I.5. India at a Crossroads
Part I.5
India at a
Crossroads
___________
������ What is the secret of this great and enduring culture of
India? The unique feature of Indian or Bharatiya culture is
unity-in-multiplicity or what could be called �Vedic pluralism.� The oldest
Indian text and perhaps the oldest book in the world, the Rigveda boldly proclaims: �That which is the One Truth the seers
teach in many different ways (Rigveda
I.164.46),� and �May noble aspirations come to us from every side (Rigveda I.89.1).�
The Indic view is that
though Truth is One the paths are many. There is no need for any religious
exclusivism or cultural uniformity. Many different religions and philosophies
must exist relative to the different levels and temperaments of individuals.
Even atheism has a place as one possible view of reality for the human mind. A
free discussion and representation of all views is necessary to arrive at
truth. Even errors and mistakes must be allowed in a free inquiry into truth.
Truth can never be destroyed through scrutiny or examination. It is only behind
closed doors or in fixed dogma that truth cannot stand.
Vedic pluralism, however, is
not mere polytheism or separatism. It is a recognition of a unity that transcends
name and form. The Hindu sense of the One is also that of the infinite. Its
unity is of the universal, not of one thing as opposed to another, but as the
one thing, like a single thread, that links all things together. Such a deep
inner unity can embrace a multiple expression, just as the ocean can hold many
waves and not get disturbed by them.
This bedrock of Indic
pluralism gave rise to the many different sects of Hinduism, which remains the
most diverse religious tradition in the world with its Vedic, Tantric,
Shaivite, Shakta, Vaishnava and other sects both ancient and modern. It also
provided the ground for Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh traditions, which themselves
have much diversity. It spawned perhaps the greatest diversity of spiritual
teachings in the entire world. It respects science and art as part of our
spiritual quest, building a great material culture as well as wonderful
temples. On its basis people in India could even come to appreciate the
spiritual aspects of less tolerant religious groups who invaded them from
across the border. Though still largely misunderstood in the West as polytheism
or a worship of many Gods, this Bharatiya (Indic) pluralism reflects an open
quest for truth and a free flowering of all true human potentials such as the
world desperately needs today.
������ Unfortunately, over the first fifty years since independence
India has not discovered its real roots or reclaimed its true soul as a
civilization. Its intellectuals have mimicked western trends in thought,
particularly Marxism, even after these have been discredited in the West,
following them with an almost uncritical Hindu type of devotion.
In an excessive pursuit of secularism they found it necessary to denigrate
their own pluralistic traditions and favor foreign ideologies of religious or
political exclusivism. They have forgotten their great modern sages like Swami
Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo who projected futuristic views of the Indian
tradition and instead adulate western thinkers devoid of any spiritual realization.
They look at India with jaded eyes and find its salvation in foreign lands.
While many westerners come to India seeking spiritual knowledge, Indian
intellectuals look to the West with admiration, pursuing materialistic
ideologies that have left them unable to understand their own more spiritual
traditions. The result is that after fifty years of independence India has not
truly awakened; though it may be stirring in its sleep.
������ We are now entering into a global age in which pluralism must
be the foundation of world culture. We can no longer pretend that only one
race, one culture or one religion alone is true. The dawning century is no
longer a missionary and colonial era in which one group can be allowed hegemony
in the world. It is a new age of dialogue and respect in which we learn to
honor and cherish all the cultures of the world. This should start with the
honoring of tribal cultures that are the custodians of the Earth and the wisdom
of nature that we so quickly losing in this artificial age. It must include not
just dominant western religions, but the great traditions of the East, like
Hinduism and Buddhism, which have a firm foundation in tolerance and synthesis.
We must learn to embrace all human beings and their cultures as part of one great
family (Vasudhaiva kutumbakam). We can certainly have our differences but
should respectfully allow others to be different as well. Let our differences
be a cause for admiration and celebration, not for mistrust, hatred and a
seeking to eliminate them.
������ The dharmic traditions of India emphasize an organic pluralism
as the model for human development. Just as the human body is one but has
different organs that perform various functions for the benefit of the whole,
so human society is one in essence but diverse in function, with each person
like each cell of the body playing a vital role. This is not a model of
democratic uniformity. It recognizes that the male an the female, the young and
the old, the artist, thinker, businessman, politician and yogi, with all their
differences, all have their special place in society, which is enriched by
their diversity.
Yet Bharatiya Pluralism is
not a relativism of anything goes. Its foundation lies in universal values like
ahimsa, not wishing harm to any other creature and not seeking to interfere
with the natural order. It is a pluralism that reflects a respect for the
sacred in all things. It is not a pluralism of hedonism or materialism like
that of the West that is insensitive of the environment or of other cultures.
It is a pluralism of the spirit, not simply of the body; a pluralism of
spiritual teachings, not merely of material choices.
������ It is time for India once more to be a leader and an innovator
in world culture, rather than a follower and imitator as at present. To
accomplish this, India must discover its own voice and initiate its own action
in the global forum. Sri Aurobindo once remarked that India�s real role was to
be the guru among the nations of the world. At present it can hardly keep order
within its own frontiers. The country is crushed by its own bureaucracy, though
this grip is gradually loosening. Perhaps because of long foreign rule India
developed a sense of apathy and resignation and a tolerance for oppression and
inequality. This must go.�
A new vitality and
creativity is necessary for India that honors the spirit of the country�s
venerable traditions but does not restrict itself to previous outdated forms.
This requires a new generation of thinkers who are global in outlook but
grounded in the spirituality of Yoga and Vedanta. Indic thinkers must return to
their cultural wellsprings, not to stop there, but to create a new vision of
the future. Out of the old Upanishads
they need to envision new Upanishads.
������ Such a new India would combine science and spirituality in a
global perspective, combining the wisdom of ancient rishis with that of modern
creative thinkers. It would set forth a new spiritual or yogic science showing
us how to realize the consciousness that is the foundation of the entire
universe and the basis of universal law. It would develop our material
potentials but for the greater glory of the Spirit, the Self of all beings. It
would protect the earth which reaching into outer space. It would raise the
downtrodden, not to convert people to a belief but to help all people realize
their highest potential. Such an awakened India is crucial for world culture,
which presently remains trapped between a destructive consumerism on one side
and a rigid religious exclusivism on the other.
������ We can already see how such traditional Indian disciplines as
Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedanta are gaining respect worldwide for their global
vision. Such an Indic or Dharmic perspective should be added to religion,
philosophy, science and medicine all over the world. The new India and the new
generation of Indians should take up this task of world-making as their goal.
The new world order of the computer and the information revolution gives the
country a new chance in the global arena and offers a situation more favorable
to its unique talents. But for this to occur India must stand up and speak out
according to its real essence�which is as a spiritual superpower�regardless of
whether this pleases everyone else in the world.
������ Today there is only one superpower in the world, the United States. But it is a superpower in the outer world only. Its wealth hides a spiritual poverty and growing psychological and social unrest. No technological superpower can properly guide the world in the planetary age. Only a spiritual superpower can do this. India has the potential to be the world�s spiritual superpower, but it requires a great labor to bring it forth. The question is whether the country and its leaders are willing to make the effort. This requires looking back to the inspiration of the great rishis and yogis of the region, not merely following current political and economic compulsions�but looking back only to go forward with a renewed sense of mission and power.
_____________
[1] In fact, the Marxist shrines in Bengal look like Hindu temples and Marxists use pictures and statues of their leaders just as Hindus do of their Gods and Goddesses.
Back to
Back to
Next �