Commentary/ Rajeev Srinivasan

Promises to keep

It is pretty obvious that religion is enjoying a comeback across the globe. The reasons are not entirely clear, but maybe it is a backlash to what the so-called Enlightenment has wrought especially in the West -- an alienated populace that is perhaps tired of the materialistic rat race and is looking to consume some spirituality now -- the very same hunger that Gita Mehta lampooned so devastatingly in Karma Cola.

I am of the opinion that man cannot survive without faith in something greater than himself; and that the search for meaning and truth is built into us. I suspect that ever since the first sentient apes looked up at the sky and marvelled at the sun and lightning and thunder, we as a species have needed to believe in something superior to us, call it God or Nature or whatever. As the epigram goes, "If God didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent Him/Her/It".

Conventional wisdom suggests religious observance in the West is on the decline, but surveys suggest the opposite, according to an article in The Economist. For example, the percentage of American adults who believe in God (or a universal spirit) is an astonishing 97; in Heaven 90; in miracles 79; Hell 73; in angels 72; and the Devil 65, according to Gallup polls in 1994.

The proportion of adults who have attended a religious service in the past week has increased from 37 per cent in the 1930s to 42 per cent in the 1990s, and those who went to college are more likely to be a member of a religious group than those who did not. Sixtyone per cent of Americans believe democracy cannot survive without a belief in god. Almost all Americans pray and believe prayers are answered; almost 33 per cent believe God speaks to them directly! No wonder charlatans have a field day.

Recently, a group called the Promise Keepers has been making headlines all over the US. This is an all-male group that has grown from some 4,000 members to a million plus in the last three or four years; they had a huge rally in Washington recently. In a somewhat bizarre spectacle, these men gather in sports stadia to hug and pray and cry and confess their sins, sexual and otherwise, and to promise to become good, religious, family men who also want to do something for their nation.

Here, from Time magazine, is a list of the promises they make to their families and communities. Each promises to become a better human being through:
1. Honouring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit;
2. Pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promise;
3. Practising spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity;
4. Building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values;
5. Supporting his church by honouring and praying for his pastor, and by giving his time and resources;
6. Reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity;
7. Influencing his world, being obedient to the great commandment (Mark 12:30-31) and the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

I must note, though, that women's groups and racial and religious minorities view the Promise Keepers with considerable suspicion, because they fear all this might be old wine in new bottles: yet another attempt by the powerful conservatives of America to bring to fruition their vision of a lily-white, Bible-thumping, male-dominated, oppressive, Christian America, much like Margaret Atwood's nightmare scenario in The Handmaid's Tale.

While these 'promises' are all well and good, we have to look a little closer at the small print in item number 7.

Mark 12:30-31: Love your Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength... and Love your neighbour as yourself.

Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Mark's injunction is just hunky-dory, but Matthew makes me cringe. Why 'baptise all nations?' Why shouldn't people spend time in their own countries, fixing the problems there, before running around trying to 'save' others? Physician, heal thyself, etc. For example, conditions in the ghettos of American cities -- violence, disease, poverty -- are on par with the worst anywhere in the world.

I wonder, can Hindus come up with a set of promises of their own? Of course, this could be considered yet another example of aping the West, and my intellectual friend Bapa Rao might go so far as to accuse me of 'crypto-Macaulayism'. Nevertheless, there is quite a bit worth emulating in the West -- sadly, Indians seem to pick the very worst aspects to emulate. But we could leverage the good stuff they have done: and they have done a few things right, we all agree.

My personal belief is that for the Indian enterprise to go forward we need to focus on:
a. Defence and security of the nation: we need to defend ourselves against the various forces attempting daily to subvert and destroy us
b. Personal integrity in public life: we need to combat the endemic corruption in our polity that has nullified so much good work
c. Discipline for the public good: we need to remove that cavalier disregard for rules and laws that makes us so undependable; and to instill a sense of ownership in the public good
d. Self-image and self-respect: we need to believe that we are, each one of us as individuals, 'somebodies': worthy of respect as human beings

Can we achieve these through articulating a few core values that people can identify with? It has been done before. In The Europeans, an Italian journalist suggested the British were able to establish a far-flung empire because their ruling classes had all internalised the same seven or so beliefs, articles of faith, that had been drilled into them at public schools. (I know, I know, why should we learn from a 'third-rate power'? But thank you, Mr Gujral, for that show of spine!)

Let me put forward a set of seven promises that a Hindu man can strive to keep. I know a number of individuals, such as T N Seshan, have created groups that are striving to improve the condition of Indian society. I also know that various Hindu groups have established thoughtful rules of conduct for their followers. Nevertheless, I am so intrigued by the success of the American Promise Keepers, that I wonder why we cannot repeat it in India.

Let me propose (acknowledging that this list could be vastly improved, but it is a start) that a Hindu Promise Keeper should strive to improve himself and his nation through:

1. Honouring the Supreme Brahman through worship, prayer and obedience to God's word in the Bhagavad Gita, of striving to do his duty with indifference to the fruits of his labour;
2. Pursuing vital and platonic relationships with a few men and women, understanding that he needs brothers and sisters to help him keep his promises;
3. Practising spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity;
4. Building strong marriages and families through love, protection and Hindu values;
5. Supporting his temple by giving his time and resources and by participating in charitable work;
6. Reaching beyond any caste and regional barriers to demonstrate the power of Hindu unity;
7. Influencing his world, by refusing to be corrupt and by honouring his nation through his words and deeds.

Can something like this work? Who knows? But is it worth trying? Probably.

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