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Hinduism
The Sword of Kali – 11
Reply to "A Philosophical Critique
of Radical Universalism"
Return to Dharma-Kshetra
According to
Dr. Morales, the primary cause of the acute problem that Hinduism faces
today is Radical Universalism. He concludes his paper with the lure of
beautiful words advising us to abandon the scourge of Radical
Universalism:
If we
want to ensure that our youth remain committed to Hinduism as a
meaningful path, that our leaders teach Hinduism in a manner that
represents the tradition authentically and with dignity, and that the
greater Hindu community can feel that they have a religion that they can
truly take pride in, then we must abandon Radical Universalism. If we
want Hinduism to survive so that it may continue to bring hope, meaning
and enlightenment to untold future generations, then the next time our
son or daughter asks us what Hinduism is really all about, let us not
slavishly repeat to them that "all religions are the same". Let us
instead look them in their eyes, and teach them the uniquely precious,
the beautifully endearing, and the philosophically profound truths of
our tradition…truths that have been responsible for keeping Hinduism a
vibrantly living religious force for over 5000 years. Let us teach them
Sanatana Dharma, the eternal way of Truth.
We do not
disagree with Dr. Morales that Hindus must go back to the profound truths
of their own religion. As we had said at the beginning of this paper, we
appreciate the efforts taken by Dr. Morales to combat the apathy of modern
Hindus. But the solution to the problem is certainly not the abandonment
of Universalism. When we consider the equivocation that Dr. Morales brings
to the term Radical Universalism, abandoning it would amount to abandoning
the heart of Hinduism as well as abandoning the faith we repose in great
saints such as Sri Ramakrishna. The end result of such abandonment would
be the rise of a new breed of Hindu youth marked with a Judeo-Christian
attitude towards other religions. These neo-Hindus would look at other
religions as so many different, and spurious, mountains, and this may in
time cause some well-intentioned Hindu youth to set out on a mission to
convert the members of other religions to the one true faith! Universalism
is the gift of our dharma; let us not abandon it on such specious grounds.
What then is
the problem with Hinduism today? What is it that ails the Hindu? Why has
the Hindu now become a caricature of his old self? Why does the Hindu
today take the lesser truths of the sciences to justify the higher truths
of his religion? Why does the modern Hindu mask the great revelations of
his religion under silly and infantile clichés? Why has the Hindu become a
shadow of those foreigners without whose support he cannot even pronounce
the truths of his own religion? And above all, why has the Hindu lost the
vitality and the supreme courage with which he once laughed at the chimera
of the world and even faced death as a mere bubble in the sea of life? Is
this the Hindu that is descended from the race of Harishchandra and
Yajnavalkya?
The answer to
all these questions is rooted in one simple fact – the fact that we Hindus
have forsaken our dharma. We are caught today in the gale of a storm and
it tosses us about in all directions. The whirl of the storm is not
outside us; it is within us, created by the vacuum that we have ourselves
allowed to birth within our souls. The malady that plagues Hinduism today
is not due to the conquering Moghuls that came down from the North-West,
nor is it due to the colonial British that came sailing across the seas,
nor is it due to the glitter and kaleidoscope of the modern West; it is
due to our own debilitating weakness and inadequacy. This weakness has
created such an intense vacuum within us that it pulls in all manner of
alien things into our souls. We do not go out to ape the West or to fall
prey to consumerism; it comes pouring into the vacuum within us because we
have stripped ourselves of our wholeness and now the emptiness in us lets
in whatever lies in the vicinity, be they gems or be they garbage.
One of the
common remedies prescribed by Hindu intellectuals for the problem of Hindu
apathy is to take the message of Vedanta to all and everyone. But they
ignore the fact that Vedanta is not for everyone. And moreover everyone
does not want Vedanta. Among the four human pursuits – kama, artha,
dharma and moksha – the pursuit of moksha is only for a
select few, for those whose hearts have been stirred by the Call of the
Divine. For others, it is quite natural to follow the call of kama,
artha and dharma. There is nothing wrong with the pursuit of
pleasure; there is nothing wrong with the pursuit of wealth and fame. But
there is something wrong with the pursuit of pleasure and wealth and fame
when they are immoderate and not in accordance with the dictates of
dharma. There has been in the recent past a markedly skewed propagation of
the message of Hinduism which places an overriding emphasis on Vedanta to
the near exclusion of the Dharma Kshetra within which Vedanta
appears as its supreme revelation. We need to bring about a correction in
perspective today so that all and sundry do not neglect what they believe
to be mere superstitions in favor of the highest goal that they are unable
to pursue and often fool themselves into believing they are pursuing. Who
amongst us has that kind of vairagya that is necessary to follow
the path of Vedanta? The overarching umbrella of Hinduism is Hindu Dharma
and not Vedanta. Vedanta is for a select few, but Hindu Dharma is for all
Hindus. Dharma is applicable even to the aspirant of moksha because
dharma governs every single thing in this world without exception. It
governs even the mukta; the mukta remains free because he is
one with his swadharma which is to be forever free. What is
required today is to return to the Dharma Kshetra – to the values and way
of living that is the necessary pre-requisite for the welfare of each and
everyone that is born a Hindu. The Law of Dharma is Eternity moving in
Time. He who follows the path of dharma lives harmoniously in the flowing
Song of Time. He is stilled in Time, as it were, and out of the stillness
of Eternity his vitality and courage will once more blossom forth to give
Hinduism the vigor that it is now missing.
It is time for
us to stand up and speak. There is no need to be apologetic about our
religion. The land of Aryavarta has been sacked by Hindus and non-Hindus
alike and together we have foisted upon it a constitution that abrogates
the ancient Dharma of the land. On this land of Bharata has been imposed
the false ideals of equality and democracy, and the surrogate shrine of
secularism. We have left the dharma revealed to us by Lord Krishna to bow
our heads before the rabble and the imposter. We have sold ourselves like
harlots to every master that has come to us in the guise of a reformist.
We have had too many cowards and apologists amongst us. It is time to be
Warriors of the Spirit. The Varnashrama of Sanatana Dharma is not
something to be ashamed of. It is the Eternal Truth of Nature, the axle on
which the Wheel of Dharma revolves. We are heirs to the greatest Truth on
earth and to the greatest Way given to humankind. This Gift comes with a
responsibility that we Hindus cannot simply shrug ourselves of.
Glorify eternal truth, but
the proof of it is to
Put your creed into your deeds
And practice truth in your action.
(Rg.Veda.III.4.7)
– Chittaranjan Naik
July 17, 2005
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Notes
- The nyaya insight that all rules of
logic are inherently united with the objects to which they apply is well
brought out by Sri Badrinath Shukla, a philosopher who had studied Nyaya
in the traditional style, in the book ‘Samvada – A Dialogue between
Two Philosophical Traditions’. All Indian philosophies consider the
word to be pointing directly to the object without mediation. According
to Patanjali and Bhartrhari, the word is united with the object before
it becomes illuminated to the witness in gross speech. In the philosophy
of the Grammarians, the illumination takes place through the explosion
of the sphota.
- The staging of Vak also appears in the
philosophy of non-dual Kashmir Shaivism, especially in the path of
Sambhavopaya. While the articulation of Advaita Vedanta remains
largely intellectual, Kashmir Shaivism evocates the experiential
flowering of Advaita in much greater detail than in Advaita Vedanta.
However, I believe that the Dakshinamurthy Stotra of Shankara alongwith
the Manasollasa of Suresvara bridges the two Advaita traditions
beautifully.
- Apart from the Puranas, the darshanas of
Nyaya and Vedanta are also part of the Upangas. The upangas
come under the category of Smriti.
- The Tirthas are infused with God’s
Shakti due to His association with these places. The Shakti of Godhead
also resides in the idols of Gods that are consecrated by proper
mantras. All this is the subject-matter of the Tantras.
- In seeking to drive home the point that
opposing moral codes cannot be valid at the same time, Dr. Morales gives
us an example of a religious bigot that is ready to kill a person of
another faith even as that person is kneeling down for prayer. I believe
that this example has been conveniently chosen without questioning
whether there is any religion that truly subscribes to such actions. I
would believe that such actions result from the misunderstandings of the
subtler nuances of their own scriptural utterances, particularly as
regards what is meant by the term ‘infidel’ and the circumstances under
which the actions are allowed. Dr. Morales would need to consider that
Islam, which is commonly held to prescribe such actions towards
infidels, has given rise to Sufism that actually embraces their brothers
from other religions as believers of the same God.
- It is misleading to apply terms such as
‘panentheism’ to Hinduism. I believe that this proclivity towards
excessive labelling is the result of too much academic analysis and too
little experiential understanding.
- In reconstructing the sequence of events
in Keshab’s life, especially with regard to the genesis of the New
Dispensation, I have followed the dates recorded by his disciple
Mazoomdar rather than those given by Romain Rolland, as the sources of
the latter are unknown.
- These words of Swami Vivekananda are not
to be construed as his rejection of the varna system; it is merely his
characteristic style of delivering a message forcefully and with
feeling. Elsewhere, Vivekananda has spoken about the efficacy of the
varnashrama system.
- The source of the Tantras is not other
than the Vedas. They were however revealed in their special forms to
humankind by Shiva and Devi.
- In the Vedic structure, kama shastra,
alongwith music, drama, etc., comes under the category of gandharva
shastra. This classification may be found in the book ‘The Vedas’
by Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati. In the Dhvanyaloka Locaca,
Abhinavagupta speaks about aesthetic absorption as in essence the same
as spiritual ‘pleasure’.
- After Shankara defeated the famed
Mimamsa philosopher, Mandana Misra, in debate, Ubbaya Bharati, the wife
of Mandana, challenged Shankara to a debate on kama shastra.
Being a sannyasi and wholly unfamiliar with that art, Shankara begs for
one month’s time to come back for the debate. He then leaves his body
and enters the body of King Amaruka who had just then passed away.
