Monday, October 17, 2005

Do I need to broadcast that I am hindu

Recently my friend forwarded me an aricle "MEN AND IDEAS: I am a Hindu, but...
by GURCHARAN DAS" link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1256867.cms.
Writer very well brings home the point when an indian youth finds it hard to prefess his true association with hinduism. Writer blames the nationalist (RSS, Bajrang dals) and secularists for highjacking hinduism for political gains and creating a mess. Both parties (nationalists and secularists, is there thrid part?? :-) ) have strong arguments and seem correct to the indian masses, who are not intellectually capable to think and decide but are unwantedly pulled into the mess and have to tolerate all the violence (in the mind and on the roads).

I read somewhere, Gautam Budhdha said "There is no one right, either everything is right or nothing is right". The same point Einstein proved mathematically and named it "Relativity".

On a fine day, I don't object to broadcasting our beliefs and letting everyone know about its good values. But it pains me when when such public propaganda about beliefs (religions, culture) gives opportunites to anti-social elements (like in Mau in UP these days) and disturbs the social thread.

I know hindu mythological texts (Veda, Gita, Ramayan, Upanishads, etc.) are full of knowledge and good things. As for north indian educated youths, I hardly see them interested into them or eager to learn Sanskrit mantras. Even way before BJP revolutionised hinduism, I saw youth disinterested from hinduism because of super-stitions and pandits manipulating rules for money (simplest being, pandit ji conducting 2 hour marriage pheras in 20 minutes.).
So the point is, youth were already disinterested from hinduism because of stress on scientific thinking in modern education, unexplainable rules, pressure from parents to study and settle abroad. Now, the mess created by nationalist and secularists has only increased their distance from hinduism and its way of life.

Hence I strongly believe that, beliefs/religions should be very-very private thing and followed in the house. Specially in todays global world where there is movement of human capital on such a large scale. Let's not fight over spiritual beliefs with todays scientific weapons.
Om! Amen! Allaho Akbar!! (don't ask me why I wrote Om! first. Because somebody needs to be and all can't be.).

No comments: