Why Hindu Outrage against Taliban

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>subadmin (AT) swordoftruth (DOT) com >vaidika1008 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com >Sword of

Truth web magazine -- Issue# 2001.03, April 1st, 2001 >Sun, 1 Apr 2001

22:46:20 -0700 (PDT) > >Dear Reader: > >Welcome to the April 1st, 2001 edition

of the Sword of Truth >online magazine. >Magazine URL:

http://www.swordoftruth.com >Editorial URL:

http://www.swordoftruth.com/swordoftruth/editorial/editorial.html >

>International courts of justice have laws to punish criminals who >perpetrate

ethnic genocide against people, but to what court does >the world turn when an

invaluable part of humanity's timeless >heritage is mutilated, desecrated and

unceremoniously liquidated in >the name of religion. The loss of Bamiyan's

Buddhas must surely >be termed as one of the most painful and irreparable blows

to the >shared culture of the world. How does one begin to measure the >impact

of a tragedy that has robbed our future generations of a >piece of their

historical heritage. The world's future generations will >never experience the

inexpressible calm and serenity that radiates >from the benevolent countenances

of the two giant Buddhas who >have been smiling down at the people of

Afghanistan for centuries. >Instead what they will see are gouged out hollow

cliffs littered with >bullet holes and shards of rock shattered to bits. They

may even >walk on the sand under the cliffs of Bamiyan, never knowing that >the

very dust that they tread upon maybe the last remnant of that >heritage. >

>Regret and sorrow may be the limit of the world's reaction to such >a

monumental crime, but what about the people who have always >viewed Siddhartha

Gautama as the fountainhead of spirituality. >What about the Hindus and the

Buddhists who revered the >Buddha not just as a figure of divine inspiration,

but indeed as the >sacred symbol of self-enlightenment itself. > >Why then was

the world press so surprised that Hindus and >Buddhists all over the world

reacted with such immense outrage >and anger as they did. Was it not human to

expect the protests that >raged across India, the birthplace of the Shakyamuni?

The burning >of the Muslim holy book, the Quran in India was the only form of

>protest that the Hindus and Buddhists could employ to let the >followers of

Islam know what it feels like when your religious icons >are desecrated and

destroyed. What other equivalent could they >have utilized to demonstrate the

extent of their hurt and pain? > >What surprised much of the world press was

that the reaction of >Hindus in India was much more potent than even that of

the >citizens in Buddhist countries. Perhaps they do not know that >Siddhartha

Gautama is regarded by Hindus as an Avatar of the >Supreme Brahman. Maybe they

do not even know that the >Buddha as he is widely known today spent his

childhood, youth >and old age in his motherland, India. And if the world does

not >know about the intimate bond that Hindu India shares with their >own

Shakyamuni, then whose fault is it except our own? > >For too long we have

simply looked the other way and nodded >our heads while foreigners translate

the words of the Buddha and >depict him as a rebel who was repulsed by Hindu

scriptures, Hindu >rituals and Hindu social institutions. Despite all the

evidence that >stares us in the face, Hindus have never bothered to defend

>Siddhartha Gautama's inseparable bond with the traditions of >Sanatan Dharma.

The Buddha spoke in Sanskrit, he gave >discourses on such integral Hindu ideas

as Dharma, Karma and >Nirvana. He referred to the most enlightened man as the

Brahmin! >And still we keep mum as theories expounding how much the >Buddha

despised the caste system and the Vedas rule the day. > >It is time we Hindus

reclaim the Buddha and show the world how >this Aryan Rishi tried to renew the

truths that have been >propounded in the Vedas for Millennia. If any evidence

is needed >then one can refer to numerous instances where the Buddha >himself

has asserted his relationship with his Hindu heritage. > >The Sutta Pitaka, the

collection of discourses, attributed to the >Buddha and a few of his closest

disciples, contains all the central >teachings of Theravada Buddhism. In the

Sutta Nipata, the Buddha >clearly and unambiguously refers to the Vedas as the

source of the >correct path or Dharma (Pali: Dhamma). > >Sutta Nipata IV.4 :

Suddhatthaka Sutta -Pure "No Brahmin would >say that purity comes in connection

with anything else. Untouched >with regard to what is seen, heard, sensed,

precepts or practices, >merit or evil, not creating anything here, the Brahmin

lets go of >what he had embraced, he lets go of self. Abandoning what is first,

>the ignorant ones depend on what comes next. By following >distraction, they

never learn to cross over attachment. They >embrace &; reject - like a monkey

releasing a branch to seize at >another. A person undertaking spiritual

practices on his own, goes >high &; low, latched onto perception. But the one

who having >clearly known through the Vedas, having encountered the >Dhamma,

one who possesses that profound discernment, he does >not waver, does not high

or low." > >How profound these words are and how fitting they are to the

>destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. The terrorist regime of the >Taliban

destroyed these monuments as a testament to Islamic >purity. They view the

entire exercise as a purificatory rite which has >rid their land of the taint

of idol-worship, in perfect obedience to >the divine injunctions of Allah as

specified in the Holy Quran. The >Prophet of Islam himself exemplified this

purificatory exercise by >destroying innumerable idols in Arabia. The incidents

are detailed >in the Hadith for any interested reader. > >Even though they were

spoken thousands of years ago, the words >of Siddhartha Gautama himself show us

the correct perspective in >which to view such wanton ignorance as displayed by

the Islamic >purists of the Taliban. For centuries Hindus and Buddhist have

>watched and endured as their icons and places of worship were >desecrated by

the legions of Islamic believers. As a consequence, >to this day the

psychological wounds of past holocausts still haunt >their minds. The

savageries that scarred us thousands of years ago >still continue on today. But

we must remember that such attacks >may crumble our edifices to dust or break

our icons to pieces, but >they can never touch or undermine the foundations of

our faith. For >that foundation is rooted in the infinite vastness of the

Supreme >Spirit. > >Let us take refuge in these comforting words of the

Shakyamuni >who has left us with such gems gleaned from the treasure of his

>own Vedic heritage. > >"He is the true conqueror who can never be conquered,

into >whose conquest no other can ever enter. By what track can you >reach him,

the Buddha, the awakened one, who is free of all >conditioning?" > >

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