Eternal India Encyclopedia

Ancient Concepts, Sciences & Systems

Eternal India encyclopedia

strengthen their convictions of their own religion. Its followers never took to the sword or unleashed Jehad , or a crusade as Muslims and Christians did. It suggests a variety of methods for self-realisation and serving mankind. Hinduism is freedom. It does not worry about criticism and outrage against its ideals by others. The Hindu religion is all-inclusive. It accepts all religions as true. It tolerates teachings of other faiths which are even contra- dictory to Hindu beliefs and doctrines. It encouraged other religions to propagate their faith on Indian soil. Indians gave refuge to Jews and Parsis who were driven out of their homeland. Christian missionaries were given facilities to set up and operate their missions. Though Christians converted Hindus, the latter had no interest in bringing other faiths into the Hindu fold. Islam used co- ercive and punitive methods to convert Hindus; yet Hindus did not retaliate. Hindus were humiliated, and Hinduism ridiculed; Hindus bent their head in silent submission. This attitude has been inter- preted as weakness of Hindus and vulnerability of Hinduism. The universal approach of Hindus can be seen from the follow- ing Vedic declarations :

"prithvi thwaya dhrutha Loka, devi thwam vishnu na dhrutha, thwaamacha dhaaraya tnaam devi”

“pavithrani kuruchaasana ”

Prayers to water, air and other elements are made with a view to preserving the ecological balance and also for restraining Man from his exploitative tendencies. INDEBTEDNESS The concept of indebtedness is unique to the Indian way of life. As per the Indian concept, Man should not only be grateful to fellowmen and to God, but also to the whole of creation including the planets and stars as well as to Animals and Nature. A devout Hindu starts the day expressing his gratitude to and in praise of the Sun and the planets. All those living on this planet depend on the Sun and, therefore, the Hindu starts with Adityahridayam, followed by the seven planets and the two mythical planets - Rahu and Ketu. Similarly, wind, water, fire, earth, mountains, rivers, plant life, animals and bird species - all are revered and worshipped. It is postulated that everything in the Universe is interconnected, and to _ that extent, our lives are affected by them and our lives affect them too. To the Western mind, praying to such animate and inanimate things may look absurd. But to the Indian mind, indebtedness and obligation go to purify his mind and develop humility, in the sense that his life is dependent on so many entities. In contrast to the Western concept of conquering the Himalayas, Indians pay homage to Himavan. Instead of exploiting rivers they are considered to be Pancha Maathas (five mothers). Treating nature as inert matter has led to widespread brutalising, which has now upset nature’s balance and created environmental degradation. Therefore, in a sense, India’s concepts help in preserving the ecological balance and prevention of environmental degradation. Seeing God in every- thing would help to treat nature’s manifestations as partners in progress. In the social sphere, India is the only civilization which gave pride of place to women. While the Western mythology portrayed women as the temptress who caused the downfall of Man, the ancient Hindu gave a high place to women in society. Parasakthi - the ultimate power - is conceptualised as woman. We call our country Motherland: our rivers and other entities are considered as Mother. Pancha pathivrathas have set an example for all time to come. Most male deities in India have their consorts, whom Hindus worship with equal reverence. Bhagwan Ramakrishana revered even his wife, Sarada, as Devi. He worshipped Bhadrakali and Durga. Rama was known as Sita’s husband (Sitapati), but Sita was not known as Ramapathni, Rama’s wife. Similarly La- kshmipathi, Giijavallabha, Umapathi and so on. There were women philosophers and scholars of the calibre of Gargi and Maithreyi in ancient India. The Man-Woman relationship was beautifully evolved in the spiritual plane, apart from the physical aspect. The concept of Ardhanareswara — half-Man and half-Woman - is an excellent concept. “samudra vasane devi, parvatha sthana mandate, vishnu pathni namasthubhayam paadasparsham kshamaswa me."

“aa no bhadraaha, krathawo yanthu vishwathaaha" Let noble thoughts come from every side.

“vasudhaiva kutumbakam” The world is one family.

“loko samastha sukhino bhavdnthu” Let people all over the world be happy.

“sarvam brahmamayam jagath” The whole world is Brahman.

“ekam sath vipraa bhahudhaa vadanthi”

Truth is one; sages call it by different names. Hinduism declares that different religions follow different paths to reach the same God.

pathitham thoyam yathha gachchhathi saagaram

“aukashaath

sarva deva namaskaarah srikeshavam prathi gachchathi” Just as water from the sky takes different courses as rivers but still reach the ocean; so too all prayers and prostrations (in differ- ent religions and languages) go to the same God. The concept of integration of life is another unique feature of the Indian thought process. Everything is done with an underlying spiritual theme whether it is breathing, working, playing etc. The Hindu starts his day with a prayer to Mother Earth. “Please forgive me for treading on you and hurting you. Please make all my actions auspicious."