Hindu Dharma, the Science of Human Welfare

HINDU DHARMA, THE SCIENCE OF HUMAN WELFARE Only Hindu Dharma can save mankind from disaster -- Anandshankar Pandya Today the dark forces of the world are relentlessly attacking Hinduism which believes in the Vedic dictum “vasudhaiva kutumbakam‟ -- the whole world is one family, „sarvabhuthite ratah‟ -- work for the welfare of all living beings, and „sarve bhavantu sukhinah‟ -- let everybody be happy in this world, and thus inflicting a grave and fatal damage to the future of human race. Hence in its defense facts are being placed before the mankind to enlist their full support for the preservation of Hinduism.

World famous Dr. Anne Besant once said, “without Hinduism India has no future”, and it can well be said that “without Hinduism the World has no future.”

She further said that after a study of forty years or more of the great religions of the world she finds none so perfect and none so scientific, none so spiritual and none as philosophical as the great religion known by the name of Hinduism. The more you know it the more you admire it.

Aim of Hinduism is to destroy the root of misery and evil through truth, non violence, justice and inner discipline of the mind and the soul. The aims of Hinduism is upliftment of humanity in the material, mental and spiritual field through the most scientific philosophy of Yoga and meditation and thus release the divinity in man.

Many religions oppose science and scientific discoveries but Hinduism has always encouraged and welcomed them. It is this scientific, humanistic and cosmopolitan attitude of Hinduism towards the world and its people that has made the top philosophers and scientists of the world look upon the Hindu way of life as universal, scientific, logical and modern.

Hinduism or the Hindu Dharma is a religion of human welfare and universal brotherhood. A religion that taught world powers of non-violence through which Mahatma Gandhi brought independence to India, after which 112 nations of the world became free without violence. It is this religion which can bring eternal peace to the universe. Hinduism is Humanism personified. Sanatan Dharma is the first known religion adopted by human race. It is timeless, eternal and everlasting. There has been no greater contribution to the world peace than this by any other religion.

The basic principle of Hinduism is „ekasthitan sarve bhutantaratma‟ -- only one supreme soul pervades all living being. This concept of God automatically lends a dignity and freedom to mankind and its human rights. Even an ant has the dignity and freedom to life. According to Hinduism man is a potential God and he cannot be enslaved.

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Hinduism is a natural way of life. It is not man made religion founded or created by any Prophet. It can solve all the problems of the world because it is based on the natural laws of Truth, Justice and Logic.

Hindus have a very close understanding of the Almighty. Hindus believe that God is not sitting somewhere very far away from the world. He is every thing and everywhere like butter in the milk or fragrance in the flower. Unlike other religions Hinduism is a religion of great joy and bliss not only for Hindus but for the entire mankind. That is why thousands of educated and intelligent people of the West are following Hindu Swamis like Swami Prabhupadji of HereKrishna, Swami Narayan, Pandurang Shastri, Shri Mahesh Yogi and Shri Shri Ravi Shankarji and many others and enjoying real bliss of life.

Hinduism is the eternal religion, ever changing and reforming itself according to the need of the age and humanity through great spiritual leaders like Bhagwan, Buddha, Shankaracharya, Bhagwan Mahavir, Swami Dayananda, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Gandhi, etc. without any conflict or violence. Hence if the world wants to avoid the conflict of civilizations in the world Hinduism is the only answer, and the philosophy of „live and let live‟.

Hinduism is a religion of duty, and gratefulness towards the elders. Thus a man has different duties towards his father, mother, wife, son, Guru, society, nation, rulers etc. At the same time they all have duties like Putradharam, Shishyadharam, Prajadharam, Rashtradharam, Rajdharam etc.

Hinduism is the path of moral regeneration of mankind through inner discipline. It is a movement against evil. Hinduism is the supreme philosophy of life and is an ocean of knowledge. It is the torch of enlightenment.

Hinduism is a vision for the new millennium and a perception for the 21 st century.

It is a gospel for humanity and the future religion of the world--A universal religion. World‟s oldest religion, Hinduism, is the mother of all religions. Research has proved it. Hence it always tried to promote inter religious understanding religious coexistence and the welfare of the minorities instead of hatred.

