Meera Nanda Proudly Struts her Ignorance

Preface

Perhaps it takes only a Meera Nanda to have the guts to strut her ignorance with such confidence. It took me a few days to digest what she actually wants to say. At the least, it is intellectually dishonest to criticize something without reading and comprehending it. I re-read this rather arrogant piece a few times in full. [Thanks to reader Amit for forwarding the link to her piece. ]

In the end, my initial consternation culminated in great amusement.

She has guts because no serious scholar would attempt to write anything on the same subject after being decimated so thoroughly by a person like Koenraad Elst. Elst’s masterly dissection runs to about 30 printed pages, completely worth reading with not a single wasted or frivolous word.

This rather lengthy preface was necessary because while I cannot dream of equalling Elst, it’s my duty to acknowledge the amazing foundation he provides for my piece.

Meera Nanda’s present article is the “full text of the introduction” to her forthcoming book, The God Market: How Globalization is making India more Hindu. The introduction says a lot but actually says nothing. More accurately, it says the same things that fossilized Indian Marxists and ailing secularists have said for more than six decades. Only, it couches it in a framework of contemporary times and phenomena. It also gifts us a jolly new term. It also, further, suffers from the same potomania that characterizes Marxist writings: a glaring paucity of clear thought and a tendency to use a thousand words instead of one.

Her chief “arguments” run thus:

• Hindu nationalism is by definition an evil that should be defeated (more correctly, “Hinduism” is by definition evil)
• India’s current prosperity has unleashed the latent hunger for a world-superpower status
• This prosperity owes to globalization, and the latent hunger for superpowerdom is essentially a Hindu hunger, which was present for millennia.
• Thanks to continued prosperity, this hunger is being fed by an evil axis that threatens to undermine the Indian society (as we shall see)
• Globalization has, and continues to make India more “Hindu,” which is bad for the entire subcontinent’s well-being.

The Origins of Ignorance

The title of Meera Nanda’s book is quite revealing: The God Market: How Globalization is making India more Hindu. It presupposes that a “more Hindu” India is somehow bad. But let me lay it straight: Meera Nanda is a Hindu-hater. I’ll let Koenraad Elst speak:

There are more points in Ms. Nanda’s paper which are worthy of further discussion, but for now I will conclude with an observation on what seems to be her sincere declaration of interest. Among the points that “worry” her, she mentions this as the final one: “The more prominence Hinduism gets abroad, even for wrong reasons like the new age and paganism, the more prestige it gains in India.”

Here, she really lays her cards on the table. It is very good that, unlike many other “secularists”, she does not try to be clever and claim to speak for “true Hinduism” against a “distorted Hinduism” of the Hindu revivalists. Instead, she clearly targets Hinduism itself, deploring any development which might make Hinduism “gain prestige”. Let us see if I can translate that correctly: wanting something or someone to suffer rather than to prosper is what we call “hate”. She hates Hinduism, and her academic work is written in the service of that hate. [Ed: Formatted]

Nanda’s blog post is an extended version of that hatred, and her book, a more voluminous version. But what is really amazing is her supreme confidence in the abysmal ignorance of the thing that she hates. A child that is scared of darkness at least has an adult for reassurance. Perhaps Meera’s venom is the result of a lack of that reassurance.

She begins her piece with a “us versus them” question.

India had its own “why do they hate us?” moment after the city of Mumbai came under attack in late November 2008 by a bunch of gunmen with links to terrorist outfits based in Pakistan…George Bush famously explained the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States: Islamic terrorists hate us because we are good and they are evil; we are free and democratic and they hate freedom and democracy. Some took this rhetoric even further and argued that we are good, free and democratic because we are a Hindu nation, and the Islamists hate us because we are Hindus.

This us-them divide was further linked to globalization, a word that got bandied about a great deal in the aftermath of Mumbai attack. Pakistanis hate us, many argued in India, because we are winning in the global economy, while they are a bunch of sore losers bent upon dimming the bright glow of our economic miracle. The terror attacks were seen as a conspiracy meant to destroy the confidence of global investors, slow down or even reverse the outsourcing of IT and other jobs to India, and stop the foreign tourists from coming.

