I distinctly recall an anecdote which I read in my childhood. There was a young person with a small child of about six years of age. On a Sunday, the father wanted to take rest after a hectic week but the child insisted on playing with him. The father joined the child but soon got tired and genuinely wanted to catch up with sleep. On further insistence by the naughty child, the father thought of keeping the child busy in some difficult puzzle activity. He took out the magazine lying on the study table and found the map of India on one page. He quickly tore the map into small bits of paper and asked his child to join them into map of India. He was sure that the child would take hours to join the map and thus he would have adequate time for a nap. He had barely closed his eyes when his child woke him up and put the joined map of India in front of him. He was astounded at the sharp wits of his child but asked the child how the map could be joined so quickly. The child replied that it was easy. He had scanned through the magazine earlier in the day and there was a full-size photo of a man on one side and map of India on the other side of the page. The child quickly joined the parts of human body familiar to the child and once body parts were correctly joined, the other side had map of India correctly displayed. I have often quoted this inspiring anecdote in my public speaking with the young students to highlight that when humans unite, India automatically becomes united.
The other day I went to a temple in the military station. After the Aarti, the Pandit Ji said in Hindi, “Praniyon mein sadbhavna ho, Vishv ka kalyan ho.” So far, I was taking these things as mere rituals but now I realise the importance of such saying. Hindu religion was always so large hearted and liberal. Hindu religion always prayed for the well-being of the humanity, good of people from all religions and always promoted welfare of the world at large. The depth of Hindu religion and Hindutva is just dawning on me and I am amazed at the liberal thought process as also easy acceptability of everyone into its warm embrace. Those of us blessed to be born Hindus have to realise the immense potential of their religion. The unity of Hindus should be a natural process, much above the cast considerations.
I keep wondering why we should be concerned about the unity of Hindus in India, a country with almost 100 crore Hindu population. The Hindu population of the world is estimated to be approximately 1.2 billion or 120 crores, which is roughly 15 per cent of the world population. This makes Hinduism the third largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. India’s Hindu population is estimated to be more than 1 billion or more than 100 crore people, which is roughly 78 per cent of country’s population. With such large population base, India is home to 94 per cent of world’s Hindu population. The Hindus in India speak so many languages and it is but natural to have a variety of rituals, prayers and customs in the faith. Yet Hinduism is the larger binding factor which should unite the Hindus in India. Without any disrespect to any other religion, Hindu religion should be able to protect its interests and Hindu believers should feel safe in practising this religion, anywhere in the world.
I also notice that Hindu women in the society do not play equal role in the propagation of Hindu religion. Hindu women are almost half of the Hindu population which is a staggering number in itself. The Hindu women have major influence on the family and thus their focus is restricted to the immediate and close family members. I feel that Hindu women, particularly those with larger following should propagate the idea of unity amongst the Hindus. The women can be role model for embracing a casteless Hindu society. In areas where there is clearly defined matriarchal society, the movement to unite Hindus can happen much faster. The women can play much more proactive role in the unification of Hindus, for the larger good of Bharat and the world.
We also know that ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. Such call for unity is not necessarily a religious call but a national duty. The example of Hindus of Bangladesh is a case in point. The Hindus of Bangladesh have united because their survival is at stake. Therefore the unity of Hindus is essential for their existential cause, in the immediate and long term. The political messaging of such unification is also important but the acceptance of thought and wisdom has to come from within, in a natural way. The interests of the Hindus have to be inherent in any administrative and economic decision in India.
Hindu religion has to remain dynamic and contemporary with the changing times. Unity in diversity is a Bhartiya way of life but the unity of Hindus is the premise for the idea of a diverse India. The way Ayodhya Ram Mandir has come up, Hindus all over the world are flocking to have a darshan of Ram Lalla. Hindu faith requires many more catalysts like the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. Besides the optics, the unification of Hindus in thought, action and belief is essential for the realisation of Viksit Bharat @ 2047.
