The Relevance Of Integral Humanism In Modern Times

1. What is the need of Pandit Upadhyay’s philosophy in current times?

A large population of our world lives in poverty. After having tried various development models with mixed results, the world is in search of model of development which is integrated and sustainable. Pandit Deen Dayal’s philosophy ‘Integral Humanism’ proposes an alternative model for development which is integral and sustainable in nature.

Integral Humanism aims to provide a life of dignity to very human being while balancing the needs of individual with those of the society and countries. It advocates the use of natural resources at a rate at which they can be replenished.

Integral Humanism extends democracy and freedom from being merely political to social and economic as well. Integral Humanism supports diversity by doing away with the one size fits all approach of other models.In my view, its an ideal model for country like India with its unique history, diversity and cultural ethos.

2. Where did Independent India err? And how would have Upadhyayji’s approach helped?

We have erred on three counts ..

Any model of development that does not take into account our unique history, diversity and cultural ethos is bound to fail.

One wonders why a nation which has an abundance of natural resources and labour is struggling to come out of poverty even after six decades of independence. The answer lies in the fact that development models were imported from countries which have nothing in common with us.

Secondly, we have worked very hard to undermine our biggest asset and strength - our culture.

Lastly we lacked a long term roadmap and a framework for re-building India. At best we had five year plans which were always aligned with election cycles.

Pandit Deen Dayal’s philosophy outlines an integrated and sustainable roadmap for the development of India in tune with its cultural ethos.

3. The organisational strength of the Jana Sangh was minuscule compared to the Congress during Deen Dayalji’s time. Do you think he would have been more effective for India if he had the necessary scale of organisational support?

Pandit Deen Dayalji believed that every individual, family and our society has a role to play in the development of our nation. His philosophy derives its strength from our culture and timeless principles of dharma and hence was never constrained by the size of the organisation he led.

Only if Panditji had a lived a little longer, we would have seen the effectiveness of his work earlier. Lets not forget what Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee said “If I had two Deen Dayals, I could transform the political face of India”.

4. What are the specific ways in which some of Deen Dayalji’s philosophy can be implemented?

There are 4 specific ways to implement or live Deen Dayalji’s philosophy

Raj-neeti -  The way we do our politics can be changed. Deen Dayalji believed that the purpose of politics is to bring about social and economic changes. In Panditji’s works, one will find guidelines on how to build and grow a political party; how to fight elections, form alliances and a code of conduct when in opposition or in power.

Artha-neeti - Policies and principles that can balance the use the labour, natural resources and capital so that we can provide a life of dignity to every human being. Guiding principles for any economic policy such as Budget can be found in Panditji’s works.

Samaj-Shastra - Panditji’s philosophy outlines the role played by families and society in building a nation. Policies that strengthen the family institution should be pursued.

Rashtra-neeti - Panditji highlights the role and responsibilities of a state in building a strong nation. Panditji calls out the difference between a state and nation and calls for the state to pursue policies that strengthen the nation.

Pandit Deen Dayal’s work provides us with a philosophy and principles on which polices can be formulated.

5. Has your view of Deen Dayal ji changed after writing this book? Did you gain any new insights into his philosophy while writing it?

I think of Pandit Deen Dayal ji as a modern day rishi whose life can be summarised in 4 words - tyag , tapasya , seva and balidaan. A bright young scholar who did not pursue his career but decided to serve his country. This tyag was followed by decades of tapasya and seva which resulted in building a political alternative and a development model in tune with our cultural ethos. His untimely death shocked the nation but his balidaan was not in vain for his ideas and ideology continue to inspire many even today.

On new insights …. One often believes that development of a nation is driven by its politics and economics. Deen Dayal’s work goes beyond Raj-neeti and Artha-neeti and talks about the importance of Samaj-shastra and Rashtra-neeti. For me, the role played by families and society in developing a nation is unique to India.

6. If you have to explain Deen Dayal ji’s philosophy to someone completely unaware of it, what would you say, in brief?

Pandit Deen Dayal’s Idea of India can be distilled from his presidential address delivered at Calicut in December 1967.

Pandit Deen Dayal’s Idea of India as understood by me is-

1. i. A nation which has shakti of its own to protect itself and its citizens
2. ii. A nation with a bountiful agricultural produce to feed itself
3. iii. A nation which takes from nature only what it can replenish
4. iv. A nation with enough wealth which is distributed equitably
5. v. A nation nation with knowledge to bring all around development for itself and the world.

Aim of Integral Humanism is to provide a life of dignity to every human being. Better measure of success is ‘Antyodaya’ i.e. did we improve the life of the human being at the lowest rung of society.