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Role of Intellectuals inSanatana Dharma

 

Information Age and Information Wars We live in the age of the information

revolution, which has taken a quantum leap since the introduction of computers.

The information flood is changing the nature of the society in which we live in

ways that we do not yet know and for which there is no precedent This

information revolution is in many respects an information war, with different

groups struggling to put their views out to the general public as the truth. It

is often a disinformation war as well, with groups trying to discredit those who

have different views, using the media as their weapon.In this contest whoever

puts out information first usually gains credibility by defining the field.

Whoever puts out information in the most sophisticated and high tech manner has

the most audience and generally succeed in promoting their agenda. In the media

realm packaging is more important than content and strong assertion often takes

the role of real proof. People tend to believe what has been well presented in

the media, even if it is otherwise biased or limited. Billions of dollars are

being poured by various vested interest groups into this information war, with

religious and political groups making great efforts to represent themselves in

this new global arena. Advertisement, public relations, and lobbyists are hard

at work, often to the highest bidder, to give a good image and strong media

presence to their clients, if the price is right.We live in a mass media

dominated society, with daily exposure to some sort of radio, television,

computer, newspaper or magazine. It has been said that the media is the

message, that the media itself has made itself into the focus of our lives. The

media has thus become our mind. Many of us spend more time taking in media

information than interacting with other people or with the world of nature.

These media images serve to build up our minds down to a subconscious level.

They program our behavior, a fact that advertising has long known and sought to

benefit from (e.g. tobacco companies).Now the Western information and media

culture is spreading throughout the entire world, including what is called the

third world, with the globalization of the world economy. Even villages are now

getting television and the other trappings of Western modernity. India, China,

and Asia in general are being brought under the influence of the media world.

Unfortunately, this Western media and commercial culture continues the same

goals and influences as previous colonial forces, which only fifty years ago

lost hold in Asia. This commercial culture seeks to supplant native and

traditional Cultures with a Western model, not only in terms of practical

conveniences but in terms of thought and belief. It attempts to Americanize or

Europeanize the world. Western religious groups, particularly Christian

Evangelical groups, are learning to use the media for their advantage as well,

doing preaching and proselytizing, and broadcasting their mass rallies through

the media. Yet Christians as a whole use the media in Asia to promote their

agenda over native Asian religions, which the media often stereotypes as

primitive.

 

However Hindus today have failed perhaps more than any other group to create a

defense for their culture in the media world. Hindus are routinely portrayed

through stereotypes of caste, dowry deaths, widow burning, strange cults,

poverty and superstition. The worship of Shiva appears in the New York Times as

the phallic cult of the God of destruction. Krishna is portrayed in Western

universities as an erotic God with questionable morals. Brahmins appear in the

Western media as rich landowners op-pressing their poor slave Shudras, right

out of communist propaganda stories. (Reverend Pat Robertson, while in India,

condemned Hindus bathing in their sacred river as those bathing in the sperm of

Shiva)Islamic groups are also realizing the power of the media and spending

large sums to influence public opinion in the Western world, stressing the

humanistic side of Islam. The Islamic lobby in the United States is one of the

largest lobby groups in the country. In Islamic countries the power of the

media is recognized both for good and ill. The media is strictly controlled by

the state to project an Islamic image, and portray Islam only in a positive

light, while striving to keep the Western media and its views outIn the context

of India the question arises where are Hindus (or Sanatanis) in this information

war and media presentation? The answer is that, with a few notable exceptions,

Hindus generally are not present or only feebly present, apologetic or

half-hearted in their self-presentation in the information field. The image of

Hindus and of Hinduism that prevails in the information age is created by

non-Hindus and by anti-Hindu forces, not only by intention but also by default

because Hindus themselves seldom challenge wrong views or provide an

alternative. In this way Sanatana Dharma is being eroded, particularly in the

minds of young Hindus, who seldom find their Dharma represented, or who find it

denigrated in the media.Sanatana Dharma Under Siege – Hindus a Persecuted

Majority in India Since independence India has been dominated by Marxist and

socialist thinking that has viewed Hinduism, with its spiritual and religious

values, as its main enemy. Now gradually a more commercial influence is arising

with economic liberalization, but it similarly is trying to undermine and

replace Hindu culture, as the latter’s self-sufficiency and spirituality

are incompatible with its material commercial culture. Hindu culture, which

managed to survive as the predominant model in India even through a thousand

years of domination by first Islamic and then European Christian influences,

finds itself under a new threat, less overt but perhaps for that very reason

more dangerous.The world mass media seldom considers any Hindu point of view.

Though Hindus are the third largest religion in the world, and the largest

non-biblical tradition, in many presentations of world religions Hindus are

left out or denigrated as polytheists, idolaters and animists. Some

universities in the West teach that Hinduism is not a religion at all but a

collection of cults mainly of a primitive nature. Such schools also teach that

India as a nation was created by the British and was otherwise just a

collection of warring states with little in common.Though India is the largest

democracy in the world and the second most populated country, it has no

permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. In events of global importance

neither an Indian nor a Hindu point of view are given much consideration. In

Bangladesh Hindus are under siege and frequently have their property taken from

them. In Pakistan Hindus have been almost entirely eliminated. In neither

country has there ever been any Prominent Hindu leaders or government

officials. In Fiji Hindus are routinely oppressed. In Malaysia they have to

accept an inferior position, where Hindus can be converted to Islam but no

Muslims can become Hindus. When Hindus work in Islamic Gulf countries Hindus

have to hide their religion. Saudi Arabia requires that India send only a

Muslim ambassador and India has always meekly complied, bowing down to a nation

with 1/20 its population! Could Saudis dare to insist on a Muslim ambassador

from USA, France or China?In India itself foreign missionary activity is

perhaps at its highest point in history, particularly targeting tribal groups,

even to the extent of encouraging them to secede from the nation and form

Christian states. In South India Catholic priests routinely dress up like Hindu

Swamis and go to the villages speaking of Yoga and Vedanta in order to convert

Hindus to Christianity. Yet Hindus seldom raise a voice and the world hardly

knows of these facts. And, most strangely, it is the media of India that works

probably the hardest to suppress knowledge of these goings on.In America the

large Islamic lobbyist money works to promote a positive image of Islam and

does not hesitate to denigrate Hindus or India. In England Pakistanis organize

to create a political influence and bend their politicians to criticize India

on Kashmir, while Hindus in the same country, in perhaps larger numbers and

affluence, do little to counter this. There are many other examples of the same

phenomenon, a Hindu indifference to the media that puts them at a disadvantage

even in their own country.The intelligentsia of India since independence has

been often self-righteously anti-Hindu and naively accepting Western

ideologies, often merely echoing or imitating the old colonial and missionary

propaganda against their own venerable complex religion that appears alien to

these disenfranchised souls. The result is that the ruling political parties of

India have done little to protect the dominant culture of the country from media

distortions but have in fact often encouraged these. They have used anti-Hindu

propaganda projected through the media both in the West and in India to try to

keep Hindus suppressed and afraid of asserting themselves, so that there is no

Hindu challenge to their power. The result is that Hinduism continues under

siege and often with little defense, particularly in this new battleground.

Even Hindu religious groups and leaders are often more concerned about their

own particular faction and seldom willing to come to the defense of the Dharma

as a whole.Clearly unless this situation is corrected the future of Hinduism is

threatened or at least diminished. While several Hindu groups have noticed this

problem, it still has yet to be faced and addressed in a complete manner. Hindu

society is becoming aware of their difficulty but it has yet to really awaken

and deal with it in the real world.The front line of the battle in the world

today is no longer on any particular battlefield with the exchange of bullets

or bombs. It lies now in the media and in the information field, which can be

quite as deadly and poisoning in its results as any battlefield. Even the

battles that are fought with weapons gain much more importance if the media is

there. A few people killed in Israel can become world news and shape global

strategies because of the media. Dozens of people killed in Sudan or China,

where there is no media, will have no effect.In this information war a

different kind of warrior is necessary and a different strategy is required.

This is not an entirely new issue because there has always been something of an

information war in the clash of cultures, nations and religions that has

occurred throughout history. But today it has much more importance in the

information age and has become the central Issue.Intellectual Kshatriya Each

culture has its intellectual defenders. These are its great thinkers who

articulate its cultural values. These intellectual defenders serve to challenge

negative views of the culture. They also serve to present a more favorable image

of the culture and define its culture. Hindus traditionally had their Kshatriya

(Varna) or warrior class to defend them. There has always been an intellectual

Kshatriya as well, those who defend the culture from attack in the realm of

ideas, which usually precedes or accompanies physical attack.What Hindus need

today, in fact what the whole world needs is an intellectual Kshatriya or

intellectual warrior class (bauddhika kshatriya). It needs a group of dedicated

workers and activists who uphold the Dharma against this media and information

onslaught. Such individuals must be above commercial manipulation and

self-promotion, working tirelessly to counter this disinformation flood.Yet

this movement must start in India and in the Hindu community itself to be

really credible. For example, when Hindus in America complained against media

distortions of Hindu groups in India to the New York times they were told that

the information came from Delhi itself. Clearly the change must start in India

to have any real effect, but this can be aided by the activities of Hindus all

over the world.In India the English language media is generally anti-Hindu and

often pro-Marxist. The universities in India are frequently dominated by

professors whose heart is not in the Dharma of their country but in Western

materialism. Kerala and Bengal today remain under the yoke of communist

governments. In Kerala and in Bengal, Hindu sadhus are commonly attacked. It is

no wonder that Hindus outside of India are subjected to oppression, when Hindus

in India itself are under siege.The Vedas say that Brahma (or spiritual power)

and Kshatra (or political power) must go together. When spiritual power

develops it creates an appropriate Kshatra or social power to extend its

influence into society. It provides a dharmic order to our human relations,

both individual and collective. If spiritual power fails to impact the social

order and raise the social Dharma, then it is a sign that this spiritual power

itself has failed, that it is not legitimate or real.Sri Krishna, the great

Avatar, worked throughout his life to create a dharmic Kshatriya, an order of

noble souls who could establish and sustain a dharmic social order. He was

willing to promote a great battle, a civil war among the Kshatriya themselves,

to allow his handpicked dharmic Kshatriya followers to gain power. He purified

the Indian Kshatriya with the blood of a dharmic war. Because of his great

achievement a Kshatriya order was established that maintained a dharmic society

for many centuries. This example should not be lost on us today. The Kshatriya

of India today, its social and political leaders, require a similar dharmic

purification, perhaps not a Kurukshetra in the literal sense but a purification

from false values and corrupt money-hungry cultures that are dominant today.Let

us also look at the example of the great Swami Vidyarananya of Sringeri, an

Advaitin and a Mayavadin, who yet inspired two Hindu Kshatriyas who became

Muslims to reconvert to Hinduism and found the great Hindu kingdom of

Vijayanagar to protect the Dharma. Would not one say that if all is Maya (or

illusion), why would a great Swami start a kingdom? Such a question shows a

profound misunderstanding of Hindu Dharma. One can only transcend the world by

fulfilling one's dharma and one's karma, and even if one has done so for

oneself, one still has the duty to others to teach, guide and raise the world.

Let us also look at the example of Samartha Ramdas, who inspired the great King

Shivaji.Unfortunately so far modern India has not created a Prime Minister of

this sort of inspiration. Many modern Hindus, taking up an excessive view of

non-violence, have rejected the idea of any Hindu Kshatriya altogether. They

have felt that Hindus should not have an army and should not defend themselves

against violence, but should rather offer themselves meekly to their enemies.

This false attitude may have led to the idea that Hindus should not even

challenge media distortions of them.However in the Vedic view a country cannot

exist without a Kshatriya order, which is the pillar of the society. The

Mahabharata states that if there is not a righteous Kshatriya rulership that

employs the danda or is willing to punish adharma, then the people will end up

eating each other. In the information age we could say that if Hindus do not

create an intellectual Kshatriya then the people will end up destroying

themselves with false beliefs and propaganda.If a dharmic Kshatriya is not

created through the force of Brahmic or spiritual knowledge, then the law is

that an adharmic Kshatriya will come to fill in the vacuum. This is exactly

what occurred not only in modern India but throughout the rest of the world.

After the excessive non-violence in the Indian independence movement no genuine

Kshatriya could or was created in the country. This left the country prey to a

false Kshatriya, based mainly upon Marxist ideals, mixed with war lord

temperaments, such as we have found in communist countries, who similarly have

misled the people and prevented the real growth of the nation.One must remember

the example of the Sikhs in India Originally a purely spiritual movement, they

were forced to take up arms and to adapt a Kshatriya order by the cruel

oppression perpetrated against them by the Muslim rulers of the time, in which

torture and genocide was the rule of the day. Under that order they grew and

flourished and became a force to be reckoned with.Unfortunately India as a

whole at that time did not take up the call of Sikh Dharma, which was the call

for a real Kshatriya revival. The resurgent voice of Hindu Dharma that both

Brahma and Kshatra are required, that spiritual knowledge must create a strong

social order and discipline, was muffled. This movement of a new spiritual

Kshatriya of modern Hindus, which the Sikhs began, needs to be completed today,

not only for the resurgence of Hindu society but for the revival of Sanatana

Dharma or the universal tradition of truth throughout the world. But it must be

completed not so much in the field of arms as in the field of ideas. The only

Kshatriya that can carry the day today is the intellectual Kshatriya.Hindus

must create a new intelligentsia that has the power to overcome and absorb the

alienated and Western dominated intellectuals of India. Hindus must project an

Intellectual view that is articulate and compelling. They must bring the

influence of Sanatana Dharma to the intelligentsia of the world. For a culture

that has produced such thinkers as the Vedic seers, Upanishadic sages, Kapila,

Buddha, Patanjali and Shankara, and in the modern times Sri Aurobindo, J.

Krishnamorthy, and Ramana Maharshi, this is certainly possible. In fact we can

find in such great modem figures of India as Sri Aurobindo and Swami

Vivekananda good models of intellectual Kshatriya as well as spiritual masters.

Clearly the success of Hindus in such intellectual fields as science, computers,

engineering and medicine shows that they have the capacity. What is lacking is

the motivation, the guidance, and perhaps the inspiration.Another mistake

Hindus have made is being too accommodating under the guise of synthesis, which

erodes clear thinking. Under the guise that all religions are one Hindus

hesitate to develop a proper criticism, however justified, of the exclusivist

creeds working to convert them, and of other adharmic actions done in the name

of religion in the world. There is also the danger that in trying to attract

minorities into their fold Hindu groups in India will seek to appease

minorities rather than to help them in a dharmic way. The true Kshatriya will

help and lead, giving a positive direction for others to follow, not merely

appease and accommodate in order to gain popularity. A true Kshatriya is

devoted to dharma and cannot be won over by fame, influence or money.The youth

in particular need to be awakened to this call for an intellectual Kshatriya.

They have the idealism and the vision of the future, as well as the vitality,

but this needs to be directed not only by a spiritual urge but one that

addresses the problems of society as well. To be truly relevant, particularly

to the youth, this intellectual voice must address not only the social issues

of today but environmental problems, the role of science, and the future

evolution of humanity.Conclusion, A Code for Intellectual KshatriyaAn

intellectual Kshatriya must not merely be defensive but creative and expansive.

It must project a positive view of Hindu Dharma, and give it a futuristic

vision. Its purpose is not merely to adjust present or historical wrongs but

chart out a new direction for all to follow. In this regard Hindu intellectuals

must go to the universal roots of their tradition and find a compelling vision

that can gather people of all backgrounds, helping them break through limited

and unspiritual beliefs, toward a yogic vision of humanity. This is not to

water down Hindu Dharma but to revitalize it in the world today. This new

Kshatriya must be willing to spread Hindu Dharma in a dynamic way along the

lines of the old Vedic impulse, 'krinvanto vishvam aryam', make all the world

noble.Such an intellectual Kshatriya must be based upon deep thought. It cannot

be developed through mere rhetoric, character assassination, or slogans. It

requires not only a well thought out critique but a positive program of action.

It requires not only a Hindu examination of religion, science and politics, but

the creation of a Hindu alternative to existing systems. It also requires a

model for revitalizing Hindu society itself.Challenge Media Distortions!For

those who wish to take up the role of intellectual Kshatriya there is much that

can be done. An intellectual Kshatriya must challenge media distortions, whether

in schools, books, newspapers, or in the media or the internet. It must also

produce genuine information expressing the truth of Sanatana Dharma, whether

relative to history, art, politics, religion or philosophy. This means a new

revival in the field of Hindu education, which is perhaps the key factor.This

Hindu intelligentsia must be willing to debate with other groups, including

exposing their distortions and wrongs beliefs. It must resurrect the tradition

of tarka or intellectual debate that makes the darshanas or philosophies of

Hinduism so significant It must create a forum in which everything is

critically examined so only truth prevails. In short, it must wield the sword

of viveka or discrimination, discerning the true from the false, and not bowing

down to ignorance anywhere.Raise Ethical Challenge!This new intellectual

Kshatriya must also throw up an ethical challenge, which the challenge of

dharma, exposing the danger of exclusivist religious cults, materialistic

political philosophies, and unchecked commercialism. The West throws its

ethical challenge to the world, criticizing other countries, including India,

for a lack of human rights. This requires a Hindu response. Let us take an

obvious example, the same America that tries to speak for human fights and

democracy all over the world is also the biggest weapons seller and arms

supplier in the world. The biggest buyers of these weapons are the Gulf oil

producing Islamic states, none of which are democracies and none of which have

good human rights records, yet none of which are under any American imposed

sanctions. Clearly the Western voice of human rights is not truly dharmic but

motivated by commercial and nationalistic interests. Hindus need to create an

ethical alternative to such questionable Western humanitarianism.Honor and

Support Truth!For it to truly develop Hindu groups must cultivate and honor

their intellectual Kshatriya, which not only includes listening to them but

promoting their views, and funding their work if necessary. They must stop

hiding in the veil of spirituality and allowing the forces of adharma to rule

the world and even pontificate over their religion, telling them what it is and

what it is worth.Fight for New World Order!In Western Intellectual circles the

talk today is of a "clash of civilizations." This is mainly spoken of as a

clash between the West and Islam, or a clash between the West and Chinese

culture. In this clash of world civilizations the Hindu has been recognized as

one of the players but has already been written off as minor. Why is this the

case? Because the Hindu voice has only a small place in the world sphere

whether politically, economically or Intellectually. Clearly without an

intellectual Kshatriya, Hindus will not likely be part of this churning out of

a new world order.Find True Spirituality!Should we rather not speak of Rama and

Krishna and forget this turmoil of Kali Yuga, some might say? True spirituality

is not an escape but a transcendence. A truly spiritual person can face the

facts of the world, however unpleasant without having to turn away or without

losing inner composure. This is also the message of Rama and Krishna, if we

really look at their lives ad actions.Uphold Dharma!There are those who may

fear that an intellectual Hindu Kshatriya may promote a new Hindu

fundamentalism or oppression of minorities in India. The Hindu Kshatriya

tradition is not one of aggression but of protection, not of forcing conversion

to a religion but upholding the Dharma. It is a tradition of holding to truth

and creating a culture in which freedom to pursue truth, not only in the outer

world, but in the religious realm, is preserved. Is this not what the global

age really requires? It is time for that Kshatriya to arise again. The extent

that it does will be the measure of the future of India and perhaps of any

dharmic revival in this generally adharmic world. Let us hope that this call is

heeded! Who is there to answer it?

– David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)American Institute of Vedic Studies,

Santa Fe, NM– T.R.N. RaoUniversity of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette,

LA

May 19, 200