Hindu Society and Nationalism - Shankar Sharan -

In this talk, the speaker points out how Hindus today do not grasp the complete meaning of dharma as postulated in the classical texts and how as a result, have deviated from dharma. He says that modern Hindus have digressed from the path of courageous conduct as outlined in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other classical texts of Hindu tradition. This failure of modern Hindus to understand, adhere to and safeguard dharma is attributable to an incomplete reading of classical texts. He quotes the famous sukta from Manusmriti which calls upon Hindus to perform their duty to protect their dharma and the dire consequences of abstaining from this duty. He talks about the contemporary coward Hindu attitude of turning a blind eye to bitter truths and facts that are inconvenient or hard to face. It is imperative for Hindu society to break the silence on such controversial issues as religious demography. Only a fearless approach to social and religious problems is in accordance with the millennia old tradition of Hindu society.

He also laments the modern Hindu attitude of censorship and says that this has resulted in exacerbating cowardice and worsening existing problems. For instance, it is foolish to say that “development is the solution to all problems” when in reality we don’t have the courage to face the true problem. In this talk, the speaker also clarifies that dharma is not the same as religion. Modern Hindu thinkers such as Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda followed the tradition and dared to speak the truth even in adverse circumstances. On the whole, the speaker inspires us to follow in the footsteps of these great thinkers by saying that if we truly believe in the timeless truth of the Upanishads, then we must have the courage to speak the truth and stand by the truth.

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