Citing Swami Vivekananda‘s book ‘Raja Yoga’ that it’s preferable to be “an outspoken atheist than a hypocrite”, Calcutta high co-urt has ruled in favour of an assistant professor who was denied a job at Ramakrishna Mission Residential College in Kolkata’s Narendrapur, despite being selected by West Bengal College Service Commission.
HC directed the college to issue an job letter to Tamal Dasgupta, who was denied the same as the institute’s governing body found his “strong opinions on religion or ideology were wholly inconsistent with fundamental ideals, philosophy and principles of Ramakrishna Mission”.
The college said Dasgupta’s Facebook posts reflected a “clear bias” against Ramakrishna Mission, and he “made derogatory, obscene and disparaging remarks against the institute as well as its monks”. They felt his hiring would “pose a risk of permanently vitiating the atmosphere” of the college.
Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, in his Sept 2 order, said: “There can be no justification for apprehension that ideology of Ramakrishna Mission – founded on a synthesis of four yogas and eternal principles of Vedanta, embraces that all religions lead to same divine goal, affirms that every soul is potentially divine, and is rooted in the core philosophy of ‘for one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world’ – would be diminished merely because an individual has made certain comments on social media, and if such individual is permitted to render his service as an assistant professor.”
