The real truth

The Asian Age, New Delhi, India
08 November 2007
Opinion
The Great Truth
By Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer
[Former Judge, Supreme Court of India]
The unity, integrity and fraternity of Indian society are fundamental to the structure of our secular democratic republic. To sustain the security and stability of the polity it is important to enlighten the people about India’s creative and cultural pluralism, and the unifying quality of Swaraj. This is no idle intellectual exercise that narrates the multi-religious story of Bharat, but a dynamic drive which fuels the diverse faiths and agnostic movements.
In this setting, I want to present my thoughts objectively on the higher temporal and spiritual values which illuminate our profound culture. This is best spelt out in Jawaharlal Nehru’s great Autobiography, where he wrote, "…many souls who are or who believe they are free from all religious belief … in reality live immersed in a state of super-rational consciousness, which they term Socialism, Communism, Humanitarianism, Nationalism and even Rationalism. It is the quality of thought and not its object which determines its source and allows us to decide whether or not it emanates from religion. If it turns fearlessly towards the search for truth at all costs with single-minded sincerity prepared for any sacrifice, I should call it religious; for it presupposes faith in an end to human effort higher than the life of existing society, and even higher than the life of humanity as a whole. Scepticism itself, when it proceeds from vigorous natures true to the core, when it is an expression of strength and not of weakness, joins in the march of the Grand Army of the religious Soul.
"I cannot presume to fulfil the conditions laid down by Romain Rolland, but on these terms I am prepared to be a humble camp-follower of the Grand Army."
In this sense I too am a happy camp-follower.
Gautam Buddha, the enlightened one, gave the human race the rare value of compassion for all living creatures. Lord Krishna, the avatar of the Bhagavad Gita, battled for human rights and upheld the divinity and dignity of the deprived. He bargained for social and political justice through diplomacy, and followed it up with war to gain a victory for righteousness. Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was inspired by a spiritual revelation and transformed a delinquent society to a revolutionary and progressive one that stood for equality, generosity, universal brotherhood and peace. Mahatma Gandhi launched a do-or-die struggle for the liberation of millions of people from the thraldom of the British empire. His also struggled to liberate them from a caste-bound, feudal and communal society. He lived and died as a symbol of non-violence, secularism, simplicity and truth.
The legendary names who have glorified our cultural heritage deserve to be cherished and followed as a fundamental duty (Article 51A b of the Constitution).
Jesus Christ was a cosmic human marvel who taught the world values like compassion, fraternity, equality and love. He combined in him the highest principles of the noble Upanishads, the selfless teachings of Lord Buddha, the moving message of Lord Mahavir, the spectacular fight for dharma launched by Lord Krishna, the astonishing transformation achieved by Prophet Muhammad and the anti-imperialist commitments of Mahatma Gandhi. Jesus resisted injustice, untruth and obscurantism which prevailed under the authority of the Roman Empire. He resisted the sanctimonious religiosity propagated by the high priests of the Jewish faith. Jesus belonged to a lowly family but rose to influence the mind and spirit of the human race. He deliberately broke the Sabbath and said that the Sabbath was for man and not the other way round. He challenged superstitions and propounded a culture of humanism and egalitarianism. Through his message, he was able to change human thought and faith. Indeed, this noblest son of God never desired to be adored or worshipped as "Christ" or "Messiah." The following sentence is most inspirational: "then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ" (Matthew XVI).
He saw universal brotherhood as the divine bond that bound people everywhere. That his philosophy was real is evident from a reply he gave to a person who told him that, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him: who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciple and said, behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God which is in Heaven the same is my brother and…"
God’s universal fatherhood and the brotherhood of all mankind were a reality for him. He denounced private wealth. He told the world that the wealthy had no more chance of going to heaven than a camel trying to pass through the eye of the needle. When Pontius Pilate asked about Jesus’ God in Heaven (above the Roman Emperor) he asserted that He was the truth. This anti-imperial statement was a daring assertion against the emperor.
The greatest of all men of his time, Jesus was found not guilty by the imperial judge, but was awarded the death sentence. He was crucified by a terrible process of torture, while Barabbas, the robber, was set free. Similarly, today robbers roam around freely, plundering as they please. This is because a materialist rule of law punishes the just and acquits the anti-social criminals.
It is true that our system of justice is not able to suppress crime and discover the innocence of those who stand by truth. God is Truth and Truth is God said Gandhiji. Jesus proved by his extraordinary passion the need for a finer revolution of our moral order and authoritarian system of justice. Jesus’ admonition is of burning relevance to those in public power who are the trustees of the people: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?"
US President George W. Bush said that God told him to attack Iraq. Napoleon Bonaparte said something that has kept society mesmerised even today: "There is only one thing in this world, and that is to keep acquiring money and more money, power and more power. All the rest is meaningless."
Contrast this with the Gandhian concept of development that rejected the idea that life’s aim was primarily the creation of material wealth.
Comrade Jesus, the martyr who redeemed humanism, belongs to mankind. He is not the monopoly of any particular community. Jesus championed proletarian values and gender justice as opposed to privilege and exploitation. So did Lord Krishna who battled for eternal dharma in the Mahabharata. So too did Lord Buddha who renounced royalty and made compassion his cosmic creed. And Prophet Muhammad, the finest humanist of his age in the Arab world, upheld the noble ideals of universal brotherhood and sharing as opposed to the greedy and promiscuous pleasures of a vicious society.
In our time, Mahatma Gandhi abdicated every form of affluence and political privilege, identified truth and non-violence as absolute creeds, and abolition of human privation as integral to Swaraj. Karl Marx raged against capitalist exploitation and made liberation his life’s mission. He lived and died in poverty.
The Great Truth is more than dialectical materialism. It is a spiritual vision and manifests universal love.
Jesus Christ, whose passion and crucifixion were too sublime to find a parallel, was the noblest revolutionary of history. He was an avatar of truth, justice and spiritual redemption. Today, imperial terrorism, ubiquitous corruption, crazy greed and quasi-colonial culture comprise the rule of law. Capitalist economists and phoney political philosophers have interpreted the wealth and development of nations in various ways. Our task is to transform society to guarantee that everyone has the right to live in dignity.