Recent events have shown the color saffron to be against pluralism. Wait, hear me out! I know saffron is the color of Hindus, and we all know there is no community more pluralistic than the Hindus! I get that! However, what gives the state governments the power to “control” the colors displayed on their stores, houses or any part of their body? Take the case of the two sadhus who died, no that should read killed, in Palghar recently. Their mistake was wearing saffron-colored clothes! If ONLY they’d had the white skullcaps, they might still be alive! When will the killings of innocent Hindu Sadhus stop?
When a Hindu proclaims her/his being a Hindu, we immediately call her/him as communal, and yet we don’t hold others to the same standards. How is it that the very same people keep quiet when Namaz is offered on the streets, blocking traffic while a simple saffron flag raises the ire of the government? That, my friend, is YOUR fault! You kept quiet all these days and now it’s come to a point where you can’t stop this! The dual standards(or is it more?) to which the administrations, of these states, hold different communities is baffling and yet, people seem to accept this without flinching! Talk to the ordinary citizen and he will shrug saying, “they’re in power! What can we do?”!! Really? Who put these people in power? YOU!!! When will this lackadaisical and passing-the-buck approach stop?
What next? Banning restaurants that have names with Hindu gods and goddesses in them? There goes my favorite restaurant “Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan” in Bangalore. There goes the SLV chain (Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara) again in Bangalore, which arguably has the best idlis!! Next stop, inside your house where you have the idols and pictures of your favorite gods and goddesses! You’re going to have to take them down as it might offend those that are NOT Hindu! Has the islamization of India begun? When will this persecution of Hindus stop?
Hindus are charged with creating dissent within India, only because they boycott vegetable vendors from another faith! This has nothing to do with the faith itself but the vendors, who sell vegetables that they knowingly spit on! The claim is that they are doing this to cleanse the merchandise (Halal). Why would anyone buy anything from a person who spits on the product, given the times we are in? Rather than chastising the vendors who are spitting, we are seeing an increase in the number of FIRs against health and safety conscious Hindus! In a democracy, PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO BUY FROM WHO THEY WANT TO! If they don’t feel any person is safe, they have that god-given right to decline his/her goods! No law can be quoted in such cases!! Will this desecration of food stop?
While I have been incessantly calling for unity within Sanathana Dharma, what I find baffling is the fragmentation of this faith! We all want glory, but that can only be found when we unite in our cause! The glory of Sanathan Dharma is OUR COLLECTIVE GLORY! How will it look if we are unsuccessful in our attempt to gain respect ONLY because of the various fragmented groups? Say what you will about Muslims, their unity is great! They will not let another Muslim be offended, denigrated nor insulted! They will take up arms, they already have! Followers of Sanathana Dharma will fight; between themselves because each one of us WANTS GLORY FOR OURSELVES!! When will this egomaniacal attitude stop?
What we need is to look at the different sects in Sanathana Dharma and being them under one umbrella. Lord Krishna says
सर्वभूतेषु येनैकं भावमव्ययमीक्षते |
अविभक्तं विभक्तेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि सात्त्विकम्
Loosely translated, the Lord is talking about unity in diversity! Only the knowledgeable ones know what unity is, Lord Krishna says! There is a need to unite when fighting Adharma, the Lord says! We all claim to be Hindu warriors but can’t unite? When the war in Kurukshetra happened, kings from across the country united and fought! They were fighting against what they believed was Dharma (Justice) or Adharma (Injustice). Some were on the side of Righteousness while others were not! We can’t unite within our faith to put an end to Adharma? How do we call ourselves Hindus?
When is all this going to stop and we unite?
उत्तिष्ठ भारत। जय माँ भारती
