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THE FOOT-PATH OF
HINDU RELIGION
There are many religions in
this world such as Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christianity,
Zoroastrianism, etc. Most of them have been founded by some great
mahapurusha or some holy personage, or some great man at some time
or the other in history. For instance, the year 1973 denotes the
period that has elapsed since the founding of Christianity. It means
that Christianity was founded so many years back and it has come to
us down the corridors of time. In the same way, for the other
religions also, the year of their beginning is known and the founder
is also known by name, and thus we know the age of all those
religions. The founders of those religions were able to attract a
large number of men to their way of thinking and thus they acquired
a large following.
But in the case of Hinduism,
nobody has been able to determine its age. It is therefore called
Sanatana, very ancient. It has not been named after any founder,
and, therefore, in the case of our religion, no name has been given
to it. This may appear strange, but really there is nothing strange
about it. Name is given to a thing only when there is more than one
thing of the same kind, in order to distinguish it from the others.
But in the case of Hinduism, there was only one religion ever since
the dawn of creation and therefore, there was no need to give it a
name. Other religions did not exist before and they were founded
only at a particular time in history (much later) and therefore,
they were given names for the purpose of identification.
Since Hinduism has had no
beginning, it has no age also. Of course, historians make some
computations and say that it is 6000 years old or 10,000 years old
or 20,000 years old.
Even then the fact remains
that the Western scholars have accepted that our religion is an
ancient one. Even taking this fact for granted that it is so many
years old, nobody has been able to determine who actually founded
this religion and at what time. Our religion has been there ever
since the world started. There is no such thing as the Lord having
been born at any time. In the same way, nobody can say that Hinduism
was born at any particular time. Therefore it is a very ancient
religion. Just as nobody has created God, nobody has created this
religion of Hinduism. Thus, Hinduism stands on a par with God, in
the respect. This religion is anadi and it is without any
beginning.
When people ask about our
religion and we say that it is anadi they just laugh at us.
Similarly if somebody asks us for how long we have been having a
particular mode of worship, again we say that it is anadi (without
beginning). We say that something is anadi when we are not able to
give a definite period for it. But the word anadi in regard to the
Hindu religion means that nobody had founded it, nobody had started
it at any particular period in history. It has come to us down the
ages. It is without any Jataka. That which is without a Jataka or
horoscope is anadi. It something has a Jataka, it automatically
means that it was born at a particular time, and the fact that it
was born at a particular time means that it is going to die also
after some time. As Sri Krishna says in the Gita:
VÉÉiɺªÉ ʽþ wÉÖ´ÉÉä
¨ÉÞiªÉÖ&
Hinduism has no Jataka and
therefore it has no birth, and hence it has no death also. It is
only a child who is born that will die. If a child is not born at
all, how can it die? Hinduism is such an ancient religion without
any beginning and therefore with no end as well.
Further, in the case of other
religion, they have got their scriptures in a definite form. For
instance, the Bible is the basic scripture for Christianity, and the
Koran for Islam and so on. But in the case of Vedas, which are the
scriptures for our Hindu religion, again, we cannot fix any period
when they started. In the case of the founded religions, the
authority for them stems from the words or utterances of the
founders, and they have been gathered together in the form of a book
which serves as the basic scripture of the particular religion. But
in the case of Hinduism, there is no such thing. The Vedas which are
our basic scriptures are without any beginning. They are considered
as the breath of God himself. The Creator of the world Himself has
given it to us. Hence they constitute sounds transmitted by God, and
they have come down to us by word of mouth down the ages. Thus, our
religion is not the result of any book-learning or study of books,
but is based on experience. A person following other religions may
read some other book after reading the Bible or the Koran as the
case may be, when they are in difficulties. But in the case of
Hinduism, there is no such need. The Vedas are not text-books but
they are God’s own words transmitted in the form of sound. They
contain mantras which symbolize sounds with meanings. Therefore,
there is no need for us to go to any other book. Our minds will
become steady by reading the Vedas themselves. There may be scope
for doubts in other religions, but in our religion, there is no such
scope. If we see the percentage of people who get converted to other
religions, we shall see that it is hardly ½ a percent or so and that
too for special reasons, namely economic advantage or professional
prospects. The Vedas contain the means for the removal of all our
doubts and for giving us happiness.
The difference between the
Hindu religion and the other religions can best be illustrated by a
small example. All of you are familiar with the main tar road as
well as the footpath. The footpath is generally a shorter path or a
short cut, so to say. The main road is longer. The main road is
usually named after some individual and has been constructed after a
great deal of expenditure. Further, there is some opening ceremony
for it, and then only the road is opened to traffic. After some
time, that road has to be repaired also. The main road is a pucca
road, and generally it connects places by a circuitous path. To
cover a distance of one furlong or so from one place to another, it
will actually take a route of one mile sometimes. Further the main
road is so wide that even lorries and vehicles can pass over it. As
I was coming to the Uttaraswamimalai temple from Laxmibainagar, the
temple appeared to be so near as at a distance of just a furlong or
so, but actually when we came here by the main road, it appeared to
be very much longer. If we could have come by the footpath, perhaps,
it would have meant only a distance of a few furlongs. Thus the main
road covers always a longer distance and it takes more time to
travel by it and reach the destination. But if one follows the
footpath, one is able to reach one’s destination more
quickly.
The footpath was not started
by anyone. It has no name. There is no such thing as repair of the
footpath. There is no opening ceremony for it. Nobody comes to open
it either. Somebody had started it at some time which we do not know
and it has just come down to us. It bears no name, either of the
person who opens it or of the person who had walked on it
first.
As long as people go walking
on it, it remains clearly visible. When people stop walking on it,
grass and shrubs start covering it. There is no such thing as an
accident to the footpath, as a result of which it has to be closed
down some time for repairs when the traffic has to be diverted to
some other route. In the case of the main road, if something happens
to it or some accident takes place, then the road is closed for all
traffic to enable repairs to be done. In the case of the footpath
there is no such fear. People can travel by the footpath all the
time, and be sure of reaching their destination very
quickly.
For going to a particular
place, you can choose the footpath and go quicker by covering a
shorter distance. If you go by the main road, you may have to cover
a very much longer distance, sometimes even two or three
miles.
Hinduism is like a footpath.
Nobody had started it. People started following the footpath long
ago, and it has come down to us even to this day. The moment people
stop following it, it becomes obscured from vision. The special
characteristic in the case of the footpath is that in order that it
may be clearly visible all the time people must continue to walk on
it. In the case of the main road, even if nobody walks on it, the
road remains clean and visible all the time, as more traffic passes
over it, the cost of repairs also becomes very high. But in the case
of the footpath, as long as people continue to walk on it, it
remains clear and in good condition; otherwise grass will start
covering it. In fact, the more the people who walk on it, the better
it is visible and the better the condition which it is in. There is
no such thing as a footpath being closed or destroyed. Likewise, our
ancient religion has no beginning and has no end, just like the
footpath.
Further, the footpath has a
definite destination. But the main road does not have any
destination. It will go on and on. When we come to a traffic
junction, we shall not know which way we have to go; unless there is
a sign-post to tell us to which place each road goes, or unless
there are name plates for the different roads branching off from the
traffic junction, such as that this road goes to Dindigul, this road
goes to Madurai and so on, we shall be in a state of bewilderment as
to which road we should take. In the absence of a sign-post or chart
indicating the destination of the road, it will be difficult to know
where we should go, and we shall have to go on standing at the
junction not knowing in which direction to go.
But if we go by the footpath,
it will automatically take us to the destination. Hinduism is like
the footpath which does not need any signboard. If we follow it, we
shall reach the goal quickly. Once we follow the footpath, there is
no need to think any further about where we are going.
Thus, our ancient Hindu
religion which was not started by any particular individual enables
us to reach our goal very quickly. Since many people have gone by
this and reached their destination, thee is no need for us to have
any doubts in this regard. The other religions are just like the tar
roads. One can easily draw one’s inference from this without my
having to dwell on it at any length.
Our religion can also be
compared to the ordinary policeman. Our religion is not a polarized
religion. The policeman when he is on duty wears a certain dress and
he has to do certain things at that time. But when he comes back to
his house, he does not wear that dress, because he has to do certain
other things. Therefore, it is one type of action that he does when
he is in uniform, and he does another type of action when he is not
in uniform and when he is not on duty.
In the same manner, there are
two types of dharmas which are to be followed by us. It is not just
one type of dharmas which has to be practised by us all the time.
When we go to our office and do work there, we have to follow one
particular type of dharma, but in our houses, we have to follow
other duties which have been ordained on us. Thus, there is a type
of duality as it were. In the morning, we perform certain household
duties, and when we go to our offices, we do other types of duties.
We have to do both of them, and only then God’s grace will be
bestowed on us. If we follow only one type of dharma throughout in
the house as well as in the office, it will only lead to
indiscipline, conflict, instability and peacelessness of
mind.
To sum up, Hinduism is like an
ancient footpath with no beginning and which was not founded by
anyone. As long as we walk on it, it remains clearly visible. But
when people stop going on it, the footpath becomes covered with
shrubs and grass. When the main road is blocked due to some accident
or there is some diversion provided, we again think of the footpath
and start walking on it so that we may again reach our destination
more quickly, and the footpath becomes visible once again. The
footpath may remain covered with grass for some time, but it never
gets destroyed. For some time, because it has not been in much use,
it may suffer some decay. But God incarnates Himself in the form of
an avatara to resuscitate that path. Sri Krishna says in the Gita
:
ªÉnÉ ªÉnÉ Ê½þ vɨÉǺªÉ M±ÉÉÊxɦÉÇ´ÉÊiÉ
¦ÉÉ®iÉ*
+¦ªÉÖilÉÉxɨÉvɨÉǺªÉ iÉnùÉi¨ÉÉxÉÆ
ºÉÞVÉɨªÉ½¨ÉÂ**
He uses the word ‘glani’ here and not the word
xÉÉ¶É or destruction. He
refers only to decay and not destruction. Our Hinduism has had no
birth and therefore it has no destruction also. Therefore, it only
suffers some decay in between. At the time it undergoes decay or
degeneration, God incarnates Himself in the form of an avatara to
bring it back into its full use once again, or great mahapurushas
appear in order to set things right, or some jnanis are born to save
our religion from decay.
Thus, God had incarnated
Himself in our country in the form of Rama, Krishna and others. In
other countries, God comes only in the form of Messengers, but in
our country God himself has come in the form of Rama, Krishna and
others.
In the Kaliyuga, we are still
in the first quarter of it only, and it will take many years before
God will appear in the form of Kalki avatara. So, we have had great
Mahatmas or great saints who have appeared from time to time. In the
Bhaktavijaya we find a description of the lives of these great
saints.
There are also thousands of
jnanis who have been born from time to time to resuscitate our
religion, like Sant Jnaneshwar and so on. It is only when there is
utter decay that God incarnates himself, otherwise he sends only his
representatives who are his amass only. When there is decay,
automatically God incarnates himself to set things right, and,
therefore there is no question of our religion being destroyed at
any time for ever.
Due to environmental
conditions, it may appear that our religion is decaying and that
suffering is increasing. In fact, the whole country is suffering
now. All that we have to do is to follow the ancient footpath of the
Hindu religion which was not laid down by anyone but which has come
down to us since ancient times, and it will definitely take us to
the ultimate goal. It is unfortunate that what is anadi is anatha
today, so to say. But there is no need to despair. Mahapurushas are
born from time to time to save our religion. So many Maharshis had
been born earlier, and so many are still to be born in the future
also. As long as everyone does his duty and follows this footpath,
there is no need to worry, as he is sure to reach his destination
safely. All that is required is that everyone should do his
anushtana, acharana, karya and duties with faith or
sraddha.
Whenever there is any sign of
decay, there should be a spirit of revivalism or renaissance. It is
our duty to see that the footpath is not covered with grass. The
only way to ensure this, is to continue to walk on the footpath.
Instead of merely indulging in precepts, we should start putting
those precepts into practice. If people listen to good advice but
forget about it later, it is of no use. After listening to good
advice, everyone should start practicing it. After listening to Sri
Krishna’s advice, Arjuna did not keep quiet but started putting the
upadesa into practice. Hinduism stresses not only precepts but
putting things into practice. All the religious discourses would
serve their purpose only if the teachings are put into practice. As
long as we do our duties and put our precepts into practical action,
everything will be all right. The duties ordained on us and the
dharmas enjoined on us should be practised by us. A father should do
his dharma as a father, a mother should do her dharma as a mother, a
daughter should do her dharma as a daughter, a teacher should do his
adharma as a teacher, a disciple should do his dharma a disciple and
so on. Every person should do the duties cast on him or her,
properly and with faith. Only then will our religion start shining
once again.
Therefore, people should
understand the basic features of our Hindu religion, arrest the
present state of decay and bring about a renaissance of our
religion. It is the collective responsibility of all of us to ensure
that the decay is arrested and there is renaissance once
again.
If everyone starts doing his duty properly, the
necessary environments or atmosphere will be created for this. After
all, the world is not so bad as it is made out to be, and,
therefore, by doing our duties, we shall be able to bring about a
glorious renaissance of our Hindu
religion.
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