes both. Oftentimes, we cannot know the utility value, or the collective existential value, of a creature; we wrongly think that it has no existential value. This is the height of foolishness. As human beings have not advanced very far in the field of knowledge, they are prone to this sort of error.

Even those creatures that have no utility value for human beings or whose utility value has ceased, which have no existential value for human beings or whose existential value has ceased, still have the right to live. Even those animals which have negative utility value instead of positive, and negative entitative [[existential]] value instead of positive, human beings will have to try to preserve even those animals by creating a congenial environment for them instead of destroying them. And they will also have to provide adequate safeguards so that those creatures may not prove injurious. If, in the absence of proper safeguards, those undeveloped creatures do harm to humans, the fault does not lie with those creatures but rather with the human beings. Human beings are endowed with developed intellect. Why do they not make adequate arrangements to protect themselves?

One more thing must be said – that non-human creatures have the same existential value to themselves as human beings have to themselves. Perhaps human beings can understand the value of their existence, while other living beings cannot: this is the only difference. Even so, no one has conferred any authority on human beings to kill those unfortunate creatures.

Now, within the scope of socio-sentiment maximitis, there are economically-developed groups [[and hence also economically-undeveloped groups]]. Within the greater human society, there are different social divisions in some form or the other, direct or indirect. As a result, the virus of intra-human conflict, and along with this, inter-creature conflict, is bound to spread. And in this inter-creature conflict, human beings have completely forgotten the utility value and entitative value of other creatures.

Thus humanism cannot be accepted as an ideal path to perfection. Human beings will have to progress further towards perfection: Hethá nay hethá nay, anya kothá, anya konakháne⁽²⁾ [“Not here, not here, somewhere else, somewhere else.”] We must move ever forward beyond the confines of sentiment. And does not a still more glorious and effulgent dawn await us there? Indeed it does.

Awakened Conscience (Discourse 9)

Published in:
Discourses on Neohumanist Education [a compilation]
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

Notes:

official source: The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

this version: is the printed The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism, 4th edition, 2nd printing, version (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

The bondages that human beings are likely to suffer from are not purely physical – they are psychic and spiritual as well. The fundamental cause behind physical bondage lies in the psychic realm. The tortures, the exploitations, of human by human are no doubt physical phenomena, but these events have their source in the human mind: the pains and agonies experienced by those afflicted persons are more psychic than physical. Thus ultimately, the root of bondage is in the mind. Mind is independent from matter, but not altogether dissociated from it; it has some direct association with matter.

Food, clothes, education, medical treatment – these are the material needs of human beings. The world of the five fundamental factors is no doubt material, but it is not purely physical or psychic; it also touches the fringes of the spiritual world. For example, psychic diseases may create such an unhealthy situation that the spiritual atmosphere may be badly affected. Take, for instance, those for whom religion is the stock-in-trade. They may do many things that may seriously jeopardize the entire spiritual world. Because of their anti-spiritual misdeeds the affected people might become apathetic to spirituality. Thus the disease, though fundamentally psychic, has some direct relevance to the material world and also to the spiritual world. The demoniacal human beings of this type are not only depriving their fellow humans of their physical wealth, or deceiving them in the psychic sphere, they are also depriving them of their precious spiritual treasure.

Just consider for a moment what enormous refuse these people are bearing with them. These people with defective mentality, who are wallowing in geo-sentiment, socio-sentiment, or ordinary humanistic sentiment, have not done any good to society, nor can they do so in future. They do not have any such capacity. A strong determination must be taken to rectify them. And when you take such a determination to rectify them and act accordingly, you will notice that those who refuse to be rectified will be destroyed – they will be completely annihilated.

Such people attempt to cover their harmful or defective sentiments under a veil of hypocrisy. This concealing mentality is one aspect of hypocrisy. Consider, for instance, the case of vocal revolutionaries. They talk glibly of revolution outwardly, but in their heart of hearts, they want to avoid revolution. They say one thing openly, but they do just the opposite in practical life. It is very hard to identify such gilded human chameleons. At least the reactionary forces can be easily identified: they are openly antagonistic to anything which they do not like. They say directly, “We won’t allow this to happen. We won’t grant liberty to the people. We won’t provide them with full-stomach meals. We will keep them languishing in poverty… or else where shall we find menials for our domestic chores?” However, it requires some knowledge of human behaviour to identify those people who are difficult to detect.

I said that there are two ways to fight against those people who are motivated, knowingly or unknowingly, by geo-sentiment. One of these ways is through study, and the other is through rationalistic mentality, rationalistic outlook. “Study” here means intensive intellectual analysis. What do I mean by intensive study? – internal assimilation, subjective assimilation of objective happenings. You should remember that existence is also an event, an external event. The assimilation of events is achieved through study. Now, knowledge can be divided into two categories, and indeed the entirety of knowledge does not come within the scope of study.

Knowledge is of two types: parájiṋána, or áptajiṋána [transcendental] and aparájiṋána, or práptajiṋána [non-transcendental]. Transcendental knowledge operates in the purely spiritual world, and derives its inspiration from the Cosmic Centre, the Universal Nucleus. It has nothing whatever to do with worldly gain or loss, exploitation or administration; nor has it any relation with imperialism, fascism or any variety of ism. This transcendental knowledge will inspire people to move in the purely spiritual world; it will inspire them with countless elevating spiritual ideas. It is also called self-knowledge. Those who, in the name of this transcendental knowledge or in the name of God or of incarnation theory⁽¹⁾ hoodwink the simple and semi-educated, unwary masses to achieve their selfish ends, deserve extreme reprobation. But here our topic of discussion is not this transcendental knowledge; that comes within the scope of purely spiritual philosophy. Here our main concern is non-transcendental knowledge related to this material world. I have already spoken about transcendental knowledge, and I will do so again in future.

There are so many defects or drawbacks in study as well. Even in the case of intensive study, one may commit certain errors. You may ask, how will an illiterate person study? To this I will reply that such people can also study; they will learn by hearing others’ discourses; so no one is handicapped in this regard. Moreover, study does not mean only the study of books. Study is of two types: literal and non-literal. Those who can read and write can avail themselves of literal study, and those who cannot read can benefit from non-literal study by listening to others.