All these analyses are only partially true but are more notable for their lack of a sense of history. India’s “why do they hate us” moment began when the Arabs came knocking on our doors at Sindh and began converting and/or cleansing the Kaffirs. Pakistan is actually an ugly manifestation of that “why do they hate us.” But let’s let that go and examine what Nanda terms as her “thesis.”

It is the thesis of this book that the growing liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy is not only compatible with, but is actually contributing to the growth of a virulent form of political Hinduism which is as wedded to the project of politicizing and universalizing a Hindu (or “Vedic”) worldview, as the Islamists and Christian fundamentalists are to maximizing the influence of their own respective faith traditions.

Yawwwnn…say something new baby. But she’s on a ground we’re quite familiar with: assuming a symmetry between Hinduism and desert cults. Desert cults are by definition intolerant. You need to really think from another bodily orifice to impute symmetry between the two. Sanatana Dharma subserves politics at the altar of Dharma while desert cults are merely garbs for a power hungry imperialism. Because I have to live up to my reputation, I’ll go ahead and say that the more influential Hinduism is the better it is for world harmony, peace, prosperity, and oneness. Besides, it is interesting how Nanda never bothers to define these terms: virulent form of political Hinduism, politicizing and universalizing a Hindu worldview. They’re important if she wants to be taken seriously. She understandably doesn’t define them because she’s ignorant of them. If she knew what the Hindu worldview was, she’d have never written tripe like this. And so she persists in piling folly upon folly.

This emphasis on everyday Hinduism stems from the fundamental assumption this book is based upon, namely, popular Hinduism is the soil in which the tree of Hindu nationalism is rooted, and Hindu gods, rituals and sacred texts are the nutrients that keep it growing. Hindu gods, myths and rituals by themselves have no necessary or inherent link to nationalism , or any -ism at all, including Hinduism itself, which some have argued is a modern invention. But they serve as readily available and dearly cherished cultural resources for mobilizing Hindu supremacist passions among the masses. As the national history, culture and destiny of India gets to be told and ritually enacted — over and over again, everyday — through the medium of Hindu gods and goddesses, the line between the worship of God and the worship of the nation is getting fainter by the day. India is not only witnessing a resurgence of popular religiosity, this religiosity is becoming indistinct from national and even civilizational self-glorification that openly demonizes Muslims and Christians and often verges on hubris. Backed by nuclear bombs and an ever-growing arsenal of sophisticated weapons, this hubris can spell disaster for the entire subcontinent.

Yay! There, now we have another definitionless variant: popular Hinduism. This is followed by yet another liberal dose of ignorance. So if Hindu gods, myths, etc are not linked to nationalism, why is Bharata Mata worshipped as a Hindu Goddess? Or why do our myths, stories, and even historical poesies give calls to protect the sacred land of Bharatavarsha? The point about Hinduism as a modern invention is yet another mischievous device designed to obfuscate and mislead than clarify. Here’s a living, unbroken tradition of 5000 years that’s labelled as a modern invention. However, the right question to ask is this: what aspect of Hinduism is a “modern invention (sic)?” I cannot assume what Nanda hasn’t said. However, I’d place my bet on articles like the one written by phony intellectuals like Pankaj Mishra. Mishra’s scribblus ignominus (pardon and ignore my Latin) is pompously titled The Invention of the Hindu , where he postulates that

Hinduism is largely a fiction, formulated in the 18th and 19th centuries out of a multiplicity of sub-continental religions, and enthusiastically endorsed by Indian modernisers. Unlike Muslims, Hindus have tended to borrow more than reject, and it has now been reconfigured as a global rival to the big three monotheisms. In the process, it has abandoned the tradition of toleration which lie in its true origins.

If these are Meera Nanda’s sources of knowledge, it is unsurprising that she writes what she writes. I have deliberately refrained from attributing any ideological motive that backs her writing because I’m unaware of any. But ignorance doesn’t need ideology. It simply is. But then Meera Nanda doesn’t bother with such trivialities. She is on a mission to “prove” how Hinduism’s self-assertion “spells disaster for the entire subcontinent,” logic be damned.

