Indulekha

by O. Chandu Menon

  "It would appear from your words, my son, that religion is an easy matter," said Govinda Panikkar. "Alas, alas! Is your knowledge of the question of Divine unity or plurality so certain as you think? If you say that God is omnipresent, can you therefore make up your mind not to go to the temples? Besides, do you really mean to say that there are no saints upon earth who have freed themselves from all worldly cares and passions?"

  "I certainly do," answered Madhavan. "I maintain emphatically that except when all natural appetites and desires are quenched by sickness, there is no man devoid of the impulses and passions which are inherent in the flesh."

  "This is dreadful," explained Govinda Panikkar. "Just think how many great devotees and ascetics have conquered all fleshly lusts."

  "I don’t believe there are any who have," replied Madhavan.

  "Then are you an atheist altogether, my son?"

  "I am no atheist; on the contrary I firmly believe there is a God."

  "Then what about the ascetics?"

  "I do not believe there are any such men as you mentioned, whether they are devotees or not."

  "But I saw an ascetic once, who lived on nothing but seven pepper berries and seven neem leaves a day. He never even drank water."

  "He must have been an uncommonly clever impostor," said Govindan Kutti Menon, "and I have no doubt he humbugged you."

  "He stayed for nine days in the lodge with me," returned Govinda Panikkar, " and ate nothing the whole time."

  "You did not see him eat anything, brother," said Govindan Kutti Menon, "and believed that he ate nothing, that’s all. A man cannot live without food. It is so ordained by nature, and what is the use of anyone telling lies about it ?"

  "There, now," said Govinda Panikkar, "this perversity comes from your intercourse with English people. You never believe a word we say. What on earth can we do? I am ready to swear that for nine days that ascetic ate nothing beyond what I have said. It was in our lodge that he stayed; he used to begin his bath and mystic rites three hours before sunrise and then sit, absorbed in divine contemplation and prayer, in the midst of the five sacred fires till twelve. After that he used to eat seven pepper berries and seven neem leaves before us all, and never ate anything else the rest of the day. He spent ten days like this, and I saw exactly what he did with my own eyes. Now if you won’t believe me, I can’t help it."

  "Neither Govindan Kutti nor I would ever dream of saying that you told anything but the strict truth, father," said Madhavan, "and we would take your word sooner than that of any one in the wide world. All we would say is that you have been imposed upon with this story. How many times in these nine days did that devotee manage to hide himself from you and everyone else? We may be certain that when he retired into a private room and shut the doors on the pretext of performing his mystic rites, he took the opportunity of having a hearty meal. He would have kept all the food he wanted ready to hand in his wallets, and I am very sure you never looked minutely to see what he had with him. You never searched his person, or his packages, and after all had gone to sleep at night, he had every chance of eating. If you want to say positively that he ate nothing for nine days, you should have set some smart fellows to watch him day and night without losing sight of him for a minute, but you did not put him to any such test, I take it."

  "I don’t think that ascetic was an impostor," said Govinda Panikkar, "but you won’t believe anything unless you see it. Then Madhavan, did you ever see my father? No, but I had a father, and yet if I tell you he was your grandfather, you won’t believe me."

  "Why should you so say, father?" answered Madhavan, laughing. "There is nothing preternatural in that, and even if you did not tell me, it is a fact I must believe."

  "Well, well, never mind about that," said Govinda Panikkar. "You said, Madhavan, that you were not an atheist. Now, have you ever seen God at any time? And if not, why should you believe in what you have not seen ?"

