The Wandering Gods

When and how did the ancient humans decide to create the sacred spots where their Gods or prophets will live? With time, they decided to create elaborate homes for their Gods but sometimes, the Gods were left out in the open or travelled around with wandering holy-men and sometimes with the holy-women or were carried out of their homes periodically, in processions. I call these the wandering Gods.

This post focuses on some of the my experiences about the wandering Gods.

Most of my experiences of such events are linked with my travels in different parts of the world, especially in India. (Click on the images for bigger pictures)

Sacred Spots for Ancient Humans 

I think that ancient humans chose at least two different kinds of sacred spots.

(1) Some of those sacred spots were along the ancient pathways, for the travellers. At these spots, usually they did not build elaborate structures. Often, these were simple stone-towers or coloured clothes tied on or around trees. Sometimes these sites were close to the water sources.

For example, in Mongolia I saw the stone put together, often accompanied by flower trees and colourful scarfs, along the important pathways, criss-crossing its land. I was told that each stone in that place is sacred and you are prohibited from taking away even a single stone from those places.

 

I think that many persons have started believing in building such stone-towers. I saw them in a forest in Arizona (USA), as well as, in the river bed behind our home in Schio (Italy).

Similar to those stone-towers in Mongolia, are the tree shrines, that are so common in India. There was a small Hindu temple in central part of Mozambique, where I had seen a beautiful tree shrine around a huge Peeple tree. The image below has a tree shrine from a rural area in Madhya Pradesh (India).

 

(2) Other, more important sacred spots were places where the hunter-gatherers came together for big clan meetings. Often these were near rivers and streams or on the top of mountains. Prehistoric caves where rock art has been discovered were also chosen as sacred sites. These became sites of seasonal or periodic fairs and pilgrimages.

For example, the vast area around the confluence (Sangam) of Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Prayagraj (India) is visited by millions of persons during the 6 or 12 yearly Kumbh fair.

 

Specific Energy Fields For the Sacred Spots 

There is another aspect of the selection of sacred spots, about which my knowledge is limited - areas with auspicious or positive energy fields.

I have read that many ancient temples were built in areas that had a special kind of energy and thus, many of the more recent churches were built in their places when the old pagan religions were abandoned.

For example, I had read that the beautiful Santo Stefano church in Bologna (Italy) was built at the site of an older temple dedicated to Venus. People talk of the positive energy of this church. 

Some years ago, while on a walk in the forest behind the Bashistha temple in Guwahati (India) in India, I had met a Sadhu (ascetic) who had told me about the special energy that comes out of the ground and the rocks. I had put my hand on that spot but I was unable to feel any energy, which was there according to that Sadhu.

Perhaps, ancient humans, shamans and mystics are more open psychologically to such experiences of energy-fields and thus, chose specific sites for their prayer places. Or as the Sadhu had told me, "You have to learn to quieten your mind, then you can feel it." 

Gods Come Out of Their Abodes for a Procession

There is another sacred tradition that continues from old times - that of the Gods in procession. Sometimes, the icons and symbols of Gods are brought out of their temples or churches and are carried out in processions.

For example, when I lived in Bologna (Italy), I remember the annual procession in the evening, when the Madonna statue was taken out of the Bertalia church and carried out in a procession along the streets and parks.

 

Another example is from Delhi (India), where floats carrying statues and persons dressed as Gods travelled on floats for the annual Ram Lila in which the story of Ramayana was enacted.

 

I remember a more complex example of such procession in Cidade Alta in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), where the descendents of the slaves brought from Africa, who were forced to convert to Christianity, had merged their African Orisha Gods with the Christian saints.

 

In Himachal Pradesh (India), in the mountains around the town of Kullu, each mountain village has its own deity in a temple, many of whom come from older folk-traditions. Around the festival of Dusshera every year, all of them are carried out in procession to Kullu, where they live in temporary temples along with all the other deities.

In Karnataka (India), they have a tradition of men carrying in annual processions the Gods in their temples on their heads without holding it with their hands, while persons dressed as warriors carrying swords accompany them for protection.

 

Finally, in another example from Kerala (India) I remember the tradition of Theyyam in which there were men dressed as Gods, who invoked the Gods to descend in their bodies, to give benedictions and to answer questions.

Herders Moving Their Homes And Temples   

As hunter-gatherers were replaced by people owning cattle, they usually shifted their homes with the seasons, looking for grasslands and fodder for their cattle. They also took their Gods when they moved homes. 

I saw a group of herders in Mongolia, who had travelled from their villages to an area next to a lake, where they were setting up their home-tents and their temple.

 

Wandering Triptychs & Tripitaks

Travelling story-tellers, ascetics and mystics, was another group of people who carried sacred icons with them to the different communities. For the wandering Gods, sometimes, their sacred images were depicted on scrolls or portable temples, which could be folded and carried easily.  

The term Triptych (literally 3 tablets) comes from Latin and Greek, it is used frequently in conjunction with Christian sacred images. A triptych has 3 panels, one bigger central panel with two side panels which are attached to the central part like a door. Thus, the panels can be closed and it becomes a box, which can be carried around easily, similar to the idea of the wandering Gods.

The foldable Catholic Triptych in the image below is from Victoria & Albert Museum in London (UK). 

