Secularism in Hindu religion
Hindu spiritual leaders never looked down upon other religions, and politicians need to embrace this idea
Muslims who came to India were no doubt guilty of excesses and conversions but once they settled down to rule and shoulder responsibility, they learned to treat all citizens alike irrespective of whether one was a Hindu or a Muslim. Some of their rulers were even better than Hindu rulers — This telling comment was made on April 9, 1953, by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, the 68th Pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Pitam, one of the most respected Hindu saints.
For someone steeped deeply into Hindu dharma, the Pontiff was innately secular – in line with ancient Hindu wisdom. When the Pope planned to visit India in 1964, the Hindu Mahasabha in Bombay decided to greet him with black flags. The Maha Periyava, as the Kanchi saint was known, issued a statement urging everyone to treat leaders of other religions with respect and not to show hatred.
Fellow Feeling
Although he held strong views on some aspects of Hindu social order, Chandrasekharendra Saraswati always emphasised the need for solidarity amongst humans above all. Even within the Hindu religion, he warned against attempts to make everyone conform to the same form of worship. “What was really needed,” he said in January 1953, “was fellow-feeling which sprang from mutual esteem and understanding.”
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam expressed his admiration for the Kanchi hermitage when he visited its then head, Sri Jayendra Saraswati. Kalam recalled that he was having a discussion when the Shankaracharya looked at a clock and remarked: “Why don’t you join the Namaz in the mosque near our matam entrance? We can talk afterwards.” Kalam, who hailed from Rameshwaram was no stranger to Hindu rituals but could not believe his ears. Here was a Hindu Pontiff urging him to do Namaz!
Secular thinking has always been part and parcel of the Hindu spiritual order. And it is this influence that shaped Mahatma Gandhi’s views. Although a political persona, Gandhi, while sticking to the Hindu religion, was a firm believer in the oneness of all religions. “There is in Hinduism room enough for Jesus, as there is for Mohammed, Zoroaster and Moses,” Gandhi wrote in ‘Harijan’ on January 30, 1937. “For me the different religions are beautiful flowers from the same garden or they are branches of the same majestic tree.”
Flowing from this reasoning, Gandhi was resolutely opposed to all religious conversions. When the British press reported that a Miss Slade of Wardha Ashram had embraced Hinduism, Gandhi took to Young India (February 20, 1930) to deny this. “We have in the Ashram today several faiths represented. No proselytising is practiced or permitted. We recognise that all these faiths are true and divinely inspired, and all have suffered through the necessarily imperfect handling by imperfect men.”
Revolution in Hinduism
In the 50 years he lived, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa brought about a revolution in Hinduism with his deep devotion to Mother Kali. Yet, he never showed any discrimination against non-Hindus; on the contrary, he practiced, by his own admission, all religions. “Wherever I look I see men quarrelling in the name of religion – Hindus, Mohammedans, Brahmos, Vaishnavas, and the rest; but they never reflect that He, who is called Krishna, is also called Shiva, and bears the name of Primitive Energy, Jesus and Allah as well – the same Rama with a thousand names.”
Ramakrishna’s chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda, too gave equal respect to all religions although he was very critical of fanatical sections of Christians and Muslims. Vivekananda was equally harsh towards Hindu hardliners. He particularly held Jesus Christ in high esteem. In a letter on October 10, 1897, Vivekananda urged one of his followers to start an orphanage in which children of all faiths would be admitted and said that no effort should be made to influence the Muslim and Christian children to embrace Hinduism.
Paramhansa Yogananda’s celebrated ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ is a must read for every spiritual aspirant. During the three decades he spent in the United States, Yogananda took the veneration of Jesus a step further, producing a massive volume comprising written and spoken commentary on Christ and his teachings. His biographer Philip Goldberg noted that the combination of scientific rationality and respect for the Judeo-Christian tradition was the hallmark of Yogananda’s teaching.
Sree Narayana Guru, whose spiritual side often gets overlooked because of his fame as a social reformer, was open to embracing the good in all religions. For the first time in India, he let students from all religions to study Sanskrit in his Sanskrit school. The pupils included Muslims and Christians besides some Dalits. Until then, it was widely believed that only Brahmins could learn Sanskrit. “All religions agree with my convictions,” he declared. He said he set up a few temples only because of requests from Hindus. “If people from any religion, including Christians and Muslims wish, I will be happy to do such things for them as well.”
Greatest Temple
Swami Chidananda, who headed the Shivananda Ashram in Rishikesh, considered himself both “hundred per cent Hindu” and “hundred per cent Christian.” The Bible moved him deeply, as did the ‘Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas A Kempis. He viewed Muslims as his spiritual brothers. His biographer Sarat Chandra Behera quotes him as saying: “The one Supreme Being, who is adored by the common family of humanity as Allah, Khuda, Ahura Mazda, Tao, is the Ocean into which all religious streams flow. He is glorified in the Bible, the Koran, the Granth Sahib and the Vedas. He is worshipped in synagogues, churches, mosques and temples. But His greatest temple is the human heart.”
Lahiri Mahasaya, the guru of Paramhansa Yogananda’s guru Yukteshwar Giri, belonged to the same mould. Muslims were among those who flocked to him to learn Kriya Yoga. The Shirdi Sai Baba had a huge following among both Muslims and Hindus.
Om Swami, a mystic who lives in the lower Himalayan hills, has harped on the need to show compassion and gratitude besides empathy and humility while on the spiritual path. “In my humble view,” he writes, “our first emotion towards anyone should be compassion; let’s give them the benefit of doubt.”
It is not that there were no autocrats and dictators among Muslim royalty – just as there were those minus these traits. Irrespective of what the other did, spiritual leaders from the Hindu world never preached violence or hatred against the other; they never looked down on other religions. Politicians who today seek votes in the name of religion need to embrace this idea.
(The author is a senior journalist based in New Delhi)
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .
