When we announced Bodha, some friends lamented the fact that Hindu organizations tend to splinter, that they are not united, and this is why Hindus tend to fail against their opponents in general. While not dismissing the common concern for Hindu unity, this lamentation results from a misunderstanding of the nature of Hindu institutions. It ignores one of the most fundamental qualities of Sanatana Dharma and how its institutions tend to be fundamentally different from institutions generated in a monotheistic West. The answer warrants to delve into some detail so let us do that here.
The objection stems from a binary which posits: unity vs. division. It is a simple choice where one has to pick unity over division. However, when it comes to civilizational struggles, the binary changes and it becomes a struggle between unity and diversity. On one hand is the centralizing/ unifying force which tends to destroy all diversity for the sake of unity and survival. On the other hand are the local, regional forces which seek diversity but at the expense of unity and even survival. Suddenly the binary becomes one full of ethical and existential conundrums and choice seems difficult. On one hand is enriching diversity; on another is unity and survival. Posited like that it seems that one has to forsake diversity for the sake of unity and vice-versa. Seems like a tough choice.
A Hindu mind would inevitably ask? Is there a third choice?
It seems yes there is. Most of the monotheistic West and Islam have battled with the unity vs diversity binary for the entire history of their existence. Centralizing, classical, colonial forces have fought against ethnic, regional, vernacular and local forces. The entire history of most of the monotheistic world can be seen as a struggle between what we can call here the centripetal and centrifugal forces. This struggle has often been violent and resulted in massive oppression on one hand and segregation and secession ultimately resulting in overpowering by the enemy forces on the other.
Sanatana Dharma however has a third option. We call similar forces in our country as Margiya and Desiya: one representing the central, Vedic, Sanskrit path and the other representing the kshetriya, sthaniya, bhashiya, jatiya and other diversity. But the two are not rivals or opposites of each other. Rather it is a complementary binary and the Margiya force enlivens, protects and even nourishes the Desiya forces. And thus at the same time diversity flourishes in Bharatavarsha along with unity. A Hindu is an individual, a member of the family, a member of jati, varna, kṣetra and then desha and ultimately Sanatana Dharma, all at the same time without sacrificing any of these identities.
This concept has been dwelt upon in detail in my book so I won’t repeat everything here. But in short this concept works with the agency of a trick to resolve internal conflicts as they inevitably arise in any society and this conflict resolving mechanism is called pyramid of priorities: that if there is a conflict between two sub identities inside Hindu society then there should be a clear cut order of priorities which tells them which role to choose in which scenario.
For example, if the disagreement is just internal, the easiest way to resolve that disagreement for the two fighting sub groups is to go their own way, have their own tribes, jatis or groups and thrive with amicable relations between them but with full autonomy over their own domains. This is how India became so diverse, and we nurtured so much diversity in language, food, culture and everything else. But when an external enemy is at the gates, then the two sub-Hindu groups forger their rivalry and differences and fight together to defeat the external threat. This is the pyramid of priorities and if followed well it takes care of both diversity and unity at the same time.
In medieval era we forgot about this order of priorities and particularly in the British era we thought that diversity meant only division and thus we lost a lot due to these internal divisions. Forgetting the Sanātana umbrella and the pyramid of priorities in which Sanatana Dharma was always the top priority the enemies of Hindu societies won.
This is the reason that Hindus who are conscious about the battlefield of dharma are afraid of diversity, thinking all diversity is only division and division leads to defeat. What they forget is that all diversity is not division, and keeping the pyramid of priorities in sight with the pole star of Sanatana Dharma at the top, all diversity can flourish without harming the cause of Hindu unity. Thus more number of organizations does not mean lack of unity and will not result in a loss to Hindu causes, if the pyramid of priorities is remembered.
Times are changing now. Hindu chiti is waking up and the pyramid of priorities is coming into play once again. As Hindu society becomes more aware of its own roots, diversity in our organizations will help the Hindu cause and not harm it. If we know how to resolve a dharma sankata and if we agree that facing external threats, we should stay united, then diversity helps the cause rather than harming it.
History has seen countless such Hindu organizations rise. Those organizations which remember respect the pyramid of priorities sustain and those which do not, quietly disappear. That is how Hindus also let time resolve the burden of the unnecessary. What is not useful disappears on its own. What is useful to the service of Sanatana Dharma, sustain.
In the case of Christianity and Islam their diversity has only helped them. For if there are 24,000 Christian sects but everyone considers Hindus as an object of conversions then our problems have been multiplied 24,000 fold and their strength has increased manifold for if one sect fails then another will succeed and so on.
Once Hindus develop sufficient Shatrubodha and remember the order of priorities, more Hindu orgs will mean a stronger Hindu cause and this is how I see the birth of – Bodha. Bodha is created so that order of priorities is maintained and we are able to provide razor sharp focus on areas and issues that we are best at.
I hope this answers all the questions that were asked in the last few days.