13. K. B. Ganapathy

I have your request for response to the circular titled ‘Time for Stock Taking’ and here is my response for the first document given item-wise in order to keep it to the minimum.

It may be possible in the next 100 years or so to add Jesus Christ as one of the many Gods (33 crore Hindu gods and goddesses) as Jesus is a Godhead for Christians and Christians have no objection for portraying Jesus and his disciples in the form of idols and pictures just as Hindus have added Buddha as one of the Avataras.

However, since Muhammad is not considered a godhead by Muslims but only as the God’s messenger and since Islam does not permit idolatry, painting or portrait of Prophet Muhammad, it may not be possible to add Muhammad to the Hindu pantheon of Gods. Moreover, Allah is formless, rather rightly, and therefore no image of either Allah or Muhammad is found in mosques and are strictly prohibited.

What is true of all religions is the belief of its followers that religion alone can lead to God, and so it is also true of Islam. It is against human nature, no matter to which religion one belongs, not to criticise a religion when one feels that such criticism is just according to one’s wisdom and understanding. After all, the very concept of God has its birth in the emotion of FEAR (of ageing, disease and death) and in front of nature even God, no matter of which religion, is powerless. Buddha seems to have understood this fundamental truth about nature more than any Prophet or Scripture.

I would say Muslims are good but Islam is misinterpreted, like no other religion, by the vested interests for seeking power, position and wealth.

It is wrong to think that if Muslims are told of their common ancestry they will unite with Hindus The words ‘unite with’, I hope, are not used here to mean ‘convert to’.

Here, we must understand that all those who subscribe to any religion are all converts, including Hindus. After all in the beginning there was only animism and nature worship, call it Paganism. Later Prophets and Scriptures, some of them by Rishis and wise men like Confucius, came to influence the people who became their followers. Jesus was a Jew, remember. Basavanna was a Brahmin. Therefore, the common ancestry has nothing to do here; it is only the belief that matters. A Hindu may become a renegade, disgusted with crores of gods, funny rituals couched in superstition. The common ancestry has nothing to do in uniting them with Hindus, rather the Common Law (Common Civil Code) will.

It is hypocrisy to say that the BJP will treat Muslims as human beings. They too will want their votes to capture power. There is nothing wrong if Congress used Muslims. What is important is that nobody should misuse Muslims for votes.

I do not think Sufis are tolerant Muslims. In fact, they are as fanatical as the conservative Brahmins of the Hindu religion. They are more subtle, clever rather than vocal and violent.

I think Muslim mullahs are responsible, rather than Muslim political leaders, for the ghetto mentality of the Muslims. Don’t we have Brahmin Agrahars and Brahmin Vellys where they live away from others?

I do not think it is right to say that Namaz offered on a disputed site like Ayodhya is not acceptable to Allah. We must remember that a devout Muslim offers his prayers even in the battlefield, which is often a disputed site, and we have any number of instances of Muslim kings and warriors offering prayers in the middle of a war.

_Second Document: _Regarding Sarva Panth Samadar Manch.

It is a futile exercise, unnecessary and not likely to serve the dubious purpose it aims to achieve.

Instead of exposing oneself to ridicule by setting up organisations that are suspect in their motives, the best course is to strengthen the existing organisations purely on the basis of the avowed objective which is already set before them.

Footnotes: The writer is Editor and Managing Director of Star of Mysore and Maisooru Mithra published from Mysore in Karnataka.