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Internal Fighting Weakens Us
While we fight amongst ourselves, Vaishnavs vs Shivas, Rama worshippers vs
Hinduism is built on grand principle of “live and let live”. We have allowed all sorts of ideas, ideals, philosophies and myths to enter the vastness of our core and have given each and everyone their place in the sun.
Like the monotheistic faiths, each sect asserts that theirs is the only way to attain the ultimate – whatever that ultimate may be. Everyone pays lip service to “all paths lead to God”, yet, they add “but ours is the TRUE one” under their breath. Like the Ydhisthira of old, we are all guilty of this lie, cloaked in exotic versions of “truth”.
Our internal fighting has made us weak and has confused our own supporters. During our fraternal fights, we have even forgotten to close the gate and have allowed all sorts of enemies to come in and take advantage of our disunity.
Sadly, our leaders, the sadhus, sants, mahants, maharajas, Mathapatis and pontiffs with exalted titles, have done more to divide us, rather than unite us. In their zero sum game of wanting to garner the maximum number of devotes, they have snatched who they can from amongst themselves, without thinking how they can expand Hinduism. More often than not, they have bickered and bitched about each other, arguing with each other that theirs is the only way to God / heaven / moksha / nirvana.
These great “spiritual leaders” never tire of splitting hairs on semantics of how to interpret some shloka / mantra or philosophical terminology. Arguing about the supremacy of their branch of philosophy, scripture(s) or ideology, they forget that they are confusing the ordinary Hindu with Sanskrit terms he / she can’t understand. In all their mental gymnastics, not once have they actually spared any thought as to how this is corroding the very fabric of Hinduism.
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