About God – 9

Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘Superman’ 

(Kindly read earlier post in this series: http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/ )

Nietzsche (1844 -1900) was termed as ‘a child of Darwin and brother of Bismarck, having a soul of a girl under an armor of a warrior’. Influence of Schopenhauer and Plato is evident in his writings. If you like Ayn Rand, it is possible that you will like Nietzsche.

The most acclaimed of his books that he wrote in 1883 – Thus Spake Zarathustra – is about a pupil Zarathustra, Superman his God and a new religious principle – Eternal Recurrence. Zarathustra and his theory were obscure in the book Thus Spake Zarathustra. Therefore, Nietzsche spent most of his later works on its explanation.

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An individual succumbs to faith, the sweet poison, some day in his life. While on his quest, Zarathustra meets such ‘Wise Men’ in a (Plato’s) cave. They have gathered to understand and then propagate his religion. Zarathustra goes out of the cave briefly and comes back to find them lighting incense sticks to a Donkey, their new God, who has created a world in his own image.

Zarathustra, he himself says, is most pious, longs for belief, and pities people like him who know that all the old Gods are dead and the new God is still in diapers and cradle. Then he announces that the new God is Superman.

The Zarathustra’s gospel and his commandments go as follows:

> All the Gods are dead, in a joyful ending, saying ‘is it not godliness that there are Gods, but there is no God?’

> Remain rooted to earth, and do not believe those who speak of super-terrestrial hopes, the sweet poison.

> He who is creator (who is Good), must destroy everything to pieces. He is thus also evil. Highest Good therefore also has Highest Evil.

> What is good about a man is that he is a Bridge. He is a Transition and Destruction.

> Morality does not lie in Kindness, but in Strength. Human effort therefore should be diverted to producing finer and stronger individuals.

> Not mankind should be our Goal, but the Superman. To create those, 

• Deliberate/ Selective breeding and careful nurture (Plato) is necessary to combat Natural Selection. Because nature is biased against perfect species, she prefers the average, not the best.
• When a man is in love he should not be allowed to make decisions about his life. The love should be treated as legal obstacle to marriage, and best should marry the best.
• Those will be considered fit for marriage who are sound in body and soul, who propagate upwards (Oordhwa Reta?) to ensure that the offspring is better than themselves, victorious, self-subduer, commander of senses, master of virtues, and not out of animal instincts, necessity or discord.
• Without good birth, nobility is impossible. To nurture these special children born out of selective breeding, the training should include severe schooling, few comforts, many responsibilities, sufferance in silence, training in obeying and commanding, no freedom for indulgence and finally training to laugh heartily.

> Energy, intelligence and pride are the attributes of Supermen. The Supermen will work tirelessly. They will be unified by a great purpose. They will be hard upon themselves, hard upon others and will do anything to achieve that (except betraying a friend).

> Superman is not yet born. We have to prepare for him by

• Not expecting anything beyond our capacity,
• Not becoming virtuous beyond our capacity,
• Not demanding that which is not probable,
• Understanding that our best goal is Work (Bhagwad Geeta?), and not happiness.

> Every one of us can become a Superman. Let us be great or at least the servants of the great. From the lonely ones of today, a group will be born and from that a superman.

> The possible combinations of reality are limited, and time, eternal. Therefore, all things will return, in precise detail (religion of Eternal Recurrence).

At the end, a voice prompts him to ‘speak your Word, and break into pieces.’

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The explanations and definitions supporting his Superman theory go as follows:

> In Roman philosophy, virtues (courage, manhood etc) were paramount. This was feudal, aristocratic. In Asian and Jewish philosophy, subjugation (of will) to attain humility was important, the sense of right and wrong was central, Christianity is bourgeois, democratic and therefore worst.

> For Jesus every man is of equal worth, has an equal right. This principle led to progressive equalization and vulgarization in terms of decadence and descending life, the final stage of decay being revering the Pity, instead of sympathy, and the Self- sacrifice. ‘Visiting the sick is the orgasm of superiority’, therefore behind all morality and reason is the secret wish to Rule.

> Man is the cruelest of animals. We watch bull fights or drama or anything divine, to satisfy our refined cruelty. We invented hell because it was our heaven on earth.

> Love (even for Truth) is a desire for possession; courtship is combat and mating, mastery.

> Philosophy is a shining mirror, in which we see reflection of our own desires, prejudice, idea or suggestion. These underground desires breed our thoughts. Strong men seldom conceal their desires. Desire is their justification. They are not affected by Ethics, Pity or Guilt.

> Instinct is the most intelligent of all intelligences. Conscience is secondary (since it is destined to fade or be superseded by automatism). All unused instincts are turned inwards. This internalization is the first form which we started calling mind/soul.

> Formula for decay is that the virtues for the herd (sheep) start affecting the leaders. However, the Good virtues of the Weak as also the Evil of the Strong are required for the society.

> Life is a struggle, in which the fittest survive; strength is therefore ultimate virtue, weakness the fault. Live dangerously, send your ships to unknown territories, live in a state of war and remember to disbelieve.

> The best thing in a man is Strength of Will, Power and permanent Passion. There is no development without almost criminal demolition of precedents and order. We should therefore become more Evil than Good.

> Pessimism is a sign of decay, optimism superficiality. In youth, people produce mythology and poetry, in decadence Philosophy and Logic. Therefore, best of all is not to be born, to be nothing. Second best is to die early.

> Morality and theology need to be rebuilt in terms of evolution. Function of life is not the betterment of the masses, (consisting of individuals that are worthless types) but creating Geniuses, superior personalities.

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Although his Zarathustra is popular, Nietzsche’s other views nobody today much likes (particularly after Hitler). His views on polity are admired. In every history book on philosophy, Nietzsche occupies a large volume of pages.

His views on women, which he thought were inferior to men, a means for breeding are best forgotten.

What I am not, that for me is God and Virtue, he says.

He criticized every European nation in the beginning, but came up with an idea of European Union later, in which the best from every state would be chosen – Intergrowth between German and Slav, The rule by Philosophers (as advised by Plato), Finance managed by Jews, Strong Governance by Russians (slavs), Armed forces and Organization by Germany, Criticism and arts (clarity of thought and precision) by French, Aristocracy by Italians since the finest and most vigorous. He thought that English are worst because they are chiefly traders and have allowed democracy. English had no place/ lowly place in the Union.

He was a staunch supporter of Bismarck and strong critique of democracy. He felt that in democracy, everyone is free to do what he/she wants, there is lapse of coherence and coordination and there is chaos, liberty without responsibility, profound mediocrity and hatred for excellence. He felt that this means doom for the society as also for the great men because everybody starts to resemble everybody, even sexes lose their identity. Democracy is bad because it breeds feminism, then socialism and then anarchism.

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Like other philosophers, he was a loner, had failed love, had a rift with his musician friend Wagner, had apoplexy in later years and was admitted to asylum in the end. His views should be taken in this context. He died early in 1900.

(P.S. – All quotes are by Nietzsche. Quick reference: History of Philosophy by Will Durant , Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche)

About God – 8

Herbert Spencer’s Unknown Cause

Spencer (1820-1903) spent only three years in formal education. He went through many an enterprises, failed inventions, building construction and until forty had not ventured in Philosophy. He picked all his data, ‘as he lived his practical life’, by keen observation, and applied it with an exceptionally clear mind like of a chase player.

Spencer’s French predecessor August Comte (born 1798) had expressed the Three Stage Law, first theological stage is where all the questions and conflicts were answered by a supernatural ‘deity’ or entity or when the stars were gods. The second metaphysical stage when the stars started moving in circles (circle being the basic form), and final is the physical stage where we started explaining things by precise observation and measurements. Philosophy is therefore an Integrative Analysis of all three stages, he believed. His Positive Philosophy and Positive Polity are considered landmarks, which critics said were ‘Catholicism minus superstition’.

Darwin’s (born 1802) theory of evolution (1958) – by natural selection or preservation of favored species – expressed in ‘Origin of species’ was gaining ground.

After Spencer read the theory of evolution, he applied it to every realm. His salient expositions were as follows:

• Every theory of the Origin ends in cloudiness. All ultimate religious ideas are unimaginable.
• When we consider matter, it appears that it can be infinitely divisible. However, the idea that it is infinitely divisible does not appeal to us. So is it for Time and Space. They are irrational ideas. Ultimate scientific ideas are therefore inconceivable – with human intellect. We cannot know anything beyond our perception.
• Thinking is relating. Thought therefore explains only relations.
• Truth generally lies in coordinating the contrasting information.
• If we try to explain anything beyond our intelligence or phenomena, it usually becomes nonsense. Laws of science therefore should be applied to phenomena and laws of theology to God. Let science stop to deny the existence of God, and also stop taking materialism for granted.

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• Everything can be explained with help of evolution (circle). All Nature is rhythmical and oscillating. Therefore ‘those (complex, differentiated, diffused ones) which can be explained, come from and finally dissolve in to that (simple, integrated, minute, One) cannot be explained’ is the flow of evolution. This is his Formula of the Synthetic Philosophy.
• The laws which constitute Synthesis are – Instability of the homogeneous (the Whole/One), the Multiplication of effects (one cause leading to many effects), Segregation leading to diversity (An English can become Australian, American or Canadian under circumstances) and Equilibration (Every motion must come to an end), and finally Dissolution (in to the Whole/One).
• He opines that our race and the globe will eventually start to spin leisurely, people will have rest, everybody will start thinking of Nirvana, and eventually, equilibration will give way to dissolution, the end of evolution. In the individual also, the Integration called Life will dissolve in to that diffusion which is called Death. (- Why not next cycle of evolution?)
• Man is a product of Time, and not an accident. He is a descendent from the past and a parent of the future. His thoughts are his children. An Unknown Cause works through him. He is but one of the countless other agencies that work for the Unknown Cause.
• The unknown cause creates a Belief in a man by which he fearlessly utters the highest truth he has found, playing his right part in the world, knowing that if he can bring about the change he perceives, fine. If he cannot, still fine, but not so fine.

His treaties on Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Ethics and Polity are all based on evolution or synthesis.

Critics said he falls short of explaining why ‘the simple homogeneous One is unstable’ and goes through Synthesis/ Evolution. Other observation was that the heterogeneous, being more complex will be more unstable. Bergson later said that Spencer only collected the available information but did not explain anything.

Spencer spent all his life hand to mouth, never worked for anybody other than himself and grew old lonely. Although his theory was pessimistic and against religion and God, towards end, he mellowed down and accepted that there is no need to disturb the traditional faith and religion as long as it is of assistance to the deprived and had cheering influence on masses. Some consider him to be the greatest English philosopher of his century.

About God – 7

Kindly read the previous post: http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/

Arthur Schopenhauer’s God 

Schopenhauer has been termed as the most pessimistic of all the philosophers. His writings are not for those weak at heart.

He took Voltaire’s thought further.

His pessimistic views are mainly attributed to his troubled childhood, his rift with his mother (similar to Byron), and the after effects then of the Napoleonic wars. While some of his peers (Chateaubriand, Wordsworth, and Gogol et al) turned to Faith to address the doom, others (Byron, Heine, Lermontov and Leopardi et al) thought that there is no hope and God, if he is there, was blind.

Schopenhauer grew up to be extreme cynic, woman-hater and was in perpetual fear of everything – noise, barber’s razor, burglars and what not. Nearing end, however, he appears to have become almost optimistic.

