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.

A Sweeping statement

A sweeping statement

Recently (Aug 2013) in a protest against the division of Andhra Pradesh some home makers and employees took to sweeping roads a a mark of protest. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-06/hyderabad/41131152_1_seemandhra-priests-samaikhyandhra) I don’t know if this form proof protest is unique to India, but I know it has been around in India for quite some time. In the 70’s and 80’s when unemployment among educated professionals (doctors, engineers) was high, this was reported frequently. Then as employment opportunities rose, it became less frequent and has surfaced only now after about 15 years.

Now my point is this: why is sweeping roads considered a form of protest? When I applied my mind it struck me hat that these were upper caste people trying to show the world that some problem had virtually degraded them to sweepers, who are traditionally lower caste in India. And what can be worse for an upper caste to be demoted in the caste hierarchy !!

But look at it from the point of someone who actually sweeps the roads for a living. How does it make her/him feel when they are used as an example of degradation ? Not very happy I am sure. Not only do they have a difficult life, here are upper caste people making an example of their misery.

Sweeping is also looked down in other cultures for sure, but I have not heard of it being used as a protest-symbol for degradation. I wish the people in India who use it as a protest would apply their minds and come up with some other form of protest.

Fair and Lovely !! Really ?

Fair and Lovely !! Really ? 
 
I just read a week back that the skin whitening cream market size in India is now Rs 5000 cr … and that’s an enormous waste.

Where do we Indians get this fascination for fair / white skin ? From our supposed Aryan links ? From The British raj ? I really do not know… but I am just not able to understand this fixation. While I do not dislike fair skin, I definitely prefer the “original” wheatish/ dusky shades. Remember Smita Patil ? and Rekha ?

Fair and Lovely and similar products are actually creating a division in society.. fair Vs not fair.. and through clever advertising suggesting that the use of their fairness products leads to enhanced confidence, success, etc. All this complete nonsense but the irony is that they depend on the ingrained attitudes to skin colour in India.

Now what is galling is some of the most respected corporate names are doing this. Reputed MNCs and Indian companies are milking gullible young women. And this is also happening in Africa, Latin America, China, Pakistan and South East Asia

And the last nail in the coffin is fairness creams for men. !! Come on guys ..Rama, Krishna and Shiva ..were all dark.

Just for the record, the active chemical in all skin whitening creams removes skin pigmentation by bleaching and peeling. The worst of the lot can leave behind burn marks and cause skin cancer..

Have you ever wondered ..Cont’d

Have you ever wondered ..Cont’d Have you ever wondered why human babies are born after 9 months of gestation.. Not 8 or 7 or 10 or 11 ?

Ok, so there are two opposing forces in nature that determine the gestation period (for all mammal species, not just humans) . The first is that the longer the baby is inside the mother the stronger it becomes and has a better chance of survival in the outside world . Remember premature babies are born at 7 months and can also survive with medical care. So technically a baby has a chance of outside survival at 7 months but spends an extra 2 months inside the womb to improve its chances of survival.

The restriction to the length of the gestation period (i.e. beyond 9 months) comes from the size of the birth canal / uterine/ vaginal opening. The baby is continuously growing in the womb. If the baby is too big at the time of birth , there will problems for it to come out.

So 9 months appears to be the optimum. The baby is big enough to survive and the birth will not be dangerous for the mother.

There is another very interesting fact about human birth. As the baby travels down the birth canal, the head twists 90 degrees. So the nose is pointing to the shoulder. This is not seen in any other mammal species. Human babies have very large heads in comparison to other species… because humans also have the largest brain. This twist of the head is necessary for the large head to pass through the birth canal.

Have you ever wondered why...

Have you ever wondered?

Why we feel drowsy / sleepy when the aircraft takes off. ? Well, over a period of time I noticed that for the few minutes immediately after take off, I doze off. Then I checked this with a number of other people. And most, but not all, said they have also had the same experience. Then I googled a bit and presto!! found the reason. Immediately after take-off, the aircraft goes into a steep climb. This causes the blood to temporarily partially drain out of the brain and move to the lower part of the body…and hence the short sleep. After a few minutes, as the aircraft reaches its normal flying height and levels off , the blood flows back to the brain waking us up. Pilots of fighter planes and astronauts go through the same experience, though in a more severe way. Short black-outs are common.

Why condoms are marketed in fruit flavors? Well it’s nothing to do with taste at all. So why the flavors? It is because condoms are made of natural rubber and natural rubber has a slightly unpleasant smell. In order to mask that unpleasant smell, condom manufactures use fruit flavors like banana and strawberry. So why not mango or papaya? Because Banana and strawberry have obvious sexual linkages which mango and papaya do not have.

Why after a sleep/ nap we feel refreshed only after washing the face. There are two reasons. First during sleep/ nap, blood circulation to outer surface of the body reduces. This causes the slight feeling of numbness in the face. While washing the face, we also massage the face and that restores circulation making us feel refreshed. Second, and this is more specific to full length sleep rather than a nap, the natural secretion of oil from facial skin blocks the skin pores, thus preventing the skin from “breathing”. Washing the face removes this film of oil and we feel refreshed.