God and the Voice of Human Nature

God and the Voice of Human Nature

1988 8 August 9-13 God and the Voice of Human Nature (1693) God is the voice of human nature. In normal circumstances this voice remains mute. But when life takes an adverse turn, this voice can be clearly heard. There are innumerable instances in history which bear out this assertion.

Mr. Altaf Gauhar, editor of Dawn and one of Pakistan’s top journalists, was sent to prison in the early days of the Bhutto regime (1971-77). From writing informed and incisive analyses of the international situation, he now found himself reduced, as a political prisoner, to a state of helpless inactivity within the four bare walls of a prison cell. For someone in that position the best occupation has generally been found to be study of religious books. Altaf Gauhar therefore began to study a translation of the Quran. This, for him, meant breaking new ground and, to his astonishment, this proved a wonderfully fruitful experience. He now became acquainted with aspects of human life of which he had formerly been ignorant, because of the pressure of his journalistic engagements.

The life of solitude, dependence upon others in all practical matters, the disappearance of all worldly props – all these factors made the prison house a training ground for Altaf Gauhar to make the discovery of a great truth. His nature, without there being any overt intention, began seeking a Being more powerful than any other known power; a Being who is accessible to man at all times, and who can be depended upon to have the steadfastness of a rock under all circumstances, particularly at times when man has been pushed to the uttermost extremities of despair.

It was at such a moment that Altaf Gauhar opened the Quran at the first chapter, ‘Fatiha’ and came upon the words, “We worship You alone, and to You alone we turn for help.” It suddenly flashed through his consciousness that this Being, whose existence for him had formerly been clouded by doubt and conjecture, was an actual living reality. In the fourth verse of this chapter, he found the secret not only of human freedom but of true human greatness. He at last understood man’s eternal covenant with his Lord, according to which God blessed man in return for his humility, and gave him the earthly guardianship of His limitless Power. Gauhar writes: “I remember vividly the moment when I first realized the significance of this verse: ‘We worship You alone, and to You alone we turn for help.’ It was a dramatic moment of freedom, a moment in which fear disappeared, and I felt within me a resurgence of confidence and faith.”

God is the voice of human nature. In normal circumstances this voice remains mute. But when life takes an adverse turn, this voice can be clearly heard. There are innumerable instances in history which bear out this assertion.

A more simplistic testament to this aspect of faith was given by the famous Italian film actress, Gina Lollobrigida, when she came to India in 1975. When asked at a press conference whether she believed in God, Gina replied, “I believe in God. I believe in God more when I am on an aeroplane.” (Times of India, January 3, 1975). Certainly, when flying in an aeroplane, we are at the mercy of all kinds of external factors such as electric storms and air turbulence, so that at such crucial moments we feel we need to be in more powerful hands than those of the pilot and navigator. It is only natural then that we should turn our thoughts to God. We often experience the same sense of helplessness on sea voyages. The Quran says, “Do you not see how the ships speed upon the ocean by God’s grace so that He may reveal to you His wonders? Surely there are signs in this for every steadfast, thankful man.

“When the waves, like giant shadows, envelop them, they pray to God with all devotion. But no sooner does He bring them safe to land than some of them falter between faith and unbelief. Truly, only the treacherous and the ungrateful deny our revelations (31:31-32).”

Howsoever arrogant and atheistic a man may be, when he is confronted by difficult or hazardous situations, he spontaneously calls for God. This is proof that God is the voice of human nature.

