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ATHEISM Questions and Answers - part 3 -

Q: Atheists do not pray. They do not observe feasts. fasts and ceremonies. They consider nothing either holy or unholy. Then where is discipline in their life? Where is scope for joy in the life of atheists?


A: Ages of religious faith habituated people to so much to its disciplines, joys and sorrows, that they do not see a way of life outside religious faith. Prayer and ritual have indeed developed certain disciplines and pleasures of life. But they gave scope for the growth of superstition and fanaticism too. Religious wars like Jehad and Crusades and strife and prejudice are evils that rise from religious faith. Atheism comes in to ward off those evils by developing disciplines based on a sense of reality and social obligation. Unlike divine commandments of religious faith, atheistic disciplines are deliberate adjustments to social association, keeping, in view needs of progress. The first principle of atheistic discipline is truthfulness. Consistency between word and deed is indispensable for common understanding in social relations. Therefore, truthfulness is a social necessity. When truthfulness is presented as a divine commandment, religious believers could transgress it by craving for divine mercy through prayer and fast. But when truthfulness is regarded a social necessity its transgressions are checked at once in social relations. From truthfulness follows the principle of equality of all humans. All humans should live equal because they belong to the same kind. But religious faith removes sanctions of human conduct outside human life to god's will or fate's decree. Consequently man is deprived of his freedom and honest believers allow themselves to be exploited and enslaved by cheats. Atheism dismisses sanctions outside human life. It restores the freedom of the individual and free individuals fight against inequalities. The basic disciplines of truthfulness and equality make atheists moral. They shun individual licenses and selfish pleasures. Austerity is a social necessity. But atheist austerity does not degrade itself into asceticism. It is open for pleasures to rise with social comforts. Atheists permit play of their imagination to project ideals and to develop fine arts. Instead of the imagination running riot into licentiousness and idle dreams, atheists temper imaginations with social obligations. Replacing ornamental flower gardens with edible plants and conduct of beef and pork functions are example of atheist disciplines and pleasures. Many more items can be formulated likewise keeping in view honesty of behaviour, social equality and progressive idealism.

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Q: You seem to be giving value to change externals. Change of outward conduct cannot be stable unless the outlook is changed. Therefore is it not more proper for the atheists to carry on educative propaganda to change the outlook than wasting time in such work as replacing flower plants with edibles or insisting upon pomplessness?

A: In human affairs out outlook is an important factor. The pattern of behaviour corresponds to the outlook of person. But the nature of outlook cannot be known unless it expresses itself externally in deeds. Therefore the importance of outward conduct cannot be belittled. In fact what one does is more important than his intentions. For instance, a principle of Hinduism professes equality not only among all people but among all living creatures. Hindus pride themselves on this outlook of universal love. But in practice Hindus are divided into castes and treat some fellow men untouchables. So shall we judge Hindus by the outlook of universal love or by the external conduct of the practise of untouchability? Therefore we cannot give credit to a person for the outlook he professes unless it is manifest in external conduct. The external conduct is the objective proof of the outlook. So if we lay emphasis upon external conduct, we can take it for granted that he has the corresponding outlook if a person has split mind, we shall not question the split, until it expresses itself in contradictory behaviour. Therefore it is safe, honourable and profitable to judge a man by his external conduct rather than question his motives. Then the pattern of behaviour becomes more important than claims of education. Education which is not expressed by visible conduct is sterile and materially in vain. The programmes of replacing ornamental flowers with edible crops and of insistence on pomplessness check the dishonesty of claims of concern for food scarcity and for the condition of poor. ....................................

Q: I have ambitions but I am unable to achieve them. My friends do not help me. I find deceit and selfishness rampant. The atmosphere is suffocating. Life looks dreary. Some times I feel like committing suicide. Why should I not? What is the atheist remedy? What is the purpose of life, if there is no other-world?


A: The mood of the questioner is common among several persons. An early purpose of life was to provide oneself with food and shelter, the indispensable needs of life. They are basic animal needs. But man has outgrown those needs. With superior skill and intelligence, he has provided himself with food and shelter in plenty through the processes of agriculture and technology He has now further ambitions of honour and power. It is here the real purpose of man's life begins and troubles start. Honour and power have social significance. A savage in wilderness can pick fruits, dig tubers or hunt animals and satisfy his hunger. Likewise a hermit in seclusion can grow some crops around his thatched abode and live. But millions of people are more ambitious than to live like savages or to retire into seclusion. Because they live in social relations, they have to develop sociability, with qualities like love, sympathy, honesty and neighbourliness. When the questioner complains of selfishness in others, he forgets that others may have a similar complaint against him. Complaint itself is a sign of non-sociability. It is non-sociability that has given rise to exploitation and enslavement leading to denial of food and shelter to the downtrodden. Exploitation is not between man and man alone. It extends in social association to relations between groups end groups, races and races, cultures and cultures, nations and nations. Sociability, at whatever level it may be, requires sacrifice of selfish comforts for sharing them with the less favoured brothers. When the individual lacks this amount of sacrifice, he finds friends unhelpful. Evidently, the questioner has not appreciated the need of sacrifice in social relations. He would far rather commit suicide than sacrifice and share his advantages with brothers. If he is prepared to give up his life, why not he give up his special privileges and live more sociably? This is the difficulty of the questioner. He does not see that a change of the systems of exploitation, caste and communal feelings and inequalities, is necessary in order to facilitate life free from deceit. So if he addresses himself to social change, he will find life enjoyable. He should give up complaint altogether and go about to change the system of inequalities into an order where all people live equally. It looks a big task. But when an individual starts to act, he gains sympathy besides resistance from vested interests. For one who is prepared for suicide, no trouble is great. He will find his efforts richly rewarded as he proceeds to act for social change. After all, society consists of individuals and individual action does count in social change. Because one does not see the importance of his or her role as an individual in social relations, he or she finds life gloomy and escapes into suicide or into the illusions of the other-world. Atheism reveals the reality. The purpose of life is to live with honour and respect in social relations without escaping. To this end one has to effect social changes, even at the human level, beyond the confines of country or caste or sect, with will and sacrifice. Thoughts of other-world and suicide are escapes. There is no reason to complain. There is ample scope to act and to achieve. Ambitious action and wide sociability is the purpose of life. Progress with the purpose conquers troubles. When technological skill and cooperative action enabled us to journey to the moon, the prospect is open for many more conquests.

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Q: When people are highly prejudiced against atheism, doesn't the label of atheism cut off your communication with people and shut you out from them? A different label should be more useful and desirable.

A: The prejudice against atheism is a fact. People are accustomed to consider atheism wicked. Bible and Quran rail at "unbelievers". "The American Atheist" recounts the disabilities imposed upon the atheists in U.S.A. It tells that "Atheists cannot adopt. Atheist cannot have blank dog tags in the army. Atheists cannot join the Masons Scouts or V.F.W. without first lying by taking an oath of belief in god. Atheists are now excluded from government employment, unless they lie. Atheists have difficulty with passports. Atheists cannot even purchase time on most T.V. and radio stations." Owing to the prejudice, there is difficulty in communication, as the questioner points out. Therefore, the method of reformed theism, instead open atheism, is also in vogue for wider communication with people. Mahatma Gandhi's ways were the latest illustrations in this regard. He taught rationalism and humanism in language of theism and led whole masses of people into new practices. Stage by stage he changed the concept of god till finally he shifted the emphasis from faith in god to the practice of truth. He told, "In fact it is more correct to say that Truth is God than to say that God is Truth.' Earlier, Jesus Christ also worked out a revolution in minds of people by the easy communication of theistic language. To the same end, rationalists and humanists today insist more upon the propaganda of objectives than parading the label of atheism. What are the results of those methods? Indeed, they commanded the facility of easy communication with the masses of people. But when Jesus took a firm stand on his objective of revolution, he was accused of "blasphemy", and was crucified; when Gandhi came out boldly with his humanist stand he was assassinated for irreligious stances. Rationalists and humanists enter into compromises that do not allow them to go far in the practice of laudable principles. Also reaction set into the ways of Jesus, Mohammad and Gandhi. Their followers are content to pay lip homage to their prophets. But in practice, they are as greedy and sectarian as any other. Therefore despite the advantages of communication, a label different from atheism does not achieve stable progress. Only open atheism is the clear method for the establishment of the human values of love, equality, realism and active achievement. All other labels compromise with the theistic stand which has opposite values. The spread of prejudice against atheism is deliberately and mischievously done by vested interests in capitalism, racism and imperialism. For those who desire permanent revolution, the label of atheism is indispensable. Thanks to the earlier martyrs who, with their blood and sweat, washed the mud that was slung at atheism. Due to their undaunted efforts they have brought the atheistic ideology very much to the forefront, though not wholly to the surface. It is now the work of those who are devoted to the actual realisation of rationalism and humanism, banishment of war, and establishment of social justice and economic equality, to champion the cause of open atheism. Adoption of atheism openly and boldly is the answer to the problems of the present times. Every generation of revolutionary idealists is emerging out of the prejudice against atheism and it is establishing wider communication with people. Instead of looking at the difficulties, we have to Proceed towards the cherished ideals.
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Q: Apart from the question whether God exists or not, don't you think that people will go immoral if they lose faith in God?

A: For a long time, faith in the existence of god has been the sanction for moral conduct. But the spread of war, hate, poverty and prejudice shows that the belief in god has not proved an effective sanction. The reason is clear. Faith in god has been the indirect method to ensure moral conduct. For religious belief tells that god blesses those that are moral and punishes the immoral. If a believer could obtain god's blessings by means other than morality, he could afford to ignore morality with impunity. Prayer, worship, ritual and sale of Indulgence are methods to gain god's favour without caring to be moral. They pray loud who fleece fellow-men. Further, the growth of rationality reveals beyond doubt that god is an illusion. Therefore, by and large, faith in god is neither useful nor possible to keep man moral Atheism takes a realistic appraisal of morality. Moral values, like truthfulness and compassion, are social imperatives. One should do what he says and say what he does in social relations. Otherwise common understanding is not possible. Hence morality is a social necessity and not a passport to heaven. As believers of god do not understand the social significance of morality, war and inequality have prevailed in theistic civilization, despite ages of belief in god. But atheism encourages the people to insist on truthfulness, because the untruthfulness of any disturbs the happiness of others in a social milieu. Thus social checks and counter-checks are real and affective to keep up morality. As long as a belief in god lingers in the society, man's mind is divided between obedience to god and obligations to fellowmen. When faith in god is wholly dismissed, social checks grow strong and the level of morality rises. ......................................................

Q: What happens to us after death?

A: Thought of death has been the greatest fright of human beings. So from early, times people imagined the existence of soul in the body which survived death. In order to find a place for the soul that left the body after death, heaven, hell, salvation or rebirth was also imagined. Belief in the existence of soul served to quiet the fear of death. But rational examination reveals the falseness of the belief. If life and consciousness were the characters of soul and death were caused by its escape from the body, then all living bodies, plants and animals, should have souls. Is there one soul or many souls in a body? For instance, several plants like rose, banana and grass and even animals like Hydra and corals propagate by budding and cuttings. Is the soul of their bodies cut or are there several souls in a body which also bud? It is possible, by medical science, to revive a body to life after it has been ordinarily declared dead due to drowning, suffocation or asphyxiation. Is the departed soul called back? In procreation, the sperm of the father and the egg of the mother combine to go to form the body of the offspring. Sperm and egg are living bodies. Have they souls different from the souls of the parents and how do the different souls of the sperm and egg unite in the body of the child? These and many relevant questions of common observation expose the myth of belief in the existence of the soul. Soul is as much a falsehood as god is. The stories connected with ghosts, spirit communication, salvation and life after death are fancies of the primitive mind which answered the question of death in a primitive way. Now we understand death as the failure of the mechanism of the body either due to wear and tear or to an accidental obstruction. Advances in medical science can repair the body and can, likely, protect it from death altogether. As it is, body becomes dust after death. Nothing survives death, except, figuratively speaking, memories of the good and bad of one's life continued in the progeny. Ancestral worship and the associate ritual is mere superstition.

ATHEISM Questions and Answers - part 2 -

Q: Spirituality is the basis of moral conduct. How is it then possible for anyone to be moral without belief in god, hell and heaven?

A: To evaluate whether spirituality is necessary for moral conduct, we should devise a test for morality. Non-killing is moral for a civilian but killing the enemy is the ethics of a soldier. Monogamy is a moral principle enjoyed by Christians, but Muslims resent interference with their right to be polygamous. Truthfulness is a commonly accepted axiom of morality, but governments administer the oath of secrecy on their officers. While moral values thus differ with custom and expediency, there should still be a standard for all humans. And that is the recognition of equality of all humans. Therefore, ethics of all religions and constitutions of governments proclaim equality as their pious objective. Judged by the test of equality, the workings of religious belief through long ages of past history and the professions of spirituality have but failed to achieve equality. On the contrary, religious belief has justified existence of inequality on the plea of divine pleasure. Hindu faith attributes inequalities to the deeds of past birth. While primitive people with simple thoughts lived equal, organised religious belief of 'civilized' life raised inequalities by suppressing free thought and free action and wickedly reconciled the faithful to their miserable lot by holding out the promise of heavenly bliss in after-life. So it is wrong to suppose that spirituality and belief in god would promote morality. Besides, attempts at raising moral standards were deemed irreligious, blasphemous, heretical or even atheistic by their contemporaries. Persecutions of prophets and their followers in every age are illustrations of the conservatism of religious belief. The reason for the failure of religious belief to sustain morality is obvious. Of course, the honest objective of religious faith is to make man moral through hope of heaven and fear of hell. But god, heaven, hell and rebirth, being falsehoods, could be easily exploited by the clever people while the meek laity lay downtrodden. The same is the defect of all spiritual values. Their intangibility is their weakness. They hold out big promise -- but prove false in fulfilment. How long can people live in the hope of heaven after life, while the present is miserable especially in comparison with pomp and comfort of dishonest fellows? The present is real. So honest believers also are tempted to go dishonest and to reap immediate gains. Thus, instead of promoting morality, religious faith encouraged dishonesty and inequality. Real morality is possible when the sanctions for morality are also tangible and real. Therefore, atheism shifts the basis of morality from faith in god to obligations of social living. Moral conduct is not a passport to heaven; it is social necessity. As we are all humans, belonging to the same species, we should live equal. Any attempt to transgress the obligation should be checked and punished here and now by fellow-humans. The immorality of one injures the happiness of others involved in a social association. Therefore the checks on immorality are also social needs. There is no postponement of the punishment to the imaginary fires of hell or to fanciful faith in divine retribution. Whether people can be so conscious of social obligations as to check immorality here and now, is a doubt that rises in the minds of people who are accustomed to religious faith. Because morality is a social necessity, the moment faith in god is banished, man's gaze turns from god to man and he becomes socially conscious. Religious belief prevented the growth of a sense of realism. But atheism at once makes man realistic and alive to the needs of morality. Atheism alone is the surest way to morality. Those who oppose atheism in any form betray their vested interests in inequality of some kind of other.

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Q: Newspapers report that a girl of 8 years recited verses from the sacred scriptures. Satya Sai baba is known to produce ashes and watches from empty hands. The Bible tells that Lord Christ walked on water. In the face of these miracles why do you disbelieve in god?

A: Enquiry and examination of the so-called miracles reveal that either the miracles did not happen or they were mere juggleries. Many rumours are spread by credulous persons and the agents of religious belief. Verification proves them false. Wherever they happen, closer examination exposes the trick that is played. Satya Sai baba has been challenged several times to submit his 'miracles' to scrutiny. He is escaping every time into she shelter of the hundreds of gullible devotees that surround him. Not only the Bible but many religious books and mythologies contain such stories as walking on water, lifting up a mountain or breaking the moon. They never happened. They are just myths ascribed to prophets to make them look great and extraordinary. This very attempt has distorted the picture of the prophets and separated them from the people. Christ did not require walking on water to prove his greatness. His Sermon on the Mount, service to the people and chastisement of anything in sincere were sufficient to make him respectable. On the other hand by ascribing miracles to great men, the usefulness of their lives was lost, since people worshipped them rather than adopting the way of life which they taught and showed by example. If 'miracles alone would make a man great, every juggler would be great. The belief in god has little to do with miracles. The faith is an expression of the slave mind of man. The vested interests in slavery divert attention and side track thinking of miracles. The greatness of anyone consists in honest living and service to the people but never in making 'miracles.' Those who talk of miracles are either dupes or cheats. .......................................................................

Q: What is your opinion of hypnotism and thought reading? Is it possible for one to know what is in the mind of another by means of yoga or by any other practice?

A: Big claims are advanced for hypnotism, both as feats of magic and as means of therapy. Hypnotism is supposed to induce sleep in the subjects and produce a state of trance in which the subject is highly susceptible to suggestions from the operator. I have seem performances of hypnotism as parts of magic shows. In order to have a personal experience and to test the claims of hypnotism, I offered myself to be hypnotised. But I was not accepted as a subject since, I was told, my mind was resistant and stubborn. Therefore I am of opinion that hypnotism means imposing a strong suggestion on weak minds. In that manner it can bring hope to a person who feels frustrated or give decision to a mind which is vacillating. This is the basis of psychotherapy. At the same time, it can baffle a weak mind by suggesting a doubt, a ruse to disturb friendly relations. The inducement of sleep in the subject may be a part of the submission to suggestion, similar to the influence of lullaby in the case of children. Further, the soothing touches of parts of face, particularly the eyes, along with the suggestion, "You are falling asleep!," can coax weak subjects into slumber. In regard to thought reading, I cannot vouch for its veracity. I think there is more trick than truth in the claim. I went to verify the claim of thought-reading too. I wrote the botanical name of a plant on a slip of paper, put it in my pocket and requested the though-reader to reveal the contents of the slip. He failed miserably. Despite the test, I keep an open mind in the matter and others do well to convince themselves of the validity of the claims with objective tests rather than go by hearsay. Another evidence against thought reading is its place in public utilities. If there were substance in the claims of thought-reading or Yoga, the Intelligence Department of governments would have easily employed the method to gain information from criminals, especially war-criminals. When government draw assistance from scientists and experts in every field, they cannot miss such a valuable opportunity to know the minds of others through thought-reading or Yoga. The strategy of war or diplomacy can no longer be a close preserve, if thought-reading were possible. By and large, hypnotism and thought reading are tricks of trade to beguile gullibles. Until objective proofs in their support are commonly available, their claims seem to be unduly exaggerated.
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Q: From the atheistic point of view, how do you explain creation?

A: We are so much used conventionally to the theistic explanation of creation that, unless we disabuse our minds of the theistic explanation, it is not easy to appreciate the atheistic explanation. Theistic philosophy explains creation in two ways. First, it assumes that god is the creator, second, it infers the existence of a basic being out of which the several phenomena emanate and evolve. The basic being is variously described as spirit and as matter by spiritualistic and by materialistic philosophers respectively. Nevertheless, both the philosophers agree in the existence of the basic being, whatever may be its nature. A vast amount of religious practice and ritual accumulated around the belief in god and fixed the belief by custom in every detail of everyday life. Believers are involved so much in the religious routines of life and their thoughts and interests are so much vested in the religious practices that they hardly question the belief in the existence of god. Further they fanatically oppose disbelief. Likewise, a volume of metaphysical arguments have been advanced in support of the interference of the existence of the basic being. Indeed the metaphysical concept of the basic being is opposed to the religious belief in god, and the materialistic arguments in support of basic being are opposed to the spiritualistic metaphysics. In spite of their differences, the religionists and the spiritual and materialist philosophers join together in opposing the atheistic explanation. The essence of theistic explanation of is that human life is subordinate to something superior to it, whether it is god, basic spirit or basic matter. The subordination is extreme in the concept of god as the almighty. Similarly, the metaphysical postulate of the basic being considers human life a part and a manifestation of the basic being spiritual or materialistic. Obviously a part is subordinate to the whole. The subjection of the individual to this or that in the theistic explanation of creation, denies freedom to the individual. The form of prayer, "Oh God, thy will be done," illustrates the attitude of total surrender of the individual to the god of his faith. Hindu Adwaita, which is the extreme of spiritualistic metaphysics, avers that individual freedom is a myth. Marxian materialism regards individual consciousness determined by social consciousness. Thus all theistic explanations of creation are essentially deterministic. They deny freedom of the individual. But individual freedom is a reality. Freedom means the capacity to choose between alternatives. This choice we make in every act of our life. We plan, educate and grow moral only because we can choose. If the future is determined, our planning is meaningless. If the success or failure of a student is predetermined, efforts at education lose meaning. If the judgment is foregone, arguments of advocates on points of law are vain. If the pattern of behaviour of an individual is determined by god's will, fate's decree or by the force of circumstances, ideals of life and codes of conduct have no significance. But real life contradicts the assumptions of determinism. We hope, we plan, we act and we achieve. Our achievements may be influenced by factors good, bad and indifferent around us. Yet our freedom to will and to do is unquestionable. The greater the freedom an individual exercises, the nearer the achievement to his desire. To call it a myth is to deceive ourselves in order to justify an untenable faith in determinism. The experience of free will and the aspirations for moral conduct, disprove the existence of an almighty god or of a basic being which determine our life. We are free; god and basic being, spiritual or material are fictions. Why then did mankind believe in these fictions for the past many generations? They are imaginations to satisfy the slave-mind of primitive people. The slave seeks a prop. He creates a good and depends upon it. The belief in god, mostly anthropomorphic, satisfies the needs of the slave-mind. So god was conceived as a giver of love, peace or justice. The god of human emotions appeared ridiculous to a rational mind. So the basic being replaced the old god. As long as the slave-mind dominates, a prop of some kind or other is imagined and held with faith. In the modern world, obedience to government, to economic systems, to social conventions, to principles of evolution, to belief in natural laws and to cosmic order serve as props to the slave-mind. The superstitious faith in each is fanatically supported by logic and argument, which hide fundamental fallacies. The principle of causation, which is the foremost, among the principles of polemics, is never a certainty. It is, at best, a relation that is read into events. Its validity depends upon the proximity of events and upon the insight of the conceiver. That the doctors differ on the diagnosis of the same disease speaks of the uncertainty of causation. Every notion of cause is a conjuncture which helps further understanding rather than a certainty which determines the next event. We go by probabilities and not by certainties. The future is open to be moulded as each one wills. The final outcome every time is the resultant of the several free actions. Freewill is that which is not caused in itself. The events are moulded by free wills. There is no chain of causes. Every event is complete in itself. The direction of life is sat by ideals and free wills and never by forces superior to the individuals. Likewise, notions of natural laws are our interpretations of our experiences, but not inherent in the events. Newton interpreted the falling of the apple in one way, Einstein in another way and a third and fourth ways also are possible. Natural laws are helpful as long at they conform to our experiences; we throw them out when they contradict. We are their authors, we make them, modify them, reject then, at our will and need. Our social behaviour follows our objectives and common understandings, which can change at our will and time. It is not bound by dictates beyond our will or independent of our will. The recognition of the freedom of the individual gives a new look to the concept of creation. They are fictions of human imaginations, under the influence of the slave-mind. The basic being also is another fiction of the same kind. What we call universe is not an entity which exists. It is a collective concept of the several phenomena. Each phenomenon exists as a reality, but not the universe. The concept of an army is another collective concept. Not the army, but each soldier exists. When the soldiers are disbanded, army ceases to exist. The unreality of the collective concept is illustrated by the notion of an average, when it is calculated that the average attendance at an executive meeting of an Association was fourteen and one-third for a year. Human knowledge indulges in fictions and uses them as tools of further understanding. To mistake a fiction, for a reality is the tragedy of human understanding. God, basic being, creation, universe, soul, after-life, rebirth, nationality, and culture are among the fictions. They are helpful as long as we know that we are their masters and use them as tools. Woe befalls mankind when we submit to them. War, poverty, and prejudice are the miseries of misunderstanding. Atheists, who recognise the freedom of the individual dismiss the notion of creation as unreal. It was at best a primitive way of understanding things and events around. Atheists understand each phenomenon as an independent event that can be moulded and modified by the exercise of freewill.

ATHEISM Questions and Answers - part 1 -

Q: You may object to faith in the existence of god outside you. But what objection have you to call that power god which makes you and me talk, walk, eat, think and work? God is the power within us?

A: The concept of god is definite with two attributes, namely, god is something which is superior to man and which determines man's life, not to speak of other phenomena. Unless god is ascribed these two qualities, man would not have cared to think of god and much less to pray, to worship, to build temples, or to devote one's life in meditation with the hope of attaining salvation. The acts of prayer, worship and meditation become meaningless, as soon as god is equated with 'power within us'. If the questioner is prepared to condemn prayer, worship and meditation, and honestly regard sod as 'the power within us', it is indeed a big stride from superstitious faith to rational understanding. Yet it is unacceptable from the atheistic point of view. The acceptance of the existence of that power which makes man live, denies freedom to the free will since free will becomes a derivative of that power and therefore dependent upon it. But the experience of freedom is reality. So the existence of that 'power within us' is false. If, on the other hand that power means free will itself, there is no need to call free will by another name and confuse understanding in the long run. Another difficulty crops up if free will is called the divine power. Free will dies with the individual. Then should we suppose that divinity also dies with the individual? The admission is an awkward corner of theistic belief. Therefore theists escape the difficulty by supposing that man's life is but the becoming of a basic being. This supposition contradicts the first part of the question that the existence of god outside man may be objected to. So instead of attempting covertly to prove god as truth by sly arguments and dubious equations, it would be fair to theists to consider god as an object of faith with its own advantages. Atheism presents the other side of the picture and considers the exercise of free will and pursuit of truthful knowledge more useful for the expression of human personality and for the development of moral values than the anchor of faith. The present stage of biological and psychological investigation is unable to explain how exactly a man thinks and works. But that aces not warrant the assumption of the existence of a power within man which makes him work and live. On the contrary, it is more conducive to growth and progress if the mind is kept open for the acquisition of further real knowledge than to close it with an easy faith.

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Q: Even if you don't believe in the existence of God, I suppose you don't disbelieve in the existence of the soul.

A: The concept of soul is as much a falsehood as god is. Primitive people conceived the idea of god to explain the meaning of wind, rain, sun and other phenomena. They understood them as creations of god. Earlier each phenomenon was supposed to be inhabited by a spirit of human form and feeling. The notion of soul came in to explain dreams and death. Primitive people understood dreams as the rambles of a detachable part of the body, called soul, in strange lands. They thought that the soul returned to the body on awakening from sleep. The non-return of the soul to its body was deemed as death. The respect for the disembodied soul constituted ancestral worship which formed a part of primitive religious faith. Faith in the existence of god and of the soul together provided easy explanations for all phenomena and silenced the restless inquisitiveness of ignorant people. Growth of scientific knowledge understands phenomena including birth, consciousness, dream and death in a different way which needs no belief in god or in soul. Yet the belief had remained because codes of morals were based on it. There is a lurking fear that this basis for moral conduct is disturbed if the faith is given up. Hence frantic efforts are made in modern times to maintain the faith in god and in soul through metaphysical sophistry and through threats of persecution. In spite of the primitive uses of explaining away the meaning of phenomena and providing a sanction of moral conduct, the faith in god and soul corrupted life in the long run, since god and soul are fundamentally false. The immense ignorance of the vast masses of people end the wide inequalities among them are direct results of the theistic faith. Therefore if knowledge should be real and morality should be sound, the faith in god and soul should be replaced by scientific method and social obligation for acquiring knowledge and sustaining morality respectively. The change entails a revolution in the outlook and in the ways of life. But, the revolution is necessary to save mankind from superstition, fanaticism, war, Prejudice and poverty which we have inherited through ages of faith in god and soul

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Q: Do you discount miracles altogether? Then, what do you say about the miracles described in the Holy Bible? Certainly, prophets like Lord Jesus, who were divinely inspired, could perform miracles which are impossible for common mortals. You shouldn't deny that which you can't do!

