DEIVATHIN KURAL # 128 (Vol # 5) Dated 15 Feb 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 128 (Vol # 5) Dated 15 Feb 2012

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para on page No 796 of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that here in 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
765. In our context, the debate on whether Kruta and Treta Yugas were real or imaginary is irrelevant. ‘After the advent of Kali Yuga, some 2,600 years later our AachaaryaaL’s Avatara took place and that is all’, is our contention, presently. We need not contest the facts about older Yugas and Manvantaras’ calculations. But by saying so, I do not mean that we accept all their criticism about Chatur Yuga calculations also! The civilizations in Europe came into being only a few thousand years back. That too, their progress occurred only after the advent of Christianity some 2000 years back. To a large extent the world domination by the Western countries occurred only after they went to war on what is known as Crusades! Though they are at the peak of what is ultra modern life today, just about 1500 years back these Britishers and Germans were only pirates in the open seas! Only later they settled down in these places and improved their social life and developed languages of their own.
766. I am not interested in ridiculing them. To talk ill of others is worse than all bad forms. To boast about oneself is also not on, as it is only self pride. But when they make fun of our past glories, we are under compulsion to look into why they are doing so! I am talking in that vein. Within some 1,500 years they have shown much miraculous progress in literature, governance, agriculture, trade, science, hygiene and industry, undoubtedly. We have to admire and appreciate these things, of course. We have to note as to how they go deep into all aspects of life and relentlessly follow it up. Many of our Saastraas lying in some corner of India, forgotten in somebody’s house, with the palm leaf manuscripts being eaten away by white ants; have been searched for, located, indexed and published by them only, thus saving them for posterity. For this we owe them much gratitude. We have to learn many things from them such as their capacity for hard work, punctuality, meticulous eye for details and industriousness! At the same time I cannot but comment also on some of their wrong trends, especially when they are out to prove us all dullards and idiots! Instead of going on the offensive, I am only talking defensively in self protection!
767. In what these Orientalists say the main problem is one of attitudinal psychology with a vested interest. Let me explain. However much people may claim to be conducting scientific research from a most impartial stand point, no one is able raise above human compulsions of pride and prejudice! We see practical examples of it amongst ourselves often. We see that there are political parties claiming that they have come forward basically to deeply inter and get rid of all blind beliefs in the society. They claim that they are analysing all the Saastraas and PuraNas from the point of view of ‘Paguthu Arivu’ meaning to ‘separate, differentiate and learn’ and make scathing attacks and look down upon with derision on whatever is said in the Saastraas and PuraNas! They claim themselves to be most forward looking and ultra modern in comparison with the stuck in the mud characters of Sanaatana Dharma! Believing in the words of the white man, they believe that they belong to the Dravida Race and the Brahmin to have come from the Arya Race, who landed amidst them having come over the Khyber Pass.
768. But when it comes to their own, imagined as told by the British Orientalists, any discussion about three subjects, is taboo! Those three subjects are their Mother Race, Mother Land and Mother Tongue. Talking about these three, their ‘Paguthu Arivu’ disappears we do not know where! While cursing those who claim their caste to be higher in status, they claim that ‘there is no other race superior to theirs’, not in terms of all races being equal, but in their own being superior! There is no other language equal or better than theirs! Their culture is not only the oldest and superior, but there is nothing worthy of comparison, they claim! Looking at all this, they seem to suffer from greater amount of superstition, than those who believe in Sanaatana Dharma. Whatever is appreciable and noble in any other language or culture, they claim it to have been borrowed from theirs! In truth, Tamil Language and culture is foremost in give and take, without any narrow mindedness or hesitation, in welcoming all good views, ideas and principles, with love and making it its own! But, while calling themselves to be using ‘Paguthu Arivu’, they claim that they have always given and never taken. When it comes to one’s own, this is the amount of pride and prejudice that comes in the way!
769. The Orientalists who started out claiming themselves to be doing ‘Scientific Research’, are still victims of this ego related pride and prejudice! What was the time that they did all this research of Indian culture and ethos? That was before Indian Independence, when they were the rulers and India was one of their vassal states. Still, they could not just digest the fact that, in the times when they were utterly unaware of what is being civilised, India was far advanced with a grand and mighty culture of its own! They thought that they could see much wrong in the Indian society. First of all, India did not have any knowledge of Science and they had to teach the Indians all about science and a scientific approach. They seem to have no idea of health and hygiene, living in very dirty environment. Their mortality rate is atrocious. Within the society, they have no sense of equality and have too many gradations of caste and creed based on birth! They just could not understand the isolation of a major portion of people as Pariahs. Even those who are educated amongst them seem to be stuck up with their traditional principles and practices.
770. Seeing all this, they said that this country itself is too backward and started with the idea of enlightening us and improve our attitudes and behaviour! When their lives were fast advancing based on ever new findings of science and innovations of industry, this nation had to withstand invasions and undergo Muslim domination. As a result, we had not progressed while forgetting our age old disciplines of sciences, arts, crafts and avenues of enhancing knowledge. Thus we were at awe at their advancement in science and industry. So we fell in their feet and started accepting whatever they said, including about us, our life style, beliefs, practices and culture! We were virtually willing slaves of British people, customs and culture. That being the case, they could not gulp the idea that these very Hindus from very olden times were far advanced in all the fields of human endeavour, till just a few centuries earlier! They could never accept the fact that India was the forerunner and ideal to be admired and followed, once upon a time, despite the apparent evidences plentifully available in terms of literature, huge edifices of temples with intricate carvings depicting the heritage of arts and crafts. The main impediment was their sense of self importance and pride!
771. Not only that. Let me come to their vested interest that I indicated to you earlier. Like the sword hidden in the scabbard, for their secret intentions, acceptance of the reality of our glorious past was an obstacle. It was not only in their interest to win us over politically, but also retain such hold over us forever. Aim plus was to ensure eternal loyalty by converting all Indians to Christianity! Amongst them some might have been politically motivated and some religiously motivated. Put together, their game plan was to show all our Vedas, Saastras, beliefs, principles and practices in a poor light and the people to be blind believers and superstitious! We are thankful and grateful to many of their scholars for having unearthed many of our scriptures, aren’t we? But, if you go into their life histories, you will be shocked as to how their secret plan was to seemingly be with us and pull us in! What the missionaries did openly in spreading their religion locally was only a fraction, compared to the efforts of these scheming strategists!
772. Overtly they emphasised the freedom of individual rights and expression and vouchsafed that they will not interfere in our religious matters right from the Victoria Proclamation. Staying thousands of miles away, when you are ruling over millions of people, you have to be careful in what you say in your proclamations alright. So making a show of being impartial, they did their level best to attract as many to their religion as possible. Moreover, in Christianity, it is considered a part of your duty as a good Christian to convert others to your fold. ‘It is alright even if they do not convert and come to our fold, as long as we cause them leave their own, our purpose is served’, was their attitude. That is, they did their all to make followers of Hindu religion to lose their faith and trust.
773. In the olden times it is a fact that India was far advanced than rest of the countries of the world in all human endeavours. More than our advancement in medicine, literature, trade, agriculture, textiles, science, sculpture, building and construction and other fields, in the field of religious spiritual advancement we had reached far ahead of anybody else in the world, undoubtedly! The point to be noted is that we had made our individual and social life and culture vehicles of expression of our religious beliefs. The undercurrent in all our endeavours, attitudes and behaviour has been our religiousness. Everything including our interactions with others, society and the world has been focussed on our inner flowering. All our great thinkers, Maha Rishis and Munis have been riveted on inversion of oneself than on conversion of others! If foreign religions were to be inserted here, they had to make use of a lot of devious means and measures.
774. Only one in that endeavour is this subversion inserted in the name of history and research, to bring our so called past as close to the time of Jesus Christ as possible. There are many more such devious measures like the one about bringing in the Aryan – Dravidian divide. We will not get side tracked on those issues now. I will talk about them when there is an occasion for doing so. Now let us consider this matter of the time of our AachaaryaaL only, period! As I said, in the very feeling that ‘our religion is very ancient’ there is a psychological satisfaction, isn’t it? We should deny that satisfaction to the Hindus, they decided. To put that decision in to action, in to a workable plan, they got a suitable means from within our land and history and that is the Buddhist Religion!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.