Round
The World
New Delhi, 3 September 2021
Reclaiming United
India
SPIRITUAL OUTREACH TO
SAARC
By Dr DK Giri
(Prof. International Politics, JMI)
A comrade attending a conference with me in
Budapest somewhat surprised me as he said, “you are coming from India, and you
have spirituality in your blood”. I was surely amused, but also amazed at the
same time. Then he clarified. He said that out of all the civilizations he had
studied, Indian was the richest. India leads the world in spirituality. A
flattering comment indeed!
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruling at
the Center is supported by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). For a long period,
RSS is striving to reclaim the Akhand Bharat (United India). In an interview,
the RSS ideologue and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav claimed, India,
Bangladesh and Pakistan should unify into a super State. He asserted: ‘The RSS
still believes that one way these parts which have, for historical reasons
separated only 60 years ago, will again through popular goodwill come together
and Akhand(United) Bharat will be created.’ Is it practical? Before debating
the desirability and feasibility, let us look at the scale of the operation.
An Akhand Bharat of Ram Madhav’s dream would
be the largest country on earth with the population of almost 20% more than
that of China today. How feasible to govern this huge population would be?
India with its second largest population, marginally less than China, is
struggling to maintain a decent human development index. Although India could
boast of many sterling achievements in various sectors, the human development
is sadly low. Its infant mortality is worse than Kenya’s and Botswana’s. There
are quite a few more depressing indicators.
The geographical unification of countries,
formerly parts of India, is not in the realm of possibility, although none can
predict the future. But the spiritual reunification of Akhand Bharat may work
out. In the COVID-19pandemic, people were holding on to any support they could
get to move on with their lives. Spirituality was one of them. The ‘ease of living’
replaced the recent emphasis on the ‘ease of doing business’.
Sanatan Dharma (eternal truth) originating in
India could reclaim the spirit of unity and essential oneness of humanity
across the world. In fact, under Sanatan
Dharma, United India is much bigger than the RSS definition. It treats all the eight
SAARCcountries-- India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Maldives, barring Myanmar.
There is a quiet but definite spiritual
movement to re-establish Sanatan Dharma. They may have the blessings and
patronage of the BJP-run government. Like Beijing is seeking to restore the old
‘Chinese empire’ in the name of Greater China, New Delhi maybe toying with the
idea of the Bharatavarsha (the land of Bharat). If the strategy is to reclaim
the spirituality embedded in Sanatan Dharma, it is a worthwhile effort.
Sanatan Dharma precedes Hinduism. It is
timeless, universal, inclusive (non-sectarian), all-embracing. It is an order,
code of ethics, providing a coherent and rational view of reality. It teaches
human values and touches human lives. It eschews divisionbased on sectarianism.
To elaborate some key elements of Sanatan
Dharma includes: a guide to individual human growth, it is experiential rather
than belief based, it is inherent in and inclusive of all. It consists of the
whole as well as the parts. It can manifest in the form of religion, art or
science.
There could be a deep controversy about when
exactly Sanatan Dharma originated. But that is immaterial as it is primarily
about human values and can provide spiritual answers to the contemporary problems
It should be embraced by all. This was the Dharma that pervaded in the nine countries
mentioned above. The Sanatan Dharma got split by advent of prophet-based
religions by conversion and conquest. Be it Jesus, Prophet Muhammad, Buddha,
Rama or Krishna. As Sanatan Dharma was chipped away gradually, the Akhand
Bharat also split into several countries-- Afghanistan (1876), Myanmar (1937),
Pakistan (1947), Bangladesh (1971).
Well, that is history and we cannot perhaps undo it.
However, if the people in SAARC countries
recall their spiritual history, they would know that they descend from one
tradition,i.e. Sanatan Dharma,which is essentially a humanist philosophy. All
the religions practiced in Akhand Bharat, now called the SAARC countries plus
Myanmar are off-shoots of Sanatan Dharma as reformist religious movements. They
are here to stay. No one should disturb people’s beliefs. But, Sanatan Dharma,
which is the original and eternal spiritual system, could be reclaimed. This
gives us a new World view, a new approach to humanity. None of the other
countries in the World has it. This is ourUSP and exceptionalism. Why not
revive and reclaim it?
On the operational front, I asked the head of
the group started by Adi Guru (the early teacher) Shankaracharya, “Will you
accept in Bangladesh a Muslim, and a Buddhist in Sri Lanka or Myanmar to head
the revival of Sanatan Dharma”? He gave me a resounding yes. He was also
thinking of spreading Sanatan Dharma beyond the SAARC countries, to places
having Hindu influences -- countries in South-East Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Cambodia, and Laos and so on, and wherever there are big Indian Diasporas. BJP
or its associate institutions may have an agenda, but if it is good for the
country and humanity, it should be appreciated by all.
A prominent Muslim leader, now, the Governor
of Kerala, proudly claims the antecedents of the Sanatan Dharma. He says
everyone living in India is a Sanatani. There is no room for hatred and no
scope for exclusion in this. If SAARC plus Myanmar is infused with Sanatan
Dharma, a spirituality that should heal the sectarian wounds and unite the
humanity, that will be a unique contribution of India to world peace, security
and harmony.
This could be an apt antidote to the virus of
religious terrorism, racism, authoritarianism and exploitation of the poor,
weak and the marginalised. Of all these,
the religious violence is extreme, disrupting lives and livelihoods. What is
being witnessed in Afghanistan, a SAARC member country is beyond any rational
explanation. Fresh ideas in reclaiming the golden period and traditions is the
need of the hour. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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