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THE VEDIC
FATWA by Anwar
Shaikh EDITORIAL When
a nation loses its cultural identity, it loses its nationhood. This is
particularly true in relation to the Indian subcontinent. Its Muslim population
suffered a crisis of cultural identity at the hand of Islam, and started
believing that they were a Muslim nation and not Indians. This misbelief led to the partition of No
matter whether an Indian is a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh or a Christian, his
cultural identity is rooted in the Vedas, and the only effective way of
reviving it, is through the "Vedic Fatwa" - a new concept, which may
even astound the Hindu ears, but it happens to be the truth. Possibly,
the greatest reason for Indians of all faiths to suffer cultural crisis is,
that they are not aware of their historical achievements in various fields of
life. "Mysticism, The Vedic Legacy" is an attempt to stir up memories
with the facts which have been blurred by fiction over a long period of time. These
articles have been reproduced from Anwar Shaikh's unpublished work: "The Wonders of The Rgveda," which portrays the Vedic roots of all
Indians, that is, people from THE VEDIC
FATWA Fatwa is an Arabic word; its
utterance immediately brings to mind the denunciation, derision and devastation
that Islam has brought to the Kafirs of These
remarks, though true, do not depict the real significance of the Islamic
mechanism of Fatwa, which simply stated, means expression of the true Muslim
attitude towards a mundane problem as adjudged by a mullah or qazi. It is a judicial verdict when given by an appointed qazi (judge) but a binding opinion when declared by a
mullah of reputation. In either case, it is taken to represent the conduct of
the Prophet, who is considered the Model of Behaviour
for the faithful, and they cannot retain their faith unless they follow the
Prophet literally. Of
course, a fatwa can be a cause of division among the believers, but it is also
a great source of preaching the faith because it makes people eager to know
what the religious commands are, in given situations. The mere necessity of
asking for a fatwa i.e. the underlying principle, makes one an active member of
the faith. The zeal of Islam, which united the Muslims against their Hindu compatriots
and turned them into fundamentalists, crying for a separate homeland, largely
owes itself to the fatwas of the Ulemas
belonging to the Muslim League. Strictly speaking, I should add that it was
these fatwa-mongers, who through their opinions, played havoc with the cultural
identity of the Indian Muslims: they were told that Kafir-hating
is true Islam; thus Muslims are enemies of the Hindus, but constitute one
nation with the rest of the Muslims, no matter where they are situated in the
world; they owe all the hatred to Kaashi and all the
love to Kaaba! This
way of thinking induced by the mechanism of fatwa has persisted among the
Indian Muslims, even after the Partition. In fact, their crisis of cultural
identity was deepened because they refuse to sing the national anthem (Vande Matram) and think of Taj Mahal, Nizam-ud-Din
Aulia and etiquette of the lingering Muslim nobility
as the symbols of their cultural identity. Yet they want to live in Bharat as her privileged citizens without having any loyalty
to its integrity, law and customs. In It
is because the seeds of the Indian nationhood lie in the Veda, but the Hindu
priests and the intellectuals have miserably failed to disseminate this truth.
The cradle of Hinduism is essentially what is called No
matter how strange it may sound to the Indian ears, Fatwa is the basic
mechanism of promoting, propagating and perpetuating the spiritual Nationalism
of (undivided) Since
the Rgveda has presented the purpose of life far more
rationally than any other religion, it has a comparatively much deeper and more
proncunced philosophy of vice and virtue. It is this
fact which gives birth to a Vedic mechanism of fatwa so that people can be
guided through a set of dos and donts by separating
the truth from triviality. The Vedic priest, who is not prepared to give a
fatwa i.e. unwilling to declare the vedic
attitude towards an issue, is not a priest but a pretender. An
Indian may be a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhist or a Jain, yet he
knowingly or unknowingly practises the culture whose
foundations were laid by the dictates of the Vedas thousands of years ago. So Divine is the status of the Vedas that Astikas
are those who affirm the authority of the Vedas and Nastrikas
are those who deny it, but God does not form a part of one's belief or disbelief!
The
challenge of the Charvakas, the Buddhists and the Jains was beaten off by the brahmans for the Vedas to reign supreme for many
centuries to come; sufficient enlightenment was imparted to the Hindus through
the Vedic fatwas, which told the difference between
right and wrong, and thus enabled them to endure the foreign atrocities for
1000 years. But now the situation seems to have changed entirely: the Vedic
principles are no longer treated as immutable because Hindutva
is being presented as a form of secularism. It is good for the politician to
win votes through plausibility and it is even better for the priestly business,
but it is fatal to the dignity of the Vedas. Of course, economic affluence is
helpful to the unity of a nation but the cultural identity of all Indians
depends on the Vedas because this is the only source of their national dentity whether they be in Bharat, Pakislan or Equating
Dharma with Secularism is the greatest of all blasphemies. This attitude may
look beautiful on the surface but deep inside it is ugly. In fact, it is a
denial of Dharma. Not only to the politician, the word "Hindutva" smells of communalism but some swamies are equally enthusiastic in this field for
attracting non-Hindu disciples in the name of love, and thus fail to observe
the difference between the dictates of Kaashi and Kaaba, which are diametrically opposed to each other.
Following the Vedic principles, requires an honourable conduct based on boldness, truth and
self-sacrifice, but the Hindu character does not measure up to these standards
because Hindutva has become the means of
self-promotion, especially at the expense of the national interest. The recent
episode of the Ramakrishna Mission explains the situation: they are Hindu but
want to be treated as non-Hindu for personal and communal gains. Forcing such
people to wear the Hindu robes through a process of law is even more
questionable because Dharma is a matter of the heart and not showmanship. In
view of the above discussion, I believe that it is possible to highlight the
misconceptions about Hindutva through the doctrine of
the Vedic Fatwa. It is not my intention to propose remedies but this discussion
is bound to pinpoint some of the evils that have been made to look the virtues
of Dharma, and may prompt the true lovers of the faith to do something about
it. As
this article is about the "Vedic Falwa," it
is based on the authority of the Rgveda. Since
exploiting religious convictions of the faithful, is a cheap old device of the
political and priestly sharks, I must not follow this example, and demonstrate
the authenticity of the Rgveda as the only reliable
historical document, which may decisively settle the issue that I am about to
tackle. It
is only through the mechanism of the Vedic Fatwa that the national identity of
the Indians can be ascertained, and this point, as I shall discuss shortly, is
vital to the foundations of Hindusim. In fact, it is
equally applicable to all people of the Indian subcontinent i.e. The
word "Aryan" has special significance in relation to the Vedic Fatwa
but through a long and variegated debate, the meaning of the word:
"Aryan" and the location of his original homeland have been made
highly controversial. This knot, I believe, can be undone by the Rgveda only, which is considered the only authority on this
subject by the international scholars of all creeds. In
view of his great scholarship, I am tempted to quote the late Professor Ralph
T. H. Griffith, whose monumental work: "The Hymns of the Rgveda," needs no introduction. In
the preface, he quotes F. Max Muller: "What
can be more tedious than the Veda and yet what can be more interesting, if once
we know that it is the first word spoken by the Aryan man?" "The
Veda has a two-fold interest: it belongs to the history of tlhe
world and to the history of India ... As long as man continues to take an
interest in the history of his race, and as long as we collect in libraries and
museums the relics ot former ages, the first place in
that long row of books which contain the records of the Aryan branch of
mankind, will belong for ever to the Rgveda." ( P.i ) This
quotation evidently proves the greatness of the Rgveda
as the most authentic and significant part of human history, which owes its
origin to "The
great interest of the Rgveda is, in fact, historical
rather than poetical. As in its original language, we see the roots and shoots
of the languages of Greek and Latin, of Kelt, Teuton and Slovanian, so the
deities, the myths, and the religious beliefs and practices of the Veda throw a
flood of light upon the religions of European countries before the introduction
of Christianity. As the science of comparative philology could hardly have
existed without the study of Sanskrit, so the comparative history of the
religions of the world would have been impossible without the study of the
Veda. " It
clearly shows that Sanskrit is the mother of the European tongues. How shameful
it is that the Western scholars talk of a sister Indo-European language with
the sole purpose of avoiding their indebtedness to Sanskrit. Is it not amazing
that Sanskrit is still live and kicking despite the horrendous adversities that
it has suffered through the ages but the "Indo-European" became
extinct without any trace in the green valleys of Having
established that the Rgveda is the most reliable
source of history on the subject, I may now quote from it to establish that Panjab is the original home of the Aryans. With a view to
expressing the significance of my argument, I may ask the reader to bear in
mind the concept of Tutelary God. In the olden times, every country believed in
a Chief God, exclusive to itself. Even if that God claimed to be the Creator of
"heaven and earth, " He was considered by
the people of the country as their Patron God, who dwelt in their land. Some of
the ancient examples are: Zeus of Greece and Jupiter of Rome. These gods had
the same nationality as their worshippers. Thus Zeus was Greek and Jupiter was
Roman. However,
a more relevant instance is that of Yahwe, the Jewish
God, who claims to be the Creator of heaven and earth, yet He is very much
Jewish Himself because He lives in " ... thou mayest bring forth my people the
Children of Israel (EKodus Hopefully,
the above quotations explain the concept of a tutelary God, who belongs to a
certain land and people, and protects them for belonging to them exclusively
even though He may claim to be the Creator of the universe. Tutelage,
is thus the choice of God, and there is nothing that one can do about it. Now,
against this background, read the following statement of Lord Indra, the Tutelary God of the Aryans: " ... Over all the streams that flow along "Domain"
means: what one is master of or has dominion over: an estate: territory:
ownership of land, etc. The word "mine" is also noteworthy because
the God Indra is categorically stating that He has
chosen the Land of the Seven Rivers, as His own territory i.e. His homeland. It
is generally agreed that the Seven Rivers refer to the following rivers of the Panjab: 1. Sindhu ( However,
there is a difference of opinion about the identity of the Seventh river. Some think that the Kubah
i.e. the modern Kahul is meant whereas others include
Sarasvati into the Land of the Seven Rivers. One
should bear in mind that the Sindhu or 9. She (Sarasvati) has
spread us beyond all foes, 10. Yea, the most dear amid clear streams, Read
with the above, the following, and you get the clearer picture 26. "For thou (Indra)
art he who conquers all our foes for us. 27. Who will set free from ruinous woe or Arya on For
the proper understanding of the problem, one must realise
that there lived Five Tribes in the Land of the Seven Rivers, who called
themselves the Aryans. They were closely related and war-allies. Thus, they
formed the dominant force ot
the area. They were by no means the only Aryans. The word Aryan applied to all
inhabitants of the territory, but those who practised
a different faith, were contemptuously called Dasa
and Dasyus, though racially they were also natives of
the same land. Besides, there were "lesser Aryans" who practised the same faith as did the Five Tribes but did not
have closer ties with them. Thus they did not form part of the ruling Five
Tribes of the Aryans. These verses clearly state that the Five Tribes were at
war, not only with the Dasa, but also with the
"lesser Aryans." When the Five Tribes suffered a setback, at least
some of them emigrated to the area where the Sarasvati flowed. As they found peace and prosperity there,
they raised this stream to the rank of a goddess like Sindhu.
This
I
have a genuine praise for my ancestors, who civilised
the world with their sword and the spiritual might of the Veda. I am,
therefore, inclined to add a bit more about Panjab,
the original homeland of the Arvans before dealing
with the concept of the Vedic Fatwa: " (Indra) who slew the Dragon, freed
the Seven The
legend has it that Vrtra the Dragon also known as
"serpent of the cloud" and "demon of draught," when sealed
the sources of the Seven Rivers, Indra, the tutelary
God of the Panjab, slew Vrtra
( Ahi ) to restore water supplies to the area. It
demonstrates the special relationship of Indra with
the As
in the Islamic mythology, all benedictions from heaven, descend on 8. " .. yea swift movers, over the Seven Rivers 9. "Exhaustless be your bounty to our princes One
can see here that the chariot af
Asvin i.e. the beneficent role of Asvins
is confined to the Panjab only. Again,
another hymn states: "Most active of the active, Sindhu
unrestrained, There
is a good deal of depth in these verses: Sindhu is
not only a river of the Panjab because it runs
through the entire length of this land but it also itself means the Panjab because other Six rivers of the Panjab
also join Sindhu at different points, and thus it
becomes the representative of the entire Panjab,
which is addressed as Sindha, the God, by the Vedic rishis. The
aim of tnis lengthy discussion is to destroy the myth
that the Aryans were foreign invaders in India, and to establish that the truth
is the other way round, that is, the Aryans were the natives of the Panjab who migrated to other countries of the east and the
west; they took with them the Vedic principles and culture, which civilised the world. The first challenge to the Vedic civilisation came from Christianity when 1. Who were Aryans? The
purpose of this article is to explain the concept of
Vedic Fatwa in action, which caused waves of emigration from the Panjab leading to the civilisation
of the world. What
is Vedic Fatwa? It is the exact antithesis of secularism, which has given birth
to an international culture, believing in the justification of means to gain
the end, thus commending the Machiavellian morality of deceit, duplicity and
devastation. On the contrary, the Vedic stance is based on high morality and
chivalrous attitudes. Scores of times the Rgveda mentions
Mitra and Varuna, the Twin
Lords of Law and Morality. Being totally free from guile themselves, they
expect an honourable conduct from their devotees. The
Chief God of the Panjab was called Indra. Those who believed in Indra
and other senior Gods of his group such as Agni, Aryaman, Mitra, Varuna, etc., called themselves Aryans i.e. pure, noble and
civilised but those who did not believe the Aryan
Gods, were contennptuously called Dasa
and Dasyus. Both the Arvans
and Dasa-Dasyus were the natives of the Land of the
Seven Rivers. It is the Vedic Fatwa which brought about their permanent
division, and the political forces of times played havoc with the unity of
these people. A comparatively recent example is that of Islam in Now
"Around us the Dasyu, riteless, void of This
hymn is dedicated to Indra, Chief God of the Aryans
i.e. the people who obey his commands. The rishi
(priest) is invoking God's succour against those who
do not follow the Vedic doctrine. It must be noted that these infidels are not
being called as "foreigners" but those who have got used to
"keeping alien laws." At that time, Law applied to both legal and
moral practices. Since it is the Aryan priest, who is pleading with the God, he
himself cannot be a foreigner. Thus both Aryans and Dasa
are members of the same race, and it is the Vedic Fatwa or attitude towards the
unbelievers, which instigates believers i.e. the Aryans to engage themselves in
an active struggle against the infidels, that is, the Dravidians,
contemptuously called Dasa and Dasyu.
