Bertand Russell has – in many of his books – written about the dangers of fanaticism. Both religious fanaticism and those involving non religious beliefs. Two relevant quotes by him are as under:
It always has been and has done untold harm. I think fanaticism is the greatest danger there is. I might almost say that I was fanatical against fanaticism.
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/bertrand_russell_121392
This is an age in which scientific inventions have given us enormous powers for both good and evil. Fanaticism increases the risks of these powers being used for evil and destruction. The risks are nuclear wars, genocide, terrorism, religious persecution, intolerance and more. The harm that can be done is multiplied manifold by scientific inventions to the extent that all life on Earth may become extinct.
There are two convincing reasons why fanaticism is harmful. The first is practical and the second is philosophical or spiritual. I will be discussing the spiritual reasons in this blog.
I will mention the practical reason why fanaticism is harmful for a nation. The main disadvantage is that a fanatical attitude discourages science and scientific inventions. And a nation’s economy and military might depend on scientific inventions. Just compare the militaries of the Western nations with the Islamic world. There is no comparison whatsoever.
I have just mentioned this in passing. As I said earlier this blog is about the spiritual or philosophical reasons against fanaticism and in favour of free speech and tolerance.
The argument is a bit complex. I will state the overall reasoning in this blog and not elaborate. If you have any questions just ask. The overall reasoning is in three parts and is as under:
- The first reason is that whatever harm you do in this world will be experienced by you yourself in the Intermediate Bardo of Becoming according to Tibetan Buddhism. This topic is discussed in the blog below:
https://insightsandexperiences.com/dealing-with-terror-outfits/ - Then also modern science has proved that the Universe is an organic whole. The oneness of existence is accepted by many (if not all) religious traditions including Islam. The Universe can therefore be compared to a human body and it does not matter what happens to cells within the body as long as the body (the Universe) survives and is in a state of well being. And like the body the Universe is perfectly capable of doing what is necessary to survive. It does not depend on one cell or a group of cells.
This is a powerful argument against fanaticism as it demonstrates that what we do as humans is of little or no consequence. There is no reason to take your (or anybody else’s) beliefs or actions too seriously. The Universe is perfectly capable of looking after itself and does not need the assistance of the fanatical believers.
More on the subject of the Universe being an organic whole is given in the blog below:
https://insightsandexperiences.com/for-the-survival-of-the-human-race/ - The third reason is taken from a quote from Albert Einstein. Basically the quote says that the sense of a self separate from the rest of existence is a delusion. If that is true then it is all the more a powerful argument against fanaticism. If your beliefs are delusionary then why kill people because of them.
If you don’t regard Einstein as an authority on spiritual subjects then check to see what your religious tradition says. I did a Google search relating to Islam (for the search term – does Islam regard the universe as one) and the following was the result:
Yes, Islam regards the universe as one, as it believes in a single God (Allah) who created and sustains the entire universe, meaning everything within it is considered part of one unified creation under His dominion; this concept is central to Islamic monotheism.
The exact quote from Einstein is as under:
A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/369-a-human-being-is-a-part-of-the-whole-called
So these three points form my argument against fanaticism. I would like these concepts to be circulated widely across all countries so that fanaticism and the resulting violence and the threats to the survival of the human race are reduced even if they cannot be eliminated.
I am sending this article to the PMO and some others and if possible the emails of some world leaders (not all of the countries accept emails from India). If you have the contact details of powerful people who can help please share this blog with them.
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