Man may be a political animal or not, but he certainly is a religious animal. Of course, there may be secular exceptions warranting an invention of a nomenclature ‘secular animals’, but even so, such secularism is selective and is always laced with reverence for the minority religions and its’ gods.
Reason why these secularists do not raise their atheistic or agnostic hackles w.r.t religions other than Hinduism, no doubt out of sheer respect for minorities and not out of any hatred for Hinduism as we are reminded by them often. May be Hinduism will earn their sympathy if it becomes a minority religion. Or a better alternative would be to export these secularists to countries where Hinduism is already in a minority.
So by virtue of their super secularism that recognises only minority gods, – and thank god for that, minor mercy though it is – they too are in a way religious. And so, coming back to the point, man remains more a religious animal than a political one, despite his overwhelming preoccupation with politics of all kinds. Because, when everything else fails, the last resort has always been religion. Religion not only antiquates politics, but dwarfs the latter by its sheer immensity, reach and appeal.
And per se there is nothing wrong with that. It is only out of our delusion that we tend to jump into a self-denial mode when religion is discussed in public. In private, let alone the man on the street, even the greatest of judges, the most accomplished of doctors and popular leaders of the people have all been very religious men and women.
A colleague by my side tells me that an old enlightened bird had even said that ‘religion is the most serious business of the human race…’. Also, the self inflicted feeling of guilt is an affliction that ails only the majority religion. The minorities, never tend to feel shy of displaying their religious faith and in fact that is the primary bond that unites them.
And perhaps this cohesiveness is what also makes them attractive to politicians who are ever on the look out for captive vote banks. Really it is politics that has infringed on religion in the mindspace of the people, dominating their thought, dictating their actions and finally leading them to doom.
And then religion comes back with a bang for at the end of the day, out of sheer frustration and hopelessness everyone says, ‘oh God’. No one, not even an incurable political sycophant, says ‘oh Vajpayee’, or ‘oh Sonia’ or ‘oh Laloo’ or for that matter, ‘oh Mrs. Laloo’! The nation today is on one such threshold, getting itself ready to heave a collective ‘oh God’.
While religion, in its true sense, is all pervading, all encompassing and is the essence of human nature and existence, politics is a pastime that has now become a pain. One can certainly do without politics but never without religion. Only blinkered minds would believe that religion could be kept out of politics. And hypocrites would keep harping on the dangers of mixing religion and politics while every action they commit is based on some holy book, or teaching or at least in the name and belief of the Almighty.
The question itself does not arise as man is essentially religious, and whatever he does also carries that imprint barring the real atheists who are a minority. It may not manifest itself so openly but the fact remains that it is the underlying reality behind all that is happening.
So, one should, instead of denying reality, welcome it if religion takes charge of politics. It can only be to the overall good of the people because all religions in their original form only preach peace while all politics in whatever form thrive on discord! While a dose of politics injected into religion might corrupt religion, it may actually bring some semblance of sanity if it is the other way round. In any case what have the politicians done to the people in all these years that they had at their disposal?
One can be sure that sensible and responsible religious leaders can certainly make things better or at least, not any worse, for they can never plunge any deeper than the politicos. That they may fail is a possibility. That they should not fail is an imperative.
One has to view the role of the Kanchi seer in the Ayodhya issue only in this perspective. The imbroglio is basically a religious one and it is only such people who have the basic understanding and sensitivities associated with religion and faith, any religion or faith, who can adjudicate on it with conviction, fairness and moderation.
The Shankaracharya can strike a better rapport with his Muslim counterparts because he can understand their language and talk their language, the language of faith, and at the same time present his side with genuineness, something no politician can ever do with all his gift of the gab. And while in politics it is a matter of the winner taking it all, in religion the stress is always on sharing, irrespective of who wins.
If such an atmosphere is created, the issue could be resolved with even a decisive court verdict becoming irrelevant. So let’s vote for religion, this time, no matter if politicians lose the deposits in their vote banks!
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