A: Miracles, as acts performed by supernatural powers, never occurred and never do occur. Miracles described in the Holy Bible or in any scripture or mythology are wholly false. Jesus did not need the power to perform miracles in order to serve the people and to show a new way of life towards truth and happiness. He was a great revolutionary who valiantly fought the injustices of scribes and pharisees of his time. He was a man among common men. So was every prophet. In fact every prophet was more atheistic than his contemporaries and he was persecuted as such. Jesus was accused of speaking blasphemy (St. Matthew 26:65); Mohammed had to fly from Mecca to Medina for the safety of his own life and the lives of his followers; Gandhi was assassinated for betraying the cause of the religion of his birth. Prophets were more human, more honest and more fearless than their fellow men. Indeed they were regarded as prophets of eras of progress and prosperity because they cultivated these qualities of human excellence and propounded them with remarkable courage and frankness. There are no miracles at all for any man to do them or to claim them. But it is the weakness of the common man to ascribe miracles to greatness. Jesus did not need to walk on water or to curse the fig tree for recommending his sermon on the mount. On the contrary, attributting miracles to great men creates an unnecessary gulf between common men and great men. Consequently common people rest content with worshipping great men instead of adopting their way of life. Belief in miracles, divine inspiration and revelation cuts off great men from common folk and deprives the masses of the benefits of good leadership. From the point of view of human progress, belief in miracles is not only false but it is a positive hindrance.

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Q: Prophets like Christ and Gandhi did yeoman service for the progress of humanity through faith in god. Why, then, do we need atheism?

A: Christ and Gandhi bore faith in god. But every person, including Christ and Gandhi, has two principal aspects of their conduct. One is theism which is the manifestation of the slave mind and the other is atheism which is the manifestation of the free will. Theistic and atheistic aspects are natural to every person since slave-mind and free will are inherent in everyone. But a person or a group is regarded theistic or atheistic by and large on account of the predominance of the corresponding feeling over the other. Though Christ and Gandhi propounded new forms of god, god of love and god of truth, they became prophets of eras of progress because they were predominantly atheistic. At any rate, they were more atheistic than their contemporaries and so they were persecuted for blasphemy (St. Matthew 26:65). Both became martyrs to their heretical doctrines. So Christ and Gandhi could do yeomen service to humanity owing to the element of atheism in them. The theistic content in their teachings bred reaction in their followers who worshipped the gods and neglected the man. Hence the spread of war and graft among Christians and Gandhians who adore god of love and god of truth. Any Christian or Gandhian who works for love and truth is again branded a heretic, if not an atheist altogether. So consideration for fellow man is always the work of atheism. Further an atheist thinks wholly in terms of the realities of human affairs whereas the attention of a humanitarian theist is divided between man and god. So undivided attention to humanism is possible only for avowed atheists. ............................................

Q: What is secularism and what is its relation to politics?

A: Secularism is evaluation of things and events in terms of what is seen and known in the world we live in. It is opposed to considerations of the other-world like heavenly bliss, rebirth of souls and divine decree, which go by the name of spirituality. Spirituality is a belief, but secularism is real and tangible. Politics is wholly secular. Politics means solving people's problems through a government. The institution of government is maintained by the taxes which people pay and by the co-operation which people give. If a government functions properly, people can have their problems of food, comfort or security solved easily. Indeed that is the purpose which a government should fulfill. A government would discharge its duties well if it were allowed to be secular. But the interference of religious belief and spiritual considerations with the functions of a government, foils the purpose. When people's attention is divided between god and government, they are more habituated to raise their hands in prayer to god for food and peace than to hold the ways of their government responsible for unemployment and insecurity. Professional politicians slyly divert the attention of the people from politics to religion in order to avoid the popular gaze on their personal gains. This is a deliberate mischief. People are thus deceived. Therefore people derive full benefit from their governments only when they and their governments become wholly secular. Positive secularism is not tolerance of all religions, but it is the total denial of religious beliefs: it is the emergence of homogeneous human outlook which is based upon verifiable facts of life. Theories there can be, but they should be subject to scrutiny and question in terms of experiences here and now. Such secular outlook is the urgent need of India in which different religious faiths still claim people's allegiance and often cloud their political obligations. India was divided on the basis of religious faiths and public peace is disturbed by conflicts between religious groups. Secularism bypasses religious differences and treats all individuals as citizens who are equal before the law of the state. While political secularism, which allows religious belief to be treated as a personal affair, can serve as a compromising formula for immediate peace and order, straight propaganda of atheism will make secularism secure at all levels.