Lets accept that world is plunging into deep religious conflicts as happened way back in 10th and 11th centuries, those were the days when powerful crusaders invaded lands to conquer wealth and spreading the agenda of their religious objectives. Starting from the invasion of Mohammad bin Kasim in 711 AD, who plundered Sind province of India by deceitfully killing kind Dhar opened the doors for Arab invaders into holy Hindu land “Hindustan” and bloody trail continued for 9 centuries, Mahmud Ghaznavid notoriously known as plunderer of holy temple Somnath, Turkish, Mongols, Huns, Taimoor, Abdali and many more, before advent of Europeans were not in any degree less in the massacred millions of peacefully living Hindus.
Unaware of the solution defenseless Hindustan continued to experience the blood shed by Europeans in centuries to come. And Hindu survival continued to plunge into more severe difficulties, not only the land was depleted of its demographical wealth but a systematic attack on its culture, language, customs, and social values were orchestrated which left Hindus confused in choosing their real identity or borrowed Individuality.
Needless to say, that if there is any culture that can bring compassion, tolerance, peace, and harmony to the humanity its only great Hindu civilization but how many real Hindus are left?
Numeric value of more than one billion people carrying Hindu names might give a short term illusion of relief, but the questions is, How many of those billions are truly carrying those values? How many of those are real Hindu by practice? I know this question can boggle one’s mind, but it is the most necessary question that haunts a civilization which is more than 7000 years old.
Let’s speak in unison, We Hindus have right to survive not only physically but culturally, socially and politically. And how can we do that?
Self-knowledge
The first thing Hindus must do, is to know themselves. The great problem of Hindus today is that they have become sleepwalkers, forgetful of their civilization. It gets worse with every passing year, as the ever-larger Hindu middle class is choosing to be Americanized both in consumer patterns and values. Their knowledge of western films and music is becoming bigger as their knowledge of Hindu tradition is lessening. And the worst is that increasing numbers take pride in their ignorance.
Today world is more conducive for Abrahamic (Christian and Islam) style religion, in which they congregate regularly and get their identity is acknowledged with a complete system of consolidation, conversion and criticism.
But for Hindus this is a new situation, gone by are the days when religion was there, you did what every around you were doing but for now, to an increasing extent, you have to make choices for it. The law of inertia is no longer working for Hinduism. Only we Hindus can save it by practicing without any adulteration of other religious interventions like on the Kurukshetra, with the real enemies and opportunities Krishna orated it to Arjuna.
Language
What collateral damage Macaulay English education system did to Hinduism is unparallel and incalculable in comparison, I strongly believe, Indians being ruled by solemn oath to its constitutional obligation having no direct influence of Britishers, but cultural and social imperialism, Hindus continue to confront.
Our native language are considered inferior, our families are anglicized, people can often be seen flaunting their prowess of foreign languages, our education institutes are attacking impressionable minds of our coming generations with foreign tales of valor and the only cause its flourishing that Hindus are no more aware of the dangers a foreign language can cause to its society in long run.
A kind of social psychology has filled Hindu minds with their admiration of anglicized attitude, Indian politicians, rich ones and even the rising bourgeoises middle class of India take pride when their children utter few words of English,
But if the survival Hinduism is in sight, its better to aim of Indian language that will set India apart from Anglo’s hare, That Indian language can only be Sanskrit, At this distance, we can say that was a fateful day when the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, cast the deciding vote in the constituent assembly in favour of Hindi as link language, to the detriment of the other candidates. Sanskrit and Hindi was not accepted by chauvinist speakers of the other vernaculars. One of the good reasons was that it was but a recent language, a common denominator between old literary language like Braj Bhasha, Awadhi, Rajasthani and others. Hindi as it is, was deemed vulgar by speakers of highly civilized non Hindi languages like Bengali or Telugu
By contrast, our constituent assemble couldn’t argue the link of Sanskrit that could have sent a cry of admiration through countries like China, Japan, Russia and Germany, France and America. The state of Israel, that chose to make Biblical Hebrew its first language, would have understood very well that Indian made its main scriptural medium into its second language.
Take a situation functioning as the bedrock of undermining great Hinduism is departure of Hindus from its primeval cultural root, the language. You have a choice supporting Bollywood Hindi make Indian unity weaker and Muslim factor stronger. But more importantly, supporting English will make Indian unity and democracy weaker, and the hold of so-called secularists, By contrast, supporting Sanskrit will make Indian Unity stronger, along with popular access to the Indian scriptures, tradition and cultural values needed most for the survival of Hindus.
Lets take pride in communicating in our own language and share it with others.
Building our own organization
Since our identity is under sever threat from modern day weapons of imperialism, and institutions bearing their hidden agenda of conversion, coercion and criticism are under the guise of faults of our constitutional weaknesses are spreading like a high-grade cancer leading to terminal impact on Hinduism.
Preserving our ethos should be a united goal of our community, as world may see rampant protest globally by a community in aftermath of recent Israel- Palestine disputes. Thousands of organizations founded legitimately as per the law of respective country raised slogans in support of their respective ideologies and world witnessed an innocuous polarized view. Lets not forget that we are living in a most polarized world where community interests are overriding economic, geographic interests by an immense margin.
If need to survive Hinduism will need organized groups to defend their civilization, a collective sense of unity shall prevail over petty difference that has already hampered our civilizational values.
It’s a fact that Hindus participating in discussions on Hinduism and its plight at least proves they feel that something is not right with Hinduism. Let that be start, for the rest, you have your own teachers to go to. You don’t need me to tell you that self-control (Yoga) is better for you and for everyone than self-indulgence. You have Hindu civilization for that.
Avoid unverified assumption.
For the foreign invading ideologies there were some readymade recipes offered by our false and unverified assumptions, which those powers used as their prime weapon against Hinduism.
Our scriptures Veda, Purana, Upanishad were labelled with derogatory practices of casteism, misogyny, superstitions, and stereotypes which we Hindus accepted as facts without even giving a second thought. This obsessive pride by modern Indian have uprooted Hinduism by its own followers and victorious imperialists shared the loot.
Hinduism needs to get rid of these fabricated rifts and society need to get educated about its false paddling by foreign interest groups.
Empower, Educate, and narrate
On any given time ask a Hindu about 10 good things his civilization has taught him, he might agitate in pride and count, on the contrary ask him about 10 problems, you’d find a professor in him orating with examples which of course are implanted in him by centuries colonial tools.
Whom to blame here? The novice Hindu or complete ecosystem of cultural imperialism? I believe both.
To purify Hindu minds about their rich cultural past and glorious civilization it is quintessential to revive their understanding, Hinduism need to reeducate and narrate our ideological marvels to our masses. A campaign to empower, educate and narrate is most needed to our bewildered society.
Social groups, institutions and political will to bring out imposed false representation of our values should be forwarded with priority.
Remember! cultural imperialism can only be countered with cultural revival.
Stay united and determined.
Love your culture and save Hinduism!!
Dr. Nagpal Singh
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