02-03-2007, 12:53 AM
The recent suggestion by national commission of scheduled castes NOT to extend reservation to dalit christians is a welcome development as it kills the Mischief which this demand is creating among the Hindus especially those who suffer from insecurity.This demand of the Dalit christian network for reservation was more political and inspired by a texan woman.
i want to take this opportunity to enlighten some friends to the speech which Indian nationilst Mr.KT. paul(1876-1931) delivered at the Round Table conference of 1930 wherein he opposed reservation for Indian christians in legislatures on the lines of anglo indian community.He motivated indian christian community towards NATIONALIST THINKING and opposed those who thought on the lines of MINORITYSM,RESERVATION ETC. I also want to highlight the teachings of shri narayan vaman tilak(1862-1919)who opposed western influence in indian churches.his poetry is true reflection of his love for his motherland,marathi and sanskrit.he wrote about motherland
Thrice blessed is they womb, my MOTHERLAND,
Whence mighty rishis,saints and sages sprang!
A christian I, Ywt here none taunteth me,
Nor buffeteth with angry questioning.
I meet and greet them, and with love embrace:
None saith "thou dost pollute us by they sin!"
My guru they delight to venetrate:
They say "he is our brother and our kin"
Let no man fancy that i idly prate;
Such kindness greet me always, everywhere.
Saith Dasa, O thou peerless Mother Mine!
Thy generous sons thy generous heart declare.
I am quoting below a leetter by one Mr. anandan which interested me.
IS THE SPACE IN HINDUISM REALY SHRINKING?
The tragedy of the caste system and the obnoxious treatment meted out to the people of low castes and the Dalits now is that there is much hype and verbal expression of support and media publicity with very little practical assistance to overcome their handicap. Attempts are often made to take advantage of their conditions to convert them to other faiths with no guarantee of efforts to eradicate the continuing handicap after conversions.
IS THE space of Hinduism shrinking in India? If one looks at the history of India from the ancient and medieval times up to the present, the answer one would come to would be an emphatic `no'. When new religions like Buddhism and Jainism took shape and the most powerful and extensive empire of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka formed the major part of the northern India around 250 BC, with the nascent Buddhism holding sway over the people and the emperor himself, after embracing it, lending official patronage, there was naturally some effect on Hinduism. In the later periods, when Emperor Harsha Vardhan (606-647 AD) formed his empire and embraced Buddhism also there was some adverse effect on the following of Hinduism. Between the two periods (Ashoka and Harsha Vardhan) there were kings who followed Buddhism. The Mughal emperors with the exception of Akbar promoted Islam vigorously and even a tax had been imposed on the Hindus to induce them to convert.
Thus throughout the ancient period to later medieval period there were rulers who had followed Buddhism and Jainism and Muslim rulers who strove to promote Islam in India. During the same period, Christianity had also arrived and there were intensive missionary activities to spread that religion. It is a fact of history that missionaries of all these religions had operated in various regions of this country with varying degrees of official patronage and assistance to effect conversions from Hindus. This with the existence of the much hyped and hated caste system being prevalent from early first millennium AD. The chances were that Hinduism would have been totally obliterated from Indian soil. But what happened? With the new religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christianity
and Sikhism occupying some space, there was no significant shrinking of the space of Hinduism. It will be of interest to know how and why this great religion withstood the powerful onslaughts of other ! contemporary faiths.
In the Vedic and later Vedic periods and the Upanishadic era foundations for a powerful and socially accepted cultural life had been running roots deep into the lives of the people with the Vedic and Upanishadic wisdom acting as a strong bonding factor. Especially the Vedic knowledge had been able to satiate the deep urge for the understanding of the secrets of creation and the multifarious natural forces which provided sustenance to human life. The people's eagerness to unravel the mysteries had caused deep spiritual bent. It was thus that the cultural life was formed. This culture had the influence of religious principles in its formation and had entered the social fabric and influenced the life of the people deeply.
Hinduism has its focus on spiritual upliftment of man and all the moral and social codes were formed with that as goal. Even the much misunderstood Varna system which is purely a division of responsibilities had and continues to have a heavy bias towards spiritual evolution. The deep religious proclivities and the urge for spiritual uplift had induced the people to search for simpler and effective ways to achieve the spiritual goal which led to innovations like the Bhakthi movement which had a powerful impact on the socio-cultural-spiritual life of the people even at mass level without distinctions of caste or class or other social differences. It is these deeply run cultural roots which caused an abiding following for Hinduism even in the face of unrelenting assaults by other religions and had in fact continued to influence the lives of people even after their conversion to other faiths.
Dalits
The term Dalit, a comparatively new one, is a Sanskrit word and means `broken', `torn' or `split'. It is not known how the term came to be applied to refer to a sect of people. Unlike other religions, in Hinduism there is no authority, person or religious leader or organisation to declare any group or a section of the people as higher or lower or untouchable or socially renegade or unequal. There is no religious sanction for such ostracisation. It is equally untenable for any person or
organisation to declare the social status of a person one way or the other. On the other hand, religious leaders have been roundly condemning inequities based on castes from time to time.
Two points raised often in support of the Dalits are: (1) entry to temples and (2) conferment of priesthood.
Prevention of entry into temples of anyone based on his or her caste has been a punishable offence since long. Those who raise this as an issue are unaware of the fact that all the famous temples from the north to the south, like the Kasi, the ones at Tirupati, Palani, Rameswaram, Sabarimala and Guruvayoor and many others are open to devotees without any restrictions of caste. It will be of interest to know that VIPs of political parties belonging to other religions had entered some temples and worshipped. The various castes and communities establish temples of deities worshipped traditionally by them and entry into these temples is only made a point of contention. Refusal of entry into temples is mostly a rural practice, however abominable and at urban centres no such restrictions are practised. In course of time, with educational, social and economic status rising, such restrictions are bound to disappear. These are intra-caste quarrels and not the result of any edict or imposition from any religious leadership or organisation for which there is no sanction of the scriptures.
The Hindu religion stipulates several samskaras to be administered to any person from birth onwards (such samskaras are common in other religions too though they are not termed as samskaras). Among these, Upanayanam is an important one to confer Brahminhood on the person to qualify him to perform stipulated ablutions thrice daily and chant mantras. The term `Brahminhood' should not be
taken to mean that it is only for the Brahmins as a caste as understood now. Any one including the Dalits can undergo this and get qualified for Brahminhood. In fact, recently, a group of non-Brahmin boys were administered these samskaras in Kerala and the same was welcomed wholeheartedly by the people including Brahmins. However, conferment of this also enjoins certain rigorous disciplines such as early morning bath, stipulated ablutions thrice daily followed by focussed prayer, strict vegetarianism and not consuming alcoholic drinks, growing a tuft, etc. The Dalits should decide whether they should undergo the samskaras and enter Brahminhood. Priesthood in temples normally requires the person to have undergone this samskara though in some community based ones persons without it also perform the priestly job. The Iskcon (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), a spiritual organisation of worldwide reputation, functioning all over the world, have members of various religions who have undergone Upanayanam, grow tuft, wear saffron clothes and function as Hindus.
Some of the temples established by them are breathtaking in architecture, style and maintenance.
The present social scenario even among the so-called Brahmins is such that very few people volunteer for the job of priesthood. Even those not so well-to-do somehow provide modern education to their wards with difficulty and get them to choose employment other than priesthood. Priests, especially the temple priests of ordinary temples, could seldom earn enough to keep the kitchen fire burning. Children are sent to vedapathasalas when avenues for school, college and vocational education become beyond the reach. It is doubtful whether even the Dalits would prefer to enter the profession of priests given the rigorous daily routines which they are called upon to observe and the pittance of an income they receive with no social security cover available for old age and indigent situations caused by sickness, etc.
After conversion?
The socially backward condition and vulnerability to repression and indignities attended by acute poverty suffered by the lowest castes in the hierarchy in Hinduism were reasons for the provision of statutory entitlement to special reservations and other benefits to enable them to pursue education and enter government services. Since the caste system is prevalent in the Hindu religion,
such provision is restricted to the backward and lowest castes of Hinduism. But the clamour for extending such benefits to the Dalits and other lower castes converted to other religions would show that the social disadvantages and discrimination due to caste system continue to exist even after conversion to other faiths. One often hears terms like Dalit Christians and Buddhists, etc. Even in social life the converted Dalits do not get social status equal to the higher caste converts. They
are even referred to as `Dalit Christians', a term if used to refer to them in the Hindu religion, would be considered unpleasant and even objectionable. Social integration in any religion takes place through matrimonial relationships. But do Dalit converts get married to higher caste converts? A Dalit convert has to choose another Dalit convert for alliances. Even Hindu caste and community appellations such `Bhat' `Dar' are retained by Muslims in Kashmir and those like `Patel' in Gujarat.
Reddys, Raos and other caste names are suffixed freely and one could hardly distinguish a Christian from a Hindu by the name. And such caste connotations are main considerations in forging marital relationships.
A look at matrimonial advertisements would show that a converted person of certain caste wanting a spouse of the same caste converted even in the new religion. Where then is the advantage in Dalits `entering' other religions? Continuance of caste-based distinctions in such matters tantamount to indignity in social life. Relentless legal, social and religious action has made considerable headway in removing obnoxious caste-based practices in the Hindu religion and hopefully before long this malady will be a thing of the past. If such reformatory steps are not taken in the case of Dalits converted to other religions, passage of time will only cause expansion of the Dalit and low caste population in their new religions with the obnoxious treatment continuing and even getting strengthened as had happened in Hinduism in the course of past hundreds of years. Religious leaders of faiths other than Hinduism would have now realised how difficult it is to root out the malady from their religions. The fact that racism which is a more serious malady than casteism continues to exist even today in the most advanced nations where Christianity is practised stands testimony to the limitations of any religion in stemming the rot that has set in society. Total eradication of evils
such as casteism from society is practicable and achievable only with education and not by conversion or proselytisation.
Spirituality not denied
Spirituality in Hinduism now is mostly confined to worship in temples. Higher levels of spiritual activity such as yoga, pranayama, meditation, chanting of scriptures, etc., are practised only by a small percentage of people often guided by preceptors who have reached a much higher level of evolution. If a Dalit desires to pursue such a path, no preceptor of standing would object or reject his inclinations. Avenues for getting trained in spiritual practices mentioned above are now available in organised courses and anyone including Dalits can get enrolled in such courses. Hinduism has produced more saints of high spiritual accomplishment from non-Brahmin communities than any other religion and no one including the so called Brahmans ever enquires about the caste of such great saints as Swami Chinmayananda or Swamini Amirtanandamayi. History is replete with stories of lower and lowest caste persons having attained great heights of spiritual evolution. Who had stopped them from marching steadfastly on their chosen path?
The tragedy of the caste system and the obnoxious treatment meted out to the people of low castes and the Dalits now is that there is much hype and verbal expression of support and media publicity with very little practical assistance to overcome their handicap. Attempts are often made to take advantage of their conditions to convert them to other faiths with no guarantee of efforts to eradicate the continuing handicap after conversions. In fact, attempts at categorisation of Dalits and tribals as a bloc distinct from mainstream Hinduism is a step to make them believe about not belonging to any religion and to convert to other religions.
Though conversion of lower castes and Dalits from Hinduism to other religions had been taking place for several hundreds of years, and they form part of those religions precious little appears to have been done by those religions to eradicate the evil as could be seen from the prevalence of the evil in those religions. Had proper effort been taken during the past hundreds of years many of the problems of converts of low castes would not have been there now. The call for Dalits and lower caste people to `enter' other religions is not a solution in the right direction.
T.R. ANANDAN
A SELF CONFIDENT HINDUISM IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR
i want to take this opportunity to enlighten some friends to the speech which Indian nationilst Mr.KT. paul(1876-1931) delivered at the Round Table conference of 1930 wherein he opposed reservation for Indian christians in legislatures on the lines of anglo indian community.He motivated indian christian community towards NATIONALIST THINKING and opposed those who thought on the lines of MINORITYSM,RESERVATION ETC. I also want to highlight the teachings of shri narayan vaman tilak(1862-1919)who opposed western influence in indian churches.his poetry is true reflection of his love for his motherland,marathi and sanskrit.he wrote about motherland
Thrice blessed is they womb, my MOTHERLAND,
Whence mighty rishis,saints and sages sprang!
A christian I, Ywt here none taunteth me,
Nor buffeteth with angry questioning.
I meet and greet them, and with love embrace:
None saith "thou dost pollute us by they sin!"
My guru they delight to venetrate:
They say "he is our brother and our kin"
Let no man fancy that i idly prate;
Such kindness greet me always, everywhere.
Saith Dasa, O thou peerless Mother Mine!
Thy generous sons thy generous heart declare.
I am quoting below a leetter by one Mr. anandan which interested me.
IS THE SPACE IN HINDUISM REALY SHRINKING?
The tragedy of the caste system and the obnoxious treatment meted out to the people of low castes and the Dalits now is that there is much hype and verbal expression of support and media publicity with very little practical assistance to overcome their handicap. Attempts are often made to take advantage of their conditions to convert them to other faiths with no guarantee of efforts to eradicate the continuing handicap after conversions.
IS THE space of Hinduism shrinking in India? If one looks at the history of India from the ancient and medieval times up to the present, the answer one would come to would be an emphatic `no'. When new religions like Buddhism and Jainism took shape and the most powerful and extensive empire of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka formed the major part of the northern India around 250 BC, with the nascent Buddhism holding sway over the people and the emperor himself, after embracing it, lending official patronage, there was naturally some effect on Hinduism. In the later periods, when Emperor Harsha Vardhan (606-647 AD) formed his empire and embraced Buddhism also there was some adverse effect on the following of Hinduism. Between the two periods (Ashoka and Harsha Vardhan) there were kings who followed Buddhism. The Mughal emperors with the exception of Akbar promoted Islam vigorously and even a tax had been imposed on the Hindus to induce them to convert.
Thus throughout the ancient period to later medieval period there were rulers who had followed Buddhism and Jainism and Muslim rulers who strove to promote Islam in India. During the same period, Christianity had also arrived and there were intensive missionary activities to spread that religion. It is a fact of history that missionaries of all these religions had operated in various regions of this country with varying degrees of official patronage and assistance to effect conversions from Hindus. This with the existence of the much hyped and hated caste system being prevalent from early first millennium AD. The chances were that Hinduism would have been totally obliterated from Indian soil. But what happened? With the new religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christianity
and Sikhism occupying some space, there was no significant shrinking of the space of Hinduism. It will be of interest to know how and why this great religion withstood the powerful onslaughts of other ! contemporary faiths.
In the Vedic and later Vedic periods and the Upanishadic era foundations for a powerful and socially accepted cultural life had been running roots deep into the lives of the people with the Vedic and Upanishadic wisdom acting as a strong bonding factor. Especially the Vedic knowledge had been able to satiate the deep urge for the understanding of the secrets of creation and the multifarious natural forces which provided sustenance to human life. The people's eagerness to unravel the mysteries had caused deep spiritual bent. It was thus that the cultural life was formed. This culture had the influence of religious principles in its formation and had entered the social fabric and influenced the life of the people deeply.
