This is the English translation of the
Editorial of Ṛṣipīṭham, Telugu magazine, published in its
January 2019 issue. The magazine is edited and published by Brahmasri Sāmavēdam Ṣanmukha
Śarma. Brahmasri Śarma is
the foremost exponent of our Sanātana Dhārmic
lore. His encyclopaedic knowledge and felicity of expression that makes complex
tātvic principles intelligible to common people
attract large audiences to his discourses in India and many other nations.
Apart from public meetings he appears on several television channels to give
discourses on our ancient wisdom. He is a prolific writer and produced many
books on Sanātana Dhārmic literature. The translated version of the editorial
is published with permission.
In India that is Bharat Hindus are a numerical
majority. At least it appears to be so. A closer look would reveal how chimerical
this belief is. In point of fact Hindus are really a ‘minority’.
How? Firstly there are those who are de jure
Hindus but de facto converts. Secondly there are those Hindus who have
neither the desire nor diligence to live as Hindus or practise Hinduism.
They are not only oblivious to the impending peril, but sadly are not consumed
by a devotion to protect their Sanātana Dharma.
They go through the motions, practising Hindu rituals on auspicious or somber
occasions. They are insouciant to the perils threatening their Dharma
and the Hindu places of worship. They are insouciant to the political bias of
their leaders. They reason: ‘how does it really matter, whichever religion it
is?’
Then there are those Hindus who boast of being
atheists and lose no opportunity to deride Dharmic scriptures,
traditions, rituals and temples in their social intercourse and writings.
If we exclude these three categories, there is the
residual, virtual minority that lives as Hindus and practises Sanātana Dharma. They are the real Hindus!
The contrast with the followers of other faiths could
not be starker. There is unanimity of actions, behaviour, beliefs and thoughts among
followers of other faiths. They exhibit an unshakable faith in their religion
and the thought that no other faith is superior to theirs. They do not
denigrate their scriptures or places of worship. Their devotion to their
religion is so strong that they do not hesitate to denigrate, deride and
suppress faiths other than theirs. Men and women, young and old all learn the
ways of their respective faiths and religiously practise them. They acquiesce to
their religious leaders even if they are venal or wanton. They stand as one to
support them; to make them succeed in their collective goal, viz. preservation,
propagation and advancement of their faith. They do not criticize
organizations, which in the name of faith, resort to extremist or even terrorist
activities.
Thus the two principal faiths opposed to the Sanātana Dharma are clear in their mind about their purpose and
assiduously and – religiously – work to achieve it. There is no ambiguity in
their thought and purpose. Their intense desire is that their faith should rule
the nation. And that the Sanātana Dharma
should be stamped out in its homeland!
Their actions and efforts are focussed in that
direction.
Observing their unanimity of thought and action,
political leaders – although born Hindu – mollycoddle them and pander to their
every wish; they give away national wealth as largesse to pamper them. They
participate in the festivals of these faiths donning their traditional
attires! But no leader of the other faiths appears in a festival of Hindus. If
possible they create hurdles in Hindu celebrations.
The Hindu political leaders know fully well that the
myriad caste formations in the Hindu faith never unite as each caste wants to
dominate the others in wresting political power.
We have seen the bizarre spectacle of processions of
green flags and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans of certain interest groups emboldened
by the results in the recent state elections. Neither the forces of law and
order bothered to take action nor any politician stood up to condemn the
anti-national activities. The issue is not about celebration of a certain
political party coming to power but that the nature of the celebrations signifies
an insidious threat to national security and integrity.
Such incidents are not just a threat to the survival
of Sanātana
Dharma but to peace, religious
harmony and national integrity. What could the virtual minority Hindus do to remedy
the situation? For the Hindus who seek peaceful, harmonious co-existence with
others it is an existential crisis. They have suffered for over a thousand years
under alien rule. Sadly the situation does not seem to be different today. In
states like Kerala, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and the north east they
live in fear. In large tracts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra,
Telangana and Tamil Nadu they live under the hegemony of other religions. There
is a sense of insecurity among Hindus in all these areas.
It is not that these realities are unknown. They are
widely shared with statistics in social media like Facebook, WhatsApp and
YouTube. They get shares, likes and forwards but just that. There is no
concrete action or reaction to ameliorate the situation or improve the status
of Hindus to the eminence they deserve.
The mainstream media conceals the facts. Worse it
projects the opposite as truth. The
regional media considers its job done by promoting the interests of caste,
regional or factional leaders.
Thanks to the doctored history that is taught in
schools, colleges and universities today’s youth is oblivious to the atrocities
that were perpetrated on Hindus for centuries in the past. Ignorant of the
past, they are unable to view what is happening today in its proper perspective.
Instead of trying to safeguard their ancient culture and faith they resort to
NOTA peeved by the slightest inconvenience!
What should we do? Just pray the lord to save the Sanātana Dharma and the nation?