The Jantar Mantar or Yantra Mantra which means 'Equipment and Technique' looks futuristic, but it was built 250 years back by Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur. The Jantar Mantar symbolizes the Triumph of the Human Mind.

These structures are devices to undertake astronomical calculations. They are based on the specifications given in ancient Hindu astronomical texts like the Aryabhattiya and the Pancha Siddhantika. Hindu astronomers had gauged that the sun is the center of the solar system, they had also made near exact calculation of the earth's circumference, they predicted eclipses (the date of the Kumbha Melas - a Hindu religious event that ties up with astronomical occurrences, was declared twelve years in advance since ancient times).

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In this chapter we have seen up to now, what conditions are favourable to the existence of a secular state. Now we shall outline what Secularism actually is and what are Secularism's intellectual moorings.

Most of us do not know what Secularism is?

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English offers the following definition of the term Secular. "Concerned with affairs of this world, worldly, not sacred, not monastic, not ecclesiastical, temporal, profane, lay, sceptical of religious truth or opposed to religious education, etc."

Our Human species still has a long way to go towards the Ultimate Goal of One Single World State of Humankind where the Global Outlook of all of us would be Rationalist and Humanist. This would be the Dawn of the human age and human history the world over. This would also mark the end of the pre-history of Man which we are still living through. A pre-history of the division of humankind along national, religious, linguistic, ethnic and other lines. Lines along which there has been hatred, violence and bloodshed all through past human history. (Seen here is the India Gate at New Delhi.)

This definition is full of many negative adjectives. It spells out all that secularism is not without saying much about what Secularism is or what is should be. This is what we shall try to examine below. The author is in agreement with the negative connotations given by the Oxford Dictionary but beyond this can we answer the question 'What is Secularism?'

Secularism is the Political Expression of Rationalism

As pointed out earlier in this chapter, Secularism is the political expression of Rationalism. And now what is Rationalism ? Rationalism is, as per the Oxford Dictionary, 'An attitude which is "endowed with reason, reasoning: sensible, sane, moderate, not foolish or absurd or extreme; of or based on reasoning or reason, rejecting what is unreasonable or cannot be tested by reason". It adds that rationalism expresses "doubts about the truth of divine revelation, the possibility of miracles, etc." Thus this definition has much to say what rationalism is.

The Rationalist Outlook

From the above definition and from the popular understanding we can say that rationalism is an attitude by which human beings always try to explore and explain the unknown and by doing this they try to extend the frontiers of human knowledge. Nothing in rationalism is ever an article of faith, everything in rationalism is subject to inquiry, and inquiry is never given up.

The Ancient Indian Rationalist Tradition

Rationalism is found in Indian thought as well. The Indian tradition about rationalism is as old as Indian civilization itself. The Vedas are one oldest and important collection of knowledge which has rationalist approaches in it. The term Veda is itself derived from the term "Vid" which means "knowledge". The Vedas have an immense collection of the interpretations of the physical universe as observed and perceived by the ancients.

The next collection of literature is that of the Upanishads where the rational approach has been articulated more than that in the Vedas. (The Upanishad literature is considered by many to be a part of the Vedic literature as the fifth Veda). The term Upanishad is itself derived from Upa-ni-shad which means "by-being-near" which means knowledge gained by being near the master. The Upanishads have many questions put by the disciples to their Master (Guru) and the answers given by the Gurus. We have references to proclamations like "Neti, Neti" in the Upanishads. The term "Neti" is derived from the two terms "Ne Iti" (The literal meaning of this proclamation is "This is not it"). The interpreted meaning of this proclamation is that the Master telling his disciples that their understanding of the universe is not the correct one. Herein we can seeds of the emphasis placed on quest (Jigyaasaa) as opposed to faith (Shraddhaa) on which all religious belief is built. Another proclamation found in Upanishadic literature is that of Tat Tvam Asi (The literal meaning of this is "Thou art that"). The interpreted meaning is that of the Master telling the disciples that everything in the universe is made up of the same matter and hence the term "Thou art that" or "You are that". Herein lay the seed of the understanding that all matter in the universe is the same, only the forms in which we perceive it are different.

Later on came the philosophers of the Lokayata school of philosophy who did not accept the intervention of god or devil in explaining the universe and tried to explain what they perceived. Muni Charavaka is considered to be the best exponent of this school. We often lose sight of the fact that the entire Indian tradition of the Physical sciences is based on this interpretation of the Physical Universe. Aryabhatta, Bhaskara, Varahamihira used the physical interpretation of the universe in their treatises on astronomy and mathematics. The physicians like Jeevaka, Sushuruta, and Charaka did this in the field of Medical Science. Unfortunately ancient Indian intellectual tradition has been confounded to be concerned with only meta-physical and extra-natural issues. But nothing is further from the truth. Ancient Indian intellectual tradition was as primarily an understanding of the physical universe, as can be seen from the large number of ideas and constructs in various physical sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Production Technology, Shipbuilding and Navigation, etc.

Rationalism is based on Quest, as opposed to Religion which is the based on Faith

Thus Rationalism whose fountainhead is "Quest" (Jigyaasaa) is based on having an open mind towards all that the Universe is made of. While religion which is based on "Faith" (Shradhaa). And Faith calls for belief, unquestioning belief and a closure of an attitude of quest. There is no possibility of questioning the existence of god in Religion. And this is true in any religion, and in all religions.

Speaking in general, as such any phenomenon which comes within human understanding should be such that can be explained to any human being who is qualified in that discipline. Nothing can remain en exclusive preserve which can be mastered only by "Godmen" claiming "special" powers.

There has to be no sinister shroud of secrecy around any fact or method that has been mastered by human intellect, according to the rationalist attitude Hence nothing in rationalism is an article of faith except the attitude of inquiry. Rationalism is hence an attitude of inquiry from end to end. It does never entertain any dogmas, rituals and beliefs whatsoever which are to be followed unquestioningly. Rationalism does not have the word faith in its dictionary.

There will forever exist in the Cosmos, infinite phenomenon, which would remain unknown to human beings. But however tough (and to some humans - frightening) this challenge facing us, a rationalist would pursue the objective of trying to unravel it, and this objective, we rationalists would pursue forever, generation after generation. This is the essence of Rationalism, the intellectual bedrock of Secularism. And Secularism is the political expression of this Rationalist attitude.

The "case" for Theism

To make a point in favour of theism, the theists generally say, "You can smell a scent of a flower, but can you see it?" Their answer is "No! Isn't it?" They also say, "You can see the salt, but once it melts in your mouth can you see it, but can you still taste it?" Their forceful answer is, "Yes! Isn't it? This is how god is like, you can feel Him, but you cannot see Him." This way of reasoning convinces many. But the point is we should ask them, are not the senses of sight, taste and smell - (different senses of perception) different from each other. Humans attach more importance to the perception of sight as we say "Seeing is believing". So just because you cannot see a thing, that you can taste or smell; does not mean that it is supernatural or is a case for god. I can ask the theists, "I can see a rainbow, but then I cannot smell it or taste it. Will you say that god is something that you can see, but you cannot smell or taste?" Thus, the case of the unseen scent of a flower or the taste of unseen salt; as proof of the pudding is invalid.

Rationalism is based on experimentation and perception based on all our senses. Thus no one can ever be "converted" to rationalism. The taking up of a rationalist attitude can be decided by a person for himself individually. The taking up of a rationalist attitude presumes that dogmas have been entirely eliminated from the persons mind. The shift to rationalism is no doubt a process of transition, it is a battle for the conquest of one's own mind from the stranglehold of dogma.

A charge very often made against the rationalists in apparently quite a convincing manner is that as rationalists refuse to accept any phenomenon that is beyond human understanding they wrongly deny the existence of many such phenomenon. Examples like the existence of Ghosts, Haunted houses, trees, caves, the presence of Psychic Powers, Telepathy, Reincarnations, etc., are put forward which many people feel exist and to vouch for whose existence respectable individuals can come forward.

The rationalists, these people say, deny the existence of such phenomenon because their occurrence cannot be explained with the existing human knowledge. But the fact is that, not only are such phenomenon beyond human knowledge, but a part of phenomenon will always remain beyond Human knowledge. And for this reason we cannot, as rationalists, say that it would do good for everybody to believe and fear the unknown. In denying the existence of such phenomenon these believers say, the rationalists are making a mistake.

But the rationalists do not deny anything, in fact rationalists neither assume the existence or non-existence of anything at all. With their minds free of any pre-conceived notions whatsoever the rationalists try to penetrate the unknown and try to bring more phenomenon from the sphere of unknown to that of the known. In going about this inquiry a person can use all the senses of perception available to him/her. Any phenomenon that can be so perceived is within human understanding.

If there is any phenomenon beyond the human senses of perception human beings will not know of its existence hence there would be no question of entertaining any idea of its existence. And if at all humans come to know some way that such a phenomenon does exist and such a phenomenon is beyond the available senses of perception, a rationalists will endeavour to devise a method or a new sense of perception to understand and if possible to master that phenomenon. In doing this human beings may or may not be successful. But success is another issue, what matters is the question of what attitude to take as regards such partly known phenomenon. A rationalist would like to explore it, a dogmatic person would like to treat is as a deity.