Since
Aryan versus Dravidian divide has been a ruinous misunderstanding of India, I
may emphasise again that the rift is not racial but
spiritual, being an expression of the Vedic Fatwa i.e. the vedic
attitude towards the lawless, determined to destroy peace, prosperity and
plentitude. The Rgveda declares: "(Indra)
Burn like a vessel with.the flame, the " ... (Indra) chase
thou the many godless evil " ( Indra
) down sink the sorcerer, the There
are many more verses in the rgveda, which testify to
the fact that the Dasa and Dasyus
were the deniers of Indra, who practised
non-Vedic laws and rituals and were held as "Raksasas,"
a race of demons, hell-bent on perpetuating evil. This divide was strictly
spiritual because racially both the Aryans and Dravidians (Dasa-Dasyus)
belonged to the same stock. The Rgveda is quite clear
about it: " Good Lord of wealth is he to
whom all "Good
Lord" is Indra, who is the tutelar
Deity of the Panjab. The word: "here"
clearly denotes the area: it means that as Indra is
God of the Panjab, both Dasas
and Aryans are racially His people, though spiritually they are miles apart. However,
the mischiet-mongers have exploited the following
verse: "Treasure of gold he (Indra)
won; he smote the Since
this verse blatantly contrasts with the one already quote. "Arya colour" cannot mean
what it appears to be. Again, the theme of colour is
nowhere pursued in the Rgveda. This phrase is
ambiguous. "Aryan colour" implies the
degree of devotion of those, who profess to be Aryans i.e. the worshippers of Indra. The
following quotations may help solve this problem: "Those who array themselves as foes to It
means that there was a continual strife not only between the Aryans and Dasa-Dasyu but also between the Aryans and Aryans. In this
situation whose colour was Indra
to protect? Basing Aryan distinction on colour is the
apex of mischief-making. This
problem is better understood when we realise that
there were Five Tribes of Aryans, the believers, who claimed special
relationship with Indra: "The Five Tribes whom He loveth
well The
"Five Tribes loved by Indra" were possibly
the priestly-warrior people, a kind of the English Puritans, who lived austere
lives and loved dominance. They had closer family-ties and also practised nnilitary alliance: "When the Five kindered
Companies, active They
have beer referred to repeatedly n the Rgveda. From
the above, it is evident that they fought other tribes to establish God, as the
Powerful. The Islamic doctrine of Jehad is a
reflection of this practice whereby a clan or a nation secures the right of
dominating other people in the name of God, and thus all those who try to
defend their honour qualify as infidels or Dasyu irrespective of who they are: "The godless man, much lauded Indra, Colour of skin had, obviously, nothing to do with the Dasas
or the Aryans. It is simply a spiritual division dictated by the Vedic doctrine
to enforce the rule of virtue. It is a consequence of the Vedic Fatwa though
viciously exploited by those, whose purpose it serves. It
is now clear that the distinction between the Aryans and the Dravidians is not
racial but spiritual and stems from the Vedic attitude, which is determined not
to compromise its fundamental principles at any costs. Though the modern Hindus
have drifted miles away from the basic Vedic faith yet they have endured a
great deal of sufferings and made tremendous sacrifices to maintain their Vedic
appearance. It is a lot to be proud of yet it is not enough to survive as an honourable nation because lately they seem ashamed of their
Vedic heritage and falling for secularism. Option for Secularism at the expense
of Vedisim exhibits love for the former and lip
sympathy for the latter. The Hindus think that their secular approach serves
the national interest because it brings their Muslim brethren closer to them.
How mistaken they are! Those who refuse to sing the national anthem (Vande Mataram) cannot be
nationals of the land. Such people have developed morbid conscience which has
lost receptivity to reason and moral decency. May
be the major cause for Secularism is the political drive for cheap popularity,
prestige and power. Men like Gandhi and Nehru, who showed the most dishonourable conduct in yielding to the demand of
partition, have been raised to the status of gods instead of being awarded
posthumous punishment befitting impostors. The Vedic Fatwa against such people
is quite clear: When in my dwelling-place I see the Secularism
is great if it means democracy based on equal human rights with freedom of
conscience, but this principle also implies equal responsibility to the Law and
complete devotion to the integrity of the Motherland. However, in The
people who refuse to accept their country of birth as their Motherland and deny
her the motherly reverence, are simply traitors, and must be resisted to the
hilt. Before
I pronounce the Vedic Fatwa against such people, I must declare that the truly
Vedic Society is humanistic and liberal. Here is a very brief sketch: 1. "O Earth and Heaven, with all the Gods,
protect It
means that the Vedic Society is a pluralistic society, protected by all Gods.
Therefore, there is no sectarianism therein, and nobody shall be discriminated
against on the ground of colour, creed or race. 2. The Vedic Society is based on the universality of
mankind: "Held in the lap of Savitar,
divine One, all men, 3. Savitar is the sun-god,
who is generator, vivifier and stinnulator.
