The Undisputed Legacy Of Every Indian

published on August 5, 2011
Dipin Damodharan

Hindu or Indian civilization is considered as the oldest in the history and it surrendered to countless invasions also. With the passage of time, the term Hindu has also been subjected to scores of interpretations/misinterpretations. Today, if some one says, he is proud to be a Hindu, and then the so-called secular society calls him a communalist. Every nation has its own identity, culture, values etc, on which they used to nurture their society…

However, in India, saying any thing on the lines of Hindutva is still considered as a symbol of an uncivilized society. What is the reason for this? No need to think too much, the new generation Indians have drastically failed to understand their identity, their great tradition. What is Hindutva? What is a Hindu nation? Is Hindu nation confined to only those following the present caste based Hindu religion? The answer is no.

When any one talks about of Hindu Rashtra or Hindu nation, he should not connect the word Hindu with any particular form of worship. It is not what presaged by the English word religion is. The word Hindu stands for India’s entire society, those who live in this country and admit the fact that this is a primeval nation with a long history and an ancient tradition are all roofed by that word; they are all members of the Hindu Rashtra and believers in Hindutva. Look at this mantra mentioned in Vishnu Purana on Indians …

“Uttaram yat samudrassya
Himadreschaiva dakshinam
Varsham tad Bharata nama
Bharati yetr santatihi”

It tells India as the one extending to the north of the seas and lying to the south of the Himalayas and calls it Bharat (India) and her children as Bharatis (Indians).

An eternal concept

Hindu Rashtra (nation) has been living on this land and it has a common dharma and samskriti, a common sharing of joys and sorrows, a common appraisal of enemies and friends and a common aspiration for the future.

Then, there is its magnificent lineage of noble ancestors, the great men and seers who have protected and enriched the nation. This Hindu Samaj (society) cherishes a natural desire to make the nation strong prosperous and great in all respects, to attain such cultural rights that each individual members of it becomes a model for all humankind in character and righteous conduct. Unlike other nations, this society would like to use this national strength not for the extermination of other people but for the service of the world.
 
As a great writer observed, Hindutva is a self- sustaining, self-renewing phenomenon and is nearest to nature and assimilative in character. Hindutva is a non – geometrical forest where in old trees live out their life clearing the atmosphere from the pollutants so that man and animal can live, even when the trees and vegetation die, their remains work as nutrients for their new generation. Hindutva is thus a self – renewing way of life. In relation to other nations, Hinduism stands for a harmonious synthesis among nation and not for their obliteration.

The nation Bharat (India) is a culmination of long past of heroic endeavors, selfless sacrifices and glorious deeds of devotion… To have common glories in the past, to have common will in the present, to have performed great deeds together and to wish to perform still more; this should be the driving force for the country’s citizens.

Hindus are not a religious community, but a nation; Hindu nation is not a political concept. Nation (Rashtra) and state (Rajya) are entirely two different concepts. State is purely a political notion. It is a political authority with sanction, concerned with the governance of the people, laying down and directing the policies of the government. The state changes as the political authority shifts from person to person or party to party. The people and the nation remain the same.

Nation is eternal while the state is transient. If the state is the body, the nation is its soul (atma). In Hindu philosophy, the atma (soul) is eternal and only the bodies and their forms are changed. The Hindu nation has been existing since time immemorial and it shall continue to exist forever. Hindu nation is a cultural and emotional concept, eternally asserting itself. It makes clear that national sentiment is supreme, and all other sentiments, whether religious or sectional, should remain subservient to it.

Hindutva is the strongest and only integrating factor for binding people from North to South and East to West of India, rising above all other considerations of region, language, religion, caste or class.

People belonging to various religions in India are all Hindus by culture and are nationals of Bharata Varsha (India). Any person born in this country (India) irrespective of his or her religion, with the proviso that he or she loves Bharat (India) and respect its cultural traditions are all Hindus. Logically, the national heroes of Hindu Rashtra (nation) like Ram and Krishna should belong to all the Indian nationals irrespective of their religious beliefs.

The author can be contacted at [email protected]

Welcome to Haindava Keralam! Register for Free or Login as a privileged HK member to enjoy auto-approval of your comments and to receive periodic updates.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 characters available

nineteen − six =

Responses

Latest Articles from Dharma Smriti

Did You Know?