Arya Samaj

Shishya · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:35 am Post subject: Back To The Vaidic Faith!

Back To The Vaidic Faith!
by
Swami Agnivesh

Mass reconversions under the auspices of Mr. Joodeo's "Ghar Vapasi Andolan" have been reported from Dindoli (MP) recently. Since priests of the Arya Samaj order have been reportedly used in this programme, I feel obliged as one inspired by the Arya Samaj Movement, to address the basic issue in this context. For any reconversion enterprise to be morally and humanly legitimate, those who convert the so-called relapsed Hindus must ensure that they provide a socially hospitable home to the neo-converts. It is dishonest to trumpet "Ghar Vapasi" ("Come Home") without the willingness to offer a "Ghar" (home) to those who respond. This, if any, was the disservice that the Christian evangelists did to the dalits. They were promised a better home. But they found the millstone of the caste order still hanging around their necks!

It is high time for the truth to be spoken, even if it hurts. Hinduism is indeed in danger. But the painful truth is that the real danger is not from an external enemy, like Christianity or Islam. As a rule, the enemy within is far more dangerous than the external enemies are. Hinduism has been in danger ever since the birth-based caste order has been invented by the ingenuity of the Brahminical order to perpetuate their arbitrary advantages, consigning the lower castes to a sub-human existence. The Vaidic faith was, ironically, converted from a noble, dynamic and just social vision into an oppressive mechanism. This was done at an enormous cost to the Sanatan Dharma, turning it virtually into its opposite. Brahminical Hinduism is a contradiction and caricature, as Swami Dayanand Saraswati made bold to say, of its Vaidic ancestor.

When the early challenges to the caste order began to emerge, the keepers of the system issued the call to 'semiticize' or Islamize Hinduism! This itself should have proved, if proof indeed was necessary, that the agenda was a barely camouflaged project to protect the caste system. Rather than return to the Vaidic vision, it was found more palatable to turn Hinduism into a replica of Islam or Christianity! The strange logic was that Hinduism could be protected by making it a counterfeit copy of its enemies!

The fact that the oppressed people in their thousands, Ambedkar and his followers being an example, have been forced to leave this oppressive system should have awakened us to the need for reform. It did not. Instead, attempts have been made all along to tighten the chains of caste oppression and to arrest the process of social regeneration. Even when we do not approve all that the Christian missionaries have done in the past, we still cannot pretend that the high caste pro-status quo agenda was not at work in portraying them as the enemies of Hinduism. Today, as an Arya Samajist, I do not wish to buttress the caste Hinduism that opposes the awakening of the oppressed.

The spiritual destiny of India will be fulfilled only when the passion for justice and equality that underlies the Vaidic faith is translated into a social reality in the path of which the caste order is the major stumbling block.

Condemning or rewarding anybody simply on the basis of birth is not only incompatible with true religion, but also an affront to rudimentary justice. That being the case, the need of the hour is not to re-convert a few dalit Christians, but to re-convert Hinduism back to the Vaidic faith. The Arya Samaj is duty bound to work towards this noble goal as long as it remains faithful to the spirit and mission of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

The hype about reconversion is based on the premise that tribals were converted to Christianity by inducements and coercion. This is a hypothesis that cannot stand the scrutiny of common sense. There are strict laws against such forcible conversions in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Manipur. Other states are free to enact similar legislation. The obvious fact is that the dalits who converted to Christianity knew that they stood to lose much by way of material advantages such as reservations. This should have prevented them from converting. If, in spite of this, thousands have embraced other faiths it was entirely due to the oppressiveness of the caste order that denied them freedom, human rights and dignity as was the case in Meenakshipuram.

As against the absolutization of birth within the caste order, the Varna Vyavastha that the Vedas envisage, base itself on action, talent and aptitude (Guna, Karma, Swabhava). This is clearly expounded in the Purush Sukta of Rigveda. It was further supported by Lord Krishna in the Gita where he maintained - Chatur Varnyam Maya Srishta Guna, Karma, Vibhagashah. Vaidic faith envisages a dynamic social order in which every individual is free to exercise herself/himself fully, and attain maximum growth and fulfillment. It is a society characterized by equality of opportunity which is incompatible with birth based privileges.

