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Hinduism in the
Context of Manusmriti, Vedas & Bhagavad Gita
Hinduism is like a mighty river to which hundreds of small rivers contributed by joining it. In the process a lot of "give and take" took place, and yet smaller religions retained their identity to a great extent. As the author says, "Hinduism is not one religion but an amalgam of several religions or religious ideas. At the grass-roots or village level, we have many religions with distinctive names for their Gods, local legends and festivals, and various colourful religious rituals and beliefs." Hinduism is a unique religion as it gives freedom to the individual, and it does not believe in conversion. In order to understand Hinduism, the author has chosen the famous three Sanskrit texts—Rigveda, Bhagavad Gita and Manusmriti. The writer divides Hindu population into the Rigvedic, Upanishadic and Puranic periods. Rigvedic religion was a religion of nomadic pastoralists who had organised themselves into small tribal communities. The basic problem of these nomadic people was of survival and so they had different nature gods like Agni, Indra, Vayu, etc., to take care of different problems. Later, Hinduism reached its zenith during the Upanishadic period. Now, religion is not mere rituals and prayers, it is strongly philosophical and spiritual and culminates in non-dualism, that is, the individual and the Absolute are not two. So, each person, while being an individual, has the potential to realise his own self which is none other than Brahaman itself. The Puranic period is an extension of Rigvedic and Upanishadic religions. This is the period when incarnation of gods in human form was conceived. The purpose behind the notion of avatars is nothing but again the realisation of Brahaman. The ten avatars of Vishnu gave ample scope for new legends, eventually leading to two great Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The writer tells us that the Bhagavad Gita and the Manusmriti, as they complement each other, dictate religious doctrines, and social and moral values, respectively. The message of the Bhagavad Gita, which is based on the Upanishads, is independent of the social system, will be relevant at all times. Contrary to the popular belief, Ramachandran says that the Manusmriti is not dogmatic. It recognises the complexities of society and allows for flexibility in social laws. The Manusmriti deals with varna ashrama dharma. The term varna in the Manusmriti strictly means classes; it has no racial connotation. There is also a chapter on the caste system, as without discussing it the study of Hinduism remains incomplete. The writer clearly distinguishes the two concepts—varna and jati. These two are independent, although the term jati itself is of later origin, and it is a vernacular concept that includes varna, too. For example, Rajput is varna and Rana, Anhal, etc., are jatis. A jati is homogenous in terms of language, religion and cultural practices. The writer concludes with a message that the true objective of any religion of the world is nothing but "welfare of mankind". In the present times, religious leaders should focus on educating people about the true nature of religions. The writer needs to be congratulated for presenting complex philosophical and religious concepts in a very engaging and lively prose. This book will be of great use to scholars and serious readers.
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IN
this serious attempt to understand the ancient religion, the author
tells us that the term "Hinduism" does not occur in any old
Sanskrit text. "This word is of Persian origin and it was
extensively used by the medieval rulers of India who used Persian as
their court language. The word Hindu was first applied to the people
of India in general and later to its religions as well."