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 16TRUTH 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
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 16TRUTH 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.