Author: JS Rajput
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 19, 2014
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/the-denial-of-cultural-heritage.html

By no stretch of imagination does the Bhagvad Gita make any attempt to change the faith or affiliation of the devout or readers. It is one of the many revered scriptures of the country. It’s foolish to link it to Hindutva

 Informed people the world over know about Bhagvad Gita, its context and also its basic philosophy. A Turkish Prime Minister comes to India and unhesitatingly proclaims that whenever confronted with apparently formidable problems, he finds both solace and solution, in the Gita! In India, whenever someone speaks respectfully and adoringly about Bhagvad Gita, an ideologically-constrained group immediately grabs the opportunity and in its familiar style, proclaims that ‘secularism is in danger’. So, when Union Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke about Bhagvad Gita being the national scripture of India, and the self-proclaimed well-wishers of the minorities in India were up in arms.

 These are the same luminaries who were totally opposed to the introduction of yoga in schools as, according to them, it was a ‘Hindu ritual’; and why should children of ‘minority community’ (read Muslims) be made to take part in it! Now that the United Nations has declared June 21 as the World Yoga Day, yoga receives global acceptance, except from certain sulking fringe groups in India who would never like the two major communities to understand each other, appreciate each other and trust each other. One wonders why certain elements, Indian nationals, are so dismissive of all that the nation has inherited as its tradition, culture and heritage from ‘the ancient Indian contribution to world civilisation and knowledge’.

 Why does the mere mention of ancient India upset them? If it were not so, why do statements like that from a Supreme Court judge that, ‘If I had my say, I would have made Bhagvad Gita compulsory reading in schools’, could not be taken in their stride? It was simply a way of one’s expression of adoration for the great treatise. Why should every Indian, irrespective of his faith or religion, not be proud of the epics ofMahabharat and Valmiki’s Ramayan? Ms Swaraj was simply pointing out, as one could understand from one of her recent statements, that the nation is proud of the Bhagvad Gita being part of its heritage. No Indian, in their right frame of mind, would disagree with it. The Bhagvad Gita guides and leaves the reader to make his or her own decisions.

 By no stretch of imagination, does the Bhagvad Gita make any attempt to change the faith or affiliation of the devout. It is part of the great epicMahabharat, which itself is not a ‘religious’ book; it is one of the many revered scriptures. None of this considered a must for everyone who claims to be a Hindu. It would be too naïve to say that the Gita or theMahabharat is a prescriptive religious book of the Hindus. Equally absurd is the logic that because Hindus are made to take oath in courts, it is a religious book meant only for the Hindus. Bhagvad Gita offers a treasure trove of knowledge and wisdom to every discerning reader.

 Brilliant minds of contemporary times have experienced and articulated it accordingly. “When I read the Bhagvad Gita and reflect about how god created this universe, everything else seems so superfluous” — these are the words of Albert Einstein. Nearer home, it would benefit those who consider Jawaharlal Nehru as the sole builder of modern India: “The Bhagvad Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of spiritual existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life, yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.” In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Those who meditate on the Bhagvad Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.” Ethically and morally, it is the bounden duty of the Government of India to let the world know about Indian heritage that prominently includes Bhagvad Gita. The fate of civilisations that cut themselves off from their history, heritage and scriptures, is well known.

 The British knew it so well and formulated their policies around the simple principle: ‘To subjugate India, Indians must be de-linked from their own culture, history and heritage.’ They succeeded in creating a mindset amongst the ‘English-educated Indians’ that all that is good, worth being emulated and aspired for comes only from the West!

 To this group, knowledge and wisdom were the prerogative of the White race alone.  They just despise whenever a mention is made of the contributions of scholars, saints and rishis of ancient India or a reference is made to their contributions to the growth of knowledge and wisdom. This group continues to flourish, courtesy the ideologically constrained intellectual.

 There must be some logical and scientific approach, in every culture that could assimilate the globally changing context of cultural infusion that has become the order of the day. India could claim, on the basis of well-documented history, that it has the longest experience of dealing with otherness, various cultures, religions, sects and faiths.

 Could anyone deny that when Christianity came to India in 57 AD, those living, and ruling, the shores of Kerala, were enlightened enough to welcome them, help create an construct their places of worship and give them equal rights on all aspects. When Zoroastrians, Jews, and Islam came to India, they too received the same treatment. The intruders, looters, and religious zealots, of course, could not expect the same treatment.