ASK MAULANA — Your Questions, Answered

ASK MAULANA Your Questions, Answered Men apparently use logic to understand everything in life but are unable to use the same logic for the existence of God and life hereafter? Why is this so? The British philosopher Bertrand Russell has rightly pointed out that knowledge is of two kinds: knowledge of things and knowledge of truth. In the area of “things”, empirical argument is workable. While, in the area of “truth”, only inferential argument is applicable. Scientifically, both these arguments are valid. People do not know the difference between these two subjects. They try to apply the logic that pertains to the first category to the second category. This wrong application leads to confusion. Why is man so easily attracted to evil by justifying the same? Evil is a phenomenon of uncontrolled behaviour. A person who knows that uncontrolled life leads to disaster will try to control his behaviour and save himself from indulging in evil. Man is a justification-seeking animal. This is interwoven in his nature, so he always tries to justify his actions in terms of reason, whether they are good or evil. How does the jealous psychology of a person adversely affect the wellbeing of another person? Jealousy always affects the jealous person himself. As a matter of fact, the other person is bound to not be affected, provided he is able to restrain himself from reacting negatively. People often say that we are spiritual but not religious; some even consider themselves to be 'spiritual atheists'. What is your view about such statements? A spiritual atheist is spiritual only in the partial sense. Because, spirituality needs a basis, and in atheism or the philosophy of atheism there is no basis for spirituality. Spiritual atheism is like a rootless tree. Religion gives us a basis for spirituality. For example, life is full of disadvantages. When an atheist faces these disadvantages, he may fall prey to frustration. However, a believer will not become frustrated,