WRITTEN BY R. NANJAPPA                        

Post No. 8345

Date uploaded in London – – – 15 July 2020   

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

By R. Nanjappa

Brahminism

What about “Brahminism” ? Most people do not even know the meaning of the word, and the difference between it and  ‘Brahmanism’. The word ‘Brahmanism’ refers to Hinduism, which believes in “Brahman” as the ultimate Truth, as against Buddhism which believes in “Nirvana”. It is in this sense that scholars use the word. It is this Brahman  which unites all sects of the Hindus, though each gives its own interpretation! This need not surprise or disturb us as even a limited written modern document like the Constitution is subject to different interpretations by legal experts, or when two medical professionals differ in their diagnoses based on the same charts and data.

Now, is it true that the Vedas are fabrications of the Brahmins? We cannot gauge the depth of the idiocy or malice of the elements  which propagate such falsehood. The Vedas were revelations perceived by the Rishis, who were not all Brahmins! For instance, the Gayatri mantra, which is the life breath of the Veda was the discovery of Viswamitra, who was not a Brahmin! The main Avataras worshipped by Hindus- Rama and Krishna- are not Brahmins, while the Brahmin Avataras like Vamana or Parasurama go without worship, while even animal-Avataras like Matsya, Kurma and Varaha, and the half-animal, half man Narasimha are worshipped! And Brahma, may be the first Brahmin, is totally without  even a temple or worship!  The Upanishad records instances when Brahmins went to Kshatriya kings-Raja Rishis- to learn wisdom! The Ramayana and Mahabharata were not written by Brahmins! Valmiki, who wrote the Ramayana was a low caste hunter-thief from the forest, who turned Sage; the Mahabharata was composed by Vyasa, the son born of a fisher-woman!

Such blatant falsehood taught through the school system, controlled by the government, has strong and strange effects on the people. It systematically poisons people’s mind.  Since the majority of Indians are officially classified as “backward”, they nurture hatred towards others. And the so called “forward” communities, which in effect means the tiny group of Brahmins, have become diffident and defensive.  

But let the Brahmins examine their own family trees, their own social history, going back to 4 or 5 generations, before the British came, and before they were forced to take to service as means of livelihood. How many Brahmins were wealthy? Even now, how many Brahmins, who follow their traditional occupations are wealthy? How many Brahmins who are above 60 or 70 today can claim they are from well-to-do families? Did all their elders have college education?

In all such discussions, one vital factor is forgotten. Our social history is not studied. In the pre-British days, each one followed his occupation, the economy was based mainly on barter and mutual obligations, socially well-knit, there were not consumer goods or luxury items to spend money on. What would people do with money? Pre-British India did not follow a feudal system as in England. It was the British who introduced Zamindari system for their convenience, after the Permanent Settlement of 1793.

Beginning of Real Education

Real education for most of us therefore will begin only when we unlearn all the falsehood that is taught in our school system.

India is predominantly young, more than 50% of our population being under 25 years of age, and more than 60% under 35. Can one assess the damage that is done to the cause of true Indian nationalism by such false ideas foisted on young impressionable minds in the name of ‘education’?  So far, Indian Nationalists have failed to take up this challenge in an intelligent manner, and devise effective means to counter it. Young India is getting de-nationalised in the name of education, controlled by the government. Formal Education is unmaking India. There is urgent need for corrective, complementary and alternative education.

NOTE
1.Regarding the Aryan invasion theory, the following entry from Encyclopaedia Britannica, corrected as on 11/3/2014 may be noted.

The Theory of an “Aryan race” appeared in the mid-19th century and remained prevalent until the mid-20th century. According to the hypothesis, the probably light-skinned Aryans were the group who invaded and conquered ancient India from the north and whose literature, religion and modes of social organization subsequently shaped the course of Indian culture, particularly the Vedic religion that informed and was eventually superseded by Hinduism.

However since the late 20th century, a growing number of scholars have rejected both the Aryan invasion hypothesis and use of the term Arya as a racial designation, suggesting that the Sanskrit term arya (noble or distinguished), the linguistic root of the word, was actually a social rather than an ethnic epithet.

