Five Factors That Can Help Any Society In Attaining Peace And Prosperity

By Dr Maqsood Jafri

Life has various and varied factors, aspects, dimensions and areas of enquiry and involvement. I have chosen only five factors or areas which are quite important and need a bit elaboration. As these factors influence human life, hence their proper comprehension and implementation is imperative. In turn, I would briefly comment on them.

First: Religion

It has pervasive powers and engrosses one’s mind and heart. Religion is an integral part of humans. It is a blessing if practiced positively and it is a great menace to humanity when practiced negatively. It is a very sensitive subject. In religion, Divinity surpasses and encompasses intellectuality as a subservient factor. Most of the people blindly follow their religion. They have no reason for their beliefs. It is called Blind Faith. Most of the clerics/ clergymen have no argument for their faith. They say that reason and faith are two different subjects.

Aldous Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. He introduced a term “Intellectual Faith”. By it, he meant that people must have solid reasons for their religious beliefs. Great British philosopher Bertrand Russell in his book titled “Why I am not a Christian” rejects Christianity on the plea that religion is based on obscurantism and irrational dogmas. If you ask any Hindu about the drinking of urine of cow, he will simply say as cow is sacred in his faith, so he considers cow urine sacred as well. Is it an argument that can be accepted by enlightened and educated people?

Every religion, except Islam, rejects the involvement of reason in faith. Islam stresses much on reason in faith. The Holy Quran time and again says: “Our verses are for wise people who cogitate.” “Why you do not think”, is another verse of the Holy Quran. But, the tragedy with Muslims is that most of them have adopted mythological, whimsical, sufistic, ritualistic and irrational rites and customs as the tenets of their faith. Like other religions, Islam has also fallen a prey to sectarian and retrogressive beliefs. Majority of the Mullahs/clerics are against searching reasons in beliefs.

In Muslim history Mutazilites supported reason in religious tenets, while the Asharites opposed any movement of reason in religion. The Muslims, who justify reason in religion are known as “ Mutkalmeen”.  Ilm-e-Kalam is a special subject in Muslim philosophy. Theses thinkers give rational arguments for Islamic tenets and articles of faith. But they are not appreciated by traditional, shortsighted and retrogressive Mullahs.

The other sensitive point about religion is that it is a very lethal dagger that can cut the throat of any person who does not agree with these Mullahs. When Karl Marx says that religion is opium, vicariously, he meant that religion without rationality and humanity is very destructive force. It is a bitter reality that human history is replete in the blood of humans in the name of religion. Every religion is divided and sub divided into sects. The differences in the interpretations of religious beliefs have created immense havoc, confusion and conflict. The enlightened people are fed up of all religions. Every priest claims to be the custodian of heaven and sells the tickets of heaven.

Recently, some fanatics have burned a copy of the Holy Quran in Denmark, which has hurt the feelings of the Muslims in the whole world. Such heinous acts show intense religious prejudices and low mindedness. Everyone must respect the religious feelings and religions of others. To desecrate and denounce the religions of others must be prohibited by all governments and by UN. “Live and let live” must be our motto.

It is my considered opinion that religious extremism and racial discrimination are the greatest dangers for peace of the world. Keeping aside, religions, we must acknowledge, adopt, practice and accept the basic message of all religions and that is belief in divinity and humanity. All other debates and discussions on religions are absolutely futile. The pirit of religions is the restoration and establishment of human rights. If we fail in establishing human rights, it means we have failed in implementing the Real Mission of religion.

Sufism/ Mysticism is a part of religion. The earlier Sufis believed in the spiritual, moderate, fraternal, universal and humanistic aspect of religion. In all religions, we find saints. Their impact on different societies cannot be ignored. The purpose of sainthood was the negation of extremism of the clergymen and introduction of religion on spiritual and humane level and spread love and peace in their followers. It was a good move in ancient times, when there was no concept of human rights and scientific mind-set. Now, we need to spread social justice and spirituality which is the real face of virtuosity and humanity. We do not need traditional Sufism. Traditional Sufism has become a profession and is hereditary. It is the branch of asceticism and hermitage like the sainthood of Hindus, Christians and Buddhists.

Islam is a practical religion. It is poles apart from Sufism that promotes and promulgates passive style of life. Sufis claim to be the so-called representatives of God. Most of them are spiritual swindlers. The educated people must remain away from them and avoid their spiritual giggling, gimmickry and jugglery. Contrary to Sufism, now the “Salafi” movement of Wahhabism, sponsored by some Arab states is gaining influence amongst Muslims. Both cults, Sufism and Salafism are extreme ideologies, as the former makes the followers passive, inert, inactive and the believers of fate and determinism in the name of spirituality, while the latter makes the Muslims rejecters of spirituality and miraculous powers of Real Spiritualists as well. Islamic spirituality is neither traditional Sufism, nor existent Salafism. Islamic Spiritualism means dedication to divinity, practicing virtuosity and servicing humanity. There is no hereditary in Islamic Spiritualism.

Second: Science

The nations without scientific mind-set are doomed to destruction and depravity. Scientific mind-set means rational approach to life problems. Any country having more population and fewer resources needs population control through family planning. In most of the Asian and African countries, people are illiterate and poor and have neither sense nor education about family planning. It is the paramount duty of the governments to take this issue seriously and control population explosion.

Great British economist Thomas Malthus had opined that if population explosion is not controlled, then in future, people will seriously face housing and food problems. It is exactly happening in the Third World. Pakistan is one of the countries which is badly facing population uncontrolled increase. This is the reason we are the victims of destitute destiny. We prostrate at the threshold of IMF like beggars. We have failed in utilizing our natural resources. All such issues arise because we do not have scientific mind-set. This is happening in our social, family, political and religious circles. We could not eliminate feudalism in seventy five years and are miserably suffering in this pernicious system. In all fields of life we are irrational and unscientific.

The other aspect is that we lag behind in science and technology. We are subdued by the Western technology and are also subservient to their research in the field of medicine and higher studies. It seems, as we owe nothing in the scientific field. If we have some scientists and medical specialists, they have studied in America and the West. Hence, we need both; scientific mind-set and advancement in Science and technology.

Third: Poetry

Poets are the harbingers of love, peace, justice, equality and humanity. Had there been no poets, the world would have been the herd of beasts. These were the revolutionary poets who challenged the dictatorship of the tyrants and monarchs and were persecuted and executed. The poets and the priest are at loggerheads. The priests spread hatred under the garb of religions and the poets spread love even at the altar. We have a long list of the poets who were imprisoned, harassed, tortured and hanged for their revolutionary ideas. Poetry is passion. Poetry is inspiration. Poetry is intuition. It is a spring of fresh water that satiates the thirst of grieved and bereaved humans. It is a catharsis. Poets love and are loved.

William Wordsworth had said: “Poet is hyper sensitive like a barometer.” In the Greek literary terminology, poet means the Seer. It means that the poet is a visionary. He is a futurist. He peeps into the opaque and dense darkness and sees the light of optimism. The Arabic word “Shaer” means the man of consciousness and wisdom. Whether, the poetry is romantic, moral, social, pastoral, historical, epical, ethical, political, religious or personal, it stimulates, incites, enhances and ignites human feelings, conscience and consciousness.

Poetry purifies, mollifies and softens the hearts. These are only the poets who laud and praise beauty, whether it is the beauty of woman or of nature. Women have been adored by poets. In the human history, when women were disgraced, dragged, condemned and cursed as the omens of demon and witches, the poets announced that women are lovely and worth adoration. They did not only glorify womenfolk, they stood for their dignity and rights as well. The people who have no interest and are not prone to poetic norms, are mostly stone hearted, cruel, callous, cunning, hardliners, extremists and fascists. They are deprived of finer feelings. I propose that every person must read and enjoy poetry to become a good and lovely man/woman.

Fourth: Philosophy

Philosophy means the love of wisdom. Philosophers are rare as wisdom is rare. Common sense is a pragmatic necessity in Humans but even common sense is not common. Illiterate people live like animals. We find great Philosophers in the early Greek period when great philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle had spread the precious pearls of wisdom whose sheen is even today glistening. We find some great French and British philosophers, such as John Locke, David Hume, Thomas Hobbes, J. S. Mills, Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Voltaire and Bertrand Russell. These Greek and Western Philosophers were secular and had no affinity or affiliation with any religion. They only promoted logic, wisdom and pure philosophy.

On the other hand, we find Muslim enlightened thinkers on two grids and grounds. We can name Averroes, Avicenna, Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi as social philosophers. Al-Ghazali, Ibn-e-Arabi, Fakhr-al-Deen al-Razi, Shah Wali Ullah Dehlavi, Dr Allama Iqbal, Moulana Moududi, Dr Ali Shariati, Ghulam Ahmed Perwez and Ustad Murtaza Mutahari are great exponents of Islamic ideology who can be regarded as Muslim enlightened and rational thinkers. In the strictest sense the Muslims have no philosopher as the followers of other religions lack this position. Theology and philosophy are absolutely two different subjects.

Pure Philosophers or enlightened thinkers are mostly not found in dogmatic and mythological faiths. In recent Hindu intellectual circles, we find two books written on Hinduism that try to justify Hindu dogmas and rituals on social and spiritual lines. “The Philosophy of Hinduism”, written by Dr. Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan and the book of Hindu thinker Dr B. R. Ambedkar titled “Philosophy of Hinduism”, explain the main tenets of Hinduism highlighting the philosophical, social and spiritual roots and tenets of Hinduism. Actually, the enlightened proponents of different religions have realized the dire need of rational interpretation of the tenets and articles of their religions to satisfy the educated and scientific minded youth.

Fifth: Politics

The fifth essential element of our age is politics. In monarchic and socialists states, popular and public politics is prohibited and it is tantamount to Forbidden Tree. In democratic states, politics is the part of their culture and society. Political freedom is guaranteed and granted to all nations in the UN Charter. All systems such as monarchy, oligarchy, plutocracy, aristocracy, mobocracy and the Socialist democracy have failed to provide freedom and social justice to their people. Democracy is also of different kinds. Feudal democracy and capitalist democracy have also failed as a system. In my opinion it is the only “Social Democracy” that is the best political system. Social Democracy means a political system of multi parties based on social justice, education, tolerance, freedom and harmony. The future of mankind lies in Social Democracy.

The above mentioned points are essential for the benefit of all humans and need to be protected and acted upon.

Categories: Ideology, Opinion

Tags: Peace, Poetry, Politics, Religion, Spirituality