From: rangok@pitt.WPI.EDU (Rangaswamy Keshavan)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: opinion
Date: 14 Dec 1992 21:13:45 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: pitt.wpi.edu

It really is a shame to see a country such as India coming to such a state of
being.  The Hindu religon, in it's basic, essential nature, is a forgiving, 
all encompassing religon.  There is no place for the hatred of Muslims which
so pervades the Hindu population in India and here as well.  Muslims have as
much a right to live in India and have their sacred buildings respected as we
Hindus do.  What has happened in the past is over and done with.  There is no
way that we can go back and fix the injustices that have been done to Hindus in
the past by the many groups that have "conquered" India through the past.  The
world is a much different place now, and India has a position in it such that
no country can touch her.  This is the first time that she has enjoyed such a
position.  She should use that to make herself strong.  By that, pride needs to
be instilled in each and every Indian, from the very rich to the very poor, and
all should work towards building a country which can be proud of it's present
and future, as well as it's rich past.  India has a lot to teach the world, 
mainly because of the Hindu religon.  It says a lot for Hinduism that it has 
withstood the test of time and strife and is still a strong and viable religon
in the world.  But, the Hindu religon is much more than it's many Gods, Godesses
and Heroes.  It is a philosophy of life which suggests Unity amongst everything
in the Universe and an underlying consciousness which pervades everything and
everyone.  This does not exclude anybody, as other religon's tend to do.  
Therefore, everyone and everything should be held sacred, including Muslim's,
their religon, and their artifacts of religon.  That it is not is a crying shame
to Hinduism, or more so, not to Hinduism, but to the people who preach and 
practice this type of hatred that does not become a Hindu, or a human being for
that matter.  By it's very nature, any type of hatred is against everything that
the Hindu religon stands for.  All the great figures in the Hindu religon stood
for LOVE in capital letters.  That is the true message of the Hindu religon.
Destruction only brings about destruction.  For every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction.  India is in serious trouble of dividing up into many
warring factions.  The only way to stem this is for Hindu's, Muslims, Sikhs, and
all the other troubled groups within and without the country to come together as
one, and say, yes I am an Indian, and it is time to put aside these age old 
problems and get on with building a shining future for ourselves.  Their are
terrible problems facing India without all this infighting.  Breaking into many
different countries will only make things worse.  There is no doubt in my mind
that when India and Pakistan decided to break in the beginning, that was a
serious blunder that has set the stage for all the troubles today.  Instead, at
that time, they should have stuck it out and made every effort to live together.
The only reason that different types of people cannot live together is because
of prejudicism.  We see what that brings forth all over the world.  That is the
biggest sin of mankind.  The beauty of Hinduism is that it's underlying belief
is everything is ONE, everything is united by an unbreakable force, which
is GOD/LOVE.  People should tap into the current of LOVE and begin living life
in harmony with all that is around them.  I do not mean to preach my beliefs to
anyone, but I have found that Transcendental Meditation, as taught by Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi, is a great tool in understanding the nature of oneself, which in
turn brings greater understanding of ones religon.  All religons in the world
are based upon LOVE.  It is the corrupt mind that takes the message and muddies
it up with base feelings and actions.  TM helps the mind to achieve a state of
unity with the underlying reality of nature, and thereby allows one to shape 
his/her life in unity with the true aspect of nature.  I have noticed since I
begin this practice 13 years ago many changes in my mind as to how I perceive
the world around me.  I am not saying that all should go and learn TM, just
because it works for me.  But, there are many other ways to explore the true
nature of ourselves, and the Hindu religon maps many of them.  If Hindus made
a true effort to rediscover the wonders of our religon, then it can once again
shine as a towering example for all of Mankind to strive for, no matter what
their religon be, for they are still one with all of us and with everything.
Xref: sparky soc.culture.indian:41501 soc.culture.pakistan:18542