Let us acknowledge that the greatest
advantage of Hinduism is that it has no conversion/ re-conversion rituals
whatsoever — one is free to worship any god/ gods/ or none at all and follow
any philosophy or belief one fancies. Religion for a Hindu is a path to the
final destination of Moksha/ Mukti (मोक्ष/ मुक्ति) i.e. the
Liberation of Self or Liberation of Soul from the endless birth-rebirth of the
soul. This is inherently the karmic philosophy of the religion: you will
reap what you sow. In many ways, this
concept of karma is a built in feature of almost all religions. You do the right thing and you win a reward
and when you do a wrong thing and get punished for it or have to atone for it. It seems so very logical!
Hinduism conceives the whole world as a
single family - “vasudhaiva kutumbakam” (वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम) and
therefore it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct
religions which would imply a division of identity. Hence, Hinduism is devoid
of the concepts of apostasy, heresy and blasphemy. Some academics and many practitioners refer
to Hinduism using the Sanskrit phrase “Sanatan Dharma” (सनातन धर्म), meaning
"the eternal law", or the "eternal way".
Who is a Hindu?
But let us first understand who exactly is
a Hindu. This term originates from the
Old Persian word Hindu which in turn was derived from Indus. The word Hindu stems from the Sanskrit word
Sindhu, which was the historical local term for the Indus River Indus ". “Hindustan ”
was originally a Persian word that meant "Land of the Hindus" and
came into use around 13 century. Around this same period of history the term
“Hindu” was used to distinguish ‘Vedic People’ from Yavanas (Greeks) and
Mlecchas (barbarians/ non-vedic people – i.e. those outside the caste system). The term Hinduism was introduced into the
English language in the 19th century to denote the religious, philosophical,
and cultural traditions native to India
The geographical term Bharat (भारत), is recognized by the Constitution of India as an official name
for the country. Bharat comes from the
mythological figure, Bharata (भरत), which some Indian
scriptures describe as a legendary emperor of ancient India
In summary:
·
Our country is called ‘India
·
Our citizens of India are
called ‘Indians’ in English and ‘Bharatiya’ (भारतीय)
in native language though majority still prefer to use the foreign term ‘Hindu’.
·
Our religion is called ‘Hinduism’
in both English and native language (some prefer to use the term Sanatan
Dharma)
Generally Hindus include followers of
Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, though many of the adherents to such faith may
not accept that they are Hindus. Most
notable among them was Mr BR Ambedkar who attempted to shed his tag of being an
untouchable by embracing Buddhism. What
he did not realize then was that post Independence Buddha would be incorporated
among the 10 avatars (dasavatar) of Vishnu.
When one comes to think of it, neither Guru Nanak (or the subsequent
Sikh gurus) nor anyone of the 24 Tirthankara's from Jainism got that advantage.
Hindu vs British & Islamic Morality
Unfortunately many of my Hindu friends are
not very well tuned to their own history and culture and tend to consider the
views of Europeans (Max Müller, George Frederick William Thibaut, Sister
Nivedita, to name a few) as fundamental truths about Hinduism. The views of white men should not come as a
surprise, after all the initial European interaction with the local populace
was largely limited to the then ruling class.
Hence there should be no doubt that the British understanding of Hindu
culture was mainly through their interactions with the Brahmin/ Kshatriya and to
an extent Baniya orthodoxy with whom they had politico-economic transactions.
First the Islamic Rule and subsequently
British Rule brought in a new moral compass to the then sexually liberated
Hindu. Islam introduced Hindus to the
purdah (पर्दा) system – veiling of women, segregation of sexes, and child
marriage (it is part of Shariah). The
British taught Indians the Victorian notion of morality e.g. nudity in any form
is unacceptable, marriage after 18 years for a girl and monogamy are now not
only accepted but legally established though quite the opposite was the
standard norm till a few centuries ago.
Sex was not a taboo topic in the ancient past and the promiscuity of our Hindu gods, goddesses and even venerable
sages was really never considered as a sign of their moral degradation. Recreational sex/ Sex for Spiritual Growth
(Tantric sexual rites) are concepts
found largely in Hinduism. Sex for fun/
recreation was forbidden by both Islam and Christianity. Hence Islam & Christianity considered sex
to be valid only within marriage and that too for procreation purpose. On the other hand, sex was celebrated and
even worshiped – whether in the form of the worship of the Shivalingam; or the
Androgynous God - the half man/ half woman avatar of Shiva as Ardhanarishvara
or Shiva’s sexual union with Vishnu (as “Mohini”, the only female avatar of
Vishnu) resulting in the birth of “Ayyappan”, etc.
If we consider the
reactions of today’s current right wing Hindu groups to certain painters, films
and western festivals one would think Hindus thought otherwise. Despite this, our
Hindu sensibility is embedded to deeply and therefore we are more forgiving of
sexual transgressions of our leaders and artists than would be possible among
the West. Consider the easy acceptance
of a porn star (Sunny Leone) as a main stream Bollywood artist in India
Hindu & Caste are inextricably
linked
One thing that today’s Hindu do not readily
or openly acknowledge is that that we Indians are a deeply divided society...
not just superficially by language or religion but also by caste (varana) and
sub-castes (jati). Testimony to this is
the lack of 'social anger' on reports on Khap Panchayats and a very low
acceptance of inter-caste marriages.
We must remember that anyone outside of the
four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras) was termed as an
untouchable (or the currently acceptable term for Dalit is SC/ ST[1]). This definition includes all foreigners (i.e.
anyone who not a Bharatiya) since they did not and could not belong to any
caste as prescribed in Manusmriti (मनुस्मृति - Laws of Manu).
In the good old days (say not as far back as 500 years ago) no respectable
(euphemism for high caste) Hindu would travel overseas since he/she would most
likely be treated as untouchable (a-varana or Panchama or achoot or the new
pejorative Dalit) on return. This was
because there was no way of ascertaining that the such person was able to
ensure continued purity of his/ her caste tenets in matters of food, clothing,
sex and other such day to day matters. Purity of caste often demanded that not even
the shadow of an untouchable should fall on the high-caste.
Even today in rural India
Conversion within Hinduism - Past
Hindus often feel smug satisfaction in the
erroneous belief that Hinduism was never propagated by violent means like Islam
or by material allure as done by Christian missionaries. Why do I say erroneous? Here is a short history where Hindus did
convert one another whether by influence or by force.
Conversion
of Jains to Shaivism:
Around the 8th century CE, Hindu
philosophers Kumarila Bhatta and Adi Shankara tried to restore the orthodox
Vedic religion, and Shaivite singers introduced Jains to Shaivism. Under these
influences, Jain kings became Shaivite. Sundara, a Pandaya ruler, is known to
have persecuted about eight thousand Jain monks who refused to convert along
with him (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurai_massacre). During the 11th century Brahmana Basava, a
minister to the Jain king Bijjala, succeeded in converting numerous Jains to
the Lingayata, a Shaivite sect hostile to Jains. They destroyed various temples
belonging to Jains and adapted them to their use.
Conversion
of Jains to Vishnuism:
Vishnuism appeared around the same time as
Shaivism; the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana, also known as Bittideva, became a
follower of Vishnu under the influence of Ramanuja. It is said that he ordered
the Jains to be thrown in an oil mill and crushed if they did not convert.
Events such as these resulted in the growth of Hinduism to the detriment of
Jainism. Jains compromised by following Hindu rituals and customs and invoking
Hindu deities in Jain literature
Conversion of Buddhists to Hinduism:
Historian S. R. Goyal opines that the
decline of Buddhism in India Allahabad
These examples of conversion within
Hinduism were largely restricted to the period when Buddhism and Jainism
flourish between 100 BCE and 500 CE and died out once Jainism was restricted to
few belts and Buddhism was largely banished overseas.
Conversion in Hinduism - Present
Hindu revival and interest in protecting
its own, more or less coincided with the introduction of the present modern egalitarian
form of Indian education system which is largely a gift of the British. Prior to this formal education was restricted
only to the upper castes.
Thought 1 – Understanding Vasudhaiva
kutumbakam & Sarva Dharma Sambhava:
Now consider two concepts within Hinduism
that are considered key to the faith:
·
“Vasudhaiva kutumbakam” meaning
the whole world is one single family.
