The Supreme Court of India in its 1995 judgment in case of Dr. Ramesh
Yeshwant Prabhoo v/s Prabhakar K. Kunte observed that Hindutva rather than a
religion is more a way of life. I would rather call it a psyche that tends to maneuver
the people in the sub continent to lead a peaceful and cordial co-habitation
with all classes and types of religions. Hindutva is Dharma, that bonds a man
with society with infliction of morality in bits and pieces in all its
teachings. The civilization that has thrived for more than five thousand years
, is peculiar yet modestly one of a kind, where there is no One God, no One prophet,
no Only One son of the Lord. The very same fact that Supreme Court emphasizes
in its judgment is –“When we think
of the Hindu religion. We find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu
religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike other religions in the world,
the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one
God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one
philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or
performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional
features of any religion or creed.”
It may broadly be described as a way of life
and nothing more. Instead it relishes in being flexible enough to
give the worshipper his privacy to
worship anything in any form – be it Saguna or Nirguna – and also takes into
its fold various forms of beliefs – be it Atheism or Agnosticism – and is accommodating
enough to let the devotee be free in having faith in that which he believes.
History stands as a witness and evidence that Hindutva was never forced or
spread on the tip of sword or expanded by countless genocidal holocaust and
bloody conquests invading the lands of holy and complete destruction.
The complete philosophy of Hindutva was explained by Swami
Vivekananda when he said , “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught
the world tolerance and universal acceptance. We not only believe in universal
toleration but we accept all religions a true.” Further expanding his views he explains, “Hindu
religion does not consists in struggles and attempts to believe a certain
doctrine or a dogma, but in realizing not in believing, but in being and
becoming.” To understand the deeper meaning of Hindutva , Monier Williams in
his book Religious Thought & Life in India says, “The Hindu religion is a reflection of the composite character
of the Hindus, who are not one people but many. It is based on the idea of
universal receptivity. It has ever aimed at accommodating itself to
circumstances, and has carried on the process of adaptation through more than
three thousand years. It has first borne with and then, so to speak, swallowed,
digested, and assimilated something from all creeds". When Savarkar first coined the term Hindutva-
he had three essentials in his mind as to who is a Hindu. Those being i) Common Rashtra , ii) Common race and iii)
Common Sanskriti. The idea behind the word ‘Hindu’ therefore is more territorial
and not a creed. This implies residence in a well-defined geographical area.
That is people residing on the bank of Sindhu (Indus) river.
Hence it comes as a surprise
that people belonging to such glorified ancient civilization turn around on
stage and declare Hindutva to be divisive and going to such lengths as far as
mocking its ancient traditions as respectable and revered as “Maha Kumbh”!
These are the same people who turn around on T.V. channels to quote the Supreme
Court without realizing that it was the very same court that said, “The above opinion indicates that the word
`Hindutva' is used and understood as a synonym of `Indianisation', i.e.,
development of uniform culture by obliterating the differences between all the
cultures co-existing in the country.” Nullifying what these
intellectuals call “Hindutva being divisive”. Once Swami Vivekananda proclaimed
“If one religion be true then all others must be true, thus Hindu faith is
yours as much as mine.”
The Sanatan
Dharma is eternal even as we speak today, and find that the ideals that are
being touted high and mighty in modern era under the garb of Human Rights and
Humanity are nothing but the English versions of what the Veda’s told thousands
and thousands of years ago. If Hindus and Hindutva were to be so divisive,
India would never have welcomed the Jews and Zoroastrians on its western coast
when they were being persecuted and instead of Napoleon as crusader, it would
have been a Hindu King named Puru or Kuru or Yadu! The very fact that today
every person belonging to any religion can find solace in India speaks highly
of the character of our civilization. It is these confused Ex - Harvard and Oxford students turned
intellectuals who need to be reminded that what they construe to be Hindutva for
their political gain can never dwell deeper into the minds of Hindus because WE
KNOW WHO WE ARE and WHY WE ARE PROUD TO BE HINDUS!
