‘Reasonable comprehensive doctrines, religious or non-religious, may be introduced in public political discussion at any time … provided that in due course proper political reasons – and not reasons given solely by comprehensive doctrines – are presented that are sufficient to support whatever the comprehensive doctrines are said to support’ (John Rawls. https://www.theguardian. com/world/2012/feb/14/is-religion-really-under-threat). I take this to mean that whether or not we take a religious or non-religious position, it must be backed up by proper logical and/or empirical reasoning. On this basis let me attempt to consider some of the issues raised by Swami Aksharananda’s quite surprisingly caustic, contradictory and
