May  2003 
Year 9    No.87

Cover Story


Ungodly act

Exponents of militant Hindutva must remember that Hindu gods never entrusted the task of retribution to their devotees; in fact, no religion did

BY KG KANNBIRAN

Praveen Togadia, and other prominent exponents of militant Hindutva, operate through two militant
outfits, the VHP and its protégé, the Bajrang Dal. Militant Hindu politics has modelled itself on Muslim fundamentalism and the Christian missions in India. Somewhere they feel that the Hindu religion should have had the proselytising character which the other two have.

The Hindu system has survived despite such misguided and aberrant interventions. All rebellions against the system were co–opted and reduced to sub–sects of the system. The VHP and the Bajrang Dal are indulging in re–conversion circuses. They are on a trip to trivialise and vulgarise whatever remains of the Hindu faith. They marketed trishuls in a big way in Gujarat 12 months prior to February 28, 2002. Now Togadia is on a major campaign to distribute trishuls, along with lectures on the political necessity for Hindus to exterminate Muslims.

Hindu philosophy, with all its doctrinal schisms, has survived with dignity for centuries. The present horde of Hindutva, which is on the rampage in this country, is going to cause far greater damage to Hinduism than did all the Mogul hordes that descended on the plains of Hindustan. There have been many religious leaders, leaders of the established religious mutts, preceptors and god persons of varied assortments, some genuine and many fake, but not one of them told the people that they should adorn or brandish the weapons of the gods.

Imagine Lord Shiva’s weapon being distributed to all classes and castes of people. No Shankaracharya would approve of this action. The spiritual heads of the Vaishnavite sections may well disapprove of members of their sect receiving trishuls. The ideological differences of these schisms extend to the weapons of their respective deities. Recent reports in the press said that the axe used by Parushuram was also going to be distributed.

This is getting funnier and funnier. Parushuram was one of the two Brahmin incarnations of the Lord. Pauranic legend has it that Parushuram, using the axe, decimated Kshatriyas. The mace and the Sudarshan Chakra are exclusive weapons of Lord Krishna, and Krishna is a Yadava lord. Rama has a bow and a quiver full of arrows. These weapons are exclusive to various gods of the Hindu pantheon and seldom are they interchangeable.

Hindu gods used these weapons to ruthlessly pulverise, decapitate and employ such other brutal methods of execution as were preordained. On occasion the gods might feel that the cruelty that their weapons can were capable of would not meet the ends of justice, and so they devised novel ways. On one occasion, the Lord manifested himself in anthropomorphic form, with a lion’s mane, and, equipped with sharp fangs and powerful claws, ripped the entrails of King Hiranya Kashipa.

Very often these gods in their original or incarnate form had to contend with very powerful and competent persons who were armed with boons of invincibility granted by one or other of the gods among them so the ruthlessness was commensurate with the arbitrary character of that person. These are not mere symbols, like kirpans, as the secular Hindutva preceptor LK Advani tells us. These weapons were used against persons who claimed that they were as immortal and as invincible as gods. In Hindu lore, god’s violence goes by the name of justice.

No Shankaracharya nor seer of the Vaishnavite persuasion ever told his followers: "thou shall be as gods". They only talked to them of ways of salvation, of individual life, and of ultimate liberation from the cycle of rebirth. By encouraging them to handle god’s weapons, you, Togadia, are telling the people that they shall be as gods. Every god in the Hindu pantheon has not only his own weapon but also his own sect. If you distribute the axe, the Kshatriyas, by whatever name they now call themselves, will be up in arms against you. Imagine the two Yadava leaders of the two biggest northern states distributing a mace and Sudarshan Chakra to each of their followers!

Praveen Togadia must realise that Hindu gods never trusted their devotees with weapons. They never entrusted the task of retribution to the people. In fact, no religion did. So far, this has worked as an effective insurance against frequent revolts and rebellions. Religion devised an effective system, which incapacitated them from being just and fair. The faithful were informed: "Ours is the job of establishing justice on earth and therefore we will Sambhwami Yuge Yuge!" 


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