Gurpreet Bhatti's speech at the Cambridge Union
'People do the most terrible things in the most unexpected places'
23rd October, 2006
Back in 2004 the writer Gurpreet Bhatti was at the centre of controversy when her play Behzti was rocked by protests and eventually stopped early. On Thursday last week she delivered a speech at the Cambridge University Union. It was in opposition to the motion: 'This House believes that religion is the opium of the masses', as originally postulated by Karl Marx.
In the article the writer discusses the reaction to her play, her own beliefs in Sikhism, and the importance of understanding religion properly. Her team won the debate. AIM Magazine exclusively publishes the full speech below.
by Gurpreet Bhatti
Writer and Playwright
One of the most prominent banners at the protests against my play Behzti in December 2004 read 'Shame on Sikh Playwright for her Corrupt Imagination.'
These words strike me as being relevant to this debate, because they seem to condemn the idea of mixing faith with that which is uncontrolled and unpredictable, namely one's creativity. Behind the slogan was the desire to control and limit free thought. So is religion just another drug designed to numb and nullify the mind?
A method of social manipulation which provides an escape from reality? Or is religion the route to absolute liberation? Can your faith be true if you are the dissenting voice? I believe it can. And I think Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and Jesus, amongst others, might agree.
I wrote a play which was deemed by some to be an offensive assault on my religion. At the same time it was described by one critic as 'a fiercely religious play'. The piece explored the flaws of human beings who try but fail to live up to religious ideals. The characters go on living in a society, beset with the cancer of hypocrisy.
I wanted to show that people do the most terrible things in the most unexpected places. And maybe we should thank God they do. Because each time they do, they remind us all of our own humanity, of our own weaknesses and failings. I always endeavour to write with compassion for my subject, but I don't censor myself and I never will.
This compassion, together with a need for interrogation and a spirit of exploration are the elements which drive my writing. And they are sourced directly from my religion. Most of us would agree that nearly all faiths espouse common decent values. Religion in its essence is not the problem here.
The difficulty is that some people subvert these ideals for their own means. A process of fabrication follows. Like the manufacture of a man-made drug. A drug which makes you feel good but sends you insane.
I understand that Marx's quote is often taken out of context. What he meant was that religion is the manifestation of a condition of suffering. But instead of investigating the real causes of suffering, religion like opium works on the mind to generate illusory causes and solutions to this condition.
I would argue that it is possible to substitute any set of beliefs for religion in Marx's quote. Indeed, people misuse many things to divert themselves from reality. Fascism, Stalinism, Marxism itself, New Labour, David Cameron, Big Brother, the Daily Mail, crack cocaine, bacon double cheeseburgers, the Atkins diet, Pilates. The list is endless.
So you see, to isolate religion may be convenient but is incorrect. It is simply the nature of the human condition to explore ways of dealing with whatever feels too painful or complicated. Moreover we look to these things to comprehend why exactly we are here. And to try and make it better.
Perhaps true freedom comes when we accept that we all fail, that our dogmas are inherently fallible and that no thing can give us the perfect answer to this suffering.
To live a life without a spiritual dimension, to not have a connection with a power greater than oneself, even if that is one's conscience, would for me be a life of the greatest suffering.
It's important to acknowledge the significance of Marx's quote, even when cited as a cultural soundbite. It encapsulates a rather easy, lazy argument put forward by some to blame the ills of the world on religion. For example, religion causes wars. Actually it doesn't, people do.
There's no doubt that religion is a malleable entity, and can be used by people to say whatever they like. It is both blamed and championed to suit circumstance and agenda. But why do human beings continue to rely on it? Are they really stupid and unable to think for themselves? Or is there something more profound which offers sustenance and freedom?
The origins of the word religion suggest a reconnection with divinity and all faiths are ultimately concerned with the liberation of the soul. My religion does not offer me any escape or makebelieve solution. Instead it is the foundation of my spiritual life and gives me the tools to confront and deal with reality.
I cannot explain my faith to you in words. It is free and it is true. It is nothing and it is everything. My creativity, which is the thing that feeds my soul, comes from my relationship with the creator.
Religion is not my opium, far from leading me into a drug induced stupor, it keeps me alert and awake and alive. It keeps me fighting and asking questions. In the darkest moments of my life it has taught me valuable lessons of tolerance and acceptance. Most importantly it has shown me that the best way to live life is without fear.
The founders of many religions were revolutionaries, innovators who stood alone and challenged contemporary social and religious mores. The founder of Sikhism was Guru Nanak, a free spirited radical, who broke the bonds of Hinduism and Islam. Nanak's message emphasises the importance of inward devotion and the irrelevance of outwardly observations such as rituals and pilgrimages.
Nanak said that devotion can only take place through the heart with one's spirit and soul. His teachings denounce the caste system and say that everyone is equal regardless of gender. He highlights the importance of hard work and urges people to defend the rights of all human beings.
Aged 11, Hindu boys of Nanak's caste would start to wear a sacred thread to distinguish them. Nanak refused, he felt people should be distinguished by the their actions and their individual qualities rather than by a thread.
As an adult he visited Mecca. He fell asleep and was awoken by a furious Imam who shouted at him, saying 'Don't you know your feet are facing the house of God'. The Guru answered politely, 'I am sorry. Please turn my feet towards where God is not.'
These simple, beautiful principles promote humility and responsibility. They encourage active, considered participation in one's life and community, and are about as far away from an opium fest as you can get. Perhaps we as followers just need to get back to basics. If you want practical guidance on everyday living, turn to Nanak. If you want quiet meditation, turn to Nanak and if you want to learn about the shortcomings of organised religion, turn to Nanak.
Indeed this aspect of learning is a crucial one. Too many so-called religious people think they know it all. The word Sikh means student and suggests an ongoing relationship with the spirit, which evolves throughout one's life.
Having a faith does not make me better or worse than anyone. Indeed, some of my closest friends are atheists, agnostics and humanists. My religion simply offers a way of living that suits me and helps me deal both with my own flaws and the challenges around me.
There are moments when we cannot bear ourselves. When the empty space within each of us takes over and the human need for transcendence becomes apparent. Some of us seek refuge in drugs, alcohol, television and yes, religion. For a few, this turns into addiction. And of course like anything, religion is subject to abuse.
Too often religions are in the hands of a powerful minority whose self-interest and hypocrisy lead them to manipulate and misguide the majority. (Or is that called being in government, sorry!). Governments indulge these supposed representatives and religion becomes nothing more than a mask for political agenda and repression.
And when great sustaining metaphors become literal facts enforced by clerical committees, then religion has broken down into an instrument of control and is no longer guiding or meaningful. So at its worst organised religion is reduced to an array of rituals and precepts and functions only to keep the individual away from the divine. But this is a human distortion of the truth. So you see, it is not the message which is at fault, but the messenger.
Recently there has been a renewed spotlight on religion and its role in society. Perhaps as our political parties implode there remains the very real need for people to believe in something. This illustrates the failure of our political systems rather than religion itself being some sort of latent menace.
I believe it's vital that people of faith continue to challenge their religions. We have to reclaim the spirit of revolution which inspired great innovators like Guru Nanak. And we must fight against the falsification and diminishing of basic values. We cannot allow our great ideas and ideals to be ringfenced and misused as weapons of suppression and censorship.
I have no regrets and my conscience is clear. Besides, it's none of my business what anyone thinks of me. The only thing I answer to is God.
Religion is the foremost way of linking human beings with the eternal. Its principles encourage us to face our truths, not to get high. It remains enduring and relevant to modern society. So I urge you not to dismiss it as a drug.
While I would join anyone in the battle to combat addiction, if you accept this cynical and depressing motion, you are giving up on humanity and the truth of what religion is. You are accepting that religion is damaged beyond repair and letting those who actively distort our ideals get away with it. So I ask you to oppose the motion and demand that religion be reclaimed by people of faith.
The real culprits we need to beware of, are the fear and spinelessness which permeate our institutions. It is surely better to direct our disdain and combative spirit against these contemporary evils.
Finally I believe that my corrupt imagination alongside my faith is my salvation. Religion is not the opium of the masses, it represents my sustenance, it gives me the strength to go on, to live with myself and to fight for what I believe in.
----------------------------------------
This speech was first delivered by Gurpreet Bhatti to the Cambridge Union on Thursday 19th October.
