Author: Balasaheb Deoras
Publication: Aseemaa
Date: February 2002
Who is a Hindu?
While broaching this subject, the
first question that naturally poses itself before us is: "Who is a 'Hindu'?"
Many definitions of the word 'Hindu' have been forwarded but none of them
appears to be perfect, since every one of them, however carefully worded,
suffers from the defect of being either 'too little' or 'too much'. But
can we deny the very existence of the Hindu society just because it defies
definition'?
Although the word cannot be defined,
we all know very well that the 'Hindu society' does exist. Also all of
us do have a definite and common understanding as to who constitute this
society.
Some years ago, the Government formulated
the Hindu Code which was approved by the Parliament. Pandit Nehru and Dr.
Ambedkar were the main architects of the Code. In order to make the Code
applicable to the largest society in this country, they had to perforce
name it 'The Hindu Code'. While defining its scope of applicability they
had to declare in the beginning stages that all except, the Muslims, the
Christians, the Parsis and the Jews, come under its purview and that it
was applicable to Sanatanis, Lingayats, Arya Samajists, Jains, Sikhs and
Buddhists and even others who, did not conic under any of these categories.
It was also made clear that any one seeking exemption from it will have
to bear the onus of justifying such an exemption. The only comprehensive
term which could denote the people whom they had in mind was 'Hindu'.
The Two-fold Basis
We want to organise or consolidate
all the Hindus. Organisation does not merely mean a crowd, a front or a
meeting. Organisation implies bringing and keeping the people together
and making them realise the purpose for their remaining together. This
is no easy task. We will have to furnish some basis for it. And some of
those basic factors of unity will have to be necessarily emotional in content;
because the constitution of the human mind is such. Therefore we start
with our motherland.
'This is our motherland, we are
its children and we have been living here for the past thousands of years.
During this long past, we have created in this land a glorious history;
and also contributed to world thought, culture and civilization. We alone
have been responsible both for its rise and for its fall.
Therefore we, being the children
of this soil, must come together and live together.' These realizations
should form the emotional basis of our unity. Even those who call themselves
'rational' will have to accept such an emotional basis. There is nothing
wrong in it. Even Stalin had to remind his compatriots that they all belonged
to a single, great nation, when Russia faced a terrible ordeal during the
Second World War. He had to invoke the spirit of 'nationalism' and 'fatherland'.
The necessity of such an emotional inspiration is beyond controversy.
However, will this suffice? While
actually working in the social field, we feel it necessary that there should
also be a practical manifestation of this basis. It is of course essential
that every one must emotionally feel that-we are all one and that we are
all equal, but at the same time we should also be able to experience naturally
and always this oneness in our day-to-day life. So long as we do not have
this living experience alongside the emotional call, the basis of our unity
will neither be robust nor long-standing.
The Folly is Ours
Our history of the past hundreds
of years tells us that just a handful of Muslims and even fewer Englishmen
could rule over us and could forcibly convert many of our brethren to their
religions. They also created controversies like 'Brahmin and non-Brahmin'
'Savarna and Asprishya.' In this regard we cannot just blame the foreigners
and exonerate ourselves. What is the use of lamenting that it was because
of our contact with foreigners and their divisive machinations that our
unity was shattered? It was but inevitable that we should, sooner or later,
come into contact with the foreign societies and their cultures. There
could not for ever be a Berlin Wall between them and us. It is only the
diffident people afraid of the contacts and thoughts of others that put
up a wall around themselves. The greatness of any system is proved only
when it can hold its head high even while it is in contact with others.
When a system encloses itself in an impenetrable shell, it is only declaring
its own inferiority. Hence instead of blaming others for our shortcomings
we should introspect within ourselves and try to know which of our failings
enabled the foreigners to get the better of us. In this regard, Dr. Hedgewar,
the founder of the RSS, had a unique outlook. Whenever this topic arose,
he used to say, "We cannot escape our responsibility by simply blaming
the Muslims and the Christians for our downfall. We must seek out our own
failings." We have to admit hat social inequality amongst us has been a
reason for our downfall.
