Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta, and Yoga are philosophical, not religious: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta, and Yoga are not religious doctrines but part of India’s civilisational and philosophical heritage.

The court set aside a Home Ministry order that had denied FCRA registration to a trust on the grounds that it was a religious organisation.

Justice G.R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by the Arsha Vidya Parampara Trust, which challenged the rejection of its registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

“The Bhagavad Gita is not a religious book. It is rather a moral science,” the court said, rejecting the government’s conclusion that teaching the Gita automatically makes an organisation religious.

The judge added that the same reasoning applies to Vedanta, describing it as “pure philosophy evolved by our ancestors,” and said it would be “atrocious” to view Yoga through a religious lens. “Yoga is something universal,” the court observed.

The trust’s FCRA application was rejected in September 2021 on two grounds. It had allegedly received foreign contributions without prior permission and transferred such funds to another organisation. Its activities appeared to be religious in nature.

The trust argued that the order was arbitrary and violated principles of natural justice, and sought its cancellation along with directions to grant registration.

The court noted that although the trust applied for registration in 2021, the authorities took up the matter seriously only in October 2024. “The authorities are expected to behave fairly. It is an elementary principle of good governance,” Justice Swaminathan said.

Holding that the impugned order suffered from “the vice of disproportionality” and involved a “fundamental breach of the principles of natural justice,” the court set it aside and remitted the matter back to the FCRA authorities.

The court directed that a fresh notice may be issued to the trust regarding the alleged transfer of foreign contribution funds, but clarified that such a notice must be specific and based on relevant material, not vague allegations.

Key Observations

The Bhagavad Gita cannot be confined to a single religion and is better understood as part of the broader Bharatiya civilisation rather than a sectarian text. Vedanta, similarly, represents a stream of philosophical inquiry and reflection, not a rigid religious doctrine. Yoga, often associated with religion, is in fact a universal practice that transcends religious boundaries and is accessible to people of all backgrounds. The distinction between spirituality and religion is also important, as spirituality relates to personal inner experience while religion involves organised belief systems and institutions. In this context, Article 51-A of the Constitution places a duty on citizens to cherish and preserve India’s composite cultural heritage, which includes these diverse philosophical and cultural traditions.

The ruling reinforces the view that India’s classical texts and practices can be philosophical and cultural in nature, rather than strictly religious, particularly in the context of regulatory and legal scrutiny.