HINDUISM ... 1 ---

HINDUISM ... 1

We must stop passive piety (Swami Ranganathananda) and practise aggressive Hinduism (Swami Vivekananda). I have even heard Swami Lokeshwarananda say that Hindus should be more militant in character. 

This sort of docile devotion will take us nowhere. What we need is manhood (Swami Vivekananda). To that end Swamiji expended his life's energy. This singing and dancing culture he detested despite having occasionally done so himself, as did his divine Guru and his brother disciples. But the point is not that. What they did does not invalidate the general point that Hindus need to be more aggressive in the defence of their Dharma. Otherwise their age-old plight, persecution at the hands of proselytising faiths, will not cease. How this may be done will be discussed in succeeding write-ups of this series which is complementary to my series on Islam.

Written by Sugata Bose

HINDUISM ... 2

Strength is the only condition of spirituality. In fact it is the only condition of life. In this hostile earthly environment our immune system is every moment fighting off millions of microbes that are tending to destroy our bodies. And in the social sphere tribalism is still in full sway despite the tallest claims of civilisation and culture, humanity and mutual help. It is a tribal world still albeit carefully covered up in sophisticated wraps in general and quite often not even so. Survival, thus, is as yet of the fittest and Darwinian principles are fully in operation still. In such a scenario strength is the only attribute that can help us survive well in a highly hostile world where geopolitics is governed by military and economic might. Pragmatism would thus deem the possession of strength an imperative in every sphere of life and in every phase of it. The world in that sense is yet to be civilised enough where the predator-prey relation would not determine the course of life. Hence, Swamiji used to exhort Hindus to be strong, to derive their strength from the study of the Upanishads, to build their muscles, steel their nerves, cultivate their intelligence, practise purity and, above all, develop through study of their past history a strong civilisational sense. Above all he used to exhort Hindus to override petty sectarian differences and unite in the common cause of self-preservation. Hence, Hindus unite!

Written by Sugata Bose