Hindu Vs Hinduism!

 

“मैं  सबसे अच्छा हिंदू हूँ “, asserted a man who was buying earthen pots and diyas (traditional lamps) to decorate his home on the evening of Ram Janambhumi temple bhumi pujan from a poor seller toiling hard to make the ends meet for his family, under a tree on a dusty city road, rattled by irritably honking motor vehicles. The poor seller is groggy, not very well educated but has the wisdom to analyse what he just heard, before accepting it to be the ultimate truth. He mutters to himself quietly "when did being a Hindu become a competition"? He labours to hide the expression of astonishment on his face because he knows so much as a sign of disagreement with his well-fed, pot-bellied, ill-mannered, and arrogant customer would most certainly mean loss of sale and perhaps even he could be forced to vacate the 2 feet area that he occupies to spread his shop. So, he hides his disagreement behind the dual cover of dutiful nod and a broad helpless smile. He packs the purchase neatly in a newspaper that he bought earlier in the week and hands it over to the buyer, to cement his relationship with the 'best Hindu', he tries to fill as much pride as he possibly can in the "जय श्री राम", for a parting greeting!

One of the holy books of Hindusim, Ramayan, decribes RamRajya, in the following verse.

दैहिक दैविक भौतिक तापा। राम राज नहिं काहुहि ब्यापा॥

सब नर करहिं परस्पर प्रीती। चलहिं स्वधर्म निरत श्रुति नीती॥

भावार्थ:-'रामराज्य' में दैहिक, दैविक और भौतिक ताप किसी को नहीं व्यापते। सब मनुष्य परस्पर प्रेम करते हैं और वेदों में बताई हुई नीति (मर्यादा) में तत्पर रहकर अपने-अपने धर्म का पालन करते हैं।

Lord Rama, specifies "स्वधर्म" and talks about a social struture in which no one, has any pain (Physical, economic, spritual, worldley or otherwise). He also, says that one practices their belife at a personal level ; rulling out the case for a competitive display of 'faith'.

In the know of how Lord Rama envisioned the ideal society; let us try and analyse, this situation briefly.

The seller was not as Hindu as he was hungry, not as Muslim as he was weak, not as Christian as he was hopeless about his future, not as Sikh as he was in pain. He did not express himself, he accepted the payment thanked the buyer to conclude the episode. Who was the thinking seller; we will never know. But he represents, a vast majority of this country, that is both socially and economically oppressed so much so that they think they do not have a political choice either. This group of people can afford to engage in just one fight at a time, so they give every other struggle a pass because poverty almost always holds every ounce of their existence hostage.  The social and political discourse of the day is unfortunately not about him (or shall we say them) but the other lad, for whom, being a Hindu does not come without the obsessive compulsion of asserting that identity, which is not so much religious as it is political but he does not have either the sense, the education or the curiosity to make such a thoughtful distinction. He goes around exerting his beliefs as aggressively and as passionately as humanly possible for him. For him, faith is not a private matter; he is not content in himself unless he measures himself against others he does not feel the sense of fulfilment.

श्रद्धावान्ल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्पर: संयतेन्द्रिय:।

ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति॥

भावार्थ:-: श्रद्धा रखने वाले मनुष्य, अपनी इन्द्रियों पर संयम रखने वाले मनुष्य, साधनपारायण हो अपनी तत्परता से ज्ञान प्राप्त कते हैं, फिर ज्ञान मिल जाने पर जल्द ही परम-शान्ति (भगवत्प्राप्तिरूप परम शान्ति) को प्राप्त होते हैं।

It is safe to assume that this assertive kind of Hindu has not read the Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta, and therefore not in the know that religion is not something to be made a show of, therefore, he goes all out.

He (the buyer) is a brand of Hindu, for whom, unison with God in the serene hours of the dawn making silent prayer the medium is not religious enough; he gets a high when he gets to parade with others like him on the streets shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ out loud. As if the lord is hard on hearing. He surely hasn't read.

सर्वत: पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् |

सर्वत: श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ||

भावार्थ:-:वे (परमात्मा) सब जगह हाथों और पैरोंवाले, सब जगह नेत्रों, सिरों और मुखोंवाले तथा सब जगह कानोंवाले हैं। वे संसारमें सबको व्याप्त करके स्थित हैं।

He feels alive when he identifies the ‘other‘, in his illiterate notion, service to God is in hurling insults towards those unlike him and on occasions he does not even hesitate from physically violating their freedom. Extremes of these affirmations end in merciless crimes too, this nation has not forgotten the horror of beef lynching, its victims and other innocents who were killed in various communal tensions that have stained, the constitutional republic of India, perhaps forever.

This Hindu finds solace in the company of fringe and strength in hateful utterances of the political leaders. He believes, he is being like his PM when he marks people with their clothes (remember, the speech that Narendra made, in which he said that those who create disturbances can be identified with their clothes"). And he is not entirely wrong in making that assumption, what else is a common man supposed to draw from the image of a union minister garlanding an accused released on bail from charges of lynching Aklaqh khan. He believes strongly in the power of symbols, puts a large Tilak on his forehead, wraps saffron with pride and wonders around teaching people the history that he learns from his Whatsapp. He thinks his religion is in danger and is willing to sacrifice everything to save his ‘Dharma’. He does not know the concept of Dharma or understand its meaning, let alone its practices and implication on the societal structure.

श्रूयतां धर्म सर्वस्वं श्रुत्वा चैव अनुवर्त्यताम्। आत्मनः प्रतिकूलानि, परेषां न समाचरेत् ॥

भावार्थ:- अपने को जो अच्छा न लगे, वैसा आचरण दूसरे के साथ नही करना चाहिये।

He has been made to belive with constant reinforcement that his acts are for the benefits of his religion first and for the welfare of his country at large. He has absolutely no idea that he is not becoming a saint by practising this kind of toxic routine, instead, he has been converted into a political worrier, armed with hate and intolerance. When he waves a gun at people peacefully protesting against the decision of the government, that he believes is working for the same faith like his, in his mind, he is pulling a modern Bhagat Singh. He does not believe that his bullet, if and when fired, will hurt and kill another India, but an anti-national, who has no right to be in this country. He thinks his extreme hate for the 'other'; makes him a purist, an nationalist. He finds comfort in the hate-mongering MOS of finance (देश के गद्दारों को, गोली मारो…को), venomous saffron-clad chief minister's obnoxious utterances and terror accused lady member of parliament who openly celebrates the killing of Bapu and hails his murderer.  He thinks that he can't be punished for being a true Hindu nationalist.

Let's take a step back, a reflective pause to think if he is entirely wrong? If recent developments are anything to go by, you can say that he may be unwise but not entirely delusional.

He knows it very well that a grand Ram temple will be erected before the next general election. He knows that those responsible for the demolition of the mosque, an act outlined as criminal by the Supreme Court, are the very people, who are in charge of building the temple; so by extension, if he also crosses a line or two in the expression of his love for the Hindu Dharma, he would have the full protection of the state as well.

Millions of people welcomed the Bhumi Pujan, as they should - Lord Rama, is indeed revered and who in the right mind would oppose building up of a temple at his birthplace; a fact registered in epics and folklore for thousands of year, and now even has the seal of the highest court of the land. The construction is perfectly legal. The debate, unfortunately, does not end there, though. Such overwhelming sponsorship and exuberant participation of the Indian state in religious activity, the Indian PM inaugurating the ceremony; is where the question of constitutional morality, secular character of the nation and political impropriety comes in. But before we quote the conduct of democrat, par excellence Jawaharlal Nehru, the then PM of India, who did not participate in the Somenath Temple, to preserve his righteousness as the head of a secular state. He did not stop there, he also took exception of the then President Dr Rajendra Prasad's desire to be a part of the celebration; to say that Mr Modi's conduct was not Prime ministerial, we should examine the below facts too.

+ BJP under the leadership of Narender has won a full majority in a 'free and fair' election, for the 2nd time in a row; so they are indeed the bearers of the will of the people.

+ BJP and the RSS, have been unapologetic in their public position with respect to building the temple or other contentious issues like Article 370, Uniform Civil code, Citizenship amendment bill etc.

+ PM Modi, is also a citizen his right to religion is guaranteed by the same constitution that gives us our rights.

+BJP is a political outfit and as the way of the world in politics goes, creating and swinging public opinion is what their core job is and they are going about it well.

So where, does that leave us - the common voiceless and faceless citizens?

"Hindu - Hindi - Hindustan" is the slogan that PM and his party swear by, secularism, plurality and unity in diversity is not how they describe India in their Idea of her.

The choices now will have to be made by us, the people!

Do we wish to remain secular and prosper the way most of the western world has or do we relegate into becoming a theocratic state, like our neighbour (Pakistan) and descent into chaos of extremism that the idea of a nation based on religion brings with itself? At this point, it is vital to understand that only 32% of Indians voted for the agenda that Narendra and Amit wish to operationalise; twice as many Indians do not approve of it. But to make any substantial difference on the ground, ordinary voters will have to unite and vote for their idea of India, one which had the blessing of the great Mahatma, a Gujarati, every Indian is proud of.

संघे शक्ति कलियुगे

भावार्थ: कलियुग में संगठन शक्ति ही प्रधान है

So, when the opportunity presents itself, DO VOTE and VOTE FOR AN INCLUSIVE INDIA.

Till then, राम राम।

Making of a BABA!

Before I begin, let me state this with a lot of conviction that I do not have anything against those who see value in following a religion or those who maintain that the staircase to GOD goes through the pavement of GURUs! We’re a free country, right to worship/faith is a constitutional grantee, no one under the sun can deny it. Freedom, however, remains absolute only for so much time as we treat it like a right just as much as we see it as a responsibility. Responsibility to exercise it right, for the betterment of self and the larger community. India of today is a result of meticulous political integrations of several hundred provinces, formed by one and ruled by another dynasty in every single case – political integration couldn’t have been possible if the marriage of faiths under one flag wasn’t arranged and made to look happy. Which is why ever since the Idea of India was conceived in 1884, religion was given importance more than it rightfully deserved.

In my personal view; Religion is the most disastrous of all human creations!

God and everything that is close to it is of extreme value to people who live on extremes (both ends); of wealth, success, sorrow, happiness & health – people struggling somewhere in the middle never have enough time and other resources to pursue their interests in GOD. Look around you’ll see either filthy rich or sick & dead poor going crazy after the idea of super power. People like you and me; may be believers but always have other priorities to take care of before we devote our time to searching GOD or uniting with him/her/it (haven’t met GOD not sure of the gender).

Founders of our nation knew for a fact that a nation built on religion is a recipe for disaster. And if  India were to be of any global consequence it would need landmass sizable to stand with its taller and older brothers in the world recovering from the wounds of 2nd-word war – secularism was the only answer. Bapu knew it since the very beginning of his freedom campaigns, Likes of Patel, Balgangadhar, Maulana Azad, etc. had to swallow it reluctantly. Nehru was agnostic of the structure as long as he had a role to play placed right at the center of it ( his idea of India was all that he learned from Bapu). But there was another factor that made it essential that herds praying differently were kept together – that was the tolerance that this nation had somehow mastered thru centuries of its existence. We hear a lot of great stories about how brave our ancestors were, and most of it is true but the hard fact is that India was never a military superpower – fighting and winning wars was never its forte. This landmass was RICH; in minerals, skills .. because peace time prevailed and people practiced vocations for generations; and most important of all the - the art of co-existence. 

An Indian even today feels out of the place if he only sees people of his faith around him; we are used to seeing a different flag and we like it that way.

Integration of the nation had happened both political and of faith; society, however, was tormented by poverty, floods, droughts, social ills and competitive communalism– good 80% of the nation was in distress always and did not know how to live their time on earth with hope and this is when they turned towards faith. Life became increasingly difficult, meeting demands were no longer something that could be bartered, the monster called money was a reality and people needed resources to cope up. More often than not, people failed, they had to; given the fact that literacy was in single digit, and every other indicator of prosperity - infant mortality, poverty, life expectancy, etc. in dangerous double figures. People started frequenting their place of worship they had always visited for generations, for hope first and remedy later.

Soon, places of worship become a market place; full of footfalls. Wise men saw devotee as consumers and alongside other articles, faith & hope also become commodities for sale. Those who could speak started making their voices up to sound godly, they temporarily gave up their small homes to end up in large ashrams, they parted with their families to gain the support of millions of those who were lost. And an empire got silently built on the crumbs and miseries of ordinary people.

These babas are a creation of lack of education, fear, ill health & lack of resources. It is just not a coincidence that from Saint Mother Teresa to Pervert Asharam Bapu to Rapiest Ram Rahim to Sexist Maulvi Abdullah – they all have claimed to cure people of their medical illness – people submit and surrender because they do not want to die and can’t afford treatment. Slowly these men cage them in their own fear and there comes the point when they completely own them. Initially, the deprived intellectually, financially and otherwise saw going to a baba as a small investment of time and time alone but slowly babas captured their imagination and they parted with their little saving, pride and sometimes even life to make their beloved baba stronger & richer. 

Those ready to die in Haryana are victims of ill distributed privileges and resources.

The situation will not improve till education makes its way in every home, and that education is also able to woe an employment contract that pays enough for its bearer to enjoy gifts of present and secure future. Each one of us can play a role, by educating people about fundamental principles of natural justice. Making them believe that they can achieve whatever they set their mind up to. By supporting them .. by being with them.

Think about it – see if you can pull one person out of poverty! 

Remember one Ram Rahim is in prison there are thousands out there ready to prey on the weak.