‘Hinduism does not claim mine is the only truth; violence in Ram’s name is a shame’

Dr Shashi Tharoor speaking at the launch of his book ‘The Hindu way’ in New Delhi on Thursday evening. Sitting from left to right are Dr Karan Singh, Sheshadri Chari, Bibek Debroy and Rajiv Mehrotra.

Sep 14, 2019

New Delhi: What is Hinduism? Hinduism does not  like a pope lay down  laws, or claim like a prophet that mine is the only truth; Hinduism has multiple ways in which faith can be approached.

Beating the defenceless to death in the name of Ram as was happening today was really worrying to a follower of true Hinduism; Is this crisis transient and will Hinduism overcome it? But challenges
before Hinduism today cannot be met just by going back to the past to glorify it.

The posers and views given above came from very fine minds during a panel discussion at the launch of Dr Shashi Tharoor’s latest book ‘The Hindu way’. Besides Dr Tharoor, veteran statesman and authority on Hinduism Dr Karan Singh, veteran RSS swayamsevak and BJP National executive member Sheshadri Chari, former diplomat and JD(U) general secretary Pawan verma, noted film and television personality Rajiv Mehrotra, and eminent economist Bibek Debroy participated in the discussion.

Dr Tharoor said his Hinduism allows space to every individual to live with his or her own truth, and
this is better than tolerance, which is a patronising virtue, as it seems to say that ”you are in
error but I in my magnanimty allow your right to be wrong.” That’s why Vivekanand says Hinduism is about acceptance which says you have your own truth and I have mine own truth, Tharoor said.

In fact, the author said, the title of his book ‘The Hindu Way’ is a misnomer as there was no single
way. The beauty of Hinduism is that ”we dont have a pope to lay down the law, an Imam to issue fatwa on what to eat, what to wear and how to behave. We are anything but the kind of faith that obliges you to subsume your individuality in a collectivity, to adhere to a particular to solgan to be chanted at worship and one particular sacred day of worship,” he said.

Hinduism does not claim to be the only truth, and it has no one scripture that confines one to one
kind of belief and one way of worship, he added.

Dr Karan Singh in his remarks dwelt on the key elements of Hinduism and stressed that it was a
pluralist and inclusive faith that and lends itself to variety of interpretation, and it was a
magnificent structure of thought that was all embracing.

Dr Singh, however, expressed anguish over the way Hinduism was being represented by some elements, which, he said, Tharoor has made subject of the second part of book.

”Beating a defenseless boy to death and asking him to say ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Jain Hanuman’ is an
insult to Hinduism and to this great deity. It is intolerable to see the boy beaten to death on TV.
And these people beating him to death having the courage to call them Hindu. Is this Hinduism? Nothing shook me more than than this. Its a shame,” he said.

Pawan Verma also expressed serious concern over lynchings taking place in the name of Ram and the perpetrators of crime going scot free. He said the real problem with Hinduism in the 21rst century was that some people who know nothing about the real essence of Hinduism had appropriated the right to tell other Hindus what their faith was.

”Let us not be mute witness to devaluation of our great religion. Instead of saying ”garv se kaho ke
ham Hindu hain,”( say with pride that we are hindus) one should say that ”garv se kaho ke ham
achche Hindu hain.”( Say with pride that we are good Hindus).

”My Hinduism is defined by plurality. Its greatest scriptures Upanishads are looking at what the
ultimate reality could be, a divinity not as a personal saviour,” Verma said.

Sheshadri Chari agreed that what was happening in the name of Hinduism was not Hinduism, so he
wondered why Hinduism should be blamed for it.

He protested as to ”why Hinduism should be pinned down to lynching, cow vigilantism which were
essentially a law and order problem. ” What is essentially a law and order problem should not be laid at the door of this lofty idea of Hinduism,” he said.

He said that to his mind Hinduism was the relentless pursuit of truth.

Rajiv Mehrotra, however, said one cannot escape from the responsibility for the manner in which faith responses to such crises.

” I think we are a faith in crisis. I think we have failed to respond sufficiently,” he said, adding
that as a response to the crisis what was being done was to keep going back to past to glorify it.

But there was no absolute truth which could be achieved by reference to the past. As knowledge
unfolds, the challenge becomes deeper, he said referring to the revelations of quantum physics says that there are different perspectives of reality, and it is the presence of observers which determines the truth.

Earlier, Bibek Debroy in his remarks said it was not possible to explain his view of Hinduism in a
programme that has been  formated for television, and when he felt compelled to spell it out he would write a book.

He, however, said Hinduism was a robust enough to withstand all the transient crisis that speakers had spoken of.

The book launch took place at the JLNMLL auditorium packed with audience on Thursday evening.

–India News Stream