Need to stop distortions of the word 'Hindu:' Vice President Venkaiah Naidu at World Hindu Congress
NEW DELHI: Some people are spreading misinformation against the word, Hindu, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday, while speaking at the World Hindu Congress in Chicago. He also urged all Indians to go back to the ancient Hindu ideals of "share and care" and be guiding lights for the world.
Democracy comes naturally to those who hold the Hindu world view, the vice president said, adding that whenever the world faced threats of fragmentation, conflict, hatred and irrational prejudices, the Indian voice had brought in soothing, inclusive perspectives. "To prevent distortions about Hinduism from spreading, Hindus of the world will have to present the most authentic perspective of their dharma to the world," he added.
"True nationalism is preservation of this invaluable heritage. .We have also to guard against the aberrations that have tended to creep into Hindu society. These ill informed opinions and attitudes need to be altered through wider spread of the real significance of the tenets of what Swami (Vivekananda) called, “the mother of all religions," he added.
He said with ancient Hindu ideals such as tolerance, acceptance, unity and plurality, of love, compassion, service, charity, gender equality, poverty alleviation and protection of the environment were much more relevant than ever before.
Explaining what he felt comprised the Hindu way of life, the vice president said, for the Hindus, the whole world is a family, and that the Hindus believe that the entire universe is a manifestation of God. He also added that Hinduism has always had the ability to absorb and adapt and that saints and religious reformers like Buddha, Mahavir, Basava, Dhyaneswar and Tukaram, Guru Nanak, Dayanand Saraswati and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had made Hinduism "a dynamic religion with the capability to reform, refine, reinvent its practices."
Naidu was criticised by some sections for having accepted the invite from right wing groups, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to speak at the World Hindu Congress. At the same event on Friday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had called for a stronger and more powerful Hindu society by urging all Hindus to unite and learn to protect themselves. His comment reportedly likening Hindus to lions who can be destroyed by "wild dogs" was criticised by opposition parties and termed as "Anti- Muslim."
Democracy comes naturally to those who hold the Hindu world view, the vice president said, adding that whenever the world faced threats of fragmentation, conflict, hatred and irrational prejudices, the Indian voice had brought in soothing, inclusive perspectives. "To prevent distortions about Hinduism from spreading, Hindus of the world will have to present the most authentic perspective of their dharma to the world," he added.
"True nationalism is preservation of this invaluable heritage. .We have also to guard against the aberrations that have tended to creep into Hindu society. These ill informed opinions and attitudes need to be altered through wider spread of the real significance of the tenets of what Swami (Vivekananda) called, “the mother of all religions," he added.
He said with ancient Hindu ideals such as tolerance, acceptance, unity and plurality, of love, compassion, service, charity, gender equality, poverty alleviation and protection of the environment were much more relevant than ever before.
Explaining what he felt comprised the Hindu way of life, the vice president said, for the Hindus, the whole world is a family, and that the Hindus believe that the entire universe is a manifestation of God. He also added that Hinduism has always had the ability to absorb and adapt and that saints and religious reformers like Buddha, Mahavir, Basava, Dhyaneswar and Tukaram, Guru Nanak, Dayanand Saraswati and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had made Hinduism "a dynamic religion with the capability to reform, refine, reinvent its practices."
Naidu was criticised by some sections for having accepted the invite from right wing groups, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to speak at the World Hindu Congress. At the same event on Friday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had called for a stronger and more powerful Hindu society by urging all Hindus to unite and learn to protect themselves. His comment reportedly likening Hindus to lions who can be destroyed by "wild dogs" was criticised by opposition parties and termed as "Anti- Muslim."