The most important choice that every human being must have is the right to choose his temporal and eternal destiny. Once gunas rather than birth becomes the basis for evaluation, an individual becomes free to be a Brahmin or a Shudra. Turning Brahmanism into a label of birth has emptied it of all its significance. The caste system has robbed the Indian society of its dynamism and has been mainly responsible for our successive subjugation by external forces. Like the license Raj that protected the monopoly of a few at the expense of many, the caste order, further crippled by fatalism, has kept our life and society paralyzed for centuries. A better alternative is to liberalize conversions, which is inevitable after having liberalized everything else! Why shouldn't religions compete among themselves on equal terms to prove and improve their worth by deepening their social consciousness and human commitment? It is a cheaper alternative to keep other religions in castes just because the majority religion prefers to remain in caste.

Now, consider the anxiety about foreign funding for Christian work in India. While it is true that large amounts of money continue to be received by Christian agencies, it is also true that these funds support services for the neglected sections of our society. Given the general economic backwardness of the Christian community (the majority of its members being from the dalit backgrounds), it cannot be expected to run thousands of institutions and welfare programmes for the weaker sections without any overseas aid. Rather than resent this, it would be nobler for the Hindu community to emulate their example and work for people's empowerment. Unfortunately, for all its numerical and material advantages, the Hindu community has nothing comparable to be proud of. If only we were to use the massive wealth accumulated in our temples, or the money we burn up on our festival days, to help and educate the poor we would have shown Hinduism in better light.

The best way to worship Saraswati is to launch an all out war on illiteracy by starting schools and colleges with the resources that we have. We shall honour Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, best by burning less crackers, practicing thrift and building up the capital required for charitable services. Max Weber points out that the economic progress in Europe was made possible by the practice of thrift as taught by Christianity. In contrast, we seem to have made a virtue of wasting whatever resources we have. It rarely occurs to us to set apart anything in the religious context for humanitarian efforts.

As an Arya Samajist, I feel uneasy about the collusion between the protagonist of the caste order and certain sections in the Arya Samaj, as in the reconversion hoax reported for Dindoli. The Arya Samaj priests are being used to reconvert ex-Hindus only because Brahmanical Hinduism has no place for converts. It is a way of neutralizing Christians without compromising the caste order! Patronizing such a project amounts to a betrayal of the true legacy of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Swamiji's zeal for bringing back relapsed Hindus was matched by his revulsion for the caste order which he sought to dismantle. This cost him his life. No Arya Samijist therefore can lend himself to anything that makes a mockery of Swamiji's call "Back to the Vedas!" and his passion for reform.

The more violence is practised to defend the caste system, the more Hinduism will get discredited in the eyes especially of the coming generation. In the days ahead we can no longer count on old loyalties and blind faith. An age of free choice, symbolized by the super market where people push trolleys of personal tastes, has already come upon us. We had better improve the quality of our brand rather than cry wolf against other brands. If the Tatas had to do it in the field of automobiles, it may be unavoidable for us to address this urgent task in the religious sphere.

Prabhat · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:36 pm Post subject:

Namaste,
So what is he trying to say. are we our own enemy. and is it wrong to reconvert people back to the Vedas. and what did he ment by the Laxmi Goddess thing
_________________
Namaste,
Prabhat

Shishya · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:22 pm Post subject:

Namaste Prabhat Ji,

You have to read Swami Agnivesh's articles very carefully to understand what he is trying to say.

He's certainly not against bringing people back to the Vedic Faith - that's what the article is about. He's against the Arya Samaj letting itself be used by 'orthodox' casteists to reconvert Christians back to an unreformed Hinduism. If we take that role, we are playing to the very narrow-mindedness we are trying to change. Swami Agnivesh is taking a somewhat controversial stand on this issue. There are two main camps, and their positions are roughly as follows:

1) Any conversions away from Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism and back to Hinduism are good.

2) Only conversions to a reformed Hinduism, i.e. to Vaidik Dharm, are good.

Swami Agnivesh is certainly in the second camp.

The thing is, high-ranking Hindus have to understand that people are converting to other religions because they do not feel welcome or taken care of in Hinduism. Ultra-conservatives want to simply make it illegal for low-caste people to convert or to limit the missionary activities of Christians, etc. by law without doing anything to improve the conditions of those who want to convert. Swami Agnivesh is saying that the Arya Samaj should steer well clear of such activity, and not let itself get used as a puppet of casteist brahminical orthodoxy. He is saying that Hinduism needs to return to the Vedic Faith if it wants to stop the tide of conversions.