It may be seen that ‘Aryan invasion’ was only a theory, a hypothesis even when it was held! Any elementary student of science knows that a theory or hypothesis is not a fact until proved! And so far, all the proofs have only been to the contrary! Yet politicians used the theory to divide the people- the Nazis under Hitler, as a counter point to the Semites, Colonial Britain in India to facilitate their rule, and Tamil politicians since then as a vote catcher. Probably, they do not even know, or care, that the very word “Dravid” is Sanskrit, no less than the word Arya! 

2. Regarding the British decision to quit India, one more factor is relevant. England had involved India in the Second World War, but when Japan turned towards Burma and India, England had to defend her, for which she had neither the means nor the will. By the end of the War, England had become a debtor to India! Churchill, staunch imperialist  that he was, did not like the colonial power having to pay the colony, instead of deriving monetary benefit from the colony- it went against the very logic of holding a colony! By the end of the War, India had become a liability and a burden, which they wanted to shed at the earliest!

Some recent books on the subject:

1. Madhusree Mukerjee: Churchill’s Secret War, Tranquebar Press, 2010
2. Alex Von Tunzelmann: Indian Summer, Henry Holt And Company,LLC, 2007.
3. Collected Writings of Dharampal- on the educational, social, economic state of India by mid-18th century. [ based on British archival records].(Other India Press, Mapusa, Goa, 2016)
                                                            ***                     concluded

WRITTEN BY R. NANJAPPA                        

Post No. 8339

Date uploaded in London – – – 14 July 2020   

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

UNLEARN FIRST –PART 1

R. Nanjappa

Life is an unlimited, unending classroom, boundless University. So long as we are alive- both literally and figuratively- as long do we keep learning. It happens, consciously and unconsciously, through formal exchange of ideas, observation but mainly through first hand experience. If we pause and think, even failures turn out to be teachers in the end! This gives a new dimension to the revelation made by a student in the Upanishads that he was ‘taught by others than men’.

In India, schooling, from the kindergarten to the university, is controlled and directed by the government. No University is really, totally free even in academic matters, leave alone administration. 

In such formal schooling, we are force-fed certain programs and formulae, theories and doctrines, ideas and opinions. We are not free even in reading and appreciating fiction or poetry; we are forced to think along certain lines: feminist, Freudian, historical, modern, post-modern, post-colonial, etc. When it comes to more serious subjects like history or economics or sociology, we are totally subject, not only to the stated theories or approaches, but the hidden agenda behind the establishment. In many unstated ways they mould our mind. [For instance, the whole of sociology has racist implications.] In India, schooling and a degree or certificate at the end is the ticket to employment in the formal sector-, very source of livelihood. So, we cannot afford to take chances.  Once we get a job and settle down, few of us do any serious reading, and those early impressions we gathered in our academic institutions guide us throughout. We hardly question those beliefs and verify their truth. This becomes the default position. Thus, while learning is limitless and can be continuous in theory, it does not happen in practice. Most of us not only fail to update our knowledge, but often refuse to reexamine what we have learnt, and refuse to entertain new thoughts.

Wrong ideas gained:

Some of the beliefs we have thus imbibed through our formal education system are:

• Mahatma Gandhi brought us freedom through non-violent struggle.
• All religions are true and equal.
• Aryans invaded India (though no one is sure from where, or when)
• India has been poor for centuries because their religion is “other-worldly”
• Upper castes have oppressed the lower castes and kept them subjugated for centuries.
• North India is Aryan and South India is Dravidian
• North Indian languages are derived from Sanskrit while south Indian languages are derived from Dravidian sources, especially Tamil. The two have nothing in common.
• India was not one country. India became one only under British colonial administration.
• Indian scriptures, especially Vedas, are fabrications by Brahmins.
• Hindu religion is nothing but “brahminism”; all their gods and goddesses were taken from local people.

Lakhs upon lakhs of Indian youngsters learn these “noble truths” year after year through their schooling, through authorised text-books, taught dutifully by uncritical and helpless teachers. How many of us have verified these ‘facts’?

THREE MIGHTY ‘M’s

Three Ms are behind this spectacle: Macaulay,  (Christian) Missionaries and Marxists.

Macaulay laid the foundation for our education, completely eliminating national elements and national pride.  This system was continued by Nehru after Independence. The nationalistic elements that were part of our freedom struggle do not find place in our formal education system.

A large segment of Indian school goers attend schools run by the Christian organizations which enjoy privileges as “minority” institutions- which are denied to the Hindus. The very motive behind the missionaries like Jesuits running schools and colleges is to propagate Christianity (evangelization ) and  undermine Hinduism and other religions.  

