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GC Dev: A glimpse of his humanist philosophy

Dr. Aminul Islam
Martyred Professor GC Dev (1907-1971) dedicated his entire life to the cause of preaching and practicing a life-oriented philosophy - something that earned him wide reputation at home and abroad. He is commonly recognized as a distinguished philosopher, rather than a philosopher in the conventional sense. He had no charm for metaphysical quest and for knowledge for the sake of knowledge. For him, philosophy at this critical juncture of history’ can no longer afford the luxury of ivory tower speculation, but needs to serve as the ideological incentive to successful living. He not only said this but meant it in every sense. Thus he worked relentlessly and even gave away all his properties for the welfare of man, more particularly the most neglected and downtrodden common man. "The moorings of my heart, my dreams and visions that have sustained me through my struggles", says Dev, "centre around them". Thus we see that of his many philosophical works, one entitled 'Aspirations of the Common Man' deals mainly with the weal and woe, the dreams and frustrations of the ordinary men and women, who find it difficult to make both ends meet. It is with them Ln mind that he was in search of a philosophy
that can give a push ahead to man's progress in terms of material prosperity as well as spiritual values.
On the basis of a new orientation, he has resurrected idealism from a materialist angle by putting a brake on the excesses of materialism and spiritualism. There with he puts up a strong defense of one-world based on amity and fraternity of all mankind. He visualizes the future of the common man in a synthetic philosophy which finds the truth of matter. This, he says, can be worked out by achieving a measure of equilibrium between materialism and spiritualism, reason and faith, science and religion. He assures us that the new philosophy, as outlined by him, underlies all religions and is the meeting ground of men of religion on the one hand, and humanists on the other. He makes no secret of his respect for religion and says that religion on its bnglit side has always spoken of love and friendship; but its so called followers have, in an open defiance of the great intention of their great founders, often used religion as a fertile soil for the growth of sectionalism, jealousy, hatred and even war and terror of the works kind. A lot of damage, regrets Dev, has already been done, and it is high time that we review and reconsider our role, and beware of all such sectional and fanatic actions that run counter to the compli-
cated needs of the modern environment. In our own interest, we need to guard against all such ideas and activities which may jeopardize the one-world mentality, the spiritual counterpart of physical unity brought about by science throughout the length and breadth of the world.
Dev next passes on to a critique of science and technology, the most glaring example of man's creative genius. Science, he admits, has worked wonders by changing the shape of the globe and opening links with the outer space. By so doing it has contributed immensely to the broadening of man's outlook of life and the universe. By brining into bold relief the physical unity of the world, with its good and bad effects, its enormous advantages and perplexities, science has really made the spiritual course of the world smooth. What is alarming, however, is the fact that science in its latest phase as technology has emerged as a disastrous power and is being misused as a blatant instrument of destructive actions hitherto unknown and unimaginable. Sadly enough, it has degenerated into a power cult with a most bleak and gloomy prospect for man, reminding him every moment of his doomsday.
This power cult, devoid of the cementing force of love, has created an ethical vacuum that has brought man to an unstable
equilibrium. This vacuum can only be filled in by an unshakable faith in the basic unity of man irrespective of caste, creed, colour and clime. Now, the unity of man can be restored only by bringing philosophy and science closer in a harmonious relationship. Left to themselves, science and philosophy stand respectively for unrestricted power and universal love. Apparently, they are repellent and mutually exclusive, but in the final analysis, as two different branches of human knowledge they are amenable to union and reconciliation. An unfailing optimist, Dr Dev hopes that a day will come when a truce will be signed between the two and a merger there of will ensure peace and security of man. Loyalty to science will then help us grow materially, and our faith in spirit and ethical values, liberated by scientific rationalism, will save us from tension and disintegration. The task is no doubt mountainous, and there are manifold obstacles in the way. But if we proceed with care, caution and circumspection, we must triumph in the way. The sense of unity, cautions Dev, must prevail over the sense of difference, human interest over sectional affiliation and love over power. For the present, we must cry halt to the prevailing power cult in different spheres of life and work hand in hand for successful living. Here also the concept of
successful living has to be considerably broadened so that it may work in our new environment and answer its challenge to our existence. We cannot afford to fail here, for in that case all our efforts to build up a secure future are bound to melt before the heat of jealousy, strife and conflict.
Professor Dev's theme has been to express the concern that the world today has drifted to an erroneous philosophy of life, one that is disproportionately materialistic. Lured by the apparent achievements of science and technology, contemporary men and women are unwittingly making a mad rush for material possession to die utter disregard for moral and spiritual values. This, he laments, is highly disconcerting inasmuch as it has dragged the present day world to a point of crisis - the crisis of existence. In consequence, mankind is fast moving towards war, tension and perhaps total annihilation. The possible way out of this crucial predicament is a new philosophy of life based on and wedded to a synthesis, a happy marriage between material wealth and spiritual values, science and religion as well as power and love.
For my part, I find to reason to disagree with Professor Dev and feel very strongly, as he does, that if we want to save humanity from utter destruction, then we have no alternative to preaching and practising the perennial philos-
ophy of love which is also the underlying gospel of all religions.
The writer is a professor of philosophy at Dhaka University.