Decoding my Cultural Heritage as I understand it
As I have grown and matured, I have become more and more aware of my Hindu cultural heritage. Here, I discuss some key ideas with regard to the term Hindu in a Q and A format.
HOW did the term ‘Hindu’ come into existence?
It is a label that was given by foreigners/outsiders to people of the land of Bharat. The Greeks and Persians used the word Hindu (Persian pronunciation of the word Sindhu) and Indu to denote the country and people living beyond the Sindhu (Indus) river.
WHO were these people?
Hindus were (and are) a very diverse group of highly community oriented people of a spiritual and enterprising character. Freedom of worship and belief was their norm such that, each village had its own chosen deity; each kula (family lineage) had its own chosen deity; and each individual had his or her own chosen deity (ishta devata). Languages changed every few villages as did clothing, food and beliefs.
Yet, these people were all tied together by certain universal values that their learned scholars, scientists and thinkers had cognized, experienced and realized in deep states of awareness. These first scientists called Rishis theorized that there were certain universal practices of living that were conducive to wellness, health, prosperity and evolution while others were not. At the same time, Hindus also realized that while there are common universal laws that govern nature and existence, these universal laws were expressed in a variety of different ways in nature. No two trees were alike, no two people were alike. They understood that difference is to be celebrated and respected because to do otherwise would be to live out of sync with what IS. They concluded that, as the seasons change, as the times change and as the land and environments change, so too must the ways of living change for one to live in harmony with oneself and one’s surroundings.
As a culture, they overwhelmingly adopted practices that gave fruits of wellness in mind, body, society and spirit while discarding those that did not. This could explain why so many of their tried and tested practices have universal and timeless appeal and application.
These common threads of self empowerment, self sufficiency, self control, self rule and self evolution have been the underlying fabric of Hindu society for many millennia. There was belief in reincarnation- not because it was a doctrine or dogma prescribed by someone or written in a book, but because people deeply considered different possibilities and realized it to be something that made sense. All beliefs were free and open to challenge and change and reinterpretation by learned and wise people. Therefore the practices that survived over time were those that were willingly chosen by most people most of the time.
Outsiders came and looked at the indigenous people with their own style of thinking and wrote about the Hindu people and their culture, tradition and practices based on what THEY understood them to be. The indigenous/native people of Bharat were not interested in studying the “other”- because what would be the point of that? They believed that once one understood one’s own self, the world in all its mystery and secrets would become clear. They had learnt through trial, error, questioning, contemplation, experimentation and practice that what is outside is only a reflection of what is inside oneself. They believed that managing one’s own mind was the way to manage the world. Perhaps for this reason, as a culture, Hindu people never went about conquering others to force others to follow one way or belief nor did they as a culture attempt to exploit or plunder another. They understood the counter productiveness of forcing one’s opinion on others and saw it as a violation of personal freedom and space. Their well considered beliefs in Karma, transmigration of the soul, reincarnation, unity in diversity and one supreme consciousness perhaps was the reason for this live and let live attitude.
Their social systems of varna vyavastha and jati originated from a deep understanding of human nature and aptitude which were highly effective in managing human resources and productivity. It is not surprising then that populous India had the largest share of the world’s GDP for more than a thousand years. It is not by accident that people from all over the world were looking for ways to get to her land, her wisdom, her products and commodities.
This is not to say that all people of the land were law abiding citizens and no social ills existed. Certainly there existed anti-social elements as they do in every society. There were thieves, and cheaters and manipulators. There were those who were selfish and abused their power and ill-treated those in positions weaker than them. Yet, compared to other contemporary cultures, society flourished and produced an extraordinary number of great scientists, inventors, thinkers, scholars, artists and warriors. It is not by accident that the universally applicable sciences of Yoga and Ayurveda came from India. It is also no accident that many first discoveries were made in this same land.
WHAT ABOUT CASTE AND COWS?
