Rationale for Myths

 Rationale for Myths

Many people oppose the construction of temples because they believe in the material reality and not in the existence of false things like gods and goddesses. They call them  myths. Myths  are false beliefs and therefore totally avoidable. Such false beliefs are propagated by religions, according to them, and therefore, they are synonymous with superstition. Religion asks for a kind of blind faith which makes us believe in the unreal and false things. Such beliefs are harmful because they develop in their followers a habit of believing in the unreal and untrue things. "But it gives me happiness." , you may say on which they would say," so does opium. Religion is like opium. It gives an artificial and temporary feeling of ecstasy." You may object to this offencive comparison. " Both  are the same in their effects as they cut off a man from his reality. Any pleasure which is based on an unreal and temporary mental stimulus is harmful as it will result in disappointments and frustrations in future." They will explain it to you. 

Let us consider this subject a bit more deeply and in detail. What is real? What is unreal? What is true? What is false? Is there  a connection between reality and goodness? Is truth always good? Must truth necessarily be good? What is the use of truth? Is it possible to live a good life by believing in the truth conceptualized by materialists?

In my opinion, which is not in contrast to the great idea of SATYAM SHIVAM SUNDARAM, the truth is what is good. Broadly speaking, truth is good forever and for everyone, or as much as possible. Testing on this standard, many supposed true things cease to be true anymore because they are limited in their effects and reach.

Myth is imagination. Though it may be false,It forms a kind of reality which may be called imagined reality. Its effect  is real and great. Its purpose is to fulfill the desire for knowing the reason behind natural events( gods and goddesses, legends, stories), the desire for self importance( tales about the glory of one's family, dynasty,  country,  religion and caste). If the myths are created by a generous and altruistic desire, it is good. But, it's bad if it's created by a desire for pettiness, ego fulfillment,  greed and selfishness and escapism.

"Myth is avoidable because it is untrue. It's untrue because it doesn't exist. It doesn't exist because I cannot perceive it through my senses. I call untrue those things which cannot be perceived by me through senses, though it may exist in my thoughts.", said a champion  of materialism. Here, there are two problems. First, it's incorrect to call true only that which is perceptible through senses because it excludes the mathematical laws and the laws of science etc which are known through reason. Second, even the ability of human perception is very limited and narrow.

If we call real and true only those things which are permanent and true everywhere and everytime, myths are more real due to their comparative permanence in the consciousness of a large society. They encompass, sometimes, a whole nation and sometimes the whole world. The myths like socialism, individualism, democracy, nationalism, equality and  liberty are present in more minds than expected. The empirical truths like the taste of some dish, smell of some flower, sound of some birds etc are more subjective than objective. Their perceptions vary from person to person. 

Many myths, though they are consciously created with some specific purposes, become real thanks to their popularity and effects. Myths of God, gods, goddess, ghosts, chastity, patriotism, loyalty etc are some of such myths.

There is no harm in holding such myths true, as long as they are not harmful. If they are doing good, there is no need to dig deep and try hard to prove them false. As there is nothing true in the world except the Vedantic concept of Brahman, everything is true and good ,if it does and results in good.

There is no society in the world which has lived without myths. Even today, we believe in some modern collective myths like humanity, money, state, and nationalism etc. Myths have been greatly successful in effectively uniting people to realize some common goal which would not have been achieved individually in fragmented efforts. Religions have been the most reliable sources of inspiration for billions of people to do good to their neighbors. They have, with their myths and stories, set billions of simple minded people on the path of goodness. Many myths have filled the lives of the billions with love and hope. It will be a completely illogical and extremely cruel and harmful act to advocate against myths. Let them keep guiding humanity towards love and happiness.