I often wonder why India never produced intellectuals who radically changed people’s way of thinking and brought about changes in society. We produced dreamers and visionaries like Gandhi, Nehru, Subhash Bose who caused political upheavals that changed the course of our country’s history; however, the only one of the trio who also ushered in social change which had a lasting effect was Nehru because he had freed his mind of the cobwebs of religiosity. We did have a few intellectuals like M N Roy and Nirad Chaudhary but their impact on our way of thinking was minimal.

In Europe it was different. By the middle of the 18th century the Church had lost its monopoly of being the sole mentor of society. The spoken word was replaced by the printed word. The upper echelons of society were literate and tended to turn to tracts, treatise and books written by scholars, most of whom did not accept teachings of the Bible or the apostles as gospel truth. The educated elite led the way to social reform; the masses followed their lead.

This did not happen in India. Only a miniscule section of our aristocracy was enlightened. It knew how to give orders but not convince people that they were right. The western educated elite expressed its views in English known to barely two per cent of our population. As a result preachers of religion continued to remain guardians of social morals. The written word did not replace the spoken word. It has not done so to this day. That is why intellectuals made no impact on Indian society.

Another factor which put Indian thinkers at a disadvantage was our attitude towards our gurus - teachers. They had to be of impeccable character, saintly, almost God-like. If they were known to drink, fornicate, be homosexual, liars, cheaters etc. they are put out of reckoning. This never bothered Europeans, most of their intellectuals were hard-drinking, womanisers, spongers and self-promoters. Nevertheless, they were held in respect because of what they wrote.

What I have said can be illustrated by the teachings and personal life of one regarded by scholars as the pioneer of intellectualism in Europe, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-78). He was unknown till he won an essay competition organised by a little known provincial French academy on the topic “Whether the rebirth of the sciences and the arts has contributed to the improvement of morals.” This was in 1750 when Rousseau was 39-years-old. Almost overnight this non-entity was catapulated to celebrity status.

Rich aristocrats put their chateaus at his disposal; they arranged salons and invited their friends to listen to what he had to say because he roused their feeling of guilt for being rich and privileged.

The novels and essays he wrote thereafter were gobbled up by avid readers. He wanted the citizens and the State to redraw the contract of their relationship giving citizens a much bigger role in the government and freedom of expression and behaviour. To look for an Indian parallel to Rousseau will be futile.

In India a man like Rousseau would have been spat upon as a clever badmash. In France his body rests in the Pantheon among the greatest of the great of the nation.

Questions
How is that while we celebrate Janmaashtami and Ram Naumi every year, know the exact times and places when Shri Krishna and Shri Rama were born, we do not know the years they were born. I hope some scholar of Hinduism would enlighten us on the subject. Why don’t people ask this question? Why is it taboo?

Another question to which I have hitherto failed to get a satisfactory answer is the significance of the Number 108. Why have Hindu rosaries exactly 108 beads (mankas), never more or less?

Christian, Muslims and Sikhs also use rosaries as an aide to prayer or while meditating but they attach no significance to the number of beads on them. There is no mention of 108 in the Vedas or the Upanishads. When did 108 come to be regarded as of special significance? By whom? and Why? I am sure our readers would like to know.

One letter truth
For bridegrooms who demand a dowry as a pre-condition, all you have to do is to substitute the letter “D” by a “B” to get at the truth “Bribegrooms.”
(Contributed by KSS Ahluwalia, Amritsar.)