Kanishka Kashyap for BeyondHeadlines
Secularism, in its essence and theory sound munificent and must for a democratic world. In a country like India, it has become a key intergredient of building blocks of academics for a child, idiosyncrasy of a social being and a sign of integrated living values. Over the past few decades, it has embedded itself as a ‘Holy Cow’ in our day to day behavioral and colloquial derivatives. It has become too sacred for personal moral existence that people avoid making it a topic of discussion, thus enforcing it for granted. It has well established itself as a sign of modernity, plurality, co existence, rationalism and developing with a fast growing multicultural society.
The word secular was inserted into the preamble by the 42nd Amendment, and it makes an integral part of the basic structure of the constitution. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance & respect. India, therefore does not have an official state religion. The Indian National Congress at the time of independence from British Raj adopted secularism, not as this worldly philosophy but more as a political arrangement. Now, after decades of its prevalence in India, while we introspect the secularism inside us and retrospect the secularism as a whole, the whole concept looks delusive.
The word secularism is well propagated as a synonym of dhramnirpeksha , which is in general defined as equal respect for all the religions. But, a word has a personality, a history, a being, a behavior, a lineage and above all, a psychological impact on your being. ‘Dharma’ as we know and define today is not what it intends to. In Sanatan (that which is eternal) believes, there was no concept of different set of Gods and beliefs to declare it as a separate Dharma. Sanatan belief is liberal enough to embrace various conflicting set of thoughts, worship and practice. One who believes in Sanatan, does not need any added feather to its cap to emancipate peaceful co-existence. Who on the earth could imagine compiling respect for vaishnav and shaiv, charvak darshan and sanyas, Kali and Gayatri at the same time, in the same terrain and in the same belief. No other civilization or human social existence have ever witnessed such a peaceful equilibrium and co-existence. Do you think, you really need a law to enforce and teach a man from Sanatan lineage, the alphabetical values of childish Secularism or dharmanirpeksha.
Dharma means being in accordance with the nature for peaceful co-existence in a just society. Dharma means ‘cause of existence’. As the dharm grantha define, dharma of eyes-is too see good and God everywhere and in every particle, dharma of the ears- is to listen to the omens, dharma of the mouth- is to utter the truth and steady etc. Dharma, thus means to be basic Guna or the ‘inherited cause of one’s existence’. Ridiculously Dharmanirpeksha means ‘without any guna or motif of existence’. The inhabitants of Indus valley civilazations (Hindus) and Sanatan Dharma is being badly exposed to this venomously cancerous and viral concept of Secularism. Spoon feeding of this absurd concept of Secularism by affecting laws, intriguing intelligentsia and academicians, the dark forces has succeeded in establishing its imprint as white as light. Words do have affect and words do lead to changes. You would not deny the effect of Vande Matram, Inqualab Zindabaad andJai Hind. Over the centuries words have proved to be major derivatives of social change and revolution. Secularism has succinctly changed the inherited nature of the inhabitants of this land, summoning them as Hindus. They have gradually lost believe in their being, their history, their culture and they are now sitting duck to be ruled by people of malicious moral and social believes.
As India is now a dogmatically secular, the state hypocrisy and believe in secularism has now become its political cheat code and a white collar trump card. It has compelled the state and the believers in secularism to continual defy our traditions, culture, festivals, lifestyle, family values and all other essence of this enlightened land. That which was cultivated for thousands of years, that which is so pious and pure to en-rain modern physics and science for centuries to come, has now been totally ignored to sustain the face value of secularism. There we need to understand the very ethics of such propagation and its derivative forces. This all has been carved out in such a sophisticated manner that you hardly notice the change by glaring in timeline of decades. It will slowly cast away a ‘way of living’ that is truly the best way to define development and modernization.
Evolution of human race under modern definition of development should have guaranteed human existence for millions of centuries to come, it should have ensured healthy and peaceful living, not the chaos and destruction that we see now. If telescope, gravitational force theory, telephone etc. are not branded as Jew and Christian, how come yoga be treated as Hindu ? What makes Bhagwat Geeta be branded as Hindu? How come prayer to the motherland Vande Matram challenges someone’s believes. On one hand we claim democracy and on the other, we feed and support communities practicing dictatorial set of rules. Democracy can only be prevailed with Sanatan way of life, that which is not founded by someone and that which not compels you to practice some set of laws. You deny existence of God and you still be a Hindu, you do not pray and utter or chant a single mantra and you still be a Hindu. How come a religion that prescribes Karma as worship be forced to entertain some absurd idea of secularism. The secularism that has now plagued a major culture of the world and it is slowly taking it to extinction.
It’s high time for the believers in Sanatan Dharma to uproot the noxious Secularism and get back to the believes of Dharma. This we do, not for the mere pride but to ensure the existence of human civilization for eternity. This we do, to ensure sustainable and nature friendly growth of human civilization. Remember, laws can control the action but not the character. It is Dharma that preaches you to worship a river, and you do not pollute it out of respect. This they have preached before the Christ was born, and this you have failed to teach, no matter how profoundly you explain the food chain, water conservation in course books. It’s for you to decide where to stand. Either you are with the Dharma or against it.
(Author is a Social Media Expert and is the founder of ‘Lead Hindu’. He can be contacted on talk2kanishka@gmail.com. The views of the author are personal and is not necessarily of that of the BH and published here to facilitate a healthy debate on the diversity of ideas and practices of secularism as part our special series on the theme.)
