The Glory of a Nation’s Identity

It is a pity that many Indians today call the grand culture of Hinduism, the culture of an older race of humanity, as communal, compared to some woolly ideal of secularism, an ideal void of the pragmatism of any true unity in the diversity of life. These Indians stigmatize the pride of inheriting such a culture as arrogance, as narrow-mindedness.

These so-called intellectuals and ignoramuses, not knowing the truth of the evolutionary hierarchy in the flowering biodiversity of nature, fail to grasp the truth of Hinduism, which has a unique history of knowing and recording as many as six systems of philosophy in the quest for the Ultimate Reality and reconciling all possible revelations of different human thoughts on God and human nature.  Take for instance the classification of human nature, the ancient Caturvarnya, which these secular intellectuals always use as a stick to beat up Hinduism with. They judge it by its later disintegrated degeneration and gross meaningless parody, the caste system decided by birth, whereas the original idea was based on the innate growing capacity in the nature of man as per God’s creation.

Of the four classifications, the first and highest is the man of learning , thought and knowledge, the Brahmin. Next comes the Kshatriya, the man of power and action, the ruler, leader, administrator and warrior, third is the Vaishya, the producer, the economist, the merchant, artisan, or cultivator. Last is the less developed human, without skills, much mental or physical force, the man fit for labour and menial service, the Shudra. This order of society, which was not fixed by birth or wealth but by a person’s ability, was cast by the universally embracing Dharma, the Hindu ideal of perfection for the developing mind and soul of man in the web of a harmonious individual and collective life.

Let us digress now for a bit of soul-searching in the current mire of India’s political atmosphere. Take Narendra Modi’s puppy and AK remarks. As far as the genuine concerns of India are concerned there is no room at all for any such ‘pleasantries’ to keep up the ego, sentiments and moral vanities of a party or political leaders. Neither Modi nor anyone else, from Jawaharlal Nehru onwards until now, have scored 10 out 10 as prime ministerial material. Yet Modi’s assertions, on public platforms at least, are indisputably relevant for the sake of India as a nation in the comity of nations in the world. India has already suffered too much at the hands of Congress, even prior to and after more than six decades of freedom. Look at the fallacy and hypocrisy of a Congress election promise of bringing 8% growth in 100 days of coming to power, something it could not do in the last 10 years of being in power!

Though Congress has not yet declared it officially, does anyone believe that Rahul Gandhi as PM of India, will not be another painful nightmare for India? How can we regain the lost glory of India at the hands of someone like Rahul Gandhi who doesn’t know anything much about India, Hinduism, Islam, the Kashmir issue, economics as an important tool of social science, or even the truth of Humanity. A man in his 40s who does not seem to possess the right knowledge, valour, or skills to develop even his own life, let alone that of the people of one of the most populated nations of the world. He is not a Vivekananda, he is not a man with any perceptions that has even the slightest resemblance to the greatness of someone like Swami Vivekananda.  Nor is there any one else in the current line-up of wanna-be PMs who will or can lead us to the glory of what India was once.