Sorry if it is a repost. The essay is a must read.
Why I am an atheist? by Bhagat Singh
A new question has cropped up. Is it due to Vanity that I do not believe in the existence of an omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God? I had never imagined that I would ever have to confront such a question. But conversation with some friends has given me, a hint that certain of my friends, if I am not claiming too much in thinking them to be so-are inclined to conclude from the brief contact they have had with me, that it was too much on my part to deny the existence of God and that there was a certain amount of vanity that actuated my disbelief. Well, the problem is a serious one. I do not boast to be quite above these human traits. I am a man and nothing more. None can claim to be more. I also have this weakness in me. Vanity does form a part of my nature. Amongst my comrades I was called an autocrat. Even my friend Mr. B.K. Dutt sometimes called me so. On certain occasions I was decried as a despot. Some friends do complain and very seriously too that I involuntarily thrust my opinions upon others and get my proposals accepted. That this is true up to a certain extent, I do not deny. This may amount to egotism. There is vanity in me in as much as our cult as opposed to other popular creeds is concerned. But that is not personal. It may be, it is only legitimate pride in our cult and does not amount to vanity. Vanity or to be more precise "Ahankar" is the excess of undue pride in one's self. Whether it is such an undue pride that has led me to atheism or whether it is after very careful study of the subject and after much consideration that I have come to disbelieve in God, is a question that I, intend to discuss here. Let me first make it clear that egotism and vanity are two different things.
In the first place, I have altogether failed to comprehend as to how undue pride or vain-gloriousness could ever stand in the way of a man in believing in God. I can refuse to recognize the greatness of a really great man provided I have also achieved a certain amount of popularity without deserving it or without having possessed the qualities really essential or indispensable for the same purpose. That much is conceivable. But in what way can a man believing in God cease believing due to his personal vanity? There are only two Ways. The man should either begin to think himself a rival of God or he may begin to believe himself to be God. In neither case can he become a genuine atheist. In the first case he does not even deny the existence of his rival. In the second case as well he admits the existence of a conscious being behind the screen guiding all the movements of nature. It is of no importance to us whether he thinks himself to be that supreme being or whether he thinks the supreme conscious being to be somebody apart from himself. The fundamental is there. His belief is there. He is by no means an atheist. Well, here I am I neither belong to the first category nor to the second.
I deny the very existence of that Almighty Supreme being. Why I deny it shall be dealt with later on. Here I want to clear one thing, that it is not vanity that has actuated me to adopt the doctrines of atheism. I am neither a rival nor an incarnation nor the Supreme Being Himself. One point is decided, that it is not vanity that has led me to this mode of thinking. Let me examine the facts to disprove this allegation. According to these friends of mine I have grown vain-glorious perhaps due to the undue popularity gained during the trials-both Delhi Bomb and Lahore conspiracy cases. Well, let us see if their premises are correct. My atheism is not of so recent origin. I had stopped believing in God when I was an obscure young man, of whose existence my above mentioned friends were not even aware. At least a college student cannot cherish any short of undue pride which may lead him to atheism. Though a favorite with some professors and disliked by certain others, I was never an industrious or a studious boy. I could not get any chance of indulging in such feelings as vanity. I was rather a boy with a very shy nature, who had certain pessimistic dispositions about the future career. And in those days, I was not a perfect atheist. My grand-father under whose influence I was brought up is an orthodox Arya Samajist. An Arya Samajist is anything but an atheist. After finishing my primary education I joined the DAV School of Lahore and stayed in its Boarding House for full one year. There, apart from morning and evening prayers, I used to recite "Gayatri Mantra" for hours and hours. I was a perfect devotee in those days. Later on I began to live with my father. He is a liberal in as much as the orthodoxy of religions is concerned. It was through his teachings that I aspired to devote my life to the cause of freedom. But he is not an atheist. He is a firm believer. He used to encourage me for offering prayers daily. So, this is how I was brought up. In the Non-Co-operation days I joined the National College. It was there that I began to think liberally and discuss and criticize all the religious problems, even about God. But still I was a devout believer. By that time I had begun to preserve the unshorn and unclipped long hair but I could never believe in the mythology and doctrines of Sikhism or, any other religion. But I had a firm faith in God's existence.
Later on I joined the revolutionary party. The first leader with whom I came in contact, though not convinced, could not dare to deny the existence of God. On my persistent inquiries about God, he used to say, "Pray whenever you want to". Now this is atheism less courage required for the adoption of that creed. The second leader with whom I came in contact was a firm believer. Let me mention his name-respected comrade Sachindra Nath Sanyal, now undergoing life transportation in connection with the Karachi conspiracy cas Incarcerated Life), the Glory of God is sung vehemently. In the last page of the second part of that beautiful book his mystic-because of Vedantism praises showered upon God form a very conspicuous part of his thoughts.
"The Revolutionary leaflet" distributed- throughout India on January 28th, 1925, was according to the prosecution story the result of his intellectual labor, Now, as is inevitable in the secret work the prominent leader expresses his own views, which are very dear to his person and the rest of the workers have to acquiesce in th
Vairam, it is a very good article, undoubtedly. We have had debates on atheism on this forum before, I don't know if it is the right forum for such debates and I am not starting one. I just have one thing to say, be in Bhagat Singh or anyone - atheism is not a belief system. In other words it is a negative statement in itself and does not say anything at all about the person concerned. For example, I dont like to wear green - what does that say? Nothing. I do like Green means am probably environment conscious, like cool colors and so on.
It is always a good idea to talk about what one believes in. Say you beleive in human rights and you are a humanitarian. Period. People can relate to what you stand for. What others beleive in and why they believe is really not possible for anyone else to reason.
Even I don't have any inputs on it! Just felt the article gave a different perspective on Athesim than the ones I know. Thought I would share it here. One nice thought I got from this essay is Man should get bold enough to accept his acts and get reward or punishment for his deeds. He shouldn't blame or pray to escape out of it! But too dificult so as usuall I am going to blame and pray!
A man who gave his life without hesitation for the freedom of the country has every right to talk of responsibility, confidence and anything else he has mentioned there. Whether we agree with his notions on God or not we have much to learn from that. And as a country this habit of dragging God as a reason to escape responsiblity is a cultural disease almost which might be what prompted him to write so strongly. Here I go again..Sincerely I enjoyed reading it though so thanks.
Bhagat singh was a communist by ideal, what else can we expect. (Though the article is definite commendable with logics even fails to persuade me)
He was a National Hero,though he basically cut the golden goose by giving up his life, which I feel, by living and helping the movement, he could have mentored the youngsters for freedom.
Chandrashekar Azad on the other hand was another type of Hero, my idol, it is said that the indian soldiers hesitated to even get to him for about 30 min after he was dead due to his powerful message on Indian policemen working for the British. Now that is a different effect.
Wonderful article... gives us an insight into an original mind.. a mind that is fearless in exploring even taboo topics or topics that other less fearless people baulk at touching.
If this was his state of mind prior to his hanging, hats off to him.
For those who are interested in exploring this subject I highly recommend the video called 'A Question of God' by PBS. It is available on PBS.com and Amazon.com. It is a moderated debate conducted at Harvard among scholars and people of various belief systems.