Declining Social And Spiritual Values Should Concern All Religions

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By Dr. Sawraj Singh

All religions face a basic question: is the present model of development qualified to be called development, or is it more chaos and anarchy? This is economic-only development; there is no human aspect of development. The human being has actually been degraded to an almost subhuman level. It has reduced human existence to a mere consumer. Man has become like a robot. Technology has developed while the human being has degenerated. The time-tested wisdom that ethics should be above economics, human spirit is above physical existence, and the creative aspect of man is above his productive aspect, has been reversed. Human values have been replaced by consumer culture. Consumerism has pushed all people into a rat race from which the only way out is physical exhaustion or mental breakdown. Human relations have been weakened and have mostly become a means for material gain. The universal human values preached by all religions such as humility, moderation, compassion, forgiveness, sharing and dedication have been turned upside down by consumerism, which promotes exactly the opposite values such as arrogance, extravagance, vengeance, selfishness, and greed. This is a matter of great concern for all religions.

Overall, weakening of the spiritual aspect and tilting toward the material aspect of life is a matter of great concern for all religions. If the process of dehumanizing is not checked, then we run the risk of a complete dehumanization to a mechanical and robotic sub-human existence. In such an unfortunate scenario, all religions can become irrelevant. Religions are a need of humans; consumerist robots do not have any need for religion. In many western countries, the number of church-going individuals is shrinking. I have seen many churches which were closed. It is not uncommon to see the closed churches converted into religious places for other religions. For example, I have seen a few Sikh Gurudwaras which were built on land where there used to be a Church.

Maintaining the humanness of man is the primary concern for all religions. Religion has a social as well as spiritual aspect. For man to become a true human, he needs both social and spiritual aspects addressed. The modern consumerist capitalist society has limited the existence of man to physical and mental aspects only. It has, for all practical purposes, negated the spiritual aspect of life. All religions consider the spiritual aspect of life as the essence of human existence. Therefore, loss of the spiritual aspect of life is a matter of concern for all religions. The consumerist capitalist society is mainly concerned with production. This is the essential component for generating profit. In the final analysis, profit is the main concern of capitalism. Capitalists are not very concerned with the distribution of wealth. However, for religions, it is a matter of great concern if the distribution of wealth is fair or unfair.

The question of fairness is an ethical question. Ethics are a very important component of spirituality and spirituality is a very important aspect of religion. Profit is a sophisticated and glorified word for greed. All religions consider greed as one of the major sins or evil. In a way, the very foundation of the capitalist system is based upon sin and evil. No wonder, Islam considers western capitalism as Satan. Increasingly, Christianity and other religions are being forced to take similar stands. For example, the Pope is becoming increasingly critical of consumerism and capitalism. The so-called conservative Christians in America have started criticizing the Pope. They have even called him a Communist. The Buddhist leader Dalai Lama has just declared himself a Marxist. Apparently, he wants to be counted as an anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist. As the crisis of capitalism deepens, its true face will be exposed and the damage it has done to the human being will become clear; the remaining religions will be forced to come out against it just like three out of the six major religions have done. It should also be remembered that out of the three religions which have recently taken a stand against consumerism and capitalism, Christianity and Islam are the largest religions of the world. The Sikh religion and Judaism are much smaller compared to them. Even though Hinduism is a large religion, yet it is mostly limited to the Indian subcontinent and unlike Christianity and Islam, it cannot be considered truly global in its geographic span.

Globalization continues to increase the gap between the haves and have-nots. It has increased the gap between rich countries and poor countries and has also increased the gap in each country between the rich and the poor. It is leading to concentration of wealth in a few hands. It is predicted that in the year 2016, the wealth of the global top 1% will exceed the wealth of the rest of the 99%. Such extreme polarization of wealth will make societies more unstable and increase the chaos and anarchy which are already there. The net result will be further erosion of values and culture. It will increase pressure on the remaining religions to take a stand against globalization which lacks a global perspective and is an economic-only globalization without any ethical component. The religions will have to work for imparting a true global perspective as well as adding an ethical aspect to the current globalization. If the religions do not rise to the occasion, then the growing polarization can eventually break the society leading to complete breakdown of law and order as well as the value system. This is the situation of complete anarchy. We have already pushed society to chaos bordering on anarchy. Religions have to intervene soon otherwise it will be too late. There are differences among the religions. However, we should stress the commonality in them. All religions want peace, harmony, and stability in the world. Instead of fighting among themselves, they should unite to save mankind and the world.

Basic instincts in primitive man helped him to survive in primitive conditions. However, modern man does not need that kind of struggle to survive in modern society. He needs to develop human qualities and human spirit. True happiness can be achieved from moderation, contentment, and tranquility. Capitalism deliberately makes people more insecure and pushes them to turmoil in the mistaken belief that this process increases productivity. This works for a short time. However, in the long run, it leads to dehumanization which means loss of human qualities and pushes man into a primitive state. Under the garb of modernization and civilization, consumerism and capitalism have pushed man to a more primitive state, and under the influence of consumerism and capitalism the only purpose of life becomes to earn money and buy comforts and conveniences. The only concern of capitalism is to make people more productive so that it can increase its profits. It has elevated productivity to a higher level than creativity. However, productivity is limited by material conditions, while creativity is based upon imagination. Therefore, creativity is infinite. All religions preach that the true purpose of life is to move from lower levels to a higher level of existence. From basic instincts to human spirit, this in essence is universal consciousness or cosmic awareness.

Understanding Dharam and reviving its true spirit can tremendously help with the problem. First, we should be very clear that religion is not the translation for Dharam even though Dharam is an essential part of each religion. I feel that the term religion is a combination of Dharam and Panth or Mazhab. Dharam is the universal aspect of religion whereas Panth or Mazhab is particular to each religion. Panth and Mazhab mean one way. I feel that Sri Guru Granth Sahib illustrates and elaborates the true meaning of Dharam. The essence of Dharam is universal values based upon universal concern and universal welfare. Sri Guru Granth Sahib gives the message of Dharam rising above all differences of caste, creed, color, nationality, country, or region. The message is truly universal, which is the need of the present world. The present globalization is purely economic and completely lacks any ethical aspect and a true global perspective. The message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib can impart those essentials to the present globalization, which it needs. This phenomenon can help with the revival of social and spiritual values. It can also help in restoring the balance between the spiritual and material aspects of life. The message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib should not be projected only as the religious text of the Sikhs, but as a complete and comprehensive philosophy of life for the whole world.

Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].