Dharma, Deities and Destruction

Abrahamic religions destroyed pagan temples in Europe and Arabia, just like they did in India.  Murthies were broken or desecrated.  But unlike in the West and Arabia, Hindu Dharma continued but kept a low profile for hundreds of years. What made the difference?

Our deities aren't just images.  There's divinity behind an installed deity.  The form is a physical representation of the underlying divinity.  So, were the deities elsewhere. The difference is - here their divinity is rooted in Dharma.

We have many local deities that established dharma - some were explicitly called Dharmasastas.  This Dharma represents the connectedness and unending nature of creation.  The destruction of evil or the adharmic is just one part of the Dharma.  The fiery mother goddess who protects, and the angry devtaa who settled after burning a city are all part of this Dharma.

That Dharma continues to exist in the culture and people's hearts - not as an ideology but as an eternal truth. When the time is right, the deities spring from the same Dharma. 

Elites without a connection to our roots fail to see this. Their sense of righteousness comes from Western ideologies.  They see a deity as an image of a historical figure or an outcome of the sculptor's creativity.  They fail to see the innate Dharma the deity represents. The word 'faith' is another Western concept when a rational explanation is impossible.  

Unlike Hindu deities, Abrahamic symbols lack the breadth and depth of Dharma.  Islam deifies the holy book.  An uneducated Muslim will have "faith" that the book is holy. Beyond that, there is no intrinsic value it represents.  The image of Jesus is a good representation of his teachings; but is unidimensional. Can there be an angry or a playful Jesus? But that is not a problem.  Christianity focuses too much on the historicity of the character Jesus.  Attempts to prove that Jesus did not exist, are seen as anti-Christian.  A Hindu does not give much importance when a political leader questions the historicity of Rama.

Because, to a Hindu, Rama vigraha represents the qualities of Rama - the same Dharma that resides in some corner of the devotee's heart.  The deities and their temples are also important to the devotee as they keep reminding him of the forgotten Dharma.  And when the temples are destroyed, Dharma will ensure they are rebuilt at the right time.

My Translations

ராஜராஜ சோழன்

மக்மோஹன் கோடு

இஸ்லாமியப் படையெடுப்புகள்

Six Degrees of Seperation

Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. 

I guess Modiji is at most a third connection to most Indians. Someone you know or somone your friend/family knows must have seen him. In Trichy, an auto driver, a poor Brahmin who comes for Brahmanartham, a cab driver in Vazhavandhan Kottai know somone who had met/ seen him in close quarters or part of a small group that got to meet him. This was impossible until a decade ago.

This is possibile because, as a PM, Modi must have attended maximum number of events outside of Delhi.  His aggressive campaigns  and the organisational connect BJP/RSS has with the people makes him the most connected world leader. 

It is good to see Annamalai using this approach in reaching out to the people. Again, the organisational support he gets to achive this is phenomenal.  

But the connection doesn't stay just as a contact, but a slightly stronger connection is built due to the way the leaders interact with the people. Both the leaders don't meet people as a formality, but try to connect with them on a topic that's close to the other person. They listen to the common man or a Karyakarta and respond. The common man feels he's closer to the leader and that gets conveyed to his contacts. 

Their public speeches give an impression that their communication is one way.  But we do see that they have already connected with the audience.

Other aspiring leaders have a thing or two to learn from these two.

Yes, we don't stop at 3. 40,000 is the goal

After that prana pratishta of Rama Janmabhoomi temple, J Saideepak made a statement on primetime TV that Hindus should reclaim the 40,000-odd temples usurped by the Islamists.  

Both @Vishnu_Jain1 and I are not just looking at Kashi and Mathura; we are looking at 40000 sites; and no third party professing to represent Hindus can make any concession on behalf of those who want to reclaim these sites: @jsaideepak

Undaunted. Unflinching. Unshakable. pic.twitter.com/90720ZpO8o

— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) January 30, 2024

As expected, a few elite Muslims argued against it that it would keep the country in a threatening confrontational mode.