Meera Nanda Designs a Lexicon

In Meera Nanda’s smoke-filled world, Hindu self-assertion is abetted by wealthy, powerful, and dangerous forces. These forces have apparently pervaded every sphere of the Indian society. Additionally, they supposedly act on different levels. Only a genius of her caliber can deduce something like this but she has a new term for this. As much as it may sound incredible, here it is: state-temple-corporate complex . Here’s what it means:

The book will provide concrete evidence for the growing Hinduization of a whole variety of institutions run by the four-sided public-private collaboration we call the state-temple-corporate complex (or STCC for short)

I’m unable to decide if this is Meera Nanda’s gift to the English dictionary or whether she has coined her own dictionary. This term reeks of the same stale stink of Marxism. In their heydays, Indian Marxists coined new terms to mostly denounce anybody who they couldn’t defeat logically. They invented new words to also explain what they couldn’t explain in English. Meera Nanda treads the same path. If anything, this STCC mumbo jumbo exists only in her imagination. But as we know, the reality is just the opposite: the state systematically loots Hindu temples, denigrates Hindu institutions, and Gods, and dozes as Hindu leaders are murdered, and issues fatwas to the corporate sector.

A cursory, state-wise assessment of the actual state of Hindus and Hinduism is sufficient to prove that Meera Nanda is smoking illegal narcotics.

• Andhra Pradesh: Aggressive Evangelization, attempt to subvert the sanctity of Tirupathi and Tirumala. Attempted state takeover of temple lands in East Godavari district. Heavily divided along caste lines.
• Karnataka: Aggressive Evangelization with a record rate of conversions in the last 3-5 years. State patronage to a known fraudulent “healer,” Benny Hinn. Divided along caste lines.
• Tamil Nadu: Destruction of the heritage of the Kanchi Mutt, wholesale conversions…assaults on Hindus and Hinduism too numerous to record. All done with the active abetment of the state government. The once-glorious temple culture effectively destroyed today.
• Kerala: Hinduism exists all but in name.
• Uttar Pradesh: Hindus are comprehensively divided along caste and sub-caste lines, temples are in horrible disarray, and the only two powerful political parties care a naught for Hindus. There’s also the threat of militant Islamism and many parts of the state are no-go as far as Hindus are concerned.
• West Bengal: Ditto as Kerala.
• Delhi: Doesn’t really matter.
• Orissa: Militant Evangelization with Hinduism on a fierce defensive.
• Rajasthan: Divided along caste lines. Although it’s not as bad as UP, the five years of the current government will ensure further splintering.
• North East: Effectively, it doesn’t belong to India. We’re talking about seven states here and a geographic area of 262,230 square kilometres.

Additionally, Hindu causes and viewpoints have almost no space in public discourse. Our universities and media are filled with people of the Meera Nanda species spouting the same secular filth. Christian schools/convents openly prohibit Hindu students from wearing bindis/tilak and visibly discriminate in favour of Christian students. Bollywood films have a self-imposed taboo on showing Islam or Christianity in anything but the most glorious halo but have a free license to make smut like Parzania, Rang De Basanti, Black Friday, and Mumbai Meri Jaan, which win awards and critical acclaim.

So where’s the dreaded Hinduization (sic) that Meera Nanda says is happening? The rest of her piece expands on the STCC fantasy. It is in several places the familiar concoction brewed so skilfully by past Marxist monsters. Equally, it makes for vapid reading because it rebels against even a pretence to meaning.

However, all these don’t matter to her because she is a Hindu-hater. She demonizes the very aspects of Hinduism that have endeared it to millions of people around the world. Which is why it is important to examine her understanding of Hinduism. Fortunately, she displays it in a comment on her post.

Can’t get a Single Fact Right

She starts her comment with the same confident arrogance that now characterizes her writing.

There is a history of Hindu supremacy and triumphalism that often gets ignored. Since the reader wants the evidence for my claim of “age-old ambitions of dominating the outside world” in Hinduism, let me provide some evidence.

