The Bane of Reformism

"We start out as reformists. But in the process of engaging ourselves in the pursuit of truth and the root cause, we unknowingly become a revivalist."

Hindu fundamentalists have often argued against the spread of western ideas (पश्चिमी सभ्यता) in our nation. Often they cite hindu texts (mostly the Dharmasastras and Sanata Dharma, which I'll talk about in a little bit) to support their beliefs. My generation hasn't been helpful either. Instead of exploring the real facts, we deem most of these texts as uncool, archaic and bordering on parochial. I often find myself thinking twice before saying it aloud that one of my favourite books is Karma Yoga. While I can't make sweeping generalizations, I have to admit a lot of my friends are contrarians. It's good to be a contrarian. But being a contrarian just for the sake of it without an underlying thesis to support it will not get people anywhere. If anything, it will only lead to confusion and a crisis at the most fundamental level. 

Today, people often question my rationale behind not touching meat. Why I sometimes observe rituals like surya namaskaram, abishekam and upanayanam. It sometimes goes as far as asking if it out of pleasing my parents or getting money or making an abstract entity called "god" happy. I sometimes wonder why a lot of people don't understand is the significance of our roots. They are too quick to disparage these things. Hinduism is a religion that has spanned over two millenia. As a brahmin, it's my duty as well as a right to preserve my culture. Observe that I have used the word culture, not religion. I don't consider myself very religious but culturally inclined, absolutely. A duty because I consider it my responsibility. A right because I consider myself lucky to have got this responsibility.

Unfortunately, our interpretation of hindu texts has undergone a lot of dilution. An occasional purification, but it has seen a trend towards perversion. People have forgotten the underlying principles and given the authority of interpreting the hindu texts to a small subset of people who have ofcourse conveniently decided to use it to suit themselves. Today the likes of BJP and VHP base their principles on Dharmasastras and advocate for a system of Hindutva which I can't relate to. After a lot of reading on internet and talking to various knowledgeable people, I have slowly come to believe that Dharmasastras and Sanatana Dharma are NOT the authoritative source of interpreting Hinduism. They are a regressive interpretation of our culture. In a large part, they are the reason for caste system remaining rigid. Upanishads (meaning ending part of Vedas) have prescribed the caste of a person to be determined based on merit and work. A person is not bound to a caste and there are rules in place to change it.

However, caste system is not the point of this blogpost at all. A few weeks ago, our Supreme Court passed a resolution scraping the decriminalization of homosexual relations. While SC has scraped it in part due to reasons like spread of HIV, lack of sanitation, etc., BJP has given a new spin to it. Rajnath Singh in this characteristic style has said our culture condemns homosexuality and that it's unnatural and we can't support something that is against nature.

I hope Rajnath Singh thinks deep and hard about what he said. He obviously doesn't have any idea of what he is talking about. Rigveda while talking about genders has used the phrase "vikruti evam prakruti" meaning diversity and perversity in nature. It has indirectly alluded to the fact that everyone can't be classified as a man or a woman and one must celebrate diversity. ManuSmriti, one of the earliest doctrines on hindu affairs and life frowns (not condemns) upon homosexuality and prescribes certain rituals to be relieved of it IF needed. The wiki page on LGBT traditions in India is an excellent starting point to know about these things.

Today the LGBT community of India is feeling marginalized. Many have no place to go or to talk to. I have a feeling congress won't last long in power and BJP will come to power and make sure no such bills even come to the discussion table. It's sad what a bunch of shallow reformists can do. Forcing their notions on the entire country without researching the facts. They are quick to condemn western culture but fail to realize that Article 377 (which criminalizes homosexual activities) is in fact a remnant of the British administrative system. Oh and also Britain is fast making gay marriage legal.

It just comes back to what I said earlier - without an underlying thesis, we are only led deeper into confusion and crisis.

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