Over the past few years, the state (the ruling party) has been creating a narrative that instead of questioning or analyzing, it is developing a superstitious attitude. If official figures are to be believed, more than 65 crore people not only bathed in highly polluted water in Prayagraj, but also drank it and took it with them in bottles as ‘charnamit’ for others, which they also gave to their family members and neighbours. All this despite warnings from government bodies, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) that the water was so polluted that it was not fit for drinking, let alone bathing.
A similar report by the Bihar Pollution Board had also said that the water of the Ganga river in Bihar was unfit for bathing in most places. But despite these warnings, people continued to drink water polluted with excrement and urine in the name of faith and divine benefits. While the government’s claims of cleaning the Ganga were exposed, it also came to light how much our society is influenced by the mythical and unscientific ideas spread by those in power. It is a matter of great concern that how people can be so careless and stupid.
It is very interesting and noteworthy that while people were bathing in the Kumbh, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray (whose socio-political beliefs are well known to everyone) refused to bathe in the Ganga, questioning the cleanliness of the Ganga river and appealed to people to ‘get rid of superstition and use their brains properly’. He refused to drink the holy water brought by his party leader Bala Nandgaonkar from the Mahakumbh held at Prayagraj. I have never felt that Hinduism is in danger, but after the Kumbh Mela, I have started to fear that Hinduism is heading towards a very deep crisis.
It is worth mentioning that human civilization has developed around water sources because water was the source of life for humans. That is why people worship water sources in different ways at different places to express gratitude. Kumbh was originally a center of compassion and sacrifice for people of different religions. Although there is also a mythological account of Kumbh related to the churning of the ocean. But it was King Harshavardhana who started the practice of regularly bathing in Triveni. The Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang has described Harshavardhana’s generosity and devotion by giving a written account of these events. He has written that between 606 AD and 647 AD, people of different views and religions participated in the great religious gathering held every 5 years. On this occasion, they used to donate clothes and ornaments to the poor and religious institutions. This event was a reflection of renunciation and compassion. But this time the ruling party used the Mahakumbh to spread hatred against Muslims. Muslims were asked to keep their shops closed during the Kumbh (while there are reports that many of them had also opened mosques to accommodate Hindu devotees). This time, the essence of Hindu philosophy ‘Vaisudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which talks about world peace and brotherhood has been proven false.
In fact, the word Hindu was used by the Greeks and Persians in ancient times for the people living on the land beyond the Indus River. It is said that the Persians could not pronounce the ‘s’ sound, so they pronounced it as ‘h’. Thus the word ‘Hindu’ is the Persian form of ‘Sindhu’, which is actually the name of the Indus River. The word ‘Hinduism’ came into use during the 19th century, initially used by outsiders to describe the religion (ism) of Hindus. It was eventually used by Hindus to distinguish themselves from Muslims and others. The first Indian to use the word ‘Hinduism’ may have been King Ram Mohan Roy, who adopted it in 1816-17. Around 1830, some Indians began calling themselves ‘Hindu’ and their religion ‘Hinduism’. Dr. Ritu Khosla, in her article on Raja Ram Mohan Roy, has emphasized that he wanted to prove that superstition and false beliefs have no basis in Hinduism. He wanted to build a new Indian society, where the principles of reason, tolerance, compassion, freedom, equality and brotherhood would be respected.
There is great diversity in the ideology and practices of Hindus. Among them, many were nature worshippers and idol worshippers, while there are also a large number of people who did not believe in any divine (Brahma) power. They never opposed each other, but lived in harmony. They also accepted the ideas of people coming from far and wide. Thus Hinduism developed into a strong religion, which preached love and compassion. But one of the weaknesses of this religion has been that the society was divided into lower and upper castes. On this basis, about a quarter of the population was suppressed and deprived of human rights. But despite these atrocities, about 25 percent of the population still believes in Hinduism, although some of them have also adopted other religions like Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Although Dr. Ambedkar also adopted Buddhism in his last days, not all his followers became Buddhists.
The ruling party government has repeatedly created and spread unscientific stories and fooled the people into myths.
is trying to confuse, which will push the mentality of Hindus back to the medieval times. Hinduism is not threatened by any external force, but by its internal forces, which keep spreading conservative ideas. RSS, BJP government and their other organizations are trying to instill conservative ideas in the minds of the people so that people can be prevented from thinking rationally. RSS is instilling fundamentalism, communalism, conservatism, superstition, violence and hatred among Hindus.
This is not Hinduism, but denial of its values and spirit. Now is the time to stop such propaganda, otherwise it will be the Hindus who will suffer the most.
