01 - HINDU BY BIRTH,

A HINDU BY BIRTH, I AM .

AM I PROUD TO BE A HINDU ? 
I USED TO BE ONE, AS HINDUISM TO ME WAS A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE SANS AN ESTABLISHMENT RULING OUR LIVES, BUT I AM NOT SO SURE IF I AM A PROUD HINDU NOW IN 2020. 

HENCE THIS BLOG LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

IN SEARCH OF MY GOD

At age 73, my line of thinking is way different to what I believed all these years. The other realisation is at 70 Plus I am not a participant in any serious matters be it family or political, just a silent observer of things that happens around me   😱😱😱

Any time a debate arises with family and friends on Religion and religious conflicts I tell my Christian and Muslim Friends, I am a Hindu as my parents were Hindus, and the same with you. None of us had a Choice abiut what Faith we should follow nor did we evaluate available religions and adopt the one that appealed most to us. So Basically religion is just showed down our throats at birth and we even get a barcode for life and forced by parents to blindly foloow the faith they are born into.

This way I find children born of mixed parentage like a Christian mother and a Muslim Husband, or a Hindu Father and a Christian Mother are better off as they have to choose if they wish to follow one f these religions or abstain totally and be a Good Citizen. Id say 80% of Australians fall into this category, very friendly and supportive people,  with greater social awareness and morals of their own violation as opposed to being indoctrined by Religion they are born into.


Experience of my Life Time as a "Hindu by Birth"

I was born in 1946 after the Japanese had surrendered and left Andamans to the British Rulers but just before India got its independence.

Opposite our house in Supply Road, Port Blair was a beautiful Mosque where we kids used to play. The Old Mullah was a kind man who always gave us Guavas he plucked from the trees just for us kids to eat. Then there was the Gurudwara and my dad's Sardarji friend used to take me once a month and we walked around singing Satyanaam Satyanaam Satyanaam Ji, Vayaguru Vayaguru Vayaguru Ji. Interestingly at that time there was no Church in Port Blair that I remember nor was there a Temple. A Temple got built later in 1954 when I was still there.

I joined my new Modern Preparatory school in 4th Std at age seven, as there were no schools to join earlier, we had Independence day celebrations; I was Nehru in full white and with a Nehru Cap and as the National anthem Played my role was to place flowers at Bharatamata's feet and saluted he, a role played by my classmate Indira, my very first heart throb, at age 8.

There were only 100 or so kids in the school and we were all INDIANS and that was a beautiful feeling.

My father packed me and my younger sisters off to Madras in 1955 so we could join good schools like my older sisters. Living in Mylapore, St Bedes High school and Rosary Matriculation was the first choice as my mother wanted the best education for her children. Unfortunately neither I nor my sister could get admission as we did not know Tamil or Hindi which was mandatory as a Second Language. Nor did we know Telugu.    So off we went to Vanniar Sangam school in Mylapore which was full Tamil medium for one year, allowing us seats in our chosen schools.

Here at St Bedes, I was a Telugu speaking Naidu Boy who could only converse in Hindi that I learnt from birth in Andamans and struggling to speak Tamil; very few boys spoke Hindi as every one spoke in English..was not an easy start for an Islander who could read English but not speak in English.

The first period every school day was always reserved for Religion. All Christian boys both Catholics and Protestants attended the Catholicism Class and all non Christians meaning Hindus and Muslims had to attend the Moral science class. This was my favourite class. There was no talk of Jesus or Mary or an effort to convert me but we were taught the ten commandments and all about good morals skipping the God Bits, like:

- Respect your father and Mother
- Do not Commit Murder or adultery
- Do Not steal or tell lies
- Not to covet another man's goods or wife
- About Gluttony and Greed being Bad etc etc

These were further compounded by what I learnt at Scouts Classes and about doing at least one good Deed every Day..I loved the scout movement started by Sir Baden Powell as it shaped the person I was to become when I grew up. I was a Patrol Leader and tried to become a President Scout but failed my cooking test as I forgot to add salt to my lovely dish.

At academics I joined St Bedes High School school in 5th Standard in July 1956 after the half yearly exam had finished. In Sept we had the third quarterly exam and I came 8th and in the final exam I came second to my good friend Rajendran who beat me by few marks. From years 6 to 9 Rajendran and I stood first in Hindi and Tamil sections throughout respectively. In year 10 the Tamil nadu Govt changed the school curriculum from Higher secondary Cambridge of 11 standards to a ten year Matriculation curriculum after which we had to study one year Pre-university to join a degree course. In year X Rajendran and I were in one class and he came first in quarterly and I came 1st in half yearly and both were beaten by a new boy Shekar in 3rd quarterly. Was an awesome ride.

Now it was during my school days that I was exposed to the religious divides that was new to me. Brahmin Boys stuck together at all times and I could not understand why. 

I was a Hindu but did not belong with them as I was a meat eating Carnivore and to be shunned along with Christians and Muslims. (This does not mean I had no Brahmin friends as there were many.)

On Saturdays after scout classes, a big bunch of my friends would come home and my mum and dad were only happy to cook something for all of us hungry kids to eat, be it Poori Potato, Uppuma or Bondas and Bajjis etc etc.

Yet when I rode my bike to meet a brahmin friend, I was never asked to come inside their homes. My friends stepped out and we talked standing outside their houses. It took me a while to realise the reason. 

On one such occasion, when I was in my 9th std my TamBram Friend told me to come into his home, as he was on his own. He awkwardly told me Dai we do not have sofas in our home like yours, just foldable steel chairs. There was virtually no furniture bar the steel chairs and a few Calendars on the wall. He brought me some buttermilk and we sat down for a chat. About ten minutes or so later his mother and grand mother returned.

There was some commotion inside in another room and they asked my friend to come in..I realised my presence inside the house was not welcome, so I quickly got up and said bye to my friend who followed me. 

Even before I put my shoes on the grandmother brought some holy water in a brass chombu and started to sprinkle the holy water on the chair I was sitting on and I could her the old lady mumbling Sani, Sani meaning Filth, Filth. This is something that scarred me for life and something I cannot get over, even to this day six decades later.

I was a Dirty meat eating untouchable and was not allowed into the sanctum of a Brahmin House.. 

Was I unclean ?
Was I a bad human being ? 

RajaGopalaChari the CM of TN (1952-1954) after Independence, said that a son should pursue the job his father does -- he wanted the society to be structured as it was 3000 years ago. So I am glad I am not climbing coconut trees to cut coconuts like my ancestors did.

Whatever it was I was an inferior Hindu. Not my friends fault but their orthodox families laid down such ludicrous rules. 

Today most Brahmin friends of mine definitely eat eggs, majority eat chicken and a small percentage even love their Beef Steaks. 

What relevance does what one eats has on his relationship with God I ask ?

When I joined IIT Madras the problem was worse as a larger number of classmates were staunch Brahmins from Hindu schools who would not even allow non brahmins into their hostel rooms which had doors & Windows shut all the time. Yet they had no problem spending time in my room. Double standard it was; but then Brahmins who had attended Christian schools were different. Most of my Brahmin friends from IITM were liberated souls and loved eating chicken too..

I can never forget the occasion when my closest Brahmin Friend told me not to trust XYZ as they were selfish and cunning Brahmins and to shun them as they would make use of me when needed. 

Trust me not all Brahmins are like this, as that would be hasty generalisation; just depends on their upbringing.

"Basically I was a Hindu by birth but to the Orthodox Brahmins I was an INFERIOR Hindu"

I left India in 1976 and assumed India with all the Progress in the last 44 years would be a better place where all Citizens are equal. From ages 30 to 60 is all about Work and Family...and time just flew.

Fast Forward to 2020 to see that the Hindu Majority BJP is in Power and the Upper caste Hindus are driving a wedge between Hindus and Muslims. They have in a cunning way Included the Christians, not because they care for the Christians more but cannot risk alienating the Christians as well. 

My Guess is Christians will be targeted later and then the Lower caste Hindus. I see history repeating itself here

Until 2020, I never had the need to understand Hinduism or the Caste divide and how it all came about and I now am on a journey to understand the history of "The Caste system in Hinduism: where, some Upper Caste Hindus are More Hindus than the lower castes Hindus".. 

Damn this reminds me of "The Animal Farm" (where all people are equal but some people are more equal than the others) which was my Advanced English text book in Year X.


"The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing"
- Edmund Bourke

and this is what has happened in India since Independence.