I have often wondered as to why the mordern society has so much disillusionment with the Hindu religion..and why are we;as a people;are so very apathetic to both,its concerns and oppurtunities.
It probably has to do with the abstractness of the religion;its refusal to bring orderliness;heirarchy and cannonization which suffocate the intrinsic freedom that the disciple needs to reach the intangible Supreme.Despite its periodic decay in the form of casteism,ritualism and dogmas; Hinduism has been the most honest religion to its people.it has presented the Lord as the abstract, the many faceted and the compliment of good and evil..it has refused to classify creation into Satan and God,to create a hierarchy of preisthood, an orderliness of organized sainthood and certificates of miracles...instead it has shown the saint within the human;evil as a play of the Lord and miracles as a natural manifestation of the Purusha.
The mordern intellectual ;in his effort to classify the subtle, to satisfy the intellect and give a gross form to spirituality [e.g. ten commandments,holy book,one saint,one pilgrimage,etc]has ofen found a stoic silence from Hinduism . He has then created its own form [Godmen;who are all fake,rituals that lack meaning,some festivals that lack spiritual gravity but have a lot of peripheras,etc ,etc]
if only they kept this intellect aside and made an effort with an open mind, to recieve what a spiritual Master has to offer [for me all this intellectual gymnastics ended with the part 1 and 2 course of the Art Of Living]..they would realize and only gasp at the good fortune to be born in the land of India and as a Hindu...
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Secularism and The Constitution
The word 'Secular' was inserted in the preamble by the 42nd
Amendment Act 1976.
Secularism has been explained and described as...
1. the belief that all religions are equally good and efficacious pathways to perfection on or God realisation.
2. Secularism in India does not mean irreligion. It means respect for all faiths
and religious.[ref SECULARISM - BROODING SPIRIT OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
* DR. R.P. RAI]
The question now stands whether any of these priciples are being upholded in either letter or spirit??
As per the first priciple , does it not automatically become the responsibility of the State to ensure that the infringement of one's religion by another by a supposition that it is superior to the other, be considered as against the basic spirit of secularism as enshrined by the constitution. If this is the case, isnt missionary Conversion a crime in the eye of the law.
as per the second principle , does it also not concer that it is the duty of the State to not be apathetic to the considerations of the faithful and provide equal and fair provisions to all.if such is the case, has justice been done in the attitude of the State towards pilgrims to Haj vis a vis Amarnath; Gujarat riot victims viv-a-vis Hindu pandits in Kashmir; the Shah Bano case,etc
I feel that a very significant fact that we tend to overlook is that religion is not just a matter of faith..it is linked to nationalism as well as cultural identity..as an example take the case of geographical areas wherever the ethnic balance has been tilted and Hindu majority has been reduced to a minority..Assam,J & K,Meghalaya,Tripura and manipur..there is a violent and vociferous demand for separitism and secession...a sense of Indianness seems to have evaporated from these lands..
have we wondered why??...
and is there lessons to be learnt...
Amendment Act 1976.
Secularism has been explained and described as...
1. the belief that all religions are equally good and efficacious pathways to perfection on or God realisation.
2. Secularism in India does not mean irreligion. It means respect for all faiths
and religious.[ref SECULARISM - BROODING SPIRIT OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
* DR. R.P. RAI]
The question now stands whether any of these priciples are being upholded in either letter or spirit??
As per the first priciple , does it not automatically become the responsibility of the State to ensure that the infringement of one's religion by another by a supposition that it is superior to the other, be considered as against the basic spirit of secularism as enshrined by the constitution. If this is the case, isnt missionary Conversion a crime in the eye of the law.
as per the second principle , does it also not concer that it is the duty of the State to not be apathetic to the considerations of the faithful and provide equal and fair provisions to all.if such is the case, has justice been done in the attitude of the State towards pilgrims to Haj vis a vis Amarnath; Gujarat riot victims viv-a-vis Hindu pandits in Kashmir; the Shah Bano case,etc
I feel that a very significant fact that we tend to overlook is that religion is not just a matter of faith..it is linked to nationalism as well as cultural identity..as an example take the case of geographical areas wherever the ethnic balance has been tilted and Hindu majority has been reduced to a minority..Assam,J & K,Meghalaya,Tripura and manipur..there is a violent and vociferous demand for separitism and secession...a sense of Indianness seems to have evaporated from these lands..
have we wondered why??...
and is there lessons to be learnt...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
secularism??
A muslim girl in a Mangalore school has recently been debarred from attending school because she refused to comply with the rules which forbid the wearing of burqa to the classroom. the girl in a series of press interviews has stated that" religion is more important than education" and the English media has been splashing it in front pages and branding it as a prohibition of practise of free faith in a secular country.
its interesting how an issue can be profected in a perverted light to whip up sentiments in the garb of "secularism"..lets examine a few detals
the prohibition of exhibition of such aspects of one's faith is a basic tenet of the rule and regulations of the school. one gains admission to it only after acceptance of following these ascribed rules. further the rules apply acroos religious divide.devotees of Lord Ayappa are also forbidden to wear their traditional attire to the classroom.
A number of Muslim girls attend the school without wearing burqa. This just goes on th show that the demostration of one's religion and its external facets have their places and an institution is not one of them.
Just as the wearing of burqa is a matter of personal faith,it also needs to be noted ,that there are several implications of the same in a multi-ehtnic multi-religious society of India in general, and Coastal Karnataka[being highly communally sensitive] in general. It is thus only correct that rigidity in matters of faith deem confinement in such educational institutions where as the protagonist says"religion is more important than education" like madrasas. In an educatuional insitution which lays focus on the imparting of knowledge, such practises should find no place.
It is sad that our intellectia has successfully managed to distort the the mind set of the society through the media.The whole issue does not deserve mention.In today's progressive and evolutionary world we ought not have any place for dogmas and their whinings.
I wish to end with the words that the principal of the school wrote to the student " i have deep regard for your courage and dare to stand up for your religion. i only wish you use the same for more important issues like national integration and social welfare"
food for thought..???
its interesting how an issue can be profected in a perverted light to whip up sentiments in the garb of "secularism"..lets examine a few detals
the prohibition of exhibition of such aspects of one's faith is a basic tenet of the rule and regulations of the school. one gains admission to it only after acceptance of following these ascribed rules. further the rules apply acroos religious divide.devotees of Lord Ayappa are also forbidden to wear their traditional attire to the classroom.
A number of Muslim girls attend the school without wearing burqa. This just goes on th show that the demostration of one's religion and its external facets have their places and an institution is not one of them.
Just as the wearing of burqa is a matter of personal faith,it also needs to be noted ,that there are several implications of the same in a multi-ehtnic multi-religious society of India in general, and Coastal Karnataka[being highly communally sensitive] in general. It is thus only correct that rigidity in matters of faith deem confinement in such educational institutions where as the protagonist says"religion is more important than education" like madrasas. In an educatuional insitution which lays focus on the imparting of knowledge, such practises should find no place.
It is sad that our intellectia has successfully managed to distort the the mind set of the society through the media.The whole issue does not deserve mention.In today's progressive and evolutionary world we ought not have any place for dogmas and their whinings.
I wish to end with the words that the principal of the school wrote to the student " i have deep regard for your courage and dare to stand up for your religion. i only wish you use the same for more important issues like national integration and social welfare"
food for thought..???
Monday, August 24, 2009
Hindutva and Semitism
Interesting article on Indian Express [Sun Aug 23] by S. Gurumurthy.."Why Lisa Miller should look at Vivekananda!"
The author mentions that Americans are increasingly beggining to think and believe like the Hindu mind..which in unique in the sense that they are the only religion that accepts the truth and exhistence of all paths to god..as opposed to the Wetern neo-religions whose foundations lie in their faith that their's is the only true path and no other to God realization"..
He further quotes Lisa miller and mentions how other facets of the Hindu faith are gaining acceptance by the Western mind..like rebirth and distinction as well as choice of spirituality over religion..something which marginalizes the Church.
He lays emphasis and that was really significant ..that this notion of being the only path is the seed of fundamentalism..this gives birth to Semitism in its negative sense...when the Christian mind gets Hinduised will synthesis and consequentially peace evolve..
Gurumurthy also addreses the criticism of the evolution of Hindutva in the 90s as a form of Semitism within the Hindu religion.
In my opinion the rise of Hindutva is more of a reactionary nationalism in the face of an increasing threat to our religion and culture from policy-makes, media and of course Western influences.An organised method to demean and destroy our cultural pride and heritage has provoked people..rather awakened people..to develop this sense of oneness and cannot be confused with Semitism..which inherently looks down on the other faith.
The author mentions that Americans are increasingly beggining to think and believe like the Hindu mind..which in unique in the sense that they are the only religion that accepts the truth and exhistence of all paths to god..as opposed to the Wetern neo-religions whose foundations lie in their faith that their's is the only true path and no other to God realization"..
He further quotes Lisa miller and mentions how other facets of the Hindu faith are gaining acceptance by the Western mind..like rebirth and distinction as well as choice of spirituality over religion..something which marginalizes the Church.
He lays emphasis and that was really significant ..that this notion of being the only path is the seed of fundamentalism..this gives birth to Semitism in its negative sense...when the Christian mind gets Hinduised will synthesis and consequentially peace evolve..
Gurumurthy also addreses the criticism of the evolution of Hindutva in the 90s as a form of Semitism within the Hindu religion.
In my opinion the rise of Hindutva is more of a reactionary nationalism in the face of an increasing threat to our religion and culture from policy-makes, media and of course Western influences.An organised method to demean and destroy our cultural pride and heritage has provoked people..rather awakened people..to develop this sense of oneness and cannot be confused with Semitism..which inherently looks down on the other faith.
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