·
“Sarva Dharma Sambhava”, which
literally means that all dharma (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each
other. This statement is also taken as meaning "all religions are the
same" - that all religions are merely different paths to God or the same
spiritual goal of moksha.
If these two statements are accepted as
truisms within Hinduism, then it implies that everyone in this world is Hindu
(as we all belong to one single family) and the various paths that we follow
all lead us to the same spiritual goal of salvation/ moksha. Then Hinduism clearly negates the need to
convert to achieve one’s spiritual goal.
Thought 2 – Understanding Sanatan
Dharma:
Many Hindu practitioners refer to Hinduism
using the Sanskrit phrase “Sanatan Dharma”, meaning "the eternal
law", or the "eternal way".
This definition makes Hinduism to be inclusive of a wide spectrum of
laws and prescriptions of "morality" based on “karma”, “dharma”, and “societal
norms” unlike Christianity or Islam.
Hence once again we need to ask ourselves, if the way or law is eternal
and inclusive, why does it matter to a Hindu, which path another fellow Hindu
follows – believing in a god, in many gods, in no gods, in a god of this world,
in a god in some other world, or even in a god not of Indian origin –
ultimately the goal is salvation/ mukti/ moksha.
Thus it does not matter to Hindus which
“Dharma” they follow as long as they seek “परम ब्राह्मण/ परम आत्मां” i.e. god or “मोक्ष” i.e. “Liberation of the
Self/ Soul”
Thought 3 – Overcoming Caste:
The necessity to maintain caste purity
could be one of the reasons why for many centuries Shankaracharyas never went
beyond the socio-cultural-political boundaries of India
When converting a non-Hindu to Hinduism, we
have also to decide which caste he/ she should be convert into? No one can be a Hindu and be without a caste
denomination! After all being caste-less
is equivalent to being an untouchable – a Dalit – an Achoot. Just imagine, you are recently converted to
Hinduism and then discover the awful reality that you are now at social order
that is lower than that of a Shudra? You
now have the unenviable task of climbing up the Hindu social ladder which can
only gained by series of births-rebirths.
Does it then make sense to convert to
Hinduism? The answer is self evident.
One interesting question that any true
blooded Hindu must ask – why almost all neo-Hindu groups try to propagate
Hinduism only in white-man’s country?
Hindu Renaissance
Interestingly much of the converts to Islam
and Christianity from Hinduism came from the lower castes/ sub-caste largely as
a response to rejection of their lowly status among Hindus and perceived
benefits and treatment as social co-equals among the followers of these
religions.
Post Independence
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted by the Parliament of India, to prevent
atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has definitely
contributed to reduction of overt atrocities against Dalits.
Greater job opportunities in metros and
large cities have attracted people of all castes to congregate. Economic necessity has forced people to live
in multi-story buildings. People are now no longer finding it taboo to stay
with a neighbour who till 50 years ago would have avoided. Greater access to education, spiritual and
political philosophy via internet; easier anonymity available in a city as
compared to a village; and low cost communication via mobile telephony all
contribute to greater mingling of sexes and lowering of caste
distinctions.
With growth in the political fortunes of
the Dalits, many right wing liberal Hindus have realised the need to integrate
the Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes and now even the Other Backward Castes
(OBCs) into the mainstream. However the
response sometimes take on a violent character as can be seen in the murderous attack
on Dr. Graham Stuart Staines or the rape and murder of nuns or the demolition
of Babri Masjid and at other times seeks to reconvert those already
converted. However such efforts to re-conversion
have been restricted to Christians.
Attempting to reconvert Muslims back to Hinduism will have a swift and
violent response – both on the apostates and those sponsoring apostasy.
It may of course take another 3-6
generations before Hindu society becomes more egalitarian which alone would be the
one true way to ensure that its adherents don’t lose faith in the religion to
which they were born.
[1] SC/ ST are an acronym
for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and
the Scheduled Tribes (STs) are two groupings of historically
disadvantaged people that are given express recognition in the Constitution
of India. During the period of British rule in the Indian sub-continent they
were known as the Depressed Classes
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