PONMALA

In a secluded place on the bright bank of the river Periyar, abutting a thick forest is situated a Hindu temple. A man took there four friends who came visiting from Hyderabad. The guests were all high caste Hindus. They found the idyllic location of the temple mesmerising, spiritually inspiring. They fell in love with it – love at first sight. As they walked towards the sanctum sanctorium of the presiding deity, a pujari emerged into their sight. Instantly, one of them said, ‘The poojari is not a Brahmin; he doesn’t wear the holy thread. This is a temple of the low castes. Let’s clear off from here.’ They tarried not a second more there.
The high castes do not worship in a temple which has a low caste as priest. This discriminative practice has a mythological basis. It is a Hindu belief that even the most despicable man gets whatever he requests of the Divine just by observing rigorous penance. In the Ramayana epic we read the story of Shambuka, a shudra (lowest of the four recognised castes), who observes penance to attain heaven. But that upsets the gods who reside in heaven. They can’t tolerate a low ranking shudra coming into their midst. They let that known to Sri Rama, who instantly flies in his flying chariot in search of the presumptuous shudra. On finding Shambuka, Sri Rama beheads him. The gods are overjoyed at the divine avatar coming to their help. They praise and thank him for protecting dharma, the universal Hindu law of right behaviour.
Fast forward to 22 January 2024. Modi violates Hindu ritual customs of Pranaprathishta (the ritual that infuses life into an idol and makes it a living representation of a deity) by conducting it (1) on an inauspicious day (2) in a temple that is still under construction. He does it overriding the objections of the Sankaracharyas who are considered the final word on such matters. What’s more, he presides over the Pranaprathishta ritual. Modi, who belongs to a backward caste, thus becomes the Lord of the Rituals. And, lo and behold, it wins the approval of the gods and the Brahmins and every Hindu. What a social revolution! Bravo, Modi!
There is one more revolution that needs to happen for social justice to prevail over the discriminatory tenets of the caste system; it is about discarding the traditional notion of dharma or righteous behaviour. Sri Rama is hailed as Maryada Puroshotaman, meaning the icon of righteous behaviour, which is all about perpetuating the discriminatory caste system as prescribed by Manusmriti, a compendium of divinely inspired laws of right behaviour. Anything done to uphold Manusmriti’s Hindu Dharma is exemplary behaviour. So is Rama beheading Shambukan; so is Rama discarding his wife Sita even after she successfully clears the Trial by Fire; so is Rama stealthily murdering Vali to win the support of his brother Sugriva. Any cheating or any crime done to uphold Dharma is righteous behaviour. And anyone who does so is a righteous man.
This twisted (and in a way malicious) concept of Dharma has its champions all over the world. For the Evangelicals of America, a womaniser and enemy of democracy like Donald Trump is an icon of righteousness for the simple reason that he upholds the dharma of White Supremacy and America First; for the Russians, a heartless dictator like Putin is an icon of righteousness for the simple reason that he seeks to re-establish the Czarist Empire; and a narcissist like Modi, who abandoned his wife to go in pursuit of personal ambitions and who accommodates every criminal who swears allegiance to him and his party, is an icon of righteous for the Hindu high castes for the simple reason that he is all set to declare India a Hindu Rashtra. This notion of righteousness will make a hell of this world. It has to change.
Onam, the biggest festival of Kerala, is centred on the mythological king Mahabali, who was an epitome of righteousness. Under his rule, Kerala is believed to have enjoyed social equality, economic prosperity and genuine justice. He gave us the ‘Ramarajya’ that we now dream of. His only fault was that he was an asura, who was evil by birth. Which boils down to the belief that an individual is made righteous not by his actions but by his birth. Despite doing things that are an insult to our conscience, Rama is a god, because he was born so; despite being an exemplary and loving king, Mahabali is a personification of evil, because he was born so. In fact, Vamana, an avatar of Mahavishnu, punished him for being a good king by pushing him down to the netherworld. This idea of dharma, which is gaining popular acceptance, especially among rulers, will ruin human society. Only he who loves his neighbour as himself should be considered a righteous man. Only he who rules like Mahabali should be considered an exemplary head of state.
The news has just come that the caste Hindus of Thiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu, are building a new temple for themselves because the government has allowed entry for dalits in the age-old Muthumarian Temple. In such a scenario, one wonders why the high castes approved of Modi presiding over the Ayodhya Temple’s pranaprathishta. Well, it should only be seen as a tactical retreat. Modi will serve their ultimate aim of turning India into Hindu Rashtra – he alone is in a position to achieve this long-standing dream of theirs. The last word has not yet been said on Ayodhya Temple’s pranaprathishta. When Modi will have offered Hindu Rashtra to the high castes on a platter, they will declare the pranaprathishta presided over by him null and void and redo it. A Brahmin priest will preside over it then.