A response to Brinda Karat - part 1

This is in response to this article by Brinda Karat in the NDTV website. In the interest of brevity I am putting this post in two parts. The second part is definitely, in my opinion more interesting.

 

At the outset let me declare that I have no issue with any religion as long as it does not interfere with mine. Let each person worship God the way s/he wants. In principle and personally, I am against conversions of any kind - voluntary, forced and more importantly in today's India, induced - and to any religion. Conversion means the converted has lost faith in "his" religion or God. Today, when PK is the flavour of the day, this is all the more abnormal. The Indian saying goes, eko sat, vipraah bahudhaa vadanti - the truth is one, the learned call it by many names. However every person has the freedom to worship God the way he wants. Krishna says in the Gita

yo yo yaam yaam tanum bhaktah shradhdhayaarchitumichchati

tasya tasyaachalaam sradhdhaamtaameva vidadhaamyaham

 

यो  यो याम याम तनुम्  भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति 

तस्य तस्याचलाम् श्रध्द्धाम् तामेव विदधाम्यहम्

 

Paraphrasing, however one wishes to worship I make that path steady.

 

Also as Vivekananda said a Hindu does not ask anyone to convert. If that were the case the Jews and Parsis who came to India and took refuge would either have become Hindus or would have been wiped out by now.

This is how Hinduism works.

As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Today the aspect which is creating headlines is the smoke - "reconversion" to Hinduism. While this is certainly illegal and deplorable if forced, nobody seems to be talking about the fire behind the smoke - forced and induced conversions, especially to Christianity. Via twitter, Gul Panag and Amrita Bhinder I found this article which highlights the issue well.

We have people like Rajiv Malhotra who are highlighting the activities of proselytizers in their works. Refer to this article in the Times of India. Creation of stotras glorifying Jesus and putting up dhwajastambhas in front of church are ways of "acclimatizing" people to Christianity before striking the final blow and converting them completely to Christianity, when all such pretenses are dropped.

I can personally attest to a few of these practices, the most blatant of which I have reserved for the next part:

1. I have seen major churches in Chennai where there is a prominent pillar in front of the church which resembles a Hindu dhwaja except that it has a cross on top of it - San Thome, St. Thomas Mount for example.

2. The church is referred to as a koil which is the Tamil word for temple.

3. I was in Rajamundry recently for my grandmother's final rites. On the ghats along the Godavari there are painted signs which talk about traita siddhaanta bhagavad geeta. Though it sounds like the Bhagavad Gita this is actually referring to the Gospels and Bible of Christianity. The term actually talks about the concept of the Christian Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

4. Spreading canards about Hinduism - Refer to this Wikipedia post on Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ.

In my next post I will share a personal experience along with some translations, as I can manage.

Throwing out the God child along with the caste bathwater

This post is in response to an article I read on the NDTV website, originally by Subhashini Ali. A little search on Google lead me to a Wikipedia article on the lady which suggests that she is an atheist. Now I strongly believe in individual freedoms and hence her being an  atheist or theist is none of my concern. However as an atheist or as a rationalist, as many an atheist would like to call himself or herself one wishes there was a little more research that went in before condemning the Bhagavad Gita.

The caste system today is an evil which needs to be eradicated, no doubt in that. It is frequently and well-said that we do not cast our vote but vote our caste. Further it is a well-known fact that politicians of all religions often subscribe to narrow religious views to pander to their constituencies, or who they think are their constituents. However what is to be understood is that there is a difference between morality, spiritualism and religiosity. We do not need to deride divinity at every available opportunity.

The article in essence says that the Bhagavad Gita was blatantly casteist. By extension Hinduism is blatantly casteist. I would like to strongly contest this. My sources are given at the bottom of the page. I hope that this serves as a beginning of my readers' own research into the realities of Indian culture, religion and spirituality. In a later post I will show from personal experience how differences/similarities are exploited by certain agents in our society today.

A confession - the quoted sources are quite exhaustive and I myself have not gone through all of them. A lot of the material below has been copied from the sources referenced below.

1. First of all sloka I am not sure what Ms Ali is referring to when she talks about 1.44 in the Gita. The sloka referenced here is completely different!

2. ChaaturvarNyam mayaa srushTam guNa karma vibhaagashah (Gita 4:13) - the four castes have been created on the basis of qualities and deeds. Mind you, not by birth.

3. Who is a so-called Brahmin? - Brahma jaanaati iti braahmanah - he who knows Brahman (Supreme Godhead, NOT a personal God) is a so-called Brahmin.

4. janmana jayate sudrah
    samskarad bhaved dvijah
    veda-pathad bhaved vipro

    brahma janati brahmanah

 

This is a little more contentious. By birth one is born a sudra, by samskaara one becomes a twice-born. Here samskaara may mean ceremony also. One can generalize it to mean culture also. By chanting Vedas one can become a learned one. Some of the greatest exponents, for example Suta muni, were so-called Sudras.

