Author: Kanchan Gupta
Publication: Sunday Pioneer
Date: December 5, 2004
One of the great strengths of Hinduism
is that it is not an organised religion rigidly structured on verse and
chapter of a single holy book. Hinduism accommodates in its fold both believers
and non-believers, iconoclasts and idol-worshippers, liberals and conservatives.
It is at once amorphous and intense, reverent and irreverent, ancient and
modern. It is this strength that makes Hinduism a living religion, a life-sustaining
experience.
Paradoxically, this strength is
also Hinduism's weakness - the absence of congregational worship, of preachers,
of missionary zeal, of social bonding through religious discourse, of a
single god who command absolute fealty, have worked to its disadvantage.
Hence, we have a situation where the majority community of the country
is deeply divided and splintered, both in thought and action. There are
1.25 billion Hindus in the world today, by no means a small number, but
no corresponding Hindu voice.
The Constitution of India guarantees
the right to religious freedom: to practice, preach and convert. This freedom
has been used to great advantage by adherents of Islam and Christianity
with an aggression that is inversely proportionate to their numerical strength.
Rice bowl conversions by Christian missionaries and Saudi charity induced
conversions by Islamic clerics are presumed to be perfectly legitimate
since they enjoy the protection of the Constitution.
But if Hindu activists follow the
same path, of preaching Hinduism and converting non-Hindus to the Hindu
fold, there are howls of protest. The Constitutional right that accrues
to others is presumed to be unavailable to Hindus. It is legitimate to
preach and 'convert' Hindus to the non-Hindu fold but illegitimate to preach
and 're-convert' non-Hindus to the Hindu fold. Evangelism is fine so long
as it is not Hindu evangelism; a born-again Christian or Muslim is admired,
a born-again Hindu is reviled. Such is the perversion of Indian secularism.
This duplicitous attitude of both
state and non-state players is largely because till now Hinduism has been
bereft of evangelism and evangelists, both powerful instruments of mobilising
support and moulding public opinion. That absence is now being filled by
new age gurus like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and more down-to-earth preachers
like Sant Morari Bapu, Guru Maa, Sukhbodhanandji, Sudhanshu Maharaj and
Asaram Bapu.
And, in this day and age of television
as a powerful means of communication, it is only natural that they should
make use of the increasing number of channels that cater to the spiritual
and devotional quest of millions of Hindus. Channels like Aastha, Sanskar,
Maharishi, Sadhna, Jagran, Om Shanti and Maa TV are fast grabbing viewer
time. This is virtual congregational mobilization through tele-evangelism.
Not only does tele-evangelism by
popular preachers with their nuanced spiritual and devotional pravachan
transcend social barriers, it also ensures a happy blend of higher and
little traditions of Hinduism, thus catering to a vast audience. The fact
that tele-evangelism has succeeded in great measure to mobilise Hindus,
irrespective of their caste or their personal preference for a god or goddess,
was evident in ample measure when Asaram Bapu joined the BJP's dharna to
protest against the arrest of the Shankaracharya of Kanchi.
Thousands of men and women, who
regularly tune into Asaram Bapu's tele-pravachan, joined the dharna. More
than an expression of political solidarity with the BJP, it was a demonstration
of emerging Hindu unity, of congregating for a cause closely linked to
their religion, their faith; it was an expression of their spiritual resolve.
This, then, is the power of Hindu tele-evangelism.
Of course, India's secularists and
their fellow travellers are alarmed by Hindu tele-evangelism's success
in mobilizing Hindus for Hindu causes. This mobilisation transcends Ayodhya,
Mathura and Kashi; the bonding is much stronger than flip-flop Hindutva
could achieve. This is gradual but sure rediscovery of Hindu pride. The
process of reversing loss of faith and weakening resolve in India's, indeed
the world's, Hindu community has begun. Hence the foul calls and the cat
calls of the secularist brigade.
Yes, there will be contemptible
attempts to tar Hindu tele-evangelists, to denigrate them and paint them
and their mission in the bleakest of colours. We will hear allegations
of "crass commercialisation", of "tele-marketing spiritualism", of catering
to the "lowest common denominator" and even of "distortion of the scriptures".
There are two possible responses to these allegations and others of similar
nature.
First, no religion survives, leave
alone flourishes, on the strength of the good word alone. As a senior Vatican
cardinal once said, "You have to be a fool to think the church survives
on 'Hail Marys'." Mobilisation and expansion comes with a price tag. Hindu
preachers and tele-evangelists are neither raising funds from Rome and
Arabia, nor are they using their resources for subverting the Indian state
and society.
Second, for too long have we allowed
India's Hindu spiritual heritage to remain the exclusive domain of a chosen
few. It's time the doors to this heritage are opened to the Hindu masses.
This will awaken latent pride and confidence, and spur a larger Hindu renaissance.
It's not without reason why secularists
and their fundamentalist wards are running scared.