In complete disagreement with this, it will keep the nation state of India in a 24/7 threatening confrontational mode. https://t.co/xSAFVKGZKX

— Khalid Baig (@KhalidBaig85) January 30, 2024

Then the neo Hindutvavaadis and the sundry Savarkarite began attacking Saideepak and Anand Ranganathan.  They stand for Hindu unity and economic development.   They are less concerned about the traditions - rather they use the term 'trad' derogatorily to refer to the traditionalists.   They are probably afraid of differences within the Hindu communities or the impact of such a statement on international relations.  There is a need to explain Saideepak to the opposing group.

40,000-odd temples were usurped by force, not by negotiating with the erstwhile Hindu rules or even the dharmakartas.  The currency that helped in the act was obviously the military strength and political power of the Muslim rules.  Centuries have elapsed since then.  We have a legal system, a constitution, and a more or less functioning law and order machinery.  These were jokes in the first 60 years of Indian democracy.  The legal system was constantly influenced by the ruling government, the constitution was violated at the drop of a hat; law and order used to disappear when there were riots.  No rioter was apprehended or punished till 2002.  No government officials were pulled up for failing to act.  

It has not changed altogether since 2014, but there are signs that law and order could be enforced; the judiciary can be independent; and the Constitution is respected.  We may have to go a long way.  But we have to improve these in the coming years.  The point here is - confrontation expressed as street fights is no more easy.  Average Muslims must understand this.  

Saideepak's statement gives a fair chance to Muslims - to fight the cases in the courts of law.  They have equal access to the judiciary, unlike the unfortunate Hindus during the Mughal and other Islamic periods.  But I think his statement is directed more towards Hindus - to wake them up and not be content with electoral wins.  There is work to be done on the civilizational side.  

An average "educated" Hindu is at best, indifferent towards his tradition.  In most cases, he hates his tradition of castes and rituals.  Saideepak's stance on the Sabarimala issue was an eye-opener for most Hindus.  I, as an indifferent Hindu began talking about the Sampradaya to my son who was looking at the issue as a liberal Hindu.  There is a need to convert the hater to at least the indifferent level and the indifferent to an activist.  By activist, I mean someone knowledgeable about his tradition, and has a balanced view of castes, rituals, and customs.  We need to elevate Hindus from being Whatsapp-message-forwarding uncles and aunties.  More Hindus need to create more good quality content; to start with, they should be able to engage with opposing views within the family on topics like rituals and customs.  Or they can start with knowing the temples that must be reclaimed near their homes; read about their history, look for documentary proofs of demolition or illegal occupation, and so on. 

At a political level, we need to have goals.  Advaniji set the goal of one temple, Modiji influenced the masses to set the goal of 3 and Saideepak is setting the goal for 40,000.  Without such goals, the energy of the political Hindu will be wasted in hairsplitting conversations on economic policies and election strategies.

It might take us a hundred years to win back the 40,000 temples.  Most of us would have been gone by then.  But having such a goal is important for the Hindus.  One may disagree with Saideepak on the direction in which he wants Hindus to proceed; express that disagreement, and be civil about it.  Abusing him or ridiculing his cause would in no way help the Hindu agenda.

Rama for the uprooted and deracinated

In my earlier blog, I equated the Ramayana with the Bible and the Quran. But there is a big difference that I need to elaborate on. Unlike the Bible or Quran, Ramayana's core is not an ideology but a narration of the life of Rama.

The immediate response from the deracinated would be - "How can you believe it really happened? There are unbelievable events narrated in it." There is no point in explaining to them that it is an Itihasa - 'It happened thus.'

So, my answer is - the core of Ramayana could have happened. What is this core?

