Can religion be logical 3
Posted by: Ashfaq Ahmad
Shruti and Smriti religious texts in Aryan culture
Originally Aryans were neither worshipers of any deities having embodied forms nor they built temples. This practice started after Jains and Buddhists as branches separated from widespread Hinduism. The Hindu religion that we see around today is not a Vedic religion but seems to be a mixture of many ideologies. Arya Samajis, who follow the Vedic religion, still keep themselves in a separate slot.
However, when Hinduism was established in India, Shaiva (who consider Shiva as God), Vaishnava (who consider Vishnu as God), Shakta (who consider Goddess as the superpower) and Smarta (who consider various forms of God as same) were the main sects in which Shaivas, Vaishnavas and Shaktas kept fighting with each other trying to degrade each other’s God in their stories. It was more prevalent between Shaivas and Vaishnavas. The sages tried many ways to deal with it and to a great extent, they were successful.
Just like Semitic (Quran and hadith of Islam), there are two types of religious texts in this religion. Shruti and Smriti. Shruti means Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, Brahmasutra and Upanishads which are irreplaceable like Quran and Smriti means Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Purana, Manusmriti, Dharma Shastra, Dharma Sutra and Agam Shastra which can be modified according to place and time.
Now, understand the trick from here. Writings in Smriti are full of imagination and metaphors. Here you have to use your intelligence, prudence, and logic to understand what is true, what is imagination and if there is an abstruse message with the help of imagination and metaphors. Why in the Ramayana were the hero of the north and the villain of the south or if just good and bad states of mind were defined in Ramayana, Mahabharata with the help of characters and metaphors?
Are Gods with strange forms only metaphors?
Or it may be that as we believed in the powers associated with nature and considered the lion or elephant as signs of power, perhaps at some time in the local culture there had been a clan headed by a very powerful and brawny king who was very brave and as in the ‘Alexander‘ movie, the protagonist presents himself with a lion-faced mask to prove himself a lion, on the same way, that person had been presenting himself as an elephant as a symbol of power and was being recognised as a deity in his followers. Hence Lord Ganesha was created to incorporate that character in literature. Otherwise can a baby be created with scum or is there any correspondence between a human and an elephant including diameters of head, neck muscles or blood groups, etc.?
Like Smriti texts, Islam has hadiths in which something is written, but the biggest difference is that metaphors have not been reported to and characters are not fictional. But the accuracy of the stuff that is mentioned in them is not guaranteed. No written history has been prepared at the time of the incidents recorded in them. Whatever little was there that was destroyed, things kept moving forward orally and it kept getting modified.
In the ninth century, when they were compiled, Sunnis, Shias and scholars of history were claiming different things. Everyone claims that our data is genuine but there can only be one truth and not three. Just like the Smriti texts, here too you have to use your intelligence and discretion.
Are Vedas the divine text
There is a belief about the Vedas that it is the knowledge that God himself gave to the sages and over the years they spread it and were written when the art and technique of writing became readily available. It is obvious that it was not possible to carve such thick books on copper sheets, silk cloths, bamboo, rocks, leather and paper was invented in 200 BC. From Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) to the Vedas, everything was written after it. No matter whatever claims are made.
Now it is difficult to write the same knowledge of thousands of years old in such a time, then obviously by then the available knowledge, discoveries and imaginations favouring the same were saved in it and this cleverness is found in all the texts including Shruti and Smriti. The Puranas were written in the eighteenth century and the prophecies written in them were recorded after they happened. About which I had also written earlier that the deity, tells the King Bhoja with signs about Paishachadharma (Islam) which he will generate.
It was influence of Akbar‘s magnificence that he was also declared a Mukund Brahmin of the previous birth who drank cow’s pilus with milk and was cursed to be born as Akbar. So books were written and according to the newly available knowledge, things would be included in them.
It was found that the original book had twenty thousand verses. The author passed away long time ago but the verses crossed the number of lakhs. Such a feat will be found in religious books of all religions. The Quran survived the adulteration due to the commitment of Hafiz-e-Quran but there are many accusations on it as well and for including the newly available knowledge, ‘bracket’ was added.
Concept of spirituality
The sages, long ago, had known the central energy, or the ultimate Brahma through yoga and meditation. If we look at it from their own perspective, then we can say that it is the essence and the basis of the world. The world originates from it and also dissolves in it when it is destroyed. It is supramundane as well as beyond the world.
The ultimate calmness and undiverted state of mind that is achieved through meditation are timeless, continual and eternal. According to Advaita Vedanta, when the human tries to know God spiritually, then Brahma becomes God, and you see God in every particle. The art of meditation spread from India to other countries.
Similarly, there are two types of beliefs about the founder of Islam, Muhammad Sahab and the Quran. One directly declares him to be the messenger to whom the angel named Jibril kept bringing verses in the form of the message of God, and the process lasted for twenty-three years, the journey starting from Ghar-e-Hira, remaining till his life, but the messenger Jibril was not seen by any other person.
At the same time, a belief says that he was a social reformer who had developed the art of meditation by going to Ghar-e-Hira and by mediation he found the Brahma element. He used to discuss every problem in human life with his companions, contemplate it, meditate and would give a solution in the form of a verse.
With this belief you can justify the verses that were derived by the advice of those sahabi’s (companions) otherwise it seems strange that even an omnipotent power like God needed advice from the sahabi’s that he used to quote verses according to what they said.
Namaaz is also a form of yoga
With this assumption you can also justify the word ‘salat‘ used in the Quran which means to add, connect (with the Brahma element), which has been asked to ‘offer’. Otherwise the namaz is ‘read’ and salat means namaz. Then the Quran which contains extensive advice on every issue does not explain on the most important pillar of Islam like namaz that at which position and how many times it is to be read.
Namaz is also yoga. Where meditation is a long process, it may be that he had been offering namaz as a small initial step of meditation. After all, the intention is the same, that through namaz, connect yourself to God by not diverting your mind towards the rest but people are not able to do so because they simply repeat it, considering it as method of worship.
In that stage of namaz where observer should be detached from the rest of the world, people keep on thinking about mats and people of the next row, ceiling fans, their business, some think of their friend, girl, boss or any problem. In fact it is a failure of the word ‘Salat’ at the very first step.
Is the Quran really complete
However, there are two or three types of beliefs about the Quran that Prophet Mohammad would get the verses written on bone, wood, membrane, leather, leaves, bark, etc. by Zaid and Ali and all those verses were complied and bound in the period of Caliph Uthman. And it was needed in order to keep it intact because according to a belief, discrepancies started in the reading of the Quran hence was secured by binding. With this, all the rest original content was destroyed.
Along with this belief there is also an accusation that Prophet Mohammad kept the verses safe with Fatimah, which was called ‘Mushaf-e-Fatimah‘ and this was the real Quran and according to Zafar Sadiq, the Imam of the Shiites it had 17000 thousand verses whereas there are 6666 verses in the current Quran (Usool-e-Kafi).
Apart from this, there is another thing questioning its compilation which is found in many hadiths that Rasool often forgot the verses, and in this way many verses of Surah Al-Ahzab were lost. There was also the verse of ‘Rajm’ which was taken from Taurat (to kill by stoning as a punishment for rape or adultery) which Rasul used to call Razah Kabeer, that was also missed in Quran, but it was incorporated into the Sharia and still remains as a punishment.
Whereas there is a belief (associated with Sufism) that the verses of the Quran were never written. It was the saintly wisdom that was transferred by Prophet Muhammad to Ali, and on this ground he named him as the living Quran. Then it was spread further by Ali.
Originally published on WordSmith September 6, 2019.
