"Sermons of the Dead" by Narendra Murty is a book in three parts. Part one cover a brief sketch of six historical martyrs: Socrates, Jesus, Joan of Arc, Galileo, Gandhi, and Mansur al-Hallaj and interviews with them. Was there anything drastically new you learn from this book? Nope if you have followed the lives of these six martyrs, believe in them and follow what the world is going through today. But the catch is there is lot to ponder and implement.
What is commendable is the thought process, the way author has brought all the characters to the present and tried to address most of the pressing problems faced by humanity and the need of the hour. Yes when asked there could be varying views on what the pressing problem are now, but most of them could be related or linked to one of the subject covered in the book. Values, Morals, Love, Peace, Hope, Freedom.
Am sure, the six historical martyrs need no introduction, in the book they are are interviewed by Bertrand Russell a quintessential modern man born on 18th may 1872 in UK. His contributions to logic, epistemology, and the philosophy of mathematics established him as one of the foremost philosophers of the 20th century. To the general public, however, he was best known as a campaigner for peace and as a popular writer on social, political, and moral subjects.
Part 2 covers three eternal debate, one on Mind Vs. Matter by Joan of Arc, Mansur and Russell; 2nd on Authoritarianism Vs. Democracy by Socrates, Gandhi and Russell and 3rd on Science Vs. Religion by Jesus, Galileo and Russell. These debates are age-old in which neither side has ever won a conclusive victory, may be so called the 'eternal debates'.
Mind Vs. Matter: For the modern man what he can see and touch is real, but even matter is made up of minute particles that cannot be seen. Because matter is a form of energy, so is consciousness that give rise to mind. The objective world, a world 'out there' independent of the observer, simply does not exist when we delve into the atomic world. We can only perceive and cannot know what is out there. The same apply to all senses. What we perceive is our own invention. World out there is a work of art and not a scientific fact. We are creating this reality. We can know things only as they present themselves to us, and not 'as they are'. External world is Mind plus matter. Neither objective or pure matter or subjective or pure mind. So can we say 'Omnijective'? We see 'what we are' at different stages of life, and not 'what it is'. Mind evolves out of matter because it is already involved in matter.
Matter = Expression of energy
Mind = Expression of Consciousness.
Consciousness sleeps in the rock, awakens in the plant, moves and feels in the animal and thinks and imagines in the man.
Matter is involved mind and mind is evolved matter.
Authoritarianism vs. Democracy
Democracy is not just the right to vote, citizens should be involved. The belief that human beings, societies and the environment should be ruled by the demands of the market place is diabolic and suicidal. Only when poor are happy with neither ignorance or distress, there are no prisoners or beggars, taxes are not oppressive and aged are not in want only then we can say the democracy is successful. If we have to protect democracy, at some point we have to confront the violence of authoritarianism.
Dysfunctional democracies with their bankrupt economic policies that exist only to serve the power elite, would respond with violence once the people rise in protest when it all becomes to unbearable.
Democracy is controlled by the rich, which can lead to his failure.
Science Vs. Religion
Our science is not an illusion, but it would be an illusion to suppose that what science cannot give us, we can get elsewhere. Science refuse to acknowledge God as God cannot be caught in laboratory experiment. God is a higher dimension and a state of being which simply cannot fit into a laboratory experiment. God is the whole, the totality of existence and science can never grasp God because its vision is fragmentary, because it deals with fragments. And even though science deals with the fragments when the fragments are integrated, we find that we are moving closer to a Unity, the Whole. Science has discovered that matter and energy are one. Time and space are one - time being the fourth dimension of space.
Consciousness is an obvious, glaring fact of the universe and science is incapable of coming to terms with it. It happens to be the field of religion. Religion is all about illusion, revelation, inspiration, insight and vision.
Science cannot run away from the sphere of Value judgement. There is science for knowledge and science for power. They are inextricably linked in the modern world. Power can never be free of value judgement. We are in the middle of a race between human skill as to means and human folly as to ends. The human race has survived hitherto owing to ignorance and incompetence; but given knowledge and competence combined with folly, there can be no certainty of survival.
We are seeing the coexistence of the marvels of science on the physical plane but on the mental plane, we find an attempt to escape into irrationality and a regress into a Utopia where all our wishes come true if only we follow a prescribed formula. We believe in Vastu, Feng Shui, and intense form of narcissism driven by the advertisement industry which place importance to physical body.
Cults are mushrooming and they provide a refugee, by giving a sense of belonging and brotherhood. Religion has two aspects, the inner and the outer. Science see religion as a set of outdated morals. Nobody today is interested in salvation and heaven for virtuous behaviour.
Science should not in arrogance provide blanket judgement, its best representatives - Einstein, John Wheeler - where all religious and mystics in the highest form. The longing in man's soul can only be satisfied by a true and authentic religion. We need science to make the world a better place. 'For what would it profit a man if he gains the entire world but loses his soul?
and in Part 3 each of them give their final message, the need of the hour for humanity.
Socrates speaks on why do we live? Our souls long for things of a higher order: Love, truth, justice, peace and beauty though we are behind material things. Science lead to Truth, religion to goodness and art to beauty. Happiness would elude us in spite of possession of all the material luxuries if the higher motives or meta motives don't guide our lives.
Joan of Arc ask us to strive for and work towards peace.
Galileo to enhance our quest for knowledge, and not power and wealth. Though it is wisdom we should ultimately strive for.
Gandhiji ask us to stop pretending that economics is a science. We have moved out of agricultural, industrial economics and have made finance a gamble, making money not out of goods or services but out of money. An unemployed man is a hungry man and a angry man.
Mansur says that religious law/theocracy and freedom cannot coexist. The five pillars are enough for a good Moslem. Now we have 'clash of civilisation' because religion involves very strong emotions and it is coming out in the public space. Bertrand Russell had wisely remarked 'Religion is a department of Politics'. Beware, look where you are going.
Jesus says, he had not asked for churches, blessed are the pure in the heart for they shall see God. Need of the hour is great LOVE. Love with tears of devotion can conquer the fear of death.
Through these conversations, the book delves into enduring issues such as war, religious conflict, social inequality, and the essence of a virtuous life. This kind of writing do need a soaring, lofty flight of imagination that seeks to visit the realm of the departed to win the treasures of wisdom from the noble dead, making it difficult to categorise it under either non-fiction or fiction.
"Sermons of the Dead" is recommended for readers interested in philosophy, history, and the application of historical wisdom to modern societal challenges. Its imaginative premise and engaging prose offer a unique opportunity to reflect on the insights of some of history's most influential martyrs.
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