Caste comes from the Portuguese word Casta that denotes ideas of race, breed and purity. It is a colonial framework imposed upon Hindu society. The European colonizers applied their values of high born royalty, low born serfs and feudal society and mapped it to Hindu lifestyle. The result is where we are today where many Hindus as a result of poor quality education, misinformation and disconnect with root culture, themselves have bought into the colonial racist trope of caste. The indigenous Indian socio economic management system is the Varna and Jati based system that is aptitude based, skill based and fluid and flexible.
Many are now becoming aware that the flexible and evolving skill and aptitude based system of Varna was wrongly set into a racist birth based hierarchy through the British determination of Caste. In present day India, people are finally de-colonizing by seeing this alien idea for what it is and are dissolving caste consciousness in every aspect of Indian life.
AND THE COWS?
Hindus acknowledged that the gentle natured Cow, was the source of much needed nutrition and sustenance to people just like a mother is to her children through her milk and caring. Hence the Cow was given the stature of Mother and was respected as such. Therefore, it is deeply troubling to the Hindu ethos when the beloved cow (and any creature) is mercilessly slaughtered in large numbers in her own land. They understand that such actions of unnecessary harming of other beings will have deeply damaging karmic effects on all.
SO ARE ALL HINDUS VEGETARIANS?
Hindus eat a wide variety of foods both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. It is a culture that appreciates that each person’s nutritional needs should determine their diet without causing unnecessary harm to natural resources. Meat eating was freely practiced by many people of the land-particularly by the warriors and the laborers. A vegetarian diet was realized to be conducive to higher intellectual pursuits by keeping the body and mind clean and light and so it was a diet predominantly chosen by teachers, scholars, priests and those on the spiritual path of self realization. Hindu food is based upon time tested best practices developed over millenia. Their foods include many healthful spices, herbs and seasonings that enhance their food’s taste, nutrition, absorption and assimilation. Khichadi is the quintessential Hindu comfort super food.
HOW DID THIS CULTURE SURVIVE AND THRIVE FOR SO LONG?
Indeed, Hindu culture is the oldest living culture that has survived and thrived inspite of the many odds it has continuously faced. While most ancient cultures were erased, became irrelevant or were lost in the sands of time only to inhabit museums, the Hindu way of life endured. Perhaps one reason could be because Hindus have always had full agency to critique, comment and tweak their culture, beliefs and way of life and come up with alternatives to suit the times and contexts of today.
It is important to note that if today many urban Hindus do not take advantage of or engage fully with their root culture, it is because of a poor quality colonized education and resulting self loathing and feelings of inferiority towards their indigenous ways. This lack of respect keeps them from delving in deeper and studying their culture deeply and gaining expertise in its different aspects. As a result, Hindus disconnected with root language of Sanskrit must rely on outsider interpretations and conclusions which more often than not create more self loathing. What is happening in Hindu society today is a churning of ideas where there is a significant number of people who realize the benefits of reviving root culture that will perhaps reinvigorate Hindu Dharma and bring about unique solutions to solve many challenging world problems of today- Just as the culture has been doing for millennia.
At last, present day Hindus are introspecting. They are discarding their colonized lenses to clearly see their own way of life as understood and defined by Hindus themselves. As they wake up from their colonized slumber, the most wise and learned among them, will use existing Hindu knowledge-base to come up with new Smritis that are in sync with the times.
Today, Hindus live all across the globe and originate from different countries and races. Non-indigenous Hindus are people who honor and practice the Hindu way of life of personal responsibility towards family, society and self. They practice Yoga and meditation under their Guru lineages, they worship various different deities, some do not worship any deity. They are grateful to the Rishis and the people of Bharat-India, who gave to the world an ever evolving way of life of living in harmony with oneself and the world.
REASON FOR WRITING:
Our world would do well to acknowledge the contributions of these mostly gentle people and their ways so that their egalitarian and universally applicable best practices are available for more and more people to choose from. When Hindus are abused and vilified, when Hinduism is disrespected, maligned and misrepresented, we all lose….all of existence looses.
As a kind and open-hearted people, the Hindus have given to the world many many great things including the idea to revere all of creation! Now, isn’t that just awesome??!!
FURTHER READING:
https://www.vedanet.com/why-varna-is-not-caste/
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