Recently, most of the media, both print and electronic, are agog discussing intolerance and apportioning blame on some outfits.
There are two types of intolerance: Justified and unjustified.
Justified: In everyday life, one does some wrong, intentionally or otherwise, that hurts other individual or group. So, protesting such wrongdoing is just intolerance. Now, who is to decide which is just and unjustIJ
Unjust intolerance: This is based on the attitude with no, insufficient or misunderstanding. In a family, when parents do something wrong, children have a right to protest and vice-versa. Envy/jealousy is part of intolerance which is common to humans. How to face intoleranceIJ Should it be conceded, or ignored as part of tolerance or combated by counter intoleranceIJ In Hindu society, untouchability, though banned by the Constitution, has still not totally disappeared. This is also intolerance.
Holding contempt on others for whatever reason is also intolerance. When persons endowed with knowledge, wealth and/or power look down upon the underprivileged. In an office or factory, a better performing worker looks down upon an underperforming colleague. A big farmer looks down upon a smaller one. These examples can be multiplied.
Coming to the political arena, in a democracy, there is always a tussle between the ruling party and the opposition even though the motive may be to serve people in a better way. In a dictatorship, whether party-based, military, ideologically-driven or religious, where the dissenters are killed, imprisoned or sent to lunatic asylum.
On religious matter, let us examine Sanatana Dharma, popularly known as Hinduism. Hinduism is one of the oldest surviving religions and believes in Vasudheiva Kutumbakam, i.e., world is a family. If one analyses some hymns of Hinduism, these wish peace and prosperity for the entire universe including the flora and fauna, not limiting to humans alone. Besides, it believes in Sakala Ghate Narayana, i.e., there is a spark of divinity in every human being. This mindset prevents Hindus from going for a killing spree. Hindus have the maximum freedom either to worship or not to worship. Hindus can be atheists, agnostics or believers of one God to 33 crore gods and goddesses. Hindus further believe that a man or a woman can be a god or goddess by his/her exemplary conduct and behaviour beneficial to society. This goes beyond the 33-crore limit. For a Hindu, the first god is father, first goddess is mother and the next god is guru, i.e., teacher. They worship both animate and inanimate. Hindus worship cows, bullocks, serpents (e.g., on Nag Panchami), decorate elephants on auspicious days, etc. They worship trees such as banyan, peepal, bel and inanimate like hills, mountains, water bodies like lakes/ponds, rivers and sea. The plurality of gods and worship among Hindus has virtually no limits. And this plurality is reflected in day-to-day behaviour of Hindus vis-Ã -vis followers of other faiths.
Hindus respect, not merely tolerate, other faiths including Christianity and Islam. Polytheism, more aptly Istadevatawad is central to Hinduism while the belief system of Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam is one God, one Book and one Prophet. These religions have divided humanity into two groups: believers and non-believers, such as Jews and Genteel, Christian and heathen and Momin/Muslim and infidel/Kafir. Each religion considers the other religions either fake or inferior.
Environmentally speaking, followers of the Abrahamic faiths, generally, believe that humans are the masters of nature. However, Hindus worship it. This appears to some atheists and leftist thinkers as obscurantism or Andha Viswas. A few words about conduct: Can any individual, man or woman, family, a group of families, or a religious group enhance his/her/its prestige by abusing othersIJ In other words, civilised behaviour is characterised by mutual or give-and-take respect. In Hinduism, there is respect for every shade of opinion. Being polytheistic, Hindus recognise and respect the Istadevata of Christians, i.e., Jesus and that of Islam, i.e., Allah whose last prophet is Mohammed.
Some specifics:
(a) Murders of atheist intellectuals like Naredra Dhabolkar, MM Kaubargi, Pansare are condemnable and the culprits must be punished as per law. But a question arises: Aren’t the atheists intolerant of theistsIJ Why these groups aim at only Hindu sentiments and not holisticallyIJ
(b) People being killed for their belief alluding to the unfortunate Dadri incident.
Hindus do not possess unity being divided into castes, sects, sub-sects, etc. Hinduism is not a politically-oriented religion. Hindu religious heads are not proactive and are limited to their mutts. The blot of untouchability is a drag on Hinduism. It may be mentioned that this untouchability is not unique to Hinduism.
Government-promoted reservation policy, instead of doing away with caste system among Hindus, has hardened it and made one caste fight another, thus weakening national unity. There are no godfathers of Hindus abroad. There are Hindu organisations in the West, especially in the USA, which valiantly protect, promote and preserve Hinduism. But the resources they command is just a peanut. Preaching secularism, tolerance, etc., to Hindus is akin to administering drug to or performing an operation on a healthy person.
(The writer stays at ½ HIG BDA Colony, CSPur, Bhubaneswar 751016 Ph; 2303555)