THE IDEA OF UNIVERSAL RELIGION IN MODERN INDIAN THOUGHT (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SWAMIVIVEKANANDA AND MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD) THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Boctor of $})tlos(opf)p IN PHILOSOPHY BY SABAIQBAL UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. 3ALALUL HAQ DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2009 2 9 OCT 20H T8709 My (Belbve(C<Parents (Mrs. Atiya Iqbal and Mr. Mohammad Iqbal) who gave their today for my better tomorrow ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . ^irst of aCf, I wouCd Ci^ to tfian{^ my supervisor, <Prof. JafafuC 3{aq, (Department of (pfiifosopfiy, JlfigarH Musfim Vniversity, JARgarh, for His guidance, encouragement and generous fietp through the entire period of my research study. I than^Mr. MohammadMuqeem, Chairman, (Department of (PhiCosophy, JL.M.V. Jlfigarh, for his encouragement and ^nd hefp. I would Ci^ to than^the teachers of my (Department for their support dwing my research worh^ They aff encouraged and hefped me in various ways throughout the present study. I wou[d Rlie to thanH^aCf the non-teaching staff of my depaitment for their hefp and cooperation, particu[ar[y JAapa Mrs. Muf^tar ^atima (Seminar LiSrarian) and(Dr JinwarSaieem (Section officer). I thank^'Kafeef (Bhai andJAarif (Bhaifor Seing hefpfuCto me in different hjnds ofworh^ I aCso wish to thanl{^ concerned officers of 10^1% Lihraty ((Butkr (Paface, Luc^now), Maufana J^zadLiSrary (^MV, JLRgarh), <SfiSindranath Tagore Library (Luc^ow), Zakir 7{ussain LiSrary, Jamia MiCfia Isfamia (!Kew (DeChi), Indian Councif of CufturaC (Research (JLzad (Bhawan, !J\few (Delhi) and other institutions and [iSraries for providing me materials for my research wor^ 5Vb words of gratitude can 6e eyyressed for the constant support, encouragement and words of wisdom which I received from my teachers, Mr. MasoodJ{usain and Mr JA^itarJdusain. I would fi^ to than^ my grandparents, Mr IqSaC Ahmad %fi.an and (Ruqaiyya %hatoon and uncles ShaBSir JL- %fian, Mr. Zameer JLhmad T(fian, Mr. (D.% Shrivastava, Mr Ziauddin %han, who deserve a speciaC word of than^ for their ^en interest, co-operation and unflinching support during my research wor^ / woulxf [ike to acknowkcfge tfie suppoit of my sister Sana IqSd, Srotfiers Jisif IqSaC, (Pervez Jl^itar, SfiamsdacfjiCam, (S^fian jifimad, j4.nees and (Dr. 9iaseer for their support. JLlhngtvitfi tfiis, I wouCd fi^ to ac^owkdge my deepest sense of gratitude and fondness for my ioving Jimmi and<Papa, who always IJovingCy supported me, emotionaffy andpsycho[ogica[[y, aCf through my fife, and even in this research study. I reaCCy cannot than^them enough ever. !Xot [east ofa[[, I wou[d[ih^ to thank^my friends 'Tahassum Sayeed, Tazyeen Tatima, Tahassum SaSir, Shama JAfroz, <RaSia, SheeSa (perveen, Shayaqa Jama[and Sidoo for their support and encouragement at every stage for mating my dreams come true. Ji[so, in the end, I wouhf [i^ to e:^ress my than^ to my typist 9dr. 9{.% Sharma who has Seen instmmenta[ in the production of this manuscript. (SABA IQBAL) SPECIAL THANKS TO ICPR, NEW DELHI It is my moral duty to admit and express my most sincere thanks to Indian Council of Philosophical Research for awarding JRF for the academic years 2004-2006. Without this valuable assistance, I would not have been able to complete the present thesis with any peace of mind. It solved my critical financial problems and thereby sustained me in the work. Chairman ICPR, Prof Ramakrishna Rao has been a great source of inspiration for me and for all of us. Prof G. Mishra, Member Secretary, ICPR also deserves my heartfelt gratitude. I am also no less thankful to Dr. Mercy Helen, Director (P&R), Dr. Arun Mishra Director (Academic) and all other staff of ICPR, New Delhi and Lucknow. (SABA IQBAL) CONTENTS Page Nos. Acknowledgement i-ii Introduction 1-40 1. Defining 'Universal Religion' 2. The Present Project, its Thesis and Themes 3. Ramananda, Kabir and Dara Shukoh 4. Ramakrishnana Paramhansa 5. Sir Syed and Iqbal 6. Swami Vivekananda and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Chapter I 'Universal Religion' in Medieval Indian Thought 41 - 52 1. Ramananda and Kabir: Early Syncretism 2. Dara Shukoh: Synthesis of Islam and Hinduism 3. Ramakrishna Paramhansa: Hinduism and Universalism Chapter II 'Universal Religion' in Modern Indian Thought 53-87 1. Tagore as a Monotheist and Humanist 2. Gandhi's Views on Religious Tolerance 3. Radhakrishnan's Emphasis on Hinduism as an All-inclusive and All-embracing Tradition 4. Sir Syed's Views on Religious Tolerance 5. Iqbal on Islam as a Universal Religion Chapter III Vivekananda's Concept of 'Universal Religion' 88-151 1. Nature of Universal Religion 2. Vedanta as the Basis of Religious Universalism 3. 'God' as the Common Basis for the Unity 4. Views on Hinduism 5. Practical Vedanta 6. Views on Visisthadvaita and Dvaita 7. Views on Buddhism and Jainism 8. Views on Christianity and Islam Chapter IV Azad's Theory of Religious Universalism 152-202 1. Religion and Islam 2. Monotheism and Universalism 3. Deviation, Distortion and Return 4. Unity and Plurality of Religions 5. Concept of God in Different Religions 6. Concept of Jihad Chapter V Conclusion 203-232 References 233-248 Bibliography 249-256 INTRODUCTION Defining 'Universal Religion' Religion is the faith by which man hves. It reflects his inward vision of the Ught that can descend upon him. Universal religion is constructing one's faith and vision upon man's true identity as man or to present a true human identity regardless of colour, caste, nationality, creeds etc. It is apart from political barriers and cuts across the racial, national, geographical boundaries. It is based upon such higher values as truth, beauty, justice, love, peace, progress etc. It gives attention to the basic spiritual identity of man. It provides common platform to all religious faiths. Different religions get together with the spirit of co-operation. In his celebrated work The Essential Unity of All Religions, Bhagvan Das has defined Universal Religion as that religion "in which there may be Universal Agreement".' But the question is how can we find the element of agreement when there is so much difference among religions? The answer to this question is that in religion we must make the effort to determine what is the most certain and good and what may be most approved and agreed in any circumstance by all humanity. Religion should promote good will, sympathy and brotherhood among all human beings. This is the only vv'ay to repress conflict, prejudice, misconception, disagreement and narrow minded zeal. According to Bhagvan Das, the new declaration of Universal Religion must be based on the principle of majority rule. This means there should be first of all an agreement between the great religions that all of them teach the same truth. "Those truths and practices which receive not only the greatest number of, but unanimous, votes from the living religions, those beHefs and observances on which all are agreed should obviously be regarded as constituting Universal Religion".^ This kind of religious universalism is not a new idea but is already present in many ancient texts. The Upanishads, for example, say : "Cows are of many different colours, but The milk of all is of one colour, white; So the proclaimers who proclaim the Truth Use many varying forms to put it in, But yet the Truth enclosed in all is One".'^ This sentiment is echoed in Rumi in the following verse : "Jesus put many cloths of many hues Into one jar, and out of it they came With all their hues washed off, all clean and white. As seven-coloured rays merge in white light".'* Krishna, too, says in Gita and not once but twice : "To but One Goal are marching everywhere, All human beings, though they may seem to walk On paths divergent; and that Goal is I, The Universal Self, Self-Consciousness".^ Krishna says that the teaching he is giving to Arjuna was given by Vivasvan to Manu, by Manu to Ikshvaku, and then by many Rshis, age after age. All is always present in the Memoiy of God, the Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Universal Self, the One principle of all Life and Consciousness. Similarly, in Islam Muhammad (the Paigham-bar, the Rasul, i.e., the 'message-bearer', sent by the Spirit) says : "This that I am now uttering unto you, The Holy Qur'an - it is to be found Within the ancient Seers' writings too; For Teachers have been sent to every race. Of human beings no community Is left without a wamer and a guide. And aught of difference we do not make - For disagreement there is none 'twixt them - Between these Prophets. All that have been sent, Have been so sent but One Truth to proclaim - I, verify the I Al(l) One, am God, There is no other God than, I [the Self, The Universal all-pervading Self], And I alone should be adored by all". The Qur'an makes this further clear in the following verse : "Teachers are sent to each race that they may Teach it in its own tongue, so there may be No doubt as to meaning in its mind. An Arabic Qur'an is thus revealed. That Mecca and the cities round may learn With ease the Truth put in the words they know. For had we made them in a foreign tongue They surely would have made objection thus - "Why have not these revealings been made clear?" The obvious significance of these remarkable texts is that the essentials are common to all religions: that Truth is universal and not the monopoly of any race or teacher; that non-essentials vary with time, place, and circumstance; that the same fundamental truths have been revealed by God in different scriptures, in different languages, through different persons born in different nations.