What is wrong with Hindutva?

Identification of oneself with a particular group, clan, community, nationality, language, etc are unavoidable until one has reached a stage when one can live and think beyond these boundaries.

That indeed is a tall order and creates a lot of difficulties in ones socio-economic fronts.

So essentially, these are team building exercises to create communes with identities of mutual trust and benefit so that there is an easy route for various life transactions.

But, as long as these community building exercises remain as mere groupings for ones own survival or the economic success of the members of the group, they do not create much problem, except that others outside the group could feel envious about their success.  But no law on earth can protect those who are not able to build strong teams themselves.  Such methods are called cartelisation and work in the best interest of the group - most often a closed group.  These are primarily with economic success in mind.

The old concepts of cast, community, etc have essential the cartel concepts embedded in them.

When religious groups found themselves under threat or in minority in certain places, they also have had to take upon this exercise for their betterment or survival.

However, whenever there is one cartel formed and found to be thriving or creating problem for the others, there is a tendency for another or more number of cartels to be formed to beat them at their own game.

This game takes place in a continuum.  To find out the root cause, one has to answer whether the egg came first or the chick.

The grouping that is being attempted in India at present, particularly in the past decade with more intensity to create a Hindu identity is a reaction to the identity created in the name of Muslim and Christian religions, in this country.

The groups that have identified with the Muslim religion or the Christian religion may have their own reasons.  But, the fact that their cartelisation has been creating a social stir is undisputed.  Their tendency to give open declaration to their faith and cult, demanding the right to conversion, etc are basically against the accepted norms in this country where it is expected that one is left to be happy with his own faith and that is his or her personal affair.  But to make it into a socio-economic cult has created divides in the society.  This is accepted even in circles of non-believers or atheists.  And there are some people within those denominations also who do not accept these loud mouthed approaches.  But as usual they are not heard. And the present situation does not give much room for discussion on that too.

This polarization is being made use of by some other interests to create a counter polarization in the name of Hinduism.

But these people fail to understand that Hinduism as a concept is allergic to such an identification and is too unwieldy to be compressed into a cartel.

Any one feeling sympathy for a person with a Hindu identity, for his poverty or difficulties due to not being part of a cartel, has to essentially build mechanisms and structures to help him or give him solace. Simply calling upon them to group and form into a party or elect some one to power will not do. For that the primary thing to be done is to do away with cast discrimination. With the major dividing wall of caste, creed and wealth dispositions, there is no meaning in talking about a unity in the name of Hinduism.

The leaders who worked for the rejuvenation of the Hindu faith and who brought back dignity and self respect for those who belonged to that segment and helped the fight against alien rule, again and again stressed the need for this.

If Ambedkar and Periyar preferred the British rule to self rule, it was out of a profound understanding and fear that the change of guard would help only transfer of power into the hands of the powerful section within the Hindu community who were still feudal in mind set.

The leaders who really felt that the people of the country who did not have a system to fall back upon for their survival, engaged in building such institutions.  The Ramakrishna order, Aurovile, the Sathya Sayee trust, etc were commissioned in that direction.

However, some later organisations which also professed such ideals, have become prey to the political climate and have started chanting the mantra of Hindutva as an omniscient panacea for all evils that the society is facing today.

In the process, they fail to understand that they are only giving room for more polarization on the other side, while without caste-based discrimination being abolished, their own intended polarization would not take place at all, in real terms.

This then is going to do more harm than good for their own folks.

At least the 'folks' should understand this, before it is too late.

SRIKALAHASTHI AND THE BREAKING OF THE COCONUT

          When I had booked tickets for me and my son to go to Tirupathi, in a conducted tour, I did not know that we were to be taken to #Kalahasthi temple also.

          Only after returning from Tirupathi, some persons in the bus started talking about whether to go to Kalahasthi or to return to Coimbatore, because it was already very hot.  From the discussion only I came to know that Kalahasthi was a Siva Temple.  Somewhere during my school days, I should have read it, but had not cared to remember it for the details. 

          Then when we reached Kalahasthi, the Guide gave us a brief about the temple premises, that it was known as RaghuKethuSthala and that we should take care to note the gate through which we were entering so that we will return by the same gate to return to the bus.

          On going inside, I saw a board ‘Patala Ganapathy’.  Lord Ganesa Idol was kept in a tunnel more than 20-25 feet below ground level for which there was a window like entry.  One had to crawl through it and then take steps down.  There was a board saying that only 10 people at a time should enter.  But since there was no one around to state whether there were 10 people inside, we had to wait for the persons to come out.  On entering there, I felt even the number 10 was too much.  Because only 3 persons could stand in the place (where the deity was kept) and only one could climb up or down at a time. 

          After coming out and while standing in the queue to have darshan of the main deity, Siva or Kalathinathar, I saw a statue in a sitting posture, with a lot of decoration, to which pooja was being conducted.  I did not remember that it was a Thursday, and hence did not immediately realize it was Dhakshinamurthy, the south facing aspect of Siva.  But a painting above that idol caught my attention.  It was the painting of #kannappanayanar.  

