01-26-2007, 09:42 PM
Op-Ed inPioneer by Balbir Punj
Date: 26 jan., 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->DMK'S return to divinity
Balbir K Punj
The recent event in Chennai where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi welcomed Sathya Sai Baba, whom millions worship as god, at his residence along with his family members, including Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his grand nephew, is interesting in many ways. Later, the DMK chief also participated in the public reception given to the Baba along with several important personalities.
First, a little backgrounder to the DMK and the Dravida movement is necessary. <b>The founder of the Dravidar Kazhagam, EV Ramaswami Naicker, was not only a "rationalist" but also a self-confessed anti-Brahmin.</b> In the 1920s, Naicker protested against the monopoly of the sinews of Government and economy by the "upper castes", especially the Brahmins.<b> He targeted both Brahmins and the Hindu beliefs which, according to him, kept others backward. He also targeted the culture of Sanskrit that he saw as abetting the exclusion of other castes from power.
Naicker promoted the ancient Tamil language as opposed to Sanskrit and blamed Brahmins for giving Tamil a subsidiary status</b>. Such anti-Brahminism led him to oppose religion and claim that God was an invention of Brahmins to suppress others - just like Karl Marx who claimed that religion was the opiate of the masses. To emphasise this, Naicker and his followers would periodically organise events where Hindu idols would be beaten by shoes in public.
As the influence of Tamil films on the people of the State rose and many prominent film personalities turned DK protagonists, the movement came to be closely linked to the entertainment industry. Annadurai was the most prominent among them, as also Mr Karunanidhi who was earlier a leading scriptwriter for Tamil movies. MG Ramachandran was yet another. But he was as an actor while the other two were leading scriptwriters. <b>Adding more socialist and egalitarian spice to the DK movement, Annadurai and others broke out from the Naicker group when the latter married a woman decades younger than him.</b>
<b>The DMK used to claim initially that Tamil Nadu should secede from India. In 1967, however, under the influence of C Rajagopalachari, it gave up its separatist agenda and opened a new anti-Congress front in the State. For the first time, the DMK was voted to power in alliance with Rajaji's Swatantra Party. Thereafter, the Congress has never tasted power in Tamil Nadu where Governments alternated between the DMK and the ADMK. Interestingly, the anti-Brahmin movement had to seek alliance with a staunch believer and Brahmin like Rajaji to ascend to power.</b>
In the last 30 years, the DMK has mellowed and matured with time to drop its separatist agenda besides getting rid of its atheism. <b>The ADMK, especially after Ms J Jayalalithaa became its leader, has been openly pro-religion as the Puratchi Thalaivi visited well-known pilgrim centres.</b> The DMK leaders have been more circumspect. Union Minister TR Balu had not so long ago derided Hinduism, but the party leader and his family members have virtually given up such anti-religious posturing.
When Sathya Sai Baba visited Chennai, there was a report that Mr Karunanidhi's wife bowed before him; so did all his other relatives. It is well known in Chennai that she used to visit temples regularly when Mr Karunanidhi was afflicted with an eye ailment and that once or twice the DMK leader too was seen accompanying her. It is said that when asked about the temple visits, the DMK chief justified the act by saying he didn't want to oppose his wife's faith. After all, "rationalism" need not necessarily mean atheism! At least grandnephew Maran was not apologetic about receiving Sathya Sai Baba's blessing in the form of a gold ring.
Call it the maturing of people in a democracy or the broad outlook of Hinduism, several other instances of avowed "rationalists" coming to terms with divinity are found in recent times - as in the past. <b>Many a great man started as a rationalist to end up as deeply religious. Aldous Huxley is one of the most famous in this respect and his book, Perennial Philosophy, makes great reading about his transformation.</b>
<b>Adi Shankaracharya based his entire advaitic discourse on rationality. In Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to carefully consider his lessons in totality and, using his rational faculty, choose the one that he considers right. The maturing of the DMK leadership may probably be a demonstration of the wisdom of the Shankaracharya and the Hindu philosophic ascent from unbelief to belief, from "rationalism" to the acceptance of the divine.</b> How can Mr Karunanidhi, with his pulse on the people, be an exception to this national stream!
<i>{Also makes sense that Pope benedict is now talking of Faith with Reason!}</i>
<b>There is, however, one more aspect that has much wider implications. Mr Karunanidhi, as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, also thanked the Baba for the donation of Rs 200 crore from his trust for the completion of the long-pending Krishna canal that brought drinking water to the parched Chennai city. Water for the canal was negotiated with the Andhra Pradesh Government 25 years ago when NT Rama Rao was the Chief Minister of that State.</b>
But subsequently, Andhra demurred. It was the intercession of the Baba, it is believed, that made the canal functional. With many a river water dispute hanging fire for decades, this resolution was nothing short of a miracle. Only a religious personality could have brought about the change in the heart of the Andhra Pradesh Government.
Last Tuesday's newspapers reported another miracle: The saintly Morari Bapu persuaded some fishermen of Saurashtra to free a priced whale, which could have fetched them at least a lakh of rupees, that had got stuck in their net. These very fishermen were once infamous for butchering about 250 whales every year and the authorities were unable to stop them despite the official ban. What the law couldn't do, the preacher achieved with his passion for the respect of creatures. After he blessed one such whale, the fishermen have stopped killing the species.
Whether Mr Karunanidhi has learnt of this incident Gujarat or not, it is possible that in the episode of Baba's intervention in the issue of water sharing for Chennai, he has realised what religion can do where law fails. Alfred Tennyson said, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." Morari Bapu, Sathya Sai Baba and hundreds of other saintly figures continue to silently touch the hearts and minds across the country in a way that "rationalists" cannot fathom.
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Date: 26 jan., 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->DMK'S return to divinity
Balbir K Punj
The recent event in Chennai where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi welcomed Sathya Sai Baba, whom millions worship as god, at his residence along with his family members, including Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his grand nephew, is interesting in many ways. Later, the DMK chief also participated in the public reception given to the Baba along with several important personalities.
First, a little backgrounder to the DMK and the Dravida movement is necessary. <b>The founder of the Dravidar Kazhagam, EV Ramaswami Naicker, was not only a "rationalist" but also a self-confessed anti-Brahmin.</b> In the 1920s, Naicker protested against the monopoly of the sinews of Government and economy by the "upper castes", especially the Brahmins.<b> He targeted both Brahmins and the Hindu beliefs which, according to him, kept others backward. He also targeted the culture of Sanskrit that he saw as abetting the exclusion of other castes from power.
Naicker promoted the ancient Tamil language as opposed to Sanskrit and blamed Brahmins for giving Tamil a subsidiary status</b>. Such anti-Brahminism led him to oppose religion and claim that God was an invention of Brahmins to suppress others - just like Karl Marx who claimed that religion was the opiate of the masses. To emphasise this, Naicker and his followers would periodically organise events where Hindu idols would be beaten by shoes in public.
As the influence of Tamil films on the people of the State rose and many prominent film personalities turned DK protagonists, the movement came to be closely linked to the entertainment industry. Annadurai was the most prominent among them, as also Mr Karunanidhi who was earlier a leading scriptwriter for Tamil movies. MG Ramachandran was yet another. But he was as an actor while the other two were leading scriptwriters. <b>Adding more socialist and egalitarian spice to the DK movement, Annadurai and others broke out from the Naicker group when the latter married a woman decades younger than him.</b>
<b>The DMK used to claim initially that Tamil Nadu should secede from India. In 1967, however, under the influence of C Rajagopalachari, it gave up its separatist agenda and opened a new anti-Congress front in the State. For the first time, the DMK was voted to power in alliance with Rajaji's Swatantra Party. Thereafter, the Congress has never tasted power in Tamil Nadu where Governments alternated between the DMK and the ADMK. Interestingly, the anti-Brahmin movement had to seek alliance with a staunch believer and Brahmin like Rajaji to ascend to power.</b>
In the last 30 years, the DMK has mellowed and matured with time to drop its separatist agenda besides getting rid of its atheism. <b>The ADMK, especially after Ms J Jayalalithaa became its leader, has been openly pro-religion as the Puratchi Thalaivi visited well-known pilgrim centres.</b> The DMK leaders have been more circumspect. Union Minister TR Balu had not so long ago derided Hinduism, but the party leader and his family members have virtually given up such anti-religious posturing.
When Sathya Sai Baba visited Chennai, there was a report that Mr Karunanidhi's wife bowed before him; so did all his other relatives. It is well known in Chennai that she used to visit temples regularly when Mr Karunanidhi was afflicted with an eye ailment and that once or twice the DMK leader too was seen accompanying her. It is said that when asked about the temple visits, the DMK chief justified the act by saying he didn't want to oppose his wife's faith. After all, "rationalism" need not necessarily mean atheism! At least grandnephew Maran was not apologetic about receiving Sathya Sai Baba's blessing in the form of a gold ring.
Call it the maturing of people in a democracy or the broad outlook of Hinduism, several other instances of avowed "rationalists" coming to terms with divinity are found in recent times - as in the past. <b>Many a great man started as a rationalist to end up as deeply religious. Aldous Huxley is one of the most famous in this respect and his book, Perennial Philosophy, makes great reading about his transformation.</b>
<b>Adi Shankaracharya based his entire advaitic discourse on rationality. In Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to carefully consider his lessons in totality and, using his rational faculty, choose the one that he considers right. The maturing of the DMK leadership may probably be a demonstration of the wisdom of the Shankaracharya and the Hindu philosophic ascent from unbelief to belief, from "rationalism" to the acceptance of the divine.</b> How can Mr Karunanidhi, with his pulse on the people, be an exception to this national stream!
<i>{Also makes sense that Pope benedict is now talking of Faith with Reason!}</i>
<b>There is, however, one more aspect that has much wider implications. Mr Karunanidhi, as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, also thanked the Baba for the donation of Rs 200 crore from his trust for the completion of the long-pending Krishna canal that brought drinking water to the parched Chennai city. Water for the canal was negotiated with the Andhra Pradesh Government 25 years ago when NT Rama Rao was the Chief Minister of that State.</b>
But subsequently, Andhra demurred. It was the intercession of the Baba, it is believed, that made the canal functional. With many a river water dispute hanging fire for decades, this resolution was nothing short of a miracle. Only a religious personality could have brought about the change in the heart of the Andhra Pradesh Government.
Last Tuesday's newspapers reported another miracle: The saintly Morari Bapu persuaded some fishermen of Saurashtra to free a priced whale, which could have fetched them at least a lakh of rupees, that had got stuck in their net. These very fishermen were once infamous for butchering about 250 whales every year and the authorities were unable to stop them despite the official ban. What the law couldn't do, the preacher achieved with his passion for the respect of creatures. After he blessed one such whale, the fishermen have stopped killing the species.
Whether Mr Karunanidhi has learnt of this incident Gujarat or not, it is possible that in the episode of Baba's intervention in the issue of water sharing for Chennai, he has realised what religion can do where law fails. Alfred Tennyson said, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." Morari Bapu, Sathya Sai Baba and hundreds of other saintly figures continue to silently touch the hearts and minds across the country in a way that "rationalists" cannot fathom.
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