Inner Metamorphosis

Enough has been written about how caste system is blot on Hinduism. Since caste is the stick to beat Hinduism, many well-intentioned Hindus often resort to total condemnation of this practise in its entirety without deliberating on its historically flexible nature and its subsequent distortion under two foreign regimes. Caste system is based on the understanding that humans are different and this difference needn’t be forcefully levelled, instead it can be nourished for the benefit of the whole society through division of work. This explanation may appear a tad too romantic unless we compare it with the record of so-called egalitarian ideologies. Equality or Uniformity? Humans aren’t equal by nature. Whereas animals appear [to humans?] remarkably same, no two humans think alike in all aspects. Each human is endowed with a unique perspective which needn’t tally with majority. Equality therefore is valid as in “equal before law” & “equality to opportunities”. Otherw...

These days we often find mainstream media feverishly arguing that “secularism”, the most coveted ideal of India is under attack from “communal Hindus”. We will argue how the Indian state’s secularism, inspired from Western democracies, indirectly strengthens the very force it seeks to fight – “Hindu Fundamentalism”. Why Secularism arose in the West? Secularism is separation of state and church. It’s a concept wherein Church shall have no say in matters pertaining to the public governance. [i.e. to save government from church]. Its popularity in West is because of its unique history with respect to Roman Catholic Church. During the middle ages, Church’s dominance on governance exceeded the king’s and this pervading influence caused friction. Protestant movement was political step to end the monopoly of Roman Church as the sole representative of Jesus Christ. Secularization was essential in Europe as Church had a position on every socio-political aspect of public which was ...

This piece is an after-thought on my “The Myth of Similarity Between Religions” where I argue that all religions are not the same. I continue here and argue that Dharma is different from religion as understood in West. I’ve based my understanding of religion mainly on the perspective of practitioners, to confirm if my understanding of the religion accurately represents its true position. Fate of a good atheist We shall consider an atheist who is a man of certain values, law-abiding and treats others well. But, we repeat, he does not believe in any religion. From a Hindu perspective, this man’s fate is entirely dependent on his karma [roughly sum-total of his deeds in life]. His lack of belief does not interfere with the law of karma, and if his conduct is good, post-death he may in all probability get a human life again with better material prosperity. However according to Islam and Christianity, the person’s lack of belief on Prophet Mohammed and Jesus Christ r...

Among the most widely accepted notions is one that Political Islam is incompatible with democracy. The last few decades have corroborated this position given that there is no semblance of representative governance in the Islamic world spanning across middle-east Asia. The failure of Arab Spring to dislodge authoritarian rule appears to testify these notions. We will argue that the prevailing chaos in Middle-east is the result of discovery of oil which has been the main culprit that toppled democracy and people’s rights. While Islam’s core theology is indeed backward, what needs our consideration is that Christianity was equally if not more regressive in the pre-Reformation period. It is Reformation sparked the ascendancy of West. In fact, post World War II, it appeared that zeitgeist of global democracy will find its way in Islamic countries too. And things in early 50s and 60s actually moved in this direction, until one thing changed it at once – the discovery of oil. What ...

Mahatma Gandhiji’s emphasis on non-violence has largely defined perceptions of Hinduism, both among Hindus and non-Hindus. But this has been exaggerated to imply that Hindus were historically weak people who suffered repeated invasions and were mere spectators to the periodic assaults from foreigners. India appears to have always been an easy conquest – ready to surrender at the first signs of foreign aggression. Some Hindus too support this theory to highlight the superiority of Hindu spiritualism which helped it survive across millenniums despite military weakness. Nothing can be farther from truth. As a matter of fact, Indians have treated material and spiritual life with equal importance though the material life was also dovetailed towards “dharma”. India was the forefront of trade and commerce and accounted for 25% of world trade as recent as 1750s. The ascendancy of The West is limited to the last 2-3 centuries before which it was India which was a much advanced civiliz...

“Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.” ~ David Hume In a rapidly modernizing world it is argued that cultural differences worldwide need to be ironed for a strife-free and rational global society. Religion – being the “opium of masses” has been a fertile ground for sowing hatred and is responsible for consequent bloodshed. Realizing that religion will not simply vanish from the face of earth overnight, the myth of all sameness of all religions has been purposefully built so that people understand that “ In essence, all religions teach the same ” or “ All religions are equally bad ”. Though an oversimplification, this is more or less true of the two important religions of the world – Christianity and Islam. Both have their own history of brutality and going overboard and committing excesses in their zeal to convert others to their faith. Yet, euphemism shouldn’t constrain us from exploring what might be political...