The Idea of Faith

Human beings have risen far above the rest of the earthly species. Our intelligence, emotional and knowledge quotients enable us to manipulate the world and all the species existing on it. From humble beginnings like the invention of the wheel, radio, and penicillin, scientists are now engaged in finding the next-level elixir of life, which will allow us to drag our earthly existence far longer than ever. Yet, occasionally, an unknown virus, bacteria, or a natural disaster emerges that has the capacity to drag us to our knees. The Great Plague of the 14th century, also known as the bubonic plague, killed an estimated 50 million people—approximately one-third of the population of Eurasia and North Africa. Another outbreak occurred in the 17th century across Europe, and the latest COVID pandemic offers a contemporary reminder. In the same manner, typhoons, cyclones, tsunamis, and glacier meltdown have caused havoc beyond the control of science and known human knowledge. Besides, we might have advanced across scientific and technological frontiers, but our emotional state of mind leaves a lot to be desired.

Humans are transient beings, like all living creatures on this planet; yet, we somehow have an irrational fear of this transiency. We spend all our energies trying to propagate our legacy, our material possessions, and our territories. In doing so, we lose living in the present. The reader may ask why it is so important to live in the present. The answer is simple: to live in the present is to breathe in and savour the joy of living; else, we risk the danger of disenchantment even on our deathbeds. The great rishis of the past—saints like Buddha, Mahavir, and Kabir—were ordinary people who mastered the art of living in the present. Yet, after their deaths, they have been revered as demigods.

Which begs the question: why is it that, as a race, human beings desire the comfort of someone superior—one who knows the way and can guide us safely through this unpredictable world; in other words, a Faith? It is a complex answer. As stated above, we are extremely vulnerable creatures. Even with CCTV, vaults, lockers, and other security devices in our homes, and personal security guarding our gates and possessions, we remain bound and chained in our fear of the unknown. When the path becomes tricky and not to our liking or choice, we seek spiritual hand-holding. A reassurance, a few words of comfort, or the promise of something good in the distant future is what keeps our hopes alive and puts our minds at ease. It reaffirms our faith that the present will give way to a better future.

It is not difficult to imagine the most primaeval period, when the hunter-gatherer or early settler was confronted with the sight of a violently erupting volcano, an earthquake, or bodies dropping due to an epidemic. His first cry for help would be to that immutable force that designed these events, which, in his perception, were likely supernatural forces. Trees, earthquakes, wind, sun, rivers, and so on are known to have been worshipped as sacred by early Mayan, Indus Valley, and African civilisations. In some others, like the Chinese, spirits akin to human forms, totems, and shamans were revered. There were other forms too, where it was the lifestyle and practices that took precedence—for example, Buddhism and Jainism—which later evolved into ritualistic forms, much like later-day Hinduism.

The most interesting and curious aspect of the concept of religion or Faith is its absolute autonomy in terms of practice. Theoretically, countries can be secular, atheist (China, North Korea, and Vietnam are currently atheist), or have a national religion; but in practice, each one of us is free to practise the beliefs we hold sacrosanct. Religion, or belief in a supreme power, is something that can be held deep in our consciousness and practised in private spaces too. Beliefs and faith—or the absence of them—are extremely personal, where no persuasion or indoctrination is required, save where a person is desperate to better his conditions. The same goes for anti-religionists too; an individual can choose to be a total anti-believer based on his or her life experience.

Yet, ritualistic faith or dogma, in its extreme form, can be violent and disruptive. This situation arose time and again during the medieval period from the 16th to the 18th centuries, most famously during the Thirty Years’ War, triggered by what Karl Marx decried as “religion is the opium of the masses.” The struggle between Catholics and Protestants was a tussle for dominant power structures and territorial ambitions. Humanity paid a heavy cost. An estimated 6–8 million soldiers and civilians died due to battle and resultant diseases and epidemics in just the Thirty Years’ War. Germany lost one-third of its population. Meanwhile, intolerance for other faiths—or even a different shade of the same religion, such as Shia and Sunni—continues. In recent times, Hindus were systematically persecuted during the 1971 war in Bangladesh. Hitler’s persecution of the Jews was not just about the purity of race, but also the Hebrew way of life. No Faith, in any form that we believe in, would appreciate the misuse of faith for these ends.

The idea of a Faith is both a necessity as well as a potential weapon.

Views expressed are personal. The writer is a retired IRS officer who served as the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana