by Mark Tully
terrorism 103–4
Thatcher, Dennis 180
Thatcher, Margaret 93, 180, 189, 230
theology 83, 114, 174–5
Thomas, Hugh 104
Thomas, R. S. 97
Thompson, Mark 121
Today 117
Togadia, Praveen 72–4, 77, 78, 80, 111
Tolstoy 125
Toynbee, Polly 109–10
transport 183–4, 210–11
Treacy, Father Bernard 130, 138, 139, 140
tribal peoples 78
Tulsi Das 254–5
Twomey, Vincent 127, 133–4, 140–1, 144
United States 65–6
American Dream 244–5
car use 210, 211
and Coca Cola in India 186–7
and globalisation 187–8, 189, 191, 194
growth quantity vs. quality 215–16
individualism 68
socialist vs. market economics 180–1
trickle–down economics 206 ‘war on terrorism’ 106
Upanishads 16, 45
Uttar Pradesh (UP) 61, 202–6, 241–2, 263
Valiullah, Raoof 105
Van Exim, Father 81
Vande Mataram 89
Varanasi 248–68
Varma, Rita 184–5
Vatsyayana 158–60
Vedas 67, 79, 98, 111
Venkatesan, Ravi 207–10
Wahiduddin, Maulana 88–9
Ward, Keith 54–5, 115–16
water privatisation 230–1
Wilde, Oscar 18–19
Wilkinson, Richard 21, 22, 23, 24–5, 26, 27, 28, 30–1, 32–3, 34, 38, 156
Williams, Harry 33, 38, 49–50, 52, 97
Williams, Rowan 12
Winthrop John 244, 245
World Hindu Council (VHP) 72–3, 77, 249
yoga 63–70, 197
Zaehner, R. C. 8–9, 11
Zia–ul–Haq, General 174
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THIS BOOK IS about living with the uncertainty of certainty, about accepting the limits to what we can know, and being willing to question our beliefs. This uncertainty doesn’t just apply to religious beliefs or, indeed, beliefs hostile to religion. In the book I also suggest we need to be much more open to questioning our economics, our business practices, the way we educate our children, how we live as members of communities and citizens of nation states, and how we live our individual lives. But the book started from my belief that the Hindu tradition of acknowledging there can be many ways to God could help Christians to question those of their beliefs which have led them to deny the validity of other faiths, and all too often the validity of other Christian traditions than their own. I had never considered putting the thoughts that were buzzing around my head down on paper until the organisers of the Teape Lectures asked me to give those lectures in 1999. The lectures, to be given that year in the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Bristol, had to relate to the Upanishads and the Catholic Church. Previous lecturers had all been outstanding theologians, including my former tutor Robert Runcie, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. I am no scholar so I was very reluctant to accept this invitation. But finally I decided to face up to the challenge. So my first debt of gratitude goes to the organisers of the Teape Lectures, not only for taking the risk of breaking a scholarly tradition, but also for the generous reception they gave to my lectures, which encouraged me to go on reading and writing abut the ideas I had expressed.
My second debt of gratitude goes to my editor, Judith Kendra. There would be no book if she hadn’t asked me to consider writing it. I did not leap at the opportunity because I was far from certain that my ideas could stretch to a book, but I gave her a copy of the Teape Lectures to give her a clearer picture of what would be in it if it ever materialised. She came back after reading the lectures with an encouraging reply and at all stages in writing the book she has continued to encourage me, reading different drafts and making invaluable suggestions for improvements. I am also very grateful to Judith’s colleague Sue Lascelles, who took over the editing at the last stage.
This book covers many different subjects, in none of which can I claim to be an expert. I am therefore particularly grateful to those people who are experts in their fields and who have allowed me to test my ideas on them. In particular I am grateful to my old friend Chaturvedi Badrinath, who was the first person to awaken my interest in the uncertainty of certainty and who has helped me to build on that start. The scholar of Eastern philosophy Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad read the first draft of the chapters on Hinduism and made many invaluable suggestions. Madhu Khanna with her knowledge of Sanskrit and her deep understanding of the Tantric Hindu tradition, the art historian Shobita Punja with her knowledge of Hindu mythology, and the Jungian psychologist Rashna Imhasly-Gandy all helped me find a way through the mine-field of the chapter on sexual mores. Alvaro Enterria, a publisher and long time resident of Varanasi, read the chapter on that city and made valuable suggestions.
My knowledge of the modern developments in Christianity has been enriched by the many theologians and other Christians I have interviewed during the eleven years I have been presenting the BBC Radio 4 Programme Something Understood. I am grateful to the BBC for giving me this opportunity and particularly grateful to my producer Eley McAinsh, a wise Christian herself. I have for many years now been a regular reader of the Irish Dominican journal, Doctrine and Life, and it has opened my eyes to the breadth of Christian, particularly Roman Catholic, theology today. The editor of the journal, Bernard Treacey, organised the whole of my visit to Ireland. While not hiding the concerns he had about the Irish Church he did his best to ensure that I presented a balanced picture of it. I hope he succeeded.
Many of the ideas in the chapter on economics came to me through the network of the Centre for Holistic Studies. Barbara Panvel, who set up the UK network and Molly Scott-Cato, a fellow member, gave me invaluable advice on the economics chapters. Rajiv Kumar, Director and Chief Executive of The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, gave up several hours of his time to talk to me. He encouraged my belief that there can be economic growth with a more human face, and that criticising certain aspects of market capitalism does not mean advocating a return to the full rigours of socialism. Will Hopper allowed me to read an advance copy of the book he and his brother have written on the failings of modern capitalism and he read a draft of the chapter on business management in my book.
Lastly, I must mention two people to whom I owe a deep personal debt. Richard Wilkinson, my friend since my schooldays, organised my visit to Marlborough College where we both studied. I am grateful to the Master and staff for making us welcome, although they knew that I did not rate my education at Marlborough very highly. I am grateful to Richard for far more than the visit to our old school. For well over fifty years we have discussed issues raised in this book. A deep faith and many years of teaching have given Richard wisdom far beyond mine, and I have benefited greatly from it. The second person is Gillian Wright, my partner. She has also been a partner in all my books and this one is no exception. She has frequently disagreed with what I have written, and more often than not she has been right. She has worked tirelessly on various drafts to tidy up my incompetent typewriting, to improve the punctuation, and of course the contents too. This book is unlike anything I have ever written before, so there have inevitably been moments of doubt and of despair. Gilly has always encouraged me to keep going. But just as Gilly still does not agree with everything I have written, I cannot hold anyone else responsible for the views expressed in India’s Unending Journey.
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The author would like to thank the following for permission to use copyright material: Bloodaxe Books for permission to quote ‘Freedom’ in Poems by Michael Siadhail (Bloodaxe Books, 1999); William Clowes & Sons Ltd for lines from Summoned by Bells by John Betjeman (John Murray, 1976). Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the author and publisher will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity.