Unlike earlier predictions that the 21st century would be an era of enlightened progress and rational thinking, we are faced with the rise of fundamentalism and fanaticism.
The rise of fundamentalism is partly due to the failure of rationalism to satisfy the deeper spiritual needs of humanity.
There have always been fundamentalists. In the Bhagavad Gita, the holy text of ancient India, we come across a sentence that summarizes such an attitude:
There are visionless people,
but eloquent. They follow the letter
of the Vedas and say: “This is all that exists.”
Their souls are enveloped
in the cloak of selfish desires,
and their heaven is selfishness.
Perhaps the reason for the increase in fundamentalism lies in the fact that people are searching for security in an uncertain world. Secular society produces instability because, by demolishing traditional beliefs without replacing them with new ones, it paves the way for its own decay and individual disorientation. However, fundamentalism is not a real solution to this problem. On the contrary, fundamentalism accelerates the process of disintegration. By inciting hostility and war.
Tolerance is a far better approach, but what does it really mean? Tolerance cannot mean indulgence towards everything, as it would encompass all kinds of evil. Tolerance means accepting others; accepting that people are different and allowing them to be so. A tolerant person can even see something valuable in fundamentalism, which seeks stability and unity, while subjecting the paths towards them to criticism.
Some argue that religions are dogmatic and exclusive by their nature, but that is not historically founded. For example, in ancient Egypt or Rome, many religions coexisted alongside each other. History shows that it is possible to be religious without being fanatic.
It is important to live and nurture some timeless and universal values that we can find in different traditions, such as:
Hate is not overcome by hate. Hate is conquered by love. That is the eternal law.
Buddha
“Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.
Confucius”
“As you sow, so shall you reap.
Jesus”
“Do not embrace violence, do not be greedy.
Egyptian and Jewish tradition”
Another important step would be an attempt to restore healthy customs because they have a stabilizing influence in society and create an atmosphere of mutual respect and solidarity. Principles such as moderation in eating and drinking, courtesy, cleanliness, respect between generations and genders, as well as honesty in trade and public service, would help people avoid drastic, fundamentalist, revolutionary, or reactionary solutions.
However, such rules alone are insufficient. Human beings must be inspired by higher ideals from the same common spiritual root of humanity, the divine spark or soul that is shared by all of us. Reason and judgment, although extremely important, are not enough.
In times when fundamentalism and fanaticism are on the rise, it is necessary to strengthen philosophical and A tolerant approach as a counterbalance to this negative trend. Even if we are currently unable to stop the wave of intolerance that is already in motion, we can lay the foundations for a brighter tomorrow, just as some medieval and Renaissance thinkers laid the foundations for the modern world.