If you find the very opening atrocious, wait till you get to the “evidence.”

1. one has to start with the Vedas. what is the status of the Vedic revelation? Traditional commentators have alays held that Vedas were divine revelations of fundamental cosmic laws that are true for all times and for all people everywhere. Unlike the Abrahamic religions where God reveals his commands to a prophet, the Vedic “seers” were actually supposed to have “seen” the Vedic truths in their minds’ eye, and directly heard the sound of the revelations (thus vedas are called the Shruti.) (A very important point of difference: while the commandments the God of the Bible were mostly ethical, the Vedic shruti is metaphysical, i.e., it describes the nature of the cosmos. The laws of humans have to correspond to the laws of the cosmos– that is dharma. .) [Ed: typos in the original ]

Here’s the thing: Meera Nanda should make up her mind whether she accepts that the claims of both the Vedas and monotheistic religions are literally true. That is, if she wants to diss the Vedas because they couldn’t be “heard” or “seen through the mind’s eye,” she has to equally dismiss as delusions the Prophetic religions’ claim that God revealed the so-called ethical commandments. We now arrive at Exhibit 1 of her ignorance: the laws of the cosmos are collectively called Rta, not Dharma. Dharma is how Rta is translated in daily human life.

Later commentators in the Hindu tradition have interpreted this “direct seeing and hearing to mean that there was no human interpretation and therefore no room for error. Since the Vedic teachings were about the nature of teh cosmos, they were universally applicable.
Now, there is a long tradition that finds its way into Bhagwat Gita and Manu Smriti which clearly lays out that all those traditions that do not accpet the Vedas are barbaric, fit only for the low-born. here is what the Manu Smirii says, Chapter 12, verse 95:

” all those revealed canons an evil doctrines that are outside the veda bear no fruit after death, for they are all based upon darkness”

This idea is repeated in the Bhagwat Gita as well. I don;’t have a copy right now, but i can find you the verse later.

This is quite delicious. Meera Nanda should show us exactly one evidence to support her preposterous claim that “there was no human interpretation” of the Vedas. The fact is exactly the opposite. We have a few lakh verses written by hundreds of scholars giving their interpretation of the Vedas. Also, the Veda firmly says that the final goal of the Veda is to transcend the Veda itself.

Ruco akshare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhivishve nidebhuhu|
Yastannaveda kim rucaa karishyati|
Ya ittaddviduhu ta ime samaasate||

The gist: the outer (or bookish if you will) Veda is useless to the one who has realized the Veda in his heart. Now show me exactly one Abrahamic religion that asks its adherents to cast off The Book.

What is interesting is she quotes–as usual–the Manu Smriti selectively. The Manu Smriti also says that a righteous and virtuous Shudra is far better than an unworthy Brahmin. Quoting the Manu Smriti seems to be a favourite way of berating Sanatana Dharma while it is explicitly mentioned that the Manu Smriti is not to be followed in the Kali Yuga, our age. Oh, and she conveniently forgets the Bhagavad Gita’s verse that supposedly conveys the same message. For a person who could quickly dig up an obscure verse from the Manu Smriti , how hard is it to find a similar verse in the Bhagavad Gita. Full translations are available on thousands of web sites. All it takes is a simple Google search.

The system of varna was derived from the Vedic conception of the cosmos — that is well known. But propagation of varna actually provided the inspiration of Hindu expansion from the north of India to the south, and to South-East Asisan countries. The idea was simply this: in the beginning, all people everywhere were created out of the Brahman (either from the head, arms, legs, feet etc.). Those who forgot the varna, or interbred and created a confusion between varnas, were dasyus (dasas, untouchables etc.).
only the land of Bharatvrata (in the north west of India) was the land where the varna was observed. Therefore the brahman born in that land had a universal duty to bring dasyus into the varna order.

