On being a vaidika dharmika (hindu to others)

धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः ।

तस्माद्धर्मो न हन्तव्यः मानो धर्मो हतोवाधीत् ॥

Dharma, when destroyed, destroys; Dharma protects when it is protected.

Therefore, Dharma does not destroy, nor Dharma can be destroyed.

Today there is a lot of concern and talk about the danger to Hindu dharma from Islam and Christianity. In the few, but increasingly frequent discussions on this subject that I have been involved in, and wherein I have been forced to think about and express my views (the key word is stand) are on this, I have, by virtue of being put into compartments, learned two things: one, that none of the participants themselves are aware of what hindu (I consider this label to be most inappropriate, inadequate and even insulting to describe this great way of life) dharma is; and two, that I am proud of what I myself am and what my dharma is.

I don't know why Hindus are preoccupied so much with something that is irrelevant and doesn't deserve even a passing glance. There is no danger to my dharma or any other dharma or any ideology other than its own weak immunity. Today the danger (if at all) that Vaidika dharma faces is not from other beliefs. How can one belief be a danger to another belief if the belief has people who respect, understand and practice it? When the body has strong immunity, it has nothing to fear from external attack.

If at all Vaidika dharma (or Hindu dharma as some ignorant people call it) is threatened (and I believe it is not because of Muslims or Christians), and if vaidika dharma has to be protected, then it is by loving it, understanding it and practicing it. Not by hating others.  

The strongest arguments that have been placed on the need to protect hindu dharma has been about the inability of the constitution in preventing conversions; absence of uniform civil code and the double standards that exist in treating hindu and minority places of worship and educational institutions. Yes, these are very valid and relevant points and the Indian constitution can never be secular if these are not rectified.

But this post is about what we as individuals, as practitioners, as followers need to do.

So, without wasting much words I would like to use an analogy that a simple person like me is capable of putting forth:

If as a marketer I am seeing my customers lapsing to a competing brand, I will introspect and try to understand why they left and not try and hate the other brand. I will try to make my brand relevant and strong. If you truly love & respect your wife/ husband, s/he will never leave you just because a richer, more attractive third person woos her/him AND the constitution allows this wooing to take place.

All this talk about Hindutva, Hinduism, Hinduness etc is basically hatred for other beliefs. Aggression is the clearest indication of insecurity. I see a similarity in a particular type of definition. I think it is called 'negative definition’: I.e. defining something by describing what it is NOT. Nowadays Hindus are becoming 'people who are not Muslims, Christians, etc'.

I am noticing that today people are Hindus not because they respect, understand and practice their dharma. But they are Hindus by being haters of other beliefs. And I believe that this might be true of other faiths too.

I would like to conclude this short note with an excerpt on from my letter to my children where I had expressed my views on who is a hindu.

Dear children,

You both will face a question about Sanatana Dharma (from others or from within yourself) at least once in your lives. By the way, Sanatana Dharma (ancient way of living) is the correct term. ‘Hindu’, ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Hindustan’, ‘India’, ‘Indus’ are geographically-descriptive words used by western foreigners and visitors to describe the ancient Indian people. All people living near and east of Sindhu were called Hindus by the foreigners.

Coming back to the topic, ‘Who is a Hindu?’, ‘What is Hinduism?’, ‘How to be a Hindu?’ are the various questions for which you will want an answer. I did too and this is what I have understood.

How to be a Hindu?

1. Be born and therefore...

2. You accept that you are part of nature and not its master and therefore...

3. You see divinity in everything (including non-living) and therefore...

4. You believe in peaceful co-existence harmony and therefore...

5. You may disagree with, but are respectful and tolerant of others and therefore...

6. You celebrate differences and the role played by each and therefore...

7. You focus your attention on YOUR duty, YOUR role and doing it with honesty and excellence

Basically, Dharma means way of living and duty. Good dharma is to live life by being truthful, honest, active, clean, non-violent and peaceful. Dharma DOESN’T mean ONLY religious practices and actions like praying, visiting temples, celebrating festivals and chanting hymns. Of course one can make righteous living and duty as one’s religion. As Basavanna said ‘kaayakave kailasa’ (work is worship).