This hymn dedicated to him, announces the equal rights of all men. Also look at
the following: "Thou as a god, O Mightiest (Indra) verily Here
one can see that the Vedic Society is all about human welfare and does not
advocate sectarianism. It is certainly different from an Islamic Society in
which a non- Muslim is legally treated as a dhimmy, a
second class citizen, who being a Kafir, has no
substantive rights, whatever. To acknowledge his own contempt, he has to pay Jaziya, a religious tax, and if he does not, he becomes an
outlaw. However,
there is a fundamental difference between a Vedic Society and a Secular
Society. The latter allows convenient morality, which allows the choice of
means to secure the end, whereas the former is all about piety and righteous
character governed by the Vedic Law: " ... ye bounteous Gods: It
is the aim of the Vedic Society to secure righteousness by eliminating
wickedness from the society. Therefore, evil men shall have no place in the
administration. Again, as the appeal is to the "bounteous Gods" who
are Universal (I: XXIII: 10), the Vedic Society is a Welfare Society dedicated
to the good of all. Thus
non-Hindus stand to gain everything that the Hindus shall, but they shall not
be allowed to flout the Vedic Law because the entire Vedic Sripture
is based on the acknowledgement and reverence of the Law. It is because the
Veda holds the Law as the Supreme governor, and the source of knowledge, which
is the fountain of civilisation. Now,
let us see how the mechanism of the Vedic Fatwa is built: 1. A hymn to the God Agni,
states: "Agni bring
hitherward the Gods whose Laws we Here
the repetition of the "Laws we love" shows the fundamental position
of the Vedic Law in the society. There is no compromise on this point. A Vedi (follower of the Vedas) must fight the enemies of the
Vedic Law: "Around us is the Dasyu,
riteless, void of It
must be noted that the Veda does not allow the introduction of the alien laws
in the Vedic Society. Believe me, the Vedic Law is still the most advanced in
the world today. 2. According to the Vedic Law, it is a grave offence
to speak ill of Dharma or molest the followers of the Veda: "May sin overtake our human foes, the 3. The followers of the Veda are required by Law to
preserve themselves against the Godless: "Preserve us from the Godless, from 4. A Vedi does not
surrender to the aggressor or spoiler. If he runs away, he does so only to
fight another day: his withdrawal is only tactical to bounce back with greater dctermination: "Give not us up a prey to sin, O Agni, the 5. No aggression without a cause,
is an important law of the Veda: "Him to who threatens without offence 6. Checking the evil is a fundamental duty of a vedi: " ........................................ 7. Over a period of centuries, the whole of To
express the reverence of Bharat Mata to an Indian, I
may quote from First hymn, Book XII of the Atharva
Veda, comprising sixty three verses, referred to as Bhumi-
Sukta. It describes the heavenly esteem that the
Vedas attach to Verse
12 expresses the total devotion of an Indian to Bharat
Mata: " ... I am the son of Earth, Earth is my
Mother." It
is all about the Earth which is Bharat Mata. The One
who acknowledges her such is a patrict irrespective
of his personal beliefs but the one who does not, is a
traitor both to Bharat Mata and Dharama.
It is because Bharat Mata is the fountain of all the
Vedic traditions. Treason is one offence which is not pardonable. In
view of the size of this article, I think that I have said enough to give a
fair idea of the basic principles, which constitute the mechanism of the Vedic
Fatwa. It
is high time that the Vedic priests invoked different sections of the veda to issue fatwas
for stimulating interest in its fundamentals. For example, a unified Civil Code
for "Agni, whoever
secretly attacks us, the Using
the Vedas just for the birth-wedding-death rituals, has made them dumb and
ineffective; pronouncing fatwas ( responsibly) on
important issues is the only way of making them active and effective again. Upholding
the Law is the foremost duty of a Vedi, who must wage
a war against those who oppose the introduction of a unified Civil Code: "Indra give up the lawless to the pious Law,
here means the Vedic Law, and the Vedi has got to be
strong to enforce it. Obviously, a weakling is no Vedi
because he cannot protect the Law. |