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From: srivatsa@smsun4.crd.ge.com (Rajan  Srivatsan)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: The Modern Hindu.
Message-ID: <14673@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 19 Mar 90 14:37:11 GMT
Sender: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
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Approved: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU


The following article was intended for an Indian audience, but readers of 
"soc.religon.eastern" may also find it of interest.
******************************************************************************


    "Are you proud of being a Hindu?". If confronted with the contradictions
and inequities in modern hindu society, and then forced to answer such a 
question, many educated hindus would probably be embarassed. Some may be 
defiantly fanatic in their affirmation, some others may claim indifference to 
the issue, and a few may even deny outright that they are hindus at all! But a
large majority would defensively prevaricate.

    The hindus are the descendants of the proud practicioners of "arya dharma"
(literally, the religion of the Aryans); the rich philosophies contained in
hindu "vedanta" (comprising the Upanishads, Srimad Bhagawadam, and the Brahma
Sutra) are probably unsurpassed in the world; hindu society also has a unique
tradition of tolerance and openness, that has over the centuries assimilated
the profound and revolutionary thoughts of the Buddha, the richness of persian
culture that came to India through invading Islamic hordes, and even the finer
aspects of the imperialistic British. And yet, many hindus, the rightful heirs
of this glorious tradition, would today prefer that their "hinduness" remain a 
nameless entity in the background.

    The study of the physical sciences, engineering and modern medicine seems
to have formed the new "religion" in a hindu's life. In the name of secularism
and modern science, the traditional study of hindu scriptures has been 
abandoned by our educational institutions. Few hindus know Sanskrit - the 
language of the Vedas and the Upanishads. In-depth understanding of hindu 
philosophy is rare. In fact, the only hinduism that seems to be practised 
today, consists of empty and elaborate rituals, and strange tales from hindu 
myhtology, which one is often asked to accept as fact!

    When did hindus forget the distinction between "avidya" (empty ritualistic
observances) and "vidya" (knowledge of the philosophy behind the rituals)? 
Where is the hindu society that openly admitted even atheistic schools of 
thought (the Carvakas, for example) into its fold? What has happened to the
hindu tradition of "vada - vivada" (open debate)?  And when did the hindu get
to be narrowly defined as a beleiver in the trinity of gods - Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva?

    The crying need of the hour is for new ideas. We do *not* need endless
repetitions of the Ramayana and Mahabaratha in our movie themes, and now 
on television! What is needed is a reinterpretation of the eternal message of 
the "veda" in a modern context. The common man, if forced to accept the idioms
of the past in toto, tends to lose contact with reality. And the intellectual 
of today, trained as he/she is in the methology of western science, will 
reject and abandon as "mumbo-jumbo", all practice of hindu rituals.

    The tyranny of "brahminism" needs to be shattered! The study of Vedanta 
is not the exclusive right of a select group of people. Any aspiring individual
should be given the freedom to read and reinterpret the message of the hindu 
scriptures in the light of his/her own understanding. In fact, such new 
perspectives on the ideas of the past, need to be encouraged. The fear of 
society that makes so many people conform, in all kinds of irrational and 
meaningless ways, needs to be ended.

    The prognosis is clear: if hinduism does not rise to the challenge of 
western science and technology, it is destined to an ever-diminishing role in
Indian society. Given the rich traditions of hinduism, this would be a tragedy.
The time to correct that is now! The person to do that will be the Modern 
Hindu!

R. Srivatsan/..

* Usual disclaimers apply *