---
layout: default
title: "Full Text: Religion, Spirituality and Aspirations of the People"
description: "Complete verbatim text of A. M. Abraham Ayrookuzhiel's essay 'Religion, Spirituality and Aspirations of the People', originally published in Religion and Society, Vol. XXV, No. 1 (March 1978)."
permalink: /amaa/religion-spirituality-and-aspirations-of-the-people-full-text/
categories: [A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel, Full text]
date: 1978
created: 2026-06-07
---

The **full text of [Religion, Spirituality and Aspirations of the People](/amaa/religion-spirituality-and-aspirations-of-the-people/)** is reproduced here from the original publication by [A. M. Abraham Ayrookuzhiel](/amaa/). The essay was published in *Religion and Society*, Vol. XXV, No. 1 (March 1978).

This version preserves the original wording, structure, and formatting as presented in the source document.

## Contents

1. [Introduction](#introduction)
2. [I. Aspirations of the People and People's Understanding of the Role of Religion as a Social Force in This Context](#aspirations)
3. [II. A. The Need for a 'Spirituality of Combat' to Promote People's Aspirations: A Cultural Point of View](#spirituality-of-combat)
4. [B. Approach to the Study of Hinduism in the Context of People's Aspirations](#study-of-hinduism)
5. [C. Hinduism in Dialogue with the Contemporary World](#dialogue)
6. [Postscript](#postscript)
7. [Notes](#notes)

## Introduction {#introduction}

When I was asked to write a paper on "The Aspirations of the People and the Role of Religion" for our discussion here on the Study of Religion, I promised my colleagues that I would try not to fabricate the aspirations of the people and the role of religion out of my own preconceptions and the predilections of the CISRS but would make a small attempt to discover some of these aspirations as ordinary men and women experience them in their life and how in that context they see religion. This was thought to be important because of the feeling among us that the context of our discussion on the Study of Religion should be set by the people and should not be set by the academic framework of a particular discipline. In this sense the first part of this paper is an attempt to understand the people's thoughts on the role of religion in the context of people's aspirations.

I have managed to collect, with the help of Mr. Venugopal Kokken, accounts of personal conversations with a selected group of 16 people in the Cannanore District of Kerala, on their aspirations and the role of religion as they see it. These include a slum dweller, a watchman in a factory, a tailor, a weaver, a merchant, a housewife, a nurse, a male teacher and two women teachers, a member of the R.S.S., a freedom fighter, the District Secretary of the Revolutionist Socialist Party, District Secretary of the Rationalist Forum, a drama artiste and a writer.

The paper is based on the information gathered from these personal accounts as well as on some of the impressions I gathered from a study of the meaning of religious symbols like *Iswar*, *Karma* and *Dharma*.

<sup id="ref-1"><a href="#note-1">1</a></sup>

## I. Aspirations of the People and People's Understanding of the Role of Religion as a Social Force in This Context {#aspirations}

In this section I will present some of the aspirations of the people and the role of religion as told by the people themselves. In the second part I will reflect, in the context of these personal stories, on the three points, namely: "Spirituality of Combat" to promote aspirations of people, the approach to the Study of Hinduism and Dialogue within it in the context of these aspirations.

Some people are not very articulate about their aspirations in life. All the same, aspirations are implicit in their language. Listen to A. V. Balan, a slum dweller, "I want a happy and peaceful life like any other man. I want to improve my lot and come up in life. What else does any man want in life?" The society looks down on us. But I am also a man. Once I also had a house and a little property. Aspiration for equality of status in his words, "the society looks down on us," and aspiration for equality of opportunity in his words, "I want to come up in life like any other man", is very concretely expressed. But his language does not suffer from the vagueness of an abstract concept like "equality".

What do people of this so-called inarticulate group think of the role of their religion? Listen to Gopalan, a Harijan and a daily wage earner: "What use have I for any religion (matam)? I have to work hard for my bread. Hindus are so divided among themselves unlike Muslims and Christians. They do not help each other. Every religion teaches that all men are children of God. (Please note aspiration for fraternity.) But in the name of religion people divide themselves and discriminate against each other. There is no use saying that I am a Hindu. Nobody will help me. But it is a consolation to call on Iswar in times of difficulties. That is all." Religion consoles, but does not help Gopalan and his colleagues to achieve their aspirations for fraternity and equality of status and opportunity.

