Volume 4 Number 3

Rationalist Responses to Hinduism in India

Rationalist Responses to Hinduism in India

The syncretic religion of Hinduism built a caste system into its teachings. India’s first rationalist thinker, the Buddha, was only the first reformer among many. His teachings inspired modem freethinkers, including the notable 20th century rationalist, Periyar EV Ramasamy. Ramasamy’s main approach to breaking the caste system was establishing the right to equal education and affirmative action in India’s Constitution. Education became the launching point for pushes by coalitions of rationalists and others for further reforms in treatment of women and children. Ramasamy’s legacy includes Dravidar Kazhagam and its offshoot Periyar International, a rationalist organization that continues to fight for job rights, accurate and religiously unbiased translations of Hindu scriptures, elimination of the caste system, and the liberation of young Indian minds in a predominantly Hindu society.

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

Sam Harris’ latest book Waking Up presents what the author describes as a “rational approach to spirituality.” Harris demonstrates that there is no separate, permanent, independent “self” at the core of one’s being. Self is an illusion but consciousness is very real. A human suffers when trying to align his or her consciousness with this illusory self, but the good news is this bondage can be broken by practicing mindfulness from one moment to the next. Breaking the illusion of self not only enables the clarity to enjoy things as they really are, but it also, says Harris, enables appreciation for the reality and nature of consciousness. Additionally, consciousness is also what gives life a moral dimension. Harris is very upfront about his experiences with mind-altering chemicals and draws upon not only his scientific knowledge but also his many years’ experience in meditative practices of various kinds. The book is a significant contribution to naturalistic spirituality.

Why I Left Mormonism

Why I Left Mormonism

The Mormon church reinforces adherence to its doctrines, many of which are quite strange, by encouraging its members to take the personal experience of intense emotional response as confirmation of religious belief The author, who previously justified his Mormon beliefs based on his experience of “a spiritual witness,” explains how a conversation with an evangelical Christian friend inadvertently exposed to him the shortcomings of this emotion- based approach. This led him from an emotional to an evidence-based epistemology and away from Mormonism and religion in general.