Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916-1968) was truly a multi-dimensional personality with
exceptional contributions in different fields. He was an extraordinary
political leader, a highly committed organisational man, a dedicated journalist,
a philosopher, sociologist, an original economic thinker and much more. He is
one of the pioneering contributors of modern India, whose works and thoughts are
not widely known and discussed.
He
remains an example for simple living and high thinking. Regarded as an
organiser par excellence, he practised the highest values in public life. Besides,
he conceived the philosophy of “Integral Humanism”, based on the higher
traditions of the Indian civilisation. It advocates an integrated system of the
body, mind, intellect and the soul.
He
was one of those who clearly understood that the Indian economic and political
systems after independence were raised upon the superficial notions of the Western
world. So he realised that there was no
use in relying upon the western concepts such as individualism, socialism and
capitalism.
By
now all the thinkers agree that both the western ideologies namely capitalism
and communism are not complete, as they look at the human beings from their narrow
points of view. But more than five decades earlier, Deendayal Upadhyaya
condemned both capitalism and communism for failing to take into account “ the
Integral Man, his true and complete personality and his aspirations.” During those times, the entire intellectual
class across the world believed that communism and capitalism were the only two
economic approaches available before the countries.
Deendayal
Upadhyaya noted that both these ideologies did not view mankind completely and
in fact they de-humanised man. To quote: ” One ( Capitalism) considers him a
mere selfish being lingering after money, having only one law, the law of
fierce competition, in essence the law of the jungle; whereas the other (
Communism) has viewed him as a life-less cog in the whole scheme of things,
regulated by rigid rules, and incapable of any good unless directed. The
centralisation of power, economic and political, is implied in both. Both,
therefore, result in the dehumanisation of the man. Man, the highest creation
of God, is losing his own identity.”
The
western ideologies and concepts are based on the limited Western views of life,
while for us in India the unity of all life is paramount. Deendayal Upadhyaya
pointed out: "Hegel put forward the
principles of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis; Karl Marx used this principle
as a basis and presented his analysis of history and economics; Darwin
considered the principle of survival of the fittest as the sole basis of life;
but we in this country saw the basic unity of all life."
But
unfortunately we are tied to the Western ideologies, due to our wrong beliefs:
Upadhyaya writes: “Not only because of different ideals of life but also
because of different conditions in terms of time and place the way of our
economic development will have to be different from that of the West. But we
are tied to Marshall and Marx. We believe that the economic principles they
have discussed are eternal. Even those who realise that they are dependent upon
certain systems are not able to step out of their orbits. The economic
prosperity of the West has created a blind belief in us about the Western
system of production.”
India
is an ancient nation with thousands of years of experience and backgrounds. We
believe in the wholesome progress of the mankind. Upadhyaya observed: "Here in Bharat, we
have placed before ourselves the ideal of the four fold responsibilities of
catering to the needs of Body, Mind, Intellect and Soul with a view to achieve
the integrated progress of Man."
But
unfortunately the post-independent leadership failed to recognise this basic
fact and began adopting the alien approaches. As a result the nation suffered. The
noted nationalistic thinker and a close associate of Deendayal Upadhyaya, Parameswaran
notes: “When we look at the present Indian scenario from this background it
will not be difficult to realise that India’s failure to measure up to the
various challenges and to fulfil her destiny in post-independent period has
been largely due to the erroneous path she was compelled to take under the
influence of an intellectually and culturally alienated leadership. The net
result was that totally wrong decisions were taken at the policy level and
dangerous distortions had crept in at the implementation level. It was only
natural that the spontaneous enthusiasm and energy of the people could not be
mobilised for the task of nation building, because the Anglicised and/or
Russianised leadership could not appeal to the masses.” ( In K.R. Rao, Integral
Humanism)
As
a native intellectual having roots firmly on the ground, Deendayal Upadhyaya strongly believed that India
would progress only on the basis of its own identity. To quote: “ It is essential that we think about
our national identity. Without this identity there is no meaning of
independence, nor can independence become the instrument of progress and
happiness. As long as we are unaware of our national identity, we cannot
recognise or develop all our potentialities.”
Parameswaran
laments that the failure of the leadership to recognise the uniqueness of India
and the imposition of the foreign models have led to serious difficulties. To
quote: “ It is indeed strange that our leaders missed the elementary truth,
that an ancient nation like India, with a cultural heritage inherited through
countless centuries of history, could not be raised to its rightful place among
the countries of the world, by imposing borrowed foreign models on it. They
forgot that a nation, like an individual, is not only its physical
configuration, but has also a mind and soul of its own, and unless the course
of development it takes is in tune with the bent of its mind and the genius of
its soul, it is bound to run into insurmountable troubles and finally comes to
grief.”
Deendayal
Upadhyaya advocated that only the integral approach would lead to the progress
as well as the happiness of human beings. His views are based on the essence of
life in Bharat over thousands of years. Hence he emphasised that it is not
socialism or capitalism, but a decentralised approach with the overall
interests of human beings at the centre that would be the suitable for our
nation.
He
said it is our duty to put the “man” at
the centre: “ We must re-establish him
in his rightful position, bring him the realisation of his greatness, reawaken
his abilities and encourage him to exert for attaining divine heights of his
latent personality. This is possible only through a decentralised economy. We
want neither capitalism nor socialism. We aim at the progress and happiness of
“Man”, the Integral Man.”
It
is important to note that Deendayal Upadhyaya presented his thoughts during
1965, when it was believed that there was no alternative to the two popular
western ideologies. The developments during the last few decades clearly prove the
failure of both the western ideologies. Besides, it is now accepted that the family,
society and culture play a major role in the development of economy.
India’s
development journey over the last fifty years has been due to the inherent strengths
of our nation. It is in spite of the western approaches. Upadhyaya’s thoughts
are highly relevant for us now; what we need is a Bharathiya approach, as we
transform into a developed nation with a new vigour.
References
1. Deendayal
Upadhyaya, Integral Humanism
2. Kandarpa
Ramachandra Rao, Integral Humanism
3. Sudhakar
Raje, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya – A Profile
( Yuva Bharati , Vivekananda Kendra, Chennai, May 2017)
