"When Will You Be A Human On Your Own? "
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
14 December
2023
"A man can only remain on the correct path
in this life if he has faith and believes in the Hereafter. Without being held
accountable, he wouldn't be concerned about changing his behaviour. When the faith in the Hereafter is absent, he
adopts a similar reckless attitude brought on by both doubt and denial, and
this is the true reason why man is bound to perish in the afterlife."
While I
appreciate Mr
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi's temperate tone and language in his comment (which
must be lauded and emulated by all readers), I simply cannot buy his statement
that, 'A man can only remain on the correct path in this life if he has faith
and belief in the Hereafter'.
Since the
learned writer has studied Semitic religions, he should be aware that the
Talmud tells us that we should not serve
“the King” (God) in expectation of a reward.
Please read
Benedict Spinoza's 'The Road to Inner Freedom: The Ethics' (originally
in Dutch). Spinoza did believe in a god. He was certainly not an atheist. But
he didn't believe in a god defined and envisaged by all religions and
scriptures. Spinoza believed that the evolution of ethics didn't depend upon
eschatological beliefs like Hell, Heaven, Hereafter, Afterlife and even god.
One can
remain on the right path till the end without ever going astray if one combines
Three Cs: Conscience, Consciousness and Compassion. To be on the right path
because of some reward or punishment is not a manifestation of an enlightened
behaviour. That's thralldom.
Have you
observed Japanese? They're least bothered about god and god-generated
artificial morality (GGAM) just like Artificial Intelligence. Japanese, in
general, are ethical and good people who won't short-change you as frequently
and rampantly as the followers of all religions will do.
An individual's
goodness is his/her intrinsic behaviour. When you behave well in anticipation
of getting some rewards, your goodness gets tinged and tainted. This is toxic
goodness that brings you down to the level of your pets and toddlers with very
limited intelligence. Hit your dog with a stick and it'll behave well.
Likewise, if you show a candy to a crying child, the baby will stop crying. All
these (desirable) behaviours are controlled and regulated by external agencies,
temptations, rewards and punishments.
"When
will you be a human on your own?" French existentialist and Sartre's muse
Simone de Beauvoir's most piercing question is still relevant and shall remain
forever relevant. She had no faith in any damn god or Hereafter, but she was
one of the most conscientious individuals the world has seen. Because, she was
an exalted human on her own and didn't need any esoteric belief or agency to be
morally upright and conscientiously alive. One can be a humane human, unaided
and unaccompanied by greed and fear, generated by all religions.
Read Taoism
and Confucianism. Both believe that worldly goodness is the alpha and omega;
be-all and end-all. It's the sole objective of your existence. Nothing beyond
that should matter to you.
When will
religious people, esp. Muslims and Christians blinded by their Books,
understand that to be an eternally good human, one doesn't have to be fearful
of god, Hereafter, Thereafter, Afterlife and all that rank nonsense and utter
garbage.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/human-faith-muslims-christians/d/131309
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