[roots] why is Hinduism so complicated for common man ?

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

This is in reply to a mail sent by Mr. Satish to roots

Thanks to Satish for his mail. I will try to answer a few of his

questions as much as I can.

 

> i have been reading lot of books on Hinduism and attended several

> lectures/seminars from Learned people - and one message they seem to

> give is - Hinduism is like an open book , the evils we see today are

> because of the mis-interpretations among the various " sect leaders " .

> The " generic rules " being twisted by various groups to suit their own

> needs giving rise to thousand sects within Hinduism .

 

Yes. Hinduism is an open book. It is a democracy. We are allowed

to interpret the generic rules to suit the time, place and people.

Does this not show that it more advanced and well planned than most

of the other religions ? The first thing that Hinduism emphasises is

that vyavahArika rules, which are encoded in the Smritis, are bound by

time and place. For example, you cannot bring Krishna to today's

society and condemn him for polygamy. Actions have to be judged by

the customs prevalent at that period and at that place. There are

a very few cardinal rules, which are eternal and valid at all places.

These are like do not intend harm to anyone. It has always been the

duty of the religious leaders to interpret the basic texts as

applicable to the time and place. Most of the so called

" mis-interpretations " are because you are looking at them out of

the context of the time and place when the interpretation was done.

Every word should be accompanied by the kAla (time or era), dEsha

(place, including cultural background) and pAtra (person to whom

it is told). Even the noblest of words can lose its relevance if

removed from its context. So, do not try to torture you head with

an interpretation made a few hundred years back. If they make things

clear, fine. If they confuse you, keep it aside. Look into the

interpretations by modern Acharyas like those in the Chinmaya Mission,

Ramakrishna Math and Shankara Math. These people are no less than

the people who wrote those old books.

 

> Consider the case of a common man whose intellectual capabilites or just

> plain ignorance , who cannot understand that Hinduism teaches oneself to

> lead a noble life and which can be applied to his situation and needs .

> Such a person will just follow someone , so called the " religious

> leader " , who in fact is just a preacher of one of the numerous sects of

> Hinduism . The sect's rules is " hinduism " for this common man . The

> irony is that there are not few but lakhs of such common men .

>

> So , was Hinduism conceived for " brilliant people " only ? Those who can

> introspect and follow the values as applied to them ? Like the Rishis of

> old age ? What then happens for the " common people " who can be led

> astray ?

 

Which religion does not have this problem ? Your question is

like asking " Is the law only for lawyers ? What about the common man ? "

The general principles of every religion or law will be simple enough to

be understood by the common man. All these are just formalizations of the

basic concept of ethics which everyone has. Do you go and ask a lawyer

if stealing is wrong ? Do you need to remember the exact section and

paragraph in the Penal Code to prevent you from stealing ? Approach

religion also with the same common sense. Religion is not something

out of the world. Pure common sense will be able to solve most of your

day to day problems. When you face a very odd situation, where you are

not able to take a decision, then you seek a private session with

Chinmaya Mission or Ramakrishna Math or Shankara Math or any religious

institution of your liking. They will be very happy to listen to your

problem and help you to solve it. They are quite accessible and this

is one of the main purposes for which they are there. I have seen

several people approaching these institutions with such personal

problems and returning back to the world with a clearer head.

 

> why does Hinduism permit " shankracharya " , " madhavacharya " and

> " ramanujacharya " , each brilliant & godly personalities but leading to

> clash between the three sect followers ? why did this happen in the

> first place ?

 

There is a nice analogy by Sri Ramakrishna. He says Rama and Shiva

are sitting under a tree and having a nice chat, but the monkeys of

Rama and the demons of Shiva are fighting with each other. Let the

followers of Sankara follow the Sankara Bhashya and the followers of

Ramanuja follow the Sri Bhashya. Why should they fight with each

other ? They are fighting not for religious purpose, but for money

and power. This fight does not come under the purview of religion.

If they can say, " I was able to get Vishwarupa Darshana by following

Sankara Bhashya, but not by following Sri Bhashya " , then let them argue.

The people who fight are they who have read but not followed what they

have read to its logical conclusion. Sri Ramakrishna who followed so

many paths, each to its conclusion, did not have any doubts about their

validity.

 

> Then , isn't the very fact that Hinduism is so vast and flexible the

> cause of the erosion of values in this country ? Shouldn't it be

> simpler ?

 

If you are not able to control the horse should you break its

leg ? The strength of Hinduism is that it is vast, flexible

and comprehensive. If you try to limit Hinduism you will be

depriving it of its very essence. You need not know and understand

everything about Hinduism. Do you think you can contain all the

ideas and ideals of the people who lived in this holy land for

thousands of years ? You will go mad. For that reason should you

burn all the wonderful books and keep only those that are possible

for one man to read ? That will be foolishness. The common sense

approach will be to take want you want as much as you want from

the vast store house of ideals called Hinduism and live up to it.

 

With love,

Gomu.

 

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