There was this Prince Rama, son of Dasaratha. His step-brothers were Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrugna. He was exiled because his father had to honor the promise he made to one of the queens - Kaikeyi. Rama, with his wife Seetha and step-brother Lakshmana, left for the forest. They lived a life of a wanderer with no comforts. Seetha was kidnapped by Ravana, a powerful king of Lanka. Rama earned the trust and friendship of Sugreeva by killing Sugreeva's brother Vali. With the help of Sugreeva's army and a brilliant and strong minister Hanuman, Rama approached Lanka. Ravana's brother Vibhishana left him and joined Rama's side. The army reached Lanka and fought with Ravana's army. Finally, Rama killed Ravana, made Vibhishana, the king of Lanka, and got Seetha back. 

I have trimmed the beautiful embellishments of Ramayana to give just the core. What makes Rama the Hero or God to be worshipped for millennia and Ramayana an epic narrated for millennia?

• Rama was already the darling of the king and the citizenry. Dasaratha or Rama could have ordered the killing or the arrest of Kaikeyi. That would have removed the only block between Rama and the kingdom. They both chose to honor the promise made by Dasaratha to his wife. Even in these days and times, I have seen individuals making extraordinary efforts to honor promises made - not just by them but also by their family members.
• Rama sacrificed his kingdom to honor the promise made by his father. Seetha and Lakshmana were no less Heroic. They chose to sacrifice the comforts of the palace to follow Rama and exhibited their commitment and loyalty to Rama. Bharata equally exhibited his highest values by sacrificing the position of the king but undertook the administration as his duty. 
• In the fourteen years in the forest and the battlefield, Rama and Lakshmana exhibited the courage of true warriors. However, their courage is evident in their decision to leave the comforts and live a life of hardship.
• Rama killed Vali and won the friendship of Sugreeva. But Vali was more powerful. He could have been a better help than Sugreeva. That's where we see Rama's sense of justice. Again, after the killing of Ravana, Rama could have held the prosperous Lanka for himself. But he chose to serve justice by anointing Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.  

Rama and other characters held themselves to such a high standard. Their values are still relevant and hold families, communities, and countries together. That is why Rama is still a Hero and Ramayana is still read and listened to.

If the values highlighted by Ramayana are so inspirational, if it has contributed to the welfare of families, societies, and countries, does it matter if Ramayana really happened or not?  

RJM - Now, Dharma can take on the Abrahamic Faiths

 “Rama was born in the Nakshatra Punarvasu - पुनर्वसु implies "the two restorers of goods".  Rama lost his kingdom and his wife.  His story is all about their restoration.” said the Upanyasaka. This time, He got his temple restored with the help of his Sainiks through righteous methods for this day and age.

As a Hindu, it was not easy to explain Hinduism as a religion or way of life to a Westerner.  An average Westerner could understand religion only through the prism of Abrahamic faiths.  It needs a God (Jehovah or Allah), a Prophet (Jesus, Mohammad), a holy book, and of course an organization (Church, Caliphate, and its offshoots).  The dilemma for a Hindu, especially a reasonably knowledgeable Hindu is - how can you summarize various philosophies, deities, practices, and the Hindu community into a simple template!

I guess this was the reason for the continuous spread of Abrahamic faiths into pagan communities.  (Let’s set aside the conversion by sword for the sake of this article.)  Even in impoverished, isolated Hindu communities that had lost touch with their deities, a simple message of a God through a preacher was sufficient to convert them to Christianity.  (Let’s set aside the conversion by coaxing with incentives.)  

I see the events of January 2024 as the restoration of a dharmic order to counter the Adharmic Abrahamic faiths.  If we can present a simple religion along the lines of Abrahamic faiths, the fight will be more or less on equal terms.  A nimble horse is to be countered with another nimble horse - not an army of elephants.

We have the God - Rama, the holy book - Ramayana.  We had many prophets and saints.  None was as successful as Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who built a reasonably successful organization and took Rama and Krishna to the Westerners and intellectual Hindus.  Swami and the saints before him used Bhakti.  Rama wasn't a saint, but a warrior.  We need more practical aspects of life to spread the message of Rama.  Rama’s honor, sacrifice, courage, justice, and duty are relevant to a practical man even today.

Then who would be the Prophet of Rama who can spread the message of honor, sacrifice, courage, justice, and duty?  Who else but Shri Narendra Modiji. With his dedicated service to the nation, he lives the life of a true Rama Bhakt.

