Anger on the streets

Brute force is on full display on Indian streets. At the recent protests by the Maratha community in Mumbai and its outskirts, buses and cars were torched without any fear of the law or retribution. In Delhi, hordes of men in saffron and black robes have run riot for nearly a month, destroying, without check, all that comes their way in the name of Shiva. Violence and anger on the streets and in everyday conversations are now seen as normal, while their censure has become arbitrary.

Tribalism and sectarianism are defining right and wrong today, just as they did in the time of the epics. In the Mahabharata, for instance, good and evil were defined by the side one belonged to. All that was done by the Krishna-Arjuna combine is good, no matter how vile the action or how destructive its consequences. The epic that promotes the Vaishnava cult uses every instance to establish the moral, cultural and physical superiority of its members.

The burning of the Khandava forest for instance is an act of extreme violence, unforgivable within the epic’s own moral code. The forest is burned down at the behest of Agni who, in the garb of a Brahmin, asks Arjuna for help. The destruction of the forest renders Takshaka, the king of serpents, homeless.

Indra was the protector of Khandava and also Takshaka’s friend. Krishna and Indra were rivals and, around the time of the Mahabharata, the followers of the Vaishnava cult were scripting their rise to power while Indra’s influence was on the wane. In the Mahabharata therefore, any act of aggression by Indra is denounced but those by Arjuna or the Pandavas is justified because they have Krishna’s backing. Neither the destruction of the forest, nor the violence is questioned in the Mahabharata even though other similar events are.

Contrast this with another episode in the same epic. Towards the end of the battle, Aswathama, son of Drona, goes on the rampage. Drona fought on the side of the Kauravas and was killed by Dristadyumna after he is led to believe that his son has been killed on the battlefield. Krishna asks Yudhishthira to lie, convinces him that he can cover up the untruth by whispering that the Aswathama that he is talking about is actually an elephant and not Drona’s son. As expected Drona is heartbroken and lays down his arms at the news and is subsequently killed.

Aswathama is so angry at the deception that he attacks the Pandava camp in the dead of the night. However, because he has stepped over the boundary line by waging war on a sleeping enemy, he is denounced and has to wander the earth in despair. Aswathama is a worshipper of Shiva while Krishna-Arjuna and the entire Pandava camp are part of the Vaishnavite sect. Good was always on the side of the Pandavas even when they flouted the rules of dharma.

HOT TOPIC: Indra and Arjuna at the burning of the Khandava forest

Sectarian alliances allow for ruthless behaviour among followers of the sect. It creates a society that justifies acts of extreme violence as long as they serve the larger cause of establishing sectarian supremacy. It does not allow for objective examinations of good and evil.

The story is similar for religious affiliations too. Crusades to spread the influence of one god, killing to increase one’s flock of followers were never questioned.

Many gods and goddesses were also known to be extremely aggressive when it came to expanding their circle of worshippers. According to the legend of Manasa, a goddess worshipped in Bengal and Bihar, she was ruthless when it came to enlisting devotees.

The story goes that when the community of shepherds refused to accept her as their goddess, she poisoned their cattle. Chastened, the shepherds became her followers and spread her worship to the lands they travelled to. She hounded Chand Soudagar, a leading merchant of his times and an ardent Shiva worshipper. He refused to accept her so she killed his children and ruined his business. Ultimately he had to accept her into his family of gods.

The same is true of gods in the Greek, Roman and Egyptian pantheon. Unlike monotheistic religions that gather around one god, polytheism breeds many power centres. And unless a nation rises above its gods, it is likely to be swallowed by them.