Say YES To Hindu Values!
All individuals and nations have ideals. Americans are proud of their Constitution, as well as their their Declaration of Independence which proclaims "All men are created equal" and which has had a profound influence on European culture. A new country with a turbulent history, the emigrants from Europe went to the colonies, the land of the free and home of the brave. The fact Native Americans had their land taken away and were relegated to Indian reservations and Black Africans were taken forcefully to what became the USA to work on cotton plantations are not a part of the American Dream. It is more of an American nightmare which to this day cannot be wished away, even though the USA today has a President who is called "black" and like many other people in the USA has brown skin. People whose skin color is much lighter are also known as black in the USA. Cultural and linguistic difference? Every country in the world has a cupboard or closet full of skeletons and even if we don't open the door or pretend they do not exist they are stubborn and do not go away! We Indians also have our demons. Caste, and recently a feeling all over India of suppression of the freedom of expression. Some ideological forums are at war with Hindu traditional values which are high and wide. Hindu values accept all roads can lead to ultimate reality which of course means all religions or paths are a part of the Hindu way of life and can lead to Truth and, everybody is welcome, including atheists! It is something we have taken for granted for a long time. It is a part of our spiritual tradition and, as we say, also a part of our DNA. Spirituality, the Hindu way, means followers of all religions - Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, etc. - are welcome to follow their own path to Truth. No true Hindu will prevent anyone from following their personal path to nirvana or moksha. To do so would be anti-Hindu. All religions are accepted by Hindus, and all are a part of Hindu culture even if their roots are outside India as Hindus are more than proud to water them. God has ten thousand names, they say. For millennia this has been the strength and tradition of India. Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru were icons of this great tradition of tolerance and open-mindedness and big-heartedness. Despite the discrimination caused by the ugly and evil caste system, Hindu values, philosophy, and culture bring to this day applause and admiration from people around the world. Recently some people are of the opinion the Portuguese Prime Minister who can trace his ancestry to Goa should apologize for the evil deeds of the past of the Portuguese colonialists, and they have been criticized for it. I don't think there is anything wrong in asking for an apology. During a debate at Oxford University not too long ago, Shashi Tharoor MP had asked the British government to do something similar as a gesture and made a request to the British government of a symbolic amount of one rupee as reparation. He was of course speaking in a debate with the usual pro/con format and so was unable to express his thanks to the British government for what they have given India on our behalf or for himself. If it hadn't been a debate the well educated and liberal minded Shashi Tharoor, I believe, would have expressed his gratitude as it is a hallmark of our culture. We also need to say a heartfelt thank-you to the British and the Portuguese for what they have given us and India. Suttee, the shameful burning of the Hindu widow after the death of her husband, is one example we Indians have to be grateful to them. Yes, the widow and not the widower! The British banned it while they were colonialists and so did the Portuguese in Goa. They saved the lives of lakhs of Hindu women from the cruel tradition of Hindu men. No harm in asking them for an apology for the evil deeds of their ancestors but let us not forget to say thank-you otherwise we will be open to accusations of selective memory and ungratefulness. All Indian and not only Hindu men ought to be grateful to them. Upper class Indians also need to apologize to other Indians, the low castes for deeds they are supposed to have committed in past lives and now have to suffer in this life for it. Brahmins especially need to apologize to the lower castes and so-called untouchables for the institutionalized discriminations against them which is much longer in comparison than the period of British and Portuguese colonialism. A good story concocted by Hindu Brahmin priests of old which fortunately no untouchable or lower caste person is willing to swallow today. Exploitation is a simple and better explanation. And in Goa we also need to include the people who have discriminated and continue to discriminate against other people who want to have official recognition for Konkani in the Roman Alphabet as their ancestors have been using this script for centuries now. Is this a horrendous or simply logical request? The official language issue is a closed chapter and is settled according to Sudin Dhavalikar and, of course, he is right. Only fanatics will disagree with him. We Indians need to start a healing process for wounds which have been inflicted on us as well as wounds inflicted on our fellow Indians. Nowadays, unfortunately, some activists are propagating a war of hate against traditional Hindu values. Forget the minorities, the majority of Hindus do not like nor understand this unhealthy attitude. We Indians have much to be grateful for as Hindu values are old and deeply rooted in Hindu and Indian culture and consciousness. So far Indians have been patient, have been silent but there are signs of change as the results of the State elections in Bihar and elsewhere have clearly shown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken eloquently about the cultural and religious diversity of India. The question, however, persists: How does Indian plurality co-exist with a so-called Hindu State as defined by a small percentage of narrow-minded fanatical groups who would like to change the traditional values of India and the minds and hearts of the people of our nation? Prime Minister Modi and the BJP will have to answer this question clearly, and early by reining in this small minority (1% according to the Dalai Lama's calculation).
