Notion Press
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First Published by Notion Press 2017
Copyright © Satya Shri 2017
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ISBN 978-1-946515-53-7
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Contents
Preface
xi
PART I
1
Chapter 1: Introduction
3
Chapter 2: Ancient World Civilisations
36
Chapter 3: The Aryan-Anaryan Divide and the Vedic Times
81
Chapter 4: The Greek, Roman and Zoroastrian Connection
114
Chapter 5: The Aryan Scriptures Proliferate
124
Chapter 6: Origin of Castes—Shudras and Antyajas
153
Chapter 7: Shudras Enslaved Permanently Through Economic Sanctions
190
Chapter 8: Brahmins Capture Religious, Educational and Social Apparatus
199
Chapter 9: Brahmins Control the Political System
274
Chapter 10: Widow-Burning or ‘Sati’ as the Brahmin Ploy
293
Chapter 11: Bhakti Movement and Hindu Reformation
315
PART I
Chapter 1
Introduction
Recently I was invited to address a gathering of police officers and other ranks in a police academy on the
‘Impact of Religious Traditions on Hindu Society’ where some of their top brass was also present. I asked them
five questions to begin with. The first was: do you know the hierarchical caste system operates in India alone
in the whole world? The audience did not believe it true as it insisted it must be a universal phenomenon.
My second question was: when was the reservation system for jobs started in India? Most in the audience
said it was 1947; others said it was in 1950. When I told them the system was designed by our priestly class
more than 4000 years back, they jaws were ajar in wonderment as to this new discovery. The third question
was: when was the first trade union born in India and the world? The audience had some hazy idea of some
100 years back but could not give a date. When I told them our brahmins formed the first trade union in the
world, it was beyond what they could digest. My fourth question was: who started the ‘divide and rule’ policy
in India? The unanimous answer was that the British did so in order to rule over India by dividing the Hindus
and the Muslims. When I countered by saying that the brahmins had done it some 4000 years back by dividing
the Hindu society into small hierarchical and mutually jealous social groups called castes, I could see their
eyes blinking in amazement. Yet, it was my fifth and the last question which stumped them all when I asked:
“what would you say if the constitution was amended to provide for inheriting of offices from father to son or
daughter, which effectively means that the sons and daughters of the president, prime minister, chief ministers,
ministers, supreme court and high court judges, Governors and Ambassadors, MPs, MLAs, IFS, IAS and IPS
officers, University professors and all teachers, inspectors and constables, chowkidar and safaiwala included—
all government employees—would compulsorily inherit their fathers’ jobs on their retirement.” There was
an immediate uproar against such an out-of-this-world proposition, questioning the very logic of such an
absurd condescension. The officers kept their counsel to themselves but the staff members vociferously and
vehemently contended that they would go to a court of law against such an order. When I countered saying
that the Supreme Court and High Court judges and MPs also wanted their sons to take their place as the
constitution had been amended to that effect, there was an eerie silence in the auditorium signifying that they
were at a loss to realise what to do in that event.
While appreciating their concerns, I added: “Are we not living in a society which has been doing exactly
the same thing by giving positions of fathers to their sons, as a matter of caste rights, for the last 4000 years?
A priest’s son alone had the right to become a priest and no one from any other caste still breaks the code;
kshatriyas alone had the rights to take up arms. Similarly, a farmer’s son was a farmer, a cobbler’s son had to
be a cobbler, a scavenger’s son was a scavenger, as all of them were forbidden to aspire anything other than
their caste duties, euphemistically called jatidharma. Yet, none protested it. It was the dharma (duty) of the
king to enforce the tenets of varnashramadharma laid down in the sacred shastras like Manusmriti to which
every Hindu bowed in awe and respect, as something dawned from the heavens. Manusmriti was, you can say,
the constitution of the Hindu society in accordance with which all social, religious, political and economic
relations were regulated till the British uprooted this ‘ancient Hindu tradition’ in 1861. There was differential
treatment in regard to the quantum of rights and obligations of different varnas, according to this constitution.
Nobody protested and if somebody did, he was taken care of by those who had the responsibility to regulate
and control the society i.e. the brahmins and the kshatriyas, the ruling class comprising 10% of the population.
The Brahmin occupation had framed this constitution and had reserved exclusively for themselves 100%
reservation in the six elite intellectual occupations of learning and teaching Vedas (this was the only education
in those days), conducting for self and others the yajnas, and giving and taking donations. It was also the
first trade union in the world which acted in concert to protect its class interests against all other varnas and
interpolated scriptures to provide for it. All priests would steadfastly protect their class interests against other
Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
castes but would wrap it in Sanskrit shlokas saying these were the God’s commandments. The brahmin-kshatrya
duo jointly regulated and controlled the society—one formulated and the other enforced. Jatidharma i. e. caste
duties were fixed for all and none could change or challenge those prescriptions as these were proclaimed to be
‘God-ordained’. No caste other than the brahmins could even attempt to become a priest because they would
not be taught Vedas in Sanskrit by the brahmins. The whole exercise was aimed at ensuring that the brahmins
and kshatriya duo would not be challenged by all others. There was a provision in this constitution that the
shudras could be punished severely if any one ever heard a Veda mantra: there are shlokas which pronounce the
penalty of severing the shudra’s tongue or pouring molten lead in his ears if he ever dared to learn Vedas. Why?
Because brahmin-kshatriya duo—who were the joint rulers—ensured that they and their progeny were not
threatened by any competition for the jobs they had earned for themselves. Therefore, shudras were physically
prevented from gaining any kind of education or property so that they remained ‘village servant castes’ and
served the brahmins and kshatriyas for all times to come as their sole ‘jatidharma’. They were assured they
would be re-born in a higher caste if they served the savarnas ungrudgingly in ths birth. This is the principal
reason why there were no traditions of acquiring education among the shudra castes till recently when Sarv
Shiksha Abhiyan was started. The shudras were all landless as they herded animals or worked as artisans or as
farm labour in the lands owned by the kshatriya landowners or carried dirt on their heads. If they too gained
education, who will herd their animals or work as labour in their fields or do the scavenging jobs? No vaishya
or shudra could ever dream of taking up arms and become a kshatriya, even in dire emergencies—when
foreign barbarians attacked the land. You must have heard how Eklavya was made to sever his thumb for the
temerity of learning use of bow and arrow from the idol he had prepared of Guru Dronacharya; because any
competition was anathema to a steady social order created by the brahmins. It was the duty cast upon all kings
to ensure that the shudras could never own property or learn skills so as to become a threat to the brahmins
and kshatriyas. This is the essence of the varna system. The brahmin-kshatriya duo feared that the shudras, if
they gained education or learned martial arts or owned any property, could revolt against them. The reality
was however camouflaged in terms of ‘purity’ of the brahmin, valour of the kshatriya; and the ‘impurity’ of the
shudras’ occupations into which they were bounded. This is why we find that all ‘martial castes’ in India are a
kshatriya tradition, which continues in our army even today in the form of caste regiments. Nowhere in the
world, there exists any martial or non-martial hereditary segments of population. This account should answer
all the five questions raised in the beginning of the discourse.
When I told the audience, for their enlightenment, that according to 1931 census (the last time when caste
census was undertaken by the government), the brahmins comprised 6.4% population among the Hindus but
had 70 to 80% share in bureaucracy (in the top positions, it was close to 99%); the kshatriya castes comprised
3.7% and had 10 to 15% share whereas 2.7% vaishyas had about 10% share. The rest, the shudras though
comprising 85% of the Hindu population had a mere 2% share of government jobs, most of these being the
scavengers and manual labour. You can easily translate these percentages into literacy rates of the respective
varnas in 1931. If you want to know the current percentages of reservation for brahmins, all you have to do
is to look around and see the number of brahmins in elite positions in the bureaucracy and elsewhere in the
country and how they select newcomers for the jobs, to understand the whole gameplan. It is only now that
interviews have been barred from the selection process for insignificant jobs, to provide for transparency.
Brahmins’ current share in bureaucracy is about 60% though it would be close to 80% in the top layer in the
central and state governments. If you see the composition of present central government cabinet, there are
42 brahmin occupation ministers out of a total of 78 which translates to 54% brahmin representation against
their population of about 6%. If you see the functions they control among themselves, you will find they
command almost all the vital departments, leaving servicing departments to others, exceptions apart (like
the present prime minister). There are backward class, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe ministers too but
they are there to serve as the face of the communities they hail from. As a matter of fact, they are the face
of the government among their communities to explain the government policies to the people. It explains
the brahmin grip over the society in general and the government in particular. It is easy to assess how much
transformation has taken place in Hindu society over the past 4000 years.
When I asked the audience whether they still felt proud of their caste and the caste system, there was a
strange kind of ambivalence and every one kept his counsel to himself without looking towards me. I was happy
4
Introduction
to have raised more questions in their mind than I had answered. That was also the intent of my addressing
them.
It is with a similar purpose while I present this work to you: it should shake your mind from complacence,
and compel you to ask questions as to why we have inherited such an abominable social structure, and its
belief and practices.
Study of Ancient Civilisations
No human civilisation has ever prospered aloof in a remote corner of the world. If some people wanted to live
undisturbed, their neighbours would not let it pass. It is part of human nature to reach to other people and
turn them to their side. In ancient times, there were trans-migrations of tribes in search of adequate food and
shelter thereby impacting alien societies and affecting its demographic index. Study of ancient civilisations
helps us understand common human history as well as their ancestry and recognise unique characteristics of
those ancient peoples which separate them from others. Ancient civilisations have been found in China, India,
Egypt, the Mediterranean, the Greece, Rome and West Asia. By acquiring basic knowledge of these fascinating
cultures, we are able to compare some of their fundamental characteristics and review the remarkable
innovations they contributed to the world’s scientific and cultural heritage. We also examine reasons for their
flourishing and decline, looking both at the archaeological record and scholarly thought in their treatises.
The Perennial Human Questions
Preserved in their writings and sometimes coded into their artwork, we find the Egyptians and Indians asking
the perennial questions which have always bugged humankind and answered the questions that all societies
ask. What happens after death? How was the world created? Where does the sun go at night? Lacking any
real scientific understanding they answered their own questions with a series of myths and legends designed
to explain the otherwise inexplicable. Some of these myths passed from Egypt to Rome, and other parts of
the world, and have had a direct impact on the development of their modern religious beliefs. Reading and
understanding the ancient stories allows us to abandon our modern preconceptions, step outside our own
cultural experiences and enter a very different, life-enhancing world. Believing that the dead could live beyond
death, the Egyptians buried their dead as mummies in the Red Land, with all the goods they considered they
would need in what they thought of as the ‘afterlife’. Ancient Egypt is important to the modern world: Egypt
offers inspiration, stimulation, valuable knowledge and an insight into modern culture. Indian civilisation
is equally remote, having begun in nature worship—like any primitive society—grew in a forest culture but
flourished by giving to the humanity exquisite philosophical thoughts as its contribution through its scriptures.
This civilisation gave immortal precepts on which humanity could be proud of, and is the sustenance of
its modern people providing it continuity and vitality. It answered all these questions though some of the
precepts are limited today to scriptures alone and have been buried under the weight of its excrescences, yet
the effulgence of its pearls of wisdom is still a guidepost for the humanity at large and a source of inspiration
for all Indic religions despite the passage of more than four to five millennia.
Indian Civilisation
We find India’s populace becoming a microcosm of the whole world as diverse racial elements from different
parts of the world exhibit their unique physical traits in different regions of the country. India becomes a very
interesting field of study for several reasons. There is hardly any country in the world (except the present
United States of America in the making) where almost every blood strain can be found almost unsullied to
the present. We shall study diverse composition of Indian society through entry of several racial tribes into
this vast sub-continent at different intervals with unique characteristic of social exclusivity which weakened
its social fabric over a period and became recurring sufferers of foreign depredations. The physical features of
the existing population in different regions still exhibit the regions these races hailed from. If it is asked what
is the most important attribute that distinguishes Indian society from others—also a reason for its uniqueness
in preserving its past—good or bad—is that the entire population still remains a sort of mechanical mixture of
various races which refuse to become a chemical compound like in Europe, even today.
5
Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
Learning about India’s History from its Neighbours
Hindus have been the most derelict people in the world in maintaining record of events in their history. Its
neighbours though were not that negligent and we can learn much about India’s history, its religion and its
people through their accounts. Thus we learn how its fierce neighbours stomped outside India’s borders in
ancient times and invaded India at intervals like pauses to regain strength. Vedic civilisation has been studied
in the past in isolation of its neighouring civilisations with the result that a limited eye view had become
available to us. It is of importance to know how the invading tribes gradually overpowered and enslaved the
indigenous tribes which led ultimately to their perpetual subordination in the form of the immutable lower
social classes. The formation of Aryans and Anaryans as social classes forms the backdrop in which Vedic and
post-Vedic civilisation grew and flourished in this country. The hold of its priestly class over other segments—
true of any ancient society—becomes the permanent feature in India. It is amazing and enlightening to know
how this miniscule segment became supreme over all others and established a hereditary priesthood and
became the sole regulator and controller of Hindu society. That it played havoc with its social fibre in the
millennia to follow is the subject of our intensive study in the succeeding chapters of this book.
Phases of Indian Civilisation
Development of Indian civilisation must be seen in four distinct phases if we exclude the period of Indus
Valley Civilisation as a separate phase: first, as the Aryan influx when the foreign element interacted with
the indigenous tribes with evolution of Vedic and Upanishadic philosophies in its literature; second phase
began with Jainism and Buddhist revolts against the brahmin orthodoxy of wanton violence against the men
and the beasts when they diverted Upanishadic teachings to suit their theistic and worldly needs; third stage
can be linked with Islamic invasions in the 8th century onwards which continued till the 16th century as the
whole social and political class remained subjugated under an alien religion and society; and fourth stage of
development can be linked to the arrival of the British traders who replaced the Mughal rulers and brought
India closer to European civilisation and the modern world. Foreign invasions of various invaders starting
from 5th century BC onwards but before the advent of Muslims, is not counted as an independent phase since
all these tribes have been fully assimilated and subsumed in Hindu mainstream society and do not leave any
independent footprint on the Hindu society except as castes. It is notable here that the development of Hindu
hierarchical social structures—known as castes—has been a singularly unique phenomenon of dominantsubordinate or the ruler-ruled relationship but often wrapped in ‘purity-impurity’ debate. Though a purely
sociological phenomenon, it has been viewed with religious connotations since it survived solely as an outcome
of wrapping it in religious philosophies by including the same in various dharmashastras.
Advent of Buddhism and Pacifism in India
Advent of pacifism in India after Buddhism emasculated its inhabitants of the fighting spirit, played a
tumultuous part in the events of its history which followed. It is a historical fact that several foreign hordes
were stomping outside India’s Western borders in 6th century BC when Achaemenid tribes invaded India. Rise
and spread of Buddhism is the cause of Huna invasions because the ‘rosary beads could never be a match for
the sword of the savage’. As Buddhism seeped in the blood veins of Hindus, they totally abandoned the skills
of aggression and empire building and became cowards to the core. Buddhism thus rendered Hindus as the
‘doormat for the ruthless barbarians’. As a result, even agriculture, noble profession of the Aryans, was despised
since ‘it hurt and killed the insects while ploughing’ in the soil. This was the beginning of the decadence of
Hindu society as ahimsa (non-violence) took roots and became the principal tool of its religion. Very soon,
the Greek, Parthians, Shakas (the Scythians), Kushans, the Sassanians, Turks, Mongols and many other tribes
took turns to ravage the glory of its civilisation rendering its hereditary priesthood fatalistic as it took a flight
to forests ‘in order to save religion and to meditate’. This ultimately led to growth of excrescences and suffused
Hinduism with it. Buddha’s and Ashoka’s times can be said to be the precursors of these bloodhounds at
India’s borders. The surprising element in the whole episode is that all invading tribes, except the Turks and
the Mongols, have been successfully assimilated as its warrior class in the varna order and no trace of their
independent identity, except in castes, is discernible today. Had Turks and Mongol tribes too—who started
coming from the 8th century onwards— assimilated, they too would have been just a few more Hindu warrior
6
Introduction
castes today. This speaks high of the brahminic culture which triumphantly assimilated most of the foreign
blood into a unique kind of homogeneous culture which abounds all corners of the country in what came to
be called the brahminic Hindu society.
Origin of Religion in Nature Worship
Origin of religion and its impact on man’s history, is though shrouded in mystery, yet, its outward forms
became visible when he came out of animal consciousness and started using his brain. Fear of the unknown
occupied a prominent place for man in all primitive societies as he apprehended damage from the forces of
nature. This is how primarily religion arrived in human society. Nature was the least understood phenomenon
and thus caused terror in his mind. This fear of the unknown gave rise to the august profession of priesthood as
its practitioners claimed they had a remedy to divert the tragedy befalling the man. Man started worshipping
nature gods in all civilisations presuming that by doing so, he would be saved from their evil eye. The priests
gained respect and awe from the community. The priests composed some hymns which they would recite
to calm down the fiery spirits and to invoke gods to heal sickness and to bring sons, plenty of rains or good
harvests etc. The priest was a sort of panacea and was needed at every step. His worship was directed towards
natural forces like rain, lightning, earthquake, sun, moon, wind, fire etc. as nature gods became the first deities
for him. He personified them in his own form i. e. as a robust and valiant man and not as a woman. At this
stage, he was almost entirely dependent upon the powerful forces of nature amidst which he was placed. He
cultivated a spirit of awe and reverence towards these gods, sang their praises and offered sacrifices along with
his prayers with a view either to propitiate them or to secure their favour. Nature gods were thus glorified
human beings and are therefore neither wholly natural nor wholly super-natural. Though such a faith appears
simple and child-like, still it has a philosophical basis, signifying a conviction that the visible world is not
in itself final and that there is a reality lying hidden in it. This kind of animism continued to be a part of his
nomadic life for several millennia till his consciousness took him to a higher level of worship which emerged
in all the nature’s characteristics attributed to one agency of God who was conceived as controlling all natural
phenomena.
Nature Worship in Europe and Elsewhere
In ancient Western societies too, the human progress began with nature worship forming a substantial part of
the religion; forests, swamps, oceans, mists and lightning which were deified. Later, when big empires emerged
like the ones in Greece and Rome, secular laws were framed. There emerged principles among the enlightened
classes that people should govern themselves and not by sons of the kings. A big stride was made in the annals
of human history, made possible by emergence of the resurgent middle classes at the root of which lay human
exploits of adventure and commerce.
Gods are deemed arbitrary powers who can do anything they like whereas men have to observe moral
laws and have to be in constant fear of the gods. Bertrand Russell, the British philosopher has observed, ‘Fear
is the basis of religious dogma as of so much in human life. It is the fear of nature that gives rise to religion. The
conception of divine powers as just and merciful, as benevolent and friendly, is a later growth.’
Priests as the Ruling Elite
In ancient times, those manufacturing words in the praise of the Almighty were seen as nearest to the God
as they were the ruling elite in cohort with their warrior brothers. As a consequence, manual labour was
not given its due though everyone’s sustenance depended upon them. Intellectual labour is valued higher
compared to physical labour in all civilisations. Values of different kinds of labour are formed depending on
the resources required to learn the skill as well as its future utilisation as it also becomes subservient to the
pervasive value system. Another method to enhance value of intellectual property—as the unique concept
developed in India alone—was to deny opportunity to all others to acquire such valued skills. This essentially
formed the backdrop of development of later brahminic culture in which other segments of the society were
left with little opportunities. We shall see impact of this corrupting influence on religion, social, cultural,
political and economic set up of the society.
7
Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
Brahmin Supremacy and the Hindu Society
Hindus have all along exhibited a total lack of consciousness of its history. No books of history are found
among its treasures which comprise sacred literature alone. Any inference about its ancient past, therefore,
has to be concluded on the basis of related evidence in these treatises composed by its priestly class, which
undoubtedly are too many. The whole history, religion, social and cultural, are brahmin compositions and
nothing else has been found worthy of record. Indirect evidence of some historical accounts are available in
these treatises though. Vedic and post-Vedic Hindu civilisation, therefore, entirely belongs to its priestly class.
As a matter of fact, if you take out the priestly class out of the realm, there is hardly anything left worthy of
mention behind.
Redactions of Hindu Scriptures
The phenomenon of castes has been interpolated in Hindu scriptures by its priestly class as this intrinsically
inhuman and obnoxious practice was tolerated because it was camouflaged as a religious precept and gained
sustenance from its faith in a time when the weak tribes were suppressed and tormented by the strong invading
tribes as a matter of right, all over the world. Though it was a ruse for perpetrating unjust domination by
the victor classes over the defeated tribes, it was a normal historical evolution of jungle raj in all primitive
societies. What marks a difference is that the Hindu society remained stuck in this primitive state as its priestly
class refused to move beyond its vested interests whereas the rest of the world moved ahead and became
egalitarian in due course of time. We shall see in elaborate details as to how the dominant tribes (castes)
prevented subordinate tribes from coming up the social and economic ladder by denying them entry into the
coveted occupations through withholding the right of education and of bearing arms. For fear of competition,
the brahmins would not entertain any non- brahmin in their gurukulas; the kshatriyas would not let anyone
gain arms training: they had complete hold over the land which is the main source of generating income in
an agrarian society. As a result, the landless shudras were forced into menial and defiling occupations as they
turned ‘village servant castes’ in the villages. It is no small wonder that the brahmin-kshatriya duo succeeded
in suppressing such a vast humanity (9 times their own size) for over 4000 years! Now that doors of education
have been opened for the shudras and the erstwhile untouchables with some job reservations in sight, there is
a hope of their redemption in the near future. As a consequence, caste walls have started melting and we find
some kind of egalitarianism spreading among the Hindus.
