Hindus generally don’t criticise
other religions in spite of the fact that Christianity and Islam not only
criticise, but demean Hinduism badly. Zakir Naik is only one example. Do Hindus
know what is preached in the innumerable churches and mosques across India? I
know for sure that Hindu gods are called devils by Christian missionaries. Yet
Hindus neither defend their gods nor challenge the Abrahamic dogmas in spite of
having a solid philosophical basis for their beliefs, which is lacking in
Christianity and Islam.
Some years ago, Zakir Naik had
ridiculed Ganapati and thrown a challenge to prove that Ganapati is God. I
assume he means by God the Supreme Being that Muslims call Allah.
Now what do we know about Allah?
Foremost, Allah is great and
merciful, and the faithful as well as the unfaithful are loudly reminded of it
five times a day. He also knows what all human beings are doing, but is
separate from them. It is claimed that Allah has communicated his final words
to Prophet Mohamed. Those words are in the Quran. Allah declared that Islam
alone is true. So, all human beings must follow Islam because other paths are
wrong. And they must hurry up, because every human being has only one life.
Those, who do not accept Islam
during their lifetime, will be thrown into eternal hellfire where “boiling
water will be poured over their heads that not only melts their skin but also
the inner parts of their bellies…” (Q22.19-22)
Clearly, here is where Allah’s mercy
ends. He does not brook any dissent. And the Azan, which started
compassionately, ends with: “Oh Allah, guide us to the Right Way. The Way of
those whom You have favoured, not of those who have earned Your wrath…”
Al-Fatiha 1
This means, Allah is merciful only
to his followers who are called Muslims and he is wrathful to those who are not
Muslims.
Dr. Zakir Naik, I am confident that
I got the concept of ‘God’ in Islam right because Christianity has a similar
concept. And I dare to claim that it is not true. Can you prove (and this
challenge goes also to Christian clerics) that Allah/ God is indeed so unfair
and divisive? Can you prove there will be this huge cauldron of fire where
billions of people will burn for ever after Judgment Day? Do these claims of
“eternal hellfire for unbelievers” not rather have the purpose to keep the
flock in check? To divide and rule?
There are about 2 billion
Christians, who are told they have to remain Christians, otherwise they can’t
go to heaven. And then there are about 2 billion Muslims who are told that they
have to remain Muslims, otherwise they can’t go to paradise. Both religions had
plenty of time to sort out which one is true, but they did not do it. Why?
Because they cannot prove it. They can only make claims and counterclaims and
fight among themselves, between Muslims and Christians and with heathens or
infidels. They do this for the last 2000 years.
Under these circumstances, can
anyone claim that Islam or Christianity is beneficial for humanity? Is it not
time to have a thorough check of what REALLY is the truth?
In regard to the absolute Truth, Dr.
Zakir Naik, your ancestors, the Indian Rishis, made valuable contributions and
you can be proud of them. In ancient times, long, long before Christianity or
Islam appeared on the scene, the Rishis had a very mature understanding of
Brahman which would be ‘Truth’ or ‘Supreme Being’ or ‘God’ in English. Brahman
is not personal, not a superhuman entity somewhere in heaven, not male or
female, not jealous of other gods, not revengeful if ignored, but it is
Sat-Chit-Ananda, the conscious, one essence in all names and forms – like the
one ocean is the essence of all the waves.
The Rishis realised that this
universe is a wrong perception of Brahman. They called it Maya, not really
true, only apparently true.
For anything to qualify as absolute
Truth, it has to be always – past, present and future – and it has to be
self-evident.
The Rishis came to the conclusion
that nothing fulfils these criteria except pure (= thought free) consciousness.
This consciousness is here and now, always, everywhere. Yet we miss it because
we focus only on things or thoughts, emotions, etc. – like, when we focus
a torchlight in a room only on the furniture and miss the empty space. Infinite
space, which throbs with life and love is actually a good metaphor for
Sat-Chit-Ananda – the highest truth that underlies names and forms (nama-rupa).
Science has meanwhile discovered the
Sat-aspect of the truth. Oneness is there. To discover that this Oneness is
also aware (Chit) and blissful (Ananda) scientists would need to turn to their
own consciousness to research further instead of looking outside. Let us see
whether the scientists will support also the claim of the Rishis that this whole
manifestation is alive and full of bliss.
In one point, however, you are
right, Dr. Zakir Naik: There is only one Truth, one God, which the wise call by
different names. But the nature of it you got wrong. It does not send
non-Muslims or non-Christians eternally into hellfire. The Supreme Being is
indeed merciful and great.
But you wanted to know whether
Ganapati is a deity.
May I explain a bit of your
ancestors’ tradition which struck me as most profound when I came to know of
it?
Sanatana Dharma is not only about
intellectually knowing Sat-Chit-Ananda, but about realising it. Since Brahman
is all pervading, it must be also in us (Ayam Atma Brahman). So we can tap and
feel it. For this, however, we need to follow certain rules. We need to purify
ourselves, lead a moral life, speak the truth, etc. To eat plenty of meat and
have plenty of sex is not conducive for this purification. Yet one factor is
very conducive: Bhakti – love for God.
Here Hindu Dharma brings in Ishwara.
The concept of Ishwara is close to
the Abrahamic notion of a personal God but more benevolent. There is of course
no eternal hell for unbelievers. Everyone gets chance after chance in life
after life till he realises that he is not a separate wave, but one with the
ocean.
Ishwara is God with attributes and
has innumerable aspects, as this universe has innumerable aspects or human
nature has innumerable aspects. These aspects are personified in different
deities and the devotee can choose the one who is dearest to him. It helps to
develop love for the invisible Truth – for example through Ganapati.
Those Devas are mistakenly much
maligned by Christianity and Islam. They are not separate entities but kind of
access points to the one Brahman, which is otherwise unimaginable. It is
possible to feel familiar with them, to love them, to talk with them. And the
scriptures leave no doubt that devas are ultimately Brahman.
And here, Dr. Naik, you may get an
answer to your question whether Ganapati is ultimately the Supreme Being.
The Ganapati Atharvashirsa
Upanishad, which is part of the Atharva Veda, states: “Tvameva kevalam karta
si, tvameva kevalam dharta si, tvameva kevalam harta si.
Tvameva sarvam khalvidam brahmasi,
tvam saksadatma si nityam.”
It means: You alone are the creator,
you alone are the sustainer, you alone are the annihilator. All this is Brahman
and you are that Brahman. You are indeed the Atman eternally.
This declaration, however, is not
unique for Ganapati. It is said for other deities, too.
Yet the fact that this is written in
a sacred text, is not proof enough. There are plenty of sacred texts in this
world and if everything in them is blindly accepted as true, we end up with all
kind of proclaimed truths which are not true. We need to verify what is
declared as truth on the touchstone of reason, intuition and experience. If it
contradicts all of these, it is not worth believing it and certainly not dying
for it.
The proof that all deities are
Brahman is because only Brahman really exists. Brahman is like the ocean. The
waves are not separate from it. The name with which one worships the Divine,
does not matter. What matters is how much devotion one feels. The greater the
devotion, the more miracles can happen. Ganapati is loved by millions of Hindus
worldwide. He is the door through which they try to access Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Sanatana Dharma is very ancient. And
yet the Rishis had such deep insights, for example that the world is a wrong
perception of what is really true, like seeing a snake at dusk when in fact
there is only a rope. Westerners who ridiculed Hindus because they believe that
the world is an illusion keep now quiet as science supports the Hindu view.
Meanwhile NASA scientists have
detected the building blocks of DNA in meteorites. The Max Planck
Institute in Germany published the first picture of the whole universe. It had
an oval shape. Could it be possible that those who ridicule Hindus for
worshipping a Shiva lingam might soon rethink their attitude, as well, lest
they embarrass themselves?
Great men have come and gone in
India’s ancient civilisation. Some have been made into gods. There is nothing
wrong with it. The Divine is in all.
It should make you reflect, Dr. Naik
that science keeps validating the insights of the Rishis, for example the
mindboggling age of the universe, or the ultimate Oneness of all.
Attempts to vilify Indian tradition
by you and others are successful because the British weaned Indians away from
their tradition and most people know little about it. Yet if you are sincere,
you will realise that the wisdom of your ancestors scores high over the
worldview and the mind set of Abrahamic religions. The attitude of “We alone
are right and you go to hell if you don’t accept our religion” is doing great
harm to humanity. It may be helpful for world dominion, but do you want to live
in a world where everyone has to wear a straight-jacket?
If I were you, Dr. Naik, I would be
worried especially about one thing: what if you wake up after death and there
is NO paradise waiting for you? What if all those Jihadis, who were inspired by
you, cursed you after realising there was no paradise for them? What if you are
taking birth again in another form and reap the fruits of your actions of this
life where you consciously or unconsciously distorted the truth? Rebirth is not
only mentioned in the Indian texts. There is also plenty of evidence for it –
over 3000 cases are documented in the archive of Virginia University.
Dr. Naik, I don’t know how deeply
you believe what you preach. I know from personal experience how effective
brainwashing in childhood can be. But I also know that it is possible to get
out of it, and it seems the older one is, the easier.
For me, it was a great relief to
come out of the Christian religious straight jacket and I would encourage you
to also genuinely enquire into the truth. Your concept of God is not Truth. You
quote a book as support. Truth does not fit into a book. Truth is THAT WHAT
TRULY IS.
Your ancestors, the Indian Rishis,
spoke from experience, not from book knowledge
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