MARXISM & RELIGION
By Late Mrs. Suroma (Bela) Mukerji M.A.
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(Continued from last issue)
This is what has been emphasised by our ancient philosophers. They were not blind to the internal conflict of concept but they unlike Marx had studied it in the back ground of life. They also found a movement in emergence development and decay from animal to human and from human to spiritual life but to them like Marx this world was not the be-all and end-all of life. They found a spirit world existing above it. Deliberate omission of it by Marx from his theory is the cause of most of the ills that plague the world to-day.
Revenge
Life's greatest ally is religion and what greater betrayal of life could there be than the denial of it? Life without religion is death. The question then crops up why life gave such a lift to communism to cross all frontiers and make its currency Universal? The answer is very simple. It has denied religion in theory but has practiced it the most. As Mao Tse Tung says- “Communism is not a religion but a science." But if you want to call it a religion then "communism is a religion which has for its object the service of mankind." Has it not laid bare the soul of the Tsarist monarchy eating the vitals of life? Has it not explained the true position of the proletariat in Industrial Revolution? Is it not observing "Forget not that the lower classes the sweeper the ignorant the poor the illiterate the cobbler are thy flesh and blood and thy brothers?" Does it not say that rich has no right to build a house unless he builds one for the poor also? Life is always just and it is for this service gave it a universal recognition. But as is with every idea corrupted by power and absolutely by absolute power. Communism under Stalin got adulterated and wanted to be the master of life.
Mistake of Marx This revolt of communism under Stalin was not his fault nor is the arrogance of Mao-Tse-Tung to be attributed to him. They are the faults of communism itself. In the name of pseudo-religion. Marx committed the greatest blunder of condemning the whole one He did not comprehend or did not like to do it that religion is the voice of God and will never die like feudalism or capitalism. This notice of blatant fact about it could have saved him from his wholesale condemnation of it. But as fate would have it with every concept made by man to distinguish its fleeting career from the eternal one made by God Marx committed a fatal mistake and the error is paying a heavy dividend and if this sort of payment goes on communism will be bankrupt in no time. It may be true that when it started its career criticism of religion was necessary in keeping with the caution that a 'young plant should be hedged and taken care of.' But this does not mean that this archaism will go on forever.
Error
But the error is too deep rooted in communism. It has enslaved emotion to reason disregarding the balance of life. The result is a communist has become a stodgy arid and petrified. Whatever humanising influence Khrushchev may try to imbue it with his denunciation of Stalin weakening the power of the secret police, release of millions of prisoners, introduction of collective leadership against the personality cult of individual all will be superficial unless emotion finds its proper place in Marxism.
The moment it finds its place it will reveal through love new horizon of spirit as the final product and will assert that evolution must support the predominance of spiritual right over material might. Emotion though has not found a proper place yet has stealthily crept in the new force of co-existence.
Co-existence
Though it is a deviation from Marx theory of armed conflict of capitalism and communism is certainly closely related to another side of Marxism—the theory of Relativity. In view of the thermo nuclear weapons threatening the destruction of the whole of humanity co-existence is the only remedy of no-existence. Life has given a chance to communism in co-existence to survive and it is nothing but humanism in disguise the capital pillar and pivot of religion. It is not all competitive one of propaganda diplomacy, economic penetration rather than direct military assault. It is certainly a little change of heart under Khrushchev. But it is too meagre, an emotion against heavy odds of reason in Marxism, It requires herculean force to make the communist understand this challenge of humanism to live and let live. It requires him to inhale a little the incense of religion and there is no harm in it. He has tried his level best to eliminate it but with what result? He could thin it a little but now it has come with greater force. People's surrep-tiotiusly baptising have now come in the open for baptism marriage and burial. Once again it has been proved- "Life is short volga is long but man's need for religion is eternal.”
This is what has been emphasised by our ancient philosophers. They were not blind to the internal conflict of concept but they unlike Marx had studied it in the back ground of life. They also found a movement in emergence development and decay from animal to human and from human to spiritual life but to them like Marx this world was not the be-all and end-all of life. They found a spirit world existing above it. Deliberate omission of it by Marx from his theory is the cause of most of the ills that plague the world to-day.
Revenge
Life's greatest ally is religion and what greater betrayal of life could there be than the denial of it? Life without religion is death. The question then crops up why life gave such a lift to communism to cross all frontiers and make its currency Universal? The answer is very simple. It has denied religion in theory but has practiced it the most. As Mao Tse Tung says- “Communism is not a religion but a science." But if you want to call it a religion then "communism is a religion which has for its object the service of mankind." Has it not laid bare the soul of the Tsarist monarchy eating the vitals of life? Has it not explained the true position of the proletariat in Industrial Revolution? Is it not observing "Forget not that the lower classes the sweeper the ignorant the poor the illiterate the cobbler are thy flesh and blood and thy brothers?" Does it not say that rich has no right to build a house unless he builds one for the poor also? Life is always just and it is for this service gave it a universal recognition. But as is with every idea corrupted by power and absolutely by absolute power. Communism under Stalin got adulterated and wanted to be the master of life.
Mistake of Marx This revolt of communism under Stalin was not his fault nor is the arrogance of Mao-Tse-Tung to be attributed to him. They are the faults of communism itself. In the name of pseudo-religion. Marx committed the greatest blunder of condemning the whole one He did not comprehend or did not like to do it that religion is the voice of God and will never die like feudalism or capitalism. This notice of blatant fact about it could have saved him from his wholesale condemnation of it. But as fate would have it with every concept made by man to distinguish its fleeting career from the eternal one made by God Marx committed a fatal mistake and the error is paying a heavy dividend and if this sort of payment goes on communism will be bankrupt in no time. It may be true that when it started its career criticism of religion was necessary in keeping with the caution that a 'young plant should be hedged and taken care of.' But this does not mean that this archaism will go on forever.
Error
But the error is too deep rooted in communism. It has enslaved emotion to reason disregarding the balance of life. The result is a communist has become a stodgy arid and petrified. Whatever humanising influence Khrushchev may try to imbue it with his denunciation of Stalin weakening the power of the secret police, release of millions of prisoners, introduction of collective leadership against the personality cult of individual all will be superficial unless emotion finds its proper place in Marxism.
The moment it finds its place it will reveal through love new horizon of spirit as the final product and will assert that evolution must support the predominance of spiritual right over material might. Emotion though has not found a proper place yet has stealthily crept in the new force of co-existence.
Though it is a deviation from Marx theory of armed conflict of capitalism and communism is certainly closely related to another side of Marxism—the theory of Relativity. In view of the thermo nuclear weapons threatening the destruction of the whole of humanity co-existence is the only remedy of no-existence. Life has given a chance to communism in co-existence to survive and it is nothing but humanism in disguise the capital pillar and pivot of religion. It is not all competitive one of propaganda diplomacy, economic penetration rather than direct military assault. It is certainly a little change of heart under Khrushchev. But it is too meagre, an emotion against heavy odds of reason in Marxism, It requires herculean force to make the communist understand this challenge of humanism to live and let live. It requires him to inhale a little the incense of religion and there is no harm in it. He has tried his level best to eliminate it but with what result? He could thin it a little but now it has come with greater force. People's surrep-tiotiusly baptising have now come in the open for baptism marriage and burial. Once again it has been proved- "Life is short volga is long but man's need for religion is eternal.”
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