Regarding non-literal study, people can collect much information from the material world by coming in contact with different objects through their various senses. There is a necessity for both literal and non-literal study, and human beings can avail themselves of both.

Now, there may be defects in both literal and non-literal study; thus knowledge acquired through study cannot be accepted as absolute, nor should it be. There are two kinds of defect. What is the first? Defect due to ignorance. And the second is defect due to change in tempor [time].

The person who taught me or the person whose writing I read – within that person’s knowledge there may be a defect, and that defect may be passed on from person to person. This is called defect due to ignorance.

The second defect is due to change in time. For instance, a certain book was written at a particular time, or certain knowledge was imparted at a certain time. That book or that knowledge expresses a certain reality according to its own temporal perspective; but the moment there is a change in time, then that reality loses its validity. In my childhood, we used to read in geography books that Allahabad was the capital of Uttar Pradesh (Uttar Pradesh had a different name then). But now that is considered erroneous due to change in time, because now Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh. After the shifting of the capital due to the change in the time factor, what was written in that book in those days is now confusing. So if the internal, or subjective, assimilation of external objectivity is effected through study alone, it may be wrong.

Suppose you collected certain knowledge through study, but the knowledge thus collected is defective. Those people who are motivated by geo-sentiments have been harming society in countless ways. You cannot identify such people through your defective knowledge; you cannot detect those human chameleons. So what is the solution? They will certainly continue to follow the path of vice; they are sure to harm others.

If you alone are personally harmed by those people, if you alone are persecuted, humiliated, or exploited, it does not matter much. But if a whole social group is affected, that cannot be ignored. You will have to identify such reactionary forces in the society, such vocal revolutionaries who claim to be socio-economico-political reformists, but who actually befool the people by adopting such pseudo-reformist, pseudo-humanistic strategies. You will have to recognize them all.

When you fail through study to detect those pseudo-revolutionaries, those who are depriving the masses of the minimum necessities of life, what will you do? You will have to identify them. You will have to analyse each and everything in the proper perspective. Until you come to a clear conclusion after proper analysis, you cannot rescue the people from the tightening noose of exploitation. Here the importance of study is tremendous – you will have to do it. You cannot afford to shut the pages of your books and remain like frogs in the well. You must enlarge your mental horizons and move ahead by shattering all social bondages.

What sorts of bondage? The bondages of geo-sentiment. You will have to shatter all of them. The frog in the well thinks that its well is perhaps the biggest body of water in the world. But when it comes in contact with a big pool, it realizes that the pool is greater than was the well. After coming in contact with a pond it further realizes that this is greater still than the pool. When finally it sees the ocean, it realizes that this is something really big. It thinks, “As long as I was in the well, I thought the well to be the greatest.” Similarly, until geo-sentiment is removed, people will fail to realize the truth. Hence the tremendous importance of study.

But at the same time, care must be taken to avoid the limitations inherent in study. For instance, we are taught that our country is blessed with profuse water and laden with fruits. After hearing this, we may pass on this information to thousands of people. But after proper study, we come to discover that our country is suffering terribly from an acute scarcity of water: People do not even get a sufficient supply of drinking water, what to speak of water for irrigation. We are told, “Our country abounds in agricultural produce, especially fruits, which are then exported to different countries;” but after we study, we discover that our country is importing thousands of tons of food grains from different countries, and the very lives of our people depend upon these imports. Sometimes even rotten flour comes from distant lands, and that flour, after being soaked in water, serves as food. Yet we say, parrot-like: “My golden land, I adore you.” These are some examples of the bondages of geo-sentiment which people fall into due to their ignorance. Those who detect the facts later on simply burst into laughter and think, “When I repeated these tall tales to others, I wonder what they thought of me!” These types of false notion based on geo-sentiment have to be totally smashed, and for this there is no other way but careful study.

But even study is not enough. There are some people, particularly vocal revolutionaries, who glibly speak many high-sounding words. Through these high-sounding words, they sway the weak and sensitive parts of the mind. For instance, they say: “My native land is like this, like that”… “We are such-and-such race”… “We are a race of heroes and heroines.” This is how they sentimentalize people. And, caught up in these geo-sentiments, the people become devoid of rationality and also shout to the same tune. At that time, they do not realize that their shouting is inspired by false information.

One will have to escape from those bondages of false information. “The water of such-and-such river of my country is so pure that it never becomes spoiled. By drinking it – what to speak of human beings only – each and every protoplasmic cell of the human body will attain liberation!” But strangely enough, in that river there are so many fish and aquatic creatures who do not attain liberation! Moreover, scientists, after examining that water, concluded that that so-called pure water is not fit even for bathing, much less for drinking! These are all different expressions of geo-sentiment.

Thus the importance of study is tremendous. Those who are educated must conduct seminars among themselves and also among the less-educated – they must make the latter understand. Knowledge must be disseminated throughout all sections of society. You must create opportunities for all people to judge everything in the light of truth. Liberate the intellect of each and every person. Human intellect is now bogged down in a marshy quagmire – let people enjoy the sweet taste of intellectual freedom.

You should remember that defects in study – defects due to ignorance and defects due to change in time – are all non-transcendental – práptajiṋána and not áptajiṋána. That which establishes one in the spiritual realm is transcendental knowledge. It is also called ápta vákya in Sanskrit. How to eliminate these defects? Through rationalistic mentality. Everything written in books should not be automatically accepted. I may read and understand everything written in books, but my mental acceptance will come later. When shall I accept it? After thoroughly verifying all that I have read. Now for this verification, one must develop rationality. You should remember that study is the first step, and rationalistic mentality is one step higher. In which direction? Towards the establishment of Neohumanism.

The first step towards the establishment of Neohumanism is study; the second step is rationalistic mentality. I will hear something, then I will analyse its positive side and its negative side through rational analysis. I will weigh the pros and cons of everything. If the positive side is predominant, I will give my verdict in its favour – I will say, “Yes, it will do.” And when I see that the negative aspect is predominant, I will conclude in the negative – that is, I will say, “No, it will not do.”

(This sort of clear conclusion, this logical decision – not a mere decision only – in favour of either the positive or the negative is termed siddhánta in Sanskrit. So siddhánta means “logical decision”. Not just “decision”, “logical decision.” Do not confuse the word.)

This logical decision in favour of the positive or negative is not final either; you will still have to proceed ahead. And in which direction is that next step? If that logical decision is conducive to human welfare, for the benefit and happiness of all beings, for the spiritual well-being of all, then only will we support and propagate that idea and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to its implementation. Otherwise we will some day say, “This decision is good, no doubt, but it has no value in the practical world. Its dazzling colour will vanish after some time, just like a firefly’s glow.”

Similarly, when you reach your clear decision in favour of the negative, and when you see that the rejection of that idea leads to the benefit and happiness of all beings, the spiritual well-being of all, you will reject it permanently – “My ‘no’ is final.”

Or else, if you see that by proper cultivation it may be used for human welfare, then you should say, “My ‘no’ is not final – this idea may be used in future.” That is, regarding anything that may later be used for promoting human welfare, the “no” is not a final one; but if it cannot be used at all for human welfare, the “no” is final. Perhaps in the future you will support it; not only support it, you may devote all your time and energy for its propagation. So this final discrimination for promoting human welfare which is the final outcome or desiderative point of discrimination, is called viveka – “conscience”.

Now, what will you do to counteract geo-sentiment, to safeguard yourself and also the collective body? (It is more important to protect the collectivity than to save yourself.) First, you will study. And what will you do to remove the defects in study? You will have to come to a logical decision after examining the positive and negative sides. And then, after reaching a conclusion, you will decide whether that conclusion will be implemented or not; whether or not you will materialize that conclusion will be decided on the basis of whether or not it is conducive to human welfare. When you reach this final decision, this final desiderative point, that is your conscience. Finally, through your conscience, you can successfully combat geo-sentiment.

Many people have come into this world, who by their cunning have instilled various dogmas in peoples’ minds and exploited them in various ways. Ultimately the greatest necessity to fight against them is your conscience. I have already explained to you what conscience is. You must keep your conscience ever-vigilant. You must never merely applaud after hearing others’ words or reading books. You must not give undue importance to any person or any theory. In this way you will have to fight against geo-sentiment through study and rationalistic mentality.

In the first stage you study; in the second you analyse the positive and negative sides; and in the third stage you arrive at “blissful or non-blissful, auxiliary or non-auxiliary.”⁽²⁾ When you complete this whole process of logical reasoning, the outcome is your “awakened conscience”. This state of awakened conscience is what is called “rationalistic mentality.”

Keep your conscience ever-vigilant. Develop a firm rationalistic mentality, and no one will be able to deceive you by false geo-sentiment. This rationalistic mentality will provide you with sufficient inspiration and strength to fight against socio-sentiment, ordinary humanistic sentiment, and pseudo-humanistic strategy. You will not only gain vocal strength, but become strong in all respects.

(2) That is, that which does or does not contribute to the welfare of all. –Trans.

An Ideology for a New Generation (Discourse 10)

Published in:
Discourses on Neohumanist Education [a compilation]
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 8 [a compilation]

The Supreme Functional Entity⁽¹⁾ carries on its work according to a particular system, and this system is what we call “nature”. The system follows a general stream, but in some cases, in the path of its movement, some abnormality is expressed, although not much. However, this abnormality is not beyond the rule of nature either. It is also an accepted law of nature; that is, it is also natural. No one will ever consider any deviation from the general stream to be a deviation from natural law. Rather, deviation is also accepted as a law of nature.

Now, human intellect, wisdom, power of recollection and contemplation – all move along the mainstream. The minor expression of abnormality – of which I was just speaking – is also a natural expression in the process of its movement; it is natural although it deviates from the mainstream. There is no unnaturality or abnormality in the universe; everything is accepted. Nothing is unnatural or abnormal. I can call it a functional faculty accepted by nature. A special type of functional faculty within the scope of nature – within the scope of the Supreme Functional Principle.

All the expressions we notice in plant structures, in animal structures and in human structures, are sometimes advancing less, sometimes more, than the mainstream. When a benevolent activity is performed in the universe by a certain structure, we call that structure “a genius”, we call it “a blissful structure” – it will be “blissful” in human structure, “good” in animal structure, or “remarkable” in plant structure. Conversely, when a structure is engaged in destructive activity, then we call that structure “demonic” in human structure, “bad” in animal structure, or “notorious” in plant structure. Here, we are mainly concerned with “blissful in human structure” and “demonic in human structure”. Those blissful in human structure utilize their genius for new inventions and discoveries of various things, and thus aid in the development of the psychic and spiritual potentialities of human beings and help them to move in unison towards the goal. They are assets of human society. It [does not] require a high degree of intellect to know and understand them fully.

But those who are demons in human structure are all in categorical forms [fall into various categories]. Although these structures, these frameworks, look like human beings, they are exceptionally clever and cunning. By inculcating various sentiments, they misguide not only thousands, but millions, of people to the path of malevolence, just for some petty social status or other temptation. Common people never think deeply about this; they have not been taught how to think deeply about it; they do not ponder over it even now. Until today this aspect of knowledge has been generally unknown to the world. That is why common people, not fully understanding these cunning people, are inclined to give them undue importance. They write voluminous books about these clever people and accept their words as authentic, thus bringing about considerable harm to the society, the state and the common masses. Simple ignorant people do not realize that they themselves are being harmed or that they, being misguided by those clever people, are harming others.

What these selfish people do is inflate the petty innate geo-sentiments or socio-sentiments of people, take them into their fold and guide them in any way they like. For instance, a certain leader of a country may inflate the geo-sentiment of his people. But when that geo-sentiment is aroused, those clever people may become fearful; because as a rule when the geo-sentiment is aroused, the geopolitical sentiment will also arise, and the matter will not necessarily end there. Along with geopolitical sentiment, geo-economic sentiment may also arise; the people may think simultaneously of economic liberty along with political freedom. This is a knotty problem for the self-seeking politicians. The cunning leaders merely want to utilize the geopolitical sentiment to attain geopolitical liberation for the people. But if people are conscious about economic liberation even before attaining geopolitical liberation, that will really pose a great problem for the selfish leaders; they will think, “It is not easy to provide two common meals a day to the hungry and ill-clad millions of this country (much less delicacies and dainties like ours!). It will be necessary to replace the existing exploitative structure with a new one. And then what will be gained by obtaining political liberation?”

They may think deeply about these things, but the common people cannot understand anything at all. The clever leaders, analysing the whole situation, think that before the geo-sentiment rises too high, they should come to a secret understanding with the rulers and attain the transference of political power peacefully. Then in the case of the peaceful transference of political power, there will be no necessity to raise the political sentiment to the highest pitch. Political power will come automatically to those ambitious politicians. And once they are in political power, they will retain the same exploitative machinery. The only difference will be that the white rulers will have been replaced by black rulers; and they will proclaim to the masses: “We have attained political liberty!” They will silence the voices of the people by telling them, “No, no, things like this [economic liberation] should not be uttered. It is a crime to speak like this at the present time!” It is not possible to identify these human chameleons by their outward appearance, but actually, how dangerous these people are! They are veritable demons in human framework.

Now, according to natural law, no truth is suppressed forever. It must come to light some day – it comes out indirectly from the sinners’ mouths. One of the characteristics of human psychology is this: though one may try to keep a secret, saying, “I will not disclose it. I will not reveal it. No, no, I will not divulge it,” one day in an unguarded moment it will surely come out of one’s mouth.

It is often found that a gentleman has managed to keep a secret to himself; but the same person, after drinking a bottle of wine, reveals everything in his drunken state. I knew a leader of a certain religious community who in his normal mood used to speak little. But in an abnormal mood, that is, after drinking some liquor, he would say openly before me, “I don’t believe in casteism” – the community he belonged to did not support idol worship and casteism⁽²⁾ but did believe in ritual sacrifices – “but I will certainly marry my sons and daughters within my own Kayastha caste. I don’t believe in so-called gods and goddesses, but since I cannot find a suitable husband for my daughter, I secretly worship Lord Satyanáráyańa [as an idol].” He revealed everything under the spell of liquor. Thus the truth is always revealed in an unguarded moment; it never remains suppressed.

So those people whom I have called human chameleons, before the truth finally comes out, will have recourse to some new means of hoodwinking the people. They will switch over to a sentiment different from the one which they were previously using (using to pursue their self-interest at the expense of the people’s interest). Now, in switching over to a new sentiment, one needs a little cunning.

This switch-over is called “metamorphosed sentimental strategy”. That is, a person discovers that the sentimental strategy which he or she previously used to misguide innumerable people, is about to be detected. (“The people are forming a bad opinion about my real nature.”) So he or she decides to exploit another sentiment just to save his or her own prestige, and that too very quickly, because any more delay means further loss of prestige. This act of shifting to a new sentiment – maybe from communalism to nationalism or from nationalism to communism – this metamorphosis of sentiment is called “metamorphosed sentimental strategy.”

These people are indeed expert at changing their sentimental strategies. Suppose a party (maybe social, political, economic, or whatever its complexion) is being divided into several factions, and each faction is utilizing a different sentiment from the other. Those who are clever enough will select the majority party and identify themselves with that group, for their political ambitions will be fulfilled thereby. What they usually do in these circumstances is to waste no time in issuing their statements – in effusive language – in favour of the majority group, denouncing the other factions. Or they may also speak out, saying, “I made a great mistake, I committed a Himalayan blunder” – and promptly shift to another party, thereby ensuring their political position. You will find people of this mentality in all spheres – social, economic, political, cultural, etc. They exploit people’s sentiments primarily for their own social position and secondarily for other purposes also.

In this regard, they are not at all eager to promote human welfare; rather they look upon people as pawns, saying, “Well, I will deploy these one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, people for this purpose; another five hundred thousand for that purpose.” This is how they calculate. Those simple and unwary people who placed their faith and trust in them and were misguided, may become uprooted from their ancestral homes and be forced to live a life of shame and disgrace. As refugees, they have to move for shelter from place to place like street dogs.

Who are responsible for the distress of these millions of refugees? Those demons in human framework, whom those poor fellows trusted; to give ovations to whom those people rushed to meetings with thousands of garlands; for whose satisfaction people used to don special kinds of caps to cover up their sins.

(Once I asked a certain gentleman, “Why do you put on such a cap? Is it because the white cap goes nicely with your black hair?” He replied, “No, not for that purpose really. I am using the cap not to cover my sins, but to cover my baldness.” Some people wear caps to conceal their baldness, and some to show allegiance to their political bosses.)

But meanwhile the refugees roam about hither and thither, and today the number of refugees is not only thousands but many millions in various parts of the globe. And for their precarious existence, for the ignoble deaths of those millions of wretched people, only a handful of people – demons in human framework – are really responsible. They come to the world and leave it in great ruins. During their lifetime, they fully utilize all the mass media. The common people become confused and cannot think beyond that which the mass media tell them. It is a general weakness of common people that they are inclined to believe whatever is printed in books and journals.

Those demons in human form do not think that after their demise a real evaluation of their ideals and actions will take place. Only then do people realize, “My God, what a great mistake I made! I worshipped a monkey taking it to be a god! What a great misfortune I have brought upon myself! But now the situation is beyond repair.” The people become divided, the state becomes divided, psychic barriers are erected between groups of people – the collective progress of humanity is totally impaired. These types of people, I have said, and again I repeat, you will encounter in different fields of life. Some are inclined to believe that these types of people are found only in the political field, but this is not the case: they are in every field, especially in the fields of so many schools of philosophical thought. They have a heinous tendency to demolish the positions of their opponents.

In the past, many thinkers stated one thing in the beginning, but subsequently when they discovered that the plain truth would cost them public support, they somersaulted. It is not proper to mention anyone’s name – but now you have the measuring rod, the touch-stone, in your hands; you can judge for yourselves.

I will give one small example. Maharshi Kapila, while pondering his Sáḿkhya philosophy, did not initially say anything about Iishvara [the Supreme Entity]. His school of philosophy is known as Niriishvara-Sáḿkhya [Atheistic Sáḿkhya]. When he found himself in a very embarrassing position from the philosophical point of view, when he sensed that his philosophy was likely to be discarded by the people, he quickly invented a new concept of Janya-Iishvara [Proto-God] and indirectly accepted the existence of God. Another example: According to Shankaracharya’s school of philosophy, everything is Máyá – that is, there is illusion in the beginning, illusion in the middle and illusion in the end. This is called pramáda in Sanskrit. But then, that same Shankaracharya composed hymns to the River Ganges: Devii Sureshvarii Bhagavatii Gaunge [“O Divine Gauṋgá, goddess who has descended from the heavenly abode of the gods”]. According to him, the entire universe is false; so in this false universe, the River Ganges is also false! So what was the necessity of eulogizing such a false river? This is a case of somersaulting to save oneself from a very embarrassing position, just like a harmless snake pretending to be poisonous. This is a very fine example of a metamorphosed sentimental strategy. There may be some people who will consider this change of sentimental strategy to be a natural process of evolution, but in fact it is not evolution but a metamorphosis of strategy. Evolution does not take place so quickly nor so easily.

Those who have harmed humanity have various natures, and by now you have already understood those types of people. It is a bit hard to identify those human chameleons who change their sentiments in order to exploit humanity more. Sometimes they shift their ground from one geo-sentiment to another geo-sentiment, sometimes from a geo-sentiment to a socio-sentiment, or from one socio-sentiment to another socio-sentiment. They are adept at everything. To attain the support of the masses, one day a certain leader said, “I will not allow my country to be divided, to be vivisected – my country will be partitioned only over my dead body, not before.” What he did in this case was to exploit both the geo-sentiment and the socio-sentiment simultaneously. All clapped their hands in joy and said, “He is the only hope of our country,” and they considered him a god incarnate. Then when the country was really partitioned, that leader did not open his mouth in the beginning – he preferred to observe his vow of silence. Later he merely said, “I am extremely sad, I am with the people.” This is nothing but metamorphosed sentimental strategy. You must clearly recognize those people who adopt such a strategy; and to recognize them, one needs a greater degree of intellect, not merely common intellect.

Then what is necessary? First, one who attempts to know them should train one’s mind, and to train the mind there must be a proper base. Suppose some boys want to practise running; they need a place for that. Similarly, to train the mind, a base is required. In this case, the base is sama-samája tattva: “Whatever others might say, I sincerely believe that all humans have the right to food, clothes, accommodation, education and medical treatment. It is not enough for me to accept their rights in principle; as an honest person I should make the utmost effort to see that they have attained their rights.” This is the spirit of sama-samája tattva.

But it will not do to stop here with the spirit only. Supposing some boys want to run. If they simply stand still on the hard earth, will that be considered running? They will have to actually run. This running, this forward movement, is known as “proto-psycho-spirituality”.

What happens through this proto-psycho-spirituality? When a person is guided by it to think in a particular way, and sees that one’s own benevolent mode of thinking is not reflected in other people’s activities, then that person can easily realize their true nature. So those who practise this proto-psycho-spirituality can easily recognize those demons in human framework. Then, after recognizing them, it is their duty to expose them to others also, to make people understand that they are repeatedly harming human society. It is not enough for one to personally unmask them; one must open the eyes of others also. Only in this way can the well-being of the world be promoted. Thus it will not be sufficient to lie peacefully in wait, like goody-goodies in isolated ivory towers. One will have to spread one’s wings and soar high into the blue firmament.

So this proto-psycho-spirituality is a dynamic force. When a group of boys run in the field, their movement is the main factor. If they lose their mobility and sit down on the ground, that will not be considered running; it will only encourage the psychology of lethargy.

This universe of ours, as you know, is circum-rotarian (that is, rotating around its own nucleus). Nothing is outside its circumference, so it is not necessary to search for its nucleus outside. One need not run about in search of the Nave, the Hub, the Nucleus; the Hub of this circum-rotarian universe is the hub of the individual also. This circum-rotarian universe is controlled by one Centre both collectively and on a unitary basis. Thus each and every grain of dust, each and every blade of grass – all are being equally controlled by that Supreme Hub. Now, if, by some means, an individual can make his or her individual psycho-spiritual hub coincide with that circum-rotarian spiritual Hub, then that individual will feel oneness with every grain of dust, with every blade of grass – that will be his or her psychology. This very realization will make one’s life-force throb throughout the entire universe. By means of this proto-psycho-spirituality one can fight against all sorts of socio-sentiments. The human chameleons who use socio-sentiments or geo-sentiments, can also be easily detected in the light of proto-psycho-spirituality.

Now you may ask, what is proto-psycho-spirituality? First, we must discuss what psycho-spirituality is. Since it is the mind which advances towards spirituality, it is called “psycho-spirituality”. And it is called “proto” in the sense that it is a flickering entity – it is like a flickering flame, not like a steady flame. It is not something unruffled or fixed; it is expressive of movement. Hence it is not complete psycho-spirituality but proto-psycho-spirituality. And the mobility portion within the systalsis of proto-psycho-spirituality is purely psychic; and the blissful staticity within the systalsis is purely spiritual. So it is a happy blending of psychic and spiritual strata. Thus I call it “psycho-spirituality”.

One thing more should be added here. Whenever people, after performing some activity, think of the Nucleus of the circum-rotarian universe, their minds become all-pervasive. Such people can never think of harming others; rather they will think only of universal welfare. In that elevated state of mind, they will easily detect those demons in human form and will acquire the necessary capability to properly guide the ordinary or extraordinary individuals or groups who tend to be misguided by all sorts of socio-sentiments (because socio-sentiment is many times more harmful than geo-sentiment).

