India and religion

Hinduism vs Modernity

This article is expressing some personal opinions about religion and culture, and myths surrounding them. This article is motivated by my observation of Dr Bandy Lee’s thesis on religion, non-violence and spirituality. I’ve read Dr Bandy Lee’s scholarly work and I personally found her book on Violence most appealing. But I have certain differences of opinion on her thesis in areas of non-violence, MK Gandhi, religion and spirituality.

On subject of Gandhi and non-violence, Dr Lee is grossly misinformed about Indian history and Indian Independence movement. I have written a detailed critique on this a while back (1, 2, 3) and won’t repeat here. Now I will talk about religion and spirituality as Dr Lee shows certain roots of her beliefs in Indian culture. I am rooted in India, born and raised here, and living in India all my life. I have seen Indian society up close and don’t rely on second hand knowledge to build an outlook on Indian culture and Indian society.

Religion, mysticism and spirituality is deeply rooted in Indian culture. John Kenneth Galbraith was a great economist, politician and an intellectual of 20th century. His career speaks volume - A New Dealer in FDR regime (was involved in economic management during WW2), an academic (at Harvard & other universities), a writer (wrote many great books), an activist (of Keynesian tradition), a journalist (a progressive) and he was also Ambassador to post independent India. Galbraith had seen the world - New Deal era, madness of World War 2 & Cold War, clash of economic & political ideologies, reality of first world and third world nations in 20th century.

Galbraith’s view on religion in poor nation like India was thus very well informed. India is a failed State, a regressive and a backward society - economically, industrially and politically. Why there’s such a dense culture of spirituality and religion in India? Let me rephrase the question - why there’s such a big market of religious and spiritual doctrines in India? Now the question makes more sense. Now let’s understand the answer. India is failed nation which cannot provide material benefits and decent standards of living to its people. Majority of its people are in poverty or borderline poverty, starvation, homelessness and social insecurity. When there is no food to satiate the hunger of belly, there needs to be myths of religion & superstition to feed the soul. The things people can’t get in current life, they find solace in knowing that they will get them in afterlife. The injustices poor & helpless people tolerate in this life, they find solace in knowing that they will be corrected in afterlife. This is where religion and spirituality found a great market.

Majority of Indians can’t achieve the basic necessities and securities of life. Life in India is like surviving in a jungle. There are no jobs, no industry, no income security, no infrastructure, no rule of law - that is the material reality for majority of population. In short, you can’t have basic things in life. You can’t have a home, you can’t have a proper family life, you can’t have an amount of leisure for yourself and to many people they don’t even have a guarantee that they will get two meals by end of the day. The life of humans is like animals in my country. And this dismal reality of India existed in most severe form up until the late 20th century.

The period before British imperial rule was a dark times for India. With arrival of British colonial oppression also came some benefits of modernity and capitalism. And with globalization of trade and technology, some benefits of economic & industrial progress also reached India by end of 20th century. But despite all that, India remained a poor and backward nation. While the total amount of population in acute poverty has reduced, the abject poor have just only reached a slightly higher rung of ladder where they still live on borderline poverty. And middle class? - That’s a tiny fraction of total population.

Religion, superstition, magic and rituals thrive in a failed and backward society. That’s why India has such richness of this cultural filth. It amazes me how some foreign intellectuals find this filth attractive & scholarly. But I will get to the reasons of it in a bit. I explained the demand side of religion, superstition and spirituality. A poor backward society has a high demand for opium of religion to escape harsh socioeconomic realities. But what is the supply side?

Here I strongly suggest you to read book by Thorstein Veblen - The Theory of the Leisure Class. You may know the theory of social classes of Marx where Marx lists classes like Capitalists (bourgeoisie - the ruling class), Proletariat, Petty bourgeoisie etc. Veblen concept is similar but he expands the ruling class further by adding classes like Religious elites and he incorporated them into a broader class - leisure class - which is characteristically a predatory force over the productive & industrial class of society. This Leisure Class doesn’t provide any meaningful economic purpose to society and it only predates on product of industrial class and workers.

The lifestyle of this ruling class is vicarious leisure. Veblen explains lifestyle of super rich and aristocracy in detail. But pertinent to this article is lifestyle of religious elites. These religious elites don’t have any productive benefit to society (apart from opium they deliver to masses). But to enforce themselves as a superior class, to establish domination over the society, this elite religious class invented the force of religious doctrines. The more backward a society is, the more rich it’s in amount of religious literature, rituals & superstition.

Western experts like Dr Bandy Lee cherry pick some spiritualistic elements of Hinduism while ignoring the abusive and racial elements of Hinduism like the class hierarchy prescribed in Manusmriti. Hinduism as a whole always has a strong racial and oppressive component where Brahmin Class (a religious elite leisure class) established dominance over other classes and especially entailed brutal oppression of lower classes (shudras or Dalits). And spiritualistic elements are creation of this Brahmin class which is a thoroughly reactionary and oppressive class of elites of Indian society (Ambedkar describe this as Brahmin theology).

Class Structure in Hindu society

Take note that class structure of Hindu society is purely a construct for purpose of predation and domination over poor classes. The Shudras in India are poor classes - peasants, menial laborers, servants, cobblers, tannery workers etc. The rituals & lifestyle of Brahmin class are forbidden for Shudras and Dalits (the lowest rung of humans declared as untouchables) who are given punishment and torture if they were discovered to pursue Brahmin knowledge or even if they dare to enter a Hindu temple. Through this oppression and subjugation, Brahmin class (along with Kshatriyas - the warrior class) enslaved poor people.

(This is similar to structural violence in western world where plutocratic and political elites establish their dominance over society, and minorities like Negroes suffer the most oppression.)

Western society has drifted far from morality of enlightenment era but even still it remains superior to the reactionary society of Hinduism. Western intellectuals like Dr Bandy Lee don’t know that many Indian Liberals actually strive for values of western modernity rather than their own Hindu spiritual roots because Indian liberals realize that Hinduism is riddled with grave racial injustices, superstition and abuses. The problem is that western modernity itself is now lost in an age of dog eat dog Capitalism & hyper-individualism. I will explain more on this in a bit.

I explained the demand as well as supply side of religion in India - Why people drift towards religion and who creates the supply of religious doctrines. But there is also some curiosity and attraction of Indian religious culture to foreigners like Dr Bandy Lee and many others. Why do these foreign people try to look into Hinduism and Indian religious cultural filth for answers of life? This is a critical question. I don’t have a complete answer to this but I will try. There

1. Western society like America in age of Neoliberalism, hyper-individualism, Post modernism has greatly degraded in terms of social, political and cultural norms. There is a severe crisis of communal and personal identity in America and it has created a void in hearts and minds of people. To fill this void, people try various remedies. Some people, especially if they’re white & poor, join MAGA movement of Donald Trump (where they only get further abused). Some people, if they’re wealthy, try to fill their void with spending (shop till you drop), buy sports car in their midlife crisis, do drugs etc.

Capitalism reduced people to atoms and many jobs in post modern, post industrial society have little intellectual satisfaction and many people don’t even have a job. Many people don’t see a purpose in their work apart from pecuniary end. Hence, people look to find purpose and meaning in life. That’s where con-artists like Donald Trump dupe them and recruit them into a movement - Make America great again - which superficially gives them a purpose greater than their own boring lives.

Similarly, western intellectuals horrified and dejected by their social crisis look for answers somewhere …. anywhere. Many western citizens thus find attraction to Hindu shrines, rituals and literature. On surface, Hinduism’s message of oneness and harmony may give solace to these western people. But that’s just one small component of Hinduism and its culture, and the race theory and class oppression is the major component of it which westerners don’t understand.

This is similar to MAGA movement. Even MAGA movement has justifiable themes on the surface. Like the critique of globalization, de-industrialization of America and decline of American working class - this has been the original message of Trump since 2016. And MAGA movement was originally about correcting these injustices. On surface, MAGA had noble cause. But beneath the surface, MAGA is Fascist movement which weaponized grievances and sentiments of people to nefarious ends.

Similarly, Hinduism has these things on surface like messages of Oneness and Vedic phrases (I’ve seen many people are suckers for this phraseology). But beneath the surface and as a whole, Hinduism is a regressive and oppressive doctrine. Always understand the whole, not just the parts of a system.

Here I like to explain the difference between conceptual idealism and ground reality by taking Socialism as example. Idealist Socialism was about common purpose, shared wealth, equality and democracy. But that nowhere exists in the world. What we saw in Soviet Union was really existing socialism , not the idealist form. And really existing socialism was about oppression and corruption. Similarly we have really existing capitalism which is far from ideal capitalism of prosperity and progress. So really existing Hinduism that we experience in our daily lives is also oppressive and corrupted.

2. In first point, I explained how post modernism, Neoliberalism and hyper-individualism has created an identity crisis in western society. But that crisis alone is not enough for people to turn away from modernity and start moving towards religion to find solace. Another crisis of western civilization is failure of its political system - its liberal democracy. If you have a social and economic problems, you participate in politics to change things. That was the idealized conception of democracy where political participation was a satisfying experience to electorate (at least in theory). But in reality, the democratic system of America has no place for competent and visionary people while the most incompetent, unfit and pathocratic politicians are rising to the top.

People can protest, go on strike and organized mass rallies but all that changes very little. The inequality, structural violence, institutional corruption, political decay, social problems etc - all continue to incline. Western intellectuals can only be a mute witness to the decay and crisis of their society. They can’t participate in political process and reach a public office or even influence public policy. They don’t even have a voice and an outreach to society. I’ve seen Dr Bandy Lee complaining that media isn’t providing her a platform or Congress doesn’t invite experts like her for an opinion. People who really have an expert independent opinion are just blacked out from media in these critical times. But this is just another feature of our current systems - they have atomized people where they have no voice and power in this system.

3. Western society is in crisis and people are helpless to influence a positive change in their countries, so people seek various platforms for internal satisfaction. Some people join a social or political group, some people turn to religion & spirituality, and some people just divorce themselves from sociopolitical arena and live to maximize their wealth & pleasure. But religion and especially foreign religion like Hinduism is rather odd place to seek solace. Why some foreigners do it? You can find few odd westerners in ISKCON temples in India who appear to be in full dedication in pursuit of Hindu culture.

Westerners singing ‘Hare Rama - Hare Krishna’ at Hindu temple in India

These foreigners with fondness of Hindu culture are ignorant. Here I like to expound on a broader point. Our world is complex space and people have limited knowledge of various arenas of life. You can have a Doctorate in Medicine but that doesn’t mean you understand history of Hindu culture or sociology of Indian society. You can be a great sociologist but that doesn’t mean you will have an informed view of political economy. (There are philosophers in a society who have a vast encompassing knowledge of multiple fields and areas. These people are very few in any society.)

People in our objective reality only have microcosmic worldview from their limited range of sight. Only few people have capacity to transcend microcosm and view the macrocosm of our objective reality. Most people only understand the various individual parts of a system but do not understand the system as a whole. To understand the macrocosm, one must understand the whole, not just the individual parts. Hinduism as a whole is a regressive & oppressive concept (more on this in a bit). While Dr Lee focuses on rituals of vicarious leisure of Hindu culture (meditation, vedas & Yoga etc), she ignores the racial & oppressive component (Manusmriti) of Hindu culture.

One of the founding fathers of Independent India, BR Ambedkar - the author of India’s constitution, who was also a close friend & colleague of MK Gandhi, was so repulsed by Hinduism that he renounced Hindu religion (he converted to Buddhism). As a Dalit (lower class in Hindu hierarchy), he was personally a victim of racism and understood the nature of Hinduism as a whole. Beneath the veneer of spirituality (oneness & Yog), Hinduism is a Brahmin theology which is instrument of class domination.

Really existing Hinduism - Road to Hindutva and Santana Dharma

Starting in early 1990s, the Political regimes of India started transforming India’s secular identity into a religious identity - they defined it as Hindutva. Hinduism was fused with political identity of State - Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma is really-existing-Hinduism in practice. The Yog, spirituality, oneness, Hindu literature & rituals are vanilla elements of Hinduva, and integral with these elements are core components of race theory & political control structured into State doctrine.

The vanilla components of Hindutva are harmless - they at least in their appearance are humanistic, spiritual and harmonious - which attracts people including some foreigners. But humanism stops just at the surface at the rituals and other activities of vicarious leisure (Yoga, fasting, meditation etc). Beneath the surface lies politics, oppression and violence. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be seen visiting sacred Hindu temples, the most sacred caves of Himalayas and doing meditation (see picture below).

Indian Prime minister meditating in Himalayan caves

All this holy persona is a facade to cover his crimes against humanity. Modi is a mass murderer, a tyrant, a Pathocratic politician who has organized communal massacres and pogroms throughout his political career. Similar to Modi are other Hindutva politicians and his political party who are his partners in crime. Now you may get the impression that these devious politicians are hijacking the noble religion for their political purposes. But the malignancy is much deeper. The seers - referred as Sadhus in India), the holy men, the temple priests etc - are also fully complicit partners in crime. These religious elements have created various militant organizations that participate in mass violence & pogroms across India. So you have the worst Pathocratic leaders at the top who are assisted and legitimized by seers and priests. Indian political ceremonies are actually performed by these Holy Hindu seers, for example inauguration of India’s New Parliament (see picture below). (This is similar to merger of Church’s Patriarchy and Kremlin in Russia.)

Holy ceremony in Indian Parliament - A mass murderer Prime minister receiving blessings of spiritual seers.

