Hindu Dharma – Part 6

Hindus do not know at all what is meant by “Hindu”. Except selfishness they do not see anything. If we say this, they try to defend themselves saying about breaking of coconuts in temple, getting their heads tonsured, worshipping and celebrating festivals etc. All those things are meant for fulfillment of their selfish desires by the grace of God and not actions for protecting the religion and its dharams. Visiting temples, chanting the God’s name in a group and taking prasadam (‘sanctified food offered to the God’) come under devotion. For those who does these things dangers caused by the other religions are not visible. If they can be made to believe that their selfish end would be fulfilled by others, they will change the God in one day and go to the Gods of other religions, so those only are not the solutions. The acts of injustice and atrocities to the Hindutva are being done, not due to lack of devotion but due to lack of earnestness in dharma. When people have serious interest in religious dharma, then it will be protected. We have to prepare such good people. The essence is that one should know certainly about the dharma and it is not our idea to give up devotion.

Devotees should tackle up protection of dharma. They should acquire the complete knowledge which enables them to give a fitting reply to the bad criticism of our Gods and dharmas. It is not good to be in a state where one cannot give reply if somebody adversely comments about ones worshipful deity. In a Shivalayam, when somebody was giving discourse on Lord Siva, one devotee of Lord Siva said like this. “Sir! one christian has commented that as to how our Siva who could not escape the influence of Shani, could protect the Hindus, unable to hear his comments, I came back”. Like wise, one devotee of Lord Rama was asked by people of other religions as to how he could protect the Hindus, when he himself could not save his wife and sought the help of monkeys and baboons. Both of these are great devotees of Hari and Hara. They considered the above comments as only meaningless and silly comments about their Gods and came away without giving any reply after listening. A youth who heard this started saying that how can a person who could not protect himself when nails were driven into his hands and legs, protect others. This is not proper. If we also talk like others, what is our value? We have to explain the inner meaning of the divine incarnations and the divine incidents. Such a person can defend and protect the dharma and not the one who keeps quiet. Some people go to the extreme extent saying that puranas told us somethings but all that might not be true and they to compromise themselves. Their attitude is that of inefficiency. This kind of community cannot protect its dharma for a long time. Weakness of the Hindus is the strength of non-Hindus. Their excessive selfishness is the root cause for the success of others actions. One person told us with a lot of anguish that the maid servant in their house quarrels for every thing and gets her things like coffee, food and others. But she says that she would not take foods offered offered to the Hindu God (prasadam), as this is prohibited by her religion. If that house holder gives her a fitting reply that what all is there in his house is the God’s prasadam and whatever they eat is the stuff offered first to the God, what would that maid servant do? She would simply take the food with murmur. But we do not say that. After listening to the above, some other person said that their maid servant would not take the brinjal curry for the reason that the coconut mixed in it was offered to our God. In fact, the family of that maid got converted to other religion, only a few years back. Such people instead of knowing about their new religion, learn first to blame and refuse our religion. There was a news item in Eenadu news paper dated 19-05-2004 that in Newyork, wigs made in India were getting burnt because it was their suspicion that these wigs were made out of the hair offered to the God of Tirupati in fulfillment of religious vows. This way while others are ready to give up anything for the sake of their religion, some of us are over enthusiastic about the food offered in the meetings of other religions and in getting our Gods blamed by others. After coming back from such meetings, these people too start criticising and blaming our religion and are getting ready for changing their religion also. If they know the value of our religion, this would not happen. But who is there to teach and explain these things to them? If they are explained about the value of protecting their dharma, there would definitely be good transformation in them.

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by Dr Annadanam Chidambara Sastry