How are you being led? By the Persuasiveness of the force of Truth?

August 15^th is very near and we are about to celebrate our 68^th independence day here in India. On this occasion my thoughts are on the philosophy of democracy. The definition of democracy is “for the people, by the people and of the people.” True to the definition the government is of the people. The people determine who should come to power and then they elect their representatives to govern them. We have seen this in the 2014 general election and the BJP single handedly emerging with absolute majority. People had no option other than BJP. Infact People chose BJP over the two options (Congress or BJP). The AAP made some fantastic ideological and structural changes but their too idealistic dreams did not actualize. People’s obvious choice was BJP and its allies RSS.

Democracy: the word “people” represents a group, a nation, stands for identity, and refers to the common good. “Of” the people (it belongs to the people), “By” (formed by the people), “For” (for the good of everyone, All inclusive).

Truth in Democracy: Majority opinion (mind – the most commonly held opinion is considered as something true, a partial truth).

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in his book Truth and Tolerance mentions about democracy. I like particularly two of his observations. First, he is of the view that the philosophical basis of democracy is relativism.  Second, he also says that we cannot push aside the Marxist criticism of democracy:

How free are elections? To what extent is the people’s will manipulated by publicity, that is, by capital, by the agency of a few people who dominate public opinion? Is there not a new oligarchy of the people who decide what is modern and progressive, what somebody enlightened has to think? How fearsome this oligarchy is, the way they can publicly execute people, is well enough known. Anyone who gets in their way is an enemy of freedom because he is preventing freedom of expression. And what about the way public opinion is shaped in democratically representative councils and committees? Who can still believe that the general good is what really determines their decisions? Who can doubt the power of interests whose dirty hands are being seen more and more often? And is this system of majority and minority really a system of freedom at all? Are not alliances in this or that interest, of every kind, becoming visibly stronger than the actual political representation in Parliament? In this confusion of forces the problem of society becoming ungovernable is an ever greater threat: the desire of opposing groups for domination blocks the freedom of the whole. (from Ratzinger, Truth and Tolerance,2003)

Who has truth? What is truth? Is it an utilitarian truth that democracy proposes – the maximum happiness for the maximum number of people? Or is it an egalitarian truth – sabke saath sabke vikas? Whose interests are promoted? – interests of the common people? Or the interests of the petty selfish politicians? Democracy loses its power when it is practiced in the midst of a maddening crowd who are driven by public opinion and false ideologies. Truth has become separated from the exercise of freedom. An eschatological promise (ache din aayega) by an elected representative sparkles hope but it is part of the relativistic mentality – this is only one way of reaching that good day and cannot promise to bring about the ultimate good day. No one is to be blamed, everyone is on the way.

Yet the truth is – it is very persuasive. Its force beckons you and me. Its good also to reflect on the poem of Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore is very perceptive of narrow thinking, lack of depth in presenting the truth, the reasoning should be clear, the experience of the force of freedom and truth should be that of the experience of a clear stream that is free flowing and the contrast of it is a dreary desert created by dead habits. Tagore wishes that freedom and truth have a horizon that is expansive. It is unstoppable.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

How are you being led? By the Persuasiveness of the force of Truth?

Happy Independence Day 2014!