Hinduism, Hindutva and the ‘Secularist’

Hinduism, Hindutva and the ‘Secularist’ The ‘secularist’ is worse than the religious fundamentalist. For, the religious fundamentalist works on an already established fundamental while the so-called secularist creates a fundamental by collecting and concocting lies

Bikash Sarmah

Hinduism is essentially a way of life. In fact, no one is Hindu if he does not appreciate Hinduism as a way of life, and only as a way of life. Agreed, there are countless gods and goddesses in the Hindu ritualistic scheme of things, and there are Hindus who have wasted their precious time in propitiating these deities. But the fact of the matter is that all this is just ritual, not the religion that Hinduism is emblematic of. Hinduism, as religion, seeks to define itself as a way of life or dharma — a word that you cannot translate to English because there is no English word to mean what ‘‘dharma’’ actually is. In other words, Hinduism is not about gods and goddesses; Hinduism in the true sense of the term cannot be about any ritual. It is just a way of life, a philosophy to be practised, an approach to life without any rigidities and compulsions because there is no founder to preach anything. It is self-preaching.It is this radical way of life that Indian politics has condemned in its ‘secular’ practice. Call yourself a proud Hindu without describing yourself as a devout Hindu, and even then you are branded ‘communal’. Call yourself just an adherent of the great Hindu philosophy as enunciated in the Vedanta — that, do not be surprised, inspired the likes of Werner Heisenberg and David Bohm, giants in quantum mechanics that has revolutionized physics — and even then you are pilloried as ‘fascist’. Our so-called secularists have ragged the soul of Hinduism absolutely, just because they think the policy of appeasement of Muslims for electoral gains does not jell with glorification of Hinduism. The Indian secularist is out to cheat his Muslim vote bank, mostly illiterate and impressionable, by demonizing Hinduism in the land of its own birth. What could be more detestable?In How I Became a Hindu, David Frawley harps on what made him embrace Hinduism: ‘‘Hinduism is a pluralist tradition. It teaches that there are many paths, many scriptures, many sages, many ways to come to the Divine to gain self-realization and it should be free for the individual to find and follow whatever way he or she thinks or feels works best.’’ How brilliant, and yet so simple, analysis of Hinduism, this. Frawley ‘‘reads’’ a statement from ‘‘The Coming of the Third Millennium’’ — as ‘‘issued by the Pope’’ at the time of writing of his book — ‘‘in relation to the situation in Asia’’: ‘‘The Asia Synod will deal with the challenges for evangelization posed by the encounter with ancient religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. While expressing esteem for the elements of truth in these religions, the Church must make it clear that Christ is the one mediator between God and man and the sole Redeemer of humanity.’’ Frawley writes: ‘‘This is a direct quote. Now, what is it saying about religious tolerance? Christ is the only way. The Pope is saying that we accept what is true in these religions, but we do not accept them if they do not follow Jesus as the only way. We still have to convert them. That is the message. This is not a message of tolerance and live and let live. It is not a message of let Hindus have their own way and we have ours and both are good. It is not a statement that Buddha or Krishna is equal to Jesus. It is a statement of exclusivism and my contention is that such exclusivism must breed intolerance...’’Readers must be wondering why I am dragging David Frawley here, and with him, Christianity. This is just to point to what a real Hindu, like Frawley, will realize in Hinduism: that any path is good so long as it is virtuous, that is, without vice; that all are equal, whether Buddha or Krishna or Jesus; and most significantly, that Buddha or Krishna cannot be greater than Christ if one is to talk of gods because gods, if they exist, must be equal. It is the courage to say this which is Hinduism, as Frawley appreciates. And he has the courage and honesty to talk about his background too: ‘‘I was raised as a Catholic. My uncle was, and still is, a missionary. We were told that he was going to South America to save the souls of the Native Americans, people we were told were non-Christian and without conversion would suffer eternal damnation. This is the background that I came from.’’ Remember, Frawley is not a ‘‘convert’’ from Christianity to Hinduism as one generally understands. No Hindu organization lured him into Hinduism. Frawley, as practitioner of the Hindu way of life, is still free to pray to Christ because in the Hindu scheme of things, which is absolutely non-absolutist, his worshipping of Christ will not interfere with his Hindu pursuit — that of understanding life and its spiritual dimension, that of decoding the secret of human existence at the psycho-spiritual level beyond the mundane rituals of life. Indeed, Frawley, as an enlightened Hindu, is even free to be an atheist. This is Hinduism, its kernel. And it is against this spiritual tradition that both proselytizers and jehadis have launched their respective wars — one covert, the other overt. Worse, it is this religion that the ‘secularists’ of the country are afraid of glorifying because then they cannot play the nasty political game of minoritism to get votes and wield power.Having said this, there is a need to differentiate between Hinduism and Hindutva. Hindutva is political Hinduism; it is not a way of life. If anything, it is a political way of life. Hindutva has an absolutist tendency because its practitioners — mind you — tend to emulate what their counterparts in absolutist religions do. For instance, Hindutva is a response to jehad at the political level; fortunately enough, there are no Hindu terrorist organizations — it is another matter that an obscurantist fanatic, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, has in recent times called upon the Hindus to form terror outfits. Hindutva is bound to fail because Hinduism is bound to succeed — as it really has by igniting minds all over the world, especially those who have understood both material and spiritual life, whether artists or scientists.This naturally brings us to what the Indian ‘secularist’ plays with, and how. For this champion of ‘pluralism’, a proud Hindu is ‘communal’ — the argument is that he will naturally play into the hands of Hindutva forces. The ‘secularist’ works overtime to prove that Hindutva is Hinduism or its most potent manifestation without, of course, trying to prove the contrary — that Hinduism is Hindutva. Of course he cannot prove this. And here lies the catch. This secularist is also a fundamentalist because he thrives — politically — by concocting a bizarre fundamental and propagating it: that Hindutva alone is Hinduism and, therefore, the non-Hindus (read ‘‘Muslims’’, as they are the ones who matter electorally) must vote for only those who have vowed to fight Hindutva. This secularist is in fact worse than the religious fundamentalist. For, the religious fundamentalist works on an already established fundamental while the so-called secularist creates a fundamental by collecting and concocting lies and giving them the hue of truth for cheap political mileage — and in fact to cheat those of whom he declares as their sole saviour. Will not the Muslims of West Bengal ruled by the most vocal exponent of ‘secularism’, the Left, agree? The Sachar Committee report says they are one of the most backward among the Muslims of the country. And how many sensible Muslims will argue that all these years the Congress, another powerful ‘secular’ force, has approached the Muslim community not with fake but genuine concern for their uplift?Had the Congress not ridiculed Hinduism, the BJP would not have happened. And had the BJP glorified Hinduism without bothering about what the Hindutva advocates would say or, rather, dictate, the Congress would have been a spent force. I am just pointing to the possibility of a truly secular, progressive political front. Everything else will be great governance. source: sentinel assam editorial 04.07.08

4 die in violence during ‘Bharat bandh’

BJP says it will continue its agitation till its demand for the transfer of land to the board is met

NEW DELHI: Violence marred the ‘Bharat bandh’ called by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest against the non-transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board. Four died in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, where agitators set cars and buses ablaze and clashed with the police.

The BJP said it would continue its agitation till its demand for the transfer of land to the board was met. Protest rallies are being planned in various state and district capitals from July 4 to 11. Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: “Nearly half of Jammu and Kashmir is occupied by Pakistan and huge chunks have been grabbed by China. What is the problem with giving a few acres of land to the Shrine Board?”

Bill boards outside the party’s central office said that “100 crore Hindustanis will not beg for 100 acres of land” and “BJP will not tolerate insult to devotees of Lord Shiva.”

The response to the ‘bandh’ call was partial in most states with shops in some areas voluntarily downing shutters, while in others groups of BJP workers forced them to shut down. Train services were affected in several places.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Shatabdi Express was stopped at Agra Cantonment, the Ahmedabad-Varanasi Sabarmati Express at Orai and the Howrah-Dehradun Express at Mughalsarai, each for a few minutes. More than 50 BJP workers were arrested in and around Lucknow, while in Delhi senior BJP leaders, including Venkaiah Naidu, participated in the protests.

In West Bengal, the ‘bandh’ had little impact, but in Kerala the State-run transport services were partially withdrawn after incidents of stone pelting and in several places protesters blocked highways.

In Karnataka, the response was mixed – while in Bangalore life remained near normal with schools and business offices open as usual, in some districts of Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Udupi and Mysore, bus services came to a halt and business activities shut down. No major untoward incidents were reported barring stone pelting in a few places.

In Maharashtra, VHP supporters reportedly halted traffic on some major roads in North Mumbai causing traffic snarls and delaying office-goers. The police later dispersed the protesters.

Normal life was affected in parts of Punjab with the police using their canes to disperse crowds. Road and train traffic was affected in Ludhiana and Bhatinda and in Ambala protesters burnt effigies.

In Gujarat, a BJP-ruled state, life was near normal. Mr. Javadekar said the State would register its protest another day as Jagannath yatras were being taken out at 21 places on Thursday.

Fresh violence
Jammu Staff Reporter writes:

There was no let-up in the violent scenes and blood-letting in Jammu on Thursday.
Sixty five people, including a large number of police personnel, were injured in fresh protests against the cancellation of the order transferring land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. Army carried out flag marches in curfew bound areas.

Protesters continued to defy the indefinite curfew orders in several areas. Police personnel who tried to implement the curfew earned the wrath of the protesters.

Kathua district, the gateway to the State, was the scene of massive protests. Protesters attacked the vehicles of districts officers. In Lakhanpur town of Kathua district — which borders Madopur area of Punjab — demonstrators set ablaze a toll post where entry tax on goods is collected. In the same district, a police post was also burnt.

On a request from the district administration, the Army carried out a flag march in Kathua town. Rail traffic was also affected in Kathua. Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar road was blocked, as protesters gathered at Samba, Udhampur and Nagrota.

There were fresh attacks on the properties of Congress leaders. Congress leader Mula Ram’s house was attacked. But the police posted there managed to disperse the crowd.

Around ten police personnel were injured in a number of places in Jammu city when they tried to disperse crowds of protesters. Mobs attacked a police party in sector 2 of Durga Nagar.

A few Congress activists of the region joined the protests on Thursday. Jai Singh, a Municipal corporator belonging to the Congress, came out with scores of his supporters defying curfew orders.

A group of social activists, lawyers , political leaders and academicians issued a joint appeal to the people and the leaders of the agitation to realise that the secular tradition and identity of Jammu was its real strength, which one cannot afford to weaken. source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/04/stories/2008070456431200.htm

VHP asks Centre to ensure security

GUWAHATI, June 29 – The Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP), North East chapter, today urged the Central Government to ensure safety and security to the Hindu pilgrims visiting the Amarnath shrine in Jammu and Kashmir. Taking strong exception to the volatile situation in J&K, Jyotish Chandra Pathak, president, VHP said, “If the situation is not brought under control immediately, it might hamper the existing communal harmony in the country.”Speaking to newsmen here at the Guwahati Press Club, the Parishad further demanded of the Government to set up a separate secretariat for the development of the Sattras and other religious institutions of the State, as it is done for char (riverine) area development.“Apart from setting up a separate secretariat for the development of the Sattras and other religious institutions of the State, we also demand that the Hindu pilgrims visiting various religious places like the Kamakya temple be given some sort of subsidy by the Government to facilitate their visits,” said Pathak.Pathak also rued that both the Central and the State Government are not doing enough to negate the activities of the fundamentalist organisation operating in the State, especially in the char areas.“Though the activities, as reported by various sections of the media, are increasing, the number of arrests made in this connection is very few and the intelligence wing of the law enforcing agencies has utterly failed to provide any concrete clue,” he rued. He also appealed to the people residing in and around the char areas to keep a strict vigil on anything suspicious and urged them to co-ordinate with the administration in this regard. “Activities of the fundamentalist forces are increasing in alarming proportions but the law enforcing agencies seemed to be least bothered about it, the latest case being that of a district court acquitting as many as 10 alleged ISI operatives owing to lack of concrete evidences,” Pathak asserted.“If the police did not have enough evidence then why were they arrested and if they were really ISI operatives and if there were enough evidences why were those not produced before the court?” he questioned. source: assam tribune

Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra in New York

Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra in New York

Is Hindu Renaissance a cure or a curse?

Omar Luther King

This frequently asked question needs to be answered: ‘Is Hindu Renaissance a cure or a curse?’ The reality that I, a Christian by faith, am a descendent of a Hindu by accident of birth of my forefathers may compel me to own the entire Hindu past but that cannot force me to accept the Hindu beliefs, which totally negate the Christian faith. While retaining my loyalty to my biological parents, family, tribe, clan and nation, I am now (after conversion to Christianity) set to be loyal to the global family of God.Our Constitution did not initially inscribe that India should be a secular state. It was after about three decades of independence, sometime in 1976, that the world "secular" was inserted in the preamble of the Constitution. But did that in any way help anybody deal with the crisis of communal conflicts that the Republic of India has been facing since its independence?Spiritually speaking, secularism is the freedom to believe that God exists and that He is the Creator, the Provider, the Protector and indeed the Saviour of the world. May India set an example to the world by being a dynamic nation in which people and their leaders are neutral in matters of religion, neither supporting nor opposing any particular religious beliefs or practices.The constitutional secularism has served mainly as a stick in the hands of our political leaders, who take sadistic pleasure in beating at will the religious communities, groups or institutions that do not practice or propagate ‘ancient tradition’ or ‘indigenous religion’. It is unfortunate that the militant Hindus have discovered in the uniform civil or common code yet another ammunition (and a more powerful one at that) to use against the minority communities. The different systems of personal laws had so far been recognized as legitimate in India and were even permitted to flourish. What has so suddenly necessitated our leaders to think of having a uniform civil code for India? As one who left his ancestral religion to embrace Christianity, I am tempted to explain here why the non-Christians speak disparagingly of Christianity. But my God forbids me from doing so. However, it goes without saying that Christians, unlike Muslims in India, are not only a politically powerless minority but also are always in danger of being victims of the tyranny of the majority. Come the next General Elections, and we will have a fresh lot of political leaders who will, I am sure, not only provide equal protection of the law for all citizens but will also ensure that there is no discrimination of persons on the basis of race, caste, creed, sex and religious affiliation, not to speak of place of birth, as in the cases of Mother Teresa, Sister Nivedita and Sonia Gandhi. Taking advantage of this particular weakness of the Indians (the ability to hate and the unwillingness to love), the politically motivated Hindu leaders and scholars of our country have succeeded within the past few decades in creating the difference between ‘us’ (the Hindus) and ‘them’ (the Muslims and Christians). In the light of the recent political, social, cultural and religious realities, the so-called leaders are justifying the denigration and suppression of the minority communities by the majority community as is evident from the contents of the article under discussion.If in a society the ‘caste Hindu’ who, regarding himself as of ‘higher caste’, hates the ‘untouchable’ who is his brother in religion, how can he love a Muslim or a Christian (from a ‘foreign religion’) living in the same society? To end communal hatred in India, we must seek help from the beyond.Let me end here with these words of G.K. Chesterton: "The Bible tells us to love our neighbours, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people." The quotation is directly applicable to us in the Indian context.