Fissiparous tendencies like caste
and sub-caste rivalries and untouchability have all been the manifestations
of this social inequality.
Discriminate!
For the Hindu Sanghatanists this
is a delicate and difficult issue since we are immensely proud of our Dharma
and our Sanskriti. It is true that we have a lot of things of which we
can be justly proud. The philosophy and values of life of this land have
received the highest acclamation of the thinkers the world over as an invaluable
contribution to peace and progress of humanity itself. These values of
life have stood the test of time in the face of long-drawn-out onslaughts
and amidst historical and political upheavals. We all naturally feel that
these eternal life-principles should be preserved.
However, it is clear that even while
cherishing this pride, it would not do to think that all that is old is
gold.
Puraanamityeva na saadhu sarvam.
Just because something is old, it
need not necessarily be good or eternal or gospel truth. Neither should
we think that since we have been living all these years on the basis of
these old principles we need not even think on new lines.
Taatasya koopoyamiti bruvaanaah
Kshaaram jalam kaapurushaah pibanti.
'My father and grandfather dug this
well. The water was salty. But they drank it and lived on. Hence we shall
also drink the same water' such bigotism does nobody any good. The saying
speaks of such a person not as satpurusha (good person) but as kaapurusha
(coward). Such a way of thinking is wrong.
The society is made up of various
types of people. There will be some who will jump at any new thing as good
and ideal; some others react to any new thing adversely and reject it outright
as being useless and worthless. But those who have taken up the mission
of eradicating the social defects and reorganizing the society should not
take up either of these extreme attitudes. They have to adopt the attitude
of- Santah pareekshyaanyatarat bhajante.
They will have to discriminate,
preserve and take up whatever is worthy and feel not sorry for the dying
out of things which are to die. The more our people adopt this rational
way of looking at things, the sooner will the mission of Hindu Consolidation
and removal of inequality be fulfilled.
Reform In Keeping with Times
For instance, the Jews have-according
to a book I read recently-reviewed their religious texts and practices
after every century or two and revalued them in the contemporary context.
Of course, the wordings of the religious texts could not be changed, but
fresh interpretations were placed on them in keeping with the times. These
they introduced in practice and made popular also. It means they discriminated
between what was eternal and what was changeable. I believe that in our
own country too similar rethinking and revaluation of our religions texts
must have been done in the olden times. Otherwise there is no reason why
to many different types of religious books-Smritis-should have come into
existence. See, how many changes have taken place even in our gods and
goddesses. Indra, Varuna, Agni and other gods have given place to Vishnu
and Siva. There was at one time conflict between Saivas and Vaishnavas,
but Sri Sankaracharya established a harmony between the two and ushered
in the puja of the Panchaayatan. And now Sivaratri and Prabodhini Ekadasis
are being observed in almost every house. It means that even in olden times
efforts were made from time to time to establish harmony and bring in new
interpretations; and that people were not insistent about sticking to 'every
word and syllable of all that is old.
A Common Human Weakness
There are many stories recounted
in the ancient texts and Puranas. But do we accept them all as literally
true? For instance, it has been said in the Puranas that the lunar and
solar eclipses are a result of 'Raahu and Ketu swallowing the Moon and
the Sun'. But should we, in order to affirm our devotion to our old religious
texts, incorporate this story in, the school textbooks to explain to the
children why the eclipses take place? We are bound to give in the textbooks
only what is scientific and factual.
It is not peculiar to only Hindu
society that religious texts are understood by the letter, and the texts
or stories therein believed in blind faith. In 1925, a thrilling court
case took place in America ('The trial that rocked the world', Reader's
Digest, July 1962)-a country believed to be most scientific in outlook.
