This
and that: Religion beyond politics
Ch II 46 form
The Bhagwat Gita
Yavan artha udapane
Sarvatha samplutodake
Tavan sarvesu vedesu
Brahmanasya vijanatah
Translation
As is
the use of a pond in a place flooded with water everywhere, so is that of all
the Vedas for the Brahmin who understands.
Explanation
“Just as one who gets water from the
river does not attach importance to a well, so the wise do not attach any
importance to ritual action” For those of illumined consciousness, ritual
observances are of little value.
So far as the
essence of the Bhagwat Gita is concerned it is immaterial whether Krisna the
teacher, is a historical individual or not.
Oh no! I am
not about to embark on a treatise on any particular religion. I believe Bhagwat
Gita is not a “Sacred” text and in a sense I suppose all “Sacred” texts are literally
a collection of verses to propagate wisdom to humanity. All these texts
preceded respective religions. Let me make it clear that I respect all texts
and respect all those who revere any text and practice a religion. It is the
prerogative and right of any individual. I uphold that right. Just so, I
believe it is my prerogative and right to discuss and question “religion” and
religious practices.
Having got that out of the way, this
verse from the Gita is profound in its meaning. It simply states that you are
better served by knowing why something is done, usually through ‘religious’
prescriptions and rites, than physically doing something just because
a) You have been
told to do it
b) It is what is
always done by forefathers
c) It is ordained
in my religious texts
d) Everybody does
it
e) If I don’t do
it, I will go to hell or whatever
f) …. any or all
other reasons you can find…
It also says once you know the reason for
doing something, you don’t have to mandatorily do it because you already know
why it is done; you know the result of your proposed actions in advance. The
key is knowledge, realization; thereafter it is just you and your mind; you can
achieve that which you intended to achieve through physical activity by just
concentrating your mind towards it and consider it done without any physical or
material interchange.
The essence of all religions, I believe,
is to addresses the inner self. Methods have been worked around it over
generations by vested interests – for material gains or subjugation; Just take
away the methods; you will realise that all religions are the same – the
language, stories, heaven & hell (where are they located? Well, your guess
is as good as mine….) may differ…do they matter here and now?
I do not therefore believe religion
is a real source of conflict anymore in this world, including terrorism; the
methods built around the essence of religions are the primary reasons for
dissonance and conflicts around the world.
The evolution of mankind has left in its
wake a series of conflicts. The present-day humans (Homo Sapiens) have surely
evolved over several millennia. It is also a fact that GOD in whichever form we
know today, if at all, existed millions of years before the introduction of any
texts or religions. Also, it is recorded that we the Homo Sapiens, were not the
only sapiens who inhabited this Earth. There were other human species such as Homo Erectus, Homo Neanderthals etc..,
who were annihilated by Homo Sapiens to gain ascendancy. From inter species (!) conflicts, human-animal
conflicts, to inter racial conflicts to inter faith conflicts to various other
conflicts we have seen it all over the past tens of thousands of years.
Is the human race any better from these
conflicts?
Yes. In some ways. All these conflicts
are now passé. Across the world, except in India, there are effectively only
two issues now, over which conflicts persist. Economy and culture. Every other
reason attributed to the strife around the world is only a façade. Whereas
economic considerations have been the main causes of most conflicts these past
decades, the dissonance in culture is fast catching up as another reason – now
what is culture is another moot question. My definition of culture is just the
way a section of the people dress, eat, dance and it’s behavior in general
within the family, closed society and society at large. When a section of
people immigrates in numbers to a place where the aforesaid behavior is
different and the immigrants fail to adapt to the adopted culture, a conflict
situation is created. We are going to see more of this in the decades ahead. If
we want the world to be a better place than it is, we have to look beyond what
we can see!!! Beyond the methods.
In India where Hinduism has been a way of
life for millennia, the advent of the Abrahamic religions brought in a social
revolution of sorts. On the one hand was the effect on the daily lives of people (cultural?)
and the on the other was the basic tenets of the religions which says that their
respective ways are the only path to reach GOD, which conflicted with the idea
of Hinduism.
This “religious” dichotomy can’t be set
right by any political action. On the contrary politics will always exploit this
dissonance as will criminals. Religions have to evolve with time. Even the Pope
has now allowed use of condoms, in special circumstances. There is a debate in the
church on allowing Priests in certain geographies to marry. These developments are
a result of followers from within wanting change.
In India, communal harmony is the direct
responsibility of religious leaders who should realise that changes are
required in their respective religious orders for perpetuity and integration with the larger
society.
Tail piece: When there is so much of good in all religions, why do
religious “hatred” rear its head. With malice to none let me try to explain:
Hinduism never evolved as a religion. There was no messiah, there were no
covenants, there were no commandments. The “avatars” (deities) never prescribed
or commanded how to pray or lead daily lives. The mainstay of Hinduism is
seeking the eternal Truth – constantly asking questions as opposed to following
tenets, to find the truth …The Bhagwat Gita was never ever prescribed by
anyone as a Holy Book. It is in fact, part of an epic which has many more
teachings (not mandatory) on different aspects of life, just like the
Bhagwat Gita. On the contrary, the Abrahamic religions have Holy Texts which
prescribe how to lead daily lives, and lay down rules and commandments and insist that those who
do not follow them are infidels or non-believers and so ……
How can we in INDIA be rid of religious
hatred? Can politicians, Governments and laws do it? Or should the leading religious
leaders take the initiative? I leave it to your judgement.
