I was informed by a friend of mine that he is deluged with a forward quoting an article in tennews that Corruption in India is because of Hindu culture, its religion and worship practices.
The article bases its conclusions on the practice of people offering to God in Temples for favors received, instances where those closest to Kings betrayed the King for Money and that a Politician, J.Jayalalithaa, the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu coming back to power despite corruption charges.
No doubt Corruption is a serious virus and has to be eradicated in full.
I thought initially that this article in question is a well meaning one.
But I find that corruption is used as a tool to denigrate Hinduism and Hindu Culture.
I am informed that the article is being forwarded with regularity to young Indians.
The article seems to be by SHANTONU SEN and it is claimed that it was written 6 days ago.
A comment to the post states that,
‘
thisarticle appeared on some blogs 5 years ago. Now it appears as a New Zealander’s view. Tennews please share the source.
but since many Indians are taking this seriously… Observations on corruption are, sadly, correct.’
Which is true?
The name SHANTONU SEN is Bengali.
Is he a Naturalized New Zealander or a pseudonym for India/Hindubaiter/
As this article seems to have been written, in the Catherine Mayo style, to denigrate Hindu culture rather than addressing the issue of corruption, let me answer point by point.
‘
Corruption in India is a cultural aspect. Indians seem to think nothing peculiar about corruption. It is everywhere.
Indians tolerate corrupt individuals rather than correct them.
No race can be congenitally corrupt.
But can a race be corrupted by its culture?
To know why Indians are corrupt, look at their patterns and practices.
First:
Brian from Godzone
NEW ZEALAND
Indians are Hobbesian
(Culture of self interest)
Religion is transactional in India.
Indians give God cash and anticipate an out-of-turn reward.
Such a plea acknowledges that favours are needed for the undeserving.
In the world outside the temple walls, such a transaction is named “bribe”.
A wealthy Indian gives not cash to temples, but gold crowns and such baubles.
His gifts can not feed the poor. His pay-off is for God. He thinks it will be wasted if it goes to a needy man.
In June 2009, The Hindu published a report of Karnataka minister G. Janardhan Reddy gifting a crown of gold and diamonds worth Rs 45 crore to Tirupati.
India’s temples collect so much that they don’t know what to do with it. Billions are gathering dust in temple vaults.’
Using high sounding words such as Hobbesian’ which has no relevance to what is being written is a very poor attempt in trying to impress the reader..
This is what Hobbesian is about.
The Hobbesian trap (or Schelling’s dilemma) is a theory that explains why preemptive strikes occur between two groups, out of bilateral fear of an imminent attack. Without outside influences this situation will lead to a fear spiral (catch-22, vicious circle, Nash equilibrium) in which fear will lead to an arms race which in turn will lead to increasing fear. The Hobbesian trap can be explained in terms of game theory. Although cooperation would be the better outcome for both sides, mutual distrust leads to the adoption of strategies that have negative outcomes for individual players and all players combined.The theory has been used to explain outbreaks of conflicts and violence, spanning from individuals to states’
This relates to states and also individuals .
Focus is on self interest.
One should understand that self interest is the basis for survival .
Self interest is not sinful.
It is only when it clashes against the well being o other.
Unlike Corporate Religions, Hinduism understands the limitations and frailty of Human nature and suggests ways to realize Self/Godhood.
Sanatana Dharma, mistakenly called Hinduism, does not believe in Idol worship,
There is no sanction for Idol worship in the scriptures of the Hindus, the Vedas.
The Reality , Brahman, not to be confused with Brahman is beyond Attributes.
But Human Mind can not operate in a Vacuum.
The cessation of thought processes leads to Self Realization and this is Yoga, a part of Indian Philosophy.
Then why many Gods?
Human beings revere and love things that are dear to them.
So, later Hindu texts , especially the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, realized this and brought in the concept of Personal God,Iswara.
One can worship the form one likes and establish and commune with it in a relationship one is comfortable with.
So, we have God as Mother, Father,Lover, Friend and even as a servant.
