Thoughts on Hinduism

In the wake of several developments over the last four decades, the religious situation in India has changed. We all know what the incidents are .We remain a secular nation, but the faultlines have deepened. Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh- all religions have been drawn into this religious debate.

I can’t say much about other religions, though I have read and practised a bit of Christianity , Buddhism and Sufism in addition to my own, namely Hinduism, and still do. What I can say is about my own religion, with conviction, clarity, certainty, born of a thought process that has varied in the past between atheist, agnostic, would be convert ( yes, I used to wear a cross made with matchsticks in my childhood and speak against idolatry) to a firm adherant of my own faith today. “ I respect your faith if you respect mine” is my norm.

I see certain Hindus , especially Bengali and Malayali Hindus revelling in beef consumption , as if it were amritam, so to say. A confession here- I am a former beef eater, because it was the cheapest meat available in my college days which were relatively tight budgeted. I continued, till 2006, when an Islamic restaurant fellow at Hyderabad ( another hot spot today) tried to pass off beef as mutton, knowing fully well I was a Hindu. It struck me then after one decade of beef eating - if this fellow did not respect my religion ( how did he know I ate his favourite meat- I had not told him) , what business had I to respect his distorted religious belief? That was the last time , and since then, I have even declined invitations from friends at functions where beef is served. I steer clear, so to say.

No, I don’t support cow-related lynchings, but neither do I support the open display of a meat forbidden to Hindus, in Islamic localities, often done to humiliate Hindus (and yes, I have direct and anecdotal evidence of this). It can be done covertly, since I agree that given that India has Muslims and Christians, it may not be practical to have a beef ban, but this open display is provocation. If being against that makes me communal, I am ready to face that charge.

Do I do cow worship ? No . Do I consume cow urine ( gau mutra)? No. In the past, I was made to, at a so-called naturopathic institute in Bangalore , and didn’t like it. I have stayed clear of that too.

But I don’t consume beef either since I respect the beliefs of my religion and my co-religionists. It is interesting to know that the much-maligned Savarkar also had the same view.He argued that the use of the cow as a bone of contention had often led to provocations from the Islamists and led to the defeat of Hindu kingdoms. Read more about it in the link given at the end ₍₁₎

But he did not advocate beef eating/ cow slaughter. What he advocated was cow care, not cow worship. According to him, those who cut down the animal as part of their dharma ( mark the word dharma- which is what islamic zealots do- beef eating is a key part of conversion to Islam) were not only naïve but brutal in their religious zealotry, he said, and added that they had no right to ridicule Hindus for their beliefs.

Nepal became a secular country from a Hindu Rashtra in 2008, but the ban on cow slaughter remained. One can be secular yet respect the faith of his/her co-religinionists. In India, it may not be even possible to ban cow slaughter, but does religious sensitivity really take too much effort? You respect my faith, I respect yours.

What does believing in this make me ? Secular ? Orthodox Hindu? Communal? Liberal? These are all stereotypes, which the actual Hindu resists. The actual Hindu is none of these.

The Isha Upanishad, the core of the lofty Upanishads, proclaims,

“ Andham Tamah Pravishanti Yeasambhootimupaasate; Tato Bhooya Iva Te Tamo Ya U Sambhootyaam Rataah”

(Those who worship the unmanifest reality enter into blinding darkness. Those who worship the manifest also enter into a denser realm of darkness).

We can worship idols and be a Hindu. We can only worship the unmanifest divine, and still be a Hindu. Swami Dayanand Saraswati was no less a Hindu than the others. The Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj chose the Upanishads (Sangachhadhwam Samvadadhwam Samvo-manaansi Jaanataam) as their hymn even as they steer clear of idol worship.

The ancient religion of Hinduism accomodates all and sundry- the religious, the spiritualist, the agnostic, the atheist. I love this religion for its freedom, for its spirit of enquiry, of dialogue, of compassion, yet practicality. The Bhagavad Gita distilled the wisdom of the Upanishads which in turn came from the Vedas. However, the Gita came from the battlefield and the Upanishads, Vedas from the forest monasteries. The true Hindu follows these tenets in happiness and sadness, during war and peace, in friendship and adversity. We kill the body, not the soul, so says the Gita. What could be more philosophical yet practical?

My Guru, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, proclaimed in his seminal work, “ Upadesha Saram” ( Reality in forty verses) –

“ Isa jivayor vesadhibhiad, Satsabhavato vastukevalam.”

( Both Creator and creature are essentially one and the same Reality. Their apparent differences are only due to differences in form and levels of knowledge) .

That is, Humans and God are but two sides of the same coin.

The only requirement we have in our religion is to dedicate ourself to our Soul (Atman), which is but a manifestation of the Universal Soul ( Brahman).This is the core of Advaita Vedanta, which in its pure form, is not dissimilar to some Islamic or Christian teachings which talk of God . And the above principle is not a fatwa- Hindus can follow Advaita, Dvaita or Vishishadvaita Vedanta. I would look forward to discussing that in full some day. What we do not have is the concept of “ non believers” , because we accommodate them as well. We do not have a central figure in Hinduism- we have many. There is no one philosophy and one religious book. Naturally, there are no binding sermons or fatwas.

Every religion has its negative points and the Caste System is Hinduism’s Achilles’ heel, something that has been gleefully been made use of in conversion missions by Islamic zealots and Christian missionaries historically and continue to be so . We need to correct our own faultlines, and our society is undeniably on this quest. Hinduism’s luminaries such as Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Dayanad Saraswati have taught us to rise above narrow sectarian boundaries, and I am sure the caste system will be weaker as time goes by. If it were not so, we would not have a tribal lady as the President of our country. The political , social and economic spectrum now accomodates leaders from the so-called “ lower classes”. Again , since there is no central authority, who is there to dictate the rule of the so-called “ upper classes’?

In our religion, we have dialogue, discourse and debate. Even Adi Shankaracharya had to excel in these debates before he was venered.

But this openness is often used to confuse Hindus , especially those who do not have a grip on the tenets of their religion, by those with vested interest. I know, because I studied in a Protestant Christian missionary school in my early days.

The famous scene between Swami and his Christian teacher Ebenezer in “ Malgudi Days” where Ebenezer derides Hinduism instead of teaching religion, is unfortunately not a total fiction. I have faced similar situations in social interactions. No one has a right to deride another religion. ₍₃₎

Like most Bengali Hindu families, I was brought up in the “ secular” way and thus the insecurities regarding my religion plagued me for decades till I found the path in a long, tortous way. But I have steadfastly held on since, and will do so till my last breath.

Today, I respect other religions, and follow certain tenets of Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity , but yes, I am an unapologetic Hindu. There will be ( and have been) people who call me a “ Sanghi” because of this, and given that Hinduism is a “ Sangh” or family/ congregation of Hindus, I am a Sanghi. But not under the eternal control of any political party. I will support a leader on merit and not merely on religious ideology. But make no doubts about it , if my religion is under attack, l will defend it to the core. In this, I idolize Shivaji Maharaj,who was undeniably tolerant and had Muslims and Christians in his forces and governance, and is not known to have committed religious crimes, but was a devout Hindu and did not tolerate the desecration of his religion , as Afzal Khan and Aurangzeb found to their peril _{(4,5 )}. Yes, among the intellectual “ secular” elite of our country, there is at times a disdain towards this great statesman too starting from Nehru, who called him a “ misguided patriot” and had to apologize for the same. ₍₆₎

Be that as it may, I choose to stay securely bound to the all encompassing tenets of my religion which states “ Vasudeva kutumbakam” ( the world is my family). Needless to say , that world does not include zealots, jihadis , proselytists and those who damage/ defame my religion. The religion that gave the world Shankaracharya , Vivekananda , Ramakrishna and Ramana also gave us Shivaji Maharaj, Rana Pratap, Rana Sangha, Prithviraj Chauhan, Hemu, and later Shyama Prasad Mookherjee and Gopal Mukherjee. Do read about Gopal Mukherjee in the appendix below _{(7 )} . The patriotic Indian, and that includes the Hindu, knows very well today how to carry the dove of peace in one hand and the sword of defence in the other. Pakistan has understood that a number of times.

Is India a Hindu Rashtra? I would say India is a multireligious, multilingual country with a Hindu ethos which espouses freedom for all religions. And going by the fact that Hinduism has something for everyone and accomodates everyone, why should our country not be Hindu in ethos? UK is officially a Christian country courtesy the Anglican Church, however the Prime Minister is a Hindu who has taken his oath on the Bhagavad Gita. We are similarly open. Can India have a Muslim Prime Minister? If he/ she does not believe in vote bank politics for the sake of minority appeasement and accepts the Hindu ethos as the brickwork of this country, why not? Yes. But let him first swear on the same, because Partition has changed the dynamics of this country. APJ Abdul Kalam sir is loved by the masses. He was a devout Muslim who showed respect to the Hindu religion. This country that is predominantly Hindu has Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and other at high positions in political, social, cultural and economic establishments, with freedom to debate. Which country has this diversity and freedom? And this comes from the Hindu ethos, for the Rig Veda says:

“ Sangachhadhwam Samvadadhwam

Samvo-manaansi Jaanataam.”

(May we march forward with a common goal.

May we be open-minded and work together in harmony.)

“Samaano Mantrah Samiti samaanee,

Samaanam Manah sahachitta meshaam.”

(May our prayers be one.

May we belong to one brotherhood.)

“ Samaanee va Aakootih Samaanaa Hridayaani vah.

Samaanamastu vo Mano Yathaa vah Susahaasati.”

(May our aspirations be harmonious.

May our minds be in unison.

May we strive to reduce disparity.

May we be bound in strong fellowship and unity.)

A religion that has this as its founding base cannot be communal, no matter whatever conspiracy theorists say. There may be aberrations, incidents- but the Sanatan Dharma will never lose its vitality and essential character. The so-called liberals be damned- they do not know the “ H” of Hinduism.

Thank you for reading. I hope to continue writing on these lines.

Om Shanti.