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In today’s episode let us answer this question.
Udayanidhi Stalin called for the elimination of Sanatana Dharma. Is this right?
Excellent question. Udayanidhi Stalin hails from Tamilnadu, a state in South India. He is a minister in the current administration of the state government. Recently he caused a big uproar by comparing Hinduism to Covid virus. He likened Sanatana Dharma to Covid virus. He said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.
First we should uphold his constitutional rights to free speech. You may or may not like what he said. But you don’t have a right to curtail his freedom of speech.
Ayodhya seer Ramchandra Das offered 10 chores for beheading Stalin. We see these things in Islamic nations. Criticize Muhammad or criticize Quran and some Islamic cleric would put a bounty on your head. Now this is happening even in India. This is not good for human rights. One of our God given rights is to speak up our minds without any fear of retaliation or violence. Rather than upholding these basic human rights, Prime Minister Modi resorted to cheap politics of emotional exploitation.
Subramanoan Swamy said he would work for the dismissal of Tamilnadu state government. Mr. Swamy is a American educated economist. Obviously he does not have much respect for first amendment rights of Mr.Stalin.
Now coming to the content of Mr.Stalin’s statements, he did not mean to eradicate Hinduism as a religion. He meant to eradicate it as a tool of oppression. Tamil Nadu has a long history of fighting for human rights. Tamilians started the Dravidian movement, which rejected the caste system. Leaders like E.V. Ramasami Periyar demanded dismantling of Brahmin hegemony and the abolition of existing caste systems and religious practices.
Caste system is a religiously sanctioned practice within Hinduism. Hinduism enforced a rigid social structure which divided the people into four distinct classes or varnas. These classes were Brahmins, the priestly class; the Kshatriyas, which was made up of nobles and warriors; the Vaishyas, who were the merchants and the Shudras, who were the equivalent of serfs in a feudal system. A fifth category of untouchables or Dalits do not belong to any class.
Bhagavad Gita which consists of a dialogue between the Kshatriya warrior Arjuna and the Hindu god Vishnu disguised as Krishna, explicitly states that membership in each caste demands carrying out of certain mandated duties and that failure to do so will bring disaster.
Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures uphold caste system. Caste system is not a peripheral bad cousin in Hinduism. It is tied to its core teachings: the law of karma and reincarnation. The miserable lot of Dalits is punishment for bad behavior in past lives. Even today Dalits are not allowed into temples in many places. Your karma dictates the caste you would be born in your next rebirth.
Caste, karma and rebirth go together. You cannot eliminate caste without eliminating those two cardinal doctrines of Hinduism. Even Gandhi knew that. He worked for the uplifting of Dalits without questioning the caste system. Because he knew that as a true Sanatani or orthodox Hindu, he could not ask for the elimination of caste system. Buddha questioned the caste system and led to his ouster from Hinduism. Today the majority of Buddhists in India are Dalits.
So, what Udayanidhi Stalin is true. India cannot achieve social justice as long as Sanatana Dharma holds its sway on its masses.
Christianity is the solution to the caste system because when we put faith in Christ, we become members of one body, the body of Christ. No matter what caste or color or creed, we become children of God in Christ.
That is my answer to your question. I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this matter. Please post them in comments section.