A Contemporary Society Needs Contemporary Rules, Not 'Divine' Principles

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 3 December 2024 "A society guided by divine principles is far more likely to achieve a just balance that promotes the well-being of all its members." There is no evidence to support that. The opposite is the truth. By Ghulam Mohiyuddin 02/12/2024 01:56:47 The countries with the most people reporting no belief in any sort of spirit, god, or higher power are France (40%), Czech Republic (37%), Sweden (34%), Netherlands (30%), Estonia (29%), Germany (27%), Belgium (27%) and Slovenia (26%).......courtesy, Wikipedia The top ten least religious countries are: China (7%) Estonia (16%) Sweden (17%) Denmark (19%) Czech Republic (21%) Norway (21%) Hong Kong (24%) Japan (24%) United Kingdom (27%) Finland (28%) Are the aforementioned countries lawless, immoral, undeveloped or underdeveloped? When the State takes care of its citizens on all counts and fronts, when fundamental needs of every person is taken care of and when proper education (not religious education) is available to each and every individual and also when there's no fear of how you'll survive when you're old, your fear of unknown and unseen is naturally diminished and it eventually vanishes. People of countries, which are already religiously indoctrinated for thousands of years like India, often mistakenly think that gods, religions and divine rules and principles regulate our lives. These people may be 'highly educated' but their mindset is inherently religious. Ajeet Keshkambali, the coeval of Buddha, said in Ardhamagadhi (one of the three tributaries of Sanskrit: Pali, Prakrit and Ardhamagadhi; not Apabhransh) 2600 years ago: Na Ro Vana Bheed Parbhande Ishwaraan (Fear engenders god; Bheed: Distortion of Bheetii or Bhay-Fear in Sanskrit). He was killed, most probably by early Hindus or even by the earliest followers of Buddhism as ironically, Buddhism after Buddha, became equally religious and ritualistic like the Brahmanical ritualistic Hinduism. Humans are religiously indoctrinated beings. As I've recently stated, faith makes us fatalistic. It makes us believe in all sorts of spiritual inanities. So, we still believe that countries and societies that abide by divine principles thrive and survive. Faith should have been deciduous (the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or useful and the falling away after its purpose is finished). But it continues to exist with a much greater degree of intensity in a country like India and other third-world countries. We must understand that the so-called divine rules and principles came into existence when our ancestors were troglodytes and there were much smaller homogeneous groups of people who could be controlled by a set of 'divine' rules and decrees. Those 'divine' principles don't pass muster when there are countries and far bigger societies comprising discrete and desperate individuals. You've to form your independent worldly rules to strike a balance to succeed and surge ahead. A contemporary society needs contemporary rules; not divine principles. It ain't a theocracy. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/contemporary-society-rules-divine-principles/d/133905 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism