Self-anointed Middlemen Pose Greater Threat to Hindutva than Gun-toting Jihadi
Divinity never dies. Neither do institutions that form the pillars of
civilisation. Both will survive as long as humanity does. But some
leaders and promoters of religion in the process of advancing their own
commercial or personal interests cause incalculable damage to its
sanctity. If understood and practised in its true spirit, religion does
not teach hatred or advocate violence. It, however, comes under scrutiny
when some followers assume the role of interpreters of faith and become
subjective spinmeisters. Their names are legion—babas, sants, maulanas
and evangelists. They treat faith either as a business enterprise or a
weapon to divide mankind. With people asserting their electoral rights
to choose their rulers, the conflict between religious contracts and the
democratically established system is assuming ominous dimensions. As
the younger generation acquires better education and access to unlimited
sources of both pure and impure information, it is religion and its
accessories that have become the greatest lure. What Marx and Mao
couldn’t do to religious belief, the modern messengers of god have done,
using weapons and anarchy. In India, materialism portrays religion as
the worst enemy of progress and modernity. The real target, however, is
Hinduism, which is the third largest religion of the world.
Last week’s saga of the so-called ‘Sant’ Rampal in which six innocent
cult members met violent deaths reflects the threat which a powerful
religion like Hinduism is facing from its own prophets and followers. As
a result, Rampal is being perceived and projected by non-believers as
one of the symbols of what is wrong with Hinduism and its ambassadors.
His defiance of the state, the judiciary and uncivilised conduct of his
followers were used by atheists and secularists to demolish the very
idea of Hinduism and what it stands for. Horror stories about the
activities in his palatial ashram became lethal arsenal in the hands of
those looking for dynamite to demolish one of the world’s oldest
religions. Until his downfall, Rampal wasn’t projected as the criminal
he is, exploiting the poor and rural lower classes who looked up to him
as a saviour. In truth, he was just another gangster who was using
religion to expand his real estate empire all over north India, all the
while misusing his connections with powerful civil servants and
politicians to expand his vast congregation of the gullible.
Rampal
is not alone. Many pretenders in various parts of the country have been
using caste, community and even a glamorous lifestyle to woo millions
of bhakts. Till date, over a dozen babas like Ram Rahim Singh, Ashutosh
Maharaj, Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal, Amrita Chaitanya, Swami Premananda,
Swami Nithyananda and Asaram have done enough damage to God’s name (read
Sunday Magazine cover story, An Unholy Mess). All of them have much in
common. They are richer than many top corporates, their personal life
more colourful than many famous and infamous movie stars and
politicians. By their avaricious activities, many so-called babas have
added more converts to the army of Hindu baiters than even the good Lord
could have done.
Hinduism, however, is not the only target of the
enemy within. In the 1980s, Sant Bhindranwale used arms to defend his
religious beliefs and encouraged the killing of thousands of innocents.
The Taliban and jihadis are killing people in God’s name and extracting
money and land to establish their own social order and the tyranny of
inhuman warlords. There are numerous examples of Christian evangelists
straying into undesirable adventures in the name of religion. But no
other religion other than Hinduism is under constant attack by either
non-believers or politically motivated intellectuals. They choose to
forget that a pantheon of great and credible social and political
leaders has defined Hinduism as a faith, which believes and practises
inclusiveness and tolerance. Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t a diehard Hindutva
propagandist. Yet, his words are: “If I were asked to define the Hindu
creed, I should simply say: Search after truth through non-violent
means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu.
Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth... Hinduism is the religion
of truth. Truth is God. Denial of God we have known. Denial of truth we
have not known.” Let us go further back into history. In 1893, Swami
Vivekananda, who swept into a relatively newborn country like America
wearing saffron robes that denoted an ancient faith, proclaimed, “I am
proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance
and universal acceptance.” He told his supporters, “Say it with pride,
we are Hindus.”
Unlike most other religions, Hinduism neither has
a specific time of origin nor a specific founder. Fraudulent oracles
like Rampal used this weakness to invent their own bizarre
interpretations. There appears to be strong economic reasons too for
fake religious propagandists to flourish in society. An analysis of the
followers of controversial godmen reveals that they come mostly from
poor backgrounds and are denied unhindered access to healthcare,
education and proper employment. Hence, they find solace in the hawkers
of salvation, peace and good health. The proliferation of deras and
ashrams is the direct outcome of the establishment’s failure to maintain
India’s original character as a welfare state. All instruments of
governance have fallen into the hands of oligarchies. By following
pro-rich policies, they have raised aspirational levels of Indians
living below poverty line. Even the rich who have been denied a share in
the Growth Story turn towards the powerbrokers of God to get access to
the rulers for money, healthcare, jobs and even clean water. Since India
is a country inhabited predominantly by Hindus, it is Hinduism that has
become the roadblock for those who want to divide the nation. Hence,
the self-anointed middlemen of Hinduism pose a much more serious threat
to Hindutva than even gun-toting jihadis.
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com; Follow me on Twitter @PrabhuChawla
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