According to world famous philosopher Arnold Toynbee, “the world needs non violence of Hinduism for its own survival as war in this atomic age can lead to the extinction of mankind.” Hence Hinduism should be defended at any cost and by all means.

The world is suffering because it has ignored the most ancient and time tested wisdom of its loving mother Hinduism. 21st century has to be a Hindu century.

The future belongs to Hinduism alone because only Hinduism believes in the Vedic dictum „anobhadra kratvo yantu vishwatah‟ -- let noble thoughts come to us from all sides.

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Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India said, “one of the principal aspects of Hinduism that impresses me is its scientific nature”. If anything is found in variance with facts it is quietly forgotten. Hinduism is constantly refreshed and updated. The west had a reformation 500 years ago. We have a permanent reformation.

Hinduism stands for unity in diversity. Hinduism respects all religions hence generates peace. It also stands for the co-existence and peaceful evolutions of all the religious, political, social and economic systems of the world without any coercion because Hinduism is the mother of all cultures and is the only ray of hope in this violent world full of hatred towards each other other‟s religion.

Religious conversion creates tension and hatred among different races. Hence converting others to its religion and destroying their place of worship is a dirty act in the eyes of Hinduism. It never established its colonies of religious slaves as done by many imperialist powers. Hinduism never committed inhuman atrocities like burning people alive for religious conversions or committing fraud and allurements for changing the faith of the masses.

The important factor for the relevance of Hinduism today is that the war in this atomic age will lead to the extinction of mankind but Hinduism can avert the disaster because it believes in “ahimsa parmodharma” and has produced apostles of peace like Shankaracharya, Buddha, Mahavir, Vivekananda and Gandhi who have not only preached but also practiced non violence to perfection.

Vinoba Bhave the greatest disciple of Mahatma Gandhi said, “If science and violence are allowed to exist together they are bound to destroy the world sooner or later”. Hence non violence the eternal message of Hinduism should be made the religion of the whole world as Arnold Toynbee and other great learned people have repeatedly stressed.

For example Hinduism does not believe in first neglecting one‟s parents and then building institutions for them, creating a climate for crime and divorce and then making efforts to rehabilitate the families, nor does it believe in the hypocrisy of attacking the weaker nations and later trying to cover up their sins by dispatching medicines and other aids to the victims of the aggression or making atom bombs and then arranging disarmament conferences. It builds peace from the very foundation.

The atom for peace and the foreign policy of India is the result of ancient philosophy. The Sanskrit word of Dharma means that which sustains human society. Hence Hindu Dharma embraces all the factors responsible for human welfare and growth and can solve all the problems of the world having their genesis in the unbridled passion, greed and violence.

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Hinduism declares that „Gods are pleased where women are worshipped.‟ Hence unlike the West, there was no difficulty for a woman to become a Prime Minister of this country. In India, there is respect for elders and family relations are sincere, selfless and loving due to influence of the Hindu religion.

Hinduism is the science for the betterment of Humanity. That is why it could produce great scientists, mathematicians, artists, poets, musicians, statesmen, businessmen, philosophers, warriors and persons distinguishing themselves in all walks of life, those who have enriched humanity through the development of spiritual powers. This is the reason why Hindus are intelligent, generous and hard working. Even after 700 years of slavery when India got its independence Hindus created great wealth through industrial development and software technology, they have brought massive development in all fields of life. Hindus have left a mark on the world wherever they have gone. C. Rajagopalachari once remarked that, “if there is any honesty in India today, any hospitality, any charity, any philanthropy, and any tenderness to dumb creatures, any aversion to evil, any love to do good, it is due to whatever remains of the old faith and culture.”

The old faith and culture referred to by Rajaji are not merely for Hindus but for the whole world. “Schilling in his old age thought that the Upanishads are the maturest wisdom of mankind. Today that wisdom is essential not only for the rebirth of the Indian nation but also for the re- education of the human race” (India‟s Priceless Heritage--NA Palkhivala, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan Publication.)

Thus it is the religion of mankind.

