Dear Editor,
It is no secret that the Guyanese politicians will use their religious beliefs as they see fit. Many persons of faith will no doubt question how their faith is being represented. Thanks to Swami Aksharananda for presenting his view and his call (SN Letter Monday 20 April, 2015) that the Bhagvad Gita must be represented in its entirety if it is to be understood. Such a task would be a challenge for any aspirant when the vast diversity of Hindu philosophy could sometimes even result in contradictions which might not easily be understood.
One thing though is that Hindus have sought solace through their faith to recover from injustice and oppression. Others have unfortunately used the faith to also reinforce injustice and oppression. One Hindu woman who survived domestic violence took the story of Arjuna challenging the unrighteousness of his family as saying that it was relevant to her own challenge of the abuse of her husband and his family.
Swamiji refers in his conclusion to a fable from the Hitopadesh which gives counsel about being careful with the uncertain alliances which are built as they might be worse than the certainty. The interpretation for those of us who are not too literate might be stretched to ‘better the devil you know than the one you don’t” and in our election season, depending on which political party we support, if any, it could mean staying with what you know.
There is wisdom in understanding the options and analysing any alliances. Our Hindu culture in Guyana has tales of the Arkati (recruiters of immigrants) with their promises and perhaps an interpretation of the conclusion of the mitralabha might be .. you have to choose which Arkati to go with. Many Hindus though, have used their faith as they embraced uncertainty and gave up the certain which was unjust for them. The Hindus who left India for Guyana, the Hindus who left Guyana and the people who leave abusive relationships, all leave their certainty.
Some Hindus instead of worrying about the Arkati use their faith, however imperfectly, to change the flourishing certainty of injustice and corruption to ensure that the oneness which our scriptures talk about is truly realised.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon