Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Perversity as secularism It is, indeed, amazing how polarizing the political discourse has become in this country, and how entirely unnecessary and extraneous controversies are being generated by an intellectually bankrupt national leadership. It is incomprehensible how such perverse nonsense relating to the controversy on Ram Setu could have entered a supposedly secular Government's representation before the Supreme Court of India. The Government has, of course, recanted and has sought to distance itself from the contents of the affidavit, but this is far from enough. Someone must have drafted this document; someone would have approved and signed it. This is not something that can simply be pinned on to some minion in the Archaeological Survey of India. The Ram Setu issue has been a prominent political and public controversy for several months now, and it is impossible that a critical affidavit in this regard would not have the explicit assent of the political executive at the highest level; and, in the remote possibility that this is actually the case, the dereliction at senior levels of Government is unforgivable. The individuals concerned at every level of the drafting and approval of this pernicious affidavit need to be clearly and publicly identified and penalized for causing unnecessary offence to Hindus - the majority community in this country, and one that is evidently not regarded as a vote-bank by the so-called 'secular' parties - and, indeed, to many non-Hindus who share in the vibrant collective and cultural consciousness of India's variegated civilization. There is a new and escalating insensitivity in Indian secular thought, which not only insistently neglects the sensibilities of the majority community, but, worse, appears eager to cause injury to such sentiments. India's opportunistic political secularists - as distinct from those who are, in fact and practice, actually wedded to the secular ideology - feel that they cannot sufficiently proclaim their secularism without displaying at least a measure of contempt for Hindu beliefs and practices. By contrast, the most extraordinary sensitivity - often transgressing not only the limits of good sense, but even considerations of national interest - is prominently displayed towards the Muslim minority vote-bank (though other minorities - with their smaller shares in electoral contests - are ironically treated with the same contempt that is directed against the majority community). These tendencies appear to be getting worse with the passage of time, and a precipitous decline in the quality of political debate and intelligence is manifest. These tendencies are, nevertheless, deep rooted in Indian - and particularly Congress - politics, and the tallest of our leaders have not escaped susceptibility to this perversity of perspective. When the Khilafat movement collapsed in 1924, the Moplah rebellion, in which Muslim mobs inflicted untold savagery and rapine on Hindus, broke out in Kerala. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Mahatma, who wore his Hindu identity very much on his sleeve, first denied these atrocities. As evidence of Muslim excesses mounted, he described the Moplahs as " god-fearing " people who were " fighting for what they consider as religion, and in a manner they consider as religious " . Even during the Khilafat movement, Gandhi chose to ally with the infamous Ali brothers, silently sharing a platform with them, and refusing to criticize or comment when they declared: " If the Afghans invaded India to wage holy war, the Indian Muhammadans are not only bound to join them but also to fight the Hindus if they refuse to cooperate with them. " The problem with the current controversy goes beyond this, to the way in which we view science itself. The Archaeological Survey of India, in its affidavit to the Supreme Court, has asserted that there " was no historical and scientific evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters in Ramayana " . But to conclude from this lack of evidence that Lord Ram did not exist, and that the whole of Ramayana is no more than a religious myth, exceeds the scope of the evidence (or lack thereof). The inability to prove, on scientific criteria, the existence of a particular individual or entity does not amount to a proof of the non-existence of such an individual or entity. Falsification has entirely different criteria - and the dearth of archaeological and historical evidence is not sufficient basis for such falsification. Regrettably, many have jumped into this controversy with sweeping assertions regarding the existence or otherwise of Lord Ram and of Ram Setu, reflecting the poorest possible understanding of scientific methodology or of evidence. Unfortunately, science, with rare exception, is taught in India much like religion: As an authoritarian, faith-based system, to be internalized by rote on the mandate of a teacher whose assertions are to be accepted without question; and, not as the tentative, continuously expanding enterprise of discovery rooted in human freedom and imagination. The Ram Setu issue, moreover, goes beyond science, to the very heart of faith and of the collective consciousness of a nation - and these considerations cannot be irrelevant to a legal determination of the issue. If, indeed, they were to be treated as extraneous and immaterial, then there could be no objection to razing every religious structure in the country to the ground, on considerations, purely, of expediency. The greatest caution must be exercised when intervening in these issues, and the clumsiness, the political chicanery and the opportunism - across party lines - that characterized the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue should be avoided at all costs. The legend of Ram and Ramayana - archaeological evidence or no archaeological evidence - has primal resonances in the civilization, culture and multiple identities, not only of India and among Hindus, but among the people of the entire South and South-East Asian region, and occasionally well beyond. I recall watching films and theatrical performances - Ram Lilas - based on Ramayana from earliest childhood, and one of the most exciting scenes was the vaanar sena building the bridge to Lanka with rocks inscribed with the name of their Lord. These are images embedded in the consciousness of millions across India and beyond, and to trivialize this is to misunderstand the very nature of governance. ****************************************************************** Greetings from Sri Radha Kutir, Please visit our website on Vedanta: http://www.geocities.com/radhakutir http://www.geocities.com/vedantacourse and also http://www.geocities.com/vedicfoundation ****************************************************************** " In the whole world there is no religion or philosophy so sublime and elevating as Vedanta. This Vedanta has been the solace of my life, and it will be the solace of my death " ------ Schopenhauer. ***************************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Very good post, Radhakutirji. The root cause of this decadence is a general decline in interest in Hinduism by Hindus....while all other religons aggressively promote their religons, Hindus are happy to pretend to be " secular " & " tolerant " . This has led to a situation where not responding to attacks on our culture is taken as " tolerance " . And why just the Ram Setu bridge issue? What about the racist, bigoted Aryan invasion theory, which is still hapilily taught in India, despite all the evidence against it? To this date, the people who have done most to discredit it are people like David Frawley(a Scholar), George Furenstien(a Buddhist convert, who also writes on India) & Graham Hancock, a best selling journalist/author. You will notice there are no Indians on the list. Indians are happy to recycle the same garbage that people who hated us & wanted to convert us, wrote for us. We have 1 billion people at least 600 million of which are Hindu. Even then if we cant protect our religon, then maybe its time for Hinduism to die, maybe its time is over.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 Author of this article is Mr. KPS GILL > > > > Perversity as secularism > > > > It is, indeed, amazing how polarizing the political discourse has > become in this country, and how entirely unnecessary and extraneous > controversies are being generated by an intellectually bankrupt national > leadership. It is incomprehensible how such perverse nonsense relating to > the controversy on Ram Setu could have entered a supposedly secular > Government's representation before the Supreme Court of India. > > > > The Government has, of course, recanted and has sought to distance > itself from the contents of the affidavit, but this is far from enough. > Someone must have drafted this document; someone would have approved and > signed it. This is not something that can simply be pinned on to some > minion in the Archaeological Survey of India. The Ram Setu issue has been > a prominent political and public controversy for several months now, and > it is impossible that a critical affidavit in this regard would not have > the explicit assent of the political executive at the highest level; and, > in the remote possibility that this is actually the case, the dereliction > at senior levels of Government is unforgivable. > > > > The individuals concerned at every level of the drafting and approval > of this pernicious affidavit need to be clearly and publicly identified > and penalized for causing unnecessary offence to Hindus - the majority > community in this country, and one that is evidently not regarded as a > vote-bank by the so-called 'secular' parties - and, indeed, to many > non-Hindus who share in the vibrant collective and cultural consciousness > of India's variegated civilization. > > > > There is a new and escalating insensitivity in Indian secular > thought, which not only insistently neglects the sensibilities of the > majority community, but, worse, appears eager to cause injury to such > sentiments. India's opportunistic political secularists - as distinct from > those who are, in fact and practice, actually wedded to the secular > ideology - feel that they cannot sufficiently proclaim their secularism > without displaying at least a measure of contempt for Hindu beliefs and > practices. > > > > By contrast, the most extraordinary sensitivity - often transgressing > not only the limits of good sense, but even considerations of national > interest - is prominently displayed towards the Muslim minority vote-bank > (though other minorities - with their smaller shares in electoral > contests - are ironically treated with the same contempt that is directed > against the majority community). These tendencies appear to be getting > worse with the passage of time, and a precipitous decline in the quality > of political debate and intelligence is manifest. > > > > These tendencies are, nevertheless, deep rooted in Indian - and > particularly Congress - politics, and the tallest of our leaders have not > escaped susceptibility to this perversity of perspective. When the > Khilafat movement collapsed in 1924, the Moplah rebellion, in which Muslim > mobs inflicted untold savagery and rapine on Hindus, broke out in Kerala. > > > > Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Mahatma, who wore his Hindu identity > very much on his sleeve, first denied these atrocities. As evidence of > Muslim excesses mounted, he described the Moplahs as " god-fearing " people > who were " fighting for what they consider as religion, and in a manner > they consider as religious " . Even during the Khilafat movement, Gandhi > chose to ally with the infamous Ali brothers, silently sharing a platform > with them, and refusing to criticize or comment when they declared: " If > the Afghans invaded India to wage holy war, the Indian Muhammadans are not > only bound to join them but also to fight the Hindus if they refuse to > cooperate with them. " > > > > The problem with the current controversy goes beyond this, to the way > in which we view science itself. The Archaeological Survey of India, in > its affidavit to the Supreme Court, has asserted that there " was no > historical and scientific evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram > or the other characters in Ramayana " . But to conclude from this lack of > evidence that Lord Ram did not exist, and that the whole of Ramayana is no > more than a religious myth, exceeds the scope of the evidence (or lack > thereof). > > > > The inability to prove, on scientific criteria, the existence of a > particular individual or entity does not amount to a proof of the > non-existence of such an individual or entity. Falsification has entirely > different criteria - and the dearth of archaeological and historical > evidence is not sufficient basis for such falsification. Regrettably, many > have jumped into this controversy with sweeping assertions regarding the > existence or otherwise of Lord Ram and of Ram Setu, reflecting the poorest > possible understanding of scientific methodology or of evidence. > > > > Unfortunately, science, with rare exception, is taught in India much > like religion: As an authoritarian, faith-based system, to be internalized > by rote on the mandate of a teacher whose assertions are to be accepted > without question; and, not as the tentative, continuously expanding > enterprise of discovery rooted in human freedom and imagination. > > > > The Ram Setu issue, moreover, goes beyond science, to the very heart > of faith and of the collective consciousness of a nation - and these > considerations cannot be irrelevant to a legal determination of the issue. > If, indeed, they were to be treated as extraneous and immaterial, then > there could be no objection to razing every religious structure in the > country to the ground, on considerations, purely, of expediency. The > greatest caution must be exercised when intervening in these issues, and > the clumsiness, the political chicanery and the opportunism - across party > lines - that characterized the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue should > be avoided at all costs. > > > > The legend of Ram and Ramayana - archaeological evidence or no > archaeological evidence - has primal resonances in the civilization, > culture and multiple identities, not only of India and among Hindus, but > among the people of the entire South and South-East Asian region, and > occasionally well beyond. I recall watching films and theatrical > performances - Ram Lilas - based on Ramayana from earliest childhood, and > one of the most exciting scenes was the vaanar sena building the bridge to > Lanka with rocks inscribed with the name of their Lord. These are images > embedded in the consciousness of millions across India and beyond, and to > trivialize this is to misunderstand the very nature of governance. > > > > > ****************************************************************** > Greetings from Sri Radha Kutir, > Please visit our website on Vedanta: > http://www.geocities.com/radhakutir > http://www.geocities.com/vedantacourse > and also > http://www.geocities.com/vedicfoundation > ****************************************************************** > " In the whole world there is no religion or philosophy so sublime and > elevating as Vedanta. This Vedanta has been the solace of my life, > and it will be the solace of my death " ------ Schopenhauer. > ***************************************************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 In mattrs of faith " scientific laboratory proof " should not be dmanded. Does God exit ? " Where is the scientific proof ? Did Jesus rise on the third day after cricifixion? Where is the proof ? Did Allah directly speak to Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) ? Faith never asks for earthly proof. Making a few official the scapegoats while politicians feign ignorance of an affidavit is unbecoming of leaders who say if the " high command " asks they would resign. ijs radhakutir <radhaktr wrote: Author of this article is Mr. KPS GILL > > > > Perversity as secularism > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 Ajudge,an attorney ,a politician and a bureaucrat ca not decide how scientific is RAM SETHU. Please visit my blog inwhich I had interpreted hinduism as thouh I am not a Hindu http://gjnanaswarup.spaces.live.com/blog Please criticise me mercilessly ijswamy radhakutir <radhaktr wrote: The legend of Ram and Ramayana - archaeological evidence or no archaeological evidence - has primal resonances in the civilization, culture and multiple identities, not only of India and among Hindus, but Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 High everybody! While declaring independance from the clutches of British, with the advise of ccunning British rulers, Bharat has been declared 'Secular Nation'. Oxfor Dictionary states - Secular - (1) not religious, sacrred or spiritual (2)not subject to or bound by religious rules, contrasted with regular. From this it is crystal clear that Over Enthusiastic power aspirants were hypnotysed to such a state that they cheerfully declared their Mother as the dictionary says. Bharat has been Sacred since time immemorial and these intellectually bankrrupts have accepted such a policy. We have to educate people the correct meaning of this policy at every level. Our Aryan culture, our Scriptures, our All Incarnations of the Supreme Power, Purna Brahma, has never professed hatred or distiction with any other thought or culture or faith. It is very interesting to see the statements and behavours of our powerhungry politicians praising miscreants and crushing loyals devotees of nation. We have to create general concesus amongst common people about true religious path and the ways and means to bring that supremacy which prevailed in Vaidic era. As stated in Shreemad Bhagavad Gita, Gyan, Karm and Bhakti are the only ways and means which can help us. First we ourselves have to become powerful and popular in good sense so that the mass will come after us. As declared in Gita ch.3/21 " YadyadAcarati shreSthastattadevetaro jana:, sa yatpramaNam kurute lokastadanuvartate " meaning 'whater a great man does, that very thing other men also do; whatever standard he sets up, the generality (common ) of men follow the same and ch.3/26 " Na buddhibhedam janayet agyAnAm karmasanginAm, joshayet sarva karmANi vidvanyukta samAcaret " meaning 'a wise man established in the self should not nsettle the mind of the ignorant attached to action, but should get them to perform all their duties, duly performing his own duties Now we should engage ourselves in action scrupulously at this juncture else great harm is waiting ahead. We have to put this in our practice and then mass will follow us. Though it will take long time, as the time passes, people will reasise the facts and fallacies of the politicians and the day is certain when all these would be uprooted and thrown as we destroy poisonous elements mercilessly. So wai and act to rebuild ourselvs is prime demand of present time. Many learned, intellectual and wise sould in other countries / faith are being attacted to our culture and we have to answer all their queries till their all doubts are cleared and pure and powerful devotion is inculcated / developed in their mind. This will benefit us to gather more intelligent concensus to put proper pressure on these politically bankrrupt ones determined to ruin our nation and culture. Heartful regards to all. radhakutir <radhaktr wrote: Author of this article is Mr. KPS GILL > > > > Perversity as secularism > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 , radhakutir <radhaktr wrote: .. India's opportunistic political secularists - as distinct from > > those who are, in fact and practice, actually wedded to the secular > > ideology - feel that they cannot sufficiently proclaim their secularism > > without displaying at least a measure of contempt for Hindu beliefs and > > practices. Sadly this is true. The more you abuse hinduism the more secular you are in India. Secularism is a curse on Indian society ...and India is the only country where majority is afraid of minorities. Our own hindus, in the name of being secular, proudly abuse hindus in the name of gujarat, Stains, festivals etc. In the name of tollerance, all attrocities on hindus are ignored. The solution of the problem is not killing the muslims or christians, but awakening our own youth to our religion. To tell our children the correct meaning of our Great Religion and culture. I personally feel arrival of Buddhism made Indians coward and hide behind big names of Peace, tollerance, patience.... and it is after many Indian kings adopted Buddhism that we started getting attacks from outside. The core philosophy of Hinduism does not approve cowardice in the name of secularism, or tolerance, or peace. Gita is a living example of this. AUM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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