A teacher in one of the States was placed in the dock. He was charged by
a Christian citizen with teaching the theory of evolution in contravention
of the story of Genesis and Creation of Man as told in the Bible. The teacher
had taught in the light of the latest theory of evolution. The court declared
him guilty and he was punished. However, today no Christian gives credence
to that story of evolution in the Bible; but still they have not tried
to destroy their faith in the Bible. This may appear strange, but has a
great lesson for us.
Spirit Eternal, Forms Ever New
Such problems are common to all
countries. Solutions must be found for them. Whenever I speak like this,
some people say that these are things created by God. It is their intention
perhaps to impress upon us the idea that such things cannot be changed
or amended because they are created by God. But how far can this argument
stand? God Himself has declared: "Whenever Dharma declines I reincarnate
myself." However, the re-establishment of Dharma after its decline does
not mean that the old order will be re-established without any change whatsoever.
Nobody in our country, like Mohammed, has ever said, "I am the last prophet."
So it is but proper that we should rethink how far it is right to assert
that this is the Word of God and hence unchangeable. The reestablishment
of Dharma can only mean that the same eternal life principles will be preserved,
while its expressions and manifestations will change. And these changes
we must be prepared to welcome.
We should also be able to think
clearly and without bias regarding the genesis of the systems which came
into vogue in those old days. There is no reason to think that our ancestors
had no insight into things and that they had set up the systems arbitrarily
or in ignorance. We must keep in mind the fact that the thinkers and leaders
of society of those times considered the needs under those conditions and
laid down suitable norms to ensure its solidarity and progress. In case
those systems are unnecessary or no longer useful at present, we are free
to reject them.
But it is necessary that we should
also understand why a particular system was introduced in a particular
period of time.
Take for instance the Varna Vyavastha-the
caste system. It is said that there was no Varna Vyavastha in olden times.
Later on it was felt that some system was necessary to ensure the proper
and steady progress of society. The leaders of society at that time thought
that society could progress only if four kinds of functions were properly
and efficiently executed.
Hence the society was classified
into four groups depending upon the specific propensities and aptitudes
of individuals and groups of individuals. Thus, the caste system was evolved.
Any system entails classification. However, this system did not envisage
any differences in the status of the people belonging to the different
groups. Classification is one thing and class-discrimination is another.
According to some scholars, the
classification in the beginning was also not hereditary. But as time went
on, it must have become increasingly difficult to recognise and classify
aptitudes in an extensive society, residing in such a vast stretch of country
and having no means of quick transport or communication.
Under such a situation, birth in
a particular family must itself have been taken as the indication of his
aptitudes and as a basis for classifying a person or a group of persons.
That is how the growth of the caste system must have taken place. But even
at that time there were no superiority or inferiority complexes. On the
other hand, the whole society was visualised as a single living entity,
personified into a magnificent figure with 'a thousand heads, a thousand
eyes and a thousand feet'. Such a glorious concept does not permit the
perverse and ridiculous notion that the thighs are superior to the feet,
hands are superior to the thighs or the head is superior to the hands.
The idea is that all these limbs are equally essential for the proper functioning
of society.
The sense of high and low that we
witness today had no place in that concept of one corporate living social
entity. To imagine otherwise would be to do grave injustice to those people.
It was for this reason that the system was acceptable to one and all. And
it was because of its common acceptance that certain systems of checks
and balances were evolved to continue it from generation to generation.
For example, the group endowed with the intellectual power was to embrace
poverty. The group with ruling power was denied wealth power. The power
of state and of wealth were not allowed to combine in the same group. So
long as these checks and balances were efficiently maintained, the system
worked well. But defects crept into the system when these cheeks and balances
were ignored in course of time.
Defects are bound to creep into
any system. It is well known that communism aimed at the removal of all
types of inequalities, particularly the 'classes'. But Milovan Djilas (a
top communist leader of Yugoslavia), in his famous book The New Class,
has written that a new class has come up in all communist countries. He
had to say this of the communist system within less than 50 years of its
inception-a system which was avowedly born to do away with all classes'.
