By: H.S. "Almast"
Ours is a land of saints and prophets and yet God finds no place in our Constitution nor the spiritual values have been enshrined in this great document to which all Indiana owe allegiance. Spiritual values could not, in any way, harm the secular texture of the Constitution as the word ‘Secular’ signifies the age-old Truth, which transcends all boundaries of the religious estates. The fundamental spiritual values should have formed the base of our book of faith and these should have been preached and propagated like other fundamental laws and the directive principles. Had we practised secularism in a wider sense of the term? we would have looked at our Constitution with religious reverence and our obligations under the Constitution would have been like the Ten Commandments and would always have been considered above our rights for which we clamour all the time, ignoring our responsibilities.
Secularism, which is the corner stone of our Constitution, has been so much misunderstood and misapplied that, in course of time, it has lost its original meaning. The dictionary meaning of ‘Secular’ is, pertaining to an age or generation, coming or observed once in a century; permanent. It also means as something, which gradually becomes appreciable in the course of aged; as only something which pertains to the present world and not bound by monastic rules. The meaning, that has gained ground in our country, is that the term "Secular" is something which is not religious or spiritual, with the result that it has promoted a materialistic outlook. It has also resulted in the degeneration of spiritual values. Service, sacrifice, truth, humility, love, brotherhood and other such noble traits of the human mind, which are the outcome of our spiritual pursuits, are almost missing in the present set-up. Human mind and human intelligence is engrossed in material gains and in amassing wealth. Hunger and greed are the secular pursuits as compared with peace and contentment, which are considered to be religious and spiritual. Religious riots are secular as they relate to this world but religious accord and communal harmony fall in the spiritual arena. All agitations grow out of an agitated mind, the control of which falls within the purview of the spiritualist. A truly Secular Society, as understood in our country, would always be bleeding and seething with riots and agitations, with men fighting for their material needs. But the reverse of it would be the people understanding the age-old Truth revealed through the centuries, bringing peace and prosperity to the people who can understand and appreciate the real relationship between man and man.
Secularism in its true meaning is not something opposed to spiritualism, It is, in fact, the spiritual Truth as distinguished from the religious tradition, which has degenerated into communal and divisive attitude towards life. The Universal Truth, which is above all religious traditions, is the real binding force, which can bring men nearer. Only a man of God cab be truly secular as he knows the Truth of all religions and is not particularly inclined towards any one religion. For him all prophets have an equal place so for as they revealed the same Truth and freed human race from the religious bigotry and dead traditions. "Secular" also means something permanent. There is nothing permanent except the Truth or the all-pervading God Almighty. God is the only Secular Entity and it is this Truth which revealed to man only once in a lifetime when he understands the futility of his material pursuits. As man was supposed to live for 100 years, this Secular Truth was also said to have been revealed once in a century.
The word "Secular" has also been defined as the priest who is not bound by the monastic rules. Who can be such a priest? Surely, not the one like those who exploit the people’s religious sentiments for material gains including the political interest; surely, not the one who lives on religious tradition and superstitions. He is, surely, the priest who has realized the Truth and has risen above the religious tradition as also the monastic rules. He is the one who preaches and practices a blissful life and ha s no sectarian affiliations.
"Secular" has also been described as something, which gradually becomes appreciable in the course of ages. It is the bitter Truth, which gradually becomes appreciable in the course of ages. Prophets were crucified, murdered and poisoned just because they revealed the Truth, which the contemporary people could not appreciate except the very few who, had a high spiritual I.Q. and who were truly secular in the tradition-ridden society. This Secular Truth gradually becomes appreciable to the ignorant in the course of ages.
I do not know the real connotation in which the word "Secular" was used by the framers of the Constitution, but it would be sad if it loses its spiritual content in the hands of the politicians who are accustomed to make everything a plaything if politics. Taken in the widest sense, there is nothing Secular except the highest Truth revealed in Bhagwad Gita as All- pervading and All-embracing, into which all our differences of race and religion sink and disappear. To make our study of the term "Secular" complete in all respects and on all aspects, it has also been defined as something pertaining to this world. Unfortunately, the Universal Truth or the All-pervading God has been preached as something pertaining to the next world. But the Prophets have revealed the Truth as something very much pertaining to this world, nearer to our life vein, in and around us. In fact, it is God Almighty who pervades the world, nay the Universe and every aspect of human life. He is above all our local affiliation where there is no place for communal or sectarian feelings. In fact, He is the only secular entity in the world in the widest possible sense of the term. Let us be truly secular and learn to live with the truth.