Various Interpolations
Therefore, what shastras taught sometimes was the corrupted part. Shastras need not be condemned but those
who inserted the impurities must be. No scriptural book is pure today: all of these have been corrupted by
the crafty brahmins who have interjected material suiting their class interest in later times. Religion plays an
overwhelming influence over man. Such is the power of religion over man’s mind that one can defy a man
over anything but not a command of the God! This is the reason why everyone complied with what the priests
pronounced as the shastras’ commandment. Hindus have been made to believe all along that every word of
shastras is God’s command. This was especially significant when the non-brahmin could not read the covenants:
the brahmin priests refused to teach it to others. The scriptures were pure Ganges, no doubt, but these become
polluted owing to sewerage drains falling into it soon after it crossed the Himalayas. Notwithstanding, equally
potent is the power of ignorance which can blind a man to the world’s realities. We shall study this and other
related issues as we proceed.
Redactions in Metaphysical Treatises
Vedas, Upanishads and Sutras were pure metaphysical treatises which were redacted by later brahmins by
incorporating provisions which enhanced their religious and social status in the society. The intensity and
urgency with which brahminical privileges have been codified and defended in Manusmriti, Puranas and
dharmasutras and other scriptures is remarkable. Major aim in Manusmriti seems to be to immortalise the
supremacy of brahmins, and to some extent, of the kshatriyas. There are repeated assertions of inviolability of
8
Introduction
brahmins’ person and property. He has immunity from the death penalty, from taxes, and from confiscation
of his property. The king is advised repeatedly that a brahmin’s property is poison, stealing a brahmin’s gold is
one of the five grievous sins and death penalty was to be imposed on the perpetrator. Devotion to brahmins
is a cardinal virtue of kings. “Refusal to turn back in battle, protecting the subjects and obedient service to
brahmins’’ is shown as a cardinal virtue of the kshatriyas.
Equality and Brotherhood in Hindu Treatises
The ideas of equality and brotherhood are not a modern thought which have come to us from Europe. Our
own scriptures pronounced equality of all humans in the ancient scriptures but the same have remained
limited to the books alone as their effulgence was successfully obfuscated by the fiendish priestly class to
protect its own vested interests. Our scriptures carry the best and highest of philosophies in the world but were
interpolated by the later priesthood as its true spirit remained clouded under the excrescences. It happened
because of monopoly they created over the profession: absolute power corrupts best of the minds. So, there
are two worlds: one of our scriptures—the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagvadgita which have nuggets of
incomparable sagacity and wisdom in them, and the other is the real world of Hindus who do not know what
these treasures contain; and curse day in and day out that Hindu religion is perverse and anti-humanist. There
is nothing wrong with the basic precepts of the scriptures: it is the later growth which needs to be identified
and weeded out to restore the health of the religion and the society. We are going to do precisely this task as
we progress in studying salient features of our ancient civilisation and its scriptures. It is more than clear that
those who criticise and condemn Hindu scriptures have read only the corrupted parts.
The Glass Ceiling
Another important aspect is breaking the glass ceiling that brahmins have created against any other caste
adopting priesthood by denying them education and training in Hindu scriptures in the ancient past. The
traditional hereditary priesthood has never been challenged as it is still 99% brahmin. It is the last barrier to
be broken before Hinduism can be pronounced an egalitarian faith. This is not an easy goal and an alternative
route has to be found to religious education to all those who care. We shall discuss the issue at length in the
book towards developing the concept of a universal Hinduism.
Vanguard of Hindu Intellectualism
Brahmins are the vanguard of Hindu intellectualism, and they hold the key to interpretation of the scriptures
to the masses. All religious traditions are their assets which has enabled them to be held in awe and esteem
by the masses. Brahmins’ prestige and status is an outcome of these factors. There appears no reason that they
will ever consent to a movement the ultimate result of which is to destroy their power, prestige and status.
Intellectual class is the most influential class, if not the governing class. This class can foresee, can advise and
give lead. In no society does the mass of the people live the life of intelligent thought and action. The religion
in India is still controlled only by its brahmin priestly class who have successfully thwarted any attempt of any
other social group to put any credible challenge to their authority. All religious texts, without any exception,
are still Sanskritic and have not adopted any vernacular for the fear of creating a challenge to their authority.
The only people who have adopted a vernacular for the religious texts have claimed to be a separate religion,
the Sikhs. To date, there is no authoritative translation in any vernacular of any ancient scripture.
Importance of Vedas, Upanishads and Other Scriptures
Post-Vedic period of Brahamanas, Sutras, Aranyakas, Upanishads, epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata,
Puranas, Smritis, Sutras, Vedangas, Upavedas, Darshanas, dharmashastras, Samhitas, Vrittis, Vartika,
Vyakaran, Tippani, Subhashitam, Agamas, Yantra, Tantra, Mantras kind of occultism, all are relevant for such
a study, as we shall come to certain conclusions in regard to development of these forms in Hindu religion and
society.
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Poetical and Legendary Accounts
In these perspectives, when we study Vedas, Upanishads, Aranyakas, Brahmanas, Smritis, Sutras etc., two
interpretations are given to the hymns: firstly, a poetical and legendary account; and secondly mystical,
termed highly mysterious and very difficult to understand the vast ‘hidden’ content. Sacrifice in the Vedas was
later linked with renunciation and was interpreted to mean giving up all worldly possessions and ultimately
surrendering to the supreme power.
All Hindu Sects Share the Same Ideology
The difference among different sects of Hindus are more or less on surface, and the Hindus as such remain a
distinct homogeneous cultural unit, with a common history, a common literature and a common civilisation.
It was made possible by brahminism as they spread in all nooks and corners of the land, to regulate its social,
cultural, political and religious life uniformly. Vincent Smith has observed, “India beyond all doubt possesses
a deep underlying fundamental unity, far more profound than that produced either by geographical isolation
or by political superiority. That unity transcends the innumerable diversities of blood, colour, language, dress,
manners and sects. Hinduism though is not a definite dogmatic creed, but a vast, complex but subtly unified
mass of spiritual thought and realisation, primarily owing to a uniform class of priesthood all over the country.”
We shall have many occasions to delve deep into the matter.
Survival of the Brahmins through Subterfuge
The kshatriyas were the only people who fought wars after brahmins dedicated themselves wholly into the six
safe and comfortable intellectual occupations they reserved for themselves. The anaryans had already been
disarmed forever and pushed into slave occupations. This had very far-reaching consequences later for the
Hindu society which the propounders of the varna system failed to foresee. Impact of this characteristic can
be found reflected in today’s Hindu society in its various ramifications.
Supernatural Powers and Hindu Legends
It would be pertinent here to refer to AA McDonald’s views in this regard. The same are reproduced:
“It is the embodiment of the concepts of God and the supernatural powers which humanity beseeches
for their welfare. This deification is expressed by man through his worship in various forms. Legends and
myths developed to persuade the layman to express his beliefs in those events of adventures of their gods and
heroes are like a palimpsest on which generation after generation has engraved its own layer of message for the
posterity to follow. These tales solve the riddles of various natural phenomena in a language best understood
by the laity. Though these are all imagined anecdotes to an intelligent person, yet their personification brings
solidity to a religious tale. These are then given the form of a ballad involving people emotionally. When
these reach the masses as hundreds of years pass by, several new stories and events, unconnected with the
original, get added to it. Hindu scriptures are an embodiment of all such myths and legends—in the form of
stories, primarily of the trio—Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the nurturer and Shiva, the destroyer, and other
characters associated with each of them. In the latter category fall the Lakshmi—the goddess of wealth and
the consort of Vishnu; and Parvati—the benefactor, the consort of Shiva. Shiva’s sons also join the train. The
Hindu triumvirate, much like Christian trinity, occupies a position of centrality in later Hindu mythology, and
a clear diversion from the monotheistic thoughts propounded in the Upanishads. Later, when Puranas were
added, more forms of myths and legends were created. Thus, Shiva telling pearls of wisdom to Parvati; or of
Vishnu conversing with Lakshmi on the bed of snakes within the deep ocean, deciding the fate of the worldly
events; Krishna lifting Govardhan hillock to protect the residents of Vrindavan, are such examples among
thousands, but are deemed true by the believers.”
The birth of Christ by virgin Mary and his resurrection and several miracles performed by him are similar
instances. Hindus’ belief in the purity and piety of cow, an ordinary animal by any standard, has transcended
from the Zoroastrians’ tales who equally adored the animal and used cow or bull urine as purificatory and
curative in several of their religious ceremonies. We shall know more about the link with Zoroastrians and
Europeans and their language, myths, customs and traditions as we proceed to study the ancient Hindu
civilisation guided and steered by its religion.
10
Introduction
The Vedic Religion
The Vedic religion thus became the set of values and norms followed by those people in their daily life. Vedic
religion has evolved purely from the worship of nature, which in later times, became the worship of an equal
number of gods personified as humans and led to observance of complex rituals. How the Sanatan dharma,
a simple form of worship of nature in 33 manifestations, soon evolved into a complex religion with varied
complex rituals and worship of nature gods in human form, is a spectacle to watch. The Rigvedic Aryans
who settled on the plains between Sindhu and Saraswati and then gradually began to move towards Ganga–
Yamuna plains, were wholly dependent on nature. It was later during Purana period that the nature Gods were
conceived as humans (having anthropomorphic forms), their body parts were only figurative illustrations
of the phenomenon of nature represented by them. This was considered necessary for the layman—who did
not have access to the philosophy of abstract gods—was provided personal gods in conceivable forms and
shapes for better comprehension. For instance, Usha, the morning dawn, was presented as a young maiden
being prepared by her mother (night) to come every morning to meet the sun. Similarly, the Saraswati, a
perennial river of the time, is presented as a goddess of learning and wisdom, in the form of an erudite lady
of grace and manners, for which she is worshipped as a goddess and her grace was associated with acquiring
education and culture since various treatised were composed on its banks and it was personified as a source
of knowledge and wisdom. This poetical embellishment has been taken literally by later generations with the
result that Usha (early morning), Saraswati (a river), Indra (a fighter), Varuna (a hypothetical god of waters)
etc. were made deities in human form and set up in the temples for worship by the laity to explain the nature
and importance of the natural phenomena. This feat was achieved by the Puranic priests who fabricated tales
to justify the godliness of these attributes and their manifestations as deities to be venerated by one and all.
This primarily was an outcome of the times when Rigvedic and other hymns did not reach the common man
because the priestly class did not want the puritan hymns to be sullied by the commoners who would simply
not comprehend the abstractness composed in the alien language Sanskrit, of which the priestly class was
exceedingly possessive and did not share for fear of losing their hegemony. The ruling elite comprising the
priests and warriors were adamant in not permitting the lower classes to participate in Vedic yajnas. It is for
such reasons that separate Puranic tales and hymns were composed for them and the partition walls which
separated the masses from them became those of concrete.
Megalomania Among the Hindus—Al Biruni
Later Hindus rate every aspect of their civilisation supreme in the whole world. It is on account of such
megalomaniac attitude as it treats its civilisation the most outstanding: enough that India should be called
the teacher of the world (vishva guru). The fact of the matter is that the ancient Hindu civilisation, especially
the Upanishadic thoughts, was worthy of emulation but later Hindus abandoned their own principles and it
became decadent after the initial surge. Other civilisations flourished and soon overtook Hindu civilisation.
Hindus though have not come out of the delusion and continue to live with the frog-in-the-well policy.
Al Biruni who was then in India as part of Mahmud Ghazni’s entourage wrote:
“There are other causes, the mentioning of which sounds like a satire —peculiarities of their national
character, deeply rooted in them, but manifest to everybody. We can only say, folly is an illness for which there
is no medicine, and the Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like
theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs. They are haughty, foolishly vain, self-conceited, and stolid.
They are by nature niggardly in communicating that they know, and they take the greatest possible care to
withhold it from men of another caste among their own people, still much more, of course, from any foreigner.
According to their belief, there is no other country on earth but theirs, no other race of man but theirs, and no
created beings besides them have any knowledge or science whatsoever. Their haughtiness is such that, if you
tell them of any science or scholar in Khurasan and Persis, they will think you to be both an ignoramus and
a liar. If they travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors
were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is…. Now such is the state of things in India.”
It is not that its priestly class delved into religion and philosophy alone. During the development phase
of its civilisation, it attained apogee of achievements in science, medical, astronomy, literature and arts, to
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Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
name a few. Its priestly and the intellectual class made rich contributions in the fields of science, technology,
arts, medicine and health etc. till about 6th century AD after which dark ages dawned and its society started
decaying as it stopped interacting and learning from others. As it closed its borders, the society became static
and all institutions stagnated. This is marked as the beginning of Puranic period when several excrescences
crept in Hinduism and it became a decaying pool of stagnant waters.
Social Values
Life, unequivocally, proceeded uniformly all over the world though stages of development in different regions
of the world differed. Inevitable inequality of aptitude and function or of chain of command (power hierarchy
in any artificial organisation performing multiple activities) are a point to note. Man does not only think,
he acts. He has not only ideas but values. To adopt a value system is to introduce hierarchy and a certain
consensus of values, a certain hierarchy of ideas, things and people, is indispensable to social life. This is quite
independent of natural inequalities or the distribution of power. In the light of this, the ideal of equality is
artificial. Action is dominated by representations of ideas. Thus, our modern denial of hierarchy hinders us in
understanding the social values supporting the caste system.
Belief Systems and the Social Order
Belief systems are seen as encouraging the existing social order and social stability in ways that rationally
based knowledge cannot. Rationalists fail to understand why believers in systems of non-scientific knowledge
think that they tell the truth and that their ideas are right, even though science has shown them to be wrong.
This proves the potency of religion as a force to reckon with. This also proves the differing stages of social
and intellectual development of man in the respective regions. Hymns composed in the name of the God
have a special appeal to the humans. The simple statements of daily life wrapped as a hymn in an ancient
language (preferably not understood by the layman) appeals to him to have come as a commandment from
the heavens as he bows to it the most condescendingly. We have to look at this from the point of view of those
who believe in these aphorisms. People do not believe in God, practice magic, or think that witches cause
misfortune because they think they are providing themselves with psychological reassurance, or to achieve
greater cohesion for their social groups; they do so because they think their beliefs are correct—that they tell
them the truth about the way the world is.
