Author: Bal Ram Singh
Publication: India New England
News
Date: December 15, 2004
URL: http://www.indianewengland.com/news/823848.html?mkey=1060861
The most encouraging thing in this
"tamasha" created by the arrest of the Shankaracharya in Tamil Nadu was
the 70-year-old spiritual leader's clear instructions to his followers
not to pursue his bail application to the Indian Supreme Court. I wish
he had refused to move any bail application, even in the lower courts.
If ancient Indian philosophy as
outlined in the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Gita has any validity - and
if the Shankaracharya, who heads a monastic order in Kanchipuram, is an
acharya in its true sense - then there is nothing to be anxious about with
him being in jail.
The Shankaracharya must know how
to deal with such an injustice that is meted to the general public on a
routine basis in a country which got independence from foreign rule with
a promise from Mahatma Gandhi to bring "Ram Rajya."
Gandhi, who spent quite a bit of
his time in jail, said, "When I despair, I remember that all through history
the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and
murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they
always fall. Think of it - always."
Truth has remained the overriding
guiding force throughout humanity, most particularly in India's ancient
tradition. "Satyamev Jayate" (truth alone prevails) adorns the modern Indian
emblem as a reminder of that heritage, and if Shankaracharya is true to
his tradition, he would know the meaning of this phrase more than anyone
else.
For the rest of us, this event should
only serve as a reminder that the so-called democratic system of governance
touted as the panacea to human sufferings and misery is a façade,
a front created to confuse people so that they can be manipulated by people
like George Bush and Jayalalitha.
The treatment of Shankaracharya
in a land which has provided dignified shelter to spiritual figures persecuted
elsewhere throughout its history (the latest being the Dalai Lama) is a
matter of utter shame. It is ominous to Indian nation beyond ordinary imagination.
The issue is not the charges labeled
against the spiritual leader. India's traditions have always accepted the
sovereignty of the law of the land, and everyone, including spiritual gurus,
has always had to abide by them. There is ample evidence of such a tradition
in the ancient texts of India.
However, India also has a tradition
of challenging injustice perpetrated by anyone, including the king. Parasuram,
an ascetic and spiritually enlightened figure thousands of years ago, is
a well-known example of someone who fought against atrocities committed
by kings and defeated them in battles.
If the government has a case against
Shankaracharya, it should pursue it to the fullest. But it did not have
to humiliate him by orchestrating an arrest on Diwali day, throwing him
in a jail cell that does not meet his ritual and dietary obligations, and
drum up charges by the day and convenience to deny him bail at any cost.
Al Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo
Bay are treated with more dignity and care than the Shankaracharya of Kanchi
in a supposedly democratic India.
There is no other country in the
whole world that provides more religious rights to its minorities than
India. India's hallmark tradition of accepting all based on merits rather
than prejudice is there for everyone to see - a Muslim as the president,
a Sikh as the prime minister, and a Christian as the leader of the ruling
Congress Party.
But, look what they have offered
in return. One of the pillars of the majority Hindu faith has been dragged
into prison falsely pronounced as a criminal. We have yet to hear from
President Abdul Kalaam. It took a full two weeks before Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh murmured that he has written to Jayalalitha, the Chief Minister
of Tamil Nadu, who arrested the Shankaracharya, to treat him with care.
We have heard nothing from Mrs.
Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the ruling party, even though rumors are rampant
about her connection to this case through some deals with Jayalalitha.
There is no doubt in my mind that
the charges against Shankaracharya, which are related to the murder of
a temple official, were fabricated to meet some political and personal
ends, as evidence presented so far seems to have no figment of truth.
Two of the star police witnesses
still under custody have admitted in court to coercion. The state government
attorney named as absconding a woman conspirator who turned up the next
day with her attorneys to denounce police methods and charges and is actually
a cancer patient who got help from the Kanchi mutt.
The meek public response is either
the result of public trust and support in government's honesty and sincerity,
as many communists and activist groups would like everyone to believe,
or a total numbing shock.
Knowing public paranoia about police
and politicians in India, it is not possible to accept communist interpretation
of the public response.
I believe the reaction of shock
will turn into a deep distrust in the system of governance in India as
we know it today. This system has collapsed and needs an alternative.
How long will it take to see this
reaction? Much earlier than the next election, and as soon as a genuine
leader, an acharya - who practices his/her preaching with utmost sincerity
- appears on the scene. The Shankaracharya, therefore, must remain in jail
to show the practice of his preaching.
Bal Ram Singh, director of the Center
for Indic Studies at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, may be
reached at bsingh@umassd.edu.