Smt. Madhavi of Rematheru, a housewife, has a different story about her aspiration and the role of her religion in that context. "My family", says Madhavi, "is known as Potuvans who traditionally are to perform Suddhi Karmam among the Chaliyas. Today neither my husband nor my children go for suddhi sprinkling (purification ceremony) as other people consider us inferior because of this work, (please note aspiration for equality of status.) Today there is the possibility of earning one's livelihood by other means. Why should we then, continue to live as if we were inferior people, accepting their pittance in the form of rice and small change.' In her resentment Smt. Madhavi is not alone. Members of the Vannan caste (dhoby) who play a similar ritual role in the removal of pula (ritual pollution) and people who perform the traditional ritual duties like making garlands and beating drums take to other jobs whenever they can because these traditional religious roles brand them as inferior in the caste hierarchy.

Some people, I said earlier on, are not very articulate about their aspirations. But this is not true of Smt. Janaki, U.P., school teacher, Chitrakal. Here she tells about her aspiration: 'I was forced to divorce my husband as he insisted on my resigning my job after our marriage. I went against the advice of all my colleagues. I did not want to be a pet of my husband. ............ There is a feeling that women are unfit for the freedoms of man. They are not allowed to enjoy all the freedom which men enjoy in public life. This is wrong. I stand for the rights of women to move about as men do. If men can pursue any profession and lead a married life, why isn't this allowed to women?'

Teacher Janaki is not the only one who is articulate about her aspiration for individual freedom. Staff Nurse, P.U. Padmini, is equally outspoken: 'I want to get married like any other woman,' she says, 'but I often wonder if, after marriage, I will be permitted to do all I do now with my friends. In any case, I will never marry someone who will not allow me to work. Men want all kinds of freedom. But they are unwilling to give to their wives the same freedom. I do not want to be a bird in the cage. I do not want to be a cook for a rich husband or an officer. I will never resign my job as I can always have some money to spend on my own if I am working.'

Teacher Mani was not as lucky as her colleagues. She had to resign her teaching job after marriage. Miss Shanta Kumari stopped working as a Chit Fund canvasser being afraid of calumny.

All these women did not see any role for religion in their quest for freedom. To them employment was the key factor for their emancipation. But religion came to the aid of Smt. Elisa Damayanti, a U.P. school teacher, in another form. 'I am not allowed', says teacher Damayanti, 'to go anywhere outside home and school. I cannot go even for a cultural programme with other teachers. I want to move with people in an open way. But my husband does not like it. I lead a lonely life as I cannot even talk with my neighbours. We quarrel often about religion. He wants me to become a Muslim. As far as I am concerned, Kartav (Jesus) is my redeemer as well as the world's. I take my refuge in him. My only consolation these days is in reading religious books. I am in a veritable prison'.

Regarding Eliza's desire for freedom from an oppressor husband, religion again encourages passivity. But religion itself is an oppressor in the case of P. Sankaran, a watchman. 'I married', says Sankaran, 'a Christian who was a widow with two children. The children still go to church. One of them is a nursing assistant in a Christian hospital. But the Church refuses to accept from my wife the annual membership contribution. This worries her very much. Man should respect the feelings of one's fellow beings. There should not be discrimination in the name of religion. What is needed is purity in speech and action, and open thinking. What is the point of blind belief and prayer when there is no sincerity?' P. Sankaran aspires for religious freedom.

The absence of religious freedom is called vargiyata (communalism) by O. Gopalan, a freedom fighter. According to Gopalan, it is not only the cause of freedom but also that of equality and social justice that suffer because of communalism. 'What I hate most', says Gopalan, 'is communalism (vargiyata). This poison has spread everywhere in the nation's life. Though something was done under the inspiration of Sri Narayanaguru and others, the persecution of Harijans, the dominance of Brahmin and other high castes still continues in all avenues of life, such as politics, banking, etc. They sabotage the various government schemes for the upliftment of low castes in many ways, sometimes even by letting the amount set apart for this lapse. Why, even in cultural and spiritual spheres this brahmin-high caste dominance is continued through agencies like Sri Rama Krishna Mission and Bhavan's Journal. Mere exhortations of the Morarji type or education of the low castes will not help. What is needed is the economic upliftment of these communities. ............ I do not think that Communism will suit India. Indians traditionally value individual freedom, and they respect freedom of thought. ............ Our educational system is misconceived. It produces government servants who behave like yajamananmar (overlords) of people and agricultural graduates who hesitate to touch the mud in the field, and the like.'

These aspirations of the veteran fighter are expressed differently in the philosophy of young K. Aravindan, B.A., a godown keeper. 'Live and let live', he says, 'Abandon superstition. Act without a narrow outlook. Think that others also have the same feelings as you have. Wealth or a degree is not enough to consider oneself cultured. I hate assumptions of inferiority and superiority. I hate discrimination in the name of a community or a religion. Exploitation of the superstitions of people should be stopped.'

Though each of these persons speaks in a particular context of jati, marriage, poverty, government servants, or religion, the basic categories of their aspirations are clear. These are freedom, equality and social justice. They, however, do not think that religion has any role to play in respect of these. They talk of employment, education, government, rational thinking etc. as the factors which are really important in the context of their aspirations. Not that they are against religion, but in the context of seeking success in life they would rather ignore it. Listen to P. Baskaran, a weaver: 'These days the key to success in life is in financial security. This does not depend on any particular religious faith. One has to work hard for it without using any foul means. ............ As far as I am concerned, I never tried to learn what religion teaches about how to live. I do not give any thought to it. I do not think that religion has any influence on people today. People of different religions work together. They discuss the realities of life quite independently of their religion. Perhaps I am saying this because I am a Hindu. Muslims may think differently. I do not know much about Christians'.

M. Mukundan, a school teacher, would go even further. 'I do not think', he says, 'that in this struggle for a better life religion has any place. But it is a means of livelihood for some. Teachings like one should not harm others without reason', 'One should show compassion to the downtrodden', are they not natural human sentiments?<sup id="ref-2"><a href="#note-2">2</a></sup> You don't need religion for it. In fact, whatever progress man has made is due to the advance in scientific knowledge<sup id="ref-2"><a href="#note-2">2</a></sup> and free thinking<sup id="ref-2"><a href="#note-2">2</a></sup>. ............... I do not think religion has any place in the future scheme of things.'

But this is a rather tolerant view of religion compared with that of Mr. M. B. K., District Secretary, Rationalist Forum, Cannanore who is very clear about rationalists' aspirations and the positively harmful role of religion in the context of people's aspirations.

'Our aim', he says, 'is human freedom. The highest goal is the good of the society.<sup id="ref-2"><a href="#note-2">2</a></sup> We are against all forms of exploitation whether it is political, economical or cultural'. What does the Secretary think about religion? 'Religion', M.B.K. says, 'brings about mental slavery. It makes people believe in a non-existent Sakti and creates in them fear. People are made to expect help and well-being from it. They are told everything will go according to vidhi and karmam. This is what I call mental slavery. Instead of encouraging people to face their problems with intelligence and a free mind, they are made to sacrifice their initiative before the Will and pleasure of a Sakti. ............................

'Religions are not interested in the future<sup id="ref-2"><a href="#note-2">2</a></sup> or the progress of human society. Look at the amount of money and wealth the temples, mosques and churches possess. Why don't they make use of it for removing the poverty and disease of common people, for education and industrialization of the country? ....................

'Our government is in fact promoting religion through school education and other media like radio. How can you build a classless and casteless society in India with all these religions around.'

M.B.K. is not a lone voice. I.V. Balan, District Secretary, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Cannanore, is equally clear about his commitment and his views about religion. 'I am committed', says I.V. Balan, 'to the working class movement. There is no other aim in my life. We want to bring about the existence of a society of workers where there is no exploitation. So far we have failed to have a government which represents the working class. I mean, a government representing poor peasants, agricultural, and industrial workers.'

'Our system of education only promotes class interests. It creates a class of people who think that their job is to supervise and rule the country. Marxism should be taught in all schools.'

Where then, does religion stand in his view? 'The great majority in all religion', he says, 'are the oppressed classes. Whatever has been so far achieved is the result of their united struggle as the working class regardless of religion and community. How is such a struggle possible within the framework of religions?'

M.B.K. and I.V. Balan have their faithful followers in men like Krishnan Arakkan, Choran Vijayan. They are people who think that Marxism has done a better job than the religions. Krishnan Arakkan, a weaver says: 'Life's success does not depend on vazhipad (offerings to gods) but on our hard work. Religious concepts like karma phalam, vidhi (fate) are to be substituted with words like, "labour union" and "strike". No employer has ever given any benefit or wage increase out of charity or good will. Whatever rights we have won, are the results of our Struggle.'

Now listen to Choran Vijayan: 'The slogan "wake up and unite" has brought about more practical changes in society than the endless waiting on daivasankalpam and vidhi. In any area what is needed is rational thinking and not blind faith (andhamaya visvasam) ............................

'I think free thinking and education are of more use to change people for the better than religions. Religions, for instance, failed to bring about equality of men though they have been preaching for ages that all men are children of God'.

Kunhikrishnan Nambiar, however, is not a Marxist. But he too feels religions have failed man, and he looks forward to an enlightened humanism. 'It is said', says Nambiar, 'religion is for the betterment of man. But in fact it makes people quarrel among themselves. No religion is better than any other. Every religion is the same, with its share of superstitions. For Muslims, all other people are not human beings but kaphirangal. For Christians everyone excepting themselves is a sinner (papi). I am more ashamed of our caste discrimination in the Hindu religion. If today people love each other it is out of consciousness that people are human beings. I have no respect for a religion which discriminates between man and man. I believe in a religion which looks at every man as man.'

Do you not then feel that religions are unnecessary? Nambiar was asked. 'Sometimes I feel that. Though there are many religions, evil and wrong doing continues. In fact it was government laws that stopped evil practices like prevention of low caste entry into temples, animal sacrifice and, recently, the dowry system. What is needed is not bhakti. Man should understand the sufferings of other people. Superstitions and other evil practices are to be removed. Education should be so oriented as to encourage free thinking.'

## II. A. The Need for a 'Spirituality of Combat' to Promote People's Aspirations: A Cultural Point of View {#spirituality-of-combat}

From the account of people's answers described in the first part, it is seen that when people were asked to speak about their expectations, aims and ideals in life, they expressed their meaning in life in terms of aspiration to individual freedom, social equality and social justice. We have also seen that some of them saw no role for religion in relation to these meanings they have, while others saw religion as a positive obstacle to their aspirations and meanings. However, it does not follow from this that the great majority of the people have no religion. From other studies we know that 90 per cent of the people believe in the complex of religious concepts and symbolic techniques as objectively valid and powerful enough to produce in them certain meaningful cognitive and emotional experiences. What probably they have in mind when they spoke about the 'no role' or 'negative role' of religion in relation to their aspirations is that they do not see in their religion mechanisms and social structures what can bring about or promote their aspirations for values like freedom, equality, fraternity and social justice.

Take for instance, the case of Panayan Sankaran. The orientation of his mind is certainly religious, though, according to him, he does not belong to any one brand of religion. But he could not marry a Christian widow with two children according to any religious rite as he was born a Hindu. Their marriage was civil. Now the Church refuses to take even an annual contribution from her on account of this.

In a few other cases where couples belonging to two different castes or two religions could not marry with the support of their respective people according to religious rites, they were supported by bodies like Labour Unions and Rationalist Forum, and they married according to civil law. The point is that though religions may theoretically stand for the value of freedom, they operate within the social structures of caste and church laws which often limit genuine individual freedoms. From similar experiences in other areas like jati, land etc., ordinary people are inclined to think that values like freedom, equality and social justice are not safeguarded by the existing social structures in religions. Their sense of history is good enough to make them realise that religion not only flourished in the absence of all these values in the past but also the battle for these values was made more difficult by the conservative force in all religions. They complain, like Choran Vijayan, saying, 'Religions failed to bring about equality of men though it has been preaching for ages that all men are children of God'. He and his colleagues look up to social structures like 'labour unions', 'government', 'an open system of education', 'rationalist society', etc., to support and promote their aspirations. These are the kind of social structures they think, that can sustain their meanings.

It is in this context that we have to ask ourselves whether we need a spirituality of combat or a spirituality of detachment. It depends on our view of religion. If we understand religion as a system of sacred concepts and symbols which deals only with certain exclusive and special areas of meaning—say life after death, we need not pay undue attention to the aspirations of the people like freedom, equality and social justice. If, on the contrary, we understand the core symbol in religion 'God' as the ground and norm of all our meanings and aspirations related to 'self', 'society' and 'nature' it should be our concern not only to have the right teachings but also struggle towards new kinds of social structures in society which promote those aspirations. That the need for struggle to shape their future is felt by people is evident when they say that religious concepts like karmavidhi are to be substituted by words like 'strike' (samaram) and 'labour unions'. The question for us is whether we want to see this struggle for these meanings in religious or secular terms. Religion in India, it looks to me, will fail people if it refuses to legitimise these struggles of the emerging culture and to help them with the necessary correctives coming from its transcendental symbols. In that case religion may survive as valid in certain exclusive areas of life. But such religion will suffer ethical ambiguities as it refuses to help in the evolution of a coherent system of meaning for people to envisage a pattern of life.

## B. Approach to the Study of Hinduism in the Context of People's Aspirations {#study-of-hinduism}

Hinduism, for the purpose of this paper, can be described as a complex system of religious symbols like Iswar, Karma, Dharma, Bhutas (evil spirits), Samskaras (rites of passage and related rituals), pujas, etc., etc., through the medium of which Hindus form a picture of themselves and of the world around them. These religious symbols, the values and the meanings they contain, give shape, structure and orientation to their lives.

In the first part of this paper we have seen some of the basic aspirations of the Hindu people like freedom, equality and social justice. We have also heard them using terms like 'natural human sentiments', 'scientific knowledge', 'free thinking', 'good of the society', 'progress' and 'future of the society'. These too are symbols of meaning to them which set the tone and character of their lives. Now, the above two sets of symbols of meaning, one traditional and the other modern, must stand in some mutual relation. From some tentative studies in this direction, it appears that a traditional religious symbol like Dharma is described by some people both in terms of words like exploitation, social justice etc., as well as in terms of customary duties of their caste. These types of changes, in varying forms, are taking place in the case of a number of religious symbols related to their conception of 'nature', 'self' and 'society'. While in some cases new meanings are put into old symbols, there is also the process of dropping some old religious symbols and integrating new ones like humanity, scientific truth, reason, etc. into their symbol complex. It means that in the study of Hinduism as a symbol system of meaning with which Hindus envisage the essential pattern and the ultimate conditions of their existence, we cannot take a static and uniform view since manifestly their conception of 'nature', 'self' and 'society' undergoes certain changes. This is especially important since Hindus never defined their religiosity by a definite set of core symbols and fixed meanings in order to institutionalize their collective religious heritage. The ordinary people are conscious of this freedom of thought they enjoy, to assimilate new meanings and symbols from whatever sources as long as it strikes them as sensible and they continue to affirm their identity as Hindus, as they are born Hindus. It follows from this that in the study of Hinduism, sacred symbols like Iswar, Dharma, Karma, etc., if we limit ourselves to the meanings of these words according to scriptures and philosophers of yore, we will simply fail to understand Iswar, Dharma, Karma, etc., of the Hindus of today. In other words, Hinduism is to be studied in the context of the emerging fabric of meaning and symbols of the Hindus whose sacred vocabulary is increasingly influenced by scientific truths, Humanism, Marxism and other religious Faiths. The challenge to the CISRS is whether it can develop the analytical tools and resources for a study of this nature which provides some idea of the changing face of the Hinduism of today.

## C. Hinduism in Dialogue with the Contemporary World {#dialogue}

From what I have said in the previous paragraphs it is clear that Hinduism is in dialogue with the rest of the world, and that it is to be understood as an organic cultural process. Dialogue in this sense is not merely exchanging notes between two or more groups having expert views on different symbol systems of people's self-conception, but an organic growth of conception and meaning among people through their interaction in a complex of social structures like schools, trade unions, political parties, religious institutions, voluntary organizations, etc.

## Postscript {#postscript}

The Christian participation in this type of Hindu-Christian dialogue would lie in promoting social structures of growth which are in tune with Hindu aspirations and meanings consistent with Christian religious perceptions. This resolves, at this organic level at least, the apparent contradiction between dialogue and mission. Christians however should restrain their temptation to explain the dialogical growth within Hinduism and their support to it in exclusive Christian symbols such as the Unknown Christ of Hinduism. The growth of Hinduism in dialogue should be understood in its own right and with its own symbols.

## Notes {#notes}

<ol>
  <li id="note-1">
    This is the paper on "CISRS and the Study of Religions in the context of People's Aspirations" presented at the CISRS Biennial Council by Rev. Abraham Ayrookuzhiel, who is a member of the CISRS Staff.
    <a href="#ref-1">↩</a>
  </li>

  <li id="note-2">
    Note these phrases — they will be used in the argument presented in Part II B.
    <a href="#ref-2">↩</a>
  </li>
</ol>


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