Essentiality of Religion as Society’s only Regulating Agency
Religion has given birth to all that is essential to society; it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.
The fundamental categories of thought and consequently of science too are of religious origin. There is
something eternal in religion which is destined to survive all the particular symbols in which religious thought
has successively enveloped itself. Thus, religion seems destined to transform itself with times than to disappear.
It has shown its resilience time and again. In communist regimes, for example, attempts have been made to
liquidate it; yet, it reemerges in shapes and forms peculiar to religion. This has primarily occurred as there
was no other regulating agency for the society: state as an arm of implementing rationally thought out laws
occurred much later.
Ancient Institutions of Governance
Hindus have been very proud of their ancient institutions and their governance of religious, social, cultural,
political and economic issues, and some of them often wish to return to those halcyon days. We need to look
for reality beyond the hyperbole. What is important to judge is whether ethical values of these institutions
have stood the test of time or the whirlwind of modern times: shall we be happy living in the olden institutions
of governance? We can reasonably do so by evaluating their strengths and weaknesses and whether they are
valid in the modern times.
Hindu institutions of governance in the ancient past were despotic in nature. All functions of the state
were rolled into one—the king advised, guided and regulated by the brahmin priest. This is true of all Asian
civilisations, including the Muslims. These institutions have not stood the test of time and therefore when the
12
Introduction
new constitution of a free India was drafted, the option existed to choose ancient Hindu law or the modern
equalitarian European laws and other institutions of governance. We shall study this aspect in detail whether
the founders of Indian constitution have made a sane choice while drafting the new constitution.
The Concept of the Ruler and the Ruled
The Hindus never had any army comprising all segments of the society as it comprised only Rajputs and
some other tribes rated as martial. Other than kshatriyas, martial traditions had been extinguished among the
shudras—the 90% population of the country who were barred from taking up arms even against the common
enemy. Not all could join the forces even in its hour of peril. Similar was the case in terms of gaining education
by the people at large. The shudra had no access to general education: other than the savarnas were left with
no option in gaining access to it.
Soil Creates Castes
‘Soil creates castes: machines make classes’, is a phenomenon which has had universal application all over
the globe but becomes significantly important in the context of Indian agrarian society. We need to study
the phenomenon as we analyse the economic counterpart of caste system. The brahminic Varnavyavastha
rested solely on the premise of hierarchical ordering of society in which the landless shudras were perennially
subjected to the lowest ritual status and as permanent ‘village servant castes’ for their sustenance. The Jajmani
system so developed ensured cheapest labour in abundance for all times to come for the dwija castes. The
concept of ritual ‘purity and impurity’—of the person as well as the occupation—became the foundation of
varna system as those ‘impure’ could not be touched by ‘pure’ brahmins and other dwija castes. Even seeing
them became a sin. Untouchability flowed from out of the necessity of touching some of the shudras whereas
the antyajas could not be touched. The shudra has been made a victim of circumstances and was forced to
remain in the cleft of the stick and could not easily escape his bonded state.
The clear demarcation therefore between the rulers and the ruled was very clear: the ruler was the brahmin
and kshatriya—the educated and armed class; whereas the ruled comprised the vaishyas and shudras— deprived
of education and disarmed forever so as to eliminate every threat to the ruling class. The two groups also
epitomised as the dominant and subordinated segments as also distinguished by their respective occupations.
The former were categorised as ‘pure’ and the latter as ‘impure’, a distinction which still lies at the roots of its
social structure. We shall have occasions to make an in-depth study of the issue.
Bhakti Movement
Another important segment to be studied is the rebellion against ritualism of the brahmins as a mode of
celebrating religion. This stridency in carving out an alternate path to worship God resulted in ushering in
of bhakti movement which later flourished in the middle ages, partly under influence of Islam. But its roots
definitely lay in the Upanishadic teachings of yore. The Bhakti reformers preached against bare ritualism, idol
worship, animal sacrifices and unnecessary religious rites, and commended equality of all men and superiority
of none. It was the first call in Hinduism against brahminism for what modernists will call egalitarianism. We
shall have a detailed study of all proponents who spread the noble precepts across the length and breadth of
India—from Gujarat to Assam and from Kashmir to Kerala and the impact it had on the ordinary man.
No Intermediaries Needed for Communion with God
To alleviate the pain of rejection and dejection of the low-ranked working classes in the social hierarchy
and to give them a personal God which the priestly class had denied to them, it was a movement which
began in the 10th century professing that God belonged to all and that He could be worshipped by anyone
in his heart—without involving the priests as intermediaries. This movement was started by a brahmin,
Ramanuj in the south in the 11th century. He made disciples who propagated the idea in various parts of
India. The precept carries significance in that the brahmins’ monopoly over religion was challenged as bhakti
became a successful cult. Performing elaborate yajna rituals was not necessary for worshipping the Lord, it
was claimed. The movement got a fillip with Sufis of Islam backing up the revolt. The meaning of the term
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Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
bhakti is analogous to spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both
emotion and intellection. This bhakti was in vernacular and a reflection of the thinking which Martin Luther
was to develop in the 15th century in Germany when he declared that no intermediary was needed by man
who wanted communion with god.
Greek and Roman Civilisations
Greek and Roman civilisations too flourished in their times giving to the world some of the most important
landmarks in the development of human institutions of which man has been the proud successor. It gave cause
of a big achievement in the field of social thought; yet in actual fact, even this failed to keep pace with growing
economic and social upheavals of the times and the dark ages dawned. It is true of every human endeavour
since human expectations often overtake the creation of law.
Learning about New Cultures
Nothing is quite as exciting as learning about new cultures from the ancient past. Discovering how people
lived their lives thousands of years ago can give a glimpse into the development of humankind as we know
it today. The more we study these cultures, the more obvious it becomes that modern man is not so different
from his early predecessors. We still struggle with the same basic problems and share similar beliefs and
emotions. It also goes to prove that man is essentially the same and has not changed much despite claims to
the contrary.
Feudal Societies in Primitive Times
All societies were feudal in primitive times as the priests and warriors—often in concert with each other— are
found as rulers. How unrelated events change the course of human history and its future can be witnessed in the
history of Western Europe where it was the flight of the poor peasantry from villages, forced by circumstances
of banditry and hunger, to sell their land and migrate to towns to become artisans and hired labour, but had
the unintended result of urbanisation, ultimately leading to industrialisation and eclipsing of feudalism in
Europe. History has proved any kind of confrontation is not bad: all wars have brought more good changes to
the world than all preachings of the priestly class put together.
Caste-like Structures in Egypt
Similar was the situation in Egypt where the handicrafts making reached such a stage that they ought to
remain in those hands only. They were not allowed to pursue another trade. If they did, they were subjected
to punishments, as in India. Hence, every trade reached to a stage of specialised occupation. Just as we do
not know why castes emerged only in India, it is also not known why these restrictions of occupations and
severe punishments were present in only Egypt.
Religion Influences Man’s Behavior
A group or an individual is influenced by all kinds of things but religion influences man’s behaviour the most:
he accepts and respects religious commandments believing these to be emanating from God and hence true.
Religion should be given credit for shaping a person’s image of the world which can affect his view of interests,
and ultimately how they decide to take action. The question of how extraordinary power of divine God may
be reconciled with the imperfection of the world that He has created, rules over. People need to know, for
example, why there is undeserved good fortune and suffering in the world. Religion offers people soteriological
answers, or answers that provide opportunities for salvation – relief from suffering (but in the afterlife), and
reassuring meanings (lest they revolt against the established system). The pursuit of salvation, like the pursuit
of wealth, becomes a part of human motivation, sometimes an obsession in some cultures. Each religion does
it as the priesthood considers it in its own self-interest the most basic function of religion. People want to know
whether they would be eternally damned or not (irrespective of what happens to them in this life), and would
do anything in this life to secure heavens in the afterlife. This is often exemplified by poor, old peasants raising
14
Introduction
loans for undertaking pilgrimages and making donations to crafty priests in order to secure a better place in
the heavens. All humans require reassurance that the world is safe and an ordered place, and that they suffer
in this life for no fault of others and that the exceptions are aberrations. Therefore, all societies have forms of
knowledge that perform this psychological task.
The Omnipotent God
Theories of running the society, the politics, the economics etc. have also been radically transformed as a result
of man’s rational decision-making process. The end result today is that purview of religion has become limited
to what the unseen God does with his subjects in the heavens alone. His authority over the living humans has
been reduced drastically though the ignorant ones continue to attribute to Him all the powers of the Almighty
which were conceived by priests thousands of years back. No God seems to be final as no religion is perfect.
Men today think they can do without religion: perhaps, they do not know that religion is indestructible, and
that the question simply is, which one will you have. As Bernard Shaw said: Civilisation needs a religion as
matter of death and life. Voltaire, the French philosopher has put it more wisely: “Even if there was no God,
we would have to invent one.”
Life in the Primitive Times
The population was scanty, but what was more important and what specially influenced daily life was not
the visible human beings but the invisible spirits. Man had to walk warily; there were pitfalls at every step of
which the demons were always ready to take advantage. Rules and regulations had to be framed to circumvent
them, for the priests taught that the least deviation from the ritual of sacrifice would deliver the offering from
the intended god to the unintended devil. And since the priest alone knew all the minutiae, it was natural
enough that the people to whom it was all important to propitiate the evil spirits as well as the good, should
have willingly granted what they claimed. This also explains why priesthood all over the world has enjoyed
undiluted loyalty from the people.
II
Impact of Renaissance and Reformation Movements in India
We have discussed so far what we intend dealing with in part I of the book. Part II of the book deals with the
regime of ideas which entered India from across the world, especially Europe. It begins with studying the
Renaissance and the Reformation movements in Europe and their impact on Indian society and polity, though
minimal but substantial in the Indian context. This was some kind of revolution in works since such ideas had
an earth-shattering impact. Though Islamic equalitarian ideology already existed in the country for the past
700 years, the same was not absorbed by the Hindu society. These European ideas brought social churning
first among its elite intellectual class and then percolated down among the lower classes. There emerged two
eminent personalities, Gandhi and Ambedkar—often antagonistic to each other—whose prominent role will
be the subject of our intense study in regard to the role of castes in Indian society. European ideas brought
to the firmament the self-respect movements, the equalitarian agitations which these thoughts engendered
among some affected people in the country. As we proceed further in the quest of an India finding its moorings
in the comity of nations, we find a missing link of revolutionaries in the arenas of religious, social and cultural
awakening, needed to extricate it from the thraldom of rotten ideas whose burden it had been carrying since
eons. As India awakened to a new dawn on its political horizon from a thousand years of slavery under the
Muslims and the British, a constitution based on the European institutions of governance ushers in a new
dawn as India abandons its own and adopts modern institutions of governance, giving a fervent call for a
complete social transformation in regard to its religious, social, cultural and political ethos. We shall see the
impact of these revolutionary ideas on the social transformation in the past 200 years of this society as well as
the prospects of further amelioration in the next 50 to 100 years. In the process, a young republic is born and
we find that it is not yet a nation, riven as it still is with hierarchical social divisions and belligerent minority
religionists declining to comply with its notions of nationalism. We shall also have an overview of the impact of
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Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
emerging radical Islam in the background of 700 years of Muslim onslaught in the form of political separatism
in India and its grievous impact on the country’s demography.
Renaissance in Europe
In Europe too, man’s identity was closely affiliated to his tribe and he did not, till Renaissance brought some
fresh air, possess any independent existence. During the Renaissance and subsequently industrialisation,
people flocked into cities and towns from agrarian villages in search of stable jobs and, as a consequence,
tribalism gave way to working class as common interests of workers made them identify with each other—for
earning more money to sustain themselves. These developments led to emergence of three classes of people: the
priests; king, nobles and the landlords; and the working class. With spread of education, Christianity created a
common bondage of brotherhood among the disparate working class. Why institutions like hierarchy of castes
did not develop in Europe is attributable to no vested interest of priests in the social structure since they had
no family of their own. The priesthood though was equally fiendish in Europe. Yet, there was no scope for the
birth-ascribed social hierarchies in the West. Thus, the religion bound disparate tribes together emotionally
through religion. It is true of each civilisation. We shall study this phenomenon at length.
Martin Luther and Religious Reforms During Renaissance
Martin Luther has, all over the world, become a symbol of reforms in religious orthodoxy as he shook Europe
to its foundations by his vigorous and fearless protests against the errors of popery. He was a pioneer rebel
in the sense that he brought out the first vernacular translation of Latin Bible and propounded for the first
time ever that man needed no intermediary between him and God for a communion. As a consequence of
his efforts, Christianity was rid of several excrescences. We shall study this aspect with a view to understand
the undercurrents which made this transformation in Europe successful. As a result of the reformation and
counter-reformation in Christianity, religion became free from large scale corruption and today, church
is known as an institution in the service of the humanity. Hinduism and Islam, two other major religions,
enveloping almost two-third of human population of the world, are in dire need of such a reformative kind
of revolution. Both these religions are waiting for a Luther—to bring out the purity and effulgence of a true
religion in the service of God and the humankind. Asia has failed to produce a Luther in works yet despite the
advent of modernism and modern enlightenment.
The renaissance had pushed forward a new desire for liberty, equality, fraternity and republicanism in
Europe. Renaissance thinkers agitated for greater religious and political freedoms in later years. Writers like
Voltaire and Rousseau surfaced who ignited the fire for such new thoughts in the French society which became
the basis of the French Revolution in 1789. Such thinking was revolutionary and promoted secular passion
and hunger for new frontiers of knowledge. These were fresh invigorating thoughts which took the ideals of
the French Revolution to the whole of Europe as monarchies were replaced by republics one after the other.
We shall study deep impact these revolutionary ideas had in Europe and then through the European colonies,
on the rest of the world. The Renaissance did not only change Europe—it changed the world. We shall study
its impact on India in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Limiting Pope’s Jurisdiction
As the emperors circumscribed pope’s realm limited to his command governing relations between man and
God, pope was told not to interfere in state matters. It was a long drawn process of several centuries that
the division between religious and secular (non-religious) became established. In pre-modern societies,
religion was the only organising factor in society. When functional alternatives of nationalism and patriotism
promoted social solidarity, religion lost its prime space. It is a sign that now man will be regulated more by a
rational intellect than matters of faith. Today, there is a gradation of societies living in primitive times to those
who live in scientific and industrial modern times, and we find a sea change in the attitude with which religion
is viewed. Non-scientific knowledge is in the process of decline though it would never die out. This stream of
thought has a clear understanding that God, at best, should be entrusted with heavenly affairs of afterlife alone.
