“A Hindu is a dvij or a ‘twice born’. He is born once when he enters this world from his mother’s womb and the second time when he learns the Gayatri Mantr during his Upnayan Sanskar ceremony. ‘Upnayan’ refers to the opening of the other eye. The eye of knowledge or awareness. The knowledge of this world and the other one too. So a Hindu is supposed to be possessed of the knowledge that emancipates him from a mere human to a being of higher spiritual and worldly knowledge. This is what ‘separates’ him from other people, who live in this world of sin and materialistic pleasures, for the mere sake of survival and gaining worldly pleasures. Thus, a Hindu is above and beyond other normal humans who live in this world.” said the Guruji during my Upnayan Sanskar ceremony. He then pocketed a cool 20k from my father and left at the completion of the ceremony. So much for being an emancipated Hindu, who is beyond worldly pleasures. Such was the day when I became a Hindu.
The ceremony above initiated me into my religion of birth. I have always wondered as to why man felt the need to have religion. It surely must have been due to the social disorder & hostility prevalent in those times. In the desperation to control social behavior, he must have set out rules which he pretended were pre-ordained by the Supreme Being himself. This he did to ensure fear and consequent compliance of the same. Fear. It ought to be fear. The reason of compliance. There! Mystery solved. The reason of birth of religion. Fear!! And the reason for its involuntary following too. This has been so for millennia. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism. These and all other major religions in the world teach, amongst other things, the consequences of deviance from norms and codes set by them. They teach in the language of fear. Hell, Narak, Dozakh, Underverse, Necropolis. The fear of being subjected to these underworlds ensured the compliance & following of these religions certain. The worst part. We have been following such religions! Unquestionably. And that is our biggest mistake.
Every religion brags incoherently about tolerance and respect for one another. We constantly hear religious leaders going on and on about respecting one another religions and beliefs. We can read innumerable texts discoursing on the topic of how world peace is heavily dependent on tolerance amongst followers of different religions. But the very fact that the world is not at peace is the very proof that makes us realize that we, the citizens of our respective countries, do not respect one another or one another’s religions and beliefs. Jews hate Palestinians. Indians hate Pakistanis. Chechens hate Russians. South Koreans hate North Koreans. Tamils hate Sinhalese. Afghans hate Americans. Iraqis hate Americans. Vietnamese hate Americans. And American hate everyone who hates them. Move aside religion. This is war of hatred. And greed. Greed for more land (read, area of dominance) and resources (read, non-renewable sources). And this very war has engulfed the world since times immemorial. Leading to chaos. Leading to need for order. Leading to need for tools to do that. And ultimately, leading to the creation of religion. So this vicious circle has been running constantly and is amply fueled by our ignorance and lackadaisical attitude of not caring enough. Our tolerance levels are down to zero and our tempers can be set soaring even by the slightest of provocations. Why did China post soldiers on their side or Arunanchal border? Why is Iran conducting nuclear tests? Why are Iraq and Korea developing WMDs? Why are Tamil demanding a separate state? Why are Afghans sheltering Osama? Why aren’t Pakistanis coming clean about their allegiance in the war on terror? Why are Indians unable to defend their cities against any terrorist attacks? We are angry about anything and everything. And man! Do we want to express our anger or what! And the way we do it. ‘Awe inspiring’. Babri Masjid. 1947 riots. Munich Olympic massacre. Russian theatre hostage drama. 9/11 USA. 7/7 London. 26/11 Mumbai. 13th December Delhi. Gulf wars. Two world wars. Examples abound, we won’t leave any opportunity of showcasing our displeasure of someone else’s beliefs. Justified or not, their beliefs are ruthlessly pushed, shoved and crushed by us.
Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. This Aristotelian adage holds true in the contemporary world as well. A religion is regarded powerful by the factor of number of its followers. As the followers increase, so does the area of dominance of the religion alongwith the egos of its principle propounders/teachers. These ‘God men’ then denounce any path to proposed salvation other than theirs. This leads to despicable feelings towards other propounded beliefs and thoughts, which in turn leads to their public disapproval. This provokes retaliation and animosity. Egged on by the desire to obtain higher public fellowship, increased geographical dominance and better monetary reserves, the animosity soon turns into open violence against followers of the opposite faction. From the ‘Holy’ Crusades to 26/11, Earth has witnessed numerous instances of people fighting over religions. Is a set of belief really worth fighting over? Is spilling innocent blood over a holy book justified? What is the relevance of a God that teaches destruction of love and innocence? Did Bible/Christ really propose Crusades/Witch hunting? Did Koran/Allah/Mohammad really support Jihad in its present form? Did Bhagvat Gita/Ram/Krishan truly inspire Babri Masjid debacle or the Godhra riots? Does Torah really propound killing of Palestinians?
