The Hindu way of life is an all-encompassing, all-embracing, all-inclusive one. From saints to philosophers, from poets to pundits the tenets of goodwill, harmony, and peace has been so embedded that the way of life that Hinduism has transcended all religions. All stakeholders of this way of life not just practiced it, but even kings gave up their kingdoms for this way of life.
Genuine vs Fake
Genuine Hinduism as a way of life, living had societal as well as intellectual acceptance. And genuine Hinduism is secure, it is confident, and it is capable of a homogenous society with space for all. Swami Vivekananda's speech at the World Religious Conference said it all
"I am proud to belong to a religion that has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation that has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.
The strength of Hinduism is that other faiths and ways of life found comfort in it. In turn, the land of Hind and later all sects of Hinduism got strengthened by the coexistence and mingling of different ways of life and faiths.
The aggressive, intolerance in the name of Hinduism is alien to Hinduism. It is not Hinduism at all.
Firstly the panic and paranoia of ‘Hinduism” being threatened are alien, Vivekananda, a living saint in his time said in Chicago, said it all when he said, “We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true,” Vivekananda’s Hinduism and the fake, intolerant Hinduism are poles apart.
Vivekananda and all other great philosophers who practiced the Hindu way of life believed in the ethos of unity. The merchants of fake Hinduism are peddlers of panic and division.
Hinduism is so real and grounded that there is no question of people moving away from that path and embracing other ways of life. It's not easy to change to any other religion or way of life.
So what is the threat?
There is no religious threat. It’s the threat of losing elections if a narrative of panic and threat to Hinduism is not falsely perpetrated, through a fake version of Hinduism. When there is a threat of electoral ground slipping, the fake version of “Hinduism” comes under threat. The threat is to the throne, not to religion.
It’s a religion that is so dependent on peace, that even the British got frustrated when Indians lined up in a place and were ok to get hit for the sake of the country but not indulge in violence. Gandhi won freedom through the power of non-violence, his only weapons being peace and harmony.
Indian Kings have given up kingdoms for the sake of peace. That India will never allow violence and hatred to win.
Now, let us look at what the Hind way of life really is:
Tolerance and acceptance: A Hind way of life
Tolerance and acceptance were symbolic of Hind, or dwellers who lived along the Hindu Kush mountains. The coinage of the word Hindu is also derived from the Sindhu river which the Persians called Hindu, the land Hindustan, and the people residing here as Hindus. The references were to geographical terrains, not religious sects
However, when the religious linkages happened and different sects developed, each of them was free of any kind of violent association and peacefully coexisted with each other. It was a religion of peace.
Hind and the Hinduism became an abode of the comfort of other faiths
Those of other faiths collaborated and were a part of the social fabric of Hinduism because there was no dogma attached. For instance, the Muslim weaving community weaves the majority of the famous Banarasi silk sarees, which are traditionally a part of Hindu marriages. Muslim artistes regularly perform at the Sankat Mochan music festival at the Hanuman temple.
Benares has been home to some of India’s finest musicians who happened to be followers of the Muslim faith and performed regularly at the famed Varanasi temples. For instance, the late maestro Bismillah Khan is said to have started playing shehnai at the famous Balaji Temple.
Famous Persian Shia poets Sheikh Ali Hazim, Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869) all made Benaras their comfort zones. Ghalib stayed in Benares and wrote a poem in Persian (Chiragh-i-Dair)
Ramanuja, the South Indian theologian and philosopher was the single most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism.
Right across the country, the philosophy of humanism, love, peace, and harmony given out from time to time by sages and saints who made Kashmir the abode from time immemorial, is becoming more and more relevant in today’s strife torn world.
Shaivism and Sufism both exist in strife torn Kashmir which shows that peace and harmony of all religions coexist.
Conversion is needed: Those who have strayed from the true path of Hinduism need to convert back to the real path.
Those who believe in genuine Hinduism ought to be pained by the version which is being backed as real by forces to achieve political ends through polarization. Hinduism cannot be blamed for it and nor can Hindus.
The fabric of India is still intact because the fake narrative of Hinduism has been overpowered by the real version. That keeps India intact.