More than 2,500 years back, Gautama Buddha propounded an outlook that was both humanitarian and rationalist. Buddhism did not advocate invocation of any God. The original Buddhism had neither God nor Devil. The emphasis was not on prayer but on controlling one's mind. In this sense Buddhism was more a worldly philosophy rather than a religion. It was later on that it became a religion complete with rituals, icons, holy men and dogmas. However, in its original principles, it came closest to Rational-Humanism.

A rationalist would agree that there today exist definite limits to human knowledge and there would always exist limits to this knowledge. This is so as there will always be many (rather infinite) phenomenon, which would remain unknown to human beings. We would never be able to offer an explanation for everything. But however tough and frightening the challenge facing us, the rationalists would pursue the objective of trying to unravel it and this objective the rationalists would pursue forever, generation after generation. This is Rationalism, the intellectual bedrock of Secularism. And Secularism is the political expression of this rationalist attitude.

THE POLICY OF A SECULAR AND RATIONALIST WORLD STATE TOWARDS RELIGION

Having seen what the intellectual bedrock of Secularism is, we shall now turn to the ace question of what should be the policy of a State that is Secular according to the dictionary meaning of the term?

Religion will always be part of the Human Psyche

Assuming that the state which professes secularism to be its policy, also professes the concurrent policy of rationalism, the attitude of the state would have to be of looking at religion as a permanent phenomenon in the human psyche. The state should recognize that it is a basic human urge to fear the unknown. For example, almost all of us have the fear of the darkness. This fear has always existed in human minds (as in fact in animal minds too). This fear is based on our inability to use one of our important faculties - the faculty of sight, which becomes ineffectual in the dark. So the fear of darkness which represents the unknown, as we cannot see and hence do not know what exists in the darkness. Such is the natural human attitude toward anything that cannot be seen, or heard, or smelt, or touched - i.e. anything that is beyond our senses of perception. And there will always be, in the universe, innumerable such phenomenon that would always remain beyond our senses of perception.

Thus there would always remain the human urge to co-relate with the unknown as an extra-natural power which can be invoked in one's favour by praying before it. There would consequently be various methods of prayer. And there would also con-currently be the urge on part of humans to make other humans conform to their own unique way of prayer. And if such a mindset were allowed to propagate its method of prayer, there would be religious missionary activity. Till this point there would be no problem. But if these mindsets are allowed to propagate their method of prayer with the force of arms then you have the Jihad, Crusade, etc. This the rationalist state should never allow to happen.

What the state should ensure is an environment in which every citizen of this globe can choose his/her way of co-relating with the unknown - as the unknown universe, or as a deity. And if the choice is that of a deity then there should also be the complete individual freedom to choose how to propitiate this deity, as long as the method is not a social nuisance.

In this context the state policy should also be of being evenhanded as far as different religions go. The undercurrent of this policy should be to give equal treatment to all religions (as the Hindu state did in ancient times) and to regulate in an impartial manner the process of intellectual debate between rationalism and religious belief in its various forms.

It should be realized here that if the unknown is always going to remain as unknown, then the policy of a species that is capable of understanding this fact of existence should be to have an open attitude towards the unknown. And hence this attitude should translate into a policy of always allowing the freedom to citizens of this globe to co-relate with the eternal unknown the way they want to without any hindrance whatsoever. Hence the rationalist state should not interfere in the attitude which the citizens of the globe take towards the eternal unknown.

The state should only ensure that no single person or persons are allowed to enforce their beliefs on any other person or persons. This would lead to a repetition of the self-destructive occurrence of "Holy Wars", Jihads, "Crusades", etc.

Whether a person decides to co-relate with the eternal unknown as the eternal unknown, or as a deity (whatever the name) should entirely be left to the individual. No other individual or group should be allowed to enforce its choice on any other person or group.

In fact if, in the real spirit, the right to co-relate with the eternal unknown is left entirely to an individual, there need never be any religious groups at all, since every citizen of this globe could have his/her unique and individual way of co-relating with the unknown. This would reflect the ancient Sanskrit adage "Ekam Sat, Viprah Bahuda Vadanti" which translates as "Universal reality is the same, but different people can call it differently."

According to one viewpoint, in a futuristic scenario, only Rationalism and its corollary - Humanism, can finally shape the destiny of humankind in facing challenges which are beyond our knowledge and imagination and beyond our planet, when we together as one species prepare ourselves to face SPACE - the Final Frontier of the UNKNOWN.

According to one viewpoint, in a futuristic scenario, the existence, survival and growth of rationalism (which is basically an intellectual outlook), would be the only hope for preparing humankind in facing the eternal unknown. It is only this outlook; Rationalism, and its corollary - Humanism, that can finally shape the destiny of humankind in facing challenges which are beyond our knowledge and imagination and beyond our planet, when we together as one species prepare ourselves to face SPACE - the Final Frontier of the UNKNOWN.

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Now let us go on to the last chapter of this site on Humanism and Sign-off.

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