Mounesh Vishwakarma

Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Nov 3: “Hinduism has given the status of god to women. But people belonging to other religions continue to nurse ulterior opinion about Hinduism. They need to question themselves about this attitude and re view their stand,” felt noted Kannada novelist, Saraswathi Samman awardee, Padma Shri Dr S L Bhyrappa.

He was addressing the students after going through academic and other activities being organized by Sri Rama Vidya Kendra, Kalladka near here on the evening of Friday November 2.

“Islam has not given liberty to women. In Christianity, there is a tendency to believe that women cause downfall of people to hell. We should feel proud for being Hindus as Hinduism has given the status of God and mother to women,” he said.

Till we became independent, ‘Vande Mataram’ was treated as our national anthem. Stories were circulated to make us believe that we won independence because of the non-violent movement preached and practiced by Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, the British left India because of revolutions like the Sepoy Mutiny. The first Prime Minister of India followed the same technique which the British had employed in the past. This ploy continues to be employed during elections too. At present, the political power continues to be inherited by the same family,” he noted.

Bhyrappa insisted that true education should hone intelligence among the students besides giving rise to curiosity and thinking power. It also should strengthen ethical values and personalities of students. The concept of ethics cannot be cultivated without the concept of God, he opined. He expressed the view that the fear to keep one’s acts within the confines of ethics should always be present in our minds, and that texts and curriculum should be in such a way that they should give rise to morality. He expressed the view that ethics can be cultivated by schools like Sri Rama Vidya Kendra.

Chairman of Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha Puttur, Dr Prabhakar Bhat, who welcomed, said in his introductory address that the stature of Bhyrappa is such that he brings value to awards. “Bhyrappa is 88-year-young, and a noted patriot. He is the one who has honed and groomed people through his ideas and concepts. He has been literally following his ideal of breathing Kannada. I had since long nursed the hope that Bhyrappa would visit my school one day. My wish has been fulfilled today,” he said.

Bhyrappa said he had been gathering information about the activities of Sri Rama Vidya Kendra since the last several years, and also had learnt about the stoppage of midday meal scheme provided by a temple last year. “Then I could not understand why the chief minister did so, but after I personally saw the activities and refinement here, I have realized the purpose behind that act. It was a clash between two cultures, and I can understand that the government is opposed to the values advocated by these schools,” he noted.

On this occasion, Bhyrappa was felicitated on behalf of the Vidya Kendra. School convener, Vasantamadhava, joint convener, Ramesh, and president, Narayana Somayaji, were at the dais.

Lecturer, Krishna Prasad, presented the programme and proposed vote of thanks. Before this, Dr Bhyrappa visited different classes, views activities, and expressed his appreciation. Dr Prabhakar Bhat provided all information about the school. 

The crowd that gathered at David Frawley’s Why I Became A Hindu, braving the afternoon heat, seemed almost geared for battle. In the end, they simply listened, spellbound. There were others too, seeking comfort and hope, who found their eyes well with tears as Frawley, one of the most acclaimed Vedic scholars of the day, described “the religion not of one God, but innumerable Gods. Hindu dharma recognises the unity of the universe but accepts the diversity of everything within it.” Later, his wife, Shambhavi, gracefully draped in a red saree, unwrapped a set of bangles with some ceremony, remarking, “It is Karva Chauth,” almost daring her audience to defy her. Their journey has had its share of challenges, as different narratives of history compete for dominance, heavily influenced by political sway. Frawley’s attempt to debunk the Aryan invasion, for instance, fetched him a great deal of flak, although the validity of his claims are being acknowledged today, by scholars and Indologists. Then again, as controversy keeps up its relentless courtship of David Frawley and his yogini wife but they shrug off the criticism with great elan – the wisdom of the Vedas is simply too precious to relinquish over petty political struggles. David Frawley, the author of several books on Hindu dharma, astrology and Vedic History, tells Darshana Ramdev about a journey which began with the young boy who liked to look up at the stars… 

How did it all begin?
When I was nine years old, I taught myself all the constellations in the sky (no, it’s not too difficult!). I can take a telescope with a laser point and even now, show you about two or three hundred objects in the sky. What I really enjoyed, though, was meditating under the stars, which led eventually to an interest in astrology and Jyotish. I began to read works by Swami Yogananda and B.V. Raman but to me, astrology has always been integrated with sadhana and understanding planetary deities. The seven planets in astrology are cosmic forces, each planet is a relay station. When you understand these cosmic forces, you see that they exist everywhere.
The symbology and metaphor of Hinduism has been reduced to a limited, literal interpretation. Would you agree? 
There is a story from the Upanishads, about the Ashwins, the healers of the Universe. They approach the son of Atharva, seeking the knowledge of immortality, the only thing that had been kept from them. The seer said he couldn’t, for fear of being beheaded by Lord Indra. The Ashwins told him then, that they would give him a horse’s head, learn the secret to immortality and when Indra appeared to behead the seer, the Ashwins could give him back the original. All of this is deeply metaphorical – even the concept of agni, or fire, is highly nuanced. The sages refer to the agni of the mind, the agni of the body – agni was a concept, a way of correlating everything to cosmic unity. We say today, that something is here or there. The ancient seers said, “It’s here, it’s there and it’s also everywhere.
Carl Jung was perhaps the first thinker in the West to bring Eastern wisdom into mainstream Western thought. You have had a lot to say on Jung and Psychology, for that matter…
Jung borrowed a great deal from Eastern wisdom but that never got the point of paramatma or transcendence. He borrowed a great deal from our wisdom and in the end, turned against it. He was invited to see Ramana Maharishi, which he declined, saying his wisdom would suffice. His vision of evolution was merely to be a better person. He did great work, yes and brought in the concept of the collective unconsciousness, that is true. What they didn’t have, however, was the concept of samadhi and collective transcendence. Freud was limited too, he never got beyond the first two chakras – everything begins and ends with sex. Yes, Jung thought beyond that but even then, their psychology is very primitive, is limited to one’s personal life and tied to the physical.  
Developments in Science, especially Physics, seem to be in keeping with ancient Vedic ideas… 
The Western civilisation is caught up in the idea of the physical but science seems to be saying something else. Physics has reduced the world from matter to energy and information. 
Is there a universal principle that holds religions together? 
Would you say all art is the same? Or that all people are the same? Religion is as varied as any other aspect of life – you can’t say all laws are good or that all political leaders are bad. Religion has good and bad too, just like everything else. It is as fallible as the human beings who practice it. The idea of a ‘religion’ in itself is a very Western concept. 
What is religion, then? 
A Western term that at a general level, signifies Christianity. Monotheism is seen as the ultimate route to salvation, while Hinduism has been classified as polytheistic. The word religion means to unite, although people don’t use it that way!  About 20 years ago, we were in London, having been asked to do a book on Hinduism. We were given a template, a blueprint of how to define religion. It said: Book, founder, prophet and God. We sent it back, saying this template didn’t work for us, we had to create our own. 
How is the Hindu philosophy different from the typical notion of religion? 
Both Christian and Islamic traditions place monotheism at the very top and emphasise the idea of salvation by belief. If you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. Hinduism isn’t like this, we have various concepts like dharma, moksha, ishwara and brahman but we don’t adhere to the idea of salvation by belief. Hinduism is a religion but something more – religions have monastic orders, places of worship and rituals. Yes, Hinduism has all these but it also has sadhana, art forms – it is based on santana dharma, to use all that is relevant.
Technology, leaps in communication – mankind has become fixated on the journey without. What about looking within? 
The senses only look at the outside. We have lost the ability to look within. Only those who look within can find the truth, that knowledge exists and needs to be brought out. This idea of looking within the self doesn’t exist outside of Hinduism and a few mystics, like the Sufis. Also, today, you can google an answer to everything, this is the age of instant information. It reminds me of a tale in the Upanishads, where the guru tells his disciple: Meditate in the forest for a year and I will answer your question. The other argument to that, however, is that if everything you see is outside of you then you are inside everything
What is enlightenment or moksha? How does one attain samadhi? 
The idea is to reach the paramatma, which is something that cannot be known directly. If we try to understand it through the mind, which is embodied consciousness, we can only do so through an idea or a word. The yoga sutra, for instance, outlines the journey to the direct understanding of the paraatma, you have to understand the mind, the sadhana, the tapas – all these things are part of the journey. As long as you operate through the mind, you cannot attain a direct awareness, or samadhi. 

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[A longer version of this article first appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books.]

Polytheism can be a terribly confusing affair to monotheists. The confusion is not just spiritual but material and cultural. Non-practising or secular people brought up in monotheistic cultures are just as likely to find polytheism bewildering. Attitudes toward polyandry or polygamy in societies that enshrine monogamous partnerships display a similar dynamic, but the problem is not merely the one versus the many. That’s just the surface manifestation.

For starters, the practice of representing divinity in a sensory plenitude of forms is confusing to those who believe in a single, formless god. But the plot thickens as the gods and goddesses represented in polytheism often behave in ways that appear morally chaotic to the sterner moral authorities of Abrahamic religions. “I recall,” writes Amit Chaudhuri in his introduction to the Vintage Book of Modern Indian Literature (2001), “some of the British critics of Peter Brooks Mahabharata noting in wounded tones the Machiavellian, unfathomable nature of the Hindu god Krishna.”

It is scarcely surprising that, to British critics of Protestant or Anglican heritage (whether secular or religious), a god who conveys an important gospel, engages in ruthless statesmanship, and indulges in transcendental erotic play with thousands of women, all in the same lifetime, may come across as a bit much.

It is hard to conceive of a similarly ambivalent and playful figure of central significance in the Abrahamic religions, which appear far more austere, abstract, and cerebral next to the sensual ambivalence of Hinduism – or, for that matter, Hellenism.

Until the Lions, the 2015 book of narrative poetry by the dancer and choreographer Karthika Naïr, retells the story of the Mahabharata in the voices of anonymous and outcast soldiers, abducted princesses, tribal queens, and a gender-shifting god. During a conversation, Naïr told me that such a retelling does not violate or overturn the original in any way, as the potential for violation is already latent in the text. Indeed, the Mahabharata creates the very conditions for that violation – one can go so far as to say that it encourages it. The character of Krishna tells us why.

Peter Brooks depicted the classical, scriptural version of Krishna as the giver of the key gospel, The Bhagavad Gita, consigning the Machiavellian Krishna and the playful, erotic Krishna to the status of folk aberrations. I don’t know if that set-up helped soothe any moral injury among British critics, but it is quite far from true. The same character does all of these things, consistently, in all versions of his story. That generations of Indian poets, lyricists, and writers have been fascinated by such a character is natural and almost inevitable; the pioneering Bangla novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay has a famous essay on this subject: “Krishna Charitra” – the character of Krishna.

Krishna is an impossibly multivalent character both because and in spite of the fact that there are many Mahabharatas.

I have come across a few myself in the course of growing up in Calcutta, mostly in Bangla but also in other Indian languages, in text and performance. In her 2009 book, The Hindus: An Alternative History, Wendy Doniger busts apart the myth that oral texts are fluid and changeable while written texts are preserved in a singular form. “The Rig Veda was preserved orally,” she writes, “but it was frozen, every syllable preserved for centuries, through a process of rigorous memorisation. There are no variant readings of the Rig Veda, no critical editions or textual apparatus. Just the Rig Veda.”

The Mahabharata, on the other hand, was both written and oral. But, unlike the Rig Veda, “this text changed constantly; it is so extremely fluid that there is no single Mahabharata; there are hundreds of Mahabharatas, hundreds of different manuscripts and innumerable oral versions.”

But no matter which version I experienced, the fluidity of Krishna’s character was a constant. This moral complexity and ambivalence – chaotic perhaps, to certain value systems – extends to the entire pantheon of gods and goddesses in Hinduism.

In the famous chapter of Mimesis entitled “Odysseus’ Scar”, Erich Auerbach contrasts Homeric and Biblical narration: the former is externalised, sensory, digressive, while the latter is more obscure and abstract, directed unrelentingly toward a single goal. Unlike the Homeric epics, which take delight in sensory effect and lie and fabricate when necessary, the biblical stories lay claim to the singularity of an absolute truth.

“The Bible’s claim to truth is not only far more urgent than Homer’s,” Auerbach writes, “it is tyrannical – it excludes all other claims.” It follows naturally therefore that “the scripture stories do not, like Homer’s, court our favour, they do not flatter us that they may please us and enchant us – they seek to subject us, and if we refuse to be subjected we are rebels”.

The Hindu epics – and, more importantly, the worldview behind them – resemble the Hellenic pantheon and Homeric narration far more than they resemble the biblical insistence on absolute truth.

But that is only part of the story. The larger truth is that Hinduism is vast enough to contain multitudes; that something much like the Abrahamic insistence on a singular, abstract godhead and its ultimate authority is also part of Hinduism. Hinduism is both monotheistic and polytheistic, even though to Western eyes the polytheism overwhelms everything else.

Why does a devotee of god need both monotheism and polytheism? The poet Rabindranath Tagore offers the most beautiful answer: “I have dived into the ocean of forms to find the formless treasure.” In her book Bodies of Song: Kabir Oral Traditions and Performative Worlds in North India (2015), Linda Hess reminds us that a keyword associated with Kabir, the 15th-century Indian mystic poet who drew from – and criticised – both Hinduism and Islam, is “Nirgun”, which literally means “no quality”.

“Nirgun” is the ultimate quality that cannot be concretised in any sensory form, much less visualised through language. Even though it expresses a negativity, Hess reminds us, “it simultaneously invokes emptiness and fullness.” Tagore’s invocation of the formless treasure, like Kabir’s “Nirgun”, seeks to go beyond the various beatific forms of polytheism and arrive at the formless divinity who eludes any kind of sensory representation.

Tagore’s poetry is defined by the mutual entanglement of the divine and the erotic, often depicting god as lover, as in the poetry of John Donne, whom he deeply admired. Here he offers the aesthete’s explanation of polytheism: the pantheon of gods, and the icons and images that represent them, matter because they offer concrete forms for imagining god, ways of becoming intimate with divinity. Moreover, these forms are beautiful; the word “roop” in Sanskrit, as in modern languages like Bangla and Hindi, means “beauty” as well as “form”.

It is the beauty of Saraswati, the goddess of learning, sitting with her book and her musical veena; the appeal of the blue Krishna, playing his flute and wielding his fatal weapon, the chakra; the terrifying beauty of the demon-slaying goddess Durga; even the violent rhythm of Shiva’s dance of destruction that earns him the name “Nataraj”, the lord of dancers.

Saikat Majumdar’s novels include The Firebird (2015) and the forthcoming The Scent of God (2019). He tweets here.

Hinduism offers a bountiful choice of pilgrimage sites to its followers. The fortunate ones come back with their faith renewed; while the others live by their tales as they continue to pray.

Bright marigolds decorate the entrance of temples. Inside, a priest offers prayers to the idol at the sanctum sanctorum. He lights a diya (lamp) and places it next to the various sweets, and red hibiscus on a puja thali (a plate used for prayers). The whites of the jasmine flower garlands that adorn the gods, the pinks of the roses that lay at their feet, the orange of the priest’s attire, all make for a colourful, quintessential temple setting. Incense sticks placed next to the idols make the air light, crisp, and fragrant and the thin smoke that curls up from them makes for a meditative ambience.

Inside a Hindu temple in India, in the backdrop of a similar holy setting, countless gods and goddess are worshipped amidst extravagant rituals. While some pray to Shiva or Vishnu, others pray to the elephant god, Ganesha, or Krishna and some bow their heads before Goddess Vaishno.

Hindu religion, believed to be the oldest religion in India, and perhaps in the world, is the most widely practiced religion in India. The religion has about a billion followers in India; and about 95 pc of the world’s Hindus live in the country.

As per Hinduism, there are 330 billion of gods and goddesses, including the creators and organisers of this universe, and their many avatars, who had set foot on Earth over a span of the four yugas or ages (Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, Kali Yuga).

It is believed that Hinduism always existed on Earth and is the very foundation of life on the planet, with the various avatars first walking on the face of it in order to kill the demons and bring an end to ill.

There are thousands of marvellous tales that revolve around these gods, their avatars and their time in this world. Interestingly, there are also temples and shrines that give a visible and tangible edge to these tales also making the stories sound more real than mere myth.

At the Jwalaji Temple in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, where there is no idol of the goddess Jwala Devi, flames mysteriously erupt from walls in the temple and cannot be extinguished by any means.

Although there are many Hindu temples across the length and breadth of India, that defy science, leaving visitors bewildered and devotees with a renewed faith, these five attract a distinguished footfall, perhaps also because they are accessible year round unlike some like the Amarnath cave temple, in which the sacred Shivalingam is formed naturally from ice every year.

Vaishno Devi, Jammu Kashmir

Located in the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, the shrine of Goddess Vaishno is one of the most holy of places for Hindus. Residing in a cave that is situated in the folds of the three peaked mountain named Trikuta, Ma Vaishno Devi is a motherly figure for many. She is believed to be the one to full-fill the wishes of her children. The holy cave in which rest the pindis or the three natural rock formations, believed to be the goddesses, are situated at an altitude of about 1,600 metres. The devotees trek nearly 12 km from the base camp at Katra in Jammu up to the shrine. While most prefer to do the journey by foot, those who are unable to trek can ride up on horses or avail a helicopter facility. The temple is open throughout the year and is managed by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, the management of the shrine, which takes care of the pilgrims in this distant, cold land.

Ramanathaswamy Temple, Tamil Nadu

In the island town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, the Ramanathaswamy temple is a major religious and tourist attraction. Standing tall, at over 38m, the towering temple dominates the view of its neighbourhood and has come to be symbolic to the state. It borrows its name from Hindu God Rama. As legend goes, after killing the 10-headed Ravana ( a Hindu mythological character) in a battle in Sri Lanka, Lord Rama returned to India with his wife Goddess Seeta and first stepped on the shores of Rameswaram. Ravana, a Brahmin, had abducted Goddess Seeta, and so in order to wash away the sin of killing a holy man, Lord Rama offered prayers to Lord Shiva. Since there was no temple dedicated to Shiva on the island, Lord Rama had a shrine built with the aid of his disciple Hanuman and wife Seeta. Housing the sacred Shivalingam, this temple is one of India’s holiest shrines. Dating mainly from the 16th-18th centuries, it’s notable for its 1000-pillar halls and 22 theerthams (temple tanks), in which pilgrims bathe before visiting the sanctum sanctorum.

Jagannath Temple, Odisha

Located at Puri in the state of Odisha, this 11th century temple is one of the char dhams, the four main Hindu pilgrimage sites. The Jagannath Temple is dedicated to Lord Jagannath-the lord of the universe, and to the lord’s siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra. The ebony hued idol that represents the revered deity is hugely popular among its followers. The Lord’s brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra reside supreme in the central jagamohan (assembly hall). Idols of the three deities are dressed in new apparel and showered with flowers, daily by priests. Taking care of the idols keeps the priests busy all day as they change the gods’ dresses as per various daily ceremonies. As per reports, the temple employs about 6,000 men to perform the complicated rituals involved in caring for the gods. An estimated 20,000 people – divided into 36 orders and 97 classes – are dependent on Jagannath for their livelihood. The temple is also known for its chamber full of cockroaches, which are believed to be existing their as a form of god. A draw for devotees from across the world, the temple does not allow anyone except Hindus.

Somnath Temple, Gujarat

Located in the western state of Gujarat, the Somnath temple has its tales of myths, like most places of worship, but it’s best known for the frequent vandalisation and demolitions by Muslim invaders and its resurrections thereafter. The temple is believed to first have been built by the Moon God, Soma, who made it entirely in gold. It, however, did not survive and was then constructed again, this time by the Sun God Ravi, who made it out of silver. It had to be made again though, and Lord Krishna used wood to make it this time. In the 11th century, it was built in stone by the Solanki Rajputs; and the present temple, which is the seventh reconstruction on the original site, was built in 1951. Not just its reconstructions, it is also known for its riches, which have attracted a series of invasions and thus losses. However, as the history of the temple has it, it has always been saved. After every invasion the temple would be restored to its original glory by devout Hindu worshipers.

Constructed in the south Indian Chalukyan style, the temple’s imposing architecture includes intricate carvings, silver doors, an idol of the revered bull Nandi, and the holy Shivalinga. In its vast courtyard is the massive mandapa (prayer block), as well as the main shrine. Close to the Arabian coast and offering a view from the tip of the Saurashtra peninsula, the temple is kissed by nature, which immensely adds to its beauty and peaceful environs. From a side door, the view of the sea waves dancing to the rays of a setting sun catches the eyes of worshippers seeking solace. From a distance, once can see the tower called Deep Stambha, which is erected on an embankment. Atop the tower is an arrow pointing directly to the south pole and it is said that a line between here and the south pole crosses no landmass until the Antarctica. The temple is also known for it’s a four-day annual Kartik Purnima Fair, usually in October-November

Kamakhya Devi Temple, Assam

Located in Guwahati, the largest city in Assam, Maa Kamakhya Devalaya or Kamakhya Devi temple is considered to be one of the oldest temples in India. Also, one of the 51 in shakti peethas (significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, a Hindu tradition of worshipping the powerful goddesses), it is thus also one of the most sacred. Maa Kamakhya is the said to be goddess of desire and this shrine of hers is completed with temples of 10 of her avatars. Just like any other religious place, there are various legends and myths associated with this temple. One of the earliest stories dates back to the temple’s creation. As legend has it, Goddess Parvati despite being forbade by her husband Lord Shiva, went to attend a yagna (a holy ceremony) performed by her father Prajapati Daksha.

Lord Shiva and the Goddess were not invited by Daksha; so after She reached the site of the yagna, Daksha started to insult Lord Shiva in front of everyone present. Unable to bear the insult, the Goddess took her life at the spot. When Lord Shiva, also known for his rage, came to know about the incident, he rested the lifeless body on his shoulders and started performing tandava (a dance associated with the lord, which he performed only in rage). While the other lords tried to calm Shiva, they failed. Lord Shiva then dismembered her body into 51 parts, which fell on different places that are now the shakti peethas.

THE FOUR YUGAS

According to Hinduism, the age of universe is divided into various yugas or eons; and as life is cyclical, the Yugas, too, complete a full circle and come back in the same order.

Satya Yuga: Also referred to as the golden age, it saw its people as being godly with an average life span of 100,000 years at the beginning of the yuga. It is also known as period when one would meditate through the course of their life.

Treta Yuga: Also called the silver age, it saw its people live an average 10,000 years with a decrease in their godly qualities. From meditation, people started deviating to the course of sacrifice.

Dvapara Yuga: Referred to as the Bronze Age, during this time, the godly qualities in people reduced dramatically again and so did the average life expectancy, which was now only 1,000 years. This is the age when people started to worship deities within temples.

Kali Yuga: Believed to be the current age, or the Iron Age. The Godly consciousness has nearly disappeared and life expectancy is less than 100 years. By now already 5,000 years (which is also the age of the Indian civilization) of Kali Yuga have passed and it is predicted that by the end it, human lifespan will not extend beyond 20 years and they will be forced to eat meat in the absence of any vegetation. People in this age pray by chanting holy names of lords.

Hingol: a Hindu pilgrimage in Balochistan province of Pakistan.

Hingol Located along the banks of Hingol river, in Hinglaj town in Balochistan province of Pakistan, is Hinglaj Mata Mandir. Also, called Nani mandir or Hinglaj Devi or Hingula Devi.

The Express Tribune (Pak) | Karachi | April 20, 2016:: In the searing heat of Balochistan, Sunil Kumar climbs up the Chandergup volcano barefoot. Sweating profusely and out of breath, he treads slowly, his ascent interjected by chants of ‘Jai Mata Di’.

Sunil is among the hundreds of pilgrims making their way up to the summit of the 300-foot-high mud volcano of Hingol. Once on the top, he takes out a coconut from his side pocket and throws it in the gooey soup to thank the gods for granting his wish.

The steep trek to Chandergup’s rim is the first ritual of the Mata Hinglaj Yatra the holiest pilgrimage of Hindus in the world. After descending from the volcano with their faces plastered by its holy mud, the pilgrims will proceed to the main Hinglaj temple in the foothills of Kirthar mountains about 35km away.

A pre-Partition mandir and the struggle to protect it

The annual pilgrimage takes place every April in Hingol about 250km west of Karachi, from where the majority of people are coming. But most of them actually started out in Tharparkar.

The most devoted are on foot some coming from as far as Mithi and Umerkot about 550km away, taking 22 days to reach their destination. Others have hired cars and coasters. Built in 2007, the Makran Coastal Highway between Karachi and Gwadar has helped reduce the journey for many by days.

Veersi Malke Dewani, the general-secretary of Hinglaj Mata Welfare Trust, which has been organising the festival for the past 31 years, believes people from all over the world want to perform the pilgrimage but logistical problems keep them away.