5. sudre tu yad bhavel laksma
dvije tac ca na vidyate
na vai sudro bhavec chudro
brahmano na ca brahmanah

 

"If the characteristics of a brahmana are found in a sudra and not in a brahmana, that sudra should not be known as a sudra, and that brahmana should not be known as a brahmana." (Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Chapter 180)

6. sudra-yonau hi jatasya
sad-gunanupatisthatah
arjave vartamanasya
brahmanyam abhijayate

"If a person born in a sudra family has developed the qualities of a brahmana, such as satya [truthfulness], sama [peacefulness], dama [self-control] and arjava [simplicity], he attains the exalted position of a brahmana." (Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Chapter 211)

 

7. sthito brahmana-dharmena
brahman yam upajiva ti
ksatriyo vatha vaisyo va
brahma-bhuyah sa gacchati
ebhis tu karmabhir devi
subhair acaritais tatha
sudro brahmanatam yati
vaisyah ksatriyatam vrajet
na yonir napi samskaro
na srutam na ca santatih
karanani dvijatvasya
vrttam eva tu karanam

"If one is factually situated in the occupation of a brahmana, he must be considered a brahmana, even if born of a ksatriya or vaisya family.
"O Devi, if even a sudra is actually engaged in the occupation and pure behavior of a brahmana, he becomes a brahmana. Moreover, a vaisya can become a ksatriya.
"Therefore, neither the source of one's birth, nor his reformation, nor his education is the criterion of a brahmana. The vrtta, or occupation, is the real standard by which one is known as a brahmana." (Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, Chapter 163) 

 

 

Sources:

http://www.indiadivine.org/content/topic/1240895-reference-for-a-shloka/

http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Caste_System6.htm

Et tu, Sri Sri?

Apparently ndtv convergence has tied up exclusively with the Art of Living Foundation for rights to all mobile-based content. Initially the service will be available to Airtel users and then will later on be available on other operators also. Somehow I found it hard to think about the concept of business exclusivity in relation to spirituality, especially (or am I being naive?) in India where traditionally such knowledge has followed the Biblical saying, "ask and ye shall receive".

I believe the foundation is rich enough to put the content online and pay someone like ndtv to maintain it. The website can always carry ads or ask for donations.

Moving on, we know that sensationalism triumphs over the mundane any day, at least initially. Now as per news available in the public domain two chief ministers from the BJP, one incumbent and one former would make for some interesting if horrifying reading.

A former judge who investigated the Gujarat riots said there was audio proof of Haren Pandya, the deceased former home minister of the state talking about Modi asking the police to let the Hindu rioters vent their feelings. Pandya was shot dead some time after he was removed from his post, having had a falling out with Modi.

The former Karnataka CM, Yeddyurappa is considered to be "close" to Shobha Karandlaje another BJP member. His wife died under unnatural circumstances. One allegation is that he murdered his wife because of a relationship with Ms Karandlaje! Don't we have interesting politicians?

An Obsession with English?

Students in Andhra Pradesh were punished in a bizarre manner for speaking Telugu in class. Read this.

A large English-speaking workforce is said to be a big reason for India to be an excellent outsourcing destination. There is also what is called Indian English. But one has to wonder if we have taken our obsession with the language to weird heights.

I have to confess that a person who speaks English better makes a much better impression than a person who can't. I myself seem to be an example for India's English obsession. This is a country which has 22 official languages and thousands of dialects. It seems unjustified that one language and that too what is essentially a foreign one should be given so much importance.

There are people on the other extreme also. I think there was a plan in Tamil Nadu a little time back to stop teaching English in school or something on those lines. That is plain stupid. You can maintain your self respect and identity without resorting to such extreme measures. The solution as always lies in finding a middle path, one of moderation.

Yet Another Racist Attack

In another attack that smacks of racism 3 Indians have been attacked in Australia and this time by a mob of 80 people, including women. These attacks have happened in spite of the assurances given to the External Affairs Minister, SM Krishna when he visited Australia after the last spate of attacks. What credibility has the Australian government left?

India has been protesting against these attacks. But there does not seem to be much changing on the ground if the latest attacks are any indication. The latest attack cannot be wished away as a random attack where Indians happened to be incidental victims, as some previous arson cases have been. This is a clear cut case of racism as the mob was actually asking the 3 to "go back to India".

Unless I am mistaken some of the first Westerners to live in Australia were English convicts. The country has come a long way from those days. But now it seems to be intent on reclaiming the 'heritage' of its ancestors! Imagine what would happen if we pelted Englishmen with stones asking them to go back for what they have done to our country. It would seem stupid, would it not? What has happened to the 'enlightened' Western mind? Is globalisation good only as far as they Westerners the benefits? Don't they understand that this is a world of give-and-take, and not simply take-and-take?

The reaction of the Indian government needs to be examined this time. It would be nice if India actually takes some strong action this time. Issuing demarches to the Australian High Commissioner is okay, but this time probably recalling the Indian High Commissioner from Australia would put a little more pressure on the Australians?

Gay 'Pride' and Rights

I am writing this post after this NDTV article.

First of all, a disclaimer. I am not homophobic. If someone wants to be homosexual it is his/her prerogative (I wonder, has anyone tried to invent new grammar for a gay guy and a lesbian female?). The thing that in a way amuses me is the gay 'pride' that is spoken about. I do not go about proclaiming I am proud to be heterosexual. Are the gays saying they are better than others with previously accepted sexual preferences? They are welcome to fight for their rights. The choice of words I feel is something that can be changed.

Article 377 according to which homosexuality is a crime might be removed. Understandably the gay community is happy and the religious community (or right wingers) is not. The Church feels that this is against society, I fail to understand why. The VHP is against it. Some Muslims feel it will lead to sexual anarchy. I wish to tell these people that just because homosexuality is legal people are not going to change their sexual preferences. The VHP said there will be a spread in diseases. If protection is used, why should there be such an increase? The AIDS prevention campaign in India focuses a lot on condoms and this was especially true in Andhra Pradesh under C B Naidu's government. Instead of asking people to use protection, the government should tell the citizens to remain faithful to their spouses (this point was actually raised by a BJP member).

If the religious leaders think homosexuality is a sin, let it be so. They should realize that according to their views, these people will suffer. The gays and lesbians will anyway not listen to your sermons and change. So stop persecuting them and let us accept that we live in a free society. As long as one does not provably harm the society why should we indulge in persecution?

India's elections

The EC set up a voting booth for just one person in Gujarat. This was for a priest in the Gir region.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/01/stories/2009050157680100.htm

This is probably what is meant by following principles/rules in spirit and deed! On the one hand we have our election commission which tries to have free and fair elections. On the other we have well, our own political parties. As I have mentioned earlier once somebody defined politics as "poly means many and tic are blood-sucking insects". One can only wonder at the power-hungriness and unprinciples nature of politics and India is a case in point. Next door in Pakistan we have an absence of democracy while here it is abused.

A lot of voters are poorly informed. A few years back a magazine carried a report. An old woman in some part of te country said she was voting for Indira Gandhi. She did not even know the woman was dead! Then there is general voter apathy. Appeals by film actors and the Mumbai carnage did not bring out voters in Mumbai. We curse our government all the time, are we not responsible for that?

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/2611_little_impact_on_voters.php

Finally we have our politicians, the less said the better. I have a confession myself though that I did not vote. I am registered in Hyderabad and I am in Kota. I am not Amir Khan to fly back to Hyderabad to cast my vote (like he came back from the US to India). I think some kind of provision must be made for people like me (if there is one, I do not know of it). A lot of people keep moving around for various reasons - job, education etc. Some provision should be made to allow these people to vote also. If I am not mistaken we need a postal ballot system like the one for the US military personnel stationed outside the US, or something along those lines.

Food for thought

There is a food crisis facing the world today and the world bank has warned that 100 million(more than 4 Australias) people can be forced into extreme poverty. There have already been food riots in Egypt and the Philippines and a viewer poll on NDTV's 60 Minutes said that these are possible in India also. West Bengal has already seen PDS shop owners being attacked after being accused of hoarding.

What has the government done? It has banned the export of certain items like rice and pulses. The PM has sent out a request to states to check hoarding. What is the agricultural minister doing? He is probably trying to ensure that the upcoming IPL series will receive sufficient media coverage (the media has been threatening to boycott the event due to some restrictive clauses put forward by the BCCI)!! Before the economic reforms of the early 90s India had what is referred to as the 'Hindu growth rate'. Fortunately the same cannot be said to be the case today. But agriculture still is languishing. Farmers are committing suicide on one hand and on the other hand, consumers are complaining of increasing prices. Today agriculture employs more than half of India's workforce while producing less than 20% of the GDP. Steps need to be taken to ensure that the productivity is commensurate with the employment figures. This does not mean indiscriminate use of fertilizers and the likes, which bring their own set of problems. Instead there should be better irrigation facilities, consolidation of small holdings, very importantly, better farmer education etc. When will these materialize?

Some might suggest that privatization is the key. But we have to remember one thing. The main objective of a business organization is profit. As Milton Friedman said, "The business of business is business". Hence it is only normal to assume that private businesses will have an eye on more 'valuable' crops. Whatever they do in their five (or fewer) years in power, governments lose no opportunity to tomtom their 'achievements'. It would be a welcome change if a government actually did something and left the judgment to the masses. This is the land of Annapurna. I wonder how she would feel if the nation which was once the world's most prosperous were to descend into rioting for food!