Religious traditions that survived
the colonial experience have done so with a bruised and even battered sense of
self. Colonialism undermined Hindu pride and the confident profession of a
Hindu self-identity. This was not just the consequence of political
subjugation and economic exploitation. The religious traditions of the
colonizers, with exceptions, entered as partners in empire building, reflecting
the colonizers disdain for India’s indigenous traditions.
British imperialism was echoed in
exclusive theological claims that manifested themselves in religious writings
and educational institutions. Hindu traditions were stereotyped and
identified with superstitious beliefs and oppressive practices. Profound Hindu
religious insights and ethical teachings were rarely commended.
From the nineteenth century onwards,
the Hindu response to this colonial legacy has been a special concern with
fostering pride in a Hindu identity.“I am proud, “ said Swami Vivekananda to
his Indian audiences, “to call myself a Hindu.” Today, it is easy to recognize
the continuing centrality of pride in Hindu discourse, both in India and in
Hindu Diasporas around the world. It is expressed best in the succinct
and well-known slogan, “Say with pride, I am a Hindu-garv se kaho hum Hindu
hai.”
However, even as Hindu communities
sprout up in nations across the globe, Hindus still struggle with this battered
religious self and painfully see it continued in a younger generation. Many
Hindus are hesitant to profess their religious identity in their workplaces, at
their schools or universities, among their peers and in intimate personal
relationships. And so the task of restoring religious pride is ongoing.
The future of the Hindu tradition,
however, cannot be secured by a discourse that focuses only on pride. There are
dangers in an exclusive focus on Hindu pride.
Although pride and self-criticism
are not incompatible, pride often resists self-criticism. Today, there are
Hindus who see the self-critical approach as one of weakness, and even as a
replication of colonial voices. They worry that self-criticism increases
vulnerability to proselytization.
Though understandable, it will be a great
tragedy if the Hindu tradition concedes to colonialism its freedom to be
self-critical. Hindu vulnerability to
proselytization is not a consequence of self-criticism; it is, in part, a
consequence of our failure to be truthful about oppressive structures within
our tradition and our failure to identify and commend Hinduism’s essential
teachings of human equality, dignity and justice.
We are not flawless and the Hindu
past is not unblemished. The future of our
tradition, however, is not contingent on a perfect past or on immunity to criticism in the present. It
depends on its ability to address human problems and to promote the flourishing
of all human beings. It is dependent on our ability to creatively and
constructively interpret tradition in a changing context. In accomplishing
these purposes, self-criticism is a strength that must be defended vigorously. Self-criticism and deep
commitment to tradition are not mutually exclusive.
Just as pride may stifle
self-criticism, a strident clamor for religious pride can silence religious
humility. Humility (vinaya) is commended as a virtue in the Hindu
tradition, but it is not one that is prominent in contemporary Hindu public
discourse. Like self-criticism, it may even be perceived as a weakness.
Humility has deep theological roots
in the Hindu tradition. In so many of its sacred texts and traditions, we
are reminded that God is always more than we can define or comprehend with our
finite minds and symbols. No single way of speaking exhausts and says
everything that may be said of God. Therefore, we can only profess our precious
religious commitments with humility and openness to learning from others.
However, unflinching pride can make
interreligious dialogue very difficult. It tempts us to be careless with truth
and to make exaggerated historical claims for our tradition. We are likely to
always compare ourselves favorably with other traditions. Untempered
pride closes us to the wisdom that is available from religious sources other
than our own. Acknowledging the theological value of the religious other
is treated with suspicion and condemned as a lack of commitment to one’s own
tradition. Without humility, pride easily degenerates into arrogance. A Hindu
tradition that problematizes interreligious learning will not flourish in a
world that continues to grow in religious diversity.
If we allow the need for pride (garva)
to be the dominant hermeneutical lens through which we read our tradition and
its history, our attention will be narrowly focused on our own community. There
is the real danger of identifying religion with nation and ethnic group.
We are likely also to miss its deepest and most spiritually
transformative teachings that address universal human needs.
There are theological insights at
the heart of the Hindu tradition that free us from unfulfilling conceptions of
self and enable lives of compassion, promoting work that aims to overcome
suffering. These teachings inspire us to be advocates for justice,
dignity and the equal worth of all. The value of a Hindu identity should be
found in a commitment to these teachings.
Reading our tradition with a
self-critical humility, a concern for truth (satyam), and the overcoming
of suffering (duḥkha) better
guarantees its continuing relevance
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