Human nature is such. Vested interests develop in any system. The caste
system too was no exception to this human weakness and as a result it became
distorted and it collapsed. But none can say that the originators of the
system had any such perverse intentions in their mind when they introduced
it.
Limitations of Hereditary Aptitudes
Even though our ancestors classified the society on the basis of heredity,
they were aware of the limitations of the inherited talents. In our old
religious literature such expressions are scattered all over. They said,
Shudropi sheelasampanno gunavaan
braahmano bhavet
Braahmano pi kriyaaheenah shudraat
pratyawaro bhavet.
'By his noble conduct a Shudra can
become a Brahmana, and a Brahmana becomes a Shudra without that rectitude.'
or, Jaatyaa braahmana iti chet na
'One cannot become a Brahmana because
of birth alone.'
Great sages like Rishyashringa,
Vishwamitra and Agastya stand as illustrious examples of people who, though
not born as Brahmins, became Brahmins by their penance, virtues and attainments.
It is said in the Puranas that Mahidasa,
the author of Aitareya Braahmana, who became a Dwija, was the son of a
Shudra woman. Jabala, who had no father to be named, was initiated into
the Brahmin group by his Guru through the Upanayana ceremony. These things
were possible only because they had recognised the limitations of the inherited
talents and had made the system elastic and catholic in outlook. Thus it
was possible for the system to last for centuries.
The Changed Situation
Today the situation has changed
completely. The changed situation demands changes in our way of thinking
also in keeping with the times. Those were the days when every student
had to learn his lessons at the residence of his teacher. Then the printing
press had not been invented. The machine age had not set in. The blacksmith's
son, the jeweller's son or the weaver's son used to learn his trade by
observing his father at work. The home was his school. Hence, heredity
and environment cooperated with each other in teaching the individual his
profession. But now the printing press has come, education is imparted
in educational institutions, not in homes. The machine age has made the
industries to be carried on in factories, not in home. Science has progressed,
new inventions have been made. The whole environment has changed. It is
now recognised by one and all that though heredity is important, environment
also has its effective role in shaping the human character.
Therefore, it is inconsistent with
the demands of modem times to insist on the hereditary caste system.
Importance of Environment
Some people attach great importance
to the differences arising out of natural and hereditary factors. To an
extent their contention is true. But these differences are not to be made
a science by itself. It is definitely not to the credit of man if he were
to make efforts only to substantiate the hereditary disparities in individuals.
His efforts should be to study nature's processes and devise ways and means
for lessening these disparities and making them tolerable. Therein lies
his greatness and his courage. Keeping in mind the limited importance of
heredity we should, by changing the environment and imparting education
and training and introducing suitable systems, try to remove any hereditary
defects and handicaps in any section of the people. This is possible in
the present times. The Japanese people were considered to be dwarfish in
stature. But after the Second World War, they came into close contact with
the Americans. Appreciable changes took place in their eating and drinking
habits as also in their general style of living. As a result, their average
height has now increased.
Before the First and the Second
World Wars, only certain groups of people in our country and also other
countries were termed martial races. But during the two wars total mobilisation
and conscription had to be resorted to in all countries and huge armies
were raised. It was then observed that all these people fought better than
even the professional soldiers, better than even the standing armies. Nobody
accepts the notion of 'martial' or 'fighting' races any more.
Hence it is now futile to try to
give heredity a philosophical basis.
In fact, circumstances have changed
so much that even to say that Varna Vyavastha or caste system, which could
serve as a necessary basis for the proper functioning of the society, exists
is ridiculous.
