THEISTIC AND ACTIVISTIC HINDUISM

In addition to the absolutistic kind, there are two other major categories of Hinduism. One is theistic or devotional in its disposition toward the divine. Social activism characterizes the other one.

Rāmakrishna Paramahamsa was one of the main exponents of theistic Hinduism. He conceived of God as both Father and Mother. With devotional passion, he worshiped both. To Rāmakrishna, religion was something universal, something akin to language. We find them in every country of the world. As a result, the sharing of religious views was to him a productive pursuit, and he experimented with different religions including Islam and Christianity. However, I do not think he believed any religion had the right to hegemony, the right to become universal by subjugating or exerting dominance over others—as some of the Western religions have tried to do.

It sounds to me like Rāmakrishna was a proligious human being, somebody way ahead of his time. Today, more than ever, we need more of his kind. Religion is something we should share. The different avenues of belief or worship should be there for each individual to choose, and no religion should claim supremacy over the others—as if any of them had proof of a direct connection to God. Anybody not familiar with the Ercian concept of Proligion can read
Ercian Testament - Part One, chapter 4, “Proligion,” and chapter 7, “A Final Word on Proligion.” You can also check Ercian Testament - Part Three, chapter 27, “Proligion Revisited.”

The leading figure of social activism as a religious path to God was Mahatma Gandhi. In the words of Arvind Sharma, social activism in Hinduism “is characterized by nonviolence, courage, faith in God, truth, ecumenism, self-sacrifice, social service, and a whole constellation of similar virtues pursued for the good of all” (Sharma, 1993, p.17). It cost Gandhi his life. The assassination took place in 1948, because he favored the division of India to create the Islamic state of Pakistan. Nevertheless, those are good virtues and worthy of appropriation, the ones enumerated above. If there is one I would only include conditionally on my list is “nonviolence.”

Nonviolence works when those in power—the subjugating parties—have a conscience. Thanks to Gandhi and his supporters, the British gave up their ambitions and granted India their independence. Led by Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement in America brought about laws that produced positive change for blacks. However, we defeated Hitler with guns, not through peaceful protests or by throwing roses or other flowers a la Dalai Lama. The U.S.S.R. dissolved its empire voluntarily, when Gorbachev realized it was futile and suicidal to continue the communist format. That change came from within.

What should we do with tyrants and dictatorial systems that do not want to give up power? What should we do with those that have no conscience? The prime example, and one that hits close to home in my case, is Fidel Castro and his oppressive regime in Cuba. As a good disciple of Machiavelli, Castro was astute enough to disarm the population. Citizens cannot own weapons. To avoid a coup d’état, even those in the military have limited and controlled access to armaments.

The miserable coward continues to violate human rights and victimize dissidents with impudence. He is a bully in charge of a nation, nothing more. The sad part of this whole scenario is that nations with the power to confront and overthrow this tormenter do nothing to change the situation. I guess they expect the defenseless Cuban people to take to the streets and spill their blood in a hopeless attempt to regain their freedom. Maybe, they are right. Perhaps, that is the only way to fight the monster. Those freedom fighters may not win, and the death toll could reach the thousands, but at least they would have recovered some of the dignity lost in all these years of peaceful submission.

When nonviolence is but an empty gesture, slay the beast. Cut off the head of the snake. Kill it. Those vehemently opposed to such methodology have the right to protest nonviolently.

Bibliography: Sharma, A. (1993). Hinduism. In Arvind Sharma (Ed.), Our Religions (pp. 3-67). New York: Harper Collins Publishers.