Politicians and top seers are complicit in crimes against society but what about religious places and spiritual temples which attracts millions of people? These places & temples are a den of corruption and malignancy run by Godmen (also known as Babas). On surface, these places appear as humanistic artful centers where people come to suppress their inadequacies and hopelessness. Beneath the surface, these places serve multiple objectives; legitimizing Hindutva political doctrine; nurturing youth militant wings to serve in private militais of politicians; providing a front for money laundering & other illicit activities. And many of these places are also personal harems of these Godmen where they abuse their disciples. Some of the greatest spiritual leaders have been found to be sexual deviants (like Jeffrey Epstein). (This is similar to child sexual abuse which has deep roots in organization of Catholic Church).

Babas (spiritual Gurus) are notorious for crime syndicates in India - they preach Oneness and spirituality during the day and commit heinous crimes in the night (clockwise from top right - Ram Rahim, Aasaram, Rampal and Chandraswamy)

Coming to a broader point. Dr Bandy Lee regards religion as fountain of peace & harmony but this is her personal idealistic reading rather than objective reality of our world. The really existing religion has been anti-enlightenment, anti-progress and a force of reaction in general. I discussed the malignancy of Hindu culture, now let’s look at religion more broadly. Catholic Church in 19th and early 20th century was against modernity and enlightenment - resisting the emancipation (of women & oppressed social classes), social revolutions, democracy, separation of church and the State. Recall that Catholic Church did not mobilize against Fascism & Hitler - the darkest hour of mankind - when humanity was at its brink. Vatican’s relationship with Hitler was accommodating one rather than of contempt and outright rejection. The Catholic Church also stayed silent while Genocide of Jews and Slavs happened.

Hitler with Reich Bishop

Catholic Church’s reactionary tendencies can still be noticed today. 2024 elections in America were a crucial moment where Church should’ve taken an unambiguous stance against Trump. But Church took a both-sideism approach in condemnation of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump even when the difference between both candidates was day and light. (because Church resists the progressive stance on abortion). Church itself has been long marred by scandals of child abuse since more than a century and unable to shake its ill image.

Similarly Islam is also a force of reaction and oppression and it is clearly visible in middle east where Islamic regimes are some of the most backward sociopolitical forces; there’s no democracy in middle east, there are no meaningful civil rights, the social status and oppression of women is horrific, the corruption of political dynasties is appalling. This is really existing Islam though you can always find proponents of Islam who believe that Islam is a force of progress & harmony.

Summary

Poor backward nations could not modernize even long after enlightenment age and industrial revolution. Denied of intellectual awakening, material wellness and all the fruits of modernity, these backward societies compensated for their inadequacies by consuming opium of religion like Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma). Hinduism is a duality - an opium of masses and a Brahmin theology which is sociopolitical doctrine for exercising control of society. Some westerners are fooled by rituals, vicarious leisure and literature of Hindu culture. These westerners have little historical insight of oppression in Hindu culture.

Western world - America in particular - had been in a long secular decline in terms of politics, culture and social values since 1970s. The decline accelerated after great recession and especially since 2016 with arrival of Donald Trump into politics. American intellectual class was repulsed by Trumpian politics. At the same time, the opinion and voice of intellectuals found little value in influencing political discourse. Grass appears greener on the other side. That’s why some intellectuals turn towards spirituality and religion as if these things offer some kind of wisdom.

The crisis of hyper-individualistic dog eat dog Capitalism ripped open the social and moral fabric of Western society, especially America. Take note, this crisis of western society is not due to modernity but due to its substitution by malignant sociopolitical discourse & doctrines - Neoliberalism, Post-modernism, Parliamentary cretinism, legal positivism etc - which eroded the structural foundation of western society. But ironically even in these bleak times, the liberal class of poor backward nation - although a small fraction of society - didn’t turn towards their own traditional roots of religion & spirituality. Rather, they turned towards or at least wished for western style modernity for advancement of their societies.

If religion and spirituality actually provided peace, harmony and prosperity to a society, wouldn’t India be a shining example of such State as it has such dense sociopolitical and cultural roots in Hinduism & spirituality? But India is a violent society - overt and structural - a hobbesian jungle with thorough failure in every aspect.

To the western observers who seek intellectual wisdom and spiritual answers in Hindu culture - stop wasting your efforts. The wisdom lies in modernity, class struggle and correcting power relations in your political & economic systems that broke down with arrival of Neoliberal era of 1970s. The answers to current crisis of western society lies in collectivizing wisdom of philosophers like Keynes, Lincoln, FDR, Galbraith, Joan Robinson, Einstein, DeGaulle etc.

Suggested books and documentaries

The Age of Extremes by Eric Hobsbawm

Riddles in Hinduism by BR Ambedkar

The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen

In the name of God (Ram ke Naam) - a documentary on rise of Hindutva & political violence

Final Solution (2004) - a documentary on Gujarat religious massacres in India