In this age of world domination by “Go to Hell” religions based on colossal myths and gigantic superstitions, the “population targeted to go to hell” has an obligation to examine the basic premises of their own spiritual heritage. The people condemned to “go to hell” by the currently dominating world religions are so called “pagans” and “heathens” described as polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic or atheistic Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and others practicing Wicca, Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Native Americans, Baha’i, Zoroastrians, etc., collectively termed “non-believers” or “infidels” (Kafirs).

Many of these are “elders,” like the Jewish, originating long before the beginning of this Common Era 2000 years ago. These elders have been bullied for the last two millennia by the aggressive proselytizing empire building religions. Mass conversions under allurements, duress or deceit are still the order of the day and are supported and heavily financed by so-called “civilized” people who feel it is their duty to their religion and God to harvest more and more souls for engulfment by churches or mosques and to send them to their respective heavens in the afterlife. This is rationalized as offering “freedom of religion” to populations following other religions.

In addition, they consider it their singular mission to uplift and reform other cultures and their customs whom they deem primitive while they do not have time to smell the stink of their own past and presently practiced evils lingering on their shoes nor the blood stains of their past violence on their hands have been imperceptibly washed away. The supporters of such conversions do not necessarily recognize the greed or the empire building and political motives of such thrusts but feel gratified at the success of their lofty “compassionate” missionary emissaries to different parts of the world taking their God's “message” (God's word).

It is imperative that peaceful non-proselytizing cultures gain insight into how they, while being condemned, have kept from condemning other members of the human race to eternal suffering. These faiths have historically demonstrated more tolerance and acceptance of other human beings by not “condemning them to permanent suffering in the hell” and have practiced their religions without poaching the followers of other faiths. Yet they have been depicted by the monotheistic Abrahamic cultures as morally inferior “non-believers,” “infidels” or “heathens” and sometimes as utterly primitive barbarians. (Killing millions is not a barbarian act if committed by devout monotheists!)

The pejorative depiction of “non-monotheistic” non-proselytizing religions through various media is becoming the preoccupation of “academic” departments of religious studies and cultural anthropology in the Western world. The so-called Indologists or Orientologists, Departments of Sanskrit or Indian Studies of reputable western universities surreptitiously supported by organized religion in various ways, and even casual Western tourists visiting non-Christian or non-Islamic countries, want to present their “wisdom” to the world. This weird complex of religious superiority is predicated upon a presumptuous belief that the morality, ethics, conscience, fairness in human interaction, love and compassion, and regard for “human rights” despite their own dismal historical disregard for all of these principles through the ages and even at present, are the monopoly of their respective religions and spring solely from their superior religion and religious beliefs. They call it as their “ethics” and/or “ethos.”

There is a shared delusion that the prosperity or scientific progress of their own culture is the accomplishment of their religious beliefs or gift by their respective Gods, and others are doomed to hell in the after-life and in this life to suffer poverty because of “moral deficits”. Yet these religions actually militated against all scientific discoveries and progress, leading to the dark ages, sentencing scientists to death for discoveries that did not agree with religious dogma. Understandably the vested interests, namely Churches and various religious groups (e.g. Saudi financiers) in the so-called monotheistic religions finance such imperialistic efforts.

Adherents of monotheism have been indoctrinated in their churches and mosques for centuries with their proselytizing culture and aggressive empire building, dominating drives and brainwashing modus operandi instilling a false superiority complex in their followers. They feel virtuous and pious when they flaunt themselves as monotheistic, and therefore morally superior, devoted to “practice love of their neighbors and praying for peace on Earth. Some even interpret violent jihad as the pursuit of peace and internal reformation, though history testifies otherwise. These so-called peace-loving religions have inflicted untold misery on large sections of the world population, with centuries of violence including genocide.

“I am right, you are wrong: Go to Hell” mentality leads to wars instigated or supported by the organized religions, between themselves, even when disguised as wars for causes other than the propagation of their religions. These violent wars have sacrificed young adults and even children as soldiers killed in action, not counting the mass murders and massacres of several million innocent people, women, children and elderly of those not the affiliates of their own religions.

The modern world is afflicted by an intriguing blind-spot regarding the track record of these violent and aggressive religions over the past two millennia. Their own self-perception is schizophrenic, denying the collective violence inflicted upon their own neighboring cultures and past civilizations. The holocaust museums of their victims – Native Indians, Mayans, Mexicans, Latin Americans, African Americans, aborigines of Congo, Hindus, Kashmiri Hindu Pundits or others subjected to genocides – are never to be found because the facts are heavily hidden in the distorted and twisted history written by their own adherents or political sympathisers. They also have the political power to keep such monuments or museums from being built or even photographs and historical records being exhibited publicly. Their political influence on the political powers and royalties beginning with the Roman empire of Constantine continues to this day.

The separation of the Church and the State is an ideal not seen in practice when imperialism and colonialism in old and new form is practiced. Theocracies, of course, do not separate religions from their military or political powers; they are always together. 

