:: CULTURE, SPIRITUALITY & LIFESTYLE ::

Hindus who complain a bit too much

Sheena Patel
Hindu Voice UK, 29 August 2009

Over two years back Hindu Voice UK posted this article. Now things have got better on the blog but there’s something still happening that still bugs me. Check the messages on our blogs, quite a few are negative and of a rather complaining nature.

I’ll have to hold my hands up here and admit I’ve been guilty of this too in the past. Something I’ve noticed is how easy it is to get caught up in all the negativity. However this is a serious problem after searching through and reading quite a few blogs and their comment sections, how the posts with a Hindu tinge were, for lack of better word, whiney. Is that the best reaction to anything Hindu related we can come up with, is just to complain about it?

Now this doesn’t just apply to anonymous folk on the web. Every other day you can expect a press release from Rajan Zed complaining/criticising/urging something whether it be telling celebrities to check their Sanskrit tattoos are accurate, about some below par film, some crappy game, somebody going to a Halloween party as Kali-Ma and just about anything and everything else. I can’t help but feel when he urges celebrities to look into the deeper meaning of Sanskrit tattoos one day and then calls for the EU to tackle discrimination against the Roma community the next, that it devalues the importance and severity of the latter. Now I certainly have admiration for Rajan Zed, with what he had to go through at the US Senate and how he dealt with it. Certainly he’s far, far away from the worst Hindu spokesman out there.

One group I can’t say the same for is Hindu Jangruti Samiti who take complaining to a whole new level. There isn’t really much else to say about this website (well there is but look at their website to find out for yourself). When the Love Guru came out they decided to have this on their website, originally from the Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF). Instead of taking the film to task on its actual content the SSRF decided to make a table explaining which hell exactly the film makers will be going to!

I couldn’t really put into words what the main problem was with this way of reacting to Hindu grievances; luckily I was on a mailing list where Koenraad Elst got it spot on:

“It's like all those who write letters to the BBC: "Your latest report has again shown your anti-Hindu bias..." Whereas detailing the incorrectness in the BBC report may have some effect, this endless wailing about "anti-Hindu" merely gets classified as more Hindu fascist hate mail. Its effect is counterproductive.”

And again lamenting the style in which many Hindu grievances are put forward:

“What does bother me, though, is the style, which is calculated to confirm lazy-minded Hindu readers in the sterile attitude of wailing, and to confirm outsiders in their impression that Hindu grievances are but a mental condition of paranoia and self-centredness. Moreover, the poor language confirms them in the impression that [religious and practicing] Hindus are non-intelligent Hindus, unwilling or unable to learn proper English.”

However beyond these points, the main and single biggest problem I see with complaining and getting worked up over minor issues is that it devalues any serious attempts by Hindus to get recognition of serious human rights abuses. It seems a gross injustice to equate an obscure model dressing as Kali as a Haloween costume with serious human rights violations that Hindus have to go through in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Now it would be easy to dismiss the likes of Rajan Zed and Hindu Jagruti Samiti at hand straight away. But it should be noted at least they’re attempting to do something for Hindu society. It’s easy for many Hindus (especially many non-practicing Hindus) to sit back and note how these individual and groups are doing a disservice to Hindu society as a whole. But the question is what are these very same people doing instead?

In my opinion it’s not so much the complaints but when we don’t do anything meaningful to fix what’s causing our grievances in the first place, beyond merely complaining some more.

P.S. I’m perfectly aware of the irony of complaining about complaining!

EDITOR'S COMMENT: It wasn't without some hesitation that we published this article by one of our most esteemed writers. We do not wish to discourage or hurt to the individuals and organisations mentioned in this article, who after all are at least trying to serve their society or religion in the way they best understand. However, ultimately Hindu Voice UK wishes to promote introspection and debate, and an open presentation of people's views. For these reasons we felt it to be appropriate to publish this piece. It is hoped that the points raised here serve to stimulate discussion and reflection rather than arguments and condemnation.

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