The historians divided time into two parts. B.C. and A.D. But in September, 2001, we created another time division called 9/11. And the world has been divided eversince. Not that it was united prior to that. Sikhs did away with their beads and turbans. Muslim women gave up hijabs. South-East Asians, especially Muslims, were made to suffer the burnt of American fury and suspicion. Humiliation at the hands of the same Mike, Sam and George (read, Americans) who some years later went on to choose an Afro-American man of Muslim descent as the POTUS (Google it, dearies). Take India for example. Here is a country ravished by fundamentalism for millennia. Plundered and looted by followers of different religions for centuries, this nation has withstood numerous religious zealots and uncountable communal atrocities on innocent men & women. From Kashmir to ‘Tamil Eelam’. From Godhra to ‘Gorkhaland’. Indians have fought over religions like chicken fight for the last worm. And the end result. A divided nation. Still, a nation where a Christian widow of a deceased Hindu leader, steps aside to allow a Sikh to take oath of premiership of the nation from a Muslim commander-in-chief. But nevertheless a nation where a whole community is pushed to the verge of extinction in Delhi just because one of its members happens to kill the Iron Lady of India (Google again!), who was the then PM of India. Bullshit!
Islam. The religion of peace and tolerance. Its followers, Musalmaans. Who is a Musalmaan? One who believes that none but Allah is the one true God and reads His Holy Koran, as given to mankind by His prophet, Mohammad. I disagree. A Musalmaan would be someone who has ‘Musalam Imaan’ or unshakeable belief. And that belief has to be based on the tenets of humanity, compassion, peace and tolerance as propounded by Islam. Like Haj, Jihaad is also a holy duty as per Koran. But what is Jihaad? The destruction of Kaafir! Who is a Kaafir? The infidel who doesn’t believe in Allah as the one and only God. Disagree again. A Kaafir ought to be an atheist who does not believe in the existence and supremacy of the Almighty, not necessarily Allah. And his destruction signifies his emancipation by destruction of the atheist in him and opening his mind to the world of spiritual and religious knowledge. This is what the interpretation of the word Jihaad ought to have been. Not 9/11s, Nairobi bombings, 7/7 London, etc. Islam is the best religion in the world. But it also is the most misinterpreted religion. That is why not every Muslim is a terrorist. But most of the terrorists are Muslims. Sad but true!
Not to be deterred, Hindus aren’t far behind. The Gita, Upnishads, Purans, Jataks. None teach us to do what we did at Babri Masjid. Neither do they teach the carnage at Godhra. Neither were the post 1993 riots justified. Nor were the attacks on Sikhs in 1984. The fundamental Hindu is the progenitor of the Hindu terror. They take pride in their Babri, Malegaon and Godhra. These are the emancipated beings, who are supposed to have undergone the Upnayan, read the Vedas & Gita and swear by Gandhi’s Ahinsa doctrine. As the majority populace, they consider India as their personal fiefdom and abolish social ideas of Valentine’s and Friendship Day. The Hindu brigades (RSS, Bajrang Dal, Sri Ram Sena, MNS, etc.) have simply turned into politico-religious zealots who love to rampage across the country twice a year to gain political mileage and 15 mins of fame of national television. Shame on such Hinduism. Shame!!
India was once a golden land of peace and tolerance. All individuals, irrespective of their faith and beliefs, existed in harmony. Society and its members willingly accepted every religion with open arms & hearts. Why did we drift away from those values? Why the sea change in the acceptance of different faiths of different individuals? Why such utter disregard for the ancient proverb of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”? Why such animosity with your neighbor just because he sees God in a different form than you? Why such hatred towards one another just because we are Khanna, Khan, Kirsten or Khatri? Why raise eyebrows at Sam, Sameer, Sukhwinder or Sajid? Why cant we just live in peace? Why can’t we survive as Indians? Why can’t we just love and respect each other for what we are and what we believe in? Wonder if these questions will ever be answered in the positive sense!! I so wish my name was Khan. I would have definitely not been a terrorist. Such a future will come. One day. Till, then ladies and gentlemen, this is the State of Our Nation. Signing off... For now…
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