A PROUD HINDU IN TODAY’S INDIA : ANATHEMA OR REALITY

 Introduction

Every person has multiple layers of identities – that of belonging to a certain group or other. The group(s) can be defined by one’s affiliation to a certain caste, creed, religion, profession, school or even interests. As a person accumulates years in his life, some of these identities multiply, some wane, some get intermingled, a few others just fade away.

The easiest & the most contemporary way of decoding the types of identities is to know which groups are you forming part of on WhatsApp & Facebook. For the slightly older generation, this realization comes in form of the yearly subscriptions of some Groups / Societies that one has to contribute towards. In both the cases, whether one is active on those Groups or not, whether one contributes to the certain Society or not, one has ‘chosen’ to be a part of it. However, same cannot be same about when one says that I belong to xyz religion.

We are ‘born’ in a certain religion, at least constitutionally so; rather than ‘choosing’ it. As we grow, the religion we are ‘born’ into grows on us, with all its myths & logic. Our earliest thoughts, ideas about good / bad, choices in life, preferences in life, predilections – all get shaped to a great extent by it. As we come across wider choices of education, people, career, ideas, etc – most of us, is spite of the evident shortcoming in our religion (I would rather call it “Codified Faith”), stick to it; while a few ‘choose’ to ‘convert’ to some other religion & begin the same journey of shaping of thoughts, ideas, choices, preferences, predilections, etc de-novo, with the newly adopted “Codified Faith”.

It is said that there are no atheists in Foxholes. This is just to emphasize that every person in this world requires a set of beliefs, a faith, a ‘religion’ – to make sense of his / her life. This participation of the divine in one’s life is inherent to our growth from mere species – the Homo-Sapiens, to the rise of (& ironically, the fall of many) human civilization(s).

Hinduism for Me

My journey into understanding the religion that I was ‘born’ into – Hinduism, started after I had clocked at least 25 years of age. But, for me, it has been synonymous with my quest into other religions of the world too, notably Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism & Buddhism. Ever since I have embarked on this journey, it has brought me immense intellectual satisfaction, personal happiness, reverence for all religions & a better understanding of my ‘own’ religion.

It is difficult for somebody to list out the basic tenets / commandments / rules that define Hinduism. It is, according to me, a syncretism of multiple faith-systems brought together mostly by chance & sometimes by choice. Instead of a single narrative, there are multiple narratives, which jointly & ‘broadly’ define what it means to be a ‘Hindu’. As happens in all religions of the world, multiple ideas, rituals & narratives have jostled for centre-stage in Hinduism in various times in history. The same is happening now, but with a notable exception that science, rationality & democracy have taken the centre-stage in India, as in rest of the world.

The general world view of a common Indian is not shaped by religion, but by education, material progress, social mobility & freedom of expression. This is not to say that religion has taken a backseat. In fact, it has employed the means made available to it by modernity to revive itself & increase its outreach among masses. Unfortunately, the present narrative of Hinduism has been sharply divided between two major ‘political’ factions – one defined (or rather hijacked) by extreme rightist view & another defined by extreme leftist view.

The extreme rightist views all of India’s past (without knowing the actual period) as zenith of our civilization’s evolution & views most present problems (if not all) from the myopic view of dilution of those by-gone rituals & value-systems. And yes, did I miss to mention that it comes with a complete package of a narrative which is parochial, avowedly casteist & anti-feminist, bigoted & is extremely sensitive to criticism. The common refrain “शास्त्रों में लिखा है” is inevitably spoken to show the knowledge of religion, or rather the lack of it, as if one has gone through the entire range of diverse & rich scriptures. This narrative supports the likes of Khap Panchayats, bans books & expressions of art, and vandalizes shops on Valentine’s Day – as if somebody has given them an extra-constitutional right to be the custodians of Hinduism. And, frankly speaking, this narrative basically does everything that doesn’t make an average Hindu very proud of his heritage.

On the other hand, the extreme leftist views, supposedly claim a rational & scientific basis for everything & out rightly debunk millennia of social, cultural & civilizational progress made by Indians. For them, to quote Marx, “Religion is the Opium of the masses”. Ironically, where this narrative converges with the previous one is the fact that it (also) does everything that doesn’t make an average Hindu very proud of his heritage.

The difference between mythos & logos couldn’t have been starker in this case, but the purpose they serve is the same!!! The situation has come to a pass that calling yourself a Hindu & a secular Indian are seen to be disjoint statements; where impartial learning about other cultures & religions is easier that learning about our own culture & religion, where Hinduism is known more by regressive mentality than by the wonderful contributions it has made over thousands of years in various fields of arts, science, health, spirituality, philosophy, etc; where debate about Ramayan & Mahabharat is not focused on its academic, literary, mystical, social, historical or archeological value, but focused more on whether Ram Temple should be constructed on not.

The idea of India is synonymous with evolution of the ‘way of life’, rather than a ‘codified religion’, called Hinduism. This is not to say that all Indian are ‘Hindus’, as some extreme rightists have suggested. Why should our shared ‘Hindu cultural heritage’ (I could not find a more politically acceptable term) be contingent on its narrow definition based on ‘Hindu religion’, as defined in today’s India? Why should Hinduism be in clutches of today’s Hindutva? Why do we have to choose this identity over that? Why can’t our multiple identities coexist simultaneously? India is a land where Yoga & Kamasutra, Dvaita & Advaita, Theism & Atheism, Astronomy & Astrology, Myths & Science, Ascetism & sensory excesses, Bhakti & Tantra – all co-existed & developed together; sometimes in a synergistic, sometimes in a antagonistic manner; sometimes in a complementary, sometimes in a supplementary manner. Why have we lost the tolerance for views divergent from ours? Why can’t we agree to disagree? Why can’t being argumentative be more important, than being right yourselves or proving the others wrong?

