A rural temple in South India, painted stone as deity.
If you hear the rising roar of faith, it is election-time in
India. Belief in God is stronger than any political belief. Faith rushes to
fill ideological vacuum and goes on to cleanse politics of its residual
ideological content.
Religious fervour, injected into a poll campaign, boosts
popular interest in elections, promotes identity politics and alters voting
preferences. That is why the ruling BJP has made religious polarisation its
electoral strategy. It consolidates Hindu votes by propagating Hindutva, a
militant and less inclusive version of Hinduism.
Hindu nationalists
The BJP leaders including L K Advani, who went to Ayodhya in
1992 to demand the building of a Ram temple, were erroneously called “Hindu
fundamentalists”. Knowing that the term “fundamentalism” has acquired bad odour
in the context of Islam, Advani declared that they were “Hindu nationalists”
not “Hindu fundamentalists”. He was correct because going back to the
fundamentals in his religion would mean the Vedic tradition which will rob the
proposed Ram temple of all significance!
His 1992 movement to build a Ram temple generated a toxic
mix of religion and nationalism and turned it into a potent political weapon.
Till then the political armies marching under the saffron flag had not been
able to make much headway. Advani’s historic journey to Ayodhya in his
belief-driven ‘chariot’ led to the demolition of a mosque and the killings of
Muslims and Hindus.
Noted documentary maker Anand Patwardhan says TV serial Ramayan, watched by millions, paved the
way for the demolition of the Babri mosque. “A bow-and-arrow bearing Ram
entered every household and every heart.” There was no social media then, but TV
too promotes pop religion and causes social disharmony. Some partisan TV
channels go all out to fuel religious polarisation.
Mental pollution
During the past four years, the sectarian poison has spread
much more, with incidents of mob rule becoming frequent. It has seeped into “cultured”
upper-class Hindu homes. The kind of people involved in violence matters.
Intent is important. While sectarian violence can break out in the best of
times, mental pollution sustains the process of violence.
The BJP finds assemblies of Hindu monks in saffron
politically valuable. Communal worship and public observance of rituals make
good TV that spreads the message of Hindutva. Mythology-based TV drama helps.
The Hindu nationalists wilfully ignore the theological
complexities of Vedic thought and their faith’s glorious history of disputation
and argumentation. They try to enforce a simplistic doctrine that supersedes
the rich variegated strands of thought and belief. In order to collect Hindus
on a single political platform, they want to create a central creed and
designate one holy book. Above all, they want to establish the primacy of
warrior-king Lord Ram. The people must feel, not think.
To get more Hindu votes, the party must fuel envy and
animosity by blaming a secular government for “appeasing Muslims. In an
election speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a subtle reference to the
Hindu cremation grounds and the Muslim graveyards. This was a hint that the
socialist state government’s provision of building walls around the graveyards
to protect these from encroachment was discriminatory.
In the run-up to elections, vicious statements are made to
cause tensions and promote orthodoxy. What the BJP spokesmen shout at times
during TV discussions is unfit to print. The Muslim spokesmen shout back, which
serves the purpose of all sectarian forces. The atmosphere reeks of bigotry and
hostility towards the “other” faith. Some
children hear their parents say that so and so should be elected since he would
“fix” a minority. They learn that “when we say prayers loudly, it is worship,
when they worship loudly, it is disturbing noise!” Children
learn that “when we say prayers loudly, it is worship, when they worship
loudly, it is disturbing noise!”
As the BJP gained power, the Hindutva got many new
adherents. The “secular” leaders who used to condemn Narendra Modi’s
sectarianism, now see a messiah in him. Several Hindutva groups have sprung up
under official patronage. Their activity highlights the anti-minority dimension
of Hindutva. The divisive rhetoric flows with force as the police and some in
the lower rungs of judiciary have turned partisan.
Some BJP leaders make weird statements that can be generally
described as anti-science and irrational. The power of superstition seems to
have increased. A poll candidate declares that if she is elected, the police
will not be allowed to check child marriage! The fashion of wearing religion on
one’s sleeves has caught on. Commercial interests promote more religious
festivals. The outbreak of religiosity is to be seen to be believed. More Hindu
pilgrims march for miles and miles to fetch the holy Ganga water. Charitable
Hindus set up tents on the footpaths for feeding the tired pilgrims. This
public spectacle disrupts traffic and at times results in clashes.
Meditation, quiet contemplation.The attendance in temples has gone up. More Hindu temples,
as also mosques and churches, are being built as a result of growing
prosperity. Competitive communalism makes mosques more crowded. The temple
loudspeaker’s volume is increased to match the sound coming from the
neighbouring mosque. In this atmosphere of religious rivalry, private
contemplation and meditation get devalued.
Hindutva versus Hindu
interplay
A brainchild of the Hindu nationalists, Hindutva is not
eclectic and dialogic. It has been honed as a powerful tool for political
mobilisation through incendiary divisive statements. Hindutva fiercely seeks
converts. When popularised by a charismatic divisive leader, its political
dimension overshadows spirituality.
In the current atmosphere of intolerance, the political
message of Hindutva is amplified through social media by political activists
including the Non-Resident Indians. Little is heard about the huge difference
between Hindutva and Hinduism known over the centuries as Santan Dharma.
To understand the distortion of Hinduism, one has to be familiarised
with the real thing. Hinduism, tolerant and inclusive, includes principles
taken from different faiths and cultures. Even before its interaction with
Islam and Christianity, Hinduism assimilated new ideas and practices while
transiting from the Vedic to the Puranic period.
Hinduism sanctifies sacrifices of the Vedic Aryans as well
as the rituals of primitive tribes. Not all Hindu gods are Aryan gods. Hinduism
has no central creed and no central authority, nor does it prescribe one
specific book to follow. It is not based on a revelation granted to a prophet. Hindus
do not consider themselves to be the “chosen people”. They do not consider
their faith to be superior to others. This democratic religion, presided over
by a Parliament of Gods, has no founder. Hinduism
has no central creed and no central authority, nor does it prescribe one
specific book to follow… This democratic religion, presided over by a
Parliament of Gods, has no founder.
The Divine can be reached through any of the several
different ways. Two prominent ones are the path of knowledge and the path of
devotion. This is a simple journalistic statement about a faith whose
complexities even scholars find hard to fathom. Hinduism is studded with
elegant metaphysical knots and strange paradoxes. It offers infinite choice. Those
who do not like the idea of a galaxy of gods and goddesses can take comfort from
the Rig Vedic thought that all the many gods are manifestation of the One
Reality. Hindus revere a saint-poet who does not believe in rituals or external
formalities and for whom God lives, not in a temple or a mosque but in his
devotion.
A Hindu can choose from the nine specified ways to perform
devotion or devise one of his own. Astounding diversity is reflected not just
in innumerable gods and ways of worship but also in the multiple versions of
its sacred books and philosophical treatises. Rituals vary from region to
region and from caste to caste. There is choice in the ways of dying. Hindus
are generally cremated, but thousands of Hindus are given earthen and riverine
burials. The variety of thought content, rituals and devotional practices meet
the needs of all sections of society, ranging from the intellectual elite to the
illiterate masses.
Millions recite 1000 names of one God and 1000 names of a
Goddess. A sacred text features Mahadevi,
literally the Great Goddess who encompasses the thousands of local and regional
devis as well as the pan-Indian
goddesses. Each god or goddess is worshipped in several forms.
Columnist Shobha Narayan writes about her mother being part
of an ancient Hindu lineage linked to goddess worship called Sri Vidya. She says: “It is visually and
aesthetically very beautiful – with flowers, incense, oil lamps, hand gestures
called mudras, sacred drawings called mandalas or yantras, and the chanting of
mantras. Mudra, mandala and mantra, the triumvirate as it were – is at the root
of this goddess cult.”
Hindus of one region may accord primacy to one form which
may not be worshipped at all by those of another region. Then, the veneration
of natural forces such as the monsoon rains and trees and of animals is common
among those living in forests. Ideas and practices from the margins have been
leaking into the mainstream.
This interplay is seen in Hindu religious art and objects made
by Muslims. They participate in Hindu
religious festivals. Eminent Muslim musicians played in Hindu temples. Muslim
poets wrote devotional songs in praise of Hindu Gods. A most devout Brahmin,
Congress leader Kamalapati Tripathi, had a Muslim assistant to clean and
arrange the idols in his home temple before daily worship.
Good behaviour
In the absence of a set form of worship, a Hindu is free to act
according to his individual belief. What counts is not belief but conduct, as
stated by philosopher S. Radhakrishnan, who was India’s President. No wonder
Hinduism embraces believers and non-believers, the theist and the atheist, the
sceptic and the agonistic.
Scholar Kshiti Mohan Sen says the uniting force among the
enormous variety of religious beliefs and ceremonies in Hinduism has been the
belief in a basic code of behaviour. Today he would have seen more Hindus
indulging in an un-Hindu-like conduct at the behest of political leaders. The
examples include the lynching of alleged beef transporters, intimidating women
temple-goers, disrupting a Christian prayer meeting and demolishing a mosque.
The influence of Hinduism over Islam and Christianity is
reflected in the Sufi tradition and in Christian meditation and Christian
Vedanta. It can be seen in the global Hare Krishna movement. Hinduism also contributed
to the New Age faiths! Muslims and Christians extended the reach of the sacred Hindu
literature by translating it and even helped preserve some of it. This is never
recalled while the voters are constantly reminded of the Hindu temples
destroyed by the Moghuls.
India’s syncretic tradition can be attributed mainly to the
diversity of Hinduism that has a history of several philosophical turns. Of
course, this diversity leads to confusion over certain precepts. Differing practices
and various interpretations of the same sacred text, in the absence of a validating
central authority, result in mixed-up theological concepts and endless
arguments. That is why theological dissent always got accommodated.
Hinduism is suffused with paradoxes. The Divine is
unimaginable and unknowable and yet the Divine is imagined in countless forms appearing
in representational and abstract art and as idols of stone and metal. Hindus
worship gods both in iconic and aniconic forms. The deity in thousands of rural
temples is just a painted stone. Devotion takes the form of meditation, quiet
contemplation, lighting sacrificial fire, loud out-of-tune community singing, disciplined
congregational chanting, ritual bathing, fasting or even social service since
God lives in every human being.
There is latent divinity in every being and everything.
There is an external God and the God within. God is a distant entity but then the devotee is also part
of Brahman, the universal soul! Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi in general terms
implies the unity of individual self with the Absolute. Thus, divinity is
shared by every human being. Divisive rhetoric has to be foreign to Hinduism which says: Thou art
That (Tat Tvam Asi).
Faux religiosity
Scholars of comparative religions can observe how Hinduism,
when hijacked for political purposes, gets vulgarised. The devotees are
encouraged to display faux religiosity. The
Sarkari (pro-Government) “seers”, in their so-called religious discourses,
bless the Prime Minister. The ruling party needs their endorsement, the seers
want political patronage. The seers are sought after by politicians more than
by spiritual aspirants.
Respected heads of genuine spiritual institutions keep quiet
about the misuse of religion for elections. Surely, they are pained by the
distortion of their faith tradition, seeing an immense idea being reduced to a
dismal creed. Islamic leaders get blamed for not condemning the misuse of their
faith by politicians and terrorists. One may ask where have the Hindu spiritual
leaders gone? Islamic leaders get blamed for not
condemning the misuse of their faith by politicians and terrorists. One may ask
where have the Hindu spiritual leaders gone?
The distortion of Hinduism does not provoke much reaction while
many western Christian communities vigorously debate spirituality vs.
institutionalised religion. Currently there is no such discourse in Hinduism,
notwithstanding its tradition of argumentation.
It is left to a few secular politicians and the leftists to
offer a trenchant criticism of Hindutva. They reason well but they cannot
influence those swayed by the men in saffron robes. The leftists, not
well-versed in India’s spiritual traditions, have little leverage with the
faithful. Only firm believers protesting against the “hijacking of our
religion” can make an impact. They can increase the public understanding of
Hinduism unsullied by politics.
Those rushing to demolish a mosque or build a temple on a
disputed plot know nothing about a faith that assimilated various religions and
cultural movements. They are familiar with folklore, mythology and miracles and
black magic but unaware of the Vedic Song of Creation that wonders whether even
the Creator knows all! That kind of questioning will be considered blasphemy
and a punishable offence in some other religions. The sacred texts of Hinduism
make bigotry unthinkable. In the wake of the Babri mosque’s demolition, Prof.
Amartya Sen attributed growing fanaticism to the neglect of the classics in
education. In the wake of the Babri mosque’s
demolition, Prof. Amartya Sen attributed growing fanaticism to the neglect of
the classics in education.
Fanaticism versus
self-renewing reform
Fanaticism characterises the politicisation of a religion
which retards reforms. The Supreme Court lifted the ban on the entry of young women
into a Hindu temple. The BJP launched an agitation against the entry of young
women in order to uphold a “sacred tradition”. However, the same ruling party
was all for abolishing the traditional Muslim custom of instant divorce because
it oppressed Muslim women. The BJP Government undertook the noble mission of
reforming Islam but considers reformation of Hinduism as a no-go area. The BJP
president advises law courts to refrain from hurting Hindu sentiments and to pass
only such judgments that are “implementable”!
Every old faith tradition accumulates undesirable rituals
and practices and Hinduism, being a product of many cultures and cults, is more
prone to do so. In its long journey, Hinduism acquired and discarded many
questionable rituals. It abolished some practices partly due to the influence
of Christian values but mainly by recollecting its own glorious Vedic past. There
was recognition of the corruptive influence of idolatry, child-marriage, self-immolation
by widows and untouchability that had no place in its ancient culture. Commenting
on this process of reforms and renewal, scholar Kshiti Mohan Sen writes that
the impact of the West produced new schools of thought which emphasised old
doctrines.
Swami Dyanand who founded Arya Samaj to reform Hinduism.Hinduism has a rich history of reforms. Swami Dayanand
Saraswati (1824-83), who founded the Arya
Samaj, gave the call “Back to the
Vedas”, drawing a large section of Hindus away from idol-worship and
exploitative priests. Arya Samaj
established excellent educational institutions and worked to raise the status
of the backward classes. It also introduced proselytization, which was no part
of the Hindu traditions.
Swami Dayanand came from the state of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi who had used regional pride as an electoral card. Curiously,
videos glorify several sons of Gujarat, but not this Arya Samaj founder! Praising this great Gujarati will pose a
problem for the party that has made the Ram Temple a central issue of its
political campaign. Arya Samaj
opposes idol-worship. The Vedic tradition involved sacred sacrifice in the
open. The Indo-Aryans did not build permanent structures for the practice of
their religion. Temples began to be built much later when worship and
supplication were added to sacrifice in the Hindu religious ethos.
In Bengal, Raja Rammohun Roy (1774-1833) founded the Brahmo Samaj facing opposition by
orthodox Hindus who were dead set against his progressive outlook on social
matters. He advocated modern education and wanted Indians to learn science and
technology. His agitation led to the abolition of the criminal practice of Sati
that ordained a wife to commit suicide by plunging into the fire consuming her
dead husband.
Reformer Raja Rammohan Roy.Another new school of Hinduism developed in Bengal under the
influence of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa (1834-86) that appealed to the common man
who just prays before a deity without bothering about theology. This simple
communication with God, known as the Bhakti
movement, became very popular. Earlier in the late 15th century Bengal,
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had mesmerised his followers, leading them in
congregational chanting, Sankirtan. There
were reformers in south India who are venerated by millions of Hindus.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – simple devotion through singing in praise of the Lord.In British India, the conservative Hindu leaders debated
with reformers vigorously, but that contestation was due to clashing beliefs
and not a political strategy for use in a democracy. Today the orthodox Hindu
leaders who are corralled into supporting Prime Minister Modi have no interest
in theological debates.
In the current atmosphere, Hindus hesitate to even talk of
reforms lest they are called anti-Hindu. Political mobs are unleashed on the
few reformists asserting the inclusiveness of Hinduism and fighting bigotry.
Swami Agnivesh, a social activist who propagates the Vedic tradition, has faced
physical assaults. That has not deterred him from continuing his struggle
against superstitions that defile religion. Swami Agnivesh laments that
politicians promote belief without truth. He reminds the people that the Vedic
religion identified God with truth and Gandhi went a step further by saying
that “Truth is God”.
The Hindu nationalists always opposed religious reforms. In
Nehru’s secular India, they protested strongly, but the Government went ahead taking
steps for improving the status of Hindu women. Today it seems like a miracle
that in the face of horrendous Partition-related Hindu-Muslim killings, the
Congress leaders managed to establish a secular state. That feat was made
possible by Hinduism’s spirit of tolerance and mass adoration of the secular
leaders. The parent bodies of today’s Hindutva forces failed to politically
challenge Nehru and destroy the Nehruvian ethos. Nehru had called development
projects the new temples of India!
The slogan “Hinduism in danger” had no appeal then as Hindus
had enough self-confidence. That was the India that was! Since then much water
has flowed down the holy Ganga. Hinduism now figures in a story of regression. Read
the newspapers, listen to the TV “debates” and see the WhatsApp-trained
ignorant armies clash day and night.