Author: R Vaidyanathan
Publication: Vijayvaani.com
Date: September 6, 2009
URL: http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=790
There was a small news item dated 4 August 2009 in some newspapers, stating
that the prosecution witnesses in the case pertaining to the Kanchi seer are
turning hostile and the case itself might be revealed to be a foisted one.
The time period for which a sacred institution has been humiliated and the
assault the state conducted on an age old tradition needs introspection by
us all.
The day I read a news item that Kanchi Sankaracharya
Jayendra Sarasvati entered a Harijan slum, I commented to a friend, 'he has
written his own arrest warrant.' My friend did not understand. Many of us
are totally ignorant about the functioning of the Secular State in a country
like India, a point we shall return to later.
There was a debate on his arrest on the NDTV
show "We the people," anchored by Ms. Burka Dutt on 5 December 2004.
It was pathetic to see the audience pleading that the Swamiji be treated like
Pappu Yadav or Taslimuddin, that law is the same for every one. One "rationalist"
suggested the seer be permanently parked inside Vellore Jail as a devotee
said the seer's presence would purify the jail.
This attack on this sacred institution must
be understood in the broader context of the threat to Hindu civilization from
the so-called neutral secular state.
Is this attack a stray case? Indications are
that it is not. There is a demand that the Pejawar Mutt at Udupi be taken
over and the Sri Krishna Temple be administered by the government.
The demand is due to the claim that the memory
of Kanaka Dasa, a sixteenth century poet and devotee of Sri Krishna, belonging
to the Kuruba community, has been insulted by the Matham. Again it is pertinent
to note that the Pejawar Swami mingled with Harijans and is a major campaigner
for social harmony and removal of untouchability. He is active in the fields
of education and in the forefront of the movement to build the Ram temple
at Ayodhya.
When the Mulavar becomes Reformer, fear grips
the State
In our tradition, there are two types of Mathams.
One is what we can loosely call the Mulavar or similar to the God in the garbha
griha, and the other is Utsavar or similar to the God who is taken in procession
around the temple. The Utsavar is well dressed and the presentable face of
Hindu sampradayas. The second category of Seers will know English, will know
how to handle the press, how to give television interviews; sometimes they
are also globe-trotters.
They represent the "brand image"
of the Santana Dharma, if one may use the term. In a sense, they are secular
and would most often talk of the "oneness" of all religions, without
knowing the implications. Some, due to their secular dealings, get into problems
with the State either in India or abroad, as in the case of Rajneesh. One
can categorise Ammachi, Sri Sri, Rajneesh and Mahesh Yogi in this category.
The former category is the Mathams like that
of Sankara or Madhava, which till recently were completely unconcerned about
this-worldly issues and focused only on the Dharma. Mathams like in Sringeri
or Kanchi or Udupi derive their strength from a long lineage and the original
founders like Adi Sankara or Madhavacharya.
The secular state was tolerant of these sacred
symbols as long as these were separate from the laukika issues. This is because
these mathams derived their legitimacy from their position and not to any
secular support. Once some Mathams began to get into social reform or education
or health care, the secular state was upset because the actions of these seers
carries phenomenal conviction among the poorer strata and de-legitimizes the
hegemony of politicians and bureaucrats over poverty or caste-oriented issues.
In the case of the secular-Utsava seers, the state is not unduly concerned
as they are mostly individuals with charisma but do not have a hoary tradition
and thousands of years of legitimacy.
Conversion or Casteless
This is the backdrop in which the Kanchi Seer
tried to solve secular problems using his sacred institution. When he tried
to reach out to Harijans, exploring the possibility of a dignified life for
them, the political class was disturbed. The secular state was worried since
the accepted model in the political discourse for "liberation" of
Harjans is either conversion to other religions or a possible overthrow of
the caste system.
Swami Jayendra Sarasvati's model postulates
the possibility of their being within the system, but treated with dignity
and equality. The SC politicians and secular state satraps whose staple diet
is conversion or the destruction of the caste system found it difficult to
accept his actions.
Interestingly, some of the orthodox in the
Matham system also opposed his approach, believing that being exclusively
in the garbha griha or Mulavar position preserves legitimacy. Any deviation
to work for this-worldly salvation of people was looked upon with disdain
and considered apostate. In a curious coincidence, the orthodoxy attacked
the Matham for the same reasons for which the secular political forces were
upset! It was, in political parlance, an alliance of the left extreme with
the extreme right, to neutralize the middle.
If the State is not secular or neutral, but
protective state of Hindu Dharma, this issue would have been dealt with in
a different way. The State would have reprimanded the orthodoxy or even punished
it for being obstructionist. But the secular State is presumably neutral,
but in practice against Dharmic institutions which derive their legitimacy
from thousands of years of tradition.
Invite by China
The invitation to visit China was a major
turning point in the affairs of our civilization and this Matham. The concerned
NGO in China would not have invited him to visit that country without a clearance
from the top political authority, knowing how China functions in these matters.
It is fascinating that the Chinese authorities that prohibit taking the Bible
into their country for preaching and who have refused the Papal visit, invited
the head of a Hindu sampradhaya to their country.
Whatever the author could infer from interactions
with scholars in India and China, one could surmise that China welcomes the
presence of a non-incursive or inclusive religion, and that could be the Sanatana
Dharma. There is an ancient Chinese belief that the best rebirth is in India,
as it is a Dharma Bhumi. The experience of China with Falung Gong, perceived
to be sponsored by the CIA, and the problems with the Dalai Lama, has made
Beijing consider other options in terms of religion, which Chinese society
needs.
Any other Government would have jumped at
this prospect and tried to arrange the Seer's trip as a geo-strategic move.
But the Indian State did not encourage this historic opportunity to foster
civilisational bonds through authentic and legitimate institution like the
Kanchi Matham, but prevented the effort by not reining in the orthodoxy who
protested in the High Court about the "pollution" involved in crossing
shores.
The Indian State's neutrality is a threat
to the existence of legitimate Dharmic institutions. Incidentally, this neutrality
is only with reference to Indic institutions since the Abrahamic faiths terrorize
the State to achieve their ends. At the time of independence, the State should
have taken over the land and property allocated to the Church at free or throwaway
prices by the erstwhile colonizers, but it did not do so.
The desert traditions can intimidate the State
as they have global backup and protesters. The second child of Abraham globalizes
local conflict using global networks, while the third child localizes all
global conflicts. Witness the death of five people in Mumbai because Jeremy
Falwell, a televangelist in USA, called the Prophet a "terrorist."
Witness the outpouring of anger and protests - at the global church level
- to the (false) attack on nuns at Jhabua by "Hindu fanatics," when
actually it was the work of rowdies from the same faith.
The US Commission on International Religious
Freedom's diatribes will be picked up by our English media to castigate the
Hindu majority. Witness the violence against the arrest of suspects in a criminal
/ISI related case (2004) at Hyderabad, where even the Chief Minister had to
observe why the arrests were made in a holy month of Ramzan. But the Kanchi
Acharya could be arrested on Diwali day! Remember the global hue and cry when
the UP police searched the religious school at Nadwa, and how the Prime Minister
intervened and expressed regrets?
Obviously, the State can be secular or neutral
only with respect to Indian religions, which are non-intimidating, and not
with respect to the desert faiths. That is why we encounter such absurd observations
like, there has not been any large-scale violence against the arrest of the
Kanchi seer so this does not hurt the public.
We have come to a tragic situation, that unless
the State is terrorized it does not care. That is all the more reason why
the Sanatana Dharma needs the protection of the State or what one may call
a Kshatriya State. That State will protect all ancient Sampradayas and sustain
the sacredness of the Indic civilization in letter and spirit.
- The author is a Professor of Management;
the views expressed are his own
