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The Indian Marxists
were mostly influenced by Western liberalism and pseudo-secularism.
I am using the word “pseudo-secularism” to clearly define the
western concept of secularism which in theory is based on the
separation of the church and the state. But in practice, it meant
completely negating the spiritual aspect of life because it did not
differentiate between religion and spirituality. Therefore, it tried
to suppress both. But religion and spirituality are two separate
entities. The goal of spirituality is self-enlightenment.
Self-realization can be called realization of God. Even if some do
not want to use the words “spirituality” or “God,”
self-enlightenment, self-realization, and becoming a better person
are universally acceptable goals. Religion, on the other hand, is a
path to achieve this goal, it is the means and not the end. The
problem that arises with religions is that they lose the sight
between the path and the goal and between the means and the end.
They become so focused on the path that they start seeing that as
the only path and people who are not following that particular path
are perceived as misled, unbelievers, and heathens.
The Indian Marxists
were so much influenced by western liberalism and pseudo-secularism
that they failed to understand the basic differences between the
eastern and western concepts of spirituality. As opposed to the
western Judeo-Semitic concepts of spirituality, the eastern concept
of spirituality accepts the principles of pluralism and diversity.
Sikhism, chronologically the last major eastern religion, is a
strong advocate of those principles. Guru Nanak did not negate other
religions. His emphasis was mostly on the spiritual aspect of the
individual, in other words, making a person a better human being.
The Indian Marxists
never took a completely objective approach towards the history of
evolution of Indian thought. They have mostly adopted a euro-centric
approach to analyze this evolution just as Nehru discovered India
through a western outlook. They have not accepted that the Vedic
thought is the foundation of the Indian thought. They have tried to
portray this evolution as a result of the struggle between the
idealist Vedic thought and the materialistic thoughts such as
Charwak and Lokyat. While this is true that Charwak and Lokyat were
different schools which existed but it is not true that they were at
anytime the dominant thoughts or posed a serious challenge to the
dominant thought by emerging as a counter or alternative philosophy.
At the most, they can be considered as evidence of a pluralistic and
diverse society.
This euro-centric
attitude of many Marxists has led to an attitude of belittling the
contribution of the Indian subcontinent in the field of
spirituality. Just as many Indians in their slavish mentality looked
down on the indigenous products as “Desi,” many Marxists looked
down on the Indian thought. If anyone starts talking about the
contributions of the Indian thought, eastern spirituality, national
cultures, or Indian civilization, then he runs the risk of his
Marxist and progressive credentials being questioned.
The Indian Marxists
have not approached the national and caste questions correctly
because again they have mostly adopted a western attitude towards
these issues. The evolution of Indian nations is historically
different than the European nations. The European nations evolved
after the development of capitalism. The Indian nations, on the
other hand, existed as cultural entities before the Industrial
Revolution in Europe .The caste system arose as an efficient
division of labor but later on degenerated into an oppressive and
exploitative system because of selfishness and monopoly of some
elements.
I recently attended
a lecture on spirituality given by a woman who is originally from
Russia. She has spent a lot of time in India and China learning
techniques of Yoga and Chigong. After the lecture, I held a dialogue
with her. I was surprised by some of her statements. She said that
she found people in Communist countries (Russia and China) more
spiritual than in the United States. She said in America most of the
people like three things, “Bigger, better, and more.” While in a
strange way, the communists, by suppressing religions, have made
people more spiritual. She said that in Russia, in the seventies
already there was a strong wave of spiritual revival. There were so
many spiritual awareness groups in Moscow at that time. She was
recently in China and she was amazed to see so many people
practicing Chigong and Taichi in the parks. In one park, she saw
over thirty-thousand people of all ages practicing there. She said
that she was overwhelmed by this sight.
Contrary
to what many people feel, the traditional capitalism is in its last
stage. Even though Marxism collapsed in the Soviet Union and eastern
Europe, yet with the failure of globalization, the highest evolved
form of the traditional capitalism, Marxism is on the verge of
resurgence. The Indian Marxists should enrich Marxism with the rich
Indian spiritual heritage and overall experience in human
development just as the Chinese communists have helped to easternize
the euro-centric Marxist philosophy. The Indian Marxists should not
discard the rich and most valuable experience of the people of the
Indian subcontinent. They should adopt and apply Marxism to the
concrete Indian conditions. Otherwise, they run the risk of becoming
apologists for globalization, a synonym for western imperialism.
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