ETHICS: THE DEMONIZATION OF HUMANITY
Dr Jernail Singh Anand
[How evil crept into the blood of man? Adam and Eve are Christian creations, so is Satan. But, Indian mythology takes us back into several Yugas, [epochs of time]. Here, I have tried to articulate how evil started its dark procession, engulfing the human race in the Kaliyuga**]TANT-TANTRA:*
I am reminded of an anecdote from Tant-Tantra [Neo-mythology]. Once upon a time, the entire society was in good moral health. And there was no crime. [There are some invisible voices which are loudly calling me a liar. But I am telling a story. I also don’t know whether it really happened or not.]
The demons, the divine police, were without work. They struck work. Now, don’t tell me when they had no work, what is the sense in going on strike. [These days too, people, who don’t believe in work, are often found on strike.]
After a long strike for a million years, gods took pity on them. It was the time of Satyuga.**
What you want? asked Brahma.
Asuras [devils] came forward and said:
All our dark-angels are without work. We are rotting in sterile progression. We want that some evil should be released into the minds of men. So that my police force could get busy, and stop conspiring against one another.
Brahma agreed to their demand. In western mythology, Satan was able to tempt Eve but he was a late starter. According to our Tant-Tantra [Neo-mythology], the gods agreed to release Evil much ahead of the times of Satan. They called for Pandora’s Box, and lifted the lid off. All the evils fanned out from the jar and spanned over the length and breadth of the human empire.
Should we attack the animals, the birds, and the vegetation also? Asuras queried.
Brahma said: No. They will remain true to Nature and to gods. For, they are the only source of survival for mankind. If evil is injected into them, it will mean corrupting the whole lot.
DEMONIC CELEBRATIONS
The Devils started dancing and singing. It was a day of great Celebration. And that day marked the end of Satyuga. It was Treta** now, in which, evil was neither a norm, nor an exception, but fairly present in human blood.
It was decided that evil will form the periphery of human existence so that devils could be engaged for causing pain to humanity, and also, for delivering people from their sins by purgation. These were times when Milton had no idea of Hell, or even Satan. In Treta, the predecessors of Satan were ‘asuras’ like Mehkhasur, Raktbeej, shumbh, Nishumb [devils from Indian mythology] etc. They gained powers from the angels, but were finally afraid of the divine dispensation. Gods often called them ‘our gangster army’ – who were sent on sharpshooting and hired killings sometimes.
By and by, the presence of evil expanded its base, and by the time we glide into Dwapra**, the world was moving fast into the grind of the evil forces. If it was Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhkarna [icons of evil] in Treta, Dwapra saw great demons like Kamsa and Duryodhana [evil kings] and his associates. The people were noble, evil was present mostly and prominently in royal blood, which caused bloodshed and massacre too. Lord Krishna had to descend on the earth to kill the vaulting ambition of the Asuras.
The space that was allocated to Evil got a great push as Dwapra subsided, and Kaliyuga took over. In our times, when we are at the apex of the Kaliyuga, and fast racing towards our own extinction, evil has overtaken every space in human mind. What was a fringe element in previous epochs, has acquired centre stage. So much so that angels are afraid of the powers of demons like Lustus, [Lustus is a neo-mythical character, who was anointed as the Prince of Darkness, as per J.S. Anand’s epic ‘Lustus: The Prince of Darkness’] who are corporates of Evil and who have taken the world by storm.
What has become extinct in this world? And if it has developed brain fever, how it can be set right? – are major questions before us today. Although, lost in the fast current of time, we have no time to stop and think, and, is it possible to change the flow, when we are flowing with the current?
The impact of evil that we feel today has become accentuated by the desecration of all the institutions of Goodness and God. Religions had developed into a way of life in which people were in awe of the gods. They did not act amiss for fear of divine punishment. These are times when EVIL has inundated human psyche in such a way, THAT THE FEAR OF GODS HAS BEEN SWEPT AWAY. EVIL knows neither God nor his handmaiden, Goodness who have no space in the world. Men have been thoroughly corrupted. And, the most dangerous of all, in Pandora’s Box, only Hope was left behind. That was centuries ago. Evil has re-opened that box, and taken Hope prisoner. It is being dangled before men like the proverbial carrot. And Evil masters rule the roost, while sitting on their seats of power, fearless of any divine indictment.
Men have lost faith in the divine order because gods became too self-indulgent, and instead of taking care of the prayers and calls of the people, preferred to keep drunk on manna dew [heavenly food] and enjoy the dances in the celestial realms. When people called the gods for help, nobody came to their help. It was shown only in films that gods take revenge on evil doers. In real life, the evil-mongers are enjoying the bounties of life. In the political and social life, the media shows that those who can talk loud, and trade lies, are the real leaders of this world. It dispirits the men of goodness who find, there is no mass media which will project good deeds.
Dear friends, in this dismal scenario, in this darkness of despair, YOU can become the light. You can INITIATE the change for the better. It is time, we should usher in the SATYUGA again. Let things start changing. Let people start thinking differently. Let education once again gain its moral centre. Let ethics become a part of a goodman’s life. Let us leave the dictum of SUCCESS, WEALTH, FAME behind now. It is an accursed empire which makes the world spin like a dog who is after its own tail.
Let us look afresh at the things around us. They need to be arranged in a different order. What will come first? Physics, Chemistry, English or Ethics? If we want a change, we have to start with Ethics, Physics, Chemistry, English. Let us start our march into the heart of a new era, the better times, where men love values, think before they act, and blind ambition licks the dustbin.
Will you support me in this crusade? We want spirituality to replace religion. All divisions must go. Let us start belonging once again to Nature. To God. And let us cultivate Goodness. Love for our Neighbour. Sympathy. Compassion. And a sense of understanding and accommodation. Personal ambition needs to be moderated for the larger social good.
[Tant-Tantra is an assumed work [Neo-Mythology] which parallels ‘Panch Tantra’] [* Satyuga, Treta, Dwapra and Kaliyuga are four epoch according to Indian mythology]Author:
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand is Founder Chairperson of The Ethical Universe, the International Academy of Ethics, a think-tank of Poets, Philosophers, Thinkers, Scientists and Social Scientists. He is Professor Emeritus with the European Institute of the Roma Studies, Belgrade and Honorary Member of the Serbian Writers Association. Dr. Anand has authored 150 books which include 9 epics which are considered world classics. He has innovated the theory of Bio-text in critical theory. The Univ. of Neyshabur, Iran has conducted a Research Project on his Poetry comparing it with Iranian Poets, under Dr. Roghayeh Farsi. His works have been translated into 20 world languages.
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