Book fragment: About Nehru, atheism and spirituality

Another India: Events, Memories, People is a book written by Chandan Gowda

Masti Venkatesh Iyengar (1891-1986), the Kannada writer, shared several sentiments towards Nehru. He admired his ideals of non-alignment and world peace. He was angry about his disapproval of the idea of linguistic states. He was just irritated by his secularism. In 1953, Masti’s editorial in Jeevana, a monthly magazine he headed, recalled a newspaper reporting that Nehru would offer puja to the goddess Tulaja Bhavani in Maharashtra. The next day that newspaper had made it clear that he would not be offering puja there. While Nehru respected all forms of worship, the clarification continued, he never offered puja in any temple. Why was visiting a temple such a difficult idea for “the dharma of our modern people,” Masti wondered?

In an editorial the following year, Masti argued that Nehru’s comment on the inaugural occasion of the Bhakra Nangal Dam, that such an achievement should be ‘worshipped’, shared the same attitude long held as the Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery and Godavari rivers is worshipped. An earlier editorial of his even claimed that Nehru’s tolerance and generosity were inherited from Hindu dharma.

Masti’s condolence essay, written soon after Nehru’s death in 1964, provided a comprehensive overview of the leader’s life, virtues and achievements. The final part of this essay shows him once again refusing to read Nehru’s secularism literally: ‘Jawaharlal had thought himself indifferent to matters of religion (dharma). Does the self (atman) exist? Is it eternal? Does heaven exist? These questions seemed unnatural to him.’ “But,” Masti continued, “Nehru’s actions were truly rooted in religion. The essence of religion is that you must secure the well-being of the world without prioritizing the interests of yourself or your family. Religions could preach this in the name of the world. of God, while the modern mind could do this in the name of humanity. While the action to achieve the goal may be a little different, the achievement is the same. The spirit of a poet was at the root of it all.” “This is why,” Masti further noted, “Nehru overflowed with bhakti when he encountered persons of noble consciousness like Gandhi and Tagore.”

In a speech at a university in Madikeri in 1956, Kuvempu (1904-1994) tried to stir the students’ enthusiasm for Nehru’s ideas about a modern India: “It seems that we are determined to turn into a Masti Venkatesh Iyengar (1891- 1986), the Kannada writer, shared different sentiments towards Nehru. He admired his ideals of non-alignment and world peace. He was angry at his disapproval of the idea of linguistic states. He was simply irritated by his secularism. In 1953, Masti’s editorial in Jeevana, a monthly magazine he headed, recalled a newspaper reporting that Nehru would offer puja to Goddess Tulaja Bhavani in Maharashtra. The next day, that newspaper had made it clear that he would not offer puja there. While Nehru respected all forms of puja The clarification continued that he did not perform puja in any temple. Why was visiting a temple, Masti wondered, such a difficult idea for “the dharma of our modern people?”

In a speech at a university in Madikeri in 1956, Kuvempu (1904-1994) tried to stir students’ enthusiasm for Nehru’s ideas about a modern India: “It seems that we are determined to become a worldly (loukika) state live. and build factories and dams and use electricity. But what use are these if our consciousness is not properly formed if it lacks light, radiance, guidance and courage.’ This Kannada writer’s confident skepticism towards Nehru’s modern ideals arose from his own philosophical beliefs owed to advaita vedanta.

Kuvempu’s essay on Nehru’s scientific vision and rationality, written a few months after the leader’s death in 1964, offered an intriguing perspective. He rejected any characterization of Nehru as an atheist and pointed out that a recognition of a power greater than himself could be seen in Nehru’s writings, speeches and letters and in his behavior and relationships with elders. Anyone who saw the photographs of Nehru and Vinoba Bhave at the Sarvodaya rally in Mysore in the newspapers could not possibly have mistaken the former for an atheist. Nehru’s posture and facial gestures expressed feelings that were impossible to fully describe. Older than Vinoba, and only second to Gandhi in leading the freedom struggle, and an internationally renowned statesman, and immensely well read, Nehru had still bowed to Vinoba. Authority, power and honor had here surrendered to kindness, humility, charity and devotion. This proved beyond any doubt to Kuvempu that it was wrong to consider Nehru an atheist. In terms of sacrifice, love of country, courage, empathy, intelligence, eloquence and writing talent, Kuvempu felt that Nehru was an ‘extraordinary man’ and that ‘behind each of these qualities lay a great spirituality’.

Nehru may have openly expressed his secular ideals and atheist vision, but Masti and Kuvempu, in their own way, had not taken this for granted.

Reprinted with permission from Another India: Events, Memories, People by Chandan Gowda (Simon and Schuster India, 2023.)

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