Intelligent people should clearly realize this, and then through seminars should make people aware of the importance of sama-samája tattva and proto-psycho-spirituality to fight against socio-sentiment. This is how intelligent people will show them the path of liberation. This must be done, for although there may be some individuals who, knowingly or unknowingly, are fighting against this socio-sentiment, the majority of people are in darkness. That is why you will have to carry the collectivity with you, because the collectivity is yours. The collectivity is not outside you – your future is inseparably connected with the collective fortune. You must take the entire collectivity with you and move towards the sweetest radiance of the new crimson dawn, beyond the veil of the darkest night.

Neohumanism Is the Ultimate Shelter (Discourse 11)

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 8 [a compilation]

Notes:

this version: An abridged version of this discourse was published in Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours. This version is the printed The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism, 4th edition, 2nd printing, version of those portions of the discourse that were not published in Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected), and is the printed Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours, 1st edition, version of those portions that were published in that book (obvious spelling, punctuation and typographical mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

Published in Birds and Animals, Our Neighbours in –
Part One
Human Beings and the Non-Human World in the Light of Neohumanism.

Today’s humanity has no doubt made some progress in intellect, in wisdom and in rationality. Human beings came onto this earth about one million years ago. The feelings and sentiments, hopes and aspirations, frustrations and disappointments, cares and anxieties, pleasures and pains, tears and smiles of the present-day human beings are almost the same as those of primitive humans. The difference is that the emotions and feelings of present human beings are deeper than those of their ancestors.

Not only has there been an increase in the depth of their feelings; but along with this there has been an increase in the originality of their thoughts. Humanity is the collection of all the perfections and imperfections of human beings; and when the higher thoughts and ideas are combined together, we get humanism. The word “human” is used both as a noun and as an adjective to denote a complete human being having both perfections and imperfections.

If I use the word “humanism” regarding the ideas of the ancient humans, and if I use the same term [regarding the ideas of the humans] of today, what is the harm? Even if I can, I will not – because the people of those days did not thoroughly understand what humanity and humanism are; they could not analyse them properly. The deeper implications of humanity and humanism had not been thoroughly probed in that ancient past, nor have they been even today.

During the past million years of human history, proper justice has not been done to human beings; a particular class, a particular section, has always been given greater importance than others, and in this process the other sections have been neglected. For instance, when a soldier sacrifices his life on the battlefield, his death is announced in bold headlines in the newspapers; but the same newspapers do not mention anything about the great hardships that his widow faces to raise their small family after the death of her husband. This is how one-sided justice has been meted out.

Although the matter concerns grammar and is not easy to change overnight, “man” in common gender includes both man and woman. Then why does not “woman” also mean both man and woman? This is also lopsided justice. “Man” is masculine gender, but “man” is also common gender. Here “man” means “woman” also.

Human beings have limped forward in their journey of history for the last million years bearing the burden of this defective social system; all have not been given equal justice. That is why I say that neither has justice been done to humanity (the abstract noun for “human beings”) nor has justice been done to humanism⁽¹⁾ (the abstract noun for “the work performed by human beings for human beings”). Now it is high time to carry out a reappraisal of the downtrodden humanity, of the downtrodden humanism. Oftentimes, some people have lagged behind, exhausted, and have collapsed on the ground, their hands and knees bruised and their clothes stained with mud. Such people have been thrown aside with hatred and have become the outcasts of society; they have been forced to remain isolated from the mainstream of social life. This is the kind of treatment they have received. Few have cared enough to lift up those people who lagged behind and help them forward.

When some people started advancing, they thought more about themselves and less about others; nor did they think about the animals and plants. But if we analyse with a cool brain, it becomes quite clear that just as my life is important to me, others’ lives are equally important to them; and if we do not give proper value to the lives of all creatures, then the development of the entire humanity becomes impossible. If people think more about themselves as individuals or about their small families, castes, clans or tribes, and do not think at all about the collectivity, this is decidedly detrimental. Similarly, if people neglect the entire living world – the plant world, the animal world – is this not harmful? That is why I say that there is a great need to explain humanity and humanism in a new light, and this newly-explained humanism will be a precious treasure for the world.

What is Neohumanism? Neohumanism is humanism of the past, humanism of the present, and humanism – newly explained – of the future. Explaining humanity and humanism in a new light will widen the path of human progress and will make it easier to tread. Neohumanism will give new inspiration and provide a new interpretation for the very idea of human existence. It will help people understand that human beings, as the most thoughtful and intelligent beings in this created universe, will have to accept the great responsibility of taking care of the entire universe, will have to accept that the great responsibility for the entire universe rests on them.

So then, what is Neohumanism? Humanism newly-explained and newly-sermonized is Neohumanism, the philosophy which will make people understand that they are not merely ordinary creatures. This philosophy will liberate them from all inferiority feelings and defects and make them aware of their own importance; it will inspire them to build a new world.

I have already explained that a distorted humanism has created tremendous harm in the world, and is still doing so. Unless it is replaced by Neohumanism, it may be the cause of catastrophic misfortune for human beings.

Who are the people who propagate this distorted humanism? Those who are motivated by pseudo-humanistic strategy utilize this strategy for their own selfish and group interests, instead of allowing humanity to move towards Neohumanism.

Then how to rectify the situation created by these people? By taking this distorted humanism towards Neohumanism, we may create a new panacea for all psycho-spiritual ailments. But if instead of that we allow humanity to move along the path of pseudo-humanism, humanity’s social, economic, political, cultural and spiritual life will be full of distortions and defects, which will pollute and degrade the human mind. I have already referred to these defects in detail.

Now we shall discuss the panacea. There are generally two types of people who create distortions among humanity, by not allowing humanity to move towards Neohumanism. One type of people are doing so unconsciously; they do not at all realize what great harm they are doing to human society and to the plant and animal kingdoms which are associated with human beings. The second type of people are knowingly and deliberately working with pseudo-humanistic strategy; I have described them as “human chameleons” – those who know how to change their colours frequently.

