Gita, Vedanta and Yoga are civilizational philosophy, not religion: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has ruled that the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta and Yoga cannot be viewed through a narrow religious lens, describing them instead as part of India’s civilizational and philosophical heritage.

Setting aside a Home Ministry order under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the court held that the Gita is a work of “moral science” rooted in Bharatiya civilization, not a religious text in the conventional sense.

Justice G R Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by the Arsha Vidya Parampara Trust, which had challenged the rejection of its FCRA registration. The Centre had denied the application on the grounds that the trust appeared to be a religious organisation and had allegedly received foreign contribution funds without prior approval.

“The petitioner is engaged in imparting the message set out in the Bhagavad Gita. On that basis, the authority concluded that the petitioner is a religious body. The Bhagavad Gita is not a religious book. It is rather a moral science,” the court said.

Extending the reasoning, Justice Swaminathan observed that what applies to the Gita equally applies to Vedanta, which, he said, represents “the pure philosophy evolved by our ancestors”. On Yoga, the court was even more categorical. “It would be atrocious to view it through the prism of religion. It is something universal,” the judge noted.

The court held that the Home Ministry had failed to meet the legal standard by merely stating that the trust “appears to be a religious organisation”, calling such a conclusion vague and unsupported by material evidence.

The judgment also took note of administrative delay, pointing out that although the trust had applied for registration in 2021, the application was taken up for consideration only in October 2024. “The authorities are expected to behave fairly. It is an elementary principle of good governance,” the court said.

Case background

The Arsha Vidya Parampara Trust had approached the High Court seeking to quash an order passed in September 2021 rejecting its application for registration under the FCRA. The rejection was based on two grounds: alleged receipt and transfer of foreign contribution funds without prior permission, and the assertion that the nature of the organisation was religious.

The trust sought a direction to set aside the order and to grant FCRA registration, along with any other relief deemed fit in the interest of justice.

Court’s decision

Allowing the petition, the court held that the impugned order suffered from a “fundamental breach of the principles of natural justice” and was vitiated by “the vice of disproportionality”.

In light of these findings, the High Court set aside the Home Ministry’s order and remitted the matter back to the Foreigners Contribution (Regulation) Authority (FCRA). It directed the authority to issue a fresh notice to the trust, if necessary, on the question of foreign fund transfers—but made it clear that any such notice must be based on relevant material and cannot be vague.

Key observations

The court drew support from constitutional principles and earlier judicial pronouncements, including a ruling of the Allahabad High Court which recognized the Bhagavad Gita as a Rashtriya Dharma Shastra that speaks of internal and eternal truth.

Referring to Article 51A of the Constitution, the court underlined the citizen’s duty to cherish the ideals that inspired India’s freedom struggle and to preserve the country’s composite cultural heritage. “The Bhagavad Gita cannot, therefore, be confined within a given religion. It is a part of Bharatiya civilisation,” the judgment noted.

Citing international jurisprudence, the court also referred to observations by an American court, which held that yoga is an entirely secular practice undertaken for physical well-being and stress reduction, though it may hold spiritual meaning for some.

Concluding its analysis, the High Court drew a clear distinction between spirituality and religion, emphasising that the two are not interchangeable—a distinction it said the authorities had failed to appreciate while rejecting the trust’s application.