122 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
definition of religion. Though I have not defined it, it is not that I have accepted it merely for argument’s sake. I accept it. Religion means the rules imposed for the maintenance of society. I also have the same concept of religion. Although this definition realistically or logically appears to be correct, it does not disclose or clarify the nature of rules which govern a society. The question still remains as to what should be the nature of rules which govern society. This question is more important than that of definition. Because the question which is religion and which is not religion, does not depend on its definition but on the motive and nature of the rules that bind and govern a society. What should be the nature of real religion ? While deciding this question; another question naturally follows. What should be the relation between a man and society. The modem social philosophers have postulated three answers to this question. Some have said that the ultimate goal of society is to achieve happiness for the individual. Some say the society exists for development of the inherent qualities and energies of man and help him to develop his self. However some claim that the chief object of social organisation is not the development or happiness of the individual but the creation of an ideal society. The concept of Hindu religion is, however, very different from all these concepts. There is no place for an individual in Hindu religion. The Hindu religion is constituted on a class-concept. Hindu religion does not teach how an individual should behave with another individual. A religion which does not recognise the individual is not personally acceptable to me. Although society is necessary for the individual, mere social welfare cannot be the ultimate goal of religion. According to me, individual welfare and progress (individual development) should be the real aim of the religion. Although the individual is a part of the society, the relation with society is not like the body and its organs, or the cart and its wheels.
Society and the Individual
Unlike the drop of water that merges its existence with the ocean in which it drops, man does not lose his entity in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is born not for