We can expect two kinds of reaction from [two varieties of] the first type of people if we convey the physico-psycho-spiritual aspects of Neohumanism to them. One reaction will be: “Ah, what a great mistake I committed! I have written so many articles giving undue importance to Mr. So-and-so. From today on I will not commit such an error again. As my vision was clouded, I could not see his defects and weaknesses – but now that I have discovered them I will move along the right path and try to do good to others.”

But among those who have harmed people unknowingly, those who are egotistic will not accept their mistake even when they discover it. They will say, “You see, it seems I made a mistake and So-and-so has pointed it out. This is a great insult to me – I cannot tolerate it! Though he may have spoken the truth, it is beneath my dignity to accept it. It is too humiliating! If I even admit that I have harmed the people, that will be a great slur on my character – how can I allow that to happen? So I will continue to maintain that what I have done is right. This may harm people, but I must make sure that my prestige is not injured.”

Generally you will encounter these two varieties of people in society. As you convey this message of Neohumanism to each and every house, you will come across these two varieties of people. But I hope that those who have adopted pseudo-humanistic strategy unknowingly, will realize their mistakes and rectify themselves. Then you will be able to utilize them immediately to promote the general welfare.

Previously I said that you must lead the people beyond this veil of darkness to the crimson dawn so that they can correct themselves and become the valuable treasures of humanity. Those egotistic persons who are antagonistic to this will become powerless, because those who are misguided by ego will lose their intelligence. Anyone who opposes out of wounded ego, will ultimately be defeated. When ego is inflated, intellect declines. And one whose intellect is small, is easily defeated. So one need not be anxious about them.

But those who knowingly follow the pseudo-humanistic strategy and refuse to be rectified, will become more extreme. When they discover that all their strategies have been detected and nothing is secret anymore, then they will grow desperate. Through the mass media at their disposal they will utilize all their verbiage, all their abilities, all the weapons they possess – because there is no other way out. Perhaps they may have some faint desire to rectify themselves – but if they do they will realize how black was their entire past and that according to the standards of Neohumanism they are no better than false gold. And it is certain that when conscious people recognize their true nature, they will fling them into the dustbin of history without remorse.

Thus far I have explained to you the approach of Neohumanism; I have told you that humanism newly-explained is Neohumanism. Now the question is, how to move along this path of Neohumanism; how to implement it? How to fight against those who have adopted pseudo-humanistic strategies, and, knowingly or unknowingly, greatly harmed the people? These two questions are interrelated and so are their answers.

Human existence is not merely physical, psychic or spiritual; it comprises all three. In this case, what should be the proper approach? The first step is spiritual cult [practice]. What is it? The entire Cosmological order includes the quinquelemental material world, which is controlled by the Macropsychic Entity. Again, behind this Macropsychic Entity is a Macro-Spirit.

In fact, this universe of ours is a Macropsychic conation (a thought of the Cosmic Mind), so in no case can human beings deny this physical world. One will have to deeply analyse all the inconsistencies of this physical world, and this process of analysis will be conducted by the micropsychic existence (individual mind).

There are many people with tremendous mental potentiality, but they do not have a clear line of thought. Thus they think incorrectly, and the outcome of their defective thought is defective action. Those people are not properly guided on how to move in the mental world; they are not being properly guided unto the path of the Macropsychic Entity.

When someone commits a wrong, we have a tendency to condemn him or her at every step. We should realize that such a person suffers from a sort of micropsychic ailment, and to cure such an ailment we will have to introduce him or her to Neohumanistic philosophy. We have not done so, and that was our crime.

Next, from where does that Macropsychic Entity originate? The micropsychic entity [individual mind] is a collection of many ectoplasms, and these ectoplasms emanate directly from the Macropsychic ectoplasm and indirectly from Macro-Spirit [the Supreme Spirit]. On the one hand we will have to provide proper psychic pabula for human beings to think correctly; and on the other hand, we must give proper guidance to the micropsychic ectoplasms [individual mind-particles] to move towards the Macro-Spirit. In this respect also we have failed in our duty; we have committed another crime.

To build a healthy human race we should have given them proper guidance in philosophy, in science, in all branches of human knowledge – which we did not do. We have utilized science more for destructive purposes than for benevolent aims; we have distorted the thought processes of human beings; we have deliberately misguided the people instead of leading them along the proper path. We have taught people to think about how such-and-such bomb can annihilate so many millions of people at a time – but we have never propagated a philosophy to teach them to think how millions of people could be benefited by psycho-spiritual practices. Thus human beings of today are following a defective path, and there is a desperate need for a change in direction. The only remedy is Neohumanism.

There are three stages on this path of Neohumanism. The first one is spiritual cult. What is spiritual cult? It is physico-psycho-spiritual cult. This physico-psycho-spiritual process will show you how to remove the defects of the psychic world and also the external world, and enable you to move towards the spiritual world without any delay. This movement towards the spiritual goal will also help you to establish yourself in the psychic and physical worlds, so you will be able to render greater service to the people. This is what I call “spiritual cult”. Progress in this spiritual cult starts with the elevation of protoplasmic cells, and finally ends in the attainment of the Supreme Goal. This physico-psycho-spiritual cult will help the physical world and the psyches of the psychic world directly and indirectly, and also the spiritual world, directly. But this is not enough – Eha váhya áge kaho ár; áro egiye cala⁽²⁾ [“What you say is just the beginning; you have to go farther”]. Hethá nay hethá nay, anya kothá, anya konakháne⁽³⁾ [“Not here, not here, somewhere else, somewhere else”].

The second stage is spiritual essence. This stage is related mainly to the psychic and spiritual strata. If you consider the entire human race, you will see that humanity has a collective mind (not the Cosmic Mind). Now, changes will have to be effected in the mental flow of this collective mind; you will have to create a new wave of thought in it. Because of the manner of human thinking thus far, the pace of human progress has been painfully slow. If it is given a new direction, the speed of progress will be greatly accelerated.

Thus we find that the second stage, that of spiritual essence, will take place in the psychic and spiritual realms; it will occur in the collective psychic mind, in the collective ectoplasm of all humanity. Then the global thought processes of humanity will take an entirely new turn, and that will also strengthen humanity’s collective spirit. Humanity as a whole will become converted into a powerful spiritual force, and in that stage, no pseudo-humanistic strategy will work. All other ástras [weapons] will become completely powerless before this Brahmástra [mightiest spiritual weapon].

But there is something more beyond this, which I have described as “spirituality as a mission”. So first there is “spirituality as a cult”, secondly, “spirituality in essence”, and thirdly, “spirituality as a mission”. All existential phenomena are emanating from the Existential Nucleus. The existential nucleus of a single individual has a direct link with the Cosmological Hub, a direct link with the Existential Nucleus of the Cosmological order. But this path is not psycho-spiritual; according to Neohumanism, the final and supreme goal is to make one’s individual existential nucleus coincide with the Cosmic Existential Nucleus (nádabindu yoga, in the language of Tantra). As a result, the unit being’s entire existential order becomes one with the Controlling Nucleus of the existential order of the Supreme Entity of the Cosmological order, and that will be the highest expression of Neohumanism. That Neohumanistic status will save not only the human world but the plant and animal worlds also. In that supreme Neohumanistic status, the universal humanity will attain the consummation of its existence. Then nothing will be impossible for human beings; they will be able to do anything and everything.

Today’s humanity is in despair; people think too much about their imperfections. They think, “Can I do it?” But in that supreme, Neohumanistic status, they will say, “Yes, I am a Neohumanistic being and I am destined to do great work. For that purpose I have come onto this earth. So there is no scope for doubt whether I can do it or not.”

Once long ago I went to Purulia. I was carrying heavy baggage. I asked a village man: “Can you carry this baggage?” He replied: “Why not, certainly I can!” I appreciated his answer very much. And I am sure that one day this Neohumanism will inspire the world population to say, “Why not, certainly we can!”

And I am confident that on that day no geo-sentiment will be able to rear its head, no socio-sentiment will be able to erect barriers of discrimination in human society, nor will any demon be able to harm millions of people in the name of humanism by exploiting their gullibility. And when those ever-vigilant human beings, those physico-psycho-spiritual entities, will be able to merge their existential nuclei with the Supreme Existential Nucleus, then only will Neohumanism be permanently established, and human beings will be ensconced in the joy of freedom forever. On that day they will proclaim in full-throated voices: “We have come to the world to perform great deeds – for the physical welfare of all, for the psychic happiness of all, and for the spiritual elevation of all – to lead all from darkness unto light.” If, even then, someone says: “No, darkness is good for me!” we will tell them: “All right, darkness is good for you, but just once why don’t you come and see the light – it is even better!”

(1) In Bengali, mánavatá and mánavikatá. In the original Bengali, the author goes on to explain the derivation of mánavikatá as mánava plus the suffix śńik plus tá. –Trans.

Glossary

Published in:
The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

ÁCÁRYA m. or ÁCÁRYÁ f. Spiritual teacher qualified to teach all lessons of meditation.
ANANDA MARGA. Path of divine bliss; Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Ananda Marga organization).
ÁTMA-SUKHA TATTVA. The principle of selfish pleasure.
AVADHÚTA m. or AVADHÚTIKÁ f. Literally, “one who is thoroughly cleansed mentally and spiritually”; a monk or nun of an order close to the tradition of Shaeva Tantra.

BHAKTA. Devotee.
BRAHMA. Supreme Entity, comprising both PURUŚA, or Shiva, and PRAKRTI, or Shakti.

DHARMA. Characteristic property; spirituality; the path of righteousness in social affairs.

GENERAL HUMANISM. See SOCIO-SENTIMENT.
GEO-SENTIMENT. The sentiment that grows out of love for the indigenous soil of a country; loyalty to a particular geographical area to the exclusion of other areas.

MARGI. A member of Ananda Marga.
MÁYÁ. Creative Principle, PRAKRTI in Her phase of creation. One aspect of Máyá is the power to cause the illusion that the finite created objects are the ultimate truth.
MAXIMITIS. See SOCIO-SENTIMENT.
MINIMITIS. See SOCIO-SENTIMENT.

PARAMA PURUŚA. Supreme Consciousness.
PRAKRTI, PARAMÁ PRAKRTI. Cosmic Operative Principle.
PROTO-SPIRITUAL MENTALITY, PROTO-PSYCHO-SPIRITUALITY. The mind (psyche) advancing towards spirituality in a flickering, or systaltic, manner.

SÁDHANÁ. Literally, “sustained effort”; spiritual practice; meditation.
SAMA-SAMÁJA TATTVA. The principle of social equality.
SOCIO-SENTIMENT. Loyalty to a particular social group to the exclusion of other groups. Groups may be racial, religious, caste-based, national, etc. “Socio-sentiment minimitis” means loyalty to one’s family only. “Socio-sentiment maximitis” or “socio-sentiment excellencio” means loyalty to all humanity, but to the exclusion of and at the expense of less-developed creatures (also “general humanism”).

TANTRA. A spiritual tradition that originated in India in prehistoric times and was first systematized by Shiva. It emphasizes the development of human vigour, both through meditation and through confrontation of difficult external situations, to overcome all fears and weaknesses. Also, a scripture expounding that tradition.

	[dedication]
	Publisher's Note
1	Devotional Sentiment and Neohumanism (Discourse 1)
2	Bondages and Solutions (Discourse 2)
3	Geo-Sentiment (Discourse 3)
4	Inner Asset
5	Living Beings and Their Mentality (Discourse 5)
6	Sama-Samája Tattva (Discourse 6)
7	Exploitation and Pseudo-Culture (Discourse 7)
8	Pseudo-Humanism (Discourse 8)
9	Awakened Conscience (Discourse 9)
10	An Ideology for a New Generation (Discourse 10)
11	Neohumanism Is the Ultimate Shelter (Discourse 11)
	Glossary