16
Introduction
Relations between man and God alone belong to the religion. God therefore needs to be burdened only with
these aspects.
Classes and Castes
Classes are based on competition as castes are based on inheritance and economic interdependence. Land
creates castes: the basis lies in the land being the principal source of economic life, fixed hierarchical
social groups based on inherited land rights in agrarian economies whereas factories create competitive
classes. So the castes should vanish when inter-dependence of castes ceases. This is the cardinal truth.
This happens with ushering in of industrialisation in the country, relegating agriculture to the background as
a source of income for majority of its people.
Self-Respect Movements in India
Impact of English liberal education which propagated egalitarian thoughts across all segments of the society
was seen in Indian society in the form of ‘self-respect movements’ which started in India in the 19th century.
Young men who were educated through English introduced by the British in 1835 precipitated a kind of
awakening not seen heretofore in all strata of Hindu society.
One of the important movements related to the right of temple entry in the form of the Vaikom Satyagraha
in the-then Madras State. It was conducted in order to get the permission of the ‘king’ of Travancore to use the
roads near temples for the dalits as well. We shall study the movement in detail.
We shall also study some other related issues as well. What are the essential prerequisites for introducing
egalitarianism in Hindu religion? What can make untouchables acceptable as equals in the Hindu mainstream?
The answer lies in equipping them with the tools which they have been deprived of since ages by the dominant
ruling classes. We shall make an in-depth study of the phenomenon towards finding a solution to the imbroglio.
Social Exclusion: ‘Living Together Separately’
Such notions of ‘inherited separateness’ did not grow in Europe as they harboured economic classes instead.
Though tribalness was no less in Europe, the notion of hierarchy and the concept of ‘martial race’ did not
develop there since no segment was ever disarmed or barred from fighting or deliberately precluded from
education. The need for mercenary soldiers throughout all European kingdoms ensured that a serf, willing to
sacrifice his life, was always welcome everywhere. In the hour of crisis therefore, all able-bodied men joined
the fighting army owning personal loyalty to the baron or the king. The idea of territorial integrity came much
later—in post-industrialised modern times.
Max Mueller Studies
Max Mueller who was the first European to study Vedas has commented profusely about these scriptures in
his 45 volume book ‘Sacred Literature of the East’ on the subject. Though he never visited India, yet people
in India believe that he lived amidst its people and wrote about its culture and religion. He made an in-depth
study of its ancient scriptures and commented on the versatility of hymns. It would be pertinent to quote him
verbatim regarding the catholicity of the Vedic times:
“The Vedas are particularly instructive as they harken back to the early childhood of the humanity. The
poetry in its hymns were the spontaneous expressions of a pure race; the Vedas, the spontaneous poetry
created by simple hearts. There exists no literary relic that carries us back to a more primitive time than the
Vedas. Many of the hymns sound with childlike simplicity and naturalness as it transports us back to our
origins in religious thoughts and language. The fatal divorce between religion and philosophy had not yet
occurred. The Veda gives us the very words of a generation of men, of whom otherwise we could form but the
vaguest estimate by means of conjectures and inferences. It offers one of the few relics of humanity’s childhood
that had been preserved. In it, ancient thought is expressed in ancient language. There is more real antiquity in
the Veda than in all the inscriptions of Egypt or Ninevah…old thoughts, old hopes, old faith, and old errors,
the old man altogether. In places, it too bears witness to the ruins of faded grandeur and the memories of noble
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Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism Volume 1
aspirations. Signs of degeneration could be seen as early as the mantra period of the late hymns, when a spirit
was at work in the literature of India that was no longer creative, free and original but living on the heritage of a
former age: collecting, classifying and imitative. On the whole, the Veda was strong, original, pure and natural;
the later creations were modern and artificial. Vedic poems were collected with great zeal and accuracy at a
time when the Aryans were still creative and impulsive and still had the power to uphold the traditions of a
past.”
It would be relevant and appropriate to have some more conclusions of Max Mueller thus:
“The Aryans differed from their antithesis, the modern practitioners of the hideous religion of Shiva and
Vishnu. It is necessary to distinguish between the Vedic Aryan and the degenerate Hindu who was ineffectual
as an historical being. The primitive worship of pure Aryan religion of the ideal (nature) gods sanctioned
in the Vedas had degenerated into Hindu idolatry. There had been no worship of idols among the Aryans
who were actually monotheists of a sort. They believed in the worship of single gods in the same format and
procedure where all deities are but different names of one and the same Godhead. Like the Romantics, the
Aryans recognised God’s presence in the bright and sunny aspects of nature and life. Belief in metempsychosis
did not exist in Vedic times. Rather, we find the concept of immortality, the sine qua non of all ‘real’ religions.
Moreover, there were no caste distinctions among the Aryans. What is mistaken for varna in the Vedas differs
radically from the draconian regulations found in the laws of Manu (Manusmriti) or in modern usage. In
short, the Aryan faith was a ‘real’ religion and Hinduism appears as its distortion. The Aryans did not practice
any of the abuses prevalent in Hinduism as there is no trace in the Veda of the atrocities of Shiva and Kali,
nor the licentiousness of Krishna, nor of most of the miraculous adventures of Vishnu. We find in it no law to
sanction the blasphemous pretensions of a priesthood to divine honours, or the degradations of any human
being to a state below the animal. There is no text to countenance laws which allow the marriage of children
and prohibit the remarriage of child-widows, and the unhallowed rite of burning the hapless widow with the
corpse of her dead husband is both against the spirit and the letter of the Veda.
The same word Deva, in Sanskrit, Deus in Latin, remained unchanged in all their prayers, their rites,
their superstitions, their philosophies, and even today it rises up to heavens from thousands of churches and
cathedrals—a word which, before there were brahmins or Germans, had been framed in the dark workshop
of the Aryan world.”
Thus, it was through the medium of language alone that Mueller was able to identify with the Aryan. Thus,
the connectedness of English, German, Greek, Latin, Slovenian and Celtic with the languages of Armenia,
Persia and India was proved beyond doubt as Max Mueller discovered the roots of these languages and what
was held common among them. Mueller reconstructed the original Aryan home through a mosaic picture
of their fauna, flora, agriculture, food, drink, family life, political organisations, art, morality and mythology.
Since there had been no exchange between the Aryans who went towards Persia and India and those who went
to Europe, all the common words, especially those of mythology and religion, could be claimed as common
property of the whole Aryan race before the initial dispersion. He added:
First, the Aryans of India separated from the Iranians before they reached the mouth of the Indus. The
testimony of the language also shows that before the separation, the Aryans led an agricultural and nomadic
life, similar to that described by Tacitus for the ancient Germans. … All the data was written in the archive of
language, stretching back to times far beyond the reach of any documentary history. There is no evidence…..,
more ancient and more trustworthy than language as it enables us to describe the Aryan utopia and acknowledge
our relationship to it or the place it holds in our study of our true selves.”
“If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has
most deeply pondered over the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of some of them which well
deserve the attention even of those who have studied Plato and Kant, I should point to India. And if I were to
ask myself from what literature we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on the thoughts of Greeks and
Romans, and of the Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw the corrective which is most wanted in order to make
our inner life more perfect, more comprehensive, more universal, in fact more truly human a life… again I
should point to India.”
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