The dire need of this space age are universality of outlook, unity in diversity, spiritualism, sarva dharma sambhava, non violence, the philosophy of „live and let live‟, a balanced view of womanhood, flexibility, awareness of the supernatural, mastery over science through Yoga, tranquility of mind and preservation of the natural environment for which Hinduism has got great concern embedded in the Vedic mantras. These values for the various corner stones on which the splendid temple of Hinduism was raised by our great Rishis and Avatars--corner stones which have withstood the test of time.

Hinduism is a parliament of religion originated in India. It is very antithesis of violence, terrorism and religious intolerance, said Mahatma Gandhi. Hinduism strives for the betterment of all religions of the world and through them the entire world. Such a religion or philosophy is the priceless heritage for humanity and one of the wonders of the world. Its strengthening alone can guarantee universal religious peace, universal security and democracy. Unlike other religions it never had any political ambitions. Thus enemy of Hinduism is the enemy of human race. To label such a noble religions as communal is the height of hypocrisy and signifies a systematic effort to destroy a great heritage and culture for petty gains.

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Democracy originated in India due to Hinduism. Pakistan and India became independent at the same time but Hindus within a short span of 50years only brought about a tremendous progress peacefully in all fields of life due to the self restraint and family values of Gita and Ramayana which we should preserve at all costs. Hindus in America are progressing very fast in every sphere. This prompted U. S. President, Barack Obama to take 40 Hindus in his team and said that he wants more Indians to settle in America and help in its progress.

Hence if you want to preserve all that is beautiful in the world defend the Hindu way of Life with all your might and by all means. Time is running out. It may be too late after sometime.

Only Hinduism can save India from Disaster According to Shri Chand Sidhwaniji “Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. The concept of Hinduism includes a whole combination of the entire value system, thought process and a very a wide diversity of ways practiced on this land of Bharat. Broadly speaking Hinduism contains all the knowledge, thinking, languages, traditions and the native ingenuity and the collective wisdom developed by our great ancestors from North to South and from East to West of this historic sacred land. Hinduism and Hindutva advocate a complete spiritual democracy. The Supreme court in its landmark judgment in 1995 held that the word Hindus, Hinduism, Hindutva etc refer to a culture of tolerance and universalism they denote the Indian civilization. Under the banner of this slogan the sons of the soil or India‟s silent majority in India can assemble and organize themselves for the purpose of protecting and safe guarding their fundamental democratic right to shape the country‟s future.”

“Independence can be meaningful only if it comes as an instrument for the expression of our culture (Shri Dindayal Upadhya). No wonder ever since after the country‟s independence when we denied Hindutva the status of our national culture, we are witnessing all around the dreadful scenes of dishonest and power and money Hungry politicians stifling our society. They have through corruption looted the poor people of India and sent about 70 lac crores rupees (1.4 trillion dollars) secretly to the Swiss Banks resulting in Maoist dreadful violence in the country.” The condition of the masses in India is extremely pitiable. The rich are getting richer and the poor are becoming poorer because of the heartless capitalism of the West. Hinduism is humanness personified and can save the problem of poverty through spiritual capitalism of the Hindu way of life bereft of corruption.

Western society is suffering from unlimited inhuman, perverted, and immoral sexual desires, actions and crimes which is breaking up family lives because according to Gita unbridled sex is the eternal enemy of wisdom and wise men.

Hence only inner discipline and self restraint of the senses and family values of Ramayana can enlighten the West and save mankind from moral disaster as it 5

has saved Hindu society in history. All festivals, music, dance and arts of Hinduism emit the message of world harmony and spirituality.

Hence in order to protect Hinduism Hindu society and India should follow the Instructions of the Gita: “Mankind should fight against untruth, Injustice and Adharma (Immoral ways of life)”.Lord Krishna says „paritranaya sadhunam vinashayam dushkritam‟-- Crush evil before it dominates the good. A prayer from the Veda -- “O powerful resplendent Lord grant us the courage to fight to the evil forces. Inspire us to overthrow demonic forces that fight against us.”

-- ANANDSHANKAR PANDYA.

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