The
word Hindu traces its origin to 'Sindhu' referring to the tradition and the
civilisation that flourished around Indus valley. Indus also
originates from Sindhu as does word India. One among the world's oldest
traditions the Indian tradition is seen
by serious scholars as a quest for perfecting human being explained beautifully by late professor Troy Wilson Organ in his book The Hindu Quest for the Perfection of Man. But many peddlers of
Hinduism are not really interested in that spiritual quest occupied as they are
with shallow and misguided notion of religion. It is not uncommon that a people
value form over substance. Human choices are not always rational. The marketers have proven and made money out of
creating and catering to human 'wants' rather than needs. What else would
otherwise explain the monetary value of poison
called cigarettes. In most rich countries where tap water is perfectly drinkable the bottled plain water is sold at a higher price than price of milk and price higher than that of chemical and gas compounds called cola. Hindi cinema producers are equally conscious of the commercial opportunity to entertain around religious ambiguities created by confusing religion with rituals and customs. Movies like PK and Oh My God are partly artistic critiques of non-critical acceptance of 'religious authorities' and partly commercial opportunism.
It
is difficult to translate Sanskrit word 'dharma', it is not same as religion.
The root of the word is from 'dhr' which is also found in 'dharti' meaning
earth. It refers to something that gives stability, support or nurtures. In
addressing the question, " is Hinduism
religion?", T.W. Organ eloquently puts, "the
answer to this question depends on what one means by religion. Religion in any
culture is an expression of dissatisfaction with life as man finds it and of
longing for better things. It is lover's quarrel with life, a grumbling about
the status quo accompanied by a search for promised land. If men were satisfied
with their earthly existence, religion would never have been created." Organ, 1994, p.12.
The scope of religious quest is far more than search for good living according to Organ, "religion, like ethics, seeks the good, like art, seeks the beautiful,
and, like science, seeks the true. But religion is not satisfied with the
goodness of ethics, nor with the beauty of art, nor with the truth of science.
It seeks a goodness, a beauty and a truth transcending the noblest achievements
of moralists, artists, and scientists. In the promised land is goodness better
than moral goods, beauty more beautiful than artistic creations, and truth
truer than scientific truths. This claim can be made only if religion contacts
a reality more real than the realities of ethics, art and science. And this is
the claim of religion. Religion asserts that it places man in relationship to
Ultimate Reality, the Reality which is the source of all realities and the
criterion of all values." Organ, 1994, p.14
Human kind wants to understand the reality that transcends material phenomena, the pains and pleasures of human relation with other humans, creatures and life at large. This is what drives the human search which perhaps prompted Organ
to write,"Man is homo philosophicus, the being ever in quest of
understanding of his world and himself. If man has an essence, it is the
activity of questing for understanding. He is philosophising incarnate." Humans are curious beings and this curiosity is as old as
human kind has lived on this planet although claims to this effect can be made with certainty only as far as human history records would allow. To quote Organ again, "we do not know why but we do know that the
Babylonians were obsessed with attempts to predict the future by the study of
the heavenly bodies, the Egyptians and Taoists with efforts to conquer death,
the Hebrews with the search for moral law, and the Greeks with the creation of
beauty." And this is what he wrote about Hindu civilisation, "Hindu civilisation has been, and is, in quest of
reality. 'What is the real which if known will make all things
known?' has been one of the fundamental quests of the Hindus. Furthermore,
the search has been directed not to the starry heavens but to the inner world
of the human spirit." Organ, 1994, p.37. 'What is the real which if known will make all things known?' refers to the question which is raised in the third verse in Mandukaya Upanishad where a household enquirer Shaunaka asks this question to Angiras.
The
right wing Hindus organisations like RSS and Hindujagruti Samiti refer to one meaning of
'dharma' as 'righteousness'. The proponents of reconverting Muslims and
Christians back to Hinduism do not explain what are they trying to do? What is expected of a person converted to Hinduism? Hinduism is not a religion, in its
conventional meaning, which requires
belief in a God or God's son and requires following a given holy scripture or a
book. It is a comprehensive quest to know reality. A more fundamental question is who has given right to
anyone to expect someone to live a life in a way that they may categorise as life of a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or any religion, whatever the converters or re-converters
mean by their propounded religion?
In Vishnupuran, one of the Hindu epics, there
is a verse that reads in Sanskrit as 'Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye' meaning 'that which
liberates is knowledge' (Part 1, Ch.19, shloka 41). What is that liberty that knowledge is supposed to
enable? Is it the liberty from orthodoxy? Is it the liberty that helps find the
true nature of human existence or the existence in general? Is it liberty to
believe or not to believe in God? Is it liberty to find the infinite ways in
which truth may be discovered? Is it liberty to realise that there may not be
just one way to truth even though truth may just be one. Within Indian
tradition itself Sri Ramkrishna Paramhinsa demonstrated to those who would
believe, that ultimate reality could be realised by practising Islamic,
Christian and Hindu ethos.
The current Prime Minister Narendra Modi refers to works of
Swami Vivekananda as his inspiration. Swami Vivekananda is considered supreme
disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans and foundeded Ramkrishna Mission in
1896. The Mission has this as one of its objectives: "To spread the idea of harmony of
religions based on Sri Ramakrishna's experience that all religions lead to the
realization of the same Reality known by different names in different
religions. The Mission honours and reveres the founders of all world religions
such as Buddha, Christ and Mohammed" (Belur Math). Mr. Modi's opening remarks in his speech to
United Nations mentioned India's tradition and philosophy guided by a verse from Mahopanishad Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (world is one family), " India’s ancient wisdom sees the world as one family, and when I say
this, I wish to make it clear that each country has its philosophy. I am not
talking about ideology. With the inspiration of that philosophy, a country
marches ahead. India is a country that since its Vedic times, has been saying
that the world, the entire globe, is a family. India is a country where, beyond
nature, we have a communication, a dialogue, with nature." (Read
full speech here UN
Speech, 27 September 2014, p.15, and listen to it
on Toutube below). Actually the full verse that Mr. Modi quoted vasudhaiva kutumbakam from reads as following
ayam bandhurayam neti ganana laghuchetasam |
udaracharitanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam||
(Mahopanishad, VI.71)
The verse means, Only small men discriminate saying: One is a relative; the other is a stranger. For those who live magnanimously, the entire world constitutes but a family'.
Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, Speaking at United Nations, 27 September 2014.
In the same speech Mr. Modi advised the UN to make UN
Security council more democratic and
participative. He said, "
Institutions that reflect the imperatives of the twentieth century will not be
effective in the twenty-first century. They face the risk of irrelevance. I
would like to emphasize that the policies and rules we made in the twentieth
century may no longer be applicable. The speed of change is very fast. It is
therefore essential that, in tune with the times, we adapt and reformulate,
making the necessary changes and introducing new ideas. Only when we have done
that will we be relevant."
(Modi, UN Speech p.17).
May one
take liberty to extend Mr. Modi's recognition of the 'speed of change' and need to 'adapt and reformulate' to the religious discourse in twenty first century India to keep it relevant. This is Mr. Modi's biggest dilemma. Will he take India forward in
twenty first century or will he let its march be slowed down or derailed by his
mentors and alma mater RSS? The Indian voters who voted for him in May 2014 with development and good governance agenda as his promised priorities will be watching with anxiety and hope.
Reference: Organ, T.W. (1994) The Hindu Quest for the Perfection of Man, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Ne Delhi. First Indian Edition. The book was published in 1970 in the US.
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