Being glad for others

Do we find ourselves menaced or delighted when stereotypes are overturned? If we need help in making up our minds, let's remember that God...

Do we find ourselves menaced or delighted when stereotypes are overturned? If we need help in making up our minds, let8217;s remember that God and the Constitution are on the side of the Different. Both want the denizens of India to be inclusive and appreciative of people and points of view that are not exactly us8217;. Shiva tattva, for instance, seems to be about making room for others on honourable terms. It was because serpents were feared and despised, that Mahadeva slung them round his own neck, blue from drinking poison to save the world. This very blue throat is said to have been irresistible to Parvati Devi. It8217;s such a romantic way to urge the positive benefits of inclusion, that you truly wonder about the temperament and character of our early mythmakers.

I think they would have been delighted that an Arora from Pitampura8217; God, how patronising won 25 lakh in Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;KBC, just by keeping his cool and by virtue of having religiously read the newspapers end to end since school. So it8217;s amusing just how much finger-wagging is going on about how a money-show is all about greed. That8217;s what I too thought I should feel, at first. But didn8217;t they have tournaments of skill in the old days, with bags of gold to be won? Isn8217;t a game show a modern equivalent?

Most of all, don8217;t you find yourself irritated by all the preaching that8217;s going on about how such shows are quot;against Indian dharma and culturequot;? I cannot claim to speak on behalf of other faiths, but I will say, as a Hindu, that this is just not on. Kama, Artha, Dharma and Moksha are prescribed as the four legitimate pursuits of human existence 8212; love and desire, material wealth, right conduct and, finally, liberation. The Chaturashrama are supposed to qualify us in stages. Studenthood or Brahmacharya is meant to shape us as Grihastas or householders, to earn a livelihood, to perhaps marry, spawn a family and fulfill social and moral responsibilities, and play our part in the Divine Comedy with ease and grace. Dharma or right conduct is the red sutra meant to colour our endeavours in all fields: in the way we work, in the way we relate to other people and in the way we develop and apply our awareness of right8217; and wrong8217;. But keeping a sharp eye on the poor and disadvantaged is very much a part ofthis conduct code. Why else do we laud daanveer8217; like Harishchandra, Karna, Shibi and Vikramaditya? All the saintly croakings against materialism happened in a context, to warn people against the limitations of seeking Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;only Kama and Artha. There is nothing dishonourable about earning money legitimately.

As for Sanatana Dharma, let us rejoice in the mental freedom it bestows. It has evolved to fit new realities, like general education, the emancipation of women and the destruction of the caste system. So you can kick Manu and most of the Puranas into the dustbin of history and yet be Hindu8217;, because nobody can say Don8217;t8217;. That8217;s why Sanatana Dharma was blessedly free to accept a modern, inclusive constitution, which was in direct spiritual descent from the Upanishads, but also picked up bits from France, England Ireland and America. As they might fondly say in the North: Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Kahin se eenta, kahin se roda, Founding Fathers ne kunba joda.

The spiritual dimension to this socio-legal inclusivism goes way beyond sharing our berth on the train or writing a cheque for charity. It also seems to mean generosity in thought and word, to not just the disadvantaged, but to those who get lucky with Kama and Artha. It8217;s all too easy to feel kindly towards losers. But letting ourselves feel good about another8217;s success is the ultimate hurdling high. Because our Dharma and Moksha may possibly lie in just that.