Can we defend our ignorance?

That Frontline is a Marxist rag is no new knowledge. Yet, many amongst us diligently follow its articles (alongwith those published on fellow travelers like Outlook, Kafila, Caravan, Scroll, etc.) to retain a window to working of those convoluted minds. As a rule, any note on Hinduism/Indian culture, published on any of the above has to be derogatory and an attack on the Hindu way of life. More charitably, at max, they could be called rants of paranoid, jaundiced eyes, which see nothing but evil in their own roots.

With the huge success the left-liberal intelligentsia has scored in its four decade long efforts towards a collective dumbing down of the masses, resulting in a situation where leftist truisms have become unchallenged conventional wisdom, it is no wonder that the old Indian tradition of critical enquiry has taken a backseat. Statements get made and they get accepted without question. Quite a change from the days when even the route to knowledge was through constant questioning, synthesis and analysis of facts!

Any person who studies the public and parliamentary debates from the pre-independence era would be excused if he/she is astounded at the depth of knowledge and thinking of the opinion-makers and sections of the general public. Rare would be situation where a statement/action on the Hindu way of life would go unchallenged. The result of these intense debates were a greater understanding and acceptance of the need for change in customs which governed the Indian people. Today, we have reached a stage where any Tom, Dick or Harry can make any unsubstantiated comment on Hinduism and even ‘practising’ Hindus either swallow it without questioning or find themselves hard-pressed to counter the insinuation/calumny effectively. True, there would be bunch of knowledgeable people active on the Internet trying to counter the leftists but let us be realistic. Just how effective are they? Who reads them? Do they manage to reach, preach and convert those who are not already converted? Do they manage to make a dent in the impregnable fortress of non-knowledge raised by Marxists over the last many decades? The answer is - sadly, no. Not only are such activists constrained in their outreach (just how many have internet access and how many of them actually read such ‘heavy’ discussions?), they are further constrained by the success of Marxists in moulding thought process and sensibilities of large sections of Indians; whereby any talk on religion is deemed regressive, where it has become an accepted fact that the salient features of Hinduism are caste system, horrid rituals and oppression of the backward classes and women.

If the above seems harsh or unduly pessimistic, let’s take a simple test. Almost all who know about Hinduism know about the caste system, where Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras form the caste hierarchy (in descending order). Now, many of us also ‘know’ that this caste system has been sanctioned by the Vedas, the biggest proof being the Purush Sukta of the Rig-Veda. Based on this common knowledge, Frontline, like numerous others, has no qualms in claiming such sanction, offering as proof ‘…the Rg Veda speaks of four major castes, tribes being outside the then localised caste scheme: “Brahmana was his (the Supreme Being’s) mouth, Kshatriya made of his arms; the Vaisya his thighs, and the Sudra generated from his feet (RV.X.90.12), says the particularly sacred Puru-sasukta hymn’

Now, Purusha-Sukta is one of the most used Vedic hymn, recited a large number of rituals and ceremonies. It is chanted during the worship of the Vishnu, during havan or simply as a part of the daily prayer. Its importance can be further judged from the fact that other than the Rig-Veda, it appears in numerous other Aranyaka, Samhita, Upanishad, in addition to the Bhagvat Purana and Mahabharata. Hence, very clearly, a hymn which most religiously inclined Hindus should be aware of.

Yet, the very fact that assertions such as those of Frontline go unchallenged, underlines the painful reality of my contentions above. As anyone who would have read the said Sukta would know, it is some 24 stanzas long. The entire Sukta talks about birth of the Purusha and his sacrifice in a yagna. It is from that sacrifice that the four castes were born from the said body parts of the Virat-purusha.

ब्राह्मणोऽस्य मुखमासीद् बाहू राजन्यः कृतः ।
ऊरू तदस्य यद्वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ॥१२॥
Meaning:
12.1: The Brahmanas wereHis Mouth, the Kshatriyas became His Arms,
12.2: The Vaishyas were His Thighs, and from His pair of Feet were born the Shudras.

But that was not all, the hymns continue and state:

चन्द्रमा मनसो जातश्चक्षोः सूर्यो अजायत ।

मुखादिन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च प्राणाद्वायुरजायत ॥१३॥
Meaning:
13.1: The Moon was born from His Mind and the Sun was born from His Eyes,
13.2: Indra and Agni (Fire) were born from His Mouth, and Vayu (Wind) was born from His Breath.

नाभ्या आसीदन्तरिक्षं शीर्ष्णो द्यौः समवर्तत ।
पद्भ्यां भूमिर्दिशः श्रोत्रात्तथा लोकाँ अकल्पयन् ॥१४॥
Meaning:
14.1: His Navel became the Antariksha (the intermediate Space between Heaven and Earth), His Head created the Heaven,
14.2: From His Feet the Earth, and from His Ears the Directions were created; in this manner all the Worlds were regulated by Him.

Not only does the hymn does not contain any reference to the people outside the four varnas having sprung from soil (or night soil in the more rabid Marxist versions), a reading of the entire Sukta will conclusively prove to anyone that the supposed hierarchy of the four castes, as deriving it’s sanctity on the authority of the Purusha-sukta is highly contrived. In the yagna, many aspects of the world which we know were created. If legs (from which the Shudras were created) are to be taken as inferior to head (from which Brahmins were created), then the Moon should be our supreme deity as it was born from the mind. Sadly, at no time, either hoary or near past has the moon been worshipped thus.  Likewise, Vayu (wind) should have had a very inferior status as born it was out of Breath (exhaled air which is ritually impure). Earth will anyway be the most inferior, having been created out the His feet, like the oppressed Shudra!

Why did I pick the example of Purusha-sukta? Simply because this is one of the most abused suktas from the Vedas. Abused not only by those vested interests but also abused by us – people who are supposed to know what it is. Unfortunately, even for the relatively better informed sections of our society, Marxist utterances are taken as truth simply because they have been uttered by people who these Marxists have declared ‘eminent’. We may not realise it but hidden behind the mask of Romila Thapars bewailing ‘regression’, are a thousand smiles, smug in the knowledge that they, the Marxists, have won the battle of ideas. It is they, who control what we think! 

Note: For a good commentary on the Purusha-sukta, refer to the link here.