Schopenhauer started the age of clear-cut narration. There is no play with words or obscurity of thought. Everything is organized and transparent. So lucid is the presentation, every sentence becomes a ‘quotable quote’.

At the outset he declares that the World is My Idea. World is Will, therefore strife, therefore misery. Religion is for political objectives, for making a livelihood (I sing the song of Him, whose bread I eat). Life is short but Truths live longer. Therefore he invites us to discuss truths alone.

His thought process and subsequent arrival at Religion and God needs to be visited from his basics, although it may seem a bit extraneous and lengthy. The following are his hypotheses:

Intellect against Will

• Under the conscious intellect is Conscious or Unconscious Will – the driving force. Intellect is the horse, Will the rider. Intellect is the strong blind man who carries on his shoulder the Will, a lame. Nature has designed intellect such as to provide motives for the Will.
• A man goes by his Will and does not listen to others, however hard they try to convince him by facts and figures. No one is ever convinced by Logic, but by his needs, his desires, his self-interest, the Will. (Like in accounts, we always make mistakes in Our favor, without the slightest intention of cheating others).
• We do not want a thing because we have reasons for it; we find reasons for the thing we want. Intellect is developed by Danger or by Want. The cause behind Want is the Will to live, and to live it fully. Although Want appears to pull you, Will pushes you from behind.
• Character lies in the Will (heart), not in the intellect (head). The Character or Will is inherited from father, while the intellect from mother.
• Good Will is preferable to a clear mind. Brilliant intellect can win respect, but never affection.

The Will and the Body of an Individual.

• The Body is also a manifestation or actualization of Will. Because of Will a person can live, overcome disabilities or disease. The mechanics of the joints, their automatic movements, the functioning of heart and lungs (even in sleep) are proofs of Will being significant than intellect.
• Instinctive actions are examples of Will (and not of intellect).

The Will of the Individual

• The Will never tires or sleeps. In sleep, the Will is fully awake and in its natural abundance, therefore at it healing best. During waking hours, it is affected by Intellect.
• What is then Will? The forces behind Repulsion (Hate) and Attraction (Love), Decomposition (Death) and Combination (Life), Magnetism, Electricity, Gravity (Energy) is Will.
• The lower we go down the animal chain, lower is the role of intellect, but not the Will. (Aristotle calls this ‘the Power’ that moulds every form). The instinct for survival, which is Will, is common in all.
• Will is ‘Will to live’ and Will is therefore the eternal enemy of death.

Metaphysics of Love

• To defy death, we reproduce. Therefore the Gods and Symbols of procreation (in Egypt and India) and their worship.
• The relation between sexes is the prime motive for actions and conduct.
• Love humbles. Submission of Man to Woman, Father to Mother, Parent to Child and an Individual to Species is the Metaphysics of Love.
• Law of attraction is nothing but choice of mate which in turn depends upon neutralizing defects by choosing fitness, supplementing, completion or perfecting of physical qualities (e.g. a weak man will choose a strong woman), even opposite qualities, with a view to have something higher than the parents in the offspring. However, a woman who marries a man of her liking, against the will of her parents, must be admired, because she has then chosen the Nature’s best available offering.
• Every individual loses attraction for the opposite sex once he is past his procreative period. Youth without beauty can have attraction; beauty without youth has none.
• No union is as unhappy as love marriages. Comparatively, marriages arranged by parents are long-lasting. He who marries from love must live in sorrow.
• Nature does not care if the marriage is from love or not, or whether the Parents live in happiness ever after. Since the production of a definite individual appears to be the cause of love, reciprocation of love is not the goal, but possession of Love. Only a philosopher can be happy in marriage – and they do not marry.
• Since Love is the deception devised by Nature, marriage is the disillusioning of Love. Since passion is devised as ‘love in deception’ by nature, it must only have value for species, and not for individual.
• Extinction of generative power sounds death. Overuse shortens life. Procreation is the ultimate point, after which degeneration of individual starts, since species has achieved its goal.

Universal Will

• Purpose of an Individual is minuscule compared to Species. Only in space and time do we see different individuals, which is illusion or Maya.
• To understand clearly that the individual is only a phenomenon (for the survival of species) is the essence of philosophy.
• The rule of the universe is Circle (Herodotus). Notion of progress is foolishness. We shall leave the world as foolish and wicked as we found it (Voltaire).
• Universal Will as a Whole is free, not the individual Will of organs, organisms or species. Their Will is part of the Universal will, but not free to act on it’s own.
• Through experience, in the end, to his astonishment, man finds that he is not free to act and he is only carrying out the character that he despises, until the very end.
• Want and Desire is never satisfied. Once quenched, it breeds another.
• Pain and Sorrow is the basic stimulus and reality. Pleasure is cessation of pain. As soon as pain and sorrow recedes, and one is rested, one gets bored and needs different business, which is further pain. Therefore, all Happiness is negative. It is an effort to compensate for sorrow and pain.
• The more distinctly we Know, the more intelligent we become, and more is our pain. To be happy, one must be as ignorant as an adolescent.
• Most of our suffering lies in retrospect (memory) or in anticipation (foresight).
• Life is evil because it is war, victories and defeats of species, fights about matter, time and space of others.

• Life therefore is essentially a tragedy, but in detail, a comedy. We are unhappy married, we are unhappy unmarried. We are unhappy poor or wealthy, alone or in society. We are just a pack of dogs.
• Life is a business which does not cover expenses.
• Living Life is relentlessly defying death. The fear of death is therefore the starting point of philosophy and final cause for the religion. All theologies and philosophies are refuge from death.
• Insanity is also an attempt to alleviate pain. So is suicide, the final refuge, where the thought and imagination supersedes intellect. Suicide however is stupid because the species and Will remain unaffected by it.
• The Will cannot be conquered unless it is superseded by knowledge and intellect.