Hinduism has its focus on spiritual upliftment of man and all the moral and social codes were formed with that as goal. Even the much misunderstood Varna system which is purely a division of responsibilities had and continues to have a heavy bias towards spiritual evolution. The deep religious proclivities and the urge for spiritual uplift had induced the people to search for simpler and effective ways to achieve the spiritual goal which led to innovations like the Bhakthi movement which had a powerful impact on the socio-cultural-spiritual life of the people even at mass level without distinctions of caste or class or other social differences. It is these deeply run cultural roots which caused an abiding following for Hinduism even in the face of unrelenting assaults by other religions and had in fact continued to influence the lives of people even after their conversion to other faiths.
Dalits
The term Dalit, a comparatively new one, is a Sanskrit word and means `broken', `torn' or `split'. It is not known how the term came to be applied to refer to a sect of people. Unlike other religions, in Hinduism there is no authority, person or religious leader or organisation to declare any group or a section of the people as higher or lower or untouchable or socially renegade or unequal. There is no religious sanction for such ostracisation. It is equally untenable for any person or
organisation to declare the social status of a person one way or the other. On the other hand, religious leaders have been roundly condemning inequities based on castes from time to time.
Two points raised often in support of the Dalits are: (1) entry to temples and (2) conferment of priesthood.
Prevention of entry into temples of anyone based on his or her caste has been a punishable offence since long. Those who raise this as an issue are unaware of the fact that all the famous temples from the north to the south, like the Kasi, the ones at Tirupati, Palani, Rameswaram, Sabarimala and Guruvayoor and many others are open to devotees without any restrictions of caste. It will be of interest to know that VIPs of political parties belonging to other religions had entered some temples and worshipped. The various castes and communities establish temples of deities worshipped traditionally by them and entry into these temples is only made a point of contention. Refusal of entry into temples is mostly a rural practice, however abominable and at urban centres no such restrictions are practised. In course of time, with educational, social and economic status rising, such restrictions are bound to disappear. These are intra-caste quarrels and not the result of any edict or imposition from any religious leadership or organisation for which there is no sanction of the scriptures.
The Hindu religion stipulates several samskaras to be administered to any person from birth onwards (such samskaras are common in other religions too though they are not termed as samskaras). Among these, Upanayanam is an important one to confer Brahminhood on the person to qualify him to perform stipulated ablutions thrice daily and chant mantras. The term `Brahminhood' should not be
taken to mean that it is only for the Brahmins as a caste as understood now. Any one including the Dalits can undergo this and get qualified for Brahminhood. In fact, recently, a group of non-Brahmin boys were administered these samskaras in Kerala and the same was welcomed wholeheartedly by the people including Brahmins. However, conferment of this also enjoins certain rigorous disciplines such as early morning bath, stipulated ablutions thrice daily followed by focussed prayer, strict vegetarianism and not consuming alcoholic drinks, growing a tuft, etc. The Dalits should decide whether they should undergo the samskaras and enter Brahminhood. Priesthood in temples normally requires the person to have undergone this samskara though in some community based ones persons without it also perform the priestly job. The Iskcon (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), a spiritual organisation of worldwide reputation, functioning all over the world, have members of various religions who have undergone Upanayanam, grow tuft, wear saffron clothes and function as Hindus.
Some of the temples established by them are breathtaking in architecture, style and maintenance.
The present social scenario even among the so-called Brahmins is such that very few people volunteer for the job of priesthood. Even those not so well-to-do somehow provide modern education to their wards with difficulty and get them to choose employment other than priesthood. Priests, especially the temple priests of ordinary temples, could seldom earn enough to keep the kitchen fire burning. Children are sent to vedapathasalas when avenues for school, college and vocational education become beyond the reach. It is doubtful whether even the Dalits would prefer to enter the profession of priests given the rigorous daily routines which they are called upon to observe and the pittance of an income they receive with no social security cover available for old age and indigent situations caused by sickness, etc.
After conversion?
