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Apr-08-2009
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Gandhis and Geeta are making the headlines these days. The questions being asked are, did any of the young Gandhis read Geeta. The association of Geeta to Gandhis is very old. Mahatma Gandhi always used to say that he carried a copy of Geeta with him. The question comes in mind is whether the type of non violence Gandhi mastered coming from Geeta? Bhagwat Geeta starts with the scene of battle ground. The words of Geeta were meant to encourage Arjun to lift his Gandeev (bow) and fight the war with full heart, though most of the conversations between Krishna and Arjun were relevant for day to day life. As per Gandhi"s doctrine one should never lift the arms even if the enemy attacks or kills you. Very few will have doubts that what Gandhi says is just opposite to what Gita prescribes. To take this discussion further let us look at some popular Gandhian thoughts.
Gandhi"s most popular ideology of three wise monkeys is known as
1. Speak no evil 2. See no evil 3. Listen no evil
This was taught to us from school time. We even had three monkeys in our primary school which were enacting these points. This ideology is mistaken to be coming from Hinduism though it is not true. It comes from China. A gift of three monkeys was given to Gandhi by a Chinese group which came to visit him in Shanti Niketan. While the first point of this ideology that, speak no evil can be agreed upon, the 2nd and 3rd points seem illogical. Seeing and listening is not under your control. And suppose you close your eyes and ears how would you counter the evil. Are thinking evil and doing evil allowed by three wise monkeys also allowed as per Gandhism?
Let us compare this ideology to Hinduism which is based on the law of cause and effect. The theory of karma (act) harps on the principle that every action produces reaction. Every time we think or speak or do something, we create a cause, which in time will bear its corresponding effects. Speaking, thinking and doing are your direct actions. Thus, Hinduism is guiding you to 1. Speak no evil 2. Think no evil 3. Do no evil.
Can the seeing and listening be classified as your actions? The answer can be yes but only in rare cases.
Another most popular ideal of Gandhi is, "If someone slaps your One cheek, offer him the other cheek" or Get Slapped Twice (GST). It will be interesting to see how an ideal Hindu will act in this situation. There are numerous examples of logical non violence in Hindu texts. In Ramayana, once Sita asked Rama whether or not a constant company of weapons (bows and arrows) would turn him from peaceful to violent. Rama smiled and replied, never if it is to protect dharma (righteousness). He further promised Sita that he would never attack any body including rakshasa (devil) unless there is a sufficient reason for it. He was also of the opinion that one warning/chance to enemy can be given. Ravan for example had done great crime still Rama sent Angada to him on peace mission before starting war. Same instance is found in Mahabharata when Krishna went to Hastinapur with a peace message before the war was declared formally. Both Rama and Krishna the incarnations of God in full form clearly indicate that you must fight and should use weapons if time demands. Even Yudhishthir in whose thinking the Kshama (forgiveness) is the biggest dharma (religion) agreed that the war was the only solution to deal with Duryodhana.
Thus, in Hindu ideology one should not slap anybody in first place. But if somebody slaps you, you must act. This act may come in the form of forgiving only if the aggressor is apologetic and ready to undo his mistake. Else you must punish the aggressor with the most viable means available to you. Be assured that Hinduism never guides you to offer the other cheek for a second slap.
The Indian nation has much better ideologies which preexisted before Gandhism. Infact India as a nation has been existing much before Gandhi Ji was born. The Government of India recognizes 1857 war as first war of Indian Independence. It means that the Indian Nation was born at least before 1857. The nation can not afford to follow Gandhi"s ideologies in most situations. Imagine if some enemy bombs Delhi should we invite him to bomb Mumbai as well. It is not that Gandhism never works. Even those who oppose Gandhi would agree that many of his techniques are fruitful in a system where the Government is sensitive to public demands. Many things like fast unto death work very well if the target is emotional people like Hindus. But would his techniques work against groups like Taleban for example. Even a layman will say no. In fact, most Hindu Gods and Goddesses barring few like Sarasvati always carry weapons with them. There should be no doubt that Hindus worship those who are mighty and who are able to fight and win. Let us pave the way for such leaders to lead India.
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