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Orthodoxy, Heterodoxy & Heresy
by I.J. SINGHIn religion, to many, orthodoxy of belief is a virtue; to others, it is anathema. Since orthodoxy lays down a clear road map of faith, it posits no departure from the line, and admits no cracks in its rock-like structure of belief.
But the human mind is not a rock, and even if it were, remember that some substances will seep through the hardest rock. No mind is absolutely impervious to ideas. And such ideas that are apparently inconsistent with prevailing orthodoxy become heterodoxy or heresy.
Is heterodoxy always bad? Hardly!
Without bold heresy, no new faith can arise; no new ideas can gain a foothold in society. Certainly, none that can threaten the existing order. Both society and science would be the poorer for it. If the ideas of Nanak, Jesus or Buddha were heresy to the existing order, so were those of Galileo, Copernicus or Darwin. Challenges to the existing order make progress possible, even inevitable. The many sects that are found in most religions owe their existence to believers of the faith who dared to differ in the interpretation or its application.
Is orthodoxy always bad? Hardly!
Without it, continuity would be lost; society would become unstable. Stability and innovation are always at war with each other. Orthodoxy defines roots. Without roots, a structure cannot stand.
Look at any established family, religion or society with its orthodox practitioners, who brook no departure from the truth, as they know it. I celebrate them, for they are the keepers of the faith. Without them to rigorously defend it, for example, the bold, iconoclastic message of Sikhism would dilute down to a murky, vague spirituality and disappear amongst the many faiths of mankind.
But, at the same time, I also celebrate the heretics, who continue to challenge the orthodox to look beyond ritual, into the meaning of the practice. Free thinkers push the envelope. Without them, any faith would soon dwindle to little more than superstition, dogma, and mindless habits that have little connection to life.
One person's orthodoxy is often another's heterodoxy, or even heresy. A good practitioner of a belief system needs to balance the two needs, not reject one for the other in its entirety, without question. A sound belief system has room for both.
Look at any religion: orthodoxy and heterodoxy are two sides of the same very precious coin.