Hari Pathak

In today's globalized world with increasing diversity, equality faces many challenges. From the controversies over the caste system, racism, and gender divide, to economic poverty, environmental inequalities and unequal power distribution, there has arisen fervor around the globe to address these issues. Many policies have been worked upon in the past years by various political bodies and organizations on a global scale to promote equality in diversity but with little success. The current pandemic has made the situation even worse. The limited gains that we had made, are at a risk of being rolled back. Literature has served as an inspiration to humankind and has been our hope in times of utter darkness and despair. From Petrarch to Tagore and further in our times, almost all literary giants have motivated us to embrace humanism, as it is a powerful weapon against vices such as inequality and intolerance. Writing about his philosophy of life, Rabindranath Tagore, inspired by the holy Upanishads, wrote in one of his early hymns: "to see the Lord of the World in this World, and the Universal Soul in the Individual Soul".  This paper discusses the role and significance of literature in creating a humane and tolerant society through literary works such as Tagore's Geetanjali (1910) and Ibram X. Kendi’s recent book How to be an Antiracist, the former serving as an inspiration and the latter as a tool to fight inequality and perhaps both serving as guides not only for the general people but also for the policymakers around the globe.
Keywords: diversity, tolerance, equality, racism, humanism, Geetanjali

Before the rise of civilization, life amidst nature was a constant struggle for survival. With the passage of time, people learned to survive in harmony with nature, taking only what was essential. Everything in nature was significant and estimable and was exalted by these Pagans in the form of folktales and folk songs. Worshipping forests, grooves, animals and streams not only created a bond between these men and their environment leading to their spiritual evolution, but also resulted in environmental conservation. It was the divine forms of nature which protected their family, farms, livestock and villages from harm and presided over their humble activities.The significance of literature can be traced back ever since Plato banished poets from his imaginary Republic for encouraging effeminacy through their poems. Since literature plays a pivotal role in shaping reality, this paper is an attempt to show how various forms of Pagan Literature contributed in increasing the levels of sensitivity and respect amongst people for their environment. It also examines the rise of Neo-Pagan cults and explores the possibility of a different world, had Paganism been practised as a way of life today by the majority of world population.