literature

THE RELIGION WE NEED
-S.Radhakrishnan.

In The Religion We Need, Dr.Radhakrishnan makes a detailed
examination of true religious life and the ideal of universal brotherhood. He states that the supreme creative power of the universe cannot be an
extraneous force and it is one, not many.
Supreme spirit or God:Dr.Radhakrishnan begins the essay by saying that evolution of living organism is not mechanical but is the expression of a purposive force. The supreme spirit is at work in the whole course of evolution. Science is incomplete and looks forward to something beyond itself. Darwin, Herbert Spenser, Hegel and Bradley accept this view. Spenser called the supreme spirit or the mysterious reality as ‘the inscrutable God’. Philosopher-scientists like Lloyd Morgan and Whitehead acknowledge God.
From the primitives to the great faiths of today, men have felt that God is the reality. If the human life is a constant quest for God, then God is a conditioning factor of our being. According to Radhakrishnan, we can be sure of what God is not, but not of what God is. He is neither a mechanical engineer who devised the world nor a supernatural proprietor of the universe but an inherent spirit working in and through the universe. He is the self of the universe.
Concept of soul and god:The soul of man is infinite in character. The God whom it seeks is equally infinite. As the birds fly in air, as the fish swim in the sea, leaving no traces behind, even so in the pathway to God traversed by the seeker of spirit. Our idea of God is the result of the interaction between the subject and the object. God is impartial to his devotees whatever form of address and approach they may adopt. Provincialism in religion is not a sign of culture. The deepest religious souls have always been Catholic. The mystics want us to get behind and beneath all outward churches and religions. They ask us to worship the nameless who is above every name. They are certain that the supreme is one, though he has many names.
Religion:A religion represents the soul of the people, its peculiar spirit, thought and temperament. It is an expression of the spiritual experience of the race and a record of its social evolution. It is an integral element of the society. Without general knowledge and moral sense, no improvement can be effected in the religious concepts. The people who are satisfied with some symbol in wood or stone or words are unable to grasp the highest conception of God head.
God’s creation is an eternal process. There is no divorce between the natural and the supernatural. The two are continuous. The relation between them is enveloped in mystery and hence we cannot say how the universal spirit works through the cosmic process. The creative process is still going on and is unfinished in several respects and waits for man’s willing and heroic service. The future evolution of man on earth is not likely to be on the organic side, it will be in the ideal direction.
Religious life:Religious life is not in the acceptance of academic abstractions or celebration of ceremonies. It is the conviction that love and justice are at the heart of the universe, that the spirit will further his perfection. Radhakrishnan quotes the saying of Spinoza that he who loves God cannot want that God should love him in return. Highest love does not expect any return, reward or recompense. It is an utter self surrender, a pure self-giving. It is a deep acceptance of life and death. We cannot reach this ideal of religious life without deep meditation and strenuous self discipline. The unusual gifts of spiritual power come only to those who are given to solitude and self denial. We should develop the spiritual or transcendental attitude which is the very heart of religion. Religious life is a perilous adventure to be carried out on the principle of “die to live”. The aim of life is not safety and comfort, but heroism and happiness. Radhakrishnan finds fault with people who do not practise self control. Socrates, Jesus, the Hindu saints had the strength of spirit and this should be developed by the people who are anxious for religious life.
Aim of Religion:
Self perfection is the aim of religion. The Hindu civilization, the Hellenic and the Roman civilization perished because of ignorance and barbarism.The religious soul must seek for divine fulfillment both in heaven and on earth. According to the Mahabharata, there is nothing nobler than humanity. Brotherhood of all men, irrespective of race or nationality is the ideal aim. The feuds and agitations which sow seeds of hatred among different nations and the fratricidal strife are the substance of irreligion. We must wage war against oppression and injustice wherever found. All cases of exploitation of one individual by another and of one historical group by another and of one historical group by another and of one nation by another are characterized as ‘prostitution’ by Dr.Radhakrishnan. A civilization based on injustice cannot last long. Religion is not a simple spiritual state of the individual. It is the practice of the divine rule among men. The believer in God loves his fellow men as he loves himself, redemptive service and self sacrifice. He will put justice above civilization, truth above patriotism. Human unity can be achieved on earth only by strong religion and souls whose patriotism knows no limit of geography or of history but only those of justice and truth, freedom and fair play, God and humanity. The need of our age is a more vivid and deeper sense of the one universal God.