The socially backward condition and vulnerability to repression and indignities attended by acute poverty suffered by the lowest castes in the hierarchy in Hinduism were reasons for the provision of statutory entitlement to special reservations and other benefits to enable them to pursue education and enter government services. Since the caste system is prevalent in the Hindu religion,
such provision is restricted to the backward and lowest castes of Hinduism. But the clamour for extending such benefits to the Dalits and other lower castes converted to other religions would show that the social disadvantages and discrimination due to caste system continue to exist even after conversion to other faiths. One often hears terms like Dalit Christians and Buddhists, etc. Even in social life the converted Dalits do not get social status equal to the higher caste converts. They
are even referred to as `Dalit Christians', a term if used to refer to them in the Hindu religion, would be considered unpleasant and even objectionable. Social integration in any religion takes place through matrimonial relationships. But do Dalit converts get married to higher caste converts? A Dalit convert has to choose another Dalit convert for alliances. Even Hindu caste and community appellations such `Bhat' `Dar' are retained by Muslims in Kashmir and those like `Patel' in Gujarat.
Reddys, Raos and other caste names are suffixed freely and one could hardly distinguish a Christian from a Hindu by the name. And such caste connotations are main considerations in forging marital relationships.
A look at matrimonial advertisements would show that a converted person of certain caste wanting a spouse of the same caste converted even in the new religion. Where then is the advantage in Dalits `entering' other religions? Continuance of caste-based distinctions in such matters tantamount to indignity in social life. Relentless legal, social and religious action has made considerable headway in removing obnoxious caste-based practices in the Hindu religion and hopefully before long this malady will be a thing of the past. If such reformatory steps are not taken in the case of Dalits converted to other religions, passage of time will only cause expansion of the Dalit and low caste population in their new religions with the obnoxious treatment continuing and even getting strengthened as had happened in Hinduism in the course of past hundreds of years. Religious leaders of faiths other than Hinduism would have now realised how difficult it is to root out the malady from their religions. The fact that racism which is a more serious malady than casteism continues to exist even today in the most advanced nations where Christianity is practised stands testimony to the limitations of any religion in stemming the rot that has set in society. Total eradication of evils
such as casteism from society is practicable and achievable only with education and not by conversion or proselytisation.
Spirituality not denied
Spirituality in Hinduism now is mostly confined to worship in temples. Higher levels of spiritual activity such as yoga, pranayama, meditation, chanting of scriptures, etc., are practised only by a small percentage of people often guided by preceptors who have reached a much higher level of evolution. If a Dalit desires to pursue such a path, no preceptor of standing would object or reject his inclinations. Avenues for getting trained in spiritual practices mentioned above are now available in organised courses and anyone including Dalits can get enrolled in such courses. Hinduism has produced more saints of high spiritual accomplishment from non-Brahmin communities than any other religion and no one including the so called Brahmans ever enquires about the caste of such great saints as Swami Chinmayananda or Swamini Amirtanandamayi. History is replete with stories of lower and lowest caste persons having attained great heights of spiritual evolution. Who had stopped them from marching steadfastly on their chosen path?
The tragedy of the caste system and the obnoxious treatment meted out to the people of low castes and the Dalits now is that there is much hype and verbal expression of support and media publicity with very little practical assistance to overcome their handicap. Attempts are often made to take advantage of their conditions to convert them to other faiths with no guarantee of efforts to eradicate the continuing handicap after conversions. In fact, attempts at categorisation of Dalits and tribals as a bloc distinct from mainstream Hinduism is a step to make them believe about not belonging to any religion and to convert to other religions.
Though conversion of lower castes and Dalits from Hinduism to other religions had been taking place for several hundreds of years, and they form part of those religions precious little appears to have been done by those religions to eradicate the evil as could be seen from the prevalence of the evil in those religions. Had proper effort been taken during the past hundreds of years many of the problems of converts of low castes would not have been there now. The call for Dalits and lower caste people to `enter' other religions is not a solution in the right direction.
T.R. ANANDAN
A SELF CONFIDENT HINDUISM IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR