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The Hindu Phenomenon : A Unique Phenomenon
By Girilal Jain
The first point that needs to be emphasized in a meaning- ful discussion of Hindu nationalism is that it is someth- ing altogether different from other types of national- isms, with the Possible exception of the Chinese about which it is premature to say anything definite since the Chinese people hare yet to recover their capacity to shape their future in accordance with their civilization and genius. The reason is simple. The Hindu civiliza- tion, which is the basis of Hindu nationalism, is differ- ent from any other living civilization, again with the partial exception of the Chinese. Even when the unique- ness of our Civilization is accepted, it is sought to be annulled for all practical purposes, by giving it the label Hinduism and equating it with other religions. The tragedy is that Most educated Hindus have themselves fallen prey to this semantic confusion. Thus they de- scribe themselves as one community among others. It follows that we should shun the term Hinduism: but that is not a practical proposition.
What we can, however, do is emphasize again and again that Hinduism is not a religion. Rene Guenon, one of the best known European traditionalist authors on various civilizations, writes in his book Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines : "...the term religion is difficult to apply strictly outside the group formed by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which goes to prove the specifically Jewish origin of the idea that the word now expresses." He adds: "In India we are in the presence of a tradition which is purely metaphysical in its essence ... A fact which stands out much more clearly here than in the Islamic tradition, chiefly owing to the absence of the religious Point of view, ...is the com- plete subordination of the various particular orders relatively to metaphysics, that is to say relatively to the realm of universal principles."
Authors : Shri M. Rama Jois
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