What is integral humanism?

At its core, Upadhyaya’s integral humanism talks about unity and harmony among the various components that make up a human individual, and among individuals and society as a whole. According to this philosophy, the individual is made up of the body, mind, intelligence, and the soul, and the development and fulfillment of each is important.

Another cornerstone of the doctrine is the concept of four purusharth, or areas of human effort. These are dharma, artha, karma and moksha, on which this article will elaborate.

Dr Sanjay Paswan, BJP leader and former Union minister, told The Indian Express, “It is important to note what Panditji always emphasized upon: that he did not come up with or invent these concepts, but drew upon the wisdom of ancient Indian philosophy to formulate his doctrine.”

In what context was this philosophy derived?

Once India became independent, a need was felt in certain circles that it should be guided by indigenous systems of thought, instead of the popular Western political philosophies.

As Upadhyaya said in a lecture in Mumbai (then Bombay) on April 22, 1965, “Among the various isms that affected the West, the principal ones were nationalism, democracy and socialism… every now and then, apart from these, the ideals of World peace and world unity were also advocated. All these are good ideals… But by itself, each stands opposed to the rest in practice. Nationalism poses a threat to world peace. Democracy and capitalism join hands to give a free reign to exploitation. Socialism replaced capitalism and brought with it an end to democracy and individual freedom.” Thus, he said, these ideals were far from perfect, and ‘Bharat’, with its rich history of political thought, should not blindly ape them.

He described the difference in Indian and Western ways of thought thus: “The first characteristic of Bharatiya culture is that it looks upon life as an integrated whole… The confusion in the West arises primarily from its tendency to think of life in sections and then to attempt to put them together by patchwork.”

He also said that while many believe Indian philosophy to be overtly focused on the soul, the Bhartiya way of thought gives equal importance to the body, mind, intelligence, and the soul. At the level of the individual, all four must be nourished for a truly meaningful life.

In terms of policymaking and public life, he spoke of the four purusharths. dharma, artha, karma and moksha.

Purushartha means effort which befits a man. The longings for dharma, artha, karma and moksha are inborn in man, and the satisfaction of these gives him joy (ananda). Of these four efforts too, we have thought in an integrated way. Artha includes what are known as political and economic policies. According to the ancients, it used to include Justice and Punishment as well as Economics. Kama relates to the satisfaction of various natural desires. Dharma includes all those rules, fundamental principles and ethical codes, in accordance with which all the activities in respect of Artha and Kama are to be carried out, and all the goals thereof to be achieved. This alone will ensure progress in an integrated and harmonious manner, and lead ultimately to Moksha,” Upadhyaya said in Mumbai on April 23, 1965.

The BJP believes, according to its website, that “all these Indian thoughts should not be issues of sermons but of politics. The policies of the country should be made on their basis.”

Dr Paswan said that for India to truly become a Vishwa Guru, it had to take the lead in the sphere of thoughts and ideas, which is where Upadhyaya’s contributions are especially important. “Bharat may survive on vote bank politics but will thrive only through thought bank politics. Hence, we need to make sure that our institutions are guided by the basis of the wisdom contained in our ancient texts, which Pandit Upadhyaya so ably distilled.”