The media and the political pundits portray the defeat of BJP in Bihar elections as a referendum on PM Modi’s popularity, which is totally wrong. BJP and the allies failed because they could not project a leader as popular and charismatic as Nitish Kumar to rule the state of Bihar. People trust more in the leader than in the party, whatever it may be. This is a big factor to win any election. People cannot vote for a weak leader. Of course Modi is the PM of India. He was not the CM candidate of Bihar.
Secondly, the results show that Hindus cannot be united or organized into a single community like Christians and Muslims, who vote with religious agenda. Hindus have no religious consciousness. They have the collective responsibility to protect the faith of their motherland. This lack of religious awareness of Hindus shows that for long Hindus have lost their dharmic base for whatever reasons. Hindus are divided on the lines of castes, cults and sects. Because of the existence of innumerable sects like Saivism, Vaishnavism, Sakteyism, Tantrikism, etc. the Hindu community does not have strong and collective spiritual bond between them. One sect would not like the rise of the other sect despite the veneer of apparent ideological and ritual homogeneity.
The present Hindus have no proper awareness or memory about the history of their persecution and enslavement in the past by the Islamic rulers and the Christian British kingdom. Millions of their ancestors were butchered because they were Hindus. Their gurus were subjected to a most humiliating and horrible death for preaching their religion. The Hindus forget to remember that Islam and Christianity do not tolerate any other religious beliefs. Unlike Hinduism, Islam and Christianity preach an intolerant religion and promise hell for the non-believers, who do not accept their version of God. During Islamic rule, penal tax was levied on Hindus and Christians who were not adherents to Islam. There should be a worldwide awareness about the threat of religious intolerance and terrorism in the name of religion, be it Islam, Christianity or Hinduism. The heart of people should be changed through the power of prayers, wisdom and positive action, not by force and other foul means.
To many lower caste Hindu communities, the revival of Hinduism creates an apprehension that they would lose social equality because of the upper caste politics, which is a misplaced fear because the constitution has changed and it ensures equality for all. There is no scope for the perpetuation of caste system in the constitution. Therefore, it is a misplaced fear. Moreover, the Dalits and backward communities have moved up the social and political ladder and today India cannot be ruled without the participation of these communities and their leaders. So the resistance to a nationalist party like BJP is generally not in favor of India’s tolerant cultural and spiritual tradition.
Although they have escaped humanity from the dark ages of superstition and provided it a platform of monotheism and democratic values, Christianity and Islam cannot provide save the human race now. The tenure of the spiritual renaissance they have brought about has ended. When we see the past and present history, the human race has suffered much bloodshed in the name of Christianity and Islam and it continues to be so now. The human race is suffering from disquiet and moral corruption of all sorts.
It is time for the Hindus to unite and reinvigorate Hinduism, the most ancient wisdom tradition in the world, under a strong spiritual leadership that preaches the belief in the only one God Brahman (not the trinity god Brahma) rejecting all traces of caste references from their scriptures. The Santana Wisdom tradition of Indian spirituality (different from the temple tradition) provides a world view that unites all religions and people and provides them a path of purity, wisdom and spiritual fulfillment. After the time of Sri Sankara, such a spiritual leadership has arisen in the southern tip of India, where the three oceans meet. The Guru Parampara of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru is a promising Socio-Spiritual Movement that can lead the human race to the next age of spiritual fulfillment uniting Hindus, Christians and Muslims and all others under one banner without the barriers of caste and religious divide.
Mukundan P.R.
Source: World Hindu News (WHN)
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