Hindutva and hinduism holy book

It doesnt dictate adherence to any particular sacred text, say the bhagavad gita for instance, as a national holy book and those making such demands are pandering to a particular political. In this excerpt from his book why i am a hindu, congress mp shashi tharoor explains vinayak damodar savarkars vision of hindutva and how it was closely linked with nationalism. It is not hindu fundamentalism, but, hindutva fundamentalism that is the accurate term for the hatred, division and unspiritual activities attributed to it. In the beginning, savarkar admitted that the term hindutva has a clear distinction from this hindutva theory and hinduism religion. However, the holy books in hinduism are the basis on which we have evolved our culture and way of. Hedgewar, too regarded savarkars hindutva as a great scientific book which fulfilled the need of a textbook on hindu nationalism. The author begins the book with a disclosure that this book makes no distinction between hinduism and hindutva. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.

How hindutva undermines hinduism, explains shashi tharoor. The nalanda university is the oldest university of the world,teaching astronomy,science,mathematics,sanatan dharama,medicine,language,culture and much more. Savarkar wasnt really setting out to create a hindu nation. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures. Five of the hindu holy books are the rig veda, bhagavad gita, sama veda, yajur veda, and athava veda. If his former argument holds, the political hinduism of hindutva is no less the truth than his own version. In an exclusive interview to india today, congress mp and author shashi tharoor explains why there is a battle within hinduism and why that battle is in part a battle for indias soul. According to the encyclopedia of hinduism, hindutva as defined in the classic statement of its ideology, is the culture of the hindu race where hinduism is but an element and hindu dharma is a religion practiced by hindus as well as sikhs and buddhists. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. Oct 21, 2019 forever it has been said that vivekananda established the road to hindutva just because the right wing brigade uses him to establish a monopoly over hinduism in the name of hindutva. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts, believed to be eternal knowledge authored neither by human nor divine. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. The term hindutva took birth with the appearance of vd savarkars book titled hindutva in 1923.

Jun 27, 2018 this shows that contrary to savarkars belief that hindutva is much wider than hinduism, it is the other way round. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. The rig ved is the oldest scripture and holy book of the world. What is the difference between hinduism and hindutva. Here is a faith without a single holy book but many, without a single presiding doctrine but many, with many ways in which you can reach out to the divine. Veer savarkar in his book, essentials of hindutva, made it clear that hinduism and hindutva were distinct from each other. There is also no fundamental creed or any book or books which every hindu should know or recite. In this book savarkar talks about loyalty to pitrabhumi fatherland and punyabhumi holy land. The origins of hindutva or militant and revivalist hindu chauvinism can be traced back to the early 20th century british rule in india. Hindu simply meant an indian until it acquired a religious connotation. Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book.

Hinduism is itself a way of life which people of india live and acknowledge in their life. Hindutva had nothing to do with religion or rituals. A religion with no central tenet or holy book, no single god nor any accepted form of worship, hinduism is the most democratic faith in the world. Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Hinduism, buddhism, jainism, sikhism, islam, christianity, zoroastrianism and others, nobody saw any problem in building india as a secular nation based on the indian constitution. Even if one is an atheist, as long as one agrees that this land is his pitrubhumi father land he is still hindu. About that dot on the forehead, the ten questions people ask about hinduism says this. Hinduism, a hypertolerant and complacent one, is the only true hinduism.

He argued that a hindu is one who considers india to be his motherland matrbhumi, the land of his ancestors pitrbhumi, and his holy land punya bhumi. The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. Hinduism ism is the suffix for a theory, a set of ideas and philosophy. The word hindutva, coined by the early 20thcentury ideologue v. The bhagavad gita is perhaps the single most important holy book of hinduism today. Hindutva still offers hinduness as a deep, shared identity, borne out of an unbroken lineage. But he also concedes that hindutva is not the only facet of hinduism today. Apparently, hindutva amounts to a semitization of hinduism since it is contingent upon belief in an identifiable god preferably rama and principal holy book the gita. A hindu, he wrote, was a person who regards this land of bharatvarsha, from the indus to the seas as his fatherland as well as his holyland, that is the cradleland of his religion.

Feb 28, 2020 savarkars hindutva was declared to be the holy book of hindu sangathan or organization. The work can be said a classic or at least the main document for the study of hindutva the hindu nationalist ideology. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. The majority of the vedas are considered the shruti, which is translated to that which is hard. At best it is a sectarian term, with a positive connotation. Many do not know the difference between hinduism and hindutva, and so it is disturbing to read and hear about hindu fundamentalism. India is the land of the hindus since their ethnicity is indian and since the hindu faith originated in india. Hindutva is incompatible with the lived hinduism of most hindus. Golwalkar founded the rss which is an organization to protect the hindutva ideology and impose hindu nationalism narrative. It doesnt dictate adherence to any particular sacred text, say the bhagavad gita for instance, as a national holy book and those making such demands are.

This new reactionary strain of hinduism, popularly called hindutva, has drastically altered perceptions of what it means to be hindu. Published on 29th march, 2017, on if you ask a follower of the hindutva ideology, heshe will say yes, hindutva and hinduism are indeed the same, or that hindutva is actually a superset that includes politics and economics, while hinduism is restricted to religion and culture. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. Savarkar sometime between 192122 veer savarkar completed his historic book essentials of hindutva while still in andamans. Hinduism is a conglomeration of a number of religious beliefs and practices, says historian dn jha, author of the book the myth of the holy cow. But the thinkers who originally promulgated the term were very much aware of it themselves. Hindutva up to this time, hinduism was being defined based on ideologies. Savarkar chose the term hindutva to describe the quality of being a hindu in ethnic, cultural and political terms. It is a religious symbol representing divine sight and shows that one is a hi foreward magazine. Hinduism has a various branch, the cradle of ideas and customs.

The ideas in the book are solely aimed at discrediting hindutva as something alien to hinduism proper and hence illegitimate. There is a common misunderstanding to use the term hindutva interchangeably with hinduism, which should not be done. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. Today, in india, proclaiming you are a hindu is considered tantamount to declaring your public allegiance to the sangh parivar, and the hindutva movement propagated by the ruling bjp govt and its affiliates. It is in danger from a belief, an ideology called hindutva, which has divided indians into hindus and others, said nayantara sahgal, at the onset of a discussion on author parliamentarian shashi tharoors new book why i am a hindu. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. India was, he asserted, citing some ancient and medieval texts, a hindu nation in an organic sense. Around 1750 bc aryan invaders from central asia settled in north west india and introduced their own religious. The religious scriptures are not followed word to word. Savarkar gives a name to such an ideology and a sort of manifesto. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. Savarkars hindutva was declared to be the holy book of hindu sangathan or organization.

Introduction hinduism stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live in india. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Savarkar chose his words wisely to ensure that he doesnt flair religious emotions, perhaps his visionary thought process told him, that his book would be referred. Full text of hindutva vinayakdamodarsavarkarpdf see other formats. In his new book the hindu way an introduction to hinduism. To savarkar, hindutva is at once precise and collective, both expansive and exclusionary. Sometime between 192122 veer savarkar completed his historic book essentials of hindutva while still in andamans. The 1995 judgment chose to draw the parallel between hindutva and hinduism from an essay by wahiduddin khan, rather than the motherbook of hindutva, hindutva. The word gave a title to political hinduism, recasting hinduism as a distinct national form for india. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. This whole premise is baseless, dubious and deceptive.

Hindutva is not the same as hinduism said savarkar telegraph india. The term in english which came closest to the one he was using, he wrote, was perhaps hinduness. Jan 20, 2018 that is simply not the hinduism i was brought up to value and cherish. Hinduism is like a banyan tree which roots are vedas and upnisadas. Indias current ruling party, the bharatiya janata party, officially adopted hindutva as its defining credo in 1989. This shows that contrary to savarkars belief that hindutva is much wider than hinduism, it is the other way round.

While both hindutva and hinduism are modern constructs, hindutva is an ethnonationalist or religionationalist ideology that derives from the ancient indian religious traditions that have been bracketed together today under the umbrella of hinduism. Which frequently happens to the books edited in india. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Hinduism being hijacked by lumpen elements the hindu.

It is important to note here that rss, alma matter of bjp has a long history of espousing the idea of hindutva and for that, it largely. Tharoors writing in the first half of the book tells us about the hinduism in which he was raised. The word hindutva has once again come under fierce debate, especially when modi government reigns over india. Hindu scriptures and holy books hinduism facts hinduism facts. The word hindutva and hinduism have been used synonymously to each other and has been the subject of high controversy and criticism by many. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or. The thoughts of vd savarkar on hinduism and hindutva.

Jun 04, 2017 the word hindutva and hinduism have been used synonymously to each other and has been the subject of high controversy and criticism by many. For decolonized and selfconscious hindus, this whole debate about hinduism vs hindutva is artificial, pointless and divisive. Similarly, many people who are expressing their allegiance to hinduism and hindutva are themselves seems to be confused and do not make any distinction between these two terms. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. As regards the contents, everything depends on your point of view. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Jul 18, 2018 but hinduism isnt just a religion, it is also inseparably tied into the fabric of the national identity and cultural history of the people who reside in the subcontinent.

The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Ambedkar wrote many books and articles on hindu faithreligion, philosophy, scriptures, system and social changes etc. Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs and religious practices. Apr 09, 2020 for savarkar, in his treatise on hindu identity,he identifies the two core issues who is a hindu, and what it hindutva. The confusion and nature of the word hinduism and hindutva emerge as hinduism is not a prophet based religion. Hindutva is best understood as the political arm of hinduism in a.

He defines a hindu as one who 1 regards the entire subcontinent as his or her motherlandfatherland. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Although technically it is not sruti, since it is part of an epic, most hindus treat it as though it is divinely inspired in practice. For savarkar, in his treatise on hindu identity,he identifies the two core issues who is a hindu, and what it hindutva. Hindutva is not the same as hinduism said savarkar. Feller learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. The hindutva tendencies to take everything literally and at face value have cheapened hinduism into a joke.

If you ask a follower of the hindutva ideology, heshe will say yes, hindutva and hinduism are indeed the same, or that hindutva is actually a superset that includes politics and economics, while. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. The article further states, proponents of hindutva have sought to promote the. The words hinduism and hindutva have been used interchangeably many times. Its time other hindus took back our faith the politician and author wondered how a wonderfully capricious and liberal faith like hinduism could be. A person is identified with his humanity human values, the soul of hindu is hindutva, if a person does something wrong in society or does not come forward to help a poor or troubled person, then we can say that the person does not possess humanity or the person is inhuman. Dec 21, 2016 many do not know the difference between hinduism and hindutva, and so it is disturbing to read and hear about hindu fundamentalism. Whereas hinduism is inclusive, hindutva is exclusive. The oldest teachings and holy books of hinduism date back to 5000 b.