Hinduism: Its not a religion, it’s a way of life Part 2

Hinduism: Its not a religion, it’s a way of life Part 2

So as we have seen Hindusim is considerably more complex than the simple 3 God (Brahma , Vishnu, Mahesh) and 4 Caste system phenomenon that is often presented for public consumption. It has many layers and a limitless scope for discussion and change. The moral teachings come from a large number of sources (Vedas, Puranas , Ramayana etc) and not from a simplified source like the 10 commandments in Christianity. Again, the moral/ ethical teachings are presented through stories, most of which are about the life and times of gods, demi-gods and kings. This multiplicity of sources leads to some degree of contradiction. For instance, to quote the most famous example, Krishna exhorts Arjun to kill people who are his own relatives and kinsmen. While I am not suggesting that Krishna’s message was wrong (in the context he made it) , we do not see this kind “advice” in other religions.

Like other old religions, Hinduism also comes with ideas that do not sit well with the modern times. A major problem area is with the caste system . In traditional Hindu thinking prior to Independence, caste was immutable. But at the level of the Indian nation, we have managed to deal with it by giving , at least on paper, in the Constitution, equal rights / opportunity to all Indians and a special status to tribals and lower caste Hindus. At the individual and social level, we see many inter-caste marriages now, and pleasantly, many, though not all, are not opposed by families/ parents.

Women have been treated unfairly by most religions, and Hinduism is no exception. The Manu Smriti, which is the closest to what one can call Hindu Laws, do not give equal status to women (or to lower castes as well) . Here again the Constitution guarantees women equal rights and at the social level also there is an ever-growing acceptance for the equality of women. We see it in the growing presence of women in prominent positions in Politics, Business and Education and almost all spheres of actvity. Mamta Banerji, Mayawati, Jayalailta, Sheela Dikshit and Sushma Swaraj (to quote just a few names) would never have reached where they are, if India had clung to the old and strict ideas of Hindusim.

Interestingly, thus, the lack of a single difficult-to-challenge religious source actually makes Hinduism more open to change and so while Hinduism is a way of life, our own ways of life now help to re-define Hinduism. I am deeply satisfied and encouraged by this adaptive quality of Hindus and Hinduism.

… to be continued

Hinduism: Its not a religion, it’s a way of life

During discussions I occasionally hear this sentence “Hinduism is a way of life “ . It is often said with a sense of pride and to possibly assert that Hinduism is thus superior to religions. So what doe this mean ?

Now if we look at the major religions of the world, Islam, Buddhism , Christainty and Hinduism.. there are at least  couple of things that are unique about Hindusim. Hinduism, unlike the other 3 does not have a single , identified “founder” . In Islam there is Prophet Mohammed, in Chrisitanty there is Jesus and Buddhism has Gautam, but Hinduism does not have anyone similar. We have multiple names of Rishis and Gurus but no one or 2 or even 10 names that can claim to have “authored” Hindusim. Also while Islam has the Quran and Christianity the Bible as the chief and main source of their teachings and faith, Hindusim does not have an equivalent. Instead Hinduism (or more correctly Vedic or Sanatan Dharma) has over 50 texts consisting the Vedas , Puranas and Upanishads and these lay down what a Hindu should and should not do both in ritualistic and ethical terms. Hence the remark “A way of life”. In addition of course we also have the Mahabharat and Ramayana regarded as sacred texts , but again these are legends about good and evil and not really the equivalents of the Bible or Quran

Therefore the absence of a single book/ founder makes Hinduism  different from other religions, and hence the use of the phrase “a way of life” as compared to “religion”. Now whether it makes Hinduism a better or “superior” religion I leave to the readers to decide.

There also also some interesting things about Hinduism which are visible but not noticed by many people. Caste is a strong social driver in Hinduism and popular Hindu belief recognizes 4 castes. But his is mainly in urban communities. Move to rural areas and you come across prominent communities which do not fall within the 4 castes. These are essentially land –owning and farming communities , sometimes described by the word “peasantry”. For example in the north we have the Jats, Bishnois  Patels  and Yadavs and in the south there are the Gowdas, Reddy’s and Patils. These communities form a sizeable chunk of the population and are often economically and politically powerful. Interestingly they are all endogamous (traditionally marrying only within the community) thereby following the “caste system” without actually being a part of the well known 4 tier caste system.

The second interesting aspect of Hinduism in India is the place / status accorded to tribals (known in different parts of India as adivasi, janjati,  girijan, vanvasi, banjara/ vanjara, lambadi, gujar, gujjar ) The census records the number of tribals in India as 10 crores. More than 80% are classified Hindu by the census (in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Odisha, Andhra Padesh) most of the  remaining are Christian (mainly North Eastern states of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal and  Mizoram) and few have no religious affiliation (Andaman/ Nicobar) . Now interestingly, when the Indian census records a person’s religion, if it is not Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Budhism, Jain or Jew, it is by default recorded as Hindu.  A bulk of the “Hindu” tribals are thus classified.

The question then arises,  are (or were) they really followers of Hinduism ? Till about 50 years back , most “Hindu” tribals did not worship Hindu gods such as Shiva, Ram or Krishna  or Ganesh. They had, in each region, their own gods. In many cases their gods were similar to animist gods. Animals (monkeys , cows, peacocks and cobra) and trees (Pipal, neem, Tulsi)  were, and are,  considered sacred. They did not believe in re-incarnation. Their marriage rituals did not align with Hindusim. For example the Santhals were polygamous and pre-marital sex was common. The contemporary traditional Hindu society itself did not define them in terms of the 4 castes. With the passage of time and spread of communications, many tribals (except in North East) have now started identifying loosely with traditional Hinduism. For sociologists this is an interesting example of cultural assimilation. Many others have converted to Christianity due to efforts or christian missionaries. The lack of a well-defined religion , and only a loose connection with traditional Hinduism made the conversion to Christianity  easier.

..to be continued

Modi or Rahul ? Neither !

Modi or Rahul ? Neither !

I am not a fan of Narendra Modi. Even if his dubious claims of development are true even 10% , he has to still answer for the post-Godhra riots in which 2000 muslims were killed. And now he has to answer for fake encounters as well. We cannot afford to have such leaders in India…or anywhere else for that matter.

When I express my opinions on Modi, I am immediately told by Modi sympathizers (read as ignorant BJP/ VHP/ RSS bigots ) about how Kasmiri Pandits were / are being killed and have been exiled from Kashmir to live in refuge camps. Stories about the corruption of the Nehru-Gandhi family, their “non-Indian” origin are also brought out. The latest is some  fantastic story on Sanjay Gandhi’s paternity.

I am often left wondering about the intellectual morbidity and hopelessness of the people who parade these arguments.. and I am sure some comments to this post will bring more. Some BJP idiot went to the extent of saying Amartya Sen had no right to say anything about Godhra/ Modi as he (Sen ) was neither Indian nor a Muslim. It is like saying that no non-German/ non Jew could logically criticize Hitler for the millions of Jews he killed.

My response is simple>

Just because I do not approve of Modi does not automatically make me a supporter of the Congress / Nehru Gandhi family. I am NOT their supporter. The congress and its ruling dynasty have also a lot to answer for, the topmost being humongous corruption and the killing of 3500 plus sikhs in Delhi. I am hoping a strong non-Congress government will soon punish those guilty.

Two wrongs do not make a right. We cannot hope to balance the deaths of Hindus with the deaths of Muslims… they were all Indians and they were all human beings .. and no one should have been killed.

I do not believe in the Modi or Rahul debate. It is NOT Modi vs Rahul for me . Neither is fit to be a PM. One for his communal sentiment and the other for his inexperience.

PS: extremely sad to see Manmohan again saying he thinks Rahul is fit to be PM. Manmohan has not only mis-managed the government , he is stooping to new lows in chamchagiri. Wonder how much he is being paid to make these starements.

Coming soon.. ELECTIONS !

Coming soon ELECTIONS !
Its that time of the year again. Elections !! Coming up in several states in the next few months and for the parliament in 2014. The newspapers/ magazines and TV channels are already working overtime churning out analysis and predictions. So why should I be left out. Here is my take on the 2014 parliament election.

We can look forward to another coalition government. The 3 possibilities are

• Congress let UPA
• BJP led NDA
• Third front..led by SP/ Mulayam Singh,

The million (or billion dollar scam) question of course is which one… I could make an anaylsis or a guess, but personally I wish it to be the BJP. Now I am no BJP-lover..quite the contrary in fact. My simple reason is that a change in government is good for India, and the NDA is best suited to replace the UPA. Also I am fed up (an understatement) with the Nehru-Gnadhi dynasty and the chamchagiri culture of Congress.

Here is what I think will be important in winning the elections:

• • Corruption is NOT an election issue. The BJP might stall parliament over it, but the bulk of voters are not interested. The Anna Hazare movement with all the initial media coverage and rallies, and even the government paying heed to it, was basically an urban middle-class thing. We are 110 crore people in India, barely 10 lac were involved.
• • Religion, Caste and community will continue to dominate voter choice for more than 80% of the electorate.
• • Smart pre-election alliances will win votes and seats. Unfortunately I do not see any serious effort in this direction by either the BJP or the Congress.
• • Clarity of leadership at the state level will help win seats. The BJP is ahead of the Congress in this.
• • Antagonising the Muslims can cost BJP dear…and this may probably be BJPs biggest hurdle, in the form of Narendra Modi.

Now the big issue within BJP is whether Narendra Modi can be the PM. Personally I think he is a dangerous man to have as PM. But even if by some divine intervention Modi were to become less fascist, his anti-Muslim image will not go away, and that means Nitish Kumar/ Bihar, Naveen Patnaik/ Odisha Chandra Babu Naidu/ AP, YSR Congress/ AP, Jayalalitha/ TN, Mamta Banerji/ WB (all are also potential 3rd front constituents) will not support BJP if Modi is projected as PM. The Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are the only parties which might find Modi acceptable. The communists of course will never join the BJP. So with Modi as the BJPs official PM candidate , the NDA will lose the race before it starts.

My message to the BJP… ditch Modi (and Hidnutva hardliners), get cracking with electoral alliances and send out a secular message. Mr Gadkari, are you listening ?