India and Israel Against Islamic Terror

Truth about Hinduism
The opening truth about Hinduism is that it is not merely a

religious construct, but a civilizational undertaking. Technically

speaking, there is no such thing as a ’Hindu’. The_original word

was ’Indu’, a term used for centuries by outsiders to describe

tfie~peo”ple, who lived along and east of the river Indus. Later,

due to mispronouncement and inability of the Arabs to speak

Indus correctly, the word came to be pronounced as ’Hindus’,

a construct imposed by Western colonizers, which caused

disastrous consequences for Indian history and ultimately resulted

in the partition of the sub-continent.
Our ’secular’ and leftist historians, a pompous know-all breed,

do not know the first thine about Hindu genesis. There is no fixed
<_> c> . -•date
for the birth of Hinduism. Unlike Chrisjianity, ^vhjch started

after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at 33 in the first century A.D.,

and thejjirth of Islam aftejLthe.. flight of Prophet-Mohammed

from Mecca to Madina in 622 A.D. called ’Hijri’ dated sometime

in the fifth year of his prophetic missionary years after his birth

in 570 A.D., which is the starting point of Muslim calendar,

Hindu origin shrouded in obscurity dated even further back to

_8fl£lQ_riC. From this date downwards, the indigenous culture

and civilizational ethos called Sanatan Dharma got into the psvche

of the people of Indian sub-continent, continued an
ADAPTER 16 TRUTH ABOUT HINDUISM 229
jnetamorphosed in the shape of the present day Hinduism,

being a religion with no beginning or end and considered to be

eternal that time cannot destroy.
It is not easy to define Hinduism, even more difficult to

circumscribe it within identifiable contours of thought or

benchmarks of religious praxis and rituals. It is neither parochial

nor partisan, but eclectic and cosmic in it’s content. Its diffusiveness

and lack of cohesive inter-related literary textual forms often

defy simple definitions. Better minds and facile pens have written

about Hinduism, and it will be a presumptuous attempt to

supersede them. Simply stated Hinduism is not about claiming

proprietary rights on knowledge and truth, or to prescribe a

faithjhatjs__superior taothers. In any case its foundations were

laid ten millennia ago when most of the countries of the world

did not even exist nor were there any religions around, as we,

know them today. Since for a common mind it is difficult to

fathom its full depth and meaning, Hinduism is often

misunderstood, generally distorted and almost always ridiculed

by those who seek clarity and definition. A huge corpus of Vedic

thought and literature, the profoundest known to mankind, will

no doubt be incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Thus to

understand Hinduism better, we should start by stating what it

is not. It is not rigid, not coercive, not regulatory, not limited, not

conclusive, not the last word of Cod and does not pretend that

itjsjihe only religion that leads to God and his kingdom, not’the

rnedmm of cleansing up man’s original sin, not prescriptive, not

gretensive, not know-all, not claiming infallibility, nor superiority.

But it is the largest source of knowledge known to the world.
Hinduism derives its essence from the four Vedas, whose

hymns and invocations chanted in Sanskrit, convey different

symbols. Simple minds, sometimes even the more erudite, have

been frustrated in their failure to comprehend the symbolism

and imagery of the Vedic hymns. On the other hand, it is

simplicity itself. Vedas speak of one cosmic reality, a supraunive_rsal

force, the cause and effect rolled into one, unity of the

Creator and the creation, the infinite, the living force in all
230 INDIA AND ISRAEL CHAPTE
”16
human beings, the unknown yet present in all living beings, th

unborn, undead, eternal, unchanging yet constantly renewing

itself in different forms, the invisible, the incomprehensible, and

end up by saying ”Neti-Neti” (Not this, not this). In its simple

formulation, Hinduism is a universal thought with space for

everyone and every thought” and mode of Cod worship. JVS

waltanschaung is ’Fatherhood of Cod and brotherhood of men’

Its prescriptions for achieving spiritual fulfillment are many. It js

not restrictive, but permits dissent and diversity. The Hindu thought

of Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Tilak and

Gandhi is the most tolerant in the world. It neither arrogates

superiority over other religions, nor preaches proselytisation like

other religions. Thus, there is no stress on conversion. Each

thought and path to Cod has to be respected and there would

be no competitive claim on man’s mind and body or clash of

one religion with other. It does not say ” Come to Me so that

you may enter the Kingdom of Cod, for I am His son”. It does

not claim special relationship of any human being to God entitling

him to declare that ”I am the last of His prophets; my_ word is

the revealed religion given by Allah, and only those who believe

in me deserve ”Jannat” and the rest are doomed to purgatory”.
Against this backdrop, there are serious limitations to the

concept of Hinduism, in spite of its proverbial spirit of tolerance,

co-existing with other religions. While we have dealt earlier with

the activities of missionaries and shall revert to them later in a

subsequent chapter, it is pertinent to mention what Sri Aurobindo,

the Yogi, the sage and the revolutionary in the fight for freedom,

who accepted Lord Krishna’s message in Gita of Karma and

violence, if jiecessaLy^ to fight against injustice, with all his

catholicity was forced to state in his magnum opus India’s Rebirth.

”You caflj]ye_vyith a religion whose principle is tojeration.” But

how is it possible to live peacefully with a religion whose principle

is ’1 will not tolerate you?’ How are you going to have unity with

these people?...” The Hindu is ready to tolerate; he is open to

new ideas and his culture has got a wonderful capacity t°r

assimilation”. In September 1899 he stated ”Every action for

instance which may be objectionable to a number ot
CHARTER 16 TRUTH ABOUT HINDUISM 231
/vlahomedans is now liable to be forbidden because it is likely

to lead to a breach of peace. And one is dimly beginning to

wonder whether worship in Hindu temples may be forbidden

on that valid ground. The Hindus have discovered that the

absolute can be realized or stated through the relative, and the

images, crosses, and crescents are simply so many symbols-so

many pegs to hang the spiritual ideas on. It is not that this help

is necessary for everyone, but those that do not need it have no

right to say that it is wrong. Nor is it compulsory in Hinduism”.

The problem with Christianity and Islam who call themselves

monotheistic religions sanctified by God or Allah, has always

been their intolerance of Hindu idolatry and their Cod ordained

mission to convert them or kill. This is what Swajmj_yiyekananda

had to say about Hindu idolatry.
”One thing I must tell you. Idpjatry in India does not mean

an}/thjjTg_horrible. It is not the mother of harlots. On the other

hand, it is the attemptof undeveloped minds to grasp high spiritual

truths. The Hindus have their faults, they sometimes have their

exceptions; but mark this, they are always for punishing their

own bodies, and never for cutting the throats of their neighbours.

If the Hindu fanatic burns himself on the pyre, he never lights

the fire of Inquisition. And even this cannot be laid at the door

of his religion anymore than the burning of witches can be laid

at the door of Christianity.”
The pious universality and highly intellectualized spirituality

of our sages, not necessarily fully understood and imbibed by

the common adherence to this faith has led to a certain vagueness

in, and lack of self assertion in the Hindu psyche.
Buffetted by digital, cybernetic, consumerist and globalization

oriented pressure, the modern Hindu has lost sight of the origin,

history and role of Hinduism and its essence. Ill-informed and

half-backed thoughts have led to a distinct dis-information about

Hinduism and the Eternal Religion or the Sanatan Dharma.

Since there are no precise rituals, which define the process of

being a Hindu, it is little wonder that non-Hindus are as vague

about its contours as the poorly informed Hindus themselves.
232 INDIA AND ISRAEL CHAPTER 15
The absence of a single point focus and existence of a large

spiritual socio-intellectuai spread, which makes Hinduism more

universal and capable of encompassing oother religions known to

mankind, has baffled simplistic definition seekers, and label

choosers. A fierce debate is now ragimg among the Hindus

themselves to circumscribe Hinduism within identifiable

parameters without losing its all pervasiveness and universalism.

This is essential to make a Hindu conscious of his identity by

defining the paradigms of spiritual and physical existence that he

has to undertake. In other words, he should be given a focus

for self-assertion and his striving for perfection. The task is not

easy but it is being undertaken without inj-ecting any parochialism

or narrowness of outlook in its content, vwhich is so diffused and

all pervasive that the fringes and parts are being mistaken for the

whole and practised by its followers. A -conscious effort is also

being mounted to enunciate what Hindutrtva is all about, moving

away from the old benchmark of \vhat it is, to what it is not. In

an effort to unite the spiritual with the p hysical, harmonize the

sematics with the apparent, practical and recognisable, Hinduism

will hold out to the world a more focussecd picture of its spiritual

yearning and consummate achievement.
In a world of identifiable symbols sand bench marks the

Hindu has to redefine himself in visible terms. It need not be in

terms of militant fundamentalism but certaiinly an active assertion

is called for in order that the devout urnderstand the call and

readies himself for his obligations. Since the world perceives a

Hindu from the geographical, historiolo gical and philological

connotation of River Sindhu; in fact in Sa udi Arabia even today

an Indian Muslim is called a Hindu, Hinoduism will have to be

based on an ethnic construct. The Hindus worldwide would

then like the Jews, belong to the Hindu Di-aspora. This enthnicity

need not deprive Hinduism of its wider ap«peal of transcendental

yearning and historic universality, nor this bold assertion lead to

a narrow religious divide in this country, the staple on which

self-serving policy of divide and rule flourishes leading to a

lamentable fragmentation of society.
O^TERl6
TRUTH ABOUT HINDUISM 233
fhe message of the Vedas and Upnishads, the manifestation

f ”Braham” through the quantum view of a relativistic continuum

c (-jftie and space, and a sense of timelessness of mind and

aeelessness of body is one of the most logical and scientific,

modern and profund system of thought known to mankind.

The Vedas provide a fertile soil for future scientific development

and according to some scientists the more science advances the

nearer it finds itself to the wisdom of the Vedas. Many other

religions directly contradict scientific evidence and in their

obscurantist zeal have punished those who have denied their

basic tenets, teachings and exhortations. The Hindu too, in spite

of his profound heritage, has to rise above his inherited atavistic

proclivity to senseless totem worship and thought habits to an

action and meditation reoriented regimen as shown by sages

like Swami Ramakrishna Paramhans and Swami Vivekananda.

Sitting on a treasure trove of authentic and priceless corpus of

knowledge, he can no longer bask in his past glory. He has to

recharge his batteries and practise his religion to benefit his

fellow-being as articulated by Swami Vivekananda in his clarion

call to the Hindus not to wither away in civlizational statism but

to rise and act in the present. Hinduism is not atavistic but a

thorough understanding of your past is essential to interpret and

understand the present and plan for the future. Those who

scoff at our constant reiteration of the glory of Hindu Vedic past

must bear in mind what Swami Vivekananda had to say:
\ ”Children of India, I am here to speak to you today about

some practical things, and my object in reminding you about

the glories of the past is simply this. Many times have I been

told that looking into the past only degenerates and leads to

nothing, and that we should look to the future. That is true.

But out of the past is built the future. Look back, therefore,

as far as you can, drink deep of the eternal fountains that

are behind, and after that, look forward, march forward

and make India brighter, greater, much higher than she ever

was. Our ancestors were great. We must first recall that. We

must learn the elements of our being, the blood that courses

in our veins; we must have faith in that blood, and what it
234 INDIA AND ISRAEL p.
*-HAPTERl6
did in the past; and out of that faith, and consciousn

past greatness, we must build an India yet greater than wh

she has been. There have been periods of decay

degradation. I do not attach much importance to themall

know that. Such periods have been necessary. A might

tree produces a beautiful ripe fruit. That fruit falls on th

ground, it decays and rots, and out of that decay springs the

root and the future tree, perhaps mightier than the first one

This period of decay through which we have passed was all

the more necessary. Out of this decay is coming the India

of future; it is sprouting, its first leaves are already out, and

a mighty, gigantic tree, the ”Urdhavamumlam”, is here, already

beginning to appear, and it is about that I am going to speak

to you.”
The sweep of the Vedic thought is so vast and all

encompassing, with an incredible depth of perception, that it

bewilders the common man, but for this very reason makes its

praxis so much easier and so unshackling. The West has only

touched the fringes of physical Yoga purely for therapeutic

purpose. An important element of Hinduism is ’Karma’ which

lays down that a man reaps the fruits of his action, good or bad,

and is born to do good Karma. The other element of Hindu

thought is ’Avtar’. And finally, the concept of ’Shakti’, the divine

energy in the shape of a goddess by different names. God, the

Creator, along with the ’Shakti’, the power to create, has brought

into existence the universe as we know it. There are so many

sub-cultures and modes of worship such as Vaishanavism,

Shaivism, Shakti worship in various forms, such as Kali, Katyayini,

Kalyani and the trinity of Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati; Vaishno

Devi, Jwala Devi, various occults rites of Aghories, Tantrik cults,

different Akharas, including the Nirmohi at Ayodhya, Nagas;

Dwait and Adwait Vad ( Duality and Unity of God) and an

unending array of local gods, goddesses and family deities (Kul

Devta) that can easily confuse the uninitiated.
A word about polytheism. The Muslim invaders and European

colonizers have often derided Hinduism on account of what

they called its ’pagan character’ and ’idol worship’. Nothing
CHAPTER 16
TRUTH ABOUT HINDUISM 235
u|d be further from truth. The Hindus believe jn one God,

hut innumerable manifestations of the same universal reality. In

u^ef, with its vast variety of god worship from remote antiquity
present times, history has produced the webs and wafts that

weave many a delicate web of golden bars and checkered shades

on the tapestry that is Hinduism. The Hindus believe in ’Jiva,’

the life moving force of all existence, unfathomable, eternal,

indestructible, detached, free and beyond grasp.
Comparing Christianity and Islam with Hinduism, one cannot

miss certain fundamental differences. Prophet Mohammed who

borrpwed heavily from the Old Testament and portions of the

yew, recognized the earlier Prophets like Abraham, Moses, and

Jesus but the Last words of Cod’s teachings according to him are

the ’Ayats’ of Quran. These are said to be revealed to him

through Gabriel, the messenger of his Allah. His own utterances

together with those of his companions and twelve Caliphs that

came after him form the bed-rock of Sunnah and Hadis. They

lay down prescriptions in Islam for all times to come. Ajtotajitarjan

rej]g[qnjjj

but finds atavistic solution to every small detail of day to day

living, anchored entirely on the sayings and actions of the Prophet

and others as stated above and propounded in the Hadith. Not

one word can be added or subtracted from these sacred texts.

This_makesjslam_a completely exclusivistic religion driven entirely

by past_ pronouncements and actions with no room for evolution

ofcleivelopment in the context of modern science, philosophical

thought, art forms, and new discoveries. Concentrating entirely

on~externals with little room for spiritual insight, the Islamic

injunctions issued through the Fatwas form the corpus of Islamic

teachings and their jurisprudence called Shariat derives it’s

legitimacy from the same sources, dating thirteen centuries back.

The Fatwas are the final words on such petty matters as postures

for coitus, urinating, Wyzus (washing and cleaning), women’s

rl&hts, marriage, divorce, inheritance, adultery, treatment of nonbelievers,

war against qafirs, physical actions during Namaz and

so on.
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