Once the mind concentrates on the form, thoughts cease and mind becomes one with he Reality.
At that point of time, one realizes that the Idol worship is not necessary and redundant..
Till one reaches that exalted State Idol worship is necessary just as LKG is necessary even for a Ph.D. After you get a Ph.D, LKG seems non sense, but with out it Doctorate is not possible.
When one establishes a relationship with a God/Idol, as a Mother, Father, Child, he/she does things to it as one would do for a Living thing.
Mother loves to dress up a child and she gets pleasure out of it.
A child has a right to demand things from its Father.
A child offers a kiss as a gift in return.
This is not a Bribe, but an expression of one’s sentiment.
Similarly People offer things to God as a token of affection and some times demands things of Him.
God has other important business to attend to.
He never interferes in the results one obtains for the actions he performs.
The results are totally dependent on one’s efforts(though His Grace is needed even for this)
But the individual thinks that it is because of the prayer or the offering he has made or the vows he has taken his problem was solved.
If the results are not to his liking, despite his prayers, a Hindu chides his God, then consoles himself that his his time was not good, common parlance in India for Karma Theory.
What this practice offers is mental solace and strength in times of crisis.
It may be of interest to note that God is called as the Place where Grief resides!
‘Dukka Bukh Dukkah Sadananaha’ Vishnu Sahasranama.
What does God do then?
He provides us the tools to overcome grief and obstacles by strengthening Mind.
As Hinduism is not an organised Religion, where one does not need some ones permission and Baptism to be initiated into it.
God does not play favorites in Hinduism..
2. Hinduism is Transactional.
.
Yes in the sense that it transacts with the Reality unlike other religions where you need a mediator, like Christ to reach God or the Prophet of Islam.
‘There’s a brand of Christianity I’ve often come across in churches and around the interwebs. I’m going to call it Transactional Christianity.
When you enter into a transaction, you pay an agreed amount and receive a predetermined item or service in return. It’s a fixed equation, backed by terms and conditions: if you pay A, you get B. And if what you get isn’t to your satisfaction, you can usually get your money back.
Many people apply this kind of formula-based thinking to God.
- If I pray the sinner’s prayer, I’m home free for all eternity.
- If I read the Bible dutifully and have regular “quiet times”, I can expect God to look after me.
- If I attend church regularly, I’ll feel like I’m right with God.
- If I give my ten percent, I’ll reap a harvest of material blessing.
- If I regularly pray for protection over my family, I can expect perfect health.
Now this is all well and good when everything’s going according to plan and all the transactions are proceeding smoothly. But this kind of thinking has a flip side: when things don’t work out the way they’re supposed to – when something goes wrong with the transaction – we’re forced to look for an explanation. When we pray fervently for a friend to be healed but they still succumb to cancer, we’re left with questions like “Did I pray hard enough?” or “Did I have enough faith?” Or when, in spite of our efforts to spend regular time in prayer and Bible study, we still find ourselves dry and thirsty and unable to hear God, we begin to wonder what we’ve done wrong, what sin or issue in our life is blocking our direct line to heaven.
And so it is that this very common breed of Christianity often leads to guilt and an unspoken feeling that we must be missing the mark and somehow need to do better. We know that God can be relied upon to keep his part of the bargain – that’s what it says in the terms and conditions, right? – so the problem must lie with us.
The basic problem with a transactional approach to Christianity is this: God does not conform to our notions of how He should behave, who He should bless and how, and what He should do to reward us for honouring our end of the deal.’
The above quote is from the following Link.
( http://www.faithmeetsworld.com/transactional-christianity/ )
The link is from a Believer in Christ.
When Europeans came to India they built schools. When Indians go to Europe & USA, they build temples.
Indians believe that if God accepts money for his favours, then nothing is wrong in doing the same thing. This is why Indians are so easily corruptible.
Indian culture accommodates such transactions morally. There is no real stigma. An utterly corrupt JayaLalita can make a comeback, just unthinkable in the West.
Second –
Indian moral ambiguity towards corruption is visible in its history. Indian history tells of the capture of cities and kingdoms after guards were paid off to open the gates, and commanders paid off to surrender.
This is unique to India.
Indians’ corrupt nature has meant limited warfare on the subcontinent.
It is striking how little Indians have actually fought compared to ancient Greece and modern Europe.
The Turks’ battles with Nadir Shah were vicious and fought to the finish.
In India fighting wasn’t needed, bribing was enough to see off armies.
Any invader willing to spend cash could brush aside India’s kings, no matter how many tens of thousands soldiers were in their infantry.
Little resistance was given by the Indians at the “ Battle ” of Plassey.
Clive paid off Mir Jaffar and all of Bengal folded to an army of 3,000.
There was always a financial exchange to taking Indian forts. Golconda was captured in 1687 after the secret back door was left open.
Mughals vanquished Marathas and Rajputs with nothing but bribes.
The Raja of Srinagar gave up Dara Shikoh’s son Sulaiman to Aurangzeb after receiving a bribe.
There are many cases where Indians participated on a large scale in treason due to bribery.
3.Europeans Built schools.
Yes.
Why?
Out of love for Indian and Indians?
No, to spread Christianity in India and alter India History.
4.On Betrayals.
Betrayals is a Man’s nature.
The article seems to say that there is no corruption and betrayals in the west.
Please read History.
One curious fact is that all these betrayals were in evidence after Invasion by outsiders into India.
As for as Jayalalitha is concerned she has been acquitted by Court and appeal is pending in the Supreme court.
To those who do not know Tamil Nadu she was defeated immediately after the corruption cases came in.
Do not forget Nixon, Betrolucci,Aldrich Ames,the famed five fingering west to Russia.
Do not forget Profumo, Christine Keeler, Brandt’s PA,Sukarno, Rajapakshe,China’s ex strong man Lin Piao…..
5.Let not people whose religion was organised to protect an Empire, whose Savior’s existence is not proven beyond doubt, whose Papacy was created to control people politically,a religion that broke away because a man could not marry a woman out side his marriage.
Hinduism has a detailed code of Ethics.
Sample from Manu Smriti.
251. A king who thus duly fulfils his duties in accordance with justice, may seek to gain countries which he has not yet gained, and shall duly protect them when he has gained them.
252. Having duly settled his country, and having built forts in accordance with the Institutes, he shall use his utmost exertions to remove (those men who are nocuous like) thorns.
253. By protecting those who live as (becomes) Aryans and by removing the thorns, kings, solely in-tent on guarding their subjects, reach heaven.
254. The realm of that king who takes his share in kind, though he does not punish thieves, (will be) disturbed and he (will) lose heaven.
255. But if his kingdom be secure, protected by the strength of his arm, it will constantly flourish like a (well) watered tree.
256. Let the king who sees (everything) through his spies, discover the two sorts of thieves who deprive others of their property, both those who (show themselves) openly and those who (lie) concealed.
257. Among them, the open rogues (are those) who subsist by (cheating in the sale of) various marketable commodities, but the concealed rogues are burglars, robbers in forests, and so forth.
258. Those who take bribes, cheats and rogues, gamblers, those who live by teaching (the performance of) auspicious ceremonies, sanctimonious hypocrites, and fortune-tellers,
259. Officials of high rank and physicians who act improperly, men living by showing their proficiency in arts, and clever harlots,
260. These and the like who show themselves openly, as well as others who walk in disguise (such as) non-Aryans who wear the marks of Aryans, he should know to be thorns (in the side of his people).
http://www.hindubooks.org/scriptures/manusmriti/ch9/ch9_251_260.htm
Manu Smriti is one among the numerous texts on Ethics in Sanskrit and we have innumerable Regional texts .
The following are from the Bible.
Exodus 23:8
“You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.
2 Chronicles 19:7
“Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.”
Deuteronomy 10:17
“For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
Proverbs 21:14
A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in the bosom, strong wrath.
Job 15:34
“For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.
Deuteronomy 27:25
‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Compare these and decide which is more elaborate .
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