         On seeing that painting, suddenly there were tears in my eyes.  I did not understand the reason.  This painting I have seen in many other Siva Temples also.  But there was some great emotion surging in me, which I could not understand.  When the queue started moving, I also started moving, pushing aside the emotion. 

          After worshiping at the altar of the main deity, when I came across a statue of a king like person with a Siva Linga before that, there again I felt the same surge of emotions and tears were flowing from my eyes.  I restrained myself and then came across an inscription there that it was the statue of Kannappa nayanar.  I thought that it was some king because in my mind Kannappa nayanar was only a hunter.  Then I noticed that it was also written there that it was at that place that kannappa nayanar had worshiped the Lord.  Again I became emotional.  Then I told my son that the statue was that of Kannappa nayanar.  He did not know who it was.  When I started telling him the ‘story’, he remembered it to some extent.  (His second language was Hindi).  As I described him the ‘story’, when I said, Siva came and said ‘Kannappa Stop’, my voice chocked, eyes brimmed again and I could not complete the words. 

I could not understand these emotions.  It was all purely illogical.  I have not given much thought to that ‘story’ of Kannappar.  I can never accept that one would pluck one’s own eyes, that too if a stone was seen bleeding.  Then to attempt to pluck the other one too would be pure madness.  It could not have happened.  That is how my rational mind still thinks. 

But after returning, I read the verses related to Kannappa Nayanar in the #PeriyaPuranam.  

A child called Thinnan was born to Nagan and Thathai after they worshiped Lord Muruga or Subramaniya because they did not have a child for a very long time.  Nagan was the chief of the hunter-tribe of that area.  After Thinnan took over from his father, he came across the siva linga at Kalahasthi and became very emotional and attached towards it (him).  He felt that the Lord was unprotected there from wild beasts of the forest.  So he undertook to take guard.  He found that the Lord was made to starve because there was no trace of any meat provided to him.  So Thinnan, a hunter and who primarily had meat of different animals as his food, could not understand how the Lord could be left hungry without meat.  So he went to prepare meat, ensured that they were tasty by tasting them in his own mouth first and then with water in his mouth, flowers on his tuft, bow and arrow in one hand and the tested and tasted prepared meat on a leaf in another hand, he proceeded to the Siva linga and after sweeping away the flowers decked around the linga by someone else with his chappal clad feet, spat on the linga (conducted purification with water from his mouth),  placed the meat before the linga and decked it with flowers kept in his tuft.  He stood guard throughout the night and with day break, again went for hunting and for preparation of food for his Lord.  He started preparing meat with honey also liberally showered on them so that it will be more sweet and tasty. 

   In the morning, Sivakosariyar, the Brahmin priest who used to worship the same Linga with flowers came and was aghast at seeing meat and bones strewn around his Lord. Cleaning them away, he again poured water on the Linga, worshiped him with flowers and fruits and left.

  In the meanwhile, the other hunters reported the matter of madness of Thinnan to his father.  His father and mother came and tried to take him away.  He refused and stayed back, to protect his deity.

The alternative methods of worship by both these persons continued for some time.  Sivakosariyar was very much disturbed that someone was coming and desecrating his Lord with non-vegetarian stuff.  [After all ‘saiva' meaning 'vegetarian' was itself getting derived from Siva].  So how is the Lord permitting someone to desecrate his premises with such unholy stuff?  He was very much disturbed with these events.  One night, the Lord appeared to the Brahmin in his dream and asked him to be present at the place and watch who was doing it so that he will understand.

As the Brahmin hid himself behind some trees, Thinnan came with his preparations for worship as usual. Then, he saw that one of the eyes of the Lord had started bleeding.  He thought someone had hurt the Lord.  On not being able to find anyone or anything around which could have possibly hurt the Lord, he started trying to cure the wound with some herbal medicines.  (That the Brahmin could not be traced by a hunter is a puzzle to my logical mind).  Then when the wound did not heal and blood continued flowing, he remembered that healing could be done by replacement.  (OonukkuOon).  So he scooped out his own eye with his arrow and placed it on the bleeding eye of the Lord.  The bleeding stopped and Thinnan was exported to the heaven with ecstasy.  He wept with joy and jumped between heaven and earth, that he had been able to cure the Lord’s ailment.  Then the other eye started bleeding.  Thinnan now knew the cure.  So he decided to replace that eye also with his remaining other eye.  But how will he replace it? So to identify the spot he touched the eye of the Lord with his chappal clad feet and was about to scoop out his other eye with his arrow, when the Lord caught hold of his hand saying, ‘Stop Kannappa’. 

*******

This ‘story’ I had felt, was only a treatise regarding how the Lord does not discriminate between his devotees, whether they were vegetarians or not and whatever method of worship is involved.

But the emotions that gushed through me at Srikalahasthi, have made me understand that it was ‘love’ for the Lord himself, deep and unadulterated, which is the fundamental of the so called story. 

And the coconut breaks – it may not have been a story after all.  That was the reason that the emotions were still around.  The emotion of true love - gushing out in the form of tears.

For, what logic does enable us to understand how lush green life emanates out of ‘mundane earth’?