            ————

• Acquisition of money is fine because it can in abstract satisfy many a wants. However, to turn money into joy, culture and wisdom are required.
• Not wealth, but wisdom is a way to happiness.
• Knowledge may master the Will in the individual. The more we know of our passions, the more we know about our Will, and the less they control us.
• Philosophy is to be understood by experience and knowledge, not by reading. For reading somebody else is submitting to his thoughts, and reading (without supplementing it with thinking) gradually reduces the capacity to think.
• Our happiness depends on what goes on in our head, and happiness is to be received through the examination of self. To be happy means to be self-sufficient (Aristotle).

Genius and Art

• Genius is the highest form of this will-less knowledge. Fundamental condition for Genius is the abnormal sensibility and irritability over reproductive power. Knowledge comes under activity only under impulse of the Will. Thought prevails over Will. This removes him from personal equation, and the Genius remains maladapted with the society. He remains aloof and with melancholy temperament. None the less, he receives all the beauty from the art which compensates for the suffering. He remains in the thought of the General, Fundamental and Universal.
• Artist is a perfect Genius. All art (e.g. a good portrait) aims at showing a universal quality. Art (Genius) is greater that science (Brilliance of intellect). Music is the copy of the Will, which speaks for the Things itself and affects our feelings directly. Architecture is frozen music and symmetry the rhythm (Goethe).

Religion

Religion is the metaphysics of the masses was his first call. But, during later years, he started seeing significance in dogmas and beliefs.

• Christianity is a pessimistic religion. First Sin (Prevalence of Will) and the Salvation (denial of Will) constitute the basis of Christianity. Fasting (weakening of Desires) breeds further desires. In comparison, Judaism and heathenism were optimistic. However Christianity won over the others because of the pessimist foundation.
• Buddhism (Nirvana) also is very destructive of the will.
• Hinduism (The ultimate is “One” and “You are That”) is deeper than any since it’s interpretation is directed ‘inwards’ and to ‘intuition’. Intuition unites everything.
• Christianity can never penetrate Eastern continents. However, Hindu religion and Sanskrit literature may make inroads into Christian territories.
• The ultimate knowledge is therefore to know Nirvana, which preaches subjugation of the Will. Finally The Will will be vanquished and only Knowledge will prevail.
• The death can be stopped only if we stop the source of life – the Will to reproduce.

Schopenhauer’s critics vehemently refute his pessimism. He always lived as a hermit and a solitary existence. Most felt that his was the egotism of a deceased mind and had no sense of joys that social contact brings.

Contrary to his negative views about happiness, a healthy man seldom asks for more than an opportunity to prove himself than the happiness itself. He does not mind surrendering individual happiness for the good of others, the greater happiness. Knowledge while increases sorrow, increases joy also. Although knowledge about death breeds fear, barring a few exceptions, before twenties the fear is non-existent because you are protected and secure, after twenties (so to say) there are the joys of parentage and home which are abundant.

His views on women are best ignored since he saw them only as sinners and shrews. (He professes that women are ‘Subjective’, inclined to extravagance, live in the ‘present’, indulge in spending and shopping, think that it is man’s responsibility to earn. Women should never be given a right to properties. Life is safer and smoother without them.)

Will is not best defined by him, although it is the pivot of this thinking. It can be a myth, (unless it is proven that it is indeed ‘the coordination of forces’), just like God or Soul, and the whole of his building is constructed on a fragile footing.

His introduction of ‘instinct’ and its manifestations were novel and now accepted, so is his commentary about art and genius. Behind thought – desire, behind intellect – instinct, behind matter – energy is now well accepted causality.

If you had patience to read upto these lines, you will certainly ask, ‘Where is God in this philosophy?’ There is none, because Schopenhauer is about (Everything is) Evil, and not God.

About God – 6

Kindly read the first post in this series: http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/

Hegel’s God

Hegel took basics from Kant, but introduced a new term – Relations. He uses this term for explaining every aspect of ethics and philosophy. His basic propositions  were:

• Every idea is a group of relations. An idea without relations is empty.
• Of all relations, the contrast or opposition is the most important (e.g. good and evil).
• Every idea and situation breeds its opposite, and they unite to form a higher and more complex Whole. This synthesis is taking place in every mind perpetually. As a result, nothing is permanent, but in a flux. Hegel took the idea of opposites in positivity – Struggle leads to Growth, Stress leads to Character, Pain leads to Reconstruction and so forth.

       

• The truth is a combination of opposites.
• The task of Philosophy is to discover Unity in Diversity, the task of Ethics is to unify character and conduct, the task of Politics is to unify citizens, the task of religion is to feel and achieve the Absolute that consists of opposites, through unifying.
• Matter and Mind, Subject and Object, Good and Evil are One and God is the system of relations in which all things move, have their being and their significance.
• In man, the Absolute rises to self-consciousness and becomes Absolute Idea (that I am part of the Absolute and in harmony with all things).
• Man’s goal is not Happiness, but achievement, Hegel said, because in his opinion, the periods of Happiness in History did not bring about mankind’s progress and periods of struggle did.

 

Ironically, critics of his time labeled his theory as ‘..a monument to German stupidity…’, a take on Empedocles and Aristotle’s ‘Golden Mean’ and ‘Knowledge of opposites is One’. Further he was called ‘Official Philosopher’ of the state when he denounced his radical followers like Carl Marx, supported the state and chose to live as a ‘Happy Man’, instead of choosing ‘Struggle’.

However, we should read him without bias. His hypotheses about God and Religion did rule Germany during his time and bred Leftist and Rightist Hegelians who carried his basic teachings further although in a radically different fashion.

Picture credit:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/

Further Reading:

http://www.thur.de/philo/hegel/hegel.htm

Story of philosophy by Will Durant.

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About God – 5

Kindly read the first article of this series : http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/

Emanuel Kant

So much has been written by and about Kant, that trying to bundle him in only a few lines is sheer injustice. Kant must be read in original.

Kant published his first book ‘The Critique of Pure Reason’ in 1781. It has since fueled imagination of many a philosopher, who later had their own interpretations about Religion and Theology. To name a few, philosophy of voluntarism of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, intutionism of Bergson, pragmatism of William James, theories of Hegel, Spencer, Carlyle and many more covertly or overtly accepted the debt. Kant’s philosophy has survived.

So, what was so special about Kantian thought in his first book that his peers said “Has killed God” ??

• Experience tells us what is it (remember Socrates and Plato!), but not what it must be. Experience is gathered through events and sensations. Therefore General or Absolute Truths (e.g. mathematical formulae) must remain true, irrespective of our experience, because our mind is not made of passive wax, but an active organ which moulds and coordinates experiences into ideas, unity of thoughts.
• How do we transcend experience into knowledge? Through Sensation and Thought.
  • First stage (Transcendental esthetics) – Through Perception of an object (coordination of sensory information, applying to them the Space and the Time).
  • Second stage (Transcendental Logic) – Through Conception of a thought (coordination of perceived information, applying to them the causality and categories)
  • All knowledge can therefore be expressed with the help of the three instruments or agents – space, time and causes.
  • God, if treated as first cause, can be there because the causal chain must have an end, and God cannot be there because we cannot prove if the first cause is the first cause. Religion (soul is ‘incorruptible’, will is free to have ‘faith or belief’, God is above all reason and causality) should be explainable with the help of these three agents by theoretical analysis, which is not possible since Religion and God are inferred or hypothetical entities.

However, in his second book ‘Critique of practical reason’ he suggested answers for having ideal religion. This religion will be based on Morals (like selfless service, charity), Feelings and Absolute Irrefutable Truths that can be proven by reason. The duty of morality shall be paramount over beauty of personal happiness. Happiness of others will prevail over personal happiness. Above all, every follower shall embrace such duties out of their free will. If such religion based on Morality comes into being, there will be God.

His critics are very vocal about his volte face from atheism to theism.

Kant’s writings were considered derogatory to the church. He was reprimanded by the then cabinet and the Prussian king and Kant agreed to refrain from publishing when he was in 70s. Kant died at 79 in 1804.

About God – 4

Kindly read the first article of this series : http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/

Voltaire

Voltaire ran a tirade against dogmas and the then practices in church throughout his life. He tries to trace the Christian religion to Greece, Egypt and India. The distinction between religion and superstition is the main theme of his thinking.

It is very difficult to abridge his treaties which should be read in original. To summarize his early writings,

• It is profligate to define what is God, Angels and Mind because we even do not know why we move our arms at will (- We know now a little!), and we do not know what matter is beyond what we see by a microscope. Let us first understand what matter is and then we can comment further.
• Even the best of mathematicians only made romances with Philosophy. However, it seems very presumptuous to deny that He exists.
• We can weigh, measure, observe – This is the natural Philosophy. Rest is fantasy.
• The first divine was the first rogue who met his first fool. However, since the religion has lasted for (then) 1700 years, it must be divine.
• I believe in a General Providence, a law which governs everything, but not a particular providence.
• Why mankind boasts that they alone are gifted with immortality and spirituality? If a peacock could speak tomorrow, he will definitely say that he has soul and it is in his tail.
• A society of atheists can exist, if only they are also philosophers.
• If God did not exist, it would be good to invent it. There should be God for my tailor, lawyer and my wife so that they deceive me less.

Later however, he agrees about his faith in ‘his’ God, a universal God, which persuades a man to do good, and that it is everybody’s creed to submit to God.

On death bed when a first priest arrived, Voltaire asked for his credentials. When the second priest refused to absolve Voltaire unless he wrote a confession, Voltaire dictated his last words as follows: I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies and detesting superstition.

About God – 3

Kindly read the previous post: http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/

Spinoza

Spinoza (1632-1677) always receives a special and detailed mention by critics because of his radical views on all the subjects he wrote about. Spinoza’s life was full of hardships and cotroversies. Spinoza’s early studies of Christian and Jewish faith led him towards doubt. He then studied under Van Den Ende, a Dutch scholar (who criticized the king of France and was hanged). He learned Latin, because his teacher’s beautiful daughter also was taking Latin classes. But she left Spinoza for a wealthy friend (and probably because of that Spinoza became a Philosopher). Spinoza however mastered Latin and studied Greek philosophers. He later also was the pupil of the Italian who was burnt alive in so-called ‘bloodless punishment’ – Bruno (1548-1600).  Bruno had postulated that mind and matter are One. All the reality is One. Philosophy is therefore to pursue Unity in Diversity and the highest intellectual knowledge of Oneness is the love of God. Spinoza was also influenced by Descartes (1596 – 1650) and was attracted by Descartes theorem – “There is a homogeneous substance which constitutes Matter and another which constitutes Mind” and built his theories based on this.

Spinoza was excommunicated by Amsterdam’s Ecclesiastical Council at the age of 23 for possibly promulgating his following views he used to share with his friends:

1. God might have a body, the matter.
2. Angels might be hallucinations.
3. Soul might be merely Life (and not a stand-alone entity).
4. Old Testament said nothing of immortality.

In his four books he recorded the following observations:

1. All scriptures are written for common and mainly uneducated masses. Therefore they narrate in such style and order so as to move men to devotion and fuel their imagination, rather than giving causes or reason. Hence, they rely upon miracles and repeated appearances of Gods. People therefore think that God is inactive as long as nature works in balance. In turn, they assume two powers – Power of God to move nature and Power of Nature. God and processes of Nature are one and not different.
2. God acts due to His necessity and His decree are eternal truths.
3. There is no separation between Old (Jewish) and New (Christian) Testament. A Christian Philosopher and a Jew Philosopher can co-exist in peace and cooperation. If all the improbable dogmas and miracles are removed, Jesus is the noblest of all prophets – not divine, but the First amongst all men. The eternal wisdom of God is shown forth in all things, most importantly in man’s mind, and Jesus.
4. God is immanent and not extraneous. All is in God.
5. If you ask a triangle what is God, it will say God is a triangle. If you ask a circle, it will say God is a circle. Likewise, everyone ascribes his own attributes to God. Like laws of triangles are to triangles, or circles to circles, God is to the world. God is the Causal Chain, the underlying condition, the law and structure.
6. Ideals of men are not applicable to God. What is Good or Bad for men is not applicable to God.
7. The intellect of the God is the sum of all intellects (diffused consciousness) in space and time. Neither mind nor will pertains to God, but the mental and molecular processes, their causes and their laws are God.
8. We perceive everything in terms of the Life (mind) and Body (matter). In that sense, we can say that god has matter and mind. However, God is only the process, and has no embodiment. Neither intellect nor body will pertain to the nature of God.
9. The greatest good is in the union we have with nature. Although we appear separate as individuals, this may be illusory and we are part of the universal stream of law and cause – the God. (Similar to Hindu philosophy of the all-encompassing – Bramha and of the illusion – Maya).
10. Blessedness is not the reward of virtue, but the virtue itself. Immortality is not the reward of clear thinking but the clear thought itself, which carries the past into present and reaches out to future. Therefore, thought is Immortal. Every truth is a permanent creation.
11. If man ceases to be unconscious of himself, of God and of things he ceases to be. However, a Wise Man remains conscious of himself, of God and of things by some eternal necessity, is scarcely moved in spirit, never ceases to be and is always satisfied in mind.

Not to take sides, but while we read the Western philosophers - Greek and the later ones (including Spinoza), we are always reminded of the principles in the Hindu (and Buddhist) scriptures. The quest for God is universal and has the same direction. If there indeed was exchange between Indian and Greek Philosophers, and it appears that there was, it is really amazing.

There is a possibility that Democritus visited India. He put forward the concept of “Whole” which has a parallel in “Poorna” in Hindu scriptures, also meaning Whole or Absolute. Plato also possibly visited the plains of the river Ganga during his twelve-year exile after Socrates’ death. Plato’s Dialogues are considered to have an ideal form for engaging readers. However, all the Upanishads and the Bhagwadgeeta has been written in this fashion.

Alexander, Aristotle’s pupil, had come very close to India when on crusade, but went back after he was repulsed by the King Pauras. However, some Greeks then settled in India. Also, Alexander used to send manuscripts and new species and specimens to Aristotle for his museum cum laboratory.

Hindu and Buddhist scriptures are older than the Greek. They are many in number and they cover every aspect of the Life, Abstract and Lord, even if in a complex terminology. As such there is freedom and choices abundant, available to the seeker of Wisdom. One wonders if this river has enlightened others also.

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(Image curtsey : http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wutsamada.com/alma/modern/spinoza.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wutsamada.com/alma/modern/spinoza.htm&usg=__lGmWf4QyMJsp1sLaTZixiXgXPW4=&h=349&w=279&sz=20&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=V63m0HJw_ok8hM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspinoza%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1 )

About God – 2

Kindly read the previous post: http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/about-god-1/

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

An individual cannot understand his own nature. His true nature can remain dormant for a period and surface suddenly in the face of adversity. As such, either we should practice to face adversities often (fight) or avoid such occasions altogether (flight). To train our mind to face adversities and to attain maturity, moderation or wisdom, it is necessary that we work on the garden of our mind every now and then.

Bacon thus agrees with Genesis – ‘God Almighty first planted a garden..(then created Adam and Eve)’, and Voltaire – ‘We must first cultivate our back yards’.

Bacon was a philosopher who is known for establishing the scientific method of inquiry based on experimentation and inductive reasoning. Bacon rejected atheism as being the result of insufficient depth of philosophy, stating, it is true that if we have a little knowledge of philosophy, man’s mind is inclined to atheism, but depth in philosophy brings men’s minds to religion. While the mind looks for second causes (God being the first cause), it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it accepts the unified chain of them, and links them together, it must fly to Him.

Francis Bacon is termed as the father of the “Objective and realistic” approach, the deduction and reasoning.

Descartes (1596 – 1650)

Descartes, the father of “Subjective and Idealistic” had the following concepts:

1. Human mind knows about itself most immediately and directly than anything else.
2. Human mind knows about itself only through the impression of the external world through sensory perception.
3. Most importantly, thinking is our prime faculty, and the proof of our existence. ‘I think, therefore I am’.
4. There is a homogeneous substance which constitutes Matter and another which constitutes Mind.
5. Everything except God, i.e. all the world, can be mathematically and mechanically explained, including the matter, body and soul.
6. Everything inside is spiritual; everything outside the world (of our sensory and mental perception) is God.

About God – 1

When in adversity, we always look for support. We decide what is the solution to our problem. If it is not in sight, or it is beyond our capabilities, we seek other avenues like astrology or God. 

If the windfall that was in our mind indeed materializes and remains unexplained by any logic or reason, we say it was God’s miracle. If we do not achieve what we had planned, despite of efforts, we start doubting the existence of God.

When the cycle of nature is balanced (for example we receive average rainfall, or a volcano remains dormant) we do not remember God. When the nature spins out of control we say that the Gods are angry.

Some keep faith but do not receive any blessings from God. Some are born with physical or mental challenges, and we blame God for the injustice. Some do not believe in God and are still successful and happy throughout the life. This we cannot understand. Sometimes one feels whether the notion of God is just a manipulation to rule us, the ordinary humans. Other times, we are totally convinced that God is very much real and He is with us.

