अयं बन्धुरयंनेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥
“This is my friend, that is not, is the calculation of a small minded person. For the magnanimous, the whole world is one family.” This is the essence of Vedic or Hindu scriptures.
Hinduism is the most broad minded and welcoming culture.
That’s why they have accepted Muslims, Christians and as many other faiths as their own in their own country. Even they accepted partition of their land to create Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. But do Islam and Christianity also follow the same? That is the biggest question on every Hindu mind. Does this Shloka, make Hindus weak against the mindset of abrahamic faiths? For the magnanimous the whole world is one family. But if the small minded people only think about themselves then, the broad minded have to first protect themselves before they dream of magnanimity. Small minded people differentiate between their friends and not their friends. The same applies to community. These small minded communities are obviously out of the broad minded communities.
As per the above shloka, the followers of Sanatana Dharma or Hindutva or Hinduism have to keep small minded communities outside of the purview of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
देवपितृकार्याभ्यां न प्रमदितव्यम् । मातृदेवो भव ।
पितृदेवो भव । आचार्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव ।
यान्यनवद्यानि कर्माणि । तानि सेवितव्यानि । नो इतराणि ।
यान्यस्माक सुचरितानि । तानि त्वयोपास्यानि ॥ ११.२॥
“The above verse from Taittiriya upanishad means – Do not deviate from serving deva and ancestors by deviating from traditions established by them. Mother, Father, Teacher and Uninvited untimely Guests should be treated respectfully on par with devata. Service to them appropriately as per their qualification is the character of a civilized person. Worship them with full respect.”
The above sholka or prose talks about respectful treatment as per their qualification but not whimsically.
Hindus have been mistaught this shloka by western interpretations of the above prose. The above shloka is for the civilized guests. The most misunderstood part of the shloka or prose is अतिथिदेवो भव. This part only applies to civilized untimely guests. However, if a host knows that the guest is inimical or with ulterior motives then that guest should be treated on par with enemy. This fact is mostly misunderstood by Hindus.
The distinction between a friend and foe is important for Hindus to understand and act. One who is inimical or full of hatred is not considered an atithi or untimely uninvited guest. They are considered Shatru or an enemy.
Islamic invasion of Afghanistan and today’s Hindu land that is called Pakistan, surprised Hindus to a large extent. Hindus were not accustomed to barbarism in the name of faith. Their ideology of अतिथिदेवो भव were shattered by the aggressors. Those were aggressors who were working against Hindus. Those aggressors cannot be considered as guests. Even the Christian missionaries who came with British had deep disrespect against Hindu culture should have been considered aggressors and not guests. They also needed to be treated on par with enemies of Hindu culture.
Western Indologists and academicians who regularly misinterpret Vedic or Hindu scriptures are also enemies of Vedic culture or Hindu culture.
It’s time for all Hindus to reject western narrative on Hinduism because that is coming from insecurity of western Indologists or anthropologists.
Herbert Hope Risley imposed caste system on Hindus. Max Mueller and Macaulay defamed Hinduism to claim superiority over them for their Christian missions.
When will educated Hindu academicians take ownership of representing themselves in the west? The leftist hold and narrative in the western universities is preventing Hindu traditionalists to teach about their own culture. American agencies such as USCIRF and institutions stop Hindus for speaking about themselves. If politics can provide rights to Hindu Americans then that is the way to go. The leftist academic violence on Hinduism and its followers must stop in western countries. India will follow. Hindus have to understand these shlokas properly to defend themselves against any sort of attack.
Unless Hindus correct their understanding of their scriptures, weakness of Hindu mindset against invaders will continue.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal to the author
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