How can something as cruel as fundamentalism be considered religious?"  Sachin asked Mr Patnaik while they were walking in the playground of the school. 

The boy was reacting to his teacher's statement in that day's class that fundamentalism was a contemporary way of being religious.

Sachin was a student of class 12 in New India Public School where Mr Patnaik taught English.  New India being an exclusively residential school, it tended to breed a strong rapport between teachers and students.  Teachers were also guides, counsellors and, in a few cases at least, parents.

Mr Patnaik enjoyed a stronger bonding with the intelligent students.  "Intelligence is the greatest virtue," he used to say.  He even had a theory that crimes were the follies and mistakes committed by the unintelligent.  Sachin wanted to ask him more about that theory.  "I'll find time for that one day," he decided.  Sachin was one of the most gifted students of the school.

"When a people are confused their religion changes colour or even shape," explained the teacher. 

"But we live in a time of immense knowledge," protested Sachin.  "How can you say we are a confused people?"  Sachin thought that all confusions could be cleared by logging on to Google search. 

"There are two kinds of knowledge," explained Mr Patnaik.  "Let me call them logos and mythos, using Karen Armstrong's terms.  Logos is rational, scientific knowledge.  Mythos refers to non-rational knowledge."

"Can knowledge be non-rational?" Sachin wondered.

"Much of the knowledge that ordinary people possess may be non-rational," said Mr Patnaik.  "Knowledge they obtained from their religions, the arts, and even their personal experiences."

"But you don't believe in religion, sir!"

"My belief has nothing to with it, dear.  People have a rational mind.  They also have an irrational mind.  The rational mind looks for logical answers and proofs.  But soon it realises that not every phenomenon, not every experience can be explained rationally.  How can you explain pain rationally to a man suffering from terminal cancer?  How can you explain rationally the accidental death of an innocent child?  Or the beauty of a flower?  Or the meaning of life?  Religion, spirituality, poetry and such things bring answers that are not always rational.  Such answers provide a lot of relief to people."

"But ... are those answers right?"

"In the irrational domain of the mind the concept of right and wrong breaks down.  It's subjective.  The individual decides what's right and what's wrong."

Sachin fell into thought.

"A large area of our mind is occupied by the subconscious and the unconscious," continued Mr Patnaik.  "The faculty of reason has little to do with these domains.  Our memories and desires, impacts of past experiences, suppressed and repressed feelings, all these and much more lie in the subconscious mind.  This subconscious mind controls our emotions and attitudes.  And unfortunately it is not in the control of our Reason.  This very huge area of our mind is like a ravenous beast, always looking for something to swallow.  Religion, literature and such things often provide much more satisfying food to this beast.  They - religion, literature and so on - can even tame the beast.  Can turn it even into a saint."

"Sir, a few days back I read something about Aristotle's concept of catharsis.  I didn't understand much, but I think it has something to do with the purifying impact of literature on the human mind...."

"Don't worry that you didn't understand Aristotle's catharsis.  Even great scholars haven't understood it really.  But what you said is quite correct.  When you watch a good drama, for instance, many of our emotions undergo change.  Our attitudes change.  The change may last long, or may even be permanent, if the drama is really a good work of art.  That precisely is the function of art, literature and religion.  They work on the subconscious mind.  The kind of knowledge that works on the subconscious, that's necessary for the subconscious is mythos."

The school's siren sounded.  It was time for dinner.

"Sir, were you implying that fundamentalism is a subconscious reaction to certain undesirable reality in today's society?"

"Exactly."  Mr Patnaik was happy that his student brought the discussion back to the issue they were dealing with when the conversation started. 

"But I remember you advising us once that reactions are often bad responses to a situation.  You told us not to react but to respond."

"Yes, reactions come from the subconscious.  Responses come from the conscious, rational mind.  Responses are far more desirable than reactions.  But can we ask people to get rid of their subconscious minds?  What's wrong with fundamentalism, and what's right with it too - we'll discuss the next time.  It's time for your dinner."

Sachin was glad to carry enough for his mind. 

[Sachin will have many more discussions with Mr Patnaik in the coming days.]