WRITTEN BY R. NANJAPPA                        

Post No. 8669

Date uploaded in London – – – –12 SEPTEMBER 2020   

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

FOSSIL SOCIETIES?-1 (part 2)

R. Nanjappa

FOUR CIVILIZATIONS

One of Toynbee’s basic propositions was that at the end of the 20th century, four civilizations/societies would contend for survival if not supremacy: Western Civilization, Islamic , Hindu  and the Far East. He did not predict the outcome but merely hinted at what might happen. One possibility is that the Western Civilisation might become global!

 Today we know that Islam is aggressive all over the world, and militant in many areas.. But the West is not exactly Christian any more! Most states consider themselves secular, and nearly 30% of the people consider themselves atheistic, while an equal number declare themselves “spiritual but not religious ” i.e. they have no affiliation to any organised church. It is mainly with such secular entities that Islamists are fighting! The major Western countries like the US, UK, Germany, France are not engaging Islamic fundamentalists to defend Christianity (as the Christians did during the Crusades) but merely to survive as secular societies where religion would not dictate public life ! [The basic virtues of decency and elementary morality that  cultured Westerners display is undeniably derived from their religious sources, but religion is not admitted as motivating the State.] We may now realise what tremendous observation Toynbee made ! It is the general Western ideals and model that are getting globalised now.

The Far Eastern civilization is mainly Chinese and smaller Buddhist societies. China has its own religions but today it is irreligious as a State. But it has become a dominant economic and military power, with major ambitions, challenging even the US and it is the virtual master of the Far East, with a vast ethnic Chinese population in many countries..

The Far East

In the light of these, one can see how prescient Toynbee  was- he came so close to the reality  that prevails today, writing  over 60 years ago. After him, Samuel Huntington considered the post-cold war world as a clash of civilizations. Though he numbered 7 contestants, the real factors are just 4: the West, Islam, Hinduism and China. 

FOSSIL SOCIETIES – JEWS

There is another important fact which Toynbee pointed out. In the very first volume, writing in 1934, he wrote:

There remains the case where victims of religious discrimination represent an extinct society which only survives as a fossil…. by far the most notable is one of the fossil remnants  of the Syriac Society, the Jews.

When this was written, the modern state of Israel was not yet created and the Jews were living scattered in many lands, their home land having been occupied by Christians and Muslims successively. The Jews were one of the most intelligent and creative communities of the world and they were [and still are] a force, wherever they lived. For this very reason there was wild prejudice against them in most countries where they lived and they had to live in ghettos.

But what about their religion? It had ceased to grow once they were driven out of their homeland. They merely survived, still waiting for their saviour.

Modern Israel was created in 1948 and many Jews of the world went and settled there. But still, more Jews live outside Israel! [The Jewish population of Israel is around 6.3 million; there are about 8 million Jews in other countries of the world!] And Israel as a political entity is surrounded by hostile neighbours [which will not end till the day of Judgement!] and it is  perpetually preoccupied with self preservation. Defence indeed has become their religion. Their religious faith is stagnant! Their genius and creativity are focussed on survival and other areas of human endeavour.

(Look at the number of Jews among Nobel Laureates!) How then can they flourish as a civilization? Judaism is just a remnant- that is the meaning of fossil. Remnant of the past, refusing or failing to grow, in the absence of new creative inputs!

Every living system has to keep growing or it decays! A living religion has to undergo perpetual renewal. Where a religion looks to a golden past and seeks to restore it, it means that it has lost its vitality and become a mere fossil!

We can see this clearly demonstrated in the glorious history of Judaism. It was kept alive by a succession of Prophets. They did differ among themselves, in spite of the core teachings but so long as they flourished in their homeland, they kept growing, reconciling all the differences. That was the sign of living vitality. But they were overtaken by the Christians and the Muslims, and were driven out. Since then, survival as a community became the issue, not growth as a faith. This continues to this day, as they are still waiting for their Prophet to come!

This is the state of the three of the four civilizations that Toynbee wrote about, and the fossil society, the Jews. What about the fourth civilisation that he stated-Hinduism? This has to be dealt with separately.

tags– fossil societies-2

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WRITTEN BY R. NANJAPPA                        

Post No. 8662

Date uploaded in London – – – –11 SEPTEMBER 2020   

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

FOSSIL SOCIETIES?-1 (Part 1)

R. Nanjappa

Introduction

India is the base of Hindu civilization. But it has been under threat from1. Muslim invasions and rule 2. British colonial rule 3.Secular Indian govt. after Independence which has completely de-Indianised our education so that the youth of India (those under 35) are almost totally alienated from our roots. Hindus have no leadership on the religious or social or political fronts- leadership that will positively and unapologetically work for Hindus.Our religious leadership is either obscurantist (the orthodox speaking for a simple return to the past) or reformist in various degrees ( eg. new gurus and cults.) On the social side, Hindus are now divided on the basis of communities, with an eye on vote bank politics.. In the circumstances, Hindus are not conscious that they are a civilization or aware of the dangers facing them and the need to defend themselves intelligently.

This and two other essays (part 2 and part 3) are like the general introduction, with a global view.

 ARNOLD TOYNBEE

There are many good writers on any subject. But most of their books get dated. There are some great writers whose books acquire added value as time passes. They stand up and defy time, and rise above the temporary concerns of particular societies and times. Arnold Toynbee is such a great writer. 

ARNOLD TOYNBEE, (1889-1975) was a great historian of the last century. He studied world history not as the political story of nations and rulers  but as the unfolding of civilisations. He looked at over 25 civilizations for which records were available and inquired into what caused their origin, rise, development, decay and eventual collapse.

 NATION AND CIVILIZATION

He proposed that- 

1.A civilization could flourish only if it could meet the various challenges. 

2. It was a small minority in each civilisation which really contributed to its survival and growth. He called it ” the creative minority “. Eventually, it became a merely “dominant minority ” enjoying the status and demanding the privileges, but making no creative contribution. This was the main reason for downfall. 
3. Societies turned to become mere fossils in the absence of creative renewal.
He gave his analysis in a massive study  running into 12 volumes titled ” A Study of History “. It was published between 1934 and 1961.

There is an abridged edition in two volumes- even this is voluminous. Toynbee dealt with issues more fundamental than political or social history of national units as commonly understood; therefore he cannot be considered a narrow academic historian in the conventional sense. He is   a philosopher of history or meta-historian. He is among historians what Einstein is among so-called scientists.

   Other ‘professional’ or conventional academic historians tended to dispute Toynbee’s ideas, holding that he promoted fancy theories and used known facts to sustain them. But this is what every historian does! They take the ‘facts’ or events and explain them in their own way. Are they not weaving their own theories? Toynbee commanded enormous public attention and esteem, but not much academic following. As usual in such cases, the very mass of his writings, with unending streams of details deterred quick mastery of his work.

JUDGING WITHOUT STUDY?

We get a feeling that most people tend to judge him without studying his work thoroughly- as we often do in serious matters! For instance, how many of us have studied enough of the literature on GDP or global warming to come to an informed understanding? We rely on some authority and feel scientists or specialists will take care! Do we board a plane fully knowing how the engine works? Alas! It is the same scientists who first created global warming, then denied it and now are at a loss to understand its full magnitude and implications! The scientists surely do take care of how their bread is buttered !

There are of course areas where we may disagree with Toynbee. For instance, we may not agree with the way he has dealt with Buddhism vis a vis Hinduism. In fact not many Westerners understand or can ever do justice to the connection between Hinduism and Buddhism properly. For that we need someone like Ananda Coomaraswamy, to be born in the West! But there are areas where Toynbee provides us with true insights. These are coming to haunt us now.

CIVILIZATION GREATER THAN NATION

The very fact that the major nations of Europe thought of forming the European Union shows that the idea of civilization is more solid than that  of a nation state! The modern idea of the nation state is hardly two centuries old. The nation states that fought two world wars in the last century were mainly Christian! They fought the wars because they forgot their common bonds! It took two bloody wars to remind them of their common elements! It is the recognition of the common factors or interessts above national identities that prompted statesmen to forge European Union.

Today, the West is not a Christian civilization any more, as the State is separated from the Church-though Christians live there. The State is governed by secular-humanist ideals after the Enlightenment, and the public space for religion is shrinking. But what is forgotten is that even the humanist ideal as developed in the West has appeal only to those nations which were Christian in the first place, and/or were subject to their influence. The Muslims are not guided by the ideal of humanism in matters of government.  

                                        *                   (to be continued)

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