Dīpāvali is a Hindu festival celebrated through the lighting of lamps, bursting of crackers, offering puja and sharing delicacies. Celebrated to mark the return of Śrī Rāma to Ayodhya, it inspires a commitment to righteousness in the face of challenges at ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika and ādhyātmika levels.

Celebrating Dīpāvali

Dīpāvali, a festival celebrated across the globe, is observed as a festival of lights when Hindus illuminate their homes and streets with long rows and arrangements of earthen lamps. Many Purāṇic stories represent the origin of this festival, such as Bhagavān Rāma returning to Ayodhyā after his 14-year exile, the Pāṇḍavas returning home to Hastināpura, or Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s victory over the demon Narakāsura. Despite the diversity of these stories, they all carry a single message: the triumph of Dharma over Adharma after a great existential struggle, when a demon with extraordinary destructive power is vanquished.

The rise of Adharma is one of the characteristics of this age, the Kali Yuga. Adharma is characterized by ignorance (Avidyā), which leads to desire (Kāma), anger (Krodha), greed (Lobha), attachment (Moha), egoism (Mada), and jealousy (Mātsarya). The demons in Hindu Purāṇas represent the power of Adharma, rising to engulf the world with their darkness and violence, sowing chaos and fear among the people.

The colonial era was one such period of darkness, engulfing much of the world in unrestrained plunder, leaving vast regions subjugated, impoverished, dislocated, and illiterate. India suffered through two hundred years of this demon—the darkness of the colonial era. On August 15, 1947, it finally managed to throw off the colonizer and emerged from darkness into light. The two world wars fought in Europe in the last century were also periods of intense darkness and violence that descended onto the European continent. The Islamic invasions of India were another such age of wrath and darkness, devastating thousands of Hindu mandirs across the country. The Rāma Mandir in Ayodhyā, built to consecrate Bhagavān Rāma’s birthplace, lay in ruins for over five hundred years, a period of darkness so long and despairing. However, earlier this year, in 2024, the temple was re-inaugurated, symbolizing once again the triumph of Dharma over Adharma. These examples reveal malevolent demons of immense destructive power dominating vast swaths of history for long periods.

In our own time, a new demon has arisen: the demon of disinformation. Today, falsehood masquerades as truth, truth is distorted, and news is manipulated, obscuring the distinction between reality and illusion. We are passing to the younger generation a world where it is no longer clear what is true or false, forcing them to retreat into a personal world of their own ‘truths’ and to social networks of like-minded individuals. An epidemic of mental illness is now plaguing the world, with anxiety and depression, loss of confidence, and a lack of purpose. This new demon gains power when fanned by the flames of social media outrage (Krodha). The Upaniṣads declare “Satyameva Jayate”—Truth alone triumphs. Yet, falsehood has its day when it rules the world. Furthermore, the demon of corruption plagues many societies globally, where politicians seek power not for public good but for personal gain (Lobha). The battle between Dharma and Adharma is ever-present, whether we stand and fight for Dharma or disengage into our own private worlds.

Dīpāvali, therefore, holds great significance. At the manifest, physical realm—the Ādhibhautika level—it marks the end of an āsuric era of Adharma, filled with darkness, negativity, violence, fear, and sorrow, and the inauguration of a new era filled with hope, joy, positive energy, and the anticipation of peace and prosperity. The lamps pierce the darkness of the night and herald the dawn of a new day.

At the subtle, unmanifest psychic realm—the Ādhidaivika level—it invokes the Devas to bring us inner joy and transformation, burning away the inner negativity and despondency that often besiege us through the fire (Agni) of yoga. It calls on us to recommit to Dharma in its eternal struggle against Adharma. The lamps symbolically pierce the darkness of inner confusion and herald the dawn of a new understanding.

Finally, at the Ādhyātmika level, Dīpāvali represents the light of illumination—the fire of knowledge (Jñānāgni) that shatters the darkness of ignorance (Avidyā). The lamps symbolize the movement toward the knowledge of Brahman (Brahma Jñāna) and the establishment of the bliss of the Self (Brahmānanda).

On this Dīpāvali 2024, may we celebrate this ancient festival at all three levels of our being: the Ādhibhautika, the manifest physical level; the Ādhidaivika, the subtle psychic and divine level; and the Ādhyātmika, the unmanifest causal level, which is the source of truth, knowledge, fullness, and freedom.

Om Tat Sat.

The post Celebrating Deepaavali appeared first on Hindu University of America.

The Hindu University of America commemorates the epoch-making punar-uddharana ceremony of the Ram Lala Mandir at Ayodhya with the release of a music video ‘Ayodhya – A Cultural Renaissance’ as a special tribute to the occasion.

Ayodhya – Music Video

This music video is composed and produced by Dr Kanniks Kannikeswaran, a faculty at HUA. The video weaves a 21st century multimedia-digital portrait of Ram using elements of Indian Classical music, Sanskrit Lyrics and powerful imagery. Earlier in 2022, Dr Kanniks had created the highly acclaimed work ‘Raag Darshan’ a portrait of India in 75 Ragas.

‘Ayodhya’ is released on the HUA Youtube Channel and will mark the occasion in a musical medium that integrates classicism, story telling, history, philosophy, Sanskrit, Hindustani and Karnatic music.

Celebrating the consecration of the mammoth Ram temple in Ayodhya and the cultural renaissance of Ayodhya through this musical medium is more than a fitting way to celebrate the epochal event. In creating this digital monument, we follow the model of leaders such as Rajendra Chola who built monuments such as the Gangai-konda-Cholapuram temple and engraved historic records in the form of inscriptions (celebrating the pan Indian outlook of the Cholas in their victorious march to the basin of the river Ganga), the footsteps of the Nayanmars, Alvars, and the Vaggeyakara Muthuswami Dikshitar.

Conceptualization, Research, Lyrics, Music, Script, Direction: Dr Kanniks Kannikeswaran

Running length:  7.5 min

Release Date:  January 21 11:00 am CST, in time for the consecration of the temple at Ayodhya

Lyrics:

śrī rāmachandram sadārādhayeham

śrīmadayodhyā sadanam dinamaṇi ravikula tilakam

nīrāgam nirāmayam nijānanda sukhapradam

nirālambam nirmalam- virājita sarayū taṭam

krūratara pāpa rahitam – māruti suhrdaya viditam

tāraka nāma sucharitam – dharma sthāpakam aniśam

ayodhyāpura- janmakshetram ānjaneya sannutam –

kalyāṇyā,,ramayā saha- kanaka bhavana- nivasitam|

koṭi-koṭi dīpavijita chandravadana— sphuritam

lalāṭa-tilaka-śobhita- traya- anuja-sahita-janitam

yogījana- kinkara- sevaka – suranarendra moditam –

yugāntara prasiddham -ati- nūtana mandıra- lasitam

parāśarātmajāśritam -mahāmatyādi vanditam

apāra- karuṇā pāngam -hridayasthitha māmakam –

śrī tyāgarāja-chakravarti-kamba – rāmadāsa

gosvāmi tuḷasIdāsa- kavikulaguru kāḷidāsa

bodhāyana- muni vasiṣṭha – śrī guruguha- mahā śreṣṭha

kulaśekhara – kavikokila śrīmadvālmikyārcita

martyāvatāra – maryādā puruṣottama

śrī rāma rāma rāma śrī rāma rāma rāma

raghupati rāghava rājā rāma

jai-śrī rāma rāma

śrī rāmachandram sadārādhayeham

Translation:

I always celebrate Sri Ramachandra who is enshrined in Ayodhya and who is the crown jewel of the Solar Lineage.

Who is beyond likes and dislikes, who confers true joy, who is pure and free and is enshrined on the banks of the river Sarayu. He destroys the accumulated karma and is ever present in the heart of Hanuman. His name bestows liberation and he is worshiped as the one who established the order of dharma in the form of Ramarajya.

He is enshrined in his birthplace in Ayodhya ; Anjaneya resides in his presence (at Hanuman Garhi). He is seated with Sita (who is endowed with auspiciousness Kalyan) by his side in Kanak Bhavan. His moon-like face excels the Dipotsav in its brilliance; born with three brothers, the tilak on his forehead radiates with effulgence. He is revered by the renunciates, the devotees engaged in service, humans, kings and the Gods; his presence in Ayodhya has been well known for eons; and he is (now) worshiped in a newly constructed temple. He is worshiped by great intellectuals such as Vyasamuni (the son of Parashara); he is filled with kindness and compassion beyond compare and he resides forever in my heart.

Victory to Rama, who is worshiped by Swami Tyagaraja, Kavi Chakravarti Kamban, Bhadrachala Ramadasa, Goswami Tulasidasa, Mahakavi Kalidasa, Bodhayana, Vasishta, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Kulasekhara Alwar, Maharishi Valmiki; an avatar in the human form, who is hailed as the noblest of purushas. Jai Shri Ram.

Thoughts from the Composer

Why it occurred to me to create this music video: A significant part of my understanding of Hindu Dharma is through temple visits and the Tamil liturgical music of the 700s and the Sanskrit Kritis of Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835). The 1st millennium Tevaram songs are in praise of temples all over Tamilnadu and they provide a historical record of the temples in existence about 1300 years ago. The music of Dikshitar is along similar contours, and it uses the pan-Indian medium of the Sanskrit language and the Ragas of the 1700s and 1800s.

Much of the music that I have created over the years celebrates Bharat and the Dharmic Civilization. (e.g. Rivers of India, Monsoons (using the Tirukkural), Raag Darshan – A tribute to Bharat in 75 Ragas). During my recent trip to Bali, where I was blown away by the significant presence of Hindu dharmic ideas – I mused on how Dikshitar would have created music, had he visited Bali. The result was a music video ‘Om Swastiastu’, which uses the medium of the Kriti in Sanskrit, with visuals from all over Bali.

It was around Navaraatri 2023 that I figured out that time was running out*, and a similar kriti /video needed to be created in time for Jan 22. A kriti, which would narrate the story of Ram in Ayodhya, the geography of Ayodhya, the history, and the worship traditions with powerful visuals to accentuate the story. I wrote the first draft of the kriti during Navaratri; made a rough recording after Deepavali. Visited Ayodhya in early December; made a few changes based on the experiential understanding of Ayodhya; recorded the vocals over the Christmas holiday break, and worked on finishing and post-production all the way until Jan 22.

Moola Vigraha at the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir

What Ram means to me: Raman is as much a Tamil word as it is a Sanskrit word. Rama-Nama-Japam is very common; and writing ’Sri Rama Jayam’ down multiple times is a powerful exercise that is steeped in Bhakti, stills the mind and improves focus. I have seen people do it all the time. Ram gets referred to in Tamil film songs very often. There is no family with a relative not named after Ram. Even Ayodhya is part of the Tamil vocabulary. Dikshitar refers to Ayodhya as ‘Saketa Nagar’. In the course of my working on music with various groups, the most moving stories regarding the relationship to ‘Ram’ are those thatI have heard from the Indo-Caribbean diaspora.

Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Mandir

What Ayodhya meant to me: My visit to Ayodhya in December this year was a memorable one where circumstances conspired to make it happen. It is a place that has its ‘vibes’. ‘Ram’ is in the air, water and soil and in peoples heart and lips in Ayodhya. There is a simplicity of life that reminded me of Bali. The narrow lanes, surprises around every corner, small temples, the sound of bells, the sound of Ram-Dhun wafting in the air from all directions; the simple greeting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the kirtankars doing nothing but singing kirtans all day long, the various landmark temples, the lofty towers, the chill breeze by the Sarayu, the modern Arti on the river – all these are memories to cherish; in a lot of ways it was a transformative visit; one that enabled to me to experience the feeling of ‘surrender’ or ‘sharanagati’.

Prana Pratishtha at Ayodhya

What the prana-pratishtha means to me:

It is a ‘punar-uddharana’ or a renaissance of the entire landscape of Ayodhya. It is a renewal. It is a moment of civilizational awakening. The town, the state, the nation (and even the diaspora) will never be the same again. There is a tremendous sense of confidence, an upsurge of energy; the enthusiasm to serve. There is a major renaissance of the ecosystem around Ayodhya. Who would have imagined 10 years ago that Ayodhya would be home to an International Airport with flights (potentially) to Thailand and other places in the Dwipantara (Far East) with deep-rooted connections to Indian culture and dharma? From having been a sleepy town to one which was internationally known for a ‘dispute’ is now a flourishing center of religious tourism. It is only a matter of time before Universities get set up here. To me, this revival and renewal is a moment of tremendous possibility and inspiration; that shows the power of sankalpa or intentionality.

What did I want to convey using the lyrics: I wanted to paint a picture of Ayodhya as it is today. The raga chosen is ‘Kalyan’- in acknowledgement of the auspicious ‘Kalyana-gunas’ of Shri Ram. The first part of the composition describes the timeless attributes of Ayodhya-Ram, the scion of the Surya Vamsha. Ram as the Brahman – the truth of existence, who in his Saguna form resides on the banks of the Sarayu and is ever present in the heart of Maruti. The next part of the composition describes the various landmarks in Ayodhya (Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhavan, Sarayu, Rama Janma Bhumi mandir) and the attributes of the vigraha. There is a line in there that describes the effulgence of his Tilak (that I had written even before becoming aware that the temple was designed to have the sun illuminate his tilak once a year). There is another that compares the moon-like face to the brightness of the Dipotsav.

The kriti also acknowledges the love that the devotees express towards Ram; and puns on words to acknowledge the 21st century contributors to the temple. (For instance, the phrase ‘sura-nara-indra-moditam’ has the word Narendra-Modi hidden in it; ‘Parasharatmaja’ acknowledges Shri Parasharan and the word ‘mahamatyadi’ acknowledges the archeologist K. K. Mohammed). It concludes that (apart from the places described above) Ram resides in our heart.

Purvikas: The next part of the composition acknowledges several poets and musicians who have sung of Rama. Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar (both of whom were mentored by Upanishad Brahmam an exemplary Ram Bhakta in Kanchipuram), Kalidasa, Bhadrachala Ramadasa, Kalidasa and others, and of course Valmiki.

Mudras: I acknowledge Dikshitar as the source of my inspiration using the phrase ‘Sri guruguha Maha sreshta’ and use my mudra- ‘Vidita’ in the phrase ‘Maruti Su-hrdaya viditam’.

The final part of the composition is a kirtan which is pictured on the Arti in Sarayu.

Artists: The singers Abhay Jodhpurkar and Reeshabh Purohit have done a fantastic job emoting the song and delivering it with spirit. The tabla accompaniment by Sai Shravanam is stupendous (and so is the soundscape that he has captured); the sarod played by Pratik Shrivastav adds a layer of depth; the choral singers provide ample support. I have sung a few lines along in the final recording as well.

It was a moving experience to be struck with revelations and discoveries as I composed and produced this piece; it was even more moving to watch the finished product and see the story come alive with great camera work on the artists and other visuals, edited elegantly by Sachin Dave.

My Sankalpa: It is my wish to share this with the world at large and inspire everyone to make a trip to Ayodhya in their lifetime. It is also my Sankalpa to make such music videos on 6 other places Kashi, Kanchi, Mathura, Ujjain, Haridwar and Puri – which along with Ayodhya constitute the 7 moksha-puris. (That I had referred to in the 75 Ragamala, in the raga Purya).

My Sankalpa: It is my wish to share this with the world at large and inspire everyone to make a trip to Ayodhya in their lifetime. It is also my Sankalpa to make such music videos on 6 other places Kashi, Kanchi, Mathura, Ujjain, Haridwar and Puri – which along with Ayodhya constitute the 7 moksha-puris. (That I had referred to in the 75 Ragamala, in the raga Purya).

*My initial idea was to produce a documentary film on the Footprints of Rama tracing his journey (Ramayana) through India using music and visuals from various parts of India. I had even written the outline of a script and a proposal. Perhaps it will happen at a later date.

About the Composer: Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran is an internationally renowned music composer, educator and scholar and an award winning filmmaker who is known for his sustained contribution to music and community for the past 25 years. His recent viral video, Rivers of India has received critical acclaim and has gone viral with words of praise from such luminaries as Anand Mahindra. Kanniks is regarded as a pioneer of Indian American Choral music; his far-reaching work in this area has touched the lives of over 3500 performers, inspired the flowering of community choirs in more than 12 U.S. cities, and built new audiences and collaborations. His flagship production ‘Shanti A Journey of Peace’ featuring a cast of 200+ is rooted in the Upanishadic vision of oneness and portrays 5000 years of Indian cultural history using choral music and multimedia.

Dr. Kanniks At Ayodhya

His research and his first-ever recording of the Indo Colonial Music of eighteenth-century composer Muthuswami Dikshitar in 2008 and his Documentary film ‘Colonial Interlude’ have received critical acclaim and awards in film festivals. Kanniks has collaborated with well-known ensembles and musician such as as Bombay Jayashri, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Ajay Chakraborty, Ranjani and Gayatri, Lakshmi Shankar, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and others. Kanniks is the recipient of several awards including the Ohio Heritage Fellowship and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras.

The post Ayodhya – A Cultural Renaissance appeared first on Hindu University of America.

Sri Ram’s help is needed against today’s Ravanas

Something big is happening in Bharat after 500 long years. Common sense says that it should have happened much earlier: latest in 1947, when India was partitioned on religious lines and Indians who had converted to Islam got Pakistan. At that time, it would have been natural for Hindus to get back their temples which had been destroyed by invaders and mosques built on them as symbols of dominance and supremacy.

But maybe, now is just the right time for Bharat and the world to get back the Mandir at the birthplace of Sri Ram. The reason is that Ram is an epitome of Dharma, who fought and vanquished adharmik forces – and in our times, Adharma has become exceptionally strong and also needs to be fought and vanquished.

Humanity is presently not in good shape – without roots and direction, without meaning and values. It’s called “being woke” and even portrayed as positive. It spread among Westerners and already shows some impact among young Indians. Truth as such is now declared as non-existent, because “everyone has his own truth”. There is no objective meaning to life either, but it’s now a “personal matter”. Humans are dumbed down with junk food, drugs and low-grade entertainment, which only benefits the producers.

The belief in a Supreme Being and a soul has been ridiculed by “renowned” philosophers and scientists, like Yuval Noah Harari or Stephen Hawking. And many more terrible things, which were up to now hidden, are coming to light thanks to the alternative media and whistle blowers.

The worst of these things is probably the massive scale of child trafficking – for sex abuse, organ and blood harvesting and even for ritualistic “sacrifice” (means murder) to propitiate demonic forces by members of secret societies, who hold powerful positions on top of the pyramid. It’s all so unbelievable, but several whistleblowers have been silenced after speaking up, and this sadly gives them credence.

The eternal strife between Devas and Asuras is well underway in this world of Maya, and the Asuras seem to have the upper hand. Lust, anger and greed – the three gates to the hell of self-destruction according to Sri Krishna (Bh.G 16.21) – are rampant. Clearly, attempts are made to cut off humans from Atma, their divine Self – the worst thing that can possibly happen.

In the midst of this dark scenario, Bharat is still a beacon of light, even though Kali Yug shows its effect here, too. Yet most Indians still have faith in their Hindu Dharma. They still know about their divine core (Atma) and have devotion for the Devas.

Bharat is the only place on earth, where daily in many thousand temples the Devas are worshiped for the well-being of ALL, and NOT the Asuras or Satanic forces for personal wealth, power and sense-enjoyment. Every morning and evening the temples reverberate with the Arati for the Lord of the world (Om jaya Jagadisha hare) or for the Deities of the particular temple, who are all essentially one with the ONE Great Brahman or Sat-Chit-Ananda – blissful Consciousness.

The Deities are not somewhere in heaven, but present in the temple due to Pran Pratishtha having been performed, where the stone idol is infused with Prana, the divine life-force. And now, on 22 January 2024, a most special Pran Pratishtha will be performed: Sri Ram will become a living Presence in the newly-constructed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Ayodhya – the name evokes great emotions in Hindus:

Ayodhya is the place where Ram was born, and grew up with his brothers Lakshman, Bharata and Shatrughna; where the sage Vashishtha taught them the ancient wisdom, and sage Vishwamitra took Ram and his brother Lakshman to fight malevolent Asuras.

It is the place where he brought Sita as his wife from Janakpur; from where he, Sita and Lakshman left for his long exile on the very same day, when his coronation was planned.

It is the place where his father died of grief over the separation from his dearest son; where his brother Bharat ruled, putting the padukas of Ram on the throne… and to which Ram returned with Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman after he had defeated the demon king Ravana in Lanka, and established the benevolent Ram Rajya.

Every Hindu knows the details of Ram’s life. The Ramayana is ingrained in them. It is played on village stages, chanted in ashrams and was an absolute hit on TV. It is a sacred scripture that contains all that one needs to know to live a dignified life, and to behave in an ideal way in midst of challenges.

Sri Ram is an outstanding example for humans – noble, just, brave, ever protecting the weak, and keeping his word.And he is dearly beloved.

Therefore, is there any question at all why Hindus fought for 500 years to get back this very special place and sacrificed so much? They fought not only against the invaders. In recent decades, they also had to fight against their own people – scheming politicians, communists and former Hindus who had converted to Islam, who all denied that Ram was real and that there was a Mandir earlier.Yet this is now past, finally.

Bharat is in a celebratory mood. Many Hindus have taken vows in the run-up to Pran Pratishtha, to purify themselves for the historic occasion. Japa of the Ram Mantra is done and devotional bhajans are sung or listened to.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be a witness of the Pran Pratishtha on behalf of 140 crore Bharatiyas, too, has announced that he will follow certain rituals for 11 days prior to the Pran Pratishtha because – in his own words – “I have to awaken divine consciousness in myself, too”. As Prime Minister, he has tremendous responsibility. He surely needs and will ask for guidance from Prabhu Shri Ram.

There is a good chance that western media will criticize PM Modi for being so unapologetically Hindu. They may wonder, what it is about Hindu Dharma which makes people stick to it, in spite of all the negative propaganda against it by the Abrahamic religions, by communists and media. Why are the attacks on Hinduism from all sides not working as planned? Why do now even more Hindus again treasure their heritage? Why do even many foreigners consider Hindu Dharma as the best option for humanity and the world?

The answer is easy: Hindu Dharma is based on Truth and righteous living. It tells us who we really are in our essence (eternal Atma). And in this temporary world of Maya, it is on the side of Devas, who want to liberate us from Maya by realizing our divine consciousness, and not on the side of those who want to drive us deeper into ignorance and bondage.

Yet there is still a big challenge for Bharat: How to make those Indians who have been massively indoctrinated to look down on the faith of their Hindu ancestors – either by their newly adopted religions or by the education system – also see this truth?

Hopefully, Shri Ram gives Sadbuddhi to all.

And may all feel His Divine Presence in their hearts….

Satyameva Jayate

Jai Sri Ram

By Maria Wirth

This blog was first published here:

Sri Ram’s help is needed against today’s Ravanas

The post Sri Ram’s help needed against today’s Ravanas appeared first on Hindu University of America.

 Śri Rāma – Vigrahavān Dharma

Celebrating Ayodhya – A Symbol of Sanātana Dharma

The Personal Connection

My parents named me Kalyanaraman, hoping and praying that some small fraction of Bhagavān Śri Rāma’s qualities and character may manifest in me. However, before I could fully understand the significance of that name, during my first visit to the USA, I changed it to better suit the Western tastes. Similar aspirations as my parents’ were perhaps held by those of notable individuals such as E. V. Ramasami Naickar, Ramachandra Guha, N. Ram, Jairam Ramesh, Sitaram Yechury, and Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who may have also desired a glimpse of Rama in their sons. It is important to acknowledge that not all prayers are answered, and in hindsight, in some of these cases, the answer was a resounding “No.” Nevertheless, our history has also witnessed the presence of illustrious figures like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharishi, Ram Swaroop, Sitaram Goel, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and C.V. Raman, where the answer to their parents’ prayers was a “Yes”, even if it is a partial Yes.

The Clash of Two Ideas

In the present times, there exists a clash between India and Bharat, each representing two dominant and distinct ideas of India, being played out in the grand stage of India’s political battleground – its modern-day Kurukshetra. On the one hand, there is the idea that the entire civilizational heritage of India, encompassing its spirituality, religion, culture, and traditional wisdom, indeed its Sanātana Dharma (eternal law) is an unnecessary burden, irrelevant and detrimental to India’s progress. A natural corollary of this idea is the notion that India is better off forgetting its past, and must focus on modernizing and westernizing as quickly as possible. A consistent and deliberate effort, to engineer this “forgetting of the past”, has been made as a critical political project for many decades now; with the disconnection of the people from their language, Sanskrit, serving as one of the significant pillars. As individuals became increasingly alienated from their own culture and heritage, they developed an indifference, and even disdain, and grew to look down at their past, their parents, and ancestors. This disdain soon came to be considered a precondition for progress. This was the idea of India that I imbibed through my education at school and college, during my time as a student in India.

On the other side is the idea, which propounds that the country’s future cannot be de-linked from its civilizational past, and rely solely and entirely on imitating the latest Western fashions and fads. That its future must be rooted in a meaningful recovery of the wisdom embedded in its ancient culture, its traditions, and civilizational heritage. Recognizing and embracing that such a meaningful revival of India’s civilizational past—its “Dharma” or law which is “Sanātana” or eternal—as necessary for its own self-respect, sense of identity and destiny, is the alternate idea of Bharat. This perspective unfolded for me only gradually. The realization that this recovery of the past and restoration of Bharat’s Hindu heritage is not antithetical to its progress and does not constitute a regression, was not easy for me. I did not arrive at this understanding in one dramatic moment of explosive illumination, but rather the idea grew on me over time. Many Gurus and Acharyas contributed to this gradual understanding – Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam being a central figure in that journey from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge. Just as the “forgetting” of India’s past was meticulously orchestrated, over many decades and perhaps even centuries, the “remembering” of India’s culture, wisdom, and civilizational heritage must also be consciously and diligently engineered. It cannot be left to the happenstance of accident, good fortune, or fate. And we all have a role to play here. To arrive at this understanding, I had to unlearn the previous idea of India that I had already deeply assimilated.

The Watershed Event and Pivotal Turning Point

In late 1992, I was a student at Ohio State University when the Babri Masjid was brought down. Like many poorly informed Hindus, I too was upset, and felt deeply disappointed with my fellow Hindus for having brought down the Babri Masjid. “It is not in our Hindu ethos or character to tear down a religious site of another religion, even if they had done it to us many times over”, I reasoned. I was filled with questions – “Why can’t we construct a Ram Mandir at a nearby site instead?” “Why do we have to claim that exact site for the Ram Mandir?” “Why do we need to stoke this controversy? Why can’t we be secular and work extra hard to get along with the Muslims?”

However, my perspective shifted after I came across the books Hindu Temples – What Happened to Them – Volume 1 and Volume 2. These books changed my thinking. I hold my encounter with these two “Rams” i.e., authors Śrī Sita Ram Goel, and his mentor Śrī Ram Swaroop, to be pivotal moments in my intellectual journey. I then went on to read another book by Śrī Sita Ram Goel titled How I Became a Hindu and one by Śrī Ram Swaroop titled On Hinduism – Reviews and Reflections. Until then, I had never heard about these two “Rams.” Their works left a profound impact on me and after this encounter, I couldn’t stop reading them. I highly recommend reading their books, and for those who have not read them, I have shared their links here. We must note with gratitude that the parents of both these authors had named them after the Bhagavān Śri Rāma.

The Symbiotic Juxtaposition

Vikās (development) and Virāsat (heritage) had always been pitched against one another in the old Idea of India. The current Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi, changed the rules of the game and showed us that Vikās (Development) does not have to be antithetical to Virāsat (Heritage). He taught us, and is still teaching, this invaluable and unforgettable lesson, through his ideas, his actions, and his accomplishments. It is unclear which of these he is more passionate about – Vikās or Virāsat. I must say here, that it was not entirely clear to me that this integration of Vikās and Virāsat was even possible. I often used to wonder, if a commitment to restore and recover our civilizational past, also invariably meant that we sacrifice a little in the realm of material progress i.e., in the general direction of modernization and westernization.

108 ft tall Statue of Oneness at Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh

Hi-Tech Vande Bharat Trains

However, the events that have unfolded in Bharat in the last ten years have shown otherwise. One day, Bharat inaugurates yet another of its latest Vande Bharat Railway Trains; and a few days later, it consecrates a newly created Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Corridor. One day, Bharat lands its Lunar mission Chandrayaan on the moon at a location where it has never been done before; a few days later, it inaugurates a newly refurbished Mahakaleshwar Temple Corridor. One day, Bharat celebrates completing nine billion Digital Payment transactions in one month; and a few days later it unveils a 108-foot Statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar. One day Bharat throws open its longest over-sea trans-harbor bridge from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai; and a few days later, the same Bharat is set to consecrate its Ram Lalla Mandir after a five-hundred-year wait in Ayodhya. We can go on with the examples. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is changing the grammar and structure of the democratic politics of India as we speak. He has moved it beyond family, caste, corruption, and appeasement, and created a new possibility – ‘Vikās with Virāsat’. He has overturned the Nehruvian idea that Vikās can come only at the expense of Virāsat and vice-versa. And the Nehruvians are in a state of shock now.

Chandrayaan III – The only Lunar Mission to land on the dark said of moon

Atal Setu – India’s Longest Sea Bridge

Ayodhya – A Testament

Ayodhya is a testament to this unique synthesis of Vikās and Virāsat. The whole city is re-emerging from a state of longstanding destruction, neglect, and abandonment. The Mandir is rising again, and is bringing in its wake a brand new airport, a new railway station, new trains, new facilities, and in time, new hotels, and other infrastructure will also emerge. The whole economy of the region is awaiting an impending transformation. When Rama returned to Ayodhya after his 14-year exile and numerous travails, the whole of Ayodhya lit up in joy. Now, when the Ram Lalla Mandir rises again in Ayodhya after its 500-year symbolic exile, Ayodhya will light up once more with unspeakable joy.

The proposed uplift of Ayodhya Railway Station underway

Interiors of the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya

A Civilization is waking up from its slumber. Dharma is awakening. This potential for rebirth, for re-emergence, is what makes it ‘Sanātana’ or eternal. Rāma is simultaneously eternal and undying in his Ādhyātmika dimension; He is the Avatāra of Viṣnu in his Ādidaivika dimension as a Vigrahavān Dharma; He is a great example for us all to emulate, as a human Hero in his Ādibhautika dimension. It is the Spirit of Sanātana Dharma that is re-emerging once more in Ayodhya.

We at Hindu University of America stand with Prime Minister Modi and the billion-plus Hindus all over the world, those who believe and stand ready to rejoice, and those who are confused and don’t know what to do about this phenomenon, to celebrate with gratitude this ceremony consecrating the Rām Lallā deity in this newly built Rām Mandir, on January 22, 2024.

May it be a day when we Hindus remember our past once more with both joy and pride and contemplate our future with confidence and clarity.

Jai Śrī Rāma!

The post Celebrating Ayodhya – A Symbol of Sanātana Dharma appeared first on Hindu University of America.

Indeed, one of the symptoms of systematic history distortion has been the refusal to research the facts of the millennium-long oppression of Hinduism.

Distortions in Indian Historiography

The writing of India’s history in modern form started under British rule and continued in the first decades of Indian independence. In hindsight we may impute some limitations to it, but it was generally honest and up to the then prevailing international standards. From the 1970s onwards, however, the distortions of the historical record became fundamental, wilful and officially sanctioned, mostly with a distinct ideological motive. This was easily identifiable as anti-Hindu but presented itself as anti-Communal. We need to examine the circumstances behind this shift patronized by Indira Gandhi, her political secretary PN Haksar and her education minister Nurul Hasan. In doing this, we dispose of testimonies by eyewitnesses like SN , Dilip Chakrabarti and Sita Ram Goel, and investigators like Arun Shourie.

Contrary to expectation and rumour, the Narendra Modi government has so far perpetuated this situation, and all talk about “saffronisation” of education is sheer imagination. What is true, on the other hand, is that a far smaller problem of history distortion has subsisted in the margins among Hindu traditionalists, not with official support but with enough decibels to be publicly noticed. The two poles of infringement on conscientious historiography use one another in self-justification.

The Idea of India

Since some three millennia, visible already in the editing of the Mahābhārata, India had an ideal of political unification under a “universal ruler” or Cakravarti. This ideal was best approached in reality by Aśoka Maurya, then the Guptas and Moghuls, and most completely by Queen Victoria. But even in its worst periods of political fragmentation, India had a sense of cultural unity, embodied in the pilgrimage routes and the Sanskrit language. The ancient Greco-Roman or Arab visitors had no problem in recognizing the existence of an entity “India” or “Hind”. When the independence of British independence dawned on the horizon, historians in the mould of RC Majumdar emphasized this basic unity.

Against this, the English-speaking elite started propagating the same narrative that the colonialists had fed themselves: that there never was an India except in the atlas, that it was “not more a unity than the equator” (Winston Churchill), and that the colonizers had forged a new country. They called India “a nation in the making”, thus flattering Jawaharlal Nehru as a nation-builder, and bombarded an unsuspecting Mahatma Gandhi to “father of the nation”, whereas he had considered himself the humble son of an long-existing nation. Thus, the understanding of India became a major battlefield, still with us today in the writings of a Ramachandra Guha or a Shashi Tharoor. Here it is easy to set the record straight.

Decolonization

Before British colonial rule, West-Asians and Europeans considered India as a distant miraculous country, home of jewels and spices, and of knowledge. It attracted enterprising traders, motivated the journeys of discovery by Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama, and was a source of inspiration of writers and philosophers. Even the long centuries of Islamic rule, though they brought oppression and physical destruction, failed to penetrate the native culture and left at least India’s overall prosperity (though partly shifted towards the new ruling class) intact. During the 19th and 20th centuries, however, India fell from grace, stooping to the level of a mere colony, being profoundly impoverished and remoulded by its colonizer, moreover remaining a proverbial basket-case even a half-century after formal decolonization.

Following a current trend, we may zoom in on the questions around colonization: was the Islamic conquest a case of colonization? What were its distinctive characteristics vis-à-vis European colonization? Why have these resulted in very different Hindu attitudes toward Christianity and toward Islam? What was the role of Indians in their own colonization? What was cultural colonization, what is cultural decolonization? Which are current forms of subtle neo-colonization?

Muslim Rule

About the period of Muslim rule, which very frequently affirmed its Islamic character and motivation, the main controversy among historians (as well as political ideologues using history) concerns its record vis-à-vis the Hindu population and places of worship. Hindu polemicists bandy about a huge victim toll, citing e.g. historian KS Lal’s estimate (1979) of 80 million Hindus disappearing from the demographic figures between 1000 and 1525. The Muslim chronicles themselves boast of a huge victim toll, sometimes no doubt exaggerating but on the other hand leaving many incidents unreported. We can reasonably chart our way amid those data, all while acknowledging that lots of work concerning the tabulation and verification of these data remains to be done. Indeed, one of the symptoms of systematic history distortion has been the refusal to research the facts of the millennium-long oppression of Hinduism.

The record of destroyed temples is at any rate clear enough. Thousands of cases are reported candidly in the Muslim sources; the relatively limited attention in Hindu sources is typical for the pre-Holocaust embarrassment and consequent discreteness over national catastrophes. All over the world and throughout history, people have been reluctant to report on the catastrophes they had suffered, thinking it shameful to be on the losing side. Fortunately for the historians, the conquerors were more forthcoming, not to say boastful about what the modern age has renamed “crimes against humanity”. In many cases, part of the destroyed Hindu temple was kept visible in the new mosque built over it, with the purpose of showing off the victory of Islam over Paganism, e.g. the Babri Masjid and the Gyanvapi Masjid built over the Rama Janmabhumi in Ayodhya c.q. the Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi. We may zoom in on the remarkable and very consequential Ayodhya debate, vivid for decades but recently terminated; and on US historian Richard Eaton’s attempt to shift the blame for these Islamic crimes to the Hindu victims themselves.

Another case study is the whitewash given to the Moghul emperor Aurangzeb by a US scholar historian. It fits in with a general approach to Communal conflict pioneered since the 1970s by historians like RS Sharma, Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib. To deconstruct this doctrine of denial, we will first of all endeavour to understand it on its own terms, then to compare it with the data.

Problems on the Dharmic Side

Finally, we should not leave the Infidel side off the hook too easily. There has been a certain laziness in the anti-negationist camp. Yes, the authorities refused to patronize research into communally sensitive topics; but there were ways to organize, for example, an actualization of KS Lal’s dramatic figures. There have been individual initiatives, like the excellent publications of Meenakshi Jain or of outsiders to academe such as Sandeep Balakrishna or Aravinda Neelakandam; but the magnitude and importance of this controversy warrants a more systematic endeavour. (Along the same lines, most Hindus participating in the Indo-European Homeland polemic, whether necessitating an “Aryan invasion” or not, have shown themselves smug and ineffective relative to how grimly this issue has become a weapon in the hands of their declared enemies, and how promisingly the argumentative equation has evolved.)

There has also been a marked sloppiness on the Hindu side in construing the historical data of the Islamic oppression of Hinduism. They loosely speak of a “genocide”, no less, even of a “Holocaust”. There are significant similarities between Holocaust denial and the present denial of Islam’s anti-Hindu campaign, which can both be called Negationism, but it doesn’t follow that the crimes committed are the same. Diplomatically, this neglect of the differences is risky and may provoke a backlash from other victim groups, who ought to be allies. More importantly for the historian, it may be an inaccurate rendering of the data and certainly of the intention behind the facts, deplorable though these are. Genocide is not just a matter of acts perpetrated but also of the intention behind the acts. Did Islam evince a desire to kill all Hindus, or did it rather formulate a desire to rule the world and thus justify an occasional destruction and killing as instruments to that less genocidal goal?

The anti-Hindu campaigns by certain invaders are the topic of a consequential debate. We intend to encourage research into this subject, and to cleanse the conceptual assumptions behind it.

Koenraad Elst

Cover Image: Creative Commons License
(The cover image is of Gyanvapi Mosque built by destroying a Hindu temple. The partial remains of the Hindu temple are visible under the mosque on one side.)

The post Distortions in Indian Historiography appeared first on Hindu University of America.