 

There is a similar term, Tripitak (3 boxes), used in Buddhism. It comes from Pali language, one of the languages of ancient India, which was used by Buddha for his preaching. It denotes an ancient Buddhist book containing all the  discourses of Gautam Buddha, which is divided into three main parts - Vinaypitak, Sutpitak and Dhammapitak, and was perhaps carried around by monks.

Conclusions

The idea of writing this post came from my musings on the similarities between the words "Triptych" and "Tripitak". I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Growing up in India, it is easy to get used to the idea of "God is every where" because in our daily life we can see people praying to cows, trees, mountains, rivers, all the time. At the same time, we can see the wandering Gods - men leading cows bedecked with flowers around the cities, children & adults dressed up as Gods asking for alms, people carrying sacred images or symbols in bowls and buckets to ask for alms on specific days of the weeks at red lights.

I want to mention 2 books that I had read in the 1980s, that have influenced my ideas about religions and gods - Jean M. Auel's series of books (Children of Earth series), starting with the "Clan of the Cave Bear" about the life in a Neanderthal community. Another book that helped me to understand how religions start and grow is "The Source" by James A. Michener in which he looks at different layers of history around a water-spring somewhere in Israel.

Not just about the origins of religions and ideas of Gods, these are great books and if you have not read them, try them.

*****

Theyyam: When Gods Descend on earth

India has many rich religious traditions during which the Gods are supposed to come down to the earth and express themselves through some persons. Examples of similar traditions can be found in different parts of India. (Click on the images for a bigger view)

This post focuses on one such tradition called Theyyam, which is celebrated in northern Kerala in south India.

Gods Speaking Through Humans

Hindus believe that the Divine is present in each living being as universal consciousness. At the same time, they have a pantheon of a huge number of Gods and Goddesses, one for each of life’s different forms. The Gods, animals and plants are all inter-linked through the sacred stories and myths.

The religious ceremonies in which Gods speak through humans has 2 main functions – (i) as a part of celebration of specific religious and social events; and, (ii) to answer questions and to give blessings to people.

 

All over India, especially in small towns and villages, there are persons who are known in the communities as “carriers of God”, who can go into a trance, and invoke a God spirit to come and speak through them. In north India this process is called “Devi ka aana” (arrival of the Goddess). Usually they do it by sitting down in meditation with their eyes closed and then go into trance. The arrival of the God in their bodies is marked by signs like convulsive shaking while their voices turn rough. After that others can ask questions or ask for blessings and make an offering. This role can be played by both men and women.

In many parts of India, there are also elaborate make-up, costumes and rituals linked with this tradition. For example, in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal, persons manifesting the Gods wear colourful wooden masks during the sowing of fields – this tradition is known as Gomira. In East Burdwan district of West Bengal, the men invoking the Gods, paint their bodies with blue colour and transform into Shiva – this tradition is known as Shiva Gajan. Satyajit Ray's film Devi can be seen as one representation and exploration of similar ideas.

While God-manifestation roles are mostly enacted only by men, usually they are about Goddesses, the different forms of Shakti. In some places, persons of other religions, especially Muslims & Christians, are given specific roles to play during these ceremonies image below with Muslim characters in a Theyyam), which could be linked with specific historical events and indicate processes of religious inclusion.

Theyyam Tradition in North Kerala

The word “Theyyam” probably comes from “Devam” (God). This religious tradition is common in villages of northern Kerala, especially around the district of Kannur and surrounding areas of Kerala and Karnataka. Between October to March, every village holds one annual Theyyam at the village temple. In each temple, there can be different Gods/Theyyams, depending upon the presiding deity and his consorts. Bhagwati is one of the principle deities of the Theyyam.

The persons playing Theyyams usually belong to specific lower castes in villages. The responsibility belongs to specific families and is hereditary, so that male children watch and learn from their fathers and uncles putting on the make-up, making specific ritualistic dance movements and conducting specific rituals in the temple. For the duration of the Theyyam, persons of all castes, bow in front of Theyyams.

The ceremonies continue day and night for 3-4 days and are usually carried out in the open courtyards around the temple. During the celebration, sometimes there can be an occasional animal sacrifice, especially a hen. After their rituals and dances, each Theyyam receives devotees who pay obeisance, and ask questions or their blessings.

Visiting Theyyam ceremonies

I had seen a few Theyyam dancers in a cultural festival in Guwahati some years ago and had been struck by their elaborate make-up and costumes. Then, a few years ago, in a museum near Fort Kochi, I had seen the masks showing specific make-up face-patterns for different Theyyams, which had greatly intrigued me.

It is easier to see Theyyam performances as part of cultural shows, but I was interested in seeing them as a part of a living religious tradition of a village.

In February 2018, during a visit in Kerala, I had gone to Kunnur, where I had hired a local Theyyam guide. You can find online the calendar of Theyyam celebrations in different villages. However, more specific information is available only in Malayalam. Finding and reaching specific villages where the celebrations are being held is not very easy unless you know the local areas. Thus, a local guide can make things easier.

With my guide Chandran, I had visited Theyyam ceremonies in 2 different villages and seen different Theyyams, each with their special make-up and costume. As you can see from the pictures, both were colourful ceremonies filled with beautiful rituals, dances and faithful. Even elderly persons touched their feet and asked for their blessings.

 

 

In my opinion, they are not just a rich and colourful tradition, they are an expression of people’s faith. I found the ceremonies emotionally moving. Unfortunately, with changing times, some young persons feel that these are just old superstitions and are dismissive towards them. Though the Government is supporting some