Perversion and confusion pervade
the atmosphere'. Castes no doubt exist, but they have nothing to do with
the preservation of the social fabric. Caste is now confined only to marriage
alliances. It exists only in the form, the spirit having disappeared long
ago. What exists now is not (Varna) Vyavastha but only Avyavastha! Hence
we should all put our heads together and think out how to guide it-a system
which has to die and is already dying a natural death-along the correct
path to its termination.
Hasten Slowly
There is in vogue a phrase Roti-Beti-Vyavahaar.
In the olden days, even the Roti-Vyavahaar, that is, partaking of food,
was restricted to within a caste, That restriction has however broken down
and nowadays people of all castes have started partaking food with one
another. The credit for such a change is shared by English education, the
Jhunka-Bhaakar Sangh, community dinners and social workers taking to that
task Specifically, etc. RSS also deserves some credit on account of its
camps and other congregational programmes. This has subscribed greatly
to the easing of disparities among different castes. Intereaste marriages
have begun taking place.
It can be said without reservation
that if the Beti-Vyavahaar, just like Roti-Vyavahaar, also takes place
in a greater measure, it will help to a very great extent in wiping out
caste-differences and bringing about homogeneity in the society. However
inter-caste marriages-are a more difficult proposition than intercaste
dinners. Keeping this in mind, and without making unseemly haste, all should
conduct themselves in a congenial manner. The reason is, as soon as the
idea of marriage comes up, the question of a good match naturally crops
up. Any one cannot marry indiscriminately any one else. It can be a good
match if only the bride and the groom can claim near equality in educational,
economic and social standards. This is possible only to the extent that
residences are close together encouraging the habit of close contact with
one another. Residential colonies like the LIC colony, the bank employees
colony, the railway workers colony and the teachers colony, coming up in
good number now-a-days, subscribe substantially towards this end. Along
with this, when their economic status also rises, irrespective of caste
differences, and education becomes universal, then such marriages also
become natural. Legislation, monetary temptations, propaganda tactics cannot
bring this about. That would be wrong. For, this is a delicate matter which
cannot have a rough and ready solution. Every one of us has to keep this
in mind and subscribe this mind towards bringing about the social transformation.
The changeover may take time, but it is bound to take place.
Root Out this Evil
Untouchability is a still more saddening
and unfortunate aspect of our social inequality. Some thinkers opine that
it was non existent in the olden times, but at some stage during the passage
of time, it gatecrashed into our social system and took root.
Whatever be its origin, all of us
consider that untouchability is a terrible folly and it must, of necessity,
be thrown out lock, stock and barrel. There are no two opinions about it.
Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery in America, said: "If slavery is
not wrong, then nothing in the world is wrong!"
Every one of us must therefore aim
at eradicating social inequality in each and every form. We must clearly
explain to the people at large how our society became weak and disorganised
on account of social inequalities. We must also show them the way to get
rid of them. It is necessary that every individual must make his or her
contribution in this effort. That would remove a stumbling block in the
way of Hindu Consolidation.
Success through Persuasion
In this task of bringing about social
equality, we should be able to win over the support and cooperation of
various types of people. We should, for that purpose, conduct ourselves
with restraint and grace. Then only we will be successful. There are our
religious leaders, saints, sages and scholars. They hold a sway over the
popular mind. Their cooperation in this task is essential. Sometimes we
feel that they are firmly attached to only the old customs and would not
like to see them changed. However, this should not make us mistake their
good intentions. In other countries too there are religious teachers pinning
their faith on ancient system. Nevertheless the people there do not ridicule
them on that account. We too, with proper approach, could plead with our
religious leaders that they should, in their preachings and discourses,
tell the people which facets of our Dharma are of eternal value and which
of them changeable according to the times and that such an exposition on
their part would be more impressive and pervasive in its effects. We should
also submit to them that the responsibility of protecting the society is
theirs and' that it can be discharged only by their coming out of their
ashrams and mutts and unreservedly mixing in the society.
Though this appears as an uphill
task, actually it is not so. Fortunately there are already auspicious indications
that our Dharmagurus have started working in this direction. Our late Sarsanghachalak
Parama pojaneeya Sri Guruji had brought together on a common platform,
under the auspices of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, all the religious leaders
to persuade them to this viewpoint. As a result, many saints and religious
leaders have commenced mixing amongst all Sections of society. They have
given up their previous opposition to reconversion and have now come forward
to take back into their fold those brethren of ours who had been converted.
The enlightened section of our society
have a great responsibility in this regard. They should so think and act
as will help achieve equality and at the same time not give rise to bitterness
in society. Those who suggest solutions to the problem should also keep
in mind the dangers that may result from such solutions.
Upaayam chintayan praajnah apaayamapi
chintayet.
We want equality only for the purpose
of establishing in the society an atmosphere of goodwill, harmony and mutual
Cooperation. Those that speak, write or act without understanding this
basic viewpoint will only harm the purpose they wish to serve.
The Right Approach
Many times, particular section of
society is made the target of stinging attack. It is highly improper to
disgrace or demoralise any part of our society. Maintaining their morale,
examples of new and better social behaviour should be placed before them.
Unfortunately there are still some
people in our society who believe in discrimination and are unable to grasp
the right attitude. In the final analysis, they are all a part and parcel
of the Hindu society.
It is not necessary that we should
pounce upon such people or tackle them hard way. There are certainly other
ways of persuading and bringing them round.
This was the way revered Dr. Hedgewar,
the Founder of the Sangh, worked. I had the good fortune in my young age
to work under his guidance. In the beginning stages, we had very interesting
experiences. I was present in the first Sangh camp. In that there were
quite a number of mahaar (untouchable) brethren. At the time of meals,
some began hesitating to sit along with them. They had never before in
their life sat for meals with the mahaars. They placed their problem before
Doctorji. But he did not enforce the discipline of the camp and ask them
to get out. Doctorji simply said: "Our practice is to sit together. We
shall sit accordingly." All of us sat together for meals. Those few that
were hesitant sat in a separate line. But, for the next meals those very
people came to Doctorji and apologised and sat with us of their own accord.
If Doctorji had taken disciplinary action against them at the very outset
and sent them out of the camp, they would not have been transformed.
Avery instructive episode concerned
my late friend, Sri Bachharaj Vyas. He was a swayamsevak of the Sangh shakha
of which I was the Karyavaha. Having been born in a highly orthodox family,
he would' not come even to my house for meals. When he first attended a
Sangh camp, taking meals posed a problem for him. He could not partake
the meals prepared and served for all. When I placed this problem before
Doctorji, he did not quote any rule of the camp and prevent Sri Bachharaj
from attending the camp, since he was certain that the desired reformation
would definitely take place in him. He knew Bachharaj was a man of great
caliber and utterly selfless at heart. He told me, "Let him come to the
camp. We shall give him the utensils and the ration, let him cook his own
food." Thus it was for the first year. The next year, Sri Bachharaj himself
said to Doctorji, "I shall take meals with the rest"! There after, as he
involved himself more and more in Sangh work, as you all know, his behaviour
underwent a metamorphic change in spite of his orthodox background. He
became a trusted worker of the Sangh and served as the Provincial Organiser
of the Sangh in Rajasthan. Later he even became the All-India President
of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Beware of This Game
Many a time, at the root of the
internecine quarrels and violent conflicts in the Hindu society lie political
or personal rivalries. election clashes, land and family disputes also
take up that vicious form. Further, the politician or the interested person
gives it the colour of conflict between two castes just to save his skin
and serve his political ends. At such times unfortunately, many well-meaning
persons and even press correspondents, in their ignorance, are made pawns
in this game. In particular, pressmen in search of a scoop, do not bother
to obtain a first-hand knowledge of what happened but weave out a story
with a single thread of information and give it a sensational headline.
When clashes take place between Hindus and Muslims. they are reported as
a, clash between one community and another, while even petty quarrels among
the Hindus are magnified and reported in an inciting fashion. This is certainly
not desirable. We should all exercise the greatest care and restraint in
all our actions, if we are to lessen the social disparities.
Not Criticism, but Cooperation
It is a fact that the backward or
untouchable brethren of ours have born quite an amount of misery, insults
and injustice all these centuries. That agony is there in their hearts.
We are also much pained at this sight. Now we have to find a way out of
this. All of us feel that onslaughts on them are wrong and that they should
stop forthwith. Therefore, the efforts of all of us, our talk, our behaviour
should be such as to be conducive to the achievement of this goal. I appeal
to the oppressed brethren also to exercise this care and restraint. The
faults and follies in our society must certainly be criticised. But there
are different ways of criticism. When foreigners criticize us, it is with
a sense of contempt. But when our own people criticise, it carries an element
of pain born out of affectionate concern. Otherwise, if we begin to drag
our quarrels of the past into the present, we shall be only placing our
future in jeopardy. That will only hamper our progress towards equality
and harmony. They (the oppressed brethren) should feel that they are also
part and parcel of the same society and shall live as such with the other
members of society. If they stand up shoulder to shoulder with others who
have similar ideas and feelings, then the combined efforts of both will
make the task much easier and bring the goal much nearer.
In the past, some eminent leaders
of the oppressed communities have severely criticised certain castes and
certain religious texts. That was necessary at that time. In order to draw
the attention of the people to a certain point and rouse public opinion,
an individual may employ a biting language in the beginning stages. But
it is not necessary that such tirades should continue for ever. Now the
times have changed. The actual transformation has to take place now. As
such the responsibility is upon all of us to employ only such language
as will help the process of change.
The Self-respectful Way
I believe that the 'backward' brethren
of ours do not ask for the mercy of anybody. They only desire an equal
status with others and that too on their own merits. Since they have been
backward all these days, they only want that facilities and opportunities
should be provided to them to advance. This desire of theirs is quite legitimate.
And it is for them to decide how long these privileges should continue.
In the long run, however, they will have to compete with others and earn
an equal status only on the basis of merit. Perhaps, they also know this.
It is for them to think and strive and chalk out a time-bound plan of raising
themselves up. A day has to come when all of us will feel equal, equal
in our worth and capacities.
In spite of many drawbacks, the
Hindus have their own specialities, they have certain concepts and attitudes
with regard to life. Thinkers the world over concede that this society
has established certain great and eternal values of life. If the Hindu
society believing in such specialities and eternal values of life and following
them in practice, can stand up united, imbued with spirit of social equality,
then alone all those specialities live on for ever and prove beneficial
to the world at large also. But unfortunately today the Hindu society is
week and disorganised. Dr. Ambedkar felt very much pained that in this
society which considers all human beings as children of God, nay, as part
and parcel of that Divinity Itself, there should be found a sense of high
and low. He also said that there could be no better basis for equality
than the basic faith in the existence of a common spark of Divinity in
all human beings.
Adopt Constructive Outlook
The history of our society is a
very long one. All these centuries there was absolute freedom of thought
and action. As a result, quite a good number of things were written in
our texts some of which could even be misinterpreted. If 'Na stree swaatantryam
arhati (Woman is unworthy of freedom) is quoted to make it appear that
woman was despised in society, the saying Yatra naryastu poojyante, ramante
tatra devatah (Where women are revered there the gods rejoice) is also
available to show that woman was held in the highest esteem. If one wants
to establish unity and harmony in the society, one has to think what are
the concepts which should be picked up from our religious texts and from
our history which would be conducive to the removal of disparities and
the consolidation of Hindu Society.
May all of us feel that the Hindus
must unite and that for their unity the basis can only be social equality.
With the conviction may all of us come forward to make our society united
and strong. This is my fervent appeal to one and all.
(From a lecture delivered during
the year 1974.)
