“If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him”- is just a quotation from Voltaire. Virtually the mind of man has always been trying to fashion some such mental image or conception which grew with the mind’s growth.
The human’s soul is a combination of five spirits of which the transcendental prophetic spirit possessed by prophets and some saints; by it the unseen tables and statutes of the Law are revealed from the other world, together with several of sciences of the Realm Celestial, Terrestrial and pre-eminently Theology, the science of Deity, which that spirits can not compass.
Outside the campus of Dhaka University for a while four or five years ago one day, on my professional responsibility as a part time teacher, I (the writer) went to Eden University College, Dhaka to conduct a class schedule for the M.Sc final year students in Psychology. To my astonishment and to a little embarrassment too, I noticed all the new faces packed up into the class room. Who were they-I murmured myself. Looking at my interrogating look up they said in chorus - “Sir, we are the students of philosophy; your students have been away for the time being to consult the Mam concerned on matters of their annual picnic. By this time, sir, would you pl. talk to us by way of delivering a lecture on philosophy since “Psychology is a daughter of Philosophy married by science“ (and Philosophy is the father of all sciences) that you have already mentioned in your published articles which we have gone through.
Going through some of my published articles else where some one student one day in that Eden College during my lecture class with reference to a topic, told me, Sir, you just publish out Book(s) with the collection of all your articles published so far.
Her Royalty Diana, the Princes of Wales is dead. But many Dianas by name are alive. Once in a night at 12 past o’clock my mobile cell under the pillow rang up. I hastened to switch on the green knob. Having sensed green signal I hailed – hello! an unknown voice entered into my ear. I interrogated- “Who is this?” This is Diana from Dhanmondi.”- the voice declared.- “Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Banani of Washingtion D.C. from anywhere you might be, I know you Not in the least.”- I remarked to the phone call. The caller prayed excuse and continued- “Sir, I’m mere a student of Honours class in Accounting at North South (or somewhere not clear to hear), I know you well at least from the print media. Your most recent one published article is just to hand that interests me very much for which I have been gladly bound to express my gladliness by knocking over mobile phone in this very early hours of the calendar day”. I wished her good morning.
Morning or evening, day and night far from days back I could recollect, - my article titled “Koli” had been published in “The Dainik Bangla”. But I did not know and I had no information about it from the press even. In one fine morning at the moment of starting the class at 8 am, a student of my department at D.U. hastened to my room with a bunch of flower in her hand wishing me good morning. With a query look I looked at her laughing face. Another student standing by her side by spreading out a copy of The Dainik Bangla cleared up my querying sight- Sir, your “Koli” (Bud) has been bloomed in the garden of Dainik Bangla and we’ve plucked that blooming bud for you. They handed over to my hand altogether the paper and flower.
From some other campuses besides Dhaka University, for instance, Jagannath University college (now University), students use and used to come to their `DL Sir’ (dear Latif sir) as they call me with themselves, to take return of assignment-scripts, and to collect manuscript of some of my written articles (simply by hand writing) relevant to academic courses which will help them plan lessons specially for project works. And after some days they just turned up at D. U. campus fresh up with victorious make-up carrying published out papers made in print media containing the topics that I prepared myself on social aspects and psychological assets of research upon my days and nights’ resourceful labour. By the by, may I be excused, I would like to remember a reverent Teacher of C. U. who having been at D. U. as an external examiner while passing through the corridor of the department of Psychology conveyed me congratulation on my article `Freud and the Science of Mind’ published in The New Nation which he had received from News paper-man and read for himself.
However, on that day before the students of Philosophy vis-a-vis their request to run the class on lecturing Philosophy which is in Greek language- Phil Len Sophia (love for knowledge), I begged to them I am a student of Psychology, Philosophy now is my lost love. I’ve turned up here from D.U. One some M.B.B.S., B.C.S doctor from DMC is waiting for me there in my University Psychology Lab. She has been reported to me from her Boss seeking instructions, lesson and guidance from me regarding a research on the development of I.Q. for breast-feeding and bottle-feeding children and hence I have been here in Eden just for a limited time. I am calling my students in, so you should leave. But they wouldn’t. Then poor I could not but helped speaking with them on matters of Philosophy to some extent in English and Bengali from my memoir.
I was attracted to the idea of course, but I hesitated, and the more I thought over it, the more reluctant I grew for the fact that of Philosophy what I know is that “I do not know”.
No longer could I functioned as I did in my younger days as an arrow flying to the target of my choice ignoring all else but the target. In the like manner my approach to life’s problems had been more scientific with an easy optimism of science of the 19th, 20th and early 21st century.
Perhaps science does not tell us much the purpose of life. It is now widening its boundaries and it may invade the so-called invisible world before long and help us understand the life in its widest sense which may illuminate the problems of human existence.
The old controversy between science and religion takes a new form, the application of the scientific method to emotional and religious experiences. And religion merges into Mysticism, Metaphysics and Philosophy.
Philosophy or Metaphysics or a Metaphysical philosophy has a greater appeal to the mind. They require hard thinking and the application of logic and reasoning. All thinking persons dabble more or less in metaphysics and philosophy. Some one may feel more attracted to them than others and the emphasis on them may vary in different ages. In ancient world both in Oriental and Continental countries all the emphasis was laid on the supremacy of the inward life over things external, and this inevitably led to metaphysics and philosophy.
Philosophy or metaphysics or beyond the physical world what the mysterious is, I know nothing about. I do not call it God, because God has come to mean much. God is a circle whose center is every where and circumference is no where. The diversity and fullness of nature stir me and produce a harmony of the sprit, and I can imagine myself feeling at home in the old Greek pagan and pantheistic atmosphere, but minus the conception of God.
Study of Marks and Lenin produced a powerful effect on my mind and helped me see history and current affairs in a new light. The long chain of history and of social development appeared to have some meaning, some sequences and a kind of assuring future.
There has been in the past and there is a lesser extent even today among some people, an absorption in finding an answer to the riddle of the universe. This leads them away from the individual and social problems of the day and when they are unable to solve that riddle they despair and turn to inaction and triviality and ultimately find comfort in some dogmatic creed.
For this purpose and within this limitation, the general Marxist approach fitting in, so to say, heavily with the present state of scientific knowledge. Marx’s general analysis of social development might have been remarkably correct. Lenin successively adapted the Marxism thesis to subsequent development.
The practical achievements in the developed countries, the countries some of which possessing super power are tremendously impressive. But I dislike or do not understand such developments there, as because it seems to me too closely conceived with the opportunism of the moment or of the power politics of the day.
Much in the Marxist Philosophical out look I could accept it without difficulty: its monism and non-duality of mind and metaphysics, the dynamics of matter, the di-elective continuous change by evolution through action and interaction, cause and effect, thesis and antithesis and synthesis.
Supersonic plain-like supremacy of power with the rapid growth of technology and the practical application of the vast development in scientific knowledge are now changing the world picture with an amazing rapidity leading to new problems.
Who is benefiting out of wars, the war that claims killing millions of lives and loss of unlimited prosperities. What a large amount of monitory budget is being spent for arms and ammunition which does nothing but destroy the best creation of God.
God made man and man made the towns. In man- made towns and cities and in societies. the real problem remains in the problems of individual and social life, of harmonious living, of a proper balancing of an individual’s inner and outer life. Outer space may unveil the ultimate frontier buy the most critical challenge that confront us now is to discover the inner space of human for an adjustment of the relations between individuals and groups, of a continuous becoming something better and higher social development of the ceaseless adventure of human folk.
In the solution of these problems the way of observation and precise knowledge and deliberate reasoning according to the method of metaphysical science must be followed. Jest we not forget art and poetry, for poetry and certain psychic experiences are necessary even for the purposes of science. Science is the lyrics of poetry and poetry emerges out from the poet’s greatest sense of imagination. Einstein Albert remarked that imagination is a great revolution. Revolution or evolution, science or religion or of holding any region of thought we must hold to our anchor of precise objective knowledge, tested by, and more so by experiment and practice and always we should be beware of losing ourselves in a sea of speculations of life and looking up to the needs of man and woman. Man made the town and who made the man? Socrates disclosed the fact- “know thyself” Thus so long as man and the universe will exist, a living philosophy must answer the problems of today and the days to come.