Regarding Saraswati, Lakshmi, etc.: What he is saying is, rather than prostrate yourself before an idol of Saraswati, 'the goddess of learning and education' - which brings no good whatsoever - you should put your energy into building schools and universities in which real learning and education can take place - which actually does some real good in the world. Rather than doing an elaborate puja for a 'goddess of wealth' called Lakshmi, you should save up your extra cash and donate it to a charitable cause. In saying such things, he's trying to motivate Pauranics to see the futility in their present actions and to divert that energy into things which have a real, positive impact on the world. That is the key to improving the conditions of our fellow human beings, and not lighting a lamp in front of some statue and bathing it in milk, etc.
_________________
Namaste,

Shishya
ॐ

ॐ सह नावतु । सह तौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥
"Together may we be protected. Together may we be profited. Together may we do a hero's work. May we learn intelligently. May we never hate one another."
-Brihadaranyaka & Taittiriya Upanishads

Prabhat · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:41 am Post subject:

Namaste Shisya.

thanks for the explaining, now i understeand it better. Wink

_________________
Namaste,
Prabhat

Mitra · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 4:17 am Post subject:

Arya Putra · Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 4:22 am Post subject: Back to the Vedas

‘Back to the Vedas’ means back to Wisdom and common sense. It means it is time to ‘wise-up’ and stop making excuses for our pig-headedness and stupidity. It is piggish to acquire good things (like Wisdom) without sharing it, and it is stupid to follow our ego.

If we acquire wisdom but do not use it, then we are misers and will remain miserable in spite of what we know. The only time we don’t employ wisdom is when we are in the employ of our ego. If we are busy doing the bidding of our ego we will be cut off from prosperity even if we have a fat bank account and numerous ‘fair-weather friends’ who sing our praises.

True prosperity lies in Self-Realization. True happiness is only found when we actuate ourselves to ‘be ourselves.’ In other words, we are only happy and content when we remove the mask of ego from our mind. This can only be accomplished through our ACTIONS and not just our noble intentions.

As the saying goes. . . “If wishes were horses, the beggars would ride.” If changing our religion from one to another, like changing from one image to another, or changing one mask with another, would make us REAL, then everyone would be really happy. But, this is not the case. Instead, people remain basically discontent and unhappy because they basically do not understand their own real nature—they do not understand themselves.

People squabble over religion, caste, and class because of the mistaken notion that these things are important. If people studied the Vedas (and the knowledge and wisdom derived from the Vedas) they would have absolutely no identity problem on the level of religion, caste, class, or economic status. This does not mean they will be instantly ‘enlightened’ and attain MOKSHA; it just means they will no longer get bogged down with the false feelings and emotions associated with the various states of the mind and body, because they will be firmly grounded in Atam-Stiti, the ‘soul-status.’

One established in the soul-status sees the same soul everywhere and has disdain for no one. A person with a superiority-complex will have a mind stained with disdain. To remove that stain one needs to practice true Yoga (mental balance) and keep his (or her) ego in check. If we slip, we should just get back up and move forward. Eventually there is no turning back, and when that happens, we have arrived at our Destination.

We are all destined to be FREE. Moksha is our Destiny. Our religion (by birth), caste (by vocation), and economic class are of no consequence.

[On the other hand, the religion we embrace and the caste to which we assume we are bound, do indeed create negative consequences.]

Prabhat · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject:

the religion we embrace and the caste to which we assume we are bound, do indeed create negative consequences.]
why is this negative????
btw we in Suriname dont believe in cast!
_________________
Namaste,
Prabhat

Shishya · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm Post subject:

Namaste Prabhat,

If we forget that we are eternal souls and instead fall into the trap of thinking that we are material beings - in other words, if we confuse our real identity with our material bodies - we set in motion the causal chain that necessarily leads to pain and suffering.

Our material bodies are born into a particular family, have particular features like color, shape, size, etc., etc. As souls, however, we are actually free of all these characteristics. The soul has no color, no shape, no race, no caste. It is eternal in nature, was never born and will never die. Whenever we act without having this truth in mind, we cause suffering to both ourselves and others.
_________________
Namaste,

Shishya
ॐ

ॐ सह नावतु । सह तौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥
"Together may we be protected. Together may we be profited. Together may we do a hero's work. May we learn intelligently. May we never hate one another."
-Brihadaranyaka & Taittiriya Upanishads