LIBERATING INDIAN MIND -25
KNOW YOUR WORD

It is not necessary that we should know etymology or history of each word we use. But those of us, who try to educate or inform others, must know what they exactly mean by the seminal words they use. In absence of this, they have no moral right to teach or preach others. No one would like to be guided by a person who does not know what he is talking about and what his stand is.

For the last five hundred years Christianity has been trying to present the dirtiest caricature of Indian society as if it was all because of Hinduism. No such attempt was made during the seven hundred years of Muslim rule despite its other manifestations of monstrosities. As a sample we may pass a glance over the comment by two of the most influential Englishmen, devoted to missionary cause:

“The Hindu divinity is where absolute Monsters of last, injustice, wickedness, and cruelty. any short, their religious system is one grand abomination.” Wilberforce speech in Parliament of Great Britain parliamentary debates, xxvi. June 22, 1813, p. 164. kopf 142

Another powerful missionary, Charles Grant thought “Indian civilization was Barbaric because it’s religion was degrading. It was a dangerous violation of the Christian spirit even to tolerate such a culture. The British Civil Servant was to be an agent of cultural change and not an agent in the perpetuation of Hinduism . (in his famous proposal submitted to Company Govt. of Bengal)

I quoted them not to support or condemn them but simply to remind that there has been no change in the standard canard throughout, although methods adopted have steadily degenerated to resort to ugliest and filthiest tricks to disorient the weak headed from Hinduism to facilitate expansion of Christianity. It should not disturb me but for the fact that even highly educated scholars with secular bearings promoted and encouraged as part of the design of Christendom or those posturing as such continue the same refrain mindlessly as self-certified Hindus of a modern breed.

It becomes imperative to know what those terms, practices, words and symbols mean on the one hand, and on the other to know if they really understand what Hinduism was apart from what has penetrated it as antibody due to its openness and softness. If they neither understand nor care to understand and yet do not have the decorum to maintain their reserve, we must examine them and tell them and others what exactly they are, how and why they present their own misconceptions to disturb the fabric of our society. We must also know whether they are Hindus or just bear a Hindu name but are metamorphosed and baptized within.

Hindu

Take the word Hindu itself. Even an idiot knows that barring the followers of Semitic religions the rest of Indians are Hindus, even though inclusively all the inhabitants of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh are Hindus as an extended meaning of Hind/Ind or erstwhile India, initially covering a limited land mass identified with Sindh and Punjab. All the inhabitants of erstwhile India are addressed as such even by Muslims outside. Because of exclusivity it has been reduced to those who follow universal value system, i.e. सनातन धर्म (code of duties) that demands that not only other individuals and societies but all the living beings and thing must not be disturbed or harmed unless they pose a threat to your own existence, in which case they can be eliminated. This value system evolved through thousands of years right from hunting-gathering days. Because of its unparalleled longevity, it has permitted, rather demanded adjustments and modification and prohibited the outmoded rules and practices. This renovated value system has been called युगधर्म which we may loosely put as modernized or modified value system according to the Time and Locale.

We shall examine the historical phases through which it has passed in the next post.