In this historical backdrop, this article maintains that the concept of “Dhee” in Eastern religions, in stark contrast to its absence in monotheisms, has had a profound subliminal influence throughout the ages in creating a noble accepting attitude towards all human beings without strings attached or expectation that they will accept the stranger's faith or beliefs. To the extent that the only desire expressed in the “distillate” of the Vedas, the Gayatri Mantra, is to protect the freedom and autonomy of “our dhee” (or “dhiyo” meaning “dhee” as plural) and only such sentiment was worthy of handing down through oral transmission for millennia, it is surprising that the concept of dhee has not received wider attention from the adherents of the Vedic traditions. 

Dhee encompasses the concept of Intellect, Collective Unconscious, intuition, emotional intelligence, wisdom, and many other cognitive faculties of human mind. But most importantly it refers to a balance of sensibilities and freedom of thinking.

Soon, the global civilization will perforce need to take note of the concept of dhee and the Concept of Hinduness whether named or not. It is high time that the Secretary General of UNO hails from one of the cultures that recognize the concept of dhee and has a global perspective on the root causes of war and peace and international terrorism. Hinduness does not refer to Hindu religion but to the essence of Vedic thoughts and Vedic culture (Sanatana Dharma) which has provided the philosophical infrastructure for Hindu culture and religion. 

China and Russia have recognized the mischief these aggressive proselytizing religions can play in their countries if given a free rein under freedom of religion, which actually means freedom to proselytize and demographically attack the host society.

The concept of “dhee” is the essence of Eastern religions and Eastern civilizations. The word “Zen”  is a distortion of the Sanskrit word “dhyana” and the word “Buddha” is derived from the root verb “buddhi” which is “bud + dhi.” Dhyana was converted to Chyana in Chinese and Zen in Japanese; its root verb is “dhyii”, to meditate or contemplate. In Vedic culture, there is an extraordinary emphasis on “Samadhi” - “sam + aa + dhi” or “samaa + dhi” (the process of psychological and cultural development of an individual into a mature, civilized, educated, and compassionate person).

In Sankhya darshana, the sentient entity or “tatva” that emerged from Prakriti was “Mahad” or “Mahadhee”, “maha + dhee”. The secret Gayatri mantra is to be orally transmitted from generation to generation to keep awareness of “Brahman” active in the minds of those who wish to be “Su-sanskrit” (cultivated) and go through the “upanayana vidhi” (twice born ceremony) by focusing daily on “dhee” at least twice daily, in the morning and evening.

The contemplation is curiously not designed, in contrast to many other prayers, to pray for better afterlife or better next life, nor is it a ritual designed as a begetting machine, or a ticket to heaven if one exists. Neither does the mantra “ask for anything” for individual gain or power, but only expresses a wish and affirmation that the dhee that belongs to all of us (human race) be guided and inspired in the right direction.

The cognitive science of the Vedas views Dhee as a faculty of the mind, which in its highest accomplishment enables one to comprehend the Ultimate in the Universe. The Ultimate in the Universe is Brahman in Vedic science and Vedanta literature. Dhee is not only vested in an individual but has a collective existence. It nurtures the entire cognate creation. The “Mahad” of Sankhya Darshana refers to the Universal Intelligence.

The basic eternal law of nature is termed “rtam” in Sanskrit. It can be intuitively grasped by the human mind through the agency of dhee via the sub-faculty of “prajnya” (perception). In a fully “realized” individual, who has experienced and comprehended the nature of Brahman, dhee is privileged to enjoy prajnya that is filled with a deep unconscious and sometimes conscious knowledge of all the laws of nature, “ritambhara tatra prajnya”, an expression used by Patanjali, which means: In that state the prajnya is filled with all the “rta” or truths. Buddha or a “Sthitaprajnya” (a fully realised individual) would have reached that state of consciousness or evolved to attain that state of being. 

Dhee is Universal Intelligence when recognized as “Mahadhee.” Mahadhee operates at a subconscious or supra-conscious level while individual dhi has more conscious recognition by those who begin to experience it. Sub-faculties of dhi operating at unconscious and conscious levels are the neuro-linguistic faculty (vac), represented by Vaageshwari, the artistic poetic inspiration and talent (pratibha), represented by Saraswati, the faculty that gives deeper understanding of the un-manifest world (vidya) represented by Prajnya (an ability viewed as a composite of pratibha, vidya, inspiration, intuition or a superior talent that enables one to comprehend abstract concepts or tatvas including rtas), and finally it is dhee that is the receptacle of gyana.

The highest level of gyana is expected to have knowledge of Brahman when dhee becomes the container to receive it and begins to perceive the process by which Brahman evolves into manifest world (knowledge of this process is called Brahmavidya). This highest knowledge is described as Brahma-gyana. Mahadhee and dhee are, in a manner of speaking, the highest and subtlest information storage and cognitive systems in Prakriti. Since the tatvas described as Brahman, Prakriti, and Mahadhee are all-pervasive subtle entities (tatvas) present in the entire manifest and un-manifest universe, there is no locale for these entities.

But the individual dhi is dependent on the dhee and Mahadhee are qualitatively similar. However, the complexity and capacity of Mahadhi is beyond the grasp of ordinary individual dhi. Mahadhee is magnificent in its magnitude. The individual dhi has the potential to experience the presence and nature of Mahadhee, Prakriti or Purusha (or Brahman).