Inhabiting the body of the king, he sports with the queens of Amaruka
and learns the science of erotics. He is even said to have written a
book on the subject called Amarushataka. When he returns after a
month, Ubbaya Bharati concedes victory without a debate. Much later,
when Shankara is about to ascend the Sarvajna Pitha at Kashmir, a
voice from the heavens challenges his claim to the throne on the ground
that he had violated the dharma of a sannyasi by having carnal
relationships with women. Shankara then replies that dharma had not been
violated by the actions performed in the body of Amaruka because what is
done in one body does not attach itself to another body. The way is then
made clear for him to ascend the throne of Supreme Knowledge.
- It is interesting to see that the same
two-fold dharma, Pravritti Dharma and Nirvitti Dharma,
appears in China as the Tao of Confucius and the Tao of LaoTze.
Bibliography
1. The Upanishads, Translated by Swami Nikhilananda, Harper Torchbooks
2. Eight Upanishads with the commentary of Sankaracarya Vol I & II,
Translated by Swami Gambhirananda, Advaita Ashrama
3. Brahadaranyaka Upanishad with the commentary of Sankaracarya,
Translated by Swami Madhavananda, Advaita Ashrama
4. Chandogya Upanishad with the commentary of Sankaracarya, Translated by
Swami Gambhirananda
Advaita Ashrama
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commentary, Translated by Swami Nikhilananda, Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama,
Mysore
6. Brahma Sutra Bhashya of Sri Shankaracharya, Translated by Swami
Gambhirananda, Advaita Ashrama
7. Sri Sankaracarya’s Dakshinamurthy Stotra with the Varttika Manasallosa
of Sureshvaracarya
Translated by Swami Harshananda, Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore
8. The Bhagavad Gita with the commentary of Sankaracharya, Translated by
Alladi Mahadeva Sastry
Samata Books
9. Bhagavad Gita with the annotation Gudartha Dipika of Madhusudana
Saraswati, Translated by Swami Gambhirananda
10. Gitartha Samgraha, Abhinavagupta’s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita,
Translated by Boris Marjanovic, Indica Publishers
11. Vedartha Sangraha of Sri Ramanujacarya, Translated by S.S.Raghavachar,
Advaita Ashrama
12. The Nyaya Sutras of Gotama. Translated by Satish Chandra Vidyabhusana,
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
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Daya Krishna, M.P.Rege, R.C.Dwivedi, Mukund Lal, Indian Council of
Philosophical Research
14. Yoga Aphorisms (from Raja Yoga), by Swami Vivekananda, Advaita Ashrama
15. The Vakyapadiyam of Bhartrhari, Translated by Korada Subramanyam, Sri
Satguru Publications
16. Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika of Utpaladeva, Translated by B.N.Pandit,
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
17. Excerpts from the book ‘Shiva’ by Sri Ralph Nataraj, Posted in Yahoo
group Advaita Tantra
18. Kashmir Shaivism – The Secret Supreme, by Swami Lakshman Jee, Sri
Satguru Publications
19. Excerpts from Abhinavagupta’s Dhvanyaloka Locana, From various sources
on the Internet
20. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by M, Translated by Swami Nikhilananda,
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras
21. Sri Ramakrishna – A Prophet for the New Age by Richard Schiffman, The
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
22. The Life of Ramakrishna by Romain Rolland, published by Advaita
Ashrama
23. Life of Sri Ramakrishna by monks of the Ramakrishna Order, Advaita
Ashrama
24. The Life of Vivekananda by Romain Rolland, Advaita Ashrama
25. Swami Vivekananda – A Historical Review by R.C.Majumdar, Advaita
Ashrama
26. Hindu Dharma – The Universal Way of Life by Pujyasri
Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati Swami Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
27. The Vedas, by Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
28. The Holy Vedas – A Golden Treasury By Pandit Satyakam Vidyalankar,
Clarion Books
29. Greek Philosophy – Thales to Aristotle Edited by Reginald E Allen, The
Free Press
30. Plato – The Last Days of Socrates Translated by Hugh Tredennick,
Penguin Books
31. Plato - Complete Works Edited by John.M.Cooper, Hackett Publishing
Company
32. Tractatus Logico Philosophicus of Wittgenstein Translated by D.F.Pears
and B.F.McGuinness
Routledge
33. On Sinn and Bedeutung from The Frege Reader Edited by Michael Beaney,
Blackwell Publishers
34. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy Fung Yu-Lan, Edited by Derk
Bodde, The Free Press
35. The Fontana Post-Modern Reader Edited by Walter Truett Anderson,
Fontana Press
36. Reference is also made to the writings of Sri Ranjeet Shankar, Sri Ken
Knight, Sri Jayakrishna Nelamangala, Sri V.Sadagopan and Prof. V.
Krishnamurthy.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Sri
Sudhir Raikar for carefully reading the article and giving me his valuable
comments and frank opinion, and to Sri Govindrajan for his patient hearing
during the time I was writing the article. I am deeply grateful to Sri Sri
Ralph Nataraj, the Mahayogi in the lineage of Tryambaka, who is a shining
example of the Light leading through all paths.
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