Adapting to suit Indian conditions

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

Acharya Narendra Dev and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya held fundamentally different and often opposing philosophical views on society, economy, and polity, primarily stemming from their alignment with democratic socialism and Integral Humanism (rooted in Hindu nationalism), respectively. 

Acharya Narendra Dev's Philosophy: Democratic Socialism

Acharya Narendra Dev was a key figure in the Indian socialist movement, co-founding the Congress Socialist Party. His philosophy was rooted in: 

• Socialism and Democracy: He advocated for the establishment of a socialist society, aiming to abolish poverty and exploitation, but believed this must be achieved through democratic means.
• Abolition of Inequality: His primary concern was the upliftment of the deprived sections of society, seeking a classless society with equal opportunities for all.
• Western Influence (Modified): While inspired by Western socialist ideals, he sought to adapt them to suit Indian conditions, rejecting aspects that overly regulated individual freedom or neglected the specific context of India. 

Deendayal Upadhyaya's Philosophy: Integral Humanism 

Deendayal Upadhyaya was a prominent thinker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and his philosophy of "Integral Humanism" is the guiding principle of the modern Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His key tenets included: 

• Rejection of Western "isms": He was a staunch critic of both Western capitalism (which he felt encouraged greed and inequality) and Marxist socialism (which he felt replaced individual freedom with state domination).
• Indigenous Model: Upadhyaya stressed the need for an indigenous, culture-specific economic and social model for India, rooted in its own traditions and values.
• Four Hierarchical Attributes: He viewed the human being as an integrated whole with four attributes: body, mind, intellect, and soul. He argued that all four need to be addressed for complete human development, not just the material aspects emphasized by Western ideologies.
• Supremacy of Dharma: Upadhyaya's philosophy placed "Dharma" (ethical and moral principles, laws of life) as the foundational element, arguing that it should guide all aspects of life, including democracy and the economy.
• Antyodaya and Decentralization: He proposed "Antyodaya" (reaching the poorest of the poor) as an objective and advocated for a decentralized economic model with a focus on small industries and local communities to promote self-reliance and reduce inequality, inspired by ancient Indian village structures.
• Hindu Nationalism: His ideas were intrinsically linked to the concept of Hindu nationalism and an integrated society based on Indian culture. 

In essence, Narendra Dev sought a progressive, egalitarian society through a state-led democratic socialist framework, while Upadhyaya advocated for a holistic, indigenous model based on traditional Indian values, culture, and a balance between the individual and society, fundamentally opposing Western ideological frameworks. 

- GoogleAI

https://www.google.com/search?q=Acharya+Narendra+dev+vs.+Deendayal+Upadhyaya%27s+philosophy

The Great Indian Family: An analysis of religious othering through food identity

P Borah

Muslim cuisine in many Indian contexts is frequently “othered” through various sociocultural mechanisms. Unlike the vegetarian diet which is often associated with upper‐caste Hindu practices, traditional Muslim cuisine typically includes meat …

[HTML] Buddhism, Frontier and Nation-Building: The 1955 Visit of the “Indian Xuanzang” to China

H Bian - Religions, 2025

Raghu Vira’s 1955 visit to China stands as a significant chapter in the history of contemporary Sino-Indian Buddhist cultural exchange. The diary he kept in Hindi offers a detailed record of this journey. However, this episode remains scarcely …

Book review: Jan Breman and Ghanshyam Shah, Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India's Injurious Frame of Communalism

A Shodhan - 2025

… This book is indispensable for anyone seeking to understand the genealogy of Hindutva politics, from the early twentieth-century Gujarat to its consolidation under Narendra Modi. Its combination of history, ethnography and political economy offers …

[PDF] Swadeshi globalization: Dattopant Thengadi's Hindu Nationalist path for globalization in late twentieth-century India

S Narayan - Globalizations, 2025

… This article demonstrates that Hindutva’s approach to neoliberalism and globalization in the twentieth century was not characterized solely by a steadfast assertion of its fascistic or majoritarian tendencies. In fact, often borrowing from (neo)liberal …

[HTML] Ambedkar's Vision and the Search for Equitable Federalism

S Pai

… In the 1980s, the party shifted its ideological focus to Hindutva—a political ideology based on Hindu identity—and, after its victory in the 1987 elections, established strongholds across Maharashtra. This ideological change enabled the …

Complete transformation and perfection

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

Sri Aurobindo and The Mother actively sought to avoid creating a new religion, viewing their work and the practice of Integral Yoga as a dynamic, supramental action and a spiritual path beyond the rigidities of religious systems. A "religion" formed by them would be a contradiction in terms of their core philosophy; however, if a new one were to be formally established, it would be fundamentally different from present conventional religions in several key ways:

Key Differences from Conventional Religions

• Emphasis on direct spiritual experience over fixed beliefs: The path emphasizes individual, direct experience and inner realization over dogmas, fixed mental beliefs, rituals, and set practices. There are no rigid rules, dress codes, or prescribed mantras; the only necessities are aspiration, sincerity, and surrender to the Divine Consciousness.
• Affirmation and transformation of life: Unlike many traditional spiritual paths that advocate world-renunciation and escape from material life (considering the world an illusion or "Maya"), Integral Yoga asserts that all life is a manifestation of the Divine and must be embraced. The goal is not just individual salvation or mukti, but the complete transformation and perfection of all aspects of earthly existence—mind, life, and body—into a divine life in Matter.
• Integral approach vs. partial paths: It is a synthesis of all traditional Yogas (Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, etc.), aiming for the integral perfection of the entire being, rather than the development of only one aspect (e.g., mental perfection, emotional devotion).
• Focus on individual and collective evolution: While old Yogas primarily focused on individual salvation, Integral Yoga also aims for collective transformation and the realization of human unity on Earth. The ultimate goal is an evolutionary leap in consciousness to the Supramental level, a state beyond the mind, which would manifest a "divine life" on Earth.
• Inner guidance over external authority: The process relies heavily on the individual's discovery of their own inner being (the psychic being) and their free progress guided by the Divine Presence within, rather than external religious authorities, moral codes, or hierarchies.
• Rejection of rigid morality: It moves beyond a rigid, constructed moral code that seeks to force all individuals into a single uniform pattern. Instead, it seeks to purify and perfect one's nature through the growth of a spontaneous divine consciousness, which is a movement of self-discovery, not a moral straitjacket.

In essence, a "religion" based on their teachings would be an open-ended, dynamic spiritual science focused on the future potential of human evolution and the manifestation of a new consciousness on Earth, remaining free from the fixed structures, dogmas, and divisions that typically characterize conventional religions.

- GoogleAI 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Had+The+Mother+%26+Sri+Aurobindo+formed+a+new+religion+how+it+would+have+been+different+from+the+present+form&client