Mahatma Philosophy of God (Nirmik)

 ‘Nirmik’, meaning God, is the new term Jotiba has used for the Creator of the universe. He believed that terms hitherto coined for God, had grown out of practices and observances, of prayer or worship, which only created social rift amongst human beings. Hence, he eschewed terms such as Ishwar, Allah, Brahma, etc, According to him, service to mankind or defending human equality and freedom was in essence the true worship of God.

Jotirao had written the Sarvajanik Satyadharma before his death but it was published posthumously. In the introduction to the book he said: In this vast, boundless space of ours the ‘Nirmik’ (Creator) has created all living beings along with innumerable solar systems and their planets and satellites. By the grace of God, I have written this humble book for the good of humanity, to show to men and women what kind of conduct to adopt towards others, with His thoughts always in their minds and which will please Him. I ask of Him that this book be accepted by all and that all of us enjoy equally ‘Nirmik’s’ kingdom of truth.

Although Jotirao rebelled against Brahminical scriptures, it appears that he could not dissociate himself from the religious view on the establishment of God’s kingdom (not temporal power) on earth. He however discarded blind beliefs and customs, orthodox and senseless Hindu rites and religious ceremonies and simplified and cut short many of them. Most leaders of the Saryashodhak Samaj were in accord with him.

In his preface to Jotirao’s book, Dr Vishram Ghole says: “A false religion, idol worship and the caste system have together created havoc in India—this has been well portrayed in the book. How can one create an image of God when one does not know how God looks, what his form is like, when no one has seen him? Everyone has come to realise that the caste system as it operates at present has been doing a lot of harm.”

All we have to say is that it is one of the most important causes for the decline of Indians, for increasing mutual hostility, for the numerous disputes and for the slavish attitude, Dr Ghole further says: “For the past forty years or so Jotirao Phule has been speaking on religious and practical issues. Through debate he has removed illusions from the people’s minds. He has written books and dedicated them to the people. He has discussed and continues to discuss these issues in newspapers. He has instructed the public through many poetic compositions. Apart from this he has given himself up to public service. He has inculcated in people the habit of inquiring into the veracity and cause and effect of religious matters. He has demonstrated what is right and what is wrong with respect to particular customs. He has disapproved the practice of idol worship and upholded monotheism. He has refuted beliefs that would cause harassment to people in matters of religion, duty and everyday activities. He has done a great service to the public with all his good work. The fruit of his labour of long years can be now seen everywhere and many people have gradually begun to believe in one God. The myth of religion has been exposed and people now recognise its weaknesses. They understand now that the Puranas are mere fiction.”

Dr Ghole sums up Jotirao’s philosophy as follows: “Worship one God, practise righteous conduct. Everyone should behave like brothers and sisters towards each other. All human beings, men and women, should have equal rights. There should be no caste discrimination. The evil customs of today, which are the offshoots of our religion, should be discarded.” Or Ghole expressed the confidence that the book would strike at the root cause of blind faith and fanaticism. He recommended that people of all religions—Jews, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and others should have the book in their collection. Jotirao begins the book Sarvajanik Satyadharma with the injunction that man could never be happy in the world unless his conduct was true (righteous).

Truth is the primary home of all,
The refuge of all religions.
All the happiness in the world
Is the offspring of truth.
Truth is the shelter of happiness,
The rest is all darkness.
Verily, truth reigns supreme,
It does away with spite and gall.
Those sustained by truth
Can verily rout the false-hearted.
On seeing the power of truth
The jester turns green with envy.
Real happiness is not for the actor
Who attempts to shun truth and God.
Joti prays to all the people,
Do not give in to untruth.
Jotirao further says in his book:

Of all the scriptures created by human beings none contains ‘universal’ truth from the beginning to the end, because every scripture contains some element of dogma in response to the dictates of time, thug creating divisions, envy and hate. Thus gist of Jotirao’s book is:

If the Creator is the ‘Nirmik’ of us all, then he should grant human beings mercy to suitably enjoy all the human rights that have been created. Since this does not happen, human beings have to undergo various kinds of unbearable sufferings. Feelings of enmity have flourished among the people of the nations of the world, giving rise to undue pride in one’s country and religion. Rivers of numerous nations of the world join the sea. How then can any one river be termed holy? For even that holiest of holy rivers carries the excreta of a dog in its womb before proceeding to the seas. When all human beings are equal in body and mind, how can some acquire holiness by birth and thus attain superiority? They cannot escape life and death, just like the rest of us, and they are as virtuous as the rest of us. Man should not try to find out what the Creator is like or where He resides. The universe is bottomless and limitless. So it is impossible for an insignificant creature such as a human being to fathom the Creator. He is incomprehensible. Even Brahma, who originated from the lotus, had never set his eyes on the Creator. The Creator has created’ flowers and other beautiful things in this world for enjoyment by man. So there is no point in offering them in worship to Him. The flowers’ purpose will be fulfilled if they are offered in the form of garlands in the name of God to those virtuous people who feed their families on the sweat of their brow, struggle day and night for the good of the world to free their ignorant brethren from selfish, opportunistic people.

Man will not gain anything by offering flowers to a stone idol or by offering prayers. One cannot gain vision of the ‘Nirmik’ by donning yellow silk, lighting incense, holding one’s nose (as in a rite) and closing one’s eyes (in worship). Repeating ‘Nirmik’s’ name is not going to make our parents blessed. Those who do not earn their livelihood on the strength of their own labour, or do not strive for the good of the world, but in order to fill their own bellies resort to donning the garb of hypocritical mendicants, forever intoxicated with bhang, gorging on the delicacies offered by ignorant, simple-minded persons and indulge in meaningless repetition of God’s name, expose themselves to the derision of the sagacious. With gratitude in one’s heart for God and by treating one another like brothers and sisters, all human beings can be happy. God’s regime will be established and His kingdom will come. All scriptures describe heaven, but it is imaginary. There is no region on earth known as heaven.

The ‘Nirmik’ has no need for offerings. One can earn the merit that one would have earned otherwise by being kind to pious men in their times of difficulty or by helping an invalid. Between men and women, women are the superior sex. One can repay everyone’s debt but never mat of the mother who gives birth. A home is not a home without a woman in it. A woman selflessly looks after everyone. Being the weaker sex and with man being greedy and selfish, the woman has been subjugated by the latter. Men have even forbidden her learning so that she would not know her rights. The practice of polygamy is evil. The male’s greed creates envy and hatred of all kinds. Men of vice betray their wives by making it with many women and in the process of satisfying their lust for them, succumb to various kinds of venereal diseases which then spread rapidly elsewhere. If an intoxicated man has intercourse with a woman in menstruation leprosy occurs, which also spreads to the offspring’s. Widowers, who marry beautiful, inexperienced girls, ruin their lives. But if these girls are widowed, they are not allowed to remarry. They have to resort to abortion and infanticide.

The Aryan Brahmins prohibited widow remarriage and simple-minded ignorant people, from the Kulwadis, Sonar castes followed blindly. In Vedic times, the Brahmin was permitted to sleep with his brother’s wife and have children from her... There is one set of rules for women and another for men for their own selfish ends. One acquires religious merit when one does not hurt, mentally or physically, another for the sake of one’s own happiness- Doing good unto others is meritorious; doing harm to them is sin. One cannot cheat the poor in the name of religion and expect to acquire merit for feeding Brahmins. One cannot indulge in physical pleasures and gluttony and expect to earn merit for encouraging untouchability. Religion does not consist in practising discrimination. Originally there was no caste system among the human beings. It is a fraudulent practice created by Brahmins for their own selfish ends.

If one looks upon a sweeper woman’s caste as low, then one has to say the same of the mother of one belonging to that caste and there is no man who can ever call his own mother lowly. Virtue and vice are not hereditary. The children of Brahmins are not always as virtuous as Shankaracharya. No just man can ever say that a Chamar’s children, if virtuous, cannot attain the status of a great sage like Shankaracharya. There is a natural difference between human beings on the one hand and birds and beasts on the other; God has given intelligence to man to discriminate between good and bad. But the unintelligent birds and beasts are far superior to greedy humans.

A trade is not the same as religion. To shave is a barber’s trade, not his religion. Washing clothes is the washer man’s trade, not his religion. Taking bribes from the ignorant public is not the religion of a government worker; it is his skill in deceiving the government. To fill one’s belly not by the sweat of one’s brow but by cheating the ignorant is not the religion of the Aryan Brahmin; it is open cheating. It is not the religion of virtuous men to observe purity rites after indulging in revelries; it is impiety. It is not the religion of Mahars and Mangs to eat carcasses of animals to fill their bellies; it is their helplessness. It is the duty, not the religion, of the ruler to collect taxes from his subjects in order to protect them. Bairagis and Gosavis who live off the society are parasites.

‘Nirmik’ has created food, flowers and fruits for enjoyment of all humans. Men and women have not nurtured the sacred emotion of brotherly and sisterly feeling towards each other. This has resulted in the decline of truth in the world; there is unhappiness and misery everywhere. Men have treated their mothers, sisters, daughters, and daughters-in law like slaves. If they had not come in the way of women’s rights, the kingdom of ‘Nirmik’ would have descended on earth, making all men and women contented and happy. Great sages have said that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. The religion of the Aryans does not permit people other than Brahmins to enjoy equality. In the history of the Ramayana and the Bhagwada not all laws are true or trustworthy. If Havana really belonged to the non-human caste of Rakshasas, King Janaka would not have invited him to the swayamvar (marriage) of his daughter. In Islam, human beings, created by Allah, treat each other like brothers and sisters. All human beings are permitted to read the Quran and the Bible; read their dictates which are based on equality of human beings.

Ethics may be defined as truthful human conduct that will please the ‘Nirmik’. It does not matter, then, whether the one who practises it is a Christian, a Muslim, a Satyashodhak or a Gavdekari. The gods, Brahma’s writings and the thedry of meditation, destiny, fate, meritorious acts, are all figments of our imagination and completely false. Ramdas is wrong when he says that one reaps the fruits of accumulated merit. When a boy fails in his studies, people say it was not his destiny to study. When someone studies on his own initiative, they say it was his destiny to study. One fails in business only out of ignorance and unpreparedness; not because of anything else.

All are permitted to read the Bible and the Quran. But the Vedas are not accessible to all. People who have faith in the Bible or the Quran are not afraid, but those who believe in the Vedas are frightened because of the fear that their fraud will be discovered. Brahminical scriptures are ostensibly based on religion but on deep study they are purely political. The Vedas are not fit to be known as God inspired universal truth.