From ‘The Book of Life’ to ‘Freedom of Belief’

Abstract

India continues to stand at the cross-roads of having to choose from the two roads that lead to Belief. For Belief can be founded on Faith, or it can be founded on Reason. Faith is a non-rational belief system. Science is a rational belief system. One of the ironies of life that is seriously emerging from recent research in evolutionary biology is that the acceptance of non-rational belief systems confers a greater ability to survive. At the same time, a society that has no rational thinkers will probably be wiped out. Therefore, for long term survival, every social group needs a small group of individuals who have the rational compass to guide the rest on the Road to Reason, and away from the Road of Faith that is pot-holed with mindless superstitions and rituals. Without this, we would be condemned to lead narrow-minded lives of quiet desperation.