THE ATHEISTIC DECLINE OF BENGAL
Why are so many Bengali intellectuals atheists? And this has been the case for quite some time now in recent history. How is it that Bengal has lost the shraddha Swamiji spoke of as being the cardinal virtue to be cultivated in a man? Is it because these men of the mind are devoted more to the flesh than to the Spirit? Or is this the necessary condition that must prevail in a thinking society for contradictions to work out the best future synthesis?
Is Bengal on the move or is she on the way to decline? Why is so much irreverence prevalent among the intelligentsia here for our sacred literature, culture and characters that is almost unique in India in terms of the brazenness exhibited? Swamiji had castigated Bengal for being foppish, frivolous, unduly critical - and superficially so -, and for being intensely devoted to the flesh instead of being valorous in defence of the dharma. He had praised Bengal as well for her combination of head and heart but had warned Bengalees against the excesses of 'vaamaachaar' to which they had sunk to. Is Bengal in her intellectual atheism exhibiting that decadent trait in altered terms, in a newer form today? I leave you to ponder this pertinent point that has become the fulcrum of Bengal's modern decadence despite her otherwise glorious heritage.
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