Author: Lata Jagtiani
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 17, 2007
Understanding India: Relevance of Hinduism, Subhash C Kashyap & Abhaya
Kashyap (ed),Vitasta, Rs. 495
This is an invaluable collection of 38 essays
on Hinduism and its place in the India of yesterday, today and tomorrow. In
the 'Preface', one finds the reason why the book was compiled, "From
political leaders to corporate policy-makers all over the world, there is
a desire to understand what makes India click. Growth of fundamentalism and
terrorism globally gives an edge to this desire to understand India's record
of peaceful co-existence of different religious communities and ethnic groups."
All the essayists believe that Hinduism can
offer the world its unique message of sarva dharma sambhava -- an attitude
of treating all faiths as equal and respecting them while honouring one's
own belief. The book is so rich with quotes from various sources that it is
a veritable encyclopaedia on Hinduism. For example, after Abhaya Kashyap offers
his explanation in Chapter 38 on the four stages of life in Hinduism -- brahmacharya,
grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyaasa -- he ends it with the pièce de
résistance, a quote by Guy Sorman, a visiting scholar from France in
Stanford: "Here is a philosophy far removed from the grotesque refusal
to grow old in the West, where wisdom has been replaced by cosmetic surgery
and psychiatric help."
The collection examines Samuel Huntington's
"Clash of Civilisations" thesis and his observation that the dilution
of the Anglo-Protestant culture in America has caused a serious crisis for
the American identity. Subhash C Kashyap asks, "If the logic of Huntington's
argument is followed and applied to India, the thesis that emerges would perhaps
be immediately frowned upon as diabolical Hindu chauvinism. All that is necessary
is to substitute 'American' by 'Indian' and 'Anglo-Protestant' or 'Protestanism'
by 'Hindu' or 'Hinduism'. Anyone who attempts it would be denounced as being
an anti-secular Hindu fundamentalist." He painfully asks, "India
is secular because of the Hindu ethos and majority and it will remain secular
so long as it remains 80 per cent Hindu majority. The question arises, 'Why
has the Hindu majority come to feel it alone is carrying the now unbearable
load of the secular cross?'"
Karan Singh's essay, 'Fundamentals of Hinduism'
is a brilliant exposition of the subject and goes straight to the heart. "Every
religion is linked to one person and one book; and, therefore, to one point
in time. Hinduism is not linked to either one point in time or to any particular
person or any particular text. This gives Hinduism a unique structure, which
some people look upon as weakness but which is probably the greatest strength
of Hinduism. For if you have links with one particular person or one particular
text, you cannot get away from it however much you may try. Therefore we have
been able to re-adapt, re-articulate, and re-interpret Hinduism from age to
age."
PV Indiresan's understanding of Hinduism deserves
mention. The former Director of the IIT, Chennai, has concluded, "Western
ideas are conditioned by the logic 'either-or' and 'not both'. Indian thought
has been grounded on the faith that what is irreconcilable or incomprehensible
is maya or illusion. It is based on a firm conviction that truth resides everywhere
but only partially and not absolutely. These cultural underpinnings have made
a deep impression on the people. It is no accident that, of all great civilisations
of the world, India is the only one that has not tried to spread its culture
by military conquest. It is the only one that has never sent out armies of
conquest. If its ideas are found elsewhere, that is because of voluntary acceptance
through cultural exchanges and not because of compulsion imposed by military
might."
A few improvements in the book might have
made it a superlative experience. None of the essays are dated and one might
read one that refers to Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister and another as Atal
Bihari Vajpayee. A little attention to this detail would have made the book
more relevant. Also, there are sometimes Sanskrit verses without an accompanying
translation. On the whole, however, there is a great deal to learn from Understanding
India.