  "Truly," replied Madhavan, "that is a hard question, and I must search out what I can say to answer it. Govinda Kutti may get the better of me in argument, but I will nevertheless speak out. I have never seen God at any time, and I cannot clearly describe His form nor say what He is. But I perceive that a mighty, ineffable power pervades and fills the whole world, and I believe and maintain that that power is God. It is difficult to understand and express the exact nature of that power, and I will say only this concerning it. I believe that if that power did not exist, the world as we see it could not exist. The working of that power is visible throughout the whole creation. I see it in everything that moves upon the earth, from man to the most insignificant worm, and in everything that is rooted to the earth, from the mountains to the tender herb; I see it in the sun and all the orbs and planets and stars which inlay the heavens; I see it in all that is beheld by the eye, or felt by the touch, or heard by the ear, or conceived in the mind and I believe that this power is God Himself. "

  "Very good, so far," said Govinda Panikkar. "But you, Govindan Kutti, said there is no God. Now tell us your reasons. Your contention, I think, is that the world is subject to man alone, but let us hear your arguments and afterwards we will hear what Madhavan has to say."

  "Very well," said Govindan Kutti. "But in the first place, that there is no God is not what I said. All I said was that there is nothing in the operations of nature which we see going on around us in the world to warrant the belief or even the supposition that there is a God. I have read a few of the books written by some of the leading men in Europe who are well versed in the Scriptures, and have bestowed much thought on the subject, and though I cannot accept the opinions expressed by some of them, yet I agree entirely with the views of others. The book which of all others carried most conviction to my mind in the matter is one written by that clever individual, . Charles Bradlaugh. In his book, the opinions and arguments contained in the writings of many other profound thinkers are clearly digested, and I happen to have the book in my portmanteau. I will translate a few passages from it into Malayalam, but I have little hope, brother, of persuading you that my views are correct."

  "You may say what you like and read any book you please," said Govinda Panikkar, "but you will never persuade me that there is no God."

  "I have no wish to make you an atheist by anything I say or read," said Govindan Kutti Menon, "but if the arguments I am about to adduce are good ones, will you admit as much ?"

  "Let me hear what you have to say first," replied Govinda Panikkar.

  "But you must not let your mind be prejudiced before hand," continued Govindan Kutti Menon. "I can argue the matter only if you will listen to my arguments impartially."

  "Very well, then, let us hear them," said Govinda Panikkar, and Govindan Kutti Menon, fetching Bradlaugh’s book from his portmanteau, put a small lamp on a table beside him and glanced over a few pages. Then he said, "Before I read you some extracts, I think I had better explain generally what the creed of the atheists is. They maintain that the whole world came into existence gradually and in countless ages, through the spontaneous modification and variation, through the mutual amalgamation and disintegration of organisms, which act and react on each other according to certain fixed principles of development ‘after their kind.’ The first cause of all organisms is the amalgamation of the elements of earth and water, air and fire, or at any rate of their atoms. From the organisms thus formed were gradually created, by mutual amalgamation and disintegration, new organisms, and from these again countless millions of life-forms were called into existence by evolution and reproduction. For their creed the atheists give the soundest reasons, and it does not seem to me that there is the least possibility of anyone persuading them that there is a God. When it is asserted that there is a God, they are able to point out a thousand proofs to the contrary. The whole world does not contain a single organism independent of the common origin of all. In the eyes of sensible men there does not appear to be any truth in the theories about God presented in the sacred books of the Hind
us, Buddhists, Mahomedans, Christians or the followers of any other religion whatsoever, and Mr. Bradlaugh, the author of the book I hold in my hand, has dealt fully with the creed of his race."

  "What? Do you mean to say he has turned traitor to his own religion?" exclaimed Govinda Panikkar.

  "His opinion," replied Govindan Kutti Menon, "is that the account given in the Christian Bible of the order and method of creation is contrary to all reason, and that, when considered in the light of the knowledge which we have now acquired, the story contained in that book is utterly unworthy of belief."

  "Well, he must be a great sinner, that’s all I can say," remarked Govinda Panikkar.

  "That may be," said Govindan Kutti Menon, "but he is a wonderfully clever man all the same."

  "Wonderfully clever, indeed, to deny the existence of God!" retorted Govinda Panikkar.

  "Well, anyone with a grain of sense who reads the arguments he brings forward against the possibility of believing in the existence of God will admit that he is a clever man."

  "Oh quite so," replied Govinda Panikkar. "It is such a vast benefit to the world, is it not, to introduce the idea that there is no God. Of course this was the reason why this clever individual exhibited so much cleverness."

  "I think," rejoined Govindan Kutti Menon, "that all rightminded men are bound at all times, and so far as in them lies, to remove the false or mistaken opinions, tenets and impressions which generally prevail among their fellow creatures on various subjects, and to diffuse truth and knowledge. "

  "Has it been established beyond doubt that modern wisdom is safer than the ancient?" asked Govinda Panikkar.

  "That is the very point on which I say the arguments now brought forward by the leaders of thought must be duly weighed," replied Govindan Kutti Menon.

  "Well, go on, let us hear those arguments," said Govinda Panikkar.

  Govindan Kutti Menon then spoke as follows:-

  "I will give you in Malayalam the gist of Bradlaugh’s contention. What the atheist maintains is this: ‘I do not say there is no God, but I say I know not what you mean by God; I do not deny God, because I cannot deny that of which I have no conception, and the conception of which, by its affirmer, is so imperfect that he is unable to define to me. Moreover if your proposition is that the origin, maintenance and destruction of all phenomena are due, wholly and severally to one individual creator in human or other form, then I must contradict you absolutely, and maintain that the account you give is undoubtedly a myth. If you tell me, in words which are unintelligible, that there is a God, then I say I can form no conception of Him and cannot argue with you, but I will never believe in the existence of something which I am unable to conceive.’ This is the creed of the atheist."

  "And a more perverse creed I have never heard of," replied Govinda Panikkar. "No wonder that if you read such things, your own understanding gets perverted too! Why, throughout the universe, the power of an Almighty Spirit is manifest. See how delightful, how beautiful is the world which God has formed! If there were no God, how could the sun and moon have come into existence? Through whose power is it that we pass through the world happily as we do, enjoying sleep and food and other blessings? Is it not apparent to all how all things in the world are ordained rightly and in due season? Who is it that brings this to pass? Is it not God the merciful? Does not the rain fall when it is needed to satisfy the thirsty earth? Does not the sun rise day by day causing all creation to rejoice? Does not the moon rise in its appointed course, filling the earth with gladness? Does not the earth bring forth fruit year by year? Innumerable are the blessings we enjoy, each in its own time, and how could they come to us but for the power of God? Truly, it is only the fool who says that there is no God."

  "All you say is perfectly right, brother," returned Govindan Kutti Menon, "but still you speak somewhat wide of the mark. If it were an established fact that the world is so governed as to be always happy and beautiful in all essential points, then it would readily and speedily be admitted that a merciful God does exist. But does not experience prove the contrary? Think of all the grievous calamities which befall us, and think how in none is the power of a God manifested! Oft-times not a drop of rain falls in places where all creatures are parched and perishing for want of water to drink. If there is a divine power capable of sending rain, and if, as those who believe in God tell us, that power is full of compassion for the world, then how is it that the rain comes not in due season? Many a living creature dies miserably in the sandy deserts, scorched with the consuming rays of the sun, and thousands of harmless wild animals, young and old, are tortured to death in the fires which devastate the mighty forests. Pious Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other religionists without distinction, writhe and groan in agony under the daggers of rapacious thieves. Innocent men are hung on false evidence; the sea crosses its bounds and, engulfing the land, suffocates the inhabitants thereof with its waves: many a ship is wrecked and many on board are drowned, while of the survivors, some, maddened by thirst, bite and tear at each other’s throats and drink human blood, and others unable to endure the pangs of hunger, slay their dearest friends and eat raw human flesh. Children who have committed no sin are killed by thunderbolts; here a guiltless man is bitten in his sleep by a serpent, and there a beggar, blind from birth and, in the extremity of hunger, wandering about helplessly in quest of alms, falls into a ruined well, and, breaking his limbs and neck, dies a horrible death. Thousands upon thousands, old and young, are slain by pestilence, war and famine, while the prayer for help to their Lord and their God is on their very lips, but help there is none. Why then in all such cases does not the merciful power of God succour, his creatures in their distress, and why, when relief is sometimes obtained by ordinary natural means, is it ascribed to the goodness of God? Surely none can believe the tale, yet how worthless are the reasons which we Hindus, as well as the followers of other religions, assign when we see that the power of God does not deliver us out of our troubles. The belief of the Hindus is that the troubles which befall each man are the punishment meted out to him by God for his sins in a previous birth. Now it is always right and proper to make a criminal understand that the punishment inflicted on him is in respect of the particular crime which he has committed, but what is the use of exacting a penalty from him unless the offence for which it is exacted is made clear to him? If punishment is intended as an expiation, the sinner ought surely to be made aware of his sin. I will read to you from this book what a great philosopher has to say on the subject:

  ‘Punishment, as a human institution, is warranted by our inability to produce, otherwise than through the infliction of suffering, that mental change in an offender which alone can render him compatible with the existence of his fellow creatures. But what ground shall we assign for punishment when we suppose it inflicted by a Deity? Granting the existence of a Deity, putting aside the question of the origin of evil, putting aside the hypothesis of a creator, still more so of an omnipotent Creator, and considering the Deity simply as a ruler, what reason would he have for instituting suffering? Does he institute it in his own defence, or solely in the interest of transgressors? On either supposition the end might be secured by better means. The infliction of punishment is regarded as a defect even by our poor human educators; the best way to govern is by developing the sympathies, by moral suasion, by the influence of high example, and in proportion as they fail in this, they give the measure of their incapacity. How much more, then, must severity be discreditable to a Deity? If our penal legislators find that it is possible to reform criminals, even when taken at maturity, if the progress of our civilisation has been marked by a progressive mildness in our codes, and if the duration of each penalty is being made, as far as possible, dependent on the offender’s own behaviour, must we not expect a policy benigner still from God, who has the moulding of his charges from their earliest hour and who can act directly on their minds? If with such an expectation, we turn to Christianity, our disappointment will indeed b
e great. Not one of God’s punishments is educational; all have the character of wanton ferocity. They are neither made to depend on the offender’s subsequent behaviour, nor do they exhibit any proportion to the transgression; the code of providence is infinitely worse than Draco’s, since, even death is not allowed to put an end to the transgressor’s sufferings. Adam, having sinned once, is punished for ever; and as the punishment is maximum, whatever subsequent disobedience Adam may commit, he cannot deserve worse than eternal damnation. We might at least imagine that if this first infliction is not intended as a check on Adam’s conduct, it is intended as a check on his descendants. Not at all, the maximum penalty is pronounced for Adam’s sin on his descendants also! If such is the course taken by the Deity, where then are Divine justice and mercy?"

  "But there is no mention of any man named Adam in our Shastras and Puranas, and I don’t believe a word of what you have read," objected Govinda Panikkar.

  "You need not believe in Adam," replied Govindan Kutti Menon. "But the account given by the Christian Scriptures of the curse which is said to have fallen on Adam, and the tribulation which is described as resulting from the wrath of God, is nothing compared with similar accounts in our Puranas. According to them, it is not only God, but also saintly men and minor deities and Brahmins and, more than this, women who are paragons of virtue who in their wrath take cruel and manifold vengeance on immortals and mortals, and the dumb brute creation from one birth to another. None of this rank, preposterous folly appears in the Christian Scriptures."

  "Don’t speak like that," said Govinda Panikkar. "What do you mean by saying such things of our Puranas, Govindan Kutti? Do you imagine anyone will believe you when you condemn as rank folly our Puranas, which are as old as the world itself, simply because you have read an English book, a creation of Yesterday? But apart from that, if there is no God, then what you say must amount to this, that man called himself into existence."