The Way Out

The only remedy out of this situation is for Hindus to change themselves, instead of finding fault with others. Be critical of self first & foremost. Get rid of the yoke of dogma & malpractices that are prevalent today in the name of religion. No religious text, no scripture, no book – is beyond the values enshrined in our philosophy of वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्. Strive for a just society based on Liberty, Equality & Fraternity. Accept that we never were, are not & will never be perfect. Excellence, & not perfection, is what we should strive for as a society, by learning from all other societies & religions. Read & learn more about our own heritage, our own culture, to better appreciate what others have to offer. Be in tune with the times. If we fail to change for better, adapt ourselves to the changes, we would perish – as simple as that. Our adaptability is our strength & not our weakness.

Nirbhaya...We are with you...

Manusmiriti says "Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra Devata, yatraitaastu na pujyante sarvaastatrafalaah kriyaah", which can be literally translated as : “Gods reside where women are given their due respect; & all actions remain unfruitful, where they are not respected.”

Today, as the Parliamentarians are engaged in discussing the propriety & legalities of allowing the making of the Nirbhaya Documentary & its (supposed) impact on India’s image the world-over; as the intellectuals & journalists are discussing the political correctness of the views expressed by the accused & their lawyers – I stand numb, sad, bewildered & feel ashamed about everything that I have been proud of as an Indian.

I’m reminded of a scene in 1997 Hindi movie ‘Tamanna’, where the woman head of a political family, orders her maid servant, to dispose off her newly born grand-daughter in a garbage bin. After the maid comes back & reports it to her, she is seen praying in front of Goddess Durga. The poignancy of the scene never left me & the hypocrisy of our culture, our religions, our self-righteous behavior has been permanently etched in my mind ever since.

I have heard in numerous discussions & debates that “protection of women” requires change in “male attitudes”; as if there is some magic pill which the men can be forced to pop, as if some magic law can change the deeply rooted chauvinism inherent in our societies, cemented & solidified by centuries of male centric thinking. I have a slightly different take on the issue. Edmund Burke had said – “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.” If this is true, the solution rests with the women of our country themselves.

As one of the ads in TV claims – “Men will always be men”. Why wait for men to change? Why can’t “women be women”? Male chauvinism in men & the society is fed & supplemented by “male chauvinism” in women. The time has come for women to take things in their own hands, for their own good, & reclaim what they rightfully deserve. All women, please stop treating your mothers & mother(s)-in-law, daughters & daughter(s)-in-law, sisters & sister(s)-in-law, etc as different & subservient to some male member(s) in the family. Shed your mindset of being an underdog. Be the personification of health, wealth, creativity, power & fertility – forms in which the woman power is deified in our culture. Get out of the mindset of social privileges (like mother-in-law, as against her daughters-in-law; or vice versa) & politically motivated reservations. Fight & fight hard. You have everything in you to do what you want to do, & to achieve what you want to achieve. Unite as women. Many amongst you will perish doing it. But do it for larger good – for womenfolk, for society, for country, for the world.

Remember – we, men, are incomplete without you. It is you, in various forms, which complete us. You complement us, as well as supplement us. We wield our power because of you. We desire you, adore you, want you, love you; as much as we fear you & revere you… Don’t take care, take control.

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The article was originally written on 7th March 2015. I, however, need to add the following additions as on date, that is 28th May 2022.

One of my acquaintances asked me this after reading - Do the oppressed have agency, i.e., do they play a decisive role in the oppressor-oppressed dynamic? 

I have, however, a slightly different take on the question posed by her. I wonder whether the oppressor-oppressed binary is the only way of looking at the issue. In fact, one of my other friends completely misunderstood this article. She derided me for putting the onus of freedom squarely on the shoulders of women instead of men. Though already expressed in the article, I emphatically need to clarify the following.

First, the relationship between men & women in society is symbiotic. It is not "He versus She", but "He and She". Men simply cannot do without women. As mothers, wives, daughters, daughters-in-law & as friends, women play a pivotal role in the life of men. More apt would be the understanding of the concept of "Purush & Prakriti" as mentioned in various texts. On a more socially visible level, traditionally, men have been the providers, while women have been the sustainers of the family, which is the basic unit of any society. For example, can any part of our body claim superiority over any other part? 

Second, the Marxist ideology & even some religious ideologies, of seeing all conflicts in the world through the binaries of "oppressor versus oppressed", the "us versus them", the "with me or against me", etc precludes us from viewing it through a more nuanced perspective. In no way am I implying that women's rights are not being trampled upon, or that violence in myriad forms is not being heaped upon them. I just wanted to convey that, unfortunately enough, many women become active collaborators with men to wreak even more vicious forms of physical / mental violence against other women. Women just have to make sure that what wrongs have happened with them should not be perpetrated against any other women within their circle of influence. A simple statistical analysis of dowry deaths in India would give an indication about how many women as mothers-in-law have been involved in the crime themselves.

Third, strength within oneself comes first from its acknowledgement. As a corollary, women are the makers of their destiny. My article intended to exhort women folk to recognize this and take steps towards realizing this and acting upon the strengths. For example, I am grooming my 10 year old daughter to realize that though she is different from her elder brother, she is a force unto herself. I tell her that neither she is 'equal' to her brother, nor is my son 'equal' to her; and can never be. The idea is to recognize and accept the physiological & mental differences, while also collaborating with each other for maximizing the social gains.