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Tag: Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam

  • Ayodhya temple vs hungry people

    Ayodhya temple vs hungry people contextual illustration
    Contextual editorial illustration for the restored article.

    The below video is a perfect example of Dhimmitude exhibited by the Hindus. Mohan Bhagwat was speaking at an event when a student posed him a question linking poverty and Ram Mandir.

    [Embedded video: Mohan Bhagwat responds to student question on Ram Mandir and poverty]
    [Embedded video: Mohan Bhagwat responds to student question on Ram Mandir and poverty] — restored contextual visual.
    Random kid: Does making “Ram Mandir” ensure food for the poor? (Kya Ram Mandir banane se garib ki thali mein roti aayegi?)
    Mohan Bhagwat: Ram Mandir has not been made yet — did it ensure food for the poor? (Kya ab tak nahi bani, to garib ki thali mein roti aa gayi?)

    The above question had the spirit similar to The Economist’s cartoon when India launched the Mars Orbiter Mission two years ago. Then the theme was that India is so poor that it should not pursue space activities. Now the same logic is applied to building the Ram Temple.

    Mohan Bhagwat explained it well in the last few seconds of the above video — that Ram is a cultural icon of India and his temple is just one way of remembering him and honouring our past. The Hindus need to stop chanting “Sarv Dharam Sambhav” in every situation and need serious lessons in nationality and religion to be able to answer such pointless questions.

    There is an important story from Hitopadesh, where one of the characters reciting the “Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam” shloka is shown to be a brotherhood-preaching shrewd subversionist. It gives a clear warning against blindly welcoming any idea, individual or group without due diligence of studying their history, nature and intent. The story is about Subuddhi the Crow, Chitranga the Deer, and Ksudrabuddhi the Jackal. The moral of the story is that one should not blindly fall for calls of universal brotherhood.

    A variant of the story from the Mahabharata is even depicted in Mahabalipuram, sculpted under the Pallavas, with an ascetic cat mimicking Arjuna’s devout pose.

    [Image: Ascetic Cat sculpture at Mahabalipuram] Ascetic Cat — Mahabalipuram
    [Image: Ascetic Cat sculpture at Mahabalipuram] Ascetic Cat — Mahabalipuram — restored contextual visual.

    While Babri Masjid is just another mosque for Muslims, the significance of Ayodhya for Hindus is very different — it being the birthplace of Ram. The only reason that this issue has dragged on forever is probably due to the Dhimmitude shown by Hindus and the iconoclasm of Muslims. While Muslim iconoclasm has been bolstered by various laws passed by the Indian state since independence, the Dhimmitude of the Hindus is the plain and simple result of too many “Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam” style shlokas that are often repeated in popular parlance. It is high time that Hindus teach their kids some solid worldly lessons from Panchatantra and Hitopadesha!

    Originally published January 29, 2016 on Yuga Parivartan.