Idol worship is a "kind of corruption" but who cares?!

A recent search on Al-biruni led me to this page. What struck me was what the Persian traveler wrote about the religion of the Hindus. Biruni, aka Baruni, wrote :

"The educated among the Hindus abhor anthropomorphisms of this kind, but the crowd and the members of the single sects use them most extensively."

"The Hindus believe with regard to God that he is one, eternal, without beginning and end, acting by free-will, almighty, all-wise, living, giving life, ruling, preserving; one who in his sovereignty is unique, beyond all likeness and unlikeness, and that he does not resemble anything nor does anything resemble him."

Biruni argued that the worship of idols "is due to a kind of confusion or corruption." He writes:[68]

"The physical images are monuments in honour of certain much venerated persons, prophets, sages, angels, destined to keep alive their memory when they are absent or dead, to create for them a lasting place of grateful veneration in the hearts of men when they die."

Now, if we tell our hysterically religious Hindu masses that this is what real Hinduism is (what Baruni wrote was essentially what the realized masters from the Hindu religious tradition have always said, and still say), will anyone listen? In fact, I fear if anyone dares to utter such blasphemy in our religiously-charged times, he or she can expect to be lynched and, maybe, even a Vatican-style inquisition!
Hinduism, as separate from Vedic dharma, today is the opium of ignorant masses, which need it in its current form to stay addicted and hysterical.
If you are looking for salvation from such a religion, God save you. And that goes for most other religions on this Planet, as they are practiced now.

A theory designed to discredit the glory of India, and supported by our historians

If you choose and screen your friends carefully, I have found that Facebook can become a sort of provider of information filtered to your interests. Whatever your friends comment upon, or post, on this social networking site can be a easy reference for you to keep updated on what is happening of interest to you in the clutter of cyberspace. It was through Facebook that I came across this article.
"Story of India" Misses the Mark on India's History, Hindu Watchdog Group Announces
And that has reopened in my mind the question: how can this theory, never substantiated and whose only claim to authenticity is that it was articulated by some half-informed European and British colonial historians, become the dominant theory about India's past? And how can it still be tom-tomed about when there are numerous other theories of equal validity, some of them articulated by better informed historians with better evidence?
That says a lot about how our so called historians have become tools in the hands of politicians of different hues who want to discredit the Hindu civilization for narrow political gains. These politicians and academics are no better than the colonial historians but the ill-informed Indian masses -- and the government -- give them a kind of credibility which they hardly deserve.
The Aryans never came to India; there is enough evidence to prove that India was the cradle of the Aryan civilization, that is, if you have the will to open your eyes and look at the evidence with and open mind. One of those proofs, a more scientific and recent one, is mentioned in the article whose link has been posted above.
How sad it is that we call those people who discredit our identity and history as great historians!
How can this state of affairs change? To my mind it can happen only when people who want to understand the propagate the truth come together and form organizations that will sponsor studies on such topics, and also expose the current crop of pseudo-historians.
It seems an uphill task, considering the many groups of various hues who will try to usurp the stage if such an effort is made. But such an effort can succeed it it has the blessing of the Himalayan masters. Again, we need to be wary here. The Himalayan masters shun the limelight; and it is easy in the world we live in to fall for the machinations of pseudo-swamis who may try to usurp such a platform.
Which means, such an effort cannot be undertaken in isolation; it needs to be part of a holistic movement to revamp Indian society and politics, along with religion.

Let us start by cleaning up the Holy Ganga!

This is my first post in the year 2009, and here I want to return to my favourite theme: cleaning up the Holy Ganges. The more I think about it, such a cleansing would be symbolic of the cleansing of Indian, especially Hindu, society. Mother Ganges has become a super-drain of the Gangetic plain, and no one really cares about it. The so-called secular leaders who govern this country would have no reason to care and so would the many pseudo-holy men in the country. But if India and Vedic dharma have to be revitalized, I have a feeling it needs to start from the Holy Ganges.
Such a massive exercise cannot but affect the lives of every human being and animal in the Gangetic plain and, by extension, a major part of India. It will, automatically, turn into a cleansing process for our society and body politic.
Which is exactly why none of the powers that be want Holy Ganges cleaned up.
Apart from the need for hygiene and cleanliness, cleaning up Mother Ganges would also be a washing away our accumulated bad karma, cleaning up Hindustan for higher achievements in the grand scheme of things.
I hope I can contribute something towards the cleaning up of Mother Ganges this year.

Listen to the Message of the Himalayan Masters

The more I read about the tradition of the Himalayan Masters, the more enchanted I become. This lineage of great sages has been guiding life on earth of eons now. And we poor mortals have the gall to think we are the ones who are the smartest on earth!
Consider the few thousand years of known human history (most of which is anyway pretty cloudy and sketchy). We the 60-odd years of comparative peace following World War II is a great achievement. But when you compare our timelines with the planetary ones, those 60 years seem like a second, even a fraction of a second. And we think we have achieved something!
Already the tenuous peace that held is fraying. The world is headed inexorably to another period of war and suffering. So much for man's haughtiness.
Yet, for the discerning, a little bit of probing will suffice to know that behind all this drama is the hand of the great sages, doing their work silently.
The more I think of it, the more I am certain civilization as we know it is headed for doomsday. Even our exploitation of earth and its natural resources have reached the point where they are being taken faster than they can be renewed.
The only option for right thinking individuals who want to change this course of doom is to seek out the ways of the great sages and practise what they have taught. The teachings have been there always; only we need to practise it.
We talk of religious dialogues, tolerance, etc. And come to think of it, we don't even know why we are here. Are we running after something completely useless by following the way of life? I am more and more convinced that we are. And I am taking the message of the sages to heart seriously. Let me practise, and the rest is in THEIR hands!

Post-Mumbai, India has few choices

Am out of Bangalore, too! Or almost.
But more on that later.
I have been watching the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks with a sense of deja vu. Remember the Parliament attack? The same sense of inability to do anything really concrete still haunts the Indian political establishment. The only difference is that it is the Congress, and not the BJP, that is in power now at the Centre.
The choices, or lack of thereof, facing India in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai are worrisome. The fact is, despite all the hard talk, the government of the country can do precious little to force the Pakistani army and the rogue elements in its intelligence establishment to desist from supporting Islamic terrorists fighting India.
Indian leaders and military chiefs can talk about hot pursuit, but if India really tries that in Kashmir it would be risking a nuclear war in the sub-continent. The US can do that in the Pakistani tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but if India tries the same trick it is bound to invite a swift and strong military response from Pakistan.
The fact is, a nuclear-armed Pakistan has made it safer for the terror elements operating from that country to strike with impunity at India.
All the talk about cutting trade and cultural links with Pakistan is not going to solve the problem. Pakistan has survived Indian embargoes earlier, too. Besides, forcing Pakistan into an economic crisis will only strengthen the hands of the jihadists and no country in the world, let alone India, would want them to have access to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

What is the solution? Try the same tack that Pakistan has used with great success against India – foster insurgencies in that country taking advantage of the many ethnic fault lines that fan across its landscape.
The recent explosion of protests from Pakistan against a map that was doing the rounds in the United States, showing present-day Pakistan divided between India, Afghanistan and an independent Baluchistan shows how much Pakistan’s ruling elite fears such an outcome is possible.
India needs to reply in the same coin to what Pakistan has been orchestrating against this country. The question here is can the weak-kneed politicians with their eyes on vote banks conceptualise and execute such a strategy?
It doesn’t sound easy, but if ever there is a time for India to launch such an operation, it is now. And the community of nations, having seen the damage a rogue Pakistan can do, would be only too willing to help!

In Bangalore for a second Innings

From Amchi Mumbai to Bangalore!
Yes, six months in Bombay was enough. I got tired of the crowds, the squalor, the commute...
Wonder why people like that city so much. Maybe it's me, that I don't see what other people see.
Anyway, here in Bengaluru for my second innings.
And right away I can say I don't like the laid back life here, or the total lack of road sense in Bangalore's drivers.
But I guess the divine has some reason for bringing me here; will wait and watch for things to unfold.

Being A Non-Hindu Is Good For The Environment In India!

It may never be too late to mention the Sethursamudram Project, to link the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. Because the forces who want it, despite the end users and the environmentalists saying it would be a disaster, are still at work. From my recent talks with a colleague, I understand it is DMK chief Karunanidhi's personal ego that is making him push for the project. That is what today's democracy is for you. Even if it means wholesale death and destruction, a megalomaniac masquerading as a popular leader can do whatever he wants to!

The Sethusamudram Project will be an environmental disaster, will cost a bomb to maintain and will be of no real use as a shipping lane. Still we are spending crores on it on a daily basis. The fact that it would hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus hasn't been taken into account either. Just imagine, if it was the religious sentiment of the Muslims or Christians the project would not even have seen the light of the day. The same would have happened if it was a really good project, unlike this one is. That is secularism for you!

Just one question: is being a Muslim or a Christian good for the environment in India?!