It is amazing how she authoritatively claims that the varna system was derived from the Vedic conception of the cosmos. Again, she doesn’t provide her understanding of the Vedic conception of the cosmos. The system of varna falls in the category of vishesha dharma (read my related post on Dharma). In other words, varna was not the natural order of things. It was merely a system of convenience. From this erroneous postulation, Nanda makes a really wild claim that “propagation of varna actually provided the inspiration of Hindu expansion from the north of India to the south, and to South-East Asisan countries.” One word: bullshit. The Hindu influence in South East Asia was more a cultural exchange than a military expansion. But wait, Meera has more turd coming our way: “all people everywhere were created out of the Brahman (either from the head, arms, legs, feet etc.)” This take on the famous Purusha Sukta verse is garbage par excellence. People were not created, they were part of the same Divine Body. Which is why it’s rather stupid when people criticize the Purusha Sukta as the root of the caste evil because Shudras supposedly originated from the feet. This is like saying my feet is unclean so I’ll cut it off.

Also, there’s plenty of evidence of Anuloma and Pratiloma marriages (intermarriage between “higher” and “lower” castes) to disprove Nanda’s ignorant bunkum about interbreeding between castes. Equally, the dasyu claim reveals that she still latches on to the Aryan Fantasy Theory.

Oh and for a person who sets out to prove “Hindu supremacist ambitions” by tracing it over a 5000 year period, Meera Nanda says Bharatvrata instead of Bharatavarsha, a very basic term for anybody who “knows” ancient India. Oh, and I challenge Meera Nanda to show me where or how the word Dasyu can be translated as untouchable .

3. The idea that the Vedas are universally and eternally true was revived in the HIndu revival that took place through the 18-20th centuries. Bankimchandar and Vivekananda, fololwed by Aurobindo gave a concrete expression to “direct” seeing of cosmic truths through yoga. Hindu spirituality was declared to be the highest level of truth that simply enfolded and included the “lower” truths of all the world’s religions was established by these neo_Hindus. I invite anyone who doubts the utterly arrogant claims of Hindu supremacy to kindly read Vivekananda and Aurobindo .

Now now now, Meera Nanda shouldn’t offer such invitations simply because it’s a call to openly dissect her ignorance. First, I don’t accept the Hindu “revival” theories 100% because it presupposes an assumption that Hinduism needed some kind of “revival.” Which is historically untrue. Whatever was done in the name of “revival” was merely a reminder, an expansion of the Hindu consciousness on a larger, pan-Indian canvas. Second, like Vivekananda and others, I unequivocally assert that Hinduism is definitely superior to other Monotheistic cults. And I have read both Vivekananda and Aurobindo and lot many other greats. Hinduism is superior because it is open, it welcomes critical inquiry, it is not dogmatic, it believes in inclusion, and most importantly doesn’t proclaim any monopoly over truth. The burden of proof is on Meera Nanda to show at least one of these traits in the desert cults. On the other hand, if she argues that these traits are unworthy of emulation, I can speak in the only language she understands. What’s amazing is that she found Vivekananda and others as “utterly arrogant.” Speaks volumes about her mental makeup or balance.

HAving tasted success in economic globalization, Hindu nationalisits are seeking to establish the spiritual superiority of Hinduism.

If spirituality is this detestable, what alternatives does Meera Nanda propose? If seeking kinship and harmony with the entire creation is somehow bad, what does she want to replace them with?

As we see, Meera Nanda’s understanding of the basics of Sanatana Dharma is so shockingly vacuous that I’m amazed that she assumes a self-righteous moral authority to dismiss an entire way of life and philosophy with the sleight of her hand. She couldn’t get even one fact right but assigns herself the right to write a trite-filled treatise. Her utter nescience is only complemented by her nauseating haughtiness.

Like I said, this takes a lot of guts. Or utter shamelessness.

Postscript: The tone and content of Nanda’s piece only stops short of giving a public call to destroy Hinduism.

Tags: Commentary, Hinduism, History, How Globalization is making India more Hindu, India, Indian Philosophy, Koenraad Elst, Meera Nanda’s Arrogance, Meera Nanda’s Arrogant Nonsense, Meera Nanda’s Blog, Meera Nanda’s New Book, The God Market, Vedas