Marxists have completely taken over our history- fabricating their own theories. They denigrate  Hindu greatness, exalt the Muslims and British. [They even denied the archaeological evidence in the Ayodhya temple case, and resorted to open lies- the Court had to call their bluff. But their domination in academic circles continues.]

False Statements

Each of these statements noted above is totally false, and unproved. But there is no one book or source where all these are systematically and intelligently countered. 

Gandhi and Independence

 Let us take but one example here- that Gandhiji brought Independence to India through non-violent struggle. There is no doubt that Gandhiji was an apostle of non-violence. There is no doubt that he was running the Indian National Congress, which was engaged in the freedom struggle. But did Independence come only because of Gandhiji and his non-violence?

 Any one who has really “studied” the history of our freedom movement from independent sources knows that Gandhiji’s political programmes were unsuccessful,  that he did not take one movement to a successful or logical conclusion. He had only one major political programme in each of the decades that he led the Congress. The initial Satyagraha of 1921 was called of due to violence at Chauri-Chaura. His individual Salt Satyagraha in April 1930 was successful, but its aftermath was terrible, as the government let loose brutal repression.  His 1942 ‘Quit India ” movement was a total flop and was crushed within 6 months. Gandhiji and all top leaders of the Congress were imprisoned. Gandhiji was released in May 1944 due to failing health. Nehru and others were released in June 1945.  During the final years, Gandhiji was completely sidelined by Nehru, Patel and co. and Gandhiji’s writ did not run in the Congress party as he was not able to provide sound advice, and was immersed in other activities.

 Now there is independent evidence also, from the horse’s mouth. Clement Attlee was the Prime Minister of England at the time of Independence and his Labour Party had supported Indian Independence.

Clement Attlee

He visited India in 1956 and stayed in the Raj Bhavan at Calcutta as the guest of the then (acting) Governor -B.P.Chakravarti. (who was Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.) Chakravarti asked him why the British had left India in such a hurry, when the Quit India movement had been crushed. Attlee gave several reasons, the most important of which was that due to the influence of Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA, on the Indian Army and Navy personnel, the British were no more confident of their loyalty. When specifically asked about the influence of Mahatma Gandhi , Attlee said, with a disdainful smile, that it was  m-i-n-i-m-a-l, stressing each syllable. This is recorded in the third volume of his book on our freedom movement by R.C.Majumdar, one of India’s greatest historians. This was disclosed in a letter by Justice Chakravarti himself to the Publisers of R.C.Majumdar’s book on the History of Bengal.

Netaji in military uniform as GOC of the Congress volunteer corps in 1928, with Motilal Nehru, Congress president taking salute! Jai Hind!

In fact this has a prior development. As early as 1948, Majumdar had questioned the undue inflation of the role of Gandhiji, and almost total silence on Subhas Bose on the part of Indian establishment, in dealing with Indian independence.

 So, he cites this statement from Attlee as vindication of his own stand, which the Govt of India tried to suppress.

 The same fate has befallen Sri Aurobindo too, though he was the one man feared by the whole British administration. Among all our national leaders, Sri Aurobindo alone has provided a consistent theory of and rationale behind our Nationalism. He alone could provide intellectual justification for the freedom struggle, which rattled the British. He alone could provide a program of practical action. No wonder, Sri Aurobindo was dubbed ‘the most dangerous man’ by the Viceroy Lord Minto himself, as early as April, 1910- much before Gandhiji entered the scene.

Sri Aurobindo presiding over a meeting after the break-up of Surat Congress, 1907. Tilak is speaking!

Most mainline historians think of the role of Netaji and his INA as failure. And they almost completely neglect Sri Aurobindo. But see in what direct and  indirect ways they contributed to our Independence! Let us salute all such forgotten leaders, even while remembering Gandhiji and his monumental work. There is no doubt that Gandhiji roused the masses, but that really did not result in our Independence!

Mahatma Gandhi was a great person. We should never forget that. However, our reverence for his person should not blind us to his faults and failures as a political leader, and should not lead us to belittle or ignore the role of other leaders and factors in our gaining Independence. Gandhiji alone was not the exclusive cause. 

to be continued

Part one over 

tags- Unlearn first-1