Shaming A Religion Is Not A Good Thing
Many Indians like to makefun of Hinduism: They call it patriarchal and misogynist. Jaturallythis riles up the faithful. tecently Tamil actor Kamal Haasan reportedly said in an interview to a local 'V channel that disrespect to women in India is not a new thing; even in the react epic Mahabharata, five men who vere gambling, used their wife Panchali Draupadi) as pawn. This led to filing of PIL by a Hindu religious group that aid the comment offended their religious sentiments. At one level, makingfun of linduism is part of a global secular theist trend that believes rationality ives them the right to disrespect all eligions. It has becomea code for showing ne is smarterthan the 'religious lk, a shorthand for the emotional, the rational and the superstitious. At another level, ridiculing Hinduism the result of ignorance, for it is assumed tonl Hindn ioroholond misogynistic. They are totally blind to passages inthe Bible where the God of Abrahamic mythology prescribes murder, and rape. Or to passages in Buddhism's Vinaya Pitaka, the code of monastic discipline, where monks are warned againstthe lasciviousness of women, describing women in unflattering, venal terms. Singling out Hinduism, naturally provokes the oversensitive, overassertive brigade. At yet another level there is deliberate misrepresentation of Hinduism in Western media, even academia, where the darkest customs linked to the religion such as sati and child marriage are highlighted, and its nobler and profound aspects either ignored or seen as mere whitewash. So the Ramayana and Mahabharata are presented as tales where women are abused. Few point out that unlike Greek epics, like the Trojan War Cycle, or unlike tales from the Bible, where women are epics speak of wives of the vanquished being treated with respect. Hinduism is not a prescriptive religion. It is a reflective religion. It is full of paradoxes and contradictions. What makes it unique is that it does not have a holy book, a message or messenger, despite a profusion of holy men eager to define what Hindu society should be. It is full of ideas gathered over centuries. One blogger recently described the speaking Hind it as an 'open-source religion'. That does not mean that anything goes. At the heart of the religion is the concept of Atma-guan, Self-awareness, outgrowing the animal instincts that make us dominating and territorial, and fear of the other that makes us misogynistic, patriarchal, hierarchical, unfair and unjust. tree Dharma is established only when we outgrow our fear, when we empathise with other people's fears not by shaming people. narratives associated with religion to contemporary social practice. Such connections are lazy, convenient and often wrong. Every religion has narratives that can be deeply embarrassing-for example, tales of rape and incest and paedophilia. Every religion also has deeply uplifting ideas and thoughts that help become better human beings. Human have long used select passages of scriptures to justify anything and everything from violence to oppressicignoring those very same scriptures that advocate love and inclusion and non-violence. No one likes to admit their religion has an unpleasant past, an unpleasant passage in its holy boolWe either deny its existence or edit it from public eye. Ultimately, what we sin a religion's story reveals very littleabout the religion and a lot about us.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Devdutt Patnaik views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Devdutt Pattanaik and Speaking Tree,Times of India
Shaming A Religion Is Not A Good Thing
Many Indians like to makefun of Hinduism: They call it patriarchal and misogynist. Jaturallythis riles up the faithful. tecently Tamil actor Kamal Haasan reportedly said in an interview to a local 'V channel that disrespect to women in India is not a new thing; even in the react epic Mahabharata, five men who vere gambling, used their wife Panchali Draupadi) as pawn. This led to filing of PIL by a Hindu religious group that aid the comment offended their religious sentiments. At one level, makingfun of linduism is part of a global secular theist trend that believes rationality ives them the right to disrespect all eligions. It has becomea code for showing ne is smarterthan the 'religious lk, a shorthand for the emotional, the rational and the superstitious. At another level, ridiculing Hinduism the result of ignorance, for it is assumed tonl Hindn ioroholond misogynistic. They are totally blind to passages inthe Bible where the God of Abrahamic mythology prescribes murder, and rape. Or to passages in Buddhism's Vinaya Pitaka, the code of monastic discipline, where monks are warned againstthe lasciviousness of women, describing women in unflattering, venal terms. Singling out Hinduism, naturally provokes the oversensitive, overassertive brigade. At yet another level there is deliberate misrepresentation of Hinduism in Western media, even academia, where the darkest customs linked to the religion such as sati and child marriage are highlighted, and its nobler and profound aspects either ignored or seen as mere whitewash. So the Ramayana and Mahabharata are presented as tales where women are abused. Few point out that unlike Greek epics, like the Trojan War Cycle, or unlike tales from the Bible, where women are epics speak of wives of the vanquished being treated with respect. Hinduism is not a prescriptive religion. It is a reflective religion. It is full of paradoxes and contradictions. What makes it unique is that it does not have a holy book, a message or messenger, despite a profusion of holy men eager to define what Hindu society should be. It is full of ideas gathered over centuries. One blogger recently described the speaking Hind it as an 'open-source religion'. That does not mean that anything goes. At the heart of the religion is the concept of Atma-guan, Self-awareness, outgrowing the animal instincts that make us dominating and territorial, and fear of the other that makes us misogynistic, patriarchal, hierarchical, unfair and unjust. tree Dharma is established only when we outgrow our fear, when we empathise with other people's fears not by shaming people. narratives associated with religion to contemporary social practice. Such connections are lazy, convenient and often wrong. Every religion has narratives that can be deeply embarrassing-for example, tales of rape and incest and paedophilia. Every religion also has deeply uplifting ideas and thoughts that help become better human beings. Human have long used select passages of scriptures to justify anything and everything from violence to oppressicignoring those very same scriptures that advocate love and inclusion and non-violence. No one likes to admit their religion has an unpleasant past, an unpleasant passage in its holy boolWe either deny its existence or edit it from public eye. Ultimately, what we sin a religion's story reveals very littleabout the religion and a lot about us.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Devdutt Patnaik views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Devdutt Pattanaik and Speaking Tree,Times of India