শুক্রবার, ২১ জানুয়ারী, ২০১১

"Drishtantoism"

Drishtantoism ! by Moheen Reeyad

Drishtantoism, profosed by Shobuj Taposh (সবুজ তাপস) from Bangladesh as a next Philosophy of Post modernism (Uttor Adhunikatabad), is founded with the mixture of the Eastern and Western theories. The Eastern philosophies which impulsed the new philosophy are Lokayota/Charvaka, Buddhism, Baulism, Chaina Taoism etc. The Western philosophers who influence the philosophy, of them Protagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, August Comte, Immanuel Kant, Jean Paul Sartre, David Hume, Karl Marx, G. E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, A. J. Ayer, C. G. Jung are specially mentionable. Though, from the place of Literature and Culture, the philosophy is near at the soil of Indian Subcontinent, it has worldwideness.

"Drishtantoism" is English translation of the Bengali word, "Drishtantobad" (দৃষ্টান্তবাদ) by Moheen Reeyad. It is formed by the two words, 'Drishtanto' (দৃষ্টান্ত) and 'Bad' (বাদ). The derivative definition of Drishtantoism is present in the joint family of the two words. In Bangla, 'Drishtanto' means example, precedence, evidence, comparison etc. Drishtanto is also the similar reference and description of proving accuracy of something. And Drishtanto is formed by the two Bengali words, Drishto (দৃষ্ট) and Anto (অন্ত). Drishto means 'seen', ‘noticed’, ‘observed’, ‘visible’, ‘manifest’. Anto means ‘nature’, ‘exact intention’. Sometimes anto is also used as suffix in the last of verbal root to mean present progressive tense. By the meaning, to understand Drishtanto, seen or visible nature of a thing has been indicated. To understand Bad, the English word, ‘Ism’ is appropriate.

The essence of Drishtantoism is observed in the derivative meaning of the word, Drishtantobad. The philosophy advocates for the displayed and observed existence, or for the nature which is visible or observable. According to the philosophy, the thing which is materially changeable, transformable and presentable is useful or important. That is, importance of a thing depends on its changeableness or transformability. According to the philosophy the test of Truth and falsehood or right and wrong is applicable only for the Thing which is materially presentable. It accepts such type of thing as true. For this, the imagination or imaginary thing which is not realizable is staying at a distance from the question of truth and falsehood. Without opposing, Drishtantoists become answerless to the thing, and stay at a distance from it. By the answerlessness about the thing, they indirectly consent to a man accepting it neither as true nor as false. So to speak in a word, they avoid such type of things. In this place, Drishtantoism is different from Buddhism and Charvaka. For example, Drishtantoistic (দৃষ্টান্তবাদী) explanation about God is countable :


Of the two propositions, namely there is God and there is no God, which is really true, Drishtantoism realizes, will remain uncertain forever. Taking these by the practice of another’s religion some will be theist and some will be atheist. The philosophy is neither theistic nor atheistic. For this, to serve creature is to serve own world is acceptable, but “to serve creature is to serve God” is not


Post modernism and Drishtantoism :

The next philosophy of Post modernism (Uttor Adhunikatabad) is Drishtantoism. Shobuj Taposh (1977-) has claimed that it would be practiced after Modernism. Without doing so, the thinkers of Bengali region became attentive to the Uttor Adhunikata, influenced by Western post modernism. This is, to a great extent, exact, for the reason that western post modernism has come after modernism logically. The post modernism has inspired man to think about future. But by the modernism (our Adhunikata is near at it), come by the influence of renaissance, the practice is being continued here, without elaborating it some thinkers of 80 and 90 decades are trying to make men backdated and backward expecting ancient and medieval beliefs and unreal myth. However, Drishtantoism is neither a blind exponent of modern and post modern literatures nor an extreme opponent of them, wants to make the readers (or the society) argument-prone and freedom-loving. This philosophy takes importantly the positive-creative aspects of the mentioned two flows of literature criticizing their existing backwardness & darkwardness, and extremely supports the exposition of thing-based reality ignoring every intangibility and invisibility. The philosophy is sympathetic to the positive aspects of the literary and social movements, procured in the midst of 19th and 20th century especially Indian Brahmo Somaj movement, Young Bengal movement, National Mohammedan Association and Muslim Literary Society, and western Surrealism, Dadaism, Symbolism, Futurism, Imagism etc. It is not the philosophy that took secondarily the soil-nearest real affairs. It expects not only the human explanation of modern rationality, secularity, Socialism and science-consciousness but also the accurate use of modern Technology. It does not accept the hostility of Uttor Adhunikata that is used against the concepts of modernity submitting against modern Five Writers. It does not accept the belief-based matters of uttor adhunikata that seem real and practicable to be modernity-crossed.

The Three principles of Drishtantoism :

01. God + Allah = There is nothing.
02. Neither theist nor atheist, but religious.
03. Man will be Good not for God but for saving himself and the world.

In the principles, the political side of Drishtantoism has been exposed. Here God isn’t neglected at all, but to create conflict setting the question of God in explaining complicated world is not indulged. The philosophy doesn’t take importantly opposing to God.

God and Allah :

According to Drishtantoism, the equations are not appropriate: God + Allah = 0, God + God = 2God (If God = Allah), Allah + Allah = 2Allah (If God = Allah), God + Allah = Gallohad. Allah cannot be God. It is believed that Allah gives The Quran, and God gives the Bible. If the Quran and the Bible are not same matter, God plus Allah is not equal to 0. So God + Allah = there is nothing. Besides, because of being a number, the summation of the two may not be 0. God ≠ Allah. Because all Christians do not read the Quran, do not maintain the Eid festival. In reverse order, all Muslims do not read the Bible; do not maintain the Christmas Day. For this, without opposing, Drishtantobad avoids any divine/Godly matter.

Neither theist nor atheist, but religious :

Drishtantoism is a philosophy that is neither for theism nor for atheism. But it trusts that man is naturally religious. C. G. Jung said, ‘Our mind (psyche) is, by nature, religious’. His claim is theistic. Because he, depending on his cognition/feeling at the time of speaking on dream, said, “I find that all my thoughts circle around God like the planets around the sun, and are as irresistibly attracted by Him. I would feel it to be the grossest sin if I were to oppose any resistance to this force” (quoted it from his autobiography, Memories, Dreams and Reflections). So Drishtantoistic religion is different from theistic religion. What is the Drishtantoistic religion? According to the philosophy, a man’s natural and biological behavior is his religion. Here faith is avoided. Shobuj Taposh claimed: if a man is devoted to his body and nature, he needs no faith. Nature means a man’s surroundings. Homeland is mainly considerable. The philosophy avoids faith, as it loves man. But faith is contempt to a man. Because of remaining the matter of ‘slavery’ and ‘mastery’ here, the philosophy doesn’t receive it cordially. Besides, being near at belief, faith is to a great extent God-based. But because of being neither for theist nor for atheist, the philosophy avoids God. To Shobuj Taposh, if a man is devoted to his body and nature, he must be sympathetic to the world, must neglect otherness. In this sphere, the philosophy is near at Post colonialism. In Drishtantoism, Patriotism is accepted as main religion.

Be Good not for God but for saving yourself and the world :

The philosophy requests man to be good ethically. If a man becomes so, he will express honest courage for saving himself. In this way, if all men save themselves ethically, the world will be saved from all the problems: religion-based belligerency, terrorism and all kinds of conflict. In the principle, God is not neglected but avoided. Here avoidance doesn’t mean opposing God but staying at a distance from the being. According to the philosophy, by opposing/neglecting traditional religion, it is not possible to have worldly peace. Again by giving importance to it, it is not possible to have worldly peace too. The principle is somewhat influenced by the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Kant said, do duty for sake of duty. The imperative is totally unconditional. According to Taposh, man will do duty for saving himself and the world.


Edited by Moheen Reeyad



References :






Website :

Translation of the Bengali philosophy “DRISHTANTOBAD” is “DRISHTANTOISM”

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নভেম্বর, ২০১০