The Russian dictator, Marshal Stalin (1879-1964) was a professed atheist, but there were many instances in his life, situations of adversity in which he instinctively thought of God. One such instance is recounted by Winston Churchill (1874-1965) who had gone to Moscow in 1942, during World War II, in order to discuss with the Russian leaders the setting up of a second front against Hitler. Churchill had formulated a plan called ‘Torch’ which he placed before the Allies, and since Stalin himself feared the advancing German armies, he became greatly interested in what it had to offer in terms of military strategy. Churchill states that while he was explaining the plan, he could see Stalin’s approval becoming more and more obvious to the point where he suddenly exclaimed, “May God prosper this undertaking!” (Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War (Abridgement), Casell & Company, London, p. 603)

Another such instance took place during Richard Nixon’s last days at the White House. He had hoped that the Watergate tapes could fetch him a large sum of money when his term in office was over, and had not, therefore, destroyed them when the public exposure of their clandestine and illegal recording caused a nation-wide scandal. Had he done so, there would have been no danger to his continuing presidentship. As it was, this piece of evidence covered him with such opprobrium that there was nothing for it but to resign.

With the revelation of his role in the Watergate affair, Nixon was so emotionally upset as to be on the verge of madness. He repeatedly broke down and wept while at the White House, and had actually made up his mind to commit suicide. He was kept under such close surveillance, however, that he could not carry this plan into effect. When the time finally came for him to make his exit, his family gathered around him to have a final photograph taken at the White House. There was not a single dry-eyed member of the family and the photographer had to wait for a very long time, for all of them to compose themselves before he could finally take the shot.

In a book entitled The Final Days, Nixon is said, as the end neared, to have asked his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, to kneel down and pray with him. As Nixon put it: “You are not a very orthodox Jew and I am not an orthodox Quaker, but we need to pray.” (Daily American, (Rome) 27.3.1976). Having given voice to what, for him, was a rather extraordinary sentiment, Nixon began to pray according to the Christian form of worship.

The socialist revolution (1917) which altered the entire pattern of living in the U.S.S.R., is claimed by the Soviet government to have completely stamped out religion. According to recent statistics, out of the 25 crore citizens of the Soviet Union, 22 crore were born after the October revolution, so that they grew up in a society without religion.

According to socialist theory, religion was a mere appendage of the capitalist system and, that with the elimination of the latter, it died a natural death, or so the government claimed. But, surprisingly, religion is not only still alive there, but is showing signs of a revival among the modern generation.

An interesting manifestation of the new spirit became a matter of public knowledge in 1973, when an Ilyushin jet plane nose-dived over western Bengal, killing the aircrew and all of the passengers. According to international law, as the crash had taken place on Indian territory, India was obliged to carry out the investigations. Nowadays it is easier to determine whether such accidents have taken place through mechanical or human failures, because aeroplanes are equipped with an automatic voice recorder – the Black Box – which keeps recording the conversations between the pilot and the control tower. This is situated in the tail of the aircraft so that it can be saved even if the aircraft, is burnt to ashes. When it was removed from the debris and played over, the Indian officers conducting the investigation were surprised to hear the words which had involuntarily risen to the lips of the Russian pilot as he hurtled earthwards: “Petere save us.” (Saint Peter was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and, among Christians Hans, he is considered a great saint.)

One of the least expected conversions to Christianity was that of Stalin’s own daughter, Svetlana Alliluyena. Despairing of any betterment of life in the socialist world, Svetlana had come to India, where she could have taken refuge in one of the religions of the subcontinent. But the Indian authorities looked with disfavour upon her stay in India as not being in the best interests of Indo-Soviet friendship. She was therefore compelled to leave for Europe, where she accepted Christianity.

In her book, Only One Year, Svetlana writes of how discontented she was in Moscow and how, when she was seeking something which would give her peace of mind, she came upon these words in the Bible: “The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident.”

In the U.S.S.R. of today such spiritual reawakenings are not uncommon. The lives and works of Solzhenitsin and Sakharov are respectively signs of this spiritual conflict. Had the former been allowed to accept the Nobel Prize, he would have spent the money on building a church for the Russians. A friend of Solzhenitsin once asked him what he considered the weakest aspect of the Soviet Union. He promptly replied that it was the absence of any means to satisfy the ordinary people’s hunger for moral and spiritual truth.