Mira and Mahavir or Belief in God

Author(s): N V thadani
Publisher: Hindu College Delhi

Page 9

111
It would be unfair to accuse the educated young man of lack of faith-if that alone is the basis of religion and belief in God. All his education is an emphasis on reason; he is taught to test all things in its light, and to distinguish between right and wrong, the true and the false by its means. Is Religion an exception-and on what grounds? If it is a mystery, if it is beyond the scope of human understanding,-what is its use to man? These are questions which the educated young man of today does not hesitate to ask, and still awaits an answer.
I believe the educated young man of today, however little he might believe in an orthodox system of religion, is not less religious than his elders. He is as earnest as ever, and is not less willing to learn-even to believe in God-if only some one could teach him. But he will not take things on trust, and that is a sign of a growing and healthy mind; and perhaps he has his own ideas of religion in terms of the service of Man, more than the worship of an ideal Deity in temples, churches, and mosques.
It is a little less than a century ago that this tendency made its first appearance in this country. It was due to the impact of western thought on eastern life,-of Christian idealism on Hindu and Muslim culture at the time. The citadel of orthodoxy was attacked, and the ramparts gave way. Then, shaken and shocked, orthodoxy roused itself from slumber, put on its armour, and came out to meet the foe. Religion was reformed, and schools