Space for philosophy and metaphysics in order to address the scourge of terrorism

By Prof Sudhanshu Tripathi*
Does ancient Indian approach towards violence (sic terror) is esoteric and metaphysical? Yes it sounds so; but to say that these are futile is something ignoring the reality. As we know that this mundane world and human beings therein are the beautiful mix of the two – temporal and metaphysical, or matter and idea, just like as human body consists of soul and body. Without body, the soul is indeed worthless and vice-versa. In fact, both matter and idea are complementary and supplementary to each other. How can the existence of soul be negated just due to lack of scientific and verifiable knowledge to comprehend it? May be in future, we become capable enough to understand all those unknown phenomena that are today unverifiable and hence useless. Obviously any knowledge, in order to be complete and worthy to serve the humanity, needs this harmonious mix of both idea and matter.
In fact, it needs a thorough understanding of philosophy and metaphysics so as to explore the inner core of ancient Indian scholarship with inherent mysticism. Because our sages and seers in ancient India were the masters of the mysterious Universe due to their awakened knowledge about Truth, visible in the harmonious balance that Nature reflects around us. That sometimes disturbs as natural calamity due to unbearable human folly and knavery. But it is not that one day there will be the total destruction or complete devastation, if such brute and selfish exploitation of nature continues unabated. The recent Covid-19 or several earthquakes or tsunami in the past may be cited here to substantiate the argument.
It is, therefore, necessary that a space for the philosophy and metaphysics must be allowed in our temporal living and that we find in growing awareness in the West regarding benefits Yoga, Meditation, Heartfulness etc. to beat persisting mental stress and consequent corporal fatigue. It is this approach of the desired mix that can genuinely address the scourge of terrorism as well. Of course, it won’t result in immediate success but its continuous and consistent practice with patience will definitely show the expected result. However there won’t be a total terror-free society because both virtue and vice are primeval instincts and inherent parts of human nature; or five fingers in a human palm are not same.
Hence, psychic healing of terrorists along with awareness about life purpose and soul journey through education including constant vigil and alertness, prevention and post-terrorism management, apart from moral teachings and religious preaching, vegetarian diets and simple and sahaj (natural or spontaneous) living may be prescribed to remove the mental blockages lying therein in form of a-reason and pre-occupied rationalities or mind-based rationalities in terrorists as reasons of terror.
However all these prescriptions don’t ask for discontinuing preventive, deterrent and coercive measures against terrorism, until and unless the terror phenomenon really decimates to negligible, except oft-occurring petty quarrel or disputes. In a nutshell, state terror, mass-repression and retribution have their own limitations. Instead, the mix of both reformation and deterrence including alertness and preventive measures be practised to win over the menace of terrorism.
---
*MDPG College, Pratapgarh (UP)

Comments

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman* Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Minority rights group writes to Gujarat CEO, flags serious issues in SIR process

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has submitted a formal representation to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat, Harit Shukla (IAS), highlighting serious irregularities and difficulties faced by voters in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral roll. The organisation warned that if corrective measures are not taken urgently, a large number of eligible citizens may be deprived of their voting rights.

Search This Blog