For Mohammed and Jesus, the organizations were created a few decades after them.  But, Modiji grew with the Sangh Parivar.  BJP - the election fighting machine is the modern version of an army of new converts of Islam in 7th century Arabia. VHP and RSS form the religious, and social arms of the organization.

With the Prana Pratishtapana of Shri Ram Lallaa, Hindus have recorded their first success against Abrahamic forces. The simple messages of Rama can clear the ghettos filled with negativity, anger, and victimhood.  The day is not far off when the Sangh Parivar does a massive Ghar Wapsi.  It has everything that is required to achieve it. 

Sacred to Profane - A path to destruction

 Absence of sacredness is a precursor to self-destruction.  

Applies to individuals, families and communities.

First, how does an object or a process acquire sacredness?  

At an individual level, one treats something as sacred because of an inner experience.  At a higher state of consciousness, when it transcends time, one discovers that an object or a process means much more than its physical state.  Since this discovery happened when time was not a factor, he believes the physical entity or process would continue to give that experience.  So, he begins treating it sacred.  It doesn't do anything special other than its intended purpose, but by treating it as holy, man can experience uplifting emotions.  It does, by coming to his aid by comforting him through the ups and downs of his life.  

Good habits, value systems, and rituals with their sacredness passed on across generations help keep families together.  Physical objects like portraits of deities, elders, and objects passed on for generations evoke an emotion that makes people value the institution called family.  They evoke emotions that are valuable for the family.  The same can be extended to the societies as well.  There, the scale of sacred things changes as societies are made of families.

Religion is vital in keeping them together with its sacred icons and systems.  The sense of sacredness arises at a higher consciousness and religions do make use of them at a practical level.  Then sacred things and religions enrich each other.

To a Hindu, there are innumerable sacred things, from cows to rituals to symbols, books, and tools. For example, with a sense of gratitude towards the cow, a Hindu venerates it.  It is not that someone declares that the cow is holy; instead, individuals experience gratitude toward the cow and then it is treated as holy.  A society that doesn't have such noble experiences would have fewer sacred things.  Camels in Arabia are almost as useful as the cows in India, but camels are not treated as holy.  

What happens when there is an absence of sacredness?

The two materialistic ideologies of communism and capitalism have no room for holiness.  We have seen how they destroyed the environment, families, societies, and individuals.  We can simply look around to see the effects of this profanity.  Look at the conditions of families in irreligious societies. And look at the lives of people in prisons and mental asylums.  

Religions and sacred things enrich each other.  But in Islam, there are very few sacred items - like the Quran, Mecca, the pilgrimage, and the act of prayer.  It does not allow designating anything else as sacred.  That makes them treat everything else as unholy and gives them the license to destroy them.  On the contrary, a Hindu with his innumerable sacred things attempts to give the same kind of respect to other religions' sacred icons. You can't find a Hindu celebrating the burning of the Quran; because to him, every book is sacred. 

Where are we heading?

Due to wokeism or plain laziness, we, the midde-upper-middle-class Hindus are losing the sense of sacredness.  Weddings and other rituals are treated as just events to celebrate and photo ops.  There is hardly any respect for sacredness in the way rituals are done.  Temples are considered places of tourism; we don't even want to follow the rules prescribed for each temple.  Religious marks like Bindi, Namam, and Vibhuthi are becoming rare.  Most Jathis have abandoned their sacred threads; more married women feel liberated without their mangal sutra.  So, at an individual and family level, we are heading towards destruction.  The society will follow.

A Tirtha yatra is supposed to connect people as the pilgrim travels the lengths and breadths of this country.  With the Tirthas destroyed and temples becoming tourist places, what remains of these pilgrimages?  In the guise of development, water bodies and forests which were considered sacred by the ancients are being developed into concrete structures.  There is nothing wrong with development if it benefits people in the material world, but losing sacred things will destroy the binding forces in society.  

If that's what we want, that's what we will get.