Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya: Need For Religious Education Of Hindus

Source: Speeches and Writings of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, G. A. Natesan & Co, Madras, 1919

The following essay was part of the prospectus prepared (by Pandit ji) for the Benaras Hindu University Scheme in 1911.

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Enough has been said above to show the need for a University such as it is proposed to establish, to help the diffusion of general, scientific and technical education as a means of preserving or reviving national industries and of utilising the natural resources of India and thereby augmenting national wealth. But mere industrial advancement cannot ensure happiness and prosperity to any people ; nor can it raise them in the scale of nations. Moral progress is even more necessary for that purpose than material. Even industrial prosperity cannot be attained in any large measure without mutual confidence and loyal co-operation amongst the people who must associate with each other for the purpose. These qualities can prevail and endure only amongst those who are upright in their dealings, strict in their observance of good faith, and steadfast in their loyalty to truth. And such men can be generally met with in a society only when that society is under the abiding influence of a great religion acting as living force.

Every nation cherishes its own religion. The Hindus are no exception to the rule. On the contrary, probably no other people on earth are more deeply attached to their religion than the Hindus. If they were asked to-day for which of the many blessings which they enjoy under British rule, they are more grateful than for the others, they would probably unhesitatingly name religious freedom. Sir Herbert Risley observed in his report on the Census of 1901, that “Hinduism with its 207 millions votaries is the religion of India” that “it is professed in one or other of its multifarious forms by 7 persons out of 10, and predominates everywhere except in the more inaccessible tracts in the heart and on the outskirts.” The importance of providing for the education of the teachers of a religion so ancient, so widespread, and so deep-rooted in the attachment of its followers, is quite obvious. If no satisfactory provision is made to properly educate men for this noble calling, ill-educated or uneducated and incompetent men must largely fill it. This can only mean injury to the cause of religion and loss to the community. Owing to the extremely limited number of teachers of religion who are qualified by their learning and character to discharge their holy functions, the great bulk of the Hindus including princes, noblemen, the gentry, and barring exceptions here and there even Brahmans, have to go without any systematic religious education or spiritual ministrations. This state of things is in marked contrast with that prevailing in the civilised countries of Europe and America, where religion, as a rule, forms a necessary part of education, where large congregations assemble in churches to hear sermons preached by well educated clergymen, discharging their duties under the control of well-established Church governments or religious societies; But though the fact is greatly to be deplored, it is not to be wondered at. The old system which supplied teachers of religion has, in consequence of the many vicissitudes through which India has passed, largely died out. It has not yet been replaced by modern organisations to train such teachers. To remove this great want, to make suitable provision for satisfying the religious requirements of the Hindu community, it is proposed to establish a large school or college at the University to educate teachers of the Hindu religion. It is proposed that they should receive a sound grounding in liberal education, make a special and thorough study of their own sacred books, and a comparative study of the great religious systems of the world; in other words, that they should receive at least as good an education and training as ministers of their religion as Christian missionaries receive in their own.

Of course, several chairs will have to be created to meet the requirements of the principal denominations of Hindus. How many these should be, can only be settled later on by a conference of the representative men of the community. But there seems to be no reason to despair that an agreement will be arrived at regarding the theological department of the University. Hindus have for ages been noted for their religious toleration. Large bodies of Hindus in Punjab, who adhere to the ancient faith, revere the Sikh Gurus who abolished caste. The closest ties bind together Sikh and non-Sikh Hindus, and Jains and Agrawals who follow the ancient faith. Followers of the Acharyas of different Sampradayas live and work together as good neighbours and friends. So also do the followers of the Sanatan Dharma and of the Arya Samaj, and of the Brahmo Samaj. And they all co-operate in matters where the common interests of the Hindu community as a whole are involved. The toleration and good feeling have not been on the wane; on the contrary, they have been steadily growing. There is visible at present a strong desire for greater union and solidarity among all the various sections of the community, a growing consciousness of common ties which bind them together and which make them sharers in sorrow and in joy; and it may well be hoped that this growing feeling will make it easier than before to adjust differences and to promote brotherly good feeling and harmonious cooperation even in the matter of providing for the religious needs of the different sections of the community.