Patanjali has explained the word discipline in ‘Mahabhashya’ that the same word gives different meaning by sitting at different places in the sentence. Yask has suggested adopting historical tradition and logic for the correct meaning in ‘Nirukta’, but senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil has claimed without any basis the well-known concept of Islam in the Gita of ‘Jihad’. He said that ‘the concept of Jihad is not only in Islam, but also in Bhagavad Gita and Christianity.’

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has rubbished his remarks. There is anger in the whole country over Patil’s statement. BJP is the attacker. Gita is a philosophy book. This is a collection of knowledge of Arjuna’s questions and Shri Krishna’s answers. Indian knowledge tradition is endowed with reasoning and questions. There is no emphasis on following in the Gita. It has Yoga, Gyan, Bhakti, Sankhya, Vedanta. Finally, freedom of action according to discretion. Sri Krishna said in the end, ‘I have told you this knowledge. Think about it completely, then do whatever you want. There is no freedom of action in any sect of the world.’

Jihad is a popular word. Its general meaning is to fight those who deny the religion. Translator of Quran Farooq Khan and Dr. Muhammad Ahmed have defined Jihad in their definitional terminology as ‘deliberate effort, putting all the energy to the achievement of the goal.’ The word ‘Kital’ is used in the Qur’an for war. The meaning of Jihad is much broader than that of Kital. The person who strives for truth-dharma with his money, writing and speech etc. If you exhaust yourself for this, he is doing jihad. One may even have to fight for religion. Even life can be sacrificed for it. This is also a part of Jihad. Jihad will be called Islamic Jihad only if it is for Allah. The name of Allah and His religion should be for the prestige of the religion and not for the attainment of wealth. The main aim of Jihad is to remove the obstacles in the path of truth. To deliver the world from the slavery of others other than Allah. To remove the obstacles and obstacles that arise in the practice of Dharma.’

Internationally, Jihad is often taken to mean war. Islamic ideology leads to Jihad. The message of the Qur’an to those who died fighting for religion is, ‘Those who die in the way of Allah, do not call them dead, but they are alive. You don’t realize it.’ In this ideology, denying the humble is kufr and those who do so are infidels. Kufr, Kafir and Jihad are discussed all over the world. War is inevitable in this ideology, ‘War has been imposed on you and you do not like it. It is quite possible that something is dear to you, but it is bad for you. Therefore fight in the way of Allah. Those who did jihad in the way of Allah, they hope for the mercy of Allah. Establishment of a religious state is a duty.

Historian Yadunath Sarkar has written that the main duty of the Muslim ruler is to do jihad on the countries of the infidels – Darul Harb, until they become the Islamic State – Darul Islam and the people accept the rule of Islam. Nationalism and democracy are developing in the world. On the relationship between Islam and nationality, Maulana Maududi is of the opinion that ‘Islam and nationalism are anti-nationals’. Where there is nationality, the influence of Islam cannot increase. Where there is Islam there is no place for nationalism.

The framers of the Indian Constitution have adopted parliamentary democracy. Maulana Maududi says, ‘The right to power is necessary for the reforms which Islam wants to bring. Therefore the struggle to take control of the system is not only permissible, but it is also necessary for the purpose of establishing the Deen. Jihad has been a heated debate in India for a long time. Earlier he used to give explanation according to his ideology. His explanations are no longer effective. So they testify their beliefs from the Hindu ideology. Patil has said that Jihad is in Islam and it is also in Gita.

Finding Jihad in the Gita is mischievous. According to Islamic belief, the Quran cannot be interpreted. There is no restriction on the commentary and criticism of the Gita. Many scholars of the world have derived their own meanings from the Gita. Shankaracharya’s commentary gives the message of liberation. There is karmaism in Tilak’s commentary ‘Gita Rahasya’. The job of the commentator is to present the semantics. Most of the elements of the Gita are eternal. Marxist scholar DD Kosambi has described the Gita as a popular work. Marxist thinker Dr. Ram Vilas Sharma has written, ‘The echoes of the Gita are heard far and wide in Europe.’ Edwin Arnold has written in the Celestial Song on the Gita, ‘In the absence of this book, English literature would be incomplete. I dare to translate this wonderful work.’

The Gita is the essence of existence. It has lasting value to mankind. The Gita has influenced the whole world. German commentator on religion JW Houer also wrote, ‘It is authentic in all times, in all kinds of religious life.’ Scholars all over the world are inspired by the Gita. No scholar has found Jihad in Gita, but Patil sees Jihad in Gita. What to call such knowledge-prank or ambition to get the top position in pseudo-secular politics.

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