Three-tier security

The shrine that attracts thousands of tourists throughout the year is declared out of bound for Muslims for the festival. Considering the recent bomb blast in Lahore on Easter Sunday, the security at the temple is unusual.

Balochistan Frontier Corps personnel guard the entrance route at three check-posts, checking the identity cards of all arriving pilgrims. Muslims are turned away if not accompanied by the pilgrimage organisers themselves.

This has not been the case. For years, Muslims have come to the yatra with some even terming it Nani Ka Hajj. Locals volunteer with regulating the parking of hundreds of buses, jeeps, cars and trolleys, arranging water for the pilgrims, operating electricity generators and providing food three times a day.

Sanjesh Dhanja, who runs the nonprofit Pakistan Hindu Seva, has taken up the responsibility of ensuring cleanliness at the site. This year, he has started an awareness campaign to educate the pilgrims not to create a mess and keep the temple clean.

Despite security concerns, Sanjesh says this year has seen the largest attendance of devotees, roughly estimated to be around 250,000.

Splash of colours

Veersi says about 75,000 people were present on the second day alone considerably larger in number than last year.

On the way inside, the scene turns as eclectic as any Urs celebrations of Sufi saints across Pakistan. Buntings, red flags and welcoming banners adorn the place. Revellers dance to music. Some watch from the sidelines, some nap under the trees while many continue to walk towards the main temple.

Roadside stalls sell coconuts, incense sticks, statues of Hindu deities, garlands of rose and marigolds, CDs of bhajans, dry fruit and other food items for travellers.

It is no surprise Thari women, with their trademark embroidered dresses and arms full of bangles, are in majority at the Mata Hinglaj temple. The estimated population of Hindus in Pakistan is over three million with most of them living in Tharparkar.

The festivities go on for four days with the climax on the third day when high priests chant mantras, inviting gods to accept the offerings of the devotees and bring them peace.

The legend

According to Hindu beliefs, Sati, the spouse of Shiva, burnt herself to death after her father Daksha disrespected her and did not invite her partner to a feast.

This angered Shiva who went on a rampage in the world carrying along with him Sati’s body. Vishnu then intervened and used his powers to calm Shiva down. He then cut the body of Sati into 51 pieces, which fell to earth in different places.

Giyan Maharaj, a pundit in Khipro, says these 51 places are called Shakti Peethas and became sacred places. Hindus believe the head of the goddess fell in Hinglaj, thus making it the most revered place of pilgrimage.

Trip of a lifetime

All believers, Giyan says, have to go to Hinglaj, which is built in a cave along the bank of River Hingol. This trip along with good deeds elevates the soul, which eventually escapes the birth cycle and reaches god. The soul is then ready for reincarnation inside a new body.

Veersi of the Hinglaj organising committee says most Hindus have come to know about this holy place only recently since the arrival of social media. If visa conditions in coming to Pakistan are relaxed, thousands of Hindus from across the world will come to the place, he says.

For any Hindu, a visit to Hinglaj is the ultimate pilgrimage, but very few like to take the challenge.

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Content provider: Asianet-Pakistan | Pic. Various | Courtesy: The Express Tribune (Pakistan).

*Republished in the interest of highlighting the cultural issues of the minorities in Pakistan. 

Hindu is the geographical, cultural and metaphysical identity of the people of the land. It’s neither a religion nor a nation-state.

The people of America are called as Americans, Japan as Japanese, and Brazil as Brazilian and so the people of India or Hindustan are called as Indians or Hindus. But whereas American-ism, Japan-ism or Brazilian-ism are not called as a religion, by what yardstick is Hinduism called and officially proclaimed by the Indian nation-state as a religion?

The word religion is rooted in the Latin word “religare” meaning “to bind.” Religion in its most pervasive meaning today is used to describe Christianity and Islam which are marked by being “bound” to One Book and One Prophet, and divides the world as believers and non-believers, thereby ostensibly seeking to “convert” one to another. Every other identity that is called as a religion is thus portrayed through this predominant world view.

Despite repeated attempts to drag the innocuous Hindu identity into this gambit, by no stretch of imagination it qualifies to be called as a religion of Hindu-ism. This is a gross infringement on the rights of the Hindus who constitute the native and indigenous people of the land or the adivasi.

It has been said that religion is akin to “panth” or “math” in the Hindu context, but that’s another gross distortion, when we compare them to either Christianity or Islam. Neither can “dharma,” which denotes a sense of duty and means “that which upholds,” be described as religion. There are attempts to “religion-ise” the Hindu identity through Hinduism or Hindutva by vested interests but only serve to defile and damage the Hindu identity, and cause grave harm to the ordinary people they claim to represent and defend.

The existence of malpractices and sociopathic behavior that crept into a society at some time has resulted in vitriolic being directed against those who profess Hinduism as a religion. Ambedkar states in his essay ‘Philosophy of Hinduism’:

“Inequality is the soul of Hinduism. The morality of Hinduism is only social. It is unmoral and inhuman to say the least. What is unmoral and inhuman easily becomes immoral, inhuman and infamous.” (Ref 2)

But if the Holocaust has not cast such an indelible shadow on German-ism, despite the fact that its Christian history of hatred against Jews had a lot to do with the rise of the Nazis and the cold-blooded killings of 20 million Jews; or the British genocide and brutal exploitation of its colonial subjects has not stigmatized British-ism and Turkish and Arabic genocides and brutalities has not blemished these identities forever, even as they happened explicitly in the garb of Islam, why should ordinary Hindus be haunted and bullied today for no fault of theirs, in their own land and elsewhere in the name of Hinduism.

The greater irony is that even scholarly bodies like the Hindu America Foundation make the same mistake of falsely denigrating the indigenous Hindu identity into a religious identity of Hinduism, in their limited and defective vision. They fail to see the powerful and growing tide of humanity that sees through the imperialist machinations of using religion as bait to “convert,” grab land from the indigenous people and which has penetrated academic circles with great deal of deceit and chicanery to show other competing religions in poor light.

Who are the real Hindus?

Hindus are neither religionists of Hinduism-As-A-Religion nor the jingoistic nationalism of Hindutva-vadis, against whom much of the ire and tirade of the “anti-Hindu” forces is directed. Hindus are ordinary people of the land. Over thousands of years of their known existence, the Hindus have heartily welcomed people and their opinion from all over the world with open arms because of their core beliefs in “World as a Village and Village as the World (वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम),” “Guest is God (अतिथि देवो भव)” and “Truth alone shall win (सत्यमेव जयते).”

Addressing the complexity and gravity of the Hindu situation must begin with diving deeper to the indigenous view of the Hindu identity rather than the exogenous view, despite the fact that the latter has far greater currency today and the former has been muted and subdued.

Why is Hindu not a sovereign “nation-state”?

Unraveling the indigenous Indian or Hindu identity could be the uniting principle for its diversity and at times conflicting ideologies and identities. For this we need to challenge and dissolve the imposition of Hindu as a religion and as a jingoistic nationalism as a modern nation-state. The brazen centralization of power by the nation-state is both anachronistic and against the interests and rights of its indigenous people, a right which is guaranteed and staunchly protected by the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People, which came to effect since 2007. Article 3 of this epoch-making declaration clearly states that:

“Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” (Ref 1)

The sovereignty in the Hindu context rests with the indigenous forest dwelling communities (वनवासी), village dwellers (ग्रामवासी) and city dwellers (नगरवासी), with a symbiotic and synergistic relationship among the three. The political state had a limited role of regional governance and security for which it collected a percentage of the produce and was responsive to natural calamities.

The political boundaries and administration of these states kept changing to reflect people’s needs and aspirations.

After having experienced several hundreds of years of foreign occupation that continues up to the day in a covert fashion, we need to weigh the pros and cons of the status quo vis-a-vis the Hindu identity and its attendant indigenous systems and structures.

References:

1. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf

2. http://kafila.org/2016/03/09/look-whos-calling-us-anti-national-the-pleasant-antecedents-of-sudhir-chaudhary-and-journalistic-ethics-of-ibn-7/

Rajan Zed, who is President of
Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including
Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art
Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National
Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused
exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the
world.

Founded in 1846, Smithsonian;
consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine
research facilities; has about 138 million objects/artifacts.  In 2015,
about 28 million people visited Smithsonian. David J. Skorton is the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution.

Hinduism, oldest and third
largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh
(liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.