Luneta & Dogma

Religious Dogma13 April 1988, Calcutta Gad́d́ is a very ancient verb which means to do something without following any logic. When the human intellect was undeveloped, cunning people used to infuse various kinds of fear complexes, irrational ideas and unhealthy, selfish tendencies into the minds of the people to stop them following the path of logic and reason. Sometimes people were prevented from following the path of rationality, and on other occasions they were won over through magic shows,sleight of hand or so-called miraculous feats. By concocting many spurious and absurd stories, the cunning exploiters made others dance according to their wishes, like marionettes dressed in gaudy, coloured clothes in a puppet show.The exploiters would pull the strings from behind the scene, and the common people would move their hands and feet according to the whims of their masters.The people were kept dancing, stamping their feet and gyrating their hips, sothey were never able to find the path of rationality. In fact, the very attempt to find the path of rationality was considered blasphemous.
Movement which is devoid of logic and reason is called “dogma,” and a collection of dogma is called an “ism.” When the advocates of dogma and the followers of isms lacked sufficient charisma to convince people through the power of their personalities, they tried to persuade them by taking the name of God. They openly exploited others in the name of the Supreme. Sometimes they said, “I have received certain instructions in a dream. God’s commandments are that you should follow these instructions.” At other times they would intimidate people saying, “If you violate these commandments you will suffer eternal damnation.” Thus, they created complexes in the minds of the people,and they forced them to accept all kinds of dogma and follow them out of fear.
On other occasions they resorted to blatant falsehood and said, “These are the commandments of God. Those who contradict these commandments will be damned toeternal hell-fire… Your eyes will develop cataracts and your throat willcontract goitre if you do not read the scriptures and pray to God every day…If the offerings made to God touch your feet, or if you do not touch yourforehead after handling consecrated food, you will develop leprosy… It is Godwho has made caste divisions, the division of society into rich and poor,etc.” They propagated shlokas like:
Bráhmańo’sya mukhamásiit váhurájanyo’bhavat;Madhyatadasya yadvaeshyah padbhyám shúdra ajáyata.
[Brahmans came out of the mouth, Kśatriyas were born out of the arms,Vaeshyas came out of the trunk of the body and Shúdras were born out of thelegs.]
They also created many fanciful and appealing stories, and demanded that peopleaccept them as the truth. They declared that those who listened to these storieswith reverence, holding a copper pot containing Gaunga' water and basil leaves,would attain heavenly bliss, while those who showed any disrespect or disregardfor them would be annihilated. Common, fearful people accepted such dogmawithout the least protest, and believed that absurd, mind-boggling stories werespiritual discourses.
Sometimes the exponents of dogma raised slogans in support of particulartheories, even though most people were convinced that they were impractical andcould never be applied in the real world. When the people did not get anybenefit from them, they were told that they would have to work even harder. Such impractical theories ignored the fundamental characteristics of the human mind,so their proponents tried to encourage the greed of the exploited people, andberated them with ideological jargon. Thus, dogma has had a extremely negativeinfluence on ordinary people. This is the consequence of the play of dogma.
I have said before that isms can never help establish universalism. Rather, theymerely whip up artificial differences amongst human beings. By arousing narrowsentiments, the adherents of dogma hope to fulfill their selfish aspirations.Isms are nothing but a collection of dogma. Modern, educated people must beliberated from all sources of dogma and petty isms. They should reject the wornout shackles of the past and welcome the new, crimson dawn with an open mind.This will prepare the way for all-round success in human life, and theattainment of the highest fulfillment.
The followers of dogma do not want people to tread the path of rationality. Youmust have noticed that the flag-bearers of dogma do not support scientificdevelopment. Although some scientific theories are based on dogma, and althoughsome scientists are hesitant to leave the labyrinth of dogma, dogma hascomparatively little influence on science. The worst propounders of dogma –the kings of dogma – do not want people to develop mental clarity. They do notwant the penetrating illumination of the sun’s light to pierce through themists of dogma. They do not want people to bathe in the radiant light of the dayand stand under the clear, unclouded sky.
If you examine this issue deeply, you will observe that the young generationtoday is not willing to accept outdated, dogmatic theories and isms. If theknowledge of Bhagavat Dharma (the path of spirituality) is infused in youngminds at the first flush of the new dawn, then dogma will be torn asunder in aninstant. The upholders of dogma partly realize that clear, penetrating visionportends their doom. Consequently, some of them even exhort their followers,“Do not read such and such books… Do not even touch those books… They willcloud your judgement and confuse you.” However, the facts speak differently.The facts are that merely browsing through such books may or may not influencepeoples’ minds, but studying them with proper understanding will definitelybreak the shackles of dogma.13 April 1988, CalcuttaPublished in:Prout in a Nutshell Part 16 [a compilation]