This speech is from Aim magazine.
23rd October, 2006
Back in 2004 the writer Gurpreet Bhatti was at the centre of controversy when her play Behzti was rocked by protests and eventually stopped early. On Thursday last week she delivered a speech at the Cambridge University Union. It was in opposition to the motion: 'This House believes that religion is the opium of the masses', as originally postulated by Karl Marx.
In the article the writer discusses the reaction to her play, her own beliefs in Sikhism, and the importance of understanding religion properly. Her team won the debate. AIM Magazine exclusively publishes the full speech below.
by Gurpreet Bhatti
Writer and Playwright
One of the most prominent banners at the protests against my play Behzti in December 2004 read 'Shame on Sikh Playwright for her Corrupt Imagination.'
These words strike me as being relevant to this debate, because they seem to condemn the idea of mixing faith with that which is uncontrolled and unpredictable, namely one's creativity. Behind the slogan was the desire to control and limit free thought. So is religion just another drug designed to numb and nullify the mind?
A method of social manipulation which provides an escape from reality? Or is religion the route to absolute liberation? Can your faith be true if you are the dissenting voice? I believe it can. And I think Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and Jesus, amongst others, might agree.
I wrote a play which was deemed by some to be an offensive assault on my religion. At the same time it was described by one critic as 'a fiercely religious play'. The piece explored the flaws of human beings who try but fail to live up to religious ideals. The characters go on living in a society, beset with the cancer of hypocrisy.
I wanted to show that people do the most terrible things in the most unexpected places. And maybe we should thank God they do. Because each time they do, they remind us all of our own humanity, of our own weaknesses and failings. I always endeavour to write with compassion for my subject, but I don't censor myself and I never will.
This compassion, together with a need for interrogation and a spirit of exploration are the elements which drive my writing. And they are sourced directly from my religion. Most of us would agree that nearly all faiths espouse common decent values. Religion in its essence is not the problem here.
The difficulty is that some people subvert these ideals for their own means. A process of fabrication follows. Like the manufacture of a man-made drug. A drug which makes you feel good but sends you insane.
I understand that Marx's quote is often taken out of context. What he meant was that religion is the manifestation of a condition of suffering. But instead of investigating the real causes of suffering, religion like opium works on the mind to generate illusory causes and solutions to this condition.
I would argue that it is possible to substitute any set of beliefs for religion in Marx's quote. Indeed, people misuse many things to divert themselves from reality. Fascism, Stalinism, Marxism itself, New Labour, David Cameron, Big Brother, the Daily Mail, crack cocaine, bacon double cheeseburgers, the Atkins diet, Pilates. The list is endless.
So you see, to isolate religion may be convenient but is incorrect. It is simply the nature of the human condition to explore ways of dealing with whatever feels too painful or complicated. Moreover we look to these things to comprehend why exactly we are here. And to try and make it better.
Perhaps true freedom comes when we accept that we all fail, that our dogmas are inherently fallible and that no thing can give us the perfect answer to this suffering.
To live a life without a spiritual dimension, to not have a connection with a power greater than oneself, even if that is one's conscience, would for me be a life of the greatest suffering.
It's important to acknowledge the significance of Marx's quote, even when cited as a cultural soundbite. It encapsulates a rather easy, lazy argument put forward by some to blame the ills of the world on religion. For example, religion causes wars. Actually it doesn't, people do.
There's no doubt that religion is a malleable entity, and can be used by people to say whatever they like. It is both blamed and championed to suit circumstance and agenda. But why do human beings continue to rely on it? Are they really stupid and unable to think for themselves? Or is there something more profound which offers sustenance and freedom?
The origins of the word religion suggest a reconnection with divinity and all faiths are ultimately concerned with the liberation of the soul. My religion does not offer me any escape or makebelieve solution. Instead it is the foundation of my spiritual life and gives me the tools to confront and deal with reality.
I cannot explain my faith to you in words. It is free and it is true. It is nothing and it is everything. My creativity, which is the thing that feeds my soul, comes from my relationship with the creator.
Religion is not my opium, far from leading me into a drug induced stupor, it keeps me alert and awake and alive. It keeps me fighting and asking questions. In the darkest moments of my life it has taught me valuable lessons of tolerance and acceptance. Most importantly it has shown me that the best way to live life is without fear.
The founders of many religions were revolutionaries, innovators who stood alone and challenged contemporary social and religious mores. The founder of Sikhism was Guru Nanak, a free spirited radical, who broke the bonds of Hinduism and Islam. Nanak's message emphasises the importance of inward devotion and the irrelevance of outwardly observations such as rituals and pilgrimages.
Nanak said that devotion can only take place through the heart with one's spirit and soul. His teachings denounce the caste system and say that everyone is equal regardless of gender. He highlights the importance of hard work and urges people to defend the rights of all human beings.
Aged 11, Hindu boys of Nanak's caste would start to wear a sacred thread to distinguish them. Nanak refused, he felt people should be distinguished by the their actions and their individual qualities rather than by a thread.
As an adult he visited Mecca. He fell asleep and was awoken by a furious Imam who shouted at him, saying 'Don't you know your feet are facing the house of God'. The Guru answered politely, 'I am sorry. Please turn my feet towards where God is not.'
These simple, beautiful principles promote humility and responsibility. They encourage active, considered participation in one's life and community, and are about as far away from an opium fest as you can get. Perhaps we as followers just need to get back to basics. If you want practical guidance on everyday living, turn to Nanak. If you want quiet meditation, turn to Nanak and if you want to learn about the shortcomings of organised religion, turn to Nanak.
Indeed this aspect of learning is a crucial one. Too many so-called religious people think they know it all. The word Sikh means student and suggests an ongoing relationship with the spirit, which evolves throughout one's life.
Having a faith does not make me better or worse than anyone. Indeed, some of my closest friends are atheists, agnostics and humanists. My religion simply offers a way of living that suits me and helps me deal both with my own flaws and the challenges around me.
There are moments when we cannot bear ourselves. When the empty space within each of us takes over and the human need for transcendence becomes apparent. Some of us seek refuge in drugs, alcohol, television and yes, religion. For a few, this turns into addiction. And of course like anything, religion is subject to abuse.
Too often religions are in the hands of a powerful minority whose self-interest and hypocrisy lead them to manipulate and misguide the majority. (Or is that called being in government, sorry!). Governments indulge these supposed representatives and religion becomes nothing more than a mask for political agenda and repression.
And when great sustaining metaphors become literal facts enforced by clerical committees, then religion has broken down into an instrument of control and is no longer guiding or meaningful. So at its worst organised religion is reduced to an array of rituals and precepts and functions only to keep the individual away from the divine. But this is a human distortion of the truth. So you see, it is not the message which is at fault, but the messenger.
Recently there has been a renewed spotlight on religion and its role in society. Perhaps as our political parties implode there remains the very real need for people to believe in something. This illustrates the failure of our political systems rather than religion itself being some sort of latent menace.
I believe it's vital that people of faith continue to challenge their religions. We have to reclaim the spirit of revolution which inspired great innovators like Guru Nanak. And we must fight against the falsification and diminishing of basic values. We cannot allow our great ideas and ideals to be ringfenced and misused as weapons of suppression and censorship.
I have no regrets and my conscience is clear. Besides, it's none of my business what anyone thinks of me. The only thing I answer to is God.
Religion is the foremost way of linking human beings with the eternal. Its principles encourage us to face our truths, not to get high. It remains enduring and relevant to modern society. So I urge you not to dismiss it as a drug.
While I would join anyone in the battle to combat addiction, if you accept this cynical and depressing motion, you are giving up on humanity and the truth of what religion is. You are accepting that religion is damaged beyond repair and letting those who actively distort our ideals get away with it. So I ask you to oppose the motion and demand that religion be reclaimed by people of faith.
The real culprits we need to beware of, are the fear and spinelessness which permeate our institutions. It is surely better to direct our disdain and combative spirit against these contemporary evils.
Finally I believe that my corrupt imagination alongside my faith is my salvation. Religion is not the opium of the masses, it represents my sustenance, it gives me the strength to go on, to live with myself and to fight for what I believe in.
----------------------------------------
This speech was first delivered by Gurpreet Bhatti to the Cambridge Union on Thursday 19th October.
This speech is from Aim magazine.
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