The following I wrote on 06/03/2013 when I was reading the above response again to post on my blog. —db
As an Indian, I am very proud of our civilization. We often say that while other great civilizations of the world disappeared, only our civilization is still thriving. But when I was meditating on this subject this morning, I realized that this pride too comes only in comparison with others. No one can deny the fact that our Hindu identity is possible only by creating ‘the Other,’ as we never had this identity as Hindu as our own. But this pride in our civilization also highlights the unrecognized sad fact that so many other people groups in our land had to pay a very high cost for it. However, there is hardly any recognition of this in our tall claims about the glory of our civilization. Gandhiji, though a humble man, also glorified the greatness of our civilization only by comparing it with Western Civilization (see Hindu Swaraj in Collected Works of Gandhiji, Vol. 10, pp. 246-315). At the same time it should be recognized that he equally fought for the rights of such people till the end of his life. In fact, sometimes when I think of all the atrocities done in the name of caste and untouchability in India, it should make us feel more ashamed than proud of our civilization based on other merits.
But in this process of glorifying our Hindu/Indian civilization, what Right Wing Fundamentalism (call it cultural nationalism, religious nationalism, or political nationalism) tries to create is hatred not only among (religious) minorities but also among a vast section of non-upper-caste people. This pride in our civilization, instead of making us more humble, creates a sense of humiliation and shame for a right-thinking Indian. I don’t think that in the past, the greatness of our civilization ever created any kind of hate among various people groups—though ‘exclusion’ of others for religious purity existed and still exists. However, the current Right Wing Fundamentalism not only creates some kind of hate among ‘the Other’—which it has created for its purpose, but also some kind of aversion among the vast majority of Indians who belong to mainstream society about such Fundamentalism.
I was comparing this with the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Bhagavan Muktinath, which came with humbleness, self-sacrifice, and love. Of course, we find in the gospels records of some exclusion of ‘the Other’ like Samaritans and seeking only the ‘lost sheep,’ the Jews. But a careful reading of them within the given context will show that they were said by the Lord more to challenge and remind the Jews of the privilege they once had because of their election, rather than an attempt to create some kind of ‘the Other’ to have a unique identity. In fact, through His life and teachings, the Lord showed that He came to serve everyone and not exclusively the Jews. Though Christianity, when it became Christendom, failed miserably, yet the Kingdom of God in its nature still remains uncontaminated, keeping its originality appealing to all.
And people like us, who are proud to call ourselves Hindus/Indians, yet by becoming members of that Kingdom of God inaugurated by Bhagavan Muktinath, need to do the prayaschitta for the crimes done against our own vast people groups who paid the cost for our glory. Our pride comes with remorse and not with any hate against anyone—including the Right Wing Fundamentalists.
Of course, the counter-argument by Right-Wing politics globally is: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. How long….. and how far…. can we accommodate the needs of ‘the Other’ when they receive special treatment in our land, provided by our own Constitution at our cost? This is a genuine question for which I don’t have an answer. This social question is now being addressed through political means, which can be manipulated by both sides—minority or majority. The former may leverage their numerical strength, while the latter may exploit the special privileges and rights they receive due to their minority status. However, the response of the Kingdom of God is: Seventy times Seven.
DB. April 6, 2013. Gurukulam.
The following I wrote on 06/03/2013 when I was reading the above response again to post on my blog. —db
As an Indian, I am very proud of our civilization. We often say that while other great civilizations of the world disappeared, only our civilization is still thriving. But when I was meditating on this subject this morning, I realized that this pride too comes only in comparison with others. No one can deny the fact that our Hindu identity is possible only by creating ‘the Other,’ as we never had this identity as Hindu as our own. But this pride in our civilization also highlights the unrecognized sad fact that so many other people groups in our land had to pay a very high cost for it. However, there is hardly any recognition of this in our tall claims about the glory of our civilization. Gandhiji, though a humble man, also glorified the greatness of our civilization only by comparing it with Western Civilization (see Hindu Swaraj in Collected Works of Gandhiji, Vol. 10, pp. 246-315). At the same time it should be recognized that he equally fought for the rights of such people till the end of his life. In fact, sometimes when I think of all the atrocities done in the name of caste and untouchability in India, it should make us feel more ashamed than proud of our civilization based on other merits.
But in this process of glorifying our Hindu/Indian civilization, what Right Wing Fundamentalism (call it cultural nationalism, religious nationalism, or political nationalism) tries to create is hatred not only among (religious) minorities but also among a vast section of non-upper-caste people. This pride in our civilization, instead of making us more humble, creates a sense of humiliation and shame for a right-thinking Indian. I don’t think that in the past, the greatness of our civilization ever created any kind of hate among various people groups—though ‘exclusion’ of others for religious purity existed and still exists. However, the current Right Wing Fundamentalism not only creates some kind of hate among ‘the Other’—which it has created for its purpose, but also some kind of aversion among the vast majority of Indians who belong to mainstream society about such Fundamentalism.
I was comparing this with the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Bhagavan Muktinath, which came with humbleness, self-sacrifice, and love. Of course, we find in the gospels records of some exclusion of ‘the Other’ like Samaritans and seeking only the ‘lost sheep,’ the Jews. But a careful reading of them within the given context will show that they were said by the Lord more to challenge and remind the Jews of the privilege they once had because of their election, rather than an attempt to create some kind of ‘the Other’ to have a unique identity. In fact, through His life and teachings, the Lord showed that He came to serve everyone and not exclusively the Jews. Though Christianity, when it became Christendom, failed miserably, yet the Kingdom of God in its nature still remains uncontaminated, keeping its originality appealing to all.
And people like us, who are proud to call ourselves Hindus/Indians, yet by becoming members of that Kingdom of God inaugurated by Bhagavan Muktinath, need to do the prayaschitta for the crimes done against our own vast people groups who paid the cost for our glory. Our pride comes with remorse and not with any hate against anyone—including the Right Wing Fundamentalists.
Of course, the counter-argument by Right-Wing politics globally is: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. How long….. and how far…. can we accommodate the needs of ‘the Other’ when they receive special treatment in our land, provided by our own Constitution at our cost? This is a genuine question for which I don’t have an answer. This social question is now being addressed through political means, which can be manipulated by both sides—minority or majority. The former may leverage their numerical strength, while the latter may exploit the special privileges and rights they receive due to their minority status. However, the response of the Kingdom of God is: Seventy times Seven.
DB. April 6, 2013. Gurukulam.
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