God is an intriguing entity. So many of our ancestors have tried to understand and explain what it is or what it should be. Sometimes these philosophers strike a chord. Sometimes, they plain confuse us.

In comparison, Bhagwadgeeta gives us more freedom of choice. It says that one can unite with God (Yog) by choosing any of the three ways - By believing in hard work without expecting returns (Karma Yog), believing in prayer (Bhakti Yog) or by gaining Knowledge or Wisdom (Dnyana Yog).

Plato

In his discourses on Polity and Children’s education, Plato (Socrates) postulates that we human beings by nature acquire wealth; we are jealous, combative and erotic. Then how to persuade a person to practice moderation? How to persuade him to behave in society? To ensure this, Plato suggests that a nation must have a religion so that the citizens stay together in family and as a community. Also, a Living God (Philosopher King) is necessary as an ideal, who is not a mere superlative abstract power, but a visible presence, to inspire courage (to face the enemy and adversity), hope (in the face of sorrow and calamities), devotion (towards the nation-state), and sacrifice (for the state). 

God is assumed to be immortal. In addition to the belief in God, if there is a belief in rebirth or life after death or immortality, it fuels moderation amongst citizens and courage to face the death of self and the dear ones.

Existence of God cannot be proved. However, Plato says that, He can be our ideal for Love and Hope.

(Think of the American saying – “In God we believe” for a parallel)

Aristotle

Aristotle has a deduction about God based on Motion. According to Aristotle, that which is the prime mover, moves every living and non-living being, ‘like a beloved moves a lover’, is God. He is the Final Cause of nature, the purpose of things, the form of the world, the principle of Life, the sum of all processes and powers, the goal of the growth, the pure Energy, the mystic ‘Force’ of the science and philosophy, the magnetic energy.

God has no desires, purpose or will, since He is absolute. He does not do anything except to ‘think about the essence of things’ and since he is the essence of everything, He thinks about Himself.

(Think of the British King or the President of India for a parallel)

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Ref : The story of Philosophy by Will Durant.

Rail Travel – 1955

In 50’s, the only option to go from my parent’s town Wani to Indore, my maternal uncle’s city was by rail, since the bridges had been built only for the trains. There are limestone and coal mines near Wani. As such, it had a privilege of a Railway station, which itself was a luxury those days. We used to go to Indore every alternate year, or when there was a family function on mother’s side.

I used to live with my grandparents. I had just finished my exams. I was busy making holiday plans when I was called to Grandpa’s room and he told me to go to Wani by Hapton Bus (http://rajeevne.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/half-ton-to-st/) the next day and that too alone. Grandma refused to allow me travel alone, but Grandpa was adamant.

“When will he learn to travel alone?” he said.

“But he is too young” Grandma said, “At least find somebody to take him”.

Why there was nobody to escort me? Why I was being summoned?

“Am I going to Wani permanently?” I asked.

“No. That is not the case. You should start to travel alone. How long do you need protection?”

“He is barely five. You have to rethink.” Grandma said.

“He is leaving tomorrow morning.”

As a rule, smile never left Grandpa’s face whether he was happy or brooding or angry or in pain. Nothing distracted him. This was the state of affairs at this moment also. There was no point in throwing my weight.

“I have to wash my clothes” I said.

“They are ready, washed yesterday. Your bag is also packed. Set your playthings in it and you are ready. Don’t take too many though.” Then he took out from under his pillow a 2”x1” pack of cards, which I was requesting for a long time. “New! This should be sufficient for the travel.”

Now I was angry with Grandma. She knew, and did not tell me.

“Your exams were on. How could I have told you?” Indicating towards Grandpa, she said, “He insisted.”

I took a deep breath and started preparations. There was a danger lurking though that here onwards I would have to travel alone on Hapton.

In the evening Grandpa refined my knowledge of ‘nine card patience’, my favorite. After the meals, he asked me in confidence if I was really ready to travel and whether I shall be able to do that alone. Don’t know where from I picked them, but to everybody’s surprise came out my words which later were made famous amongst relatives by Grandma,

“If one has been given mouth to make inquiries, he can reach anywhere, even Delhi.” I said.

“See? Did I not tell you?” Grandpa said to Grandma triumphantly. “Do you remember your last train travel?”

How could I? I was two years then.

“You are travelling by train to Indore tomorrow. Enjoy and write to me when you reach.”

oooooooooooooo

Next day, our Rikshawalla came in time, took me to the bus stand and helped me board the Bus. No front seat though, since I was not with Grandpa. The bus travel was uneventful and I reached Wani. When I accompanied Grandpa, there would be no hassles at Wani. But today, how was I to reach my home? Hire a Rikshaw myself? But that proved unnecessary, because my Father had come to receive me in person.

We did not go home, but went straight to the Railway station. It must have been about one o’clock in the afternoon.

I befriended a porter.

“Where is the train?” I inquired, because I could see two wagons filled with coal standing near the platform where the train should have been.

“This is the train.” He said, “The passenger compartment and engine has gone to Rajura to fill water, (which was the loading station for mining products and of course water) and will arrive in a few minutes.”

Minutes turned to hours and there was no sign of the train. Meanwhile we finished our lunch and I converted the platform into playground. There were not many children though waiting for the train.

“What happened?” My initial enthusiasm was over.

“Place your ear next to the rail and you will know when the train arrives.” my porter friend said.

I did, and indeed I heard a rumble. I went to my family and declared that the train has arrived. Everybody stood almost on the rail and started watching. Alas, this was a mechanized trolley carrying two persons. They were checking the gauge and alignment, I learnt from the friend.

Now my father started getting upset. Until now, he was standing patiently, his hands tied behind his back. He now started pacing the platform with me in tow. If he stopped, I stopped. If he started fast pace, I ran. After some time, he turned, looked at his wrist watch, smiled and said, “Ok, whenever it arrives, it arrives. Why bother? ”

We came back to where my mother and kid sister was sitting. No sooner than my mother started telling us about Indore, her home city, there was a commotion on the station. The porter went and changed the line-shift. We got ready to board, bags in our hands.

A solitary engine indeed arrived, but from the other direction. It went straight ahead, without stopping for us. This was my first sight of a rail engine. What a monster it was and what a tail of smoke it left behind, blackening our clothes.

“Now what?” I asked my friend.

“Now it will bring your compartment from Rajura. The original engine failed, we got a message. That is what.” Apparently he was also fed up answering me. None the less, he showed me the Morse machine from a window.

The station was now lit up with petromax’es. The porter lit his lantern which had red and green glasses for signaling.

When we had our supper, the station suddenly started filling up with passengers. We heard the hoot, the bell and the makeshift engine arrived from the correct direction this time, with a solitary compartment, half of which was a wagon full with limestone.

We boarded. It was only half an hour’s ride from Wani to Majri, the first junction where we had to change the trains. Courtsey the engine trouble at Rajura, we had already missed the connecting train from Majri to Warora. As such, we had to spend the night at Majri and catch the morning train. The station was in dark and there was no use of the pack of cards Grandpa had presented to me. And you cannot joke around or play with sisters barely three year old, although they try hard to do so!

Having gone through the ordeal until now, I had to ask, “How much more time we are going to spend like this on stations?”

“Not much, provided we do not miss the connecting trains. We are now on narrow gauge. We will go to Warora from here, then change trains to go to Wardha where we reach broad gauge, then change at Bhusaval, then Khandwa, and then reach Indore. Easy.” was father’s reply. How could they keep smiling?

“But how many days?”

“How can I tell? It all depends on when the trains arrive.”

The next legs upto Bhusaval were uneventful. Although our trains arrived in plus two hours accuracy we could catch the connecting trains, sometimes running and sometimes falling. Aboard trains, sometimes sitting and sometimes simulating sitting. Further we had to run to change the platform every time when you changed the train, wading through a swarm luggage carts, which was gruesome.

Bhusaval junction was something. As I remember, I was informed it had 38 platforms then. There were trains parked, leaving and arriving everywhere. A number of engines were shunting this and that, some running forward, some running backwards, hollering multitude of horns. Some through-trains passed without stopping at a breathtaking speed.

The engines we had until now were flat faced and had search light on top of the boiler. But there were one which I liked most had bulbous face and a star painted around the search light. Really beautiful. Some enginnes had wheels a good three times taller than me and when they started to move, you had to step back to avoid the steam, smoke and people.

People – people eating, sleeping, throwing about or dragging their luggage, taking bath or wash, men and women, children, old people and young people, people selling this and that…..Too many people, but interesting people.

Although our train was delayed by 5 Hours, and we had completed nearly 48 hours until now, it did not matter much. What mattered was that my arms, palms, legs, face, hair and also everything inside the clothes was now jet black with layers of coal dust and itchy. I had lost appetite because every time you ate you had to go and wash your hands at the nearest water tap which was a minimum one kilometer away and mother would not allow me to go alone. There were no WCs on the platforms for children. The train’s Pakhana’s- if you were able reach them in time- were also not to my taste though it was thrilly in the beginning to balance and aim. My healthy habits were going down the drain.

I was told that we were now to board a superfast express train, which would only take three hours to reach Khandwa. By previous experience, I could easily make out that this was not a good prophecy. The express train that arrived late was overfull. I clearly remember how we survived that leg of the travel, because I was sitting on a trunk, which was sitting on my father’s head and he was standing on somebody’s head who was trying to shake off the entire load. I could not view my mother or sister, and prayed that they were aboard the train and not left behind on the platform. The train would stop every now and then; people would curse the signal or the train arriving from the opposite direction or water point and start a quarrel or try shaking me from the roots of the tree I was sitting on. Instead of three, we took six hours and I was a fruit gone bad by then.

Before the train stopped at Khandawa, I was bundled out of a window on to the platform. By the time we got down, our clothes were in tatters and the luggage was battered. It was so nice to breathe fresh air at last; I vowed aloud there and then that I would never travel on an express train in future.

Looking at us, my father decided that enough was enough and we could take the last leg by bus instead of train. We therefore came out from the station and he started inquiries about the bus timings. Hearing what was said about the bus, everybody surrendered, came back to the station and waited for the next passenger train.

This train had its own character. It arrived at a snail’s pace, it cruised at its leisurely speed, stopped wherever it liked and when people or cows on the way waived. But no sweat, because finally I had a window seat, there was not much rush and I could actually enjoy the nature. The moving pictures outside were super green with idyllic stations like Patal Pani, Kala Kund, Tantya Bhilla’s Stone. The famous sweets like Kala Jamun and Kalakand were being served in right earnest at a throwaway price on platforms and wherever the train rested. We crossed a breathtaking bridge, tunnels, a waterfall and what not along the way. This is why my mother must like train journey and hates buses, I thought.  Mother was now speaking in Hindi, was in extremely good mood since we were approaching her city and started to praise Indore again.

When we got down at Indore and when my maternal uncle inquired as to how was the trip, I could remember only the last leg which had taken out all the fatigue. I wrote all this to my Grandpa the very next day in a detailed version.

Since he had only a few days’ break, my father went back the very next day. Before he left, he said, “Now I am relieved. You are now in charge and will bring your mother and sister on your way back safely. Can you?”

“Why not, if you have been given mouth to speak, you can go anywhere!” I repeated.

I carried out the duty as ascribed by my father truthfully on the return trip – that is what my mother used to say if anybody dared to say I was not of a responsible kind. On our way back we were accompanied by an elderly escort. That she would not tell.

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(All Images Courtsey Indian Railways Websites)