Hinduism and its DEVOLUTION

                                                                               

Hinduism is a major world religion that traces its origin from the Indian subcontinent. It is the world’s third largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers. Also called Sanatana Dharma, the archaeological findings prove it to be the oldest religion in the world. The word Hinduism was first used by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1816-17.

Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, and because of this, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. Due to this feature of Hinduism, it has also been shaped by the interests of the people, mostly by the Western notions of religion. These influences have been debatable among the scholars of Hinduism. Also, being the oldest religion in the world, it has undergone various cycles of evolution and ruination as well.

Among us, there are various ideologies that are leading to the devolution of Hinduism. The way of thinking of the people, is moulded in such a manner that they have no other option that believing that this religion has been enforcing evils like patriarchy and misogyny. It is always shown that Hinduism has been a religion that has been full of wrong and arbitrary customs. Looking back at the recent judgements of the Indian courts, it is fairly clear that Hinduism is undergoing a phase of devolution, a phase in which many of its values and customs are being regarded as arbitrary and unconstitutional. A very prominent example of this is the Sabrimala temple case, where there was a rule that prohibited the entry of a particular age group of women (reproductive age group), just because of the nature of the deity, who was a Naishtik-brahmachari (eternal celibate). This was seen as a violation of fundamental rights and was compared to various social evils like untouchability and sati that were abolished a long time ago.

There are numerous other examples that show how Hinduism was continuosly regarded as a malpractice and is slowly dying. In today’s era, where the Mughals are glorified and are credited for India’s development, the reader is unaware of the achievements that were accomplished by the Hindu rulers. The Mughal architechture is always seen as a marvellous form, whereas the astonishing view of the Hindu temples has been ignored. The Hindu rulers, who had aways aimed for achieving and preserving Akhanda Bharata, as compared to the Mughals who did nothing except breaking temples and defaming Hinduism. This practice was carried to such an extent, that even the Britishers continued it, and after all their combined efforts, people started questioning their own customs. Not taking into account the fact, that Hinduism has produced various gems over the past centuries, like that of yoga, it is yet disregarded in the name of Secularism. Hinduism failed to stand against Muslim and Christian conquerers from the West. Today, Hinduism is struggling to survive in its own homeland against the onslaught.

The term “Secularism” has always been used in an anti-Hindu way, be it the governments or the so called ‘liberal’ people. It has always been used to suppress Hinduism and to make people believe that their practices are anti-social.

Coming to the solutions, as to how to protect Hinduism from the devolution it is undergoing, there are many ways. First of them, is to propagate the ideology of Hinduism. This task, was completed by the Gurukuls, which existed in the ancient era, and were removed by the britishers. The Gurukuls were a major source of gaining knowledge about the religion. In a first, the Banaras Hindu University, has started a course on Hindu studies, which will make people aware about the religion and its history. Other solutions include the preservation of our culture, which is ignored and regarded as backward most of the times, in this modern era. The rich culture of Hinduism, includes customs, which have been scientifically proven, temples, which are astounding, and an ideology, which in my opinion, has a positive effect on the mindset of an individual.