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From: alt.fan.jai-maharaj@googlegroups.com

Bharat's identity is intrinsically tied with the eternal
philosophy of Hindutva

It is imperative to expose the conspiracy to divide and
confuse, and to establish the eternal philosophy of
Hindutva, by dedicated action and practice. This will
result in the unfolding of Bharat's identity, known to the
world since centuries.

Written by Manmohan Vaidya
The Indian Express, indianexpress.com
Wednesday, May 8, 2019

This view of life is the Hindu view and all those who live
in Bharat, irrespective of their caste, region, religion or
language, subscribe to this view of life. (Representational
Image)

For ages, Bharat has offered a unique view of life because
it is based on spirituality. Bharat believes that Truth can
have various forms, names and paths to reach it. Though
diverse, all these paths are equal. Bharat sees unity in
diversity and has a capacity to establish unity amongst
such expansive variety. It doesn't see diversity as
difference: This brand of spirituality teaches us that
every soul is potentially divine and the same divinity
pervades all things, animate or inanimate, and hence we all
are connected with each other. To realise this
connectedness, to expand its ambit and to work accordingly
towards the betterment of the connected, is the basis of
Dharma. Dharma, which is different from religion, is not
exclusivist; it includes, connects and benefits all.

This view of life is the Hindu view and all those who live
in Bharat, irrespective of their caste, region, religion or
language, subscribe to this view of life. Hence, being
Hindu or "Hindutva" has become the identity of all
Bharatiyas. The founder of RSS, K B Hedgewar, made this
Hindutva the tool to awaken the sense of unity among all
Bharatiyas -- connecting them with each other irrespective
of their caste, region, religion and language. He started
organising the entire society by binding them together with
this thread of Hindutva.

However, those who, for their individual and political
gains wanted to keep the society divided started opposing
Hindutva and the Sangh by calling them communal,
regressive, divisive and anti-minority: The opposition to
and rejection of the seminal works of great souls and
Hindutva proponents like Swami Vivekananda and Dayanand
Saraswati was condemned by levelling these allegations.

But the activities of the Sangh, built on the foundation of
Hindutva, kept expanding despite the ill-will directed at
it. Then, the same ill-intentioned critics started saying
that Hindutva is alright, but there is a demarcation
between soft-Hindutva and hard-Hindutva. The Hindutva of
someone like Swami Vivekananda is soft, but RSS practices
hard Hindutva, which is condemnable. Books such as Why I Am
Not a Hindu and then Why I Am a Hindu have been written by
such naysayers, but irrespective of such attempts,
acceptance of Hindutva has grown exponentially. This is
because it's the soul of Bharat and an expression of its
consciousness: It cannot be countered by books that seek to
compete with the epics.

Elements with vested interests started creating confusion
by calling Hinduism a virtue and Hindutva an evil. A media
house recently asked me, "What is the difference between
'Hinduism' and 'Hindutva'?" I told them that it's one and
the same. One is in Hindi whereas the other is in English.
S Radhakrishnan wrote a book in English, titled The Hindu
View of Life and used the term "Hinduism". Had he written
it in Hindi, he would have used "Hindutva". If Savarkar had
written his book, Hindutva, in English, then he might have
used the term Hinduism. That said, it is my personal belief
that an apt translation of Hindutvaa should be "Hinduness"
instead of "Hinduism".

RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat has clearly enunciated the
meanings of "Hindu" and "Hindutva" in his three-day lecture
series at Vigyan Bhavan. But propagandists won't refer to
it because it does not suit their malafide intentions. The
real ideological battle is between the two different ideas
of Bharat. One is the Bharatiya concept with roots going
back to age-old spiritual traditions of the nation, and the
other is an alien or foreign conceptualisation.

A journalist-turned-politician recently stated that in this
election, the choice to be made is between "Hindu India"
and "Hindutva India". The only reason people like him talk
of Hindu India is because of the growing influence of
"Hindutva". It doesn't reflect their conviction but
convenience. Given that Bharat is coming together and
uniting due to "Hindutva", their casteist, communal and
regional politics is weakening everyday and their support
base is eroding. For their petty politics, it is imperative
for them to divide society -- if not in the name of caste,
language or religion, then on the basis of Hindu and
Hindutva. But today, the common Bharatiya is not foolish
enough to fall into their trap. Their sense of entitlement
has, thus, been challenged.

Another term which is being used to spread confusion is
"Hinduvaadi" or Hinduist. There are capitalist, communist
or socialist ideologies in the world, but in Bharat there
is no place for any "-ism" like in the West. The "-ism"s in
the west have a hegemonic tendency to impose their world-
view on others, even by force. In Bharat, "Hindutva"
(Hinduness) refers to people living and leading their
personal, familial, social and professional life in the
light of this spirituality based on a holistic view of
life, called "Hindu".

It is, therefore, imperative to expose the conspiracy to
divide and confuse, and to establish the eternal philosophy
of Hindutva, by dedicated action and practice. This will
result in the unfolding of Bharat's identity, known to the
world since centuries, and Bharat's purusharth will
manifest in every sphere of social and national life. In
his essay, Swadeshi Samaj, Rabindranath Tagore rightly says
-- "First of all, We will have to become what We actually
are".

This article first appeared in the print edition on May 8,
2019, under the title 'Hindu, by any other name'. The
writer is joint general secretary of the RSS.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/hinduism-hindutva-rss-hindu-by-any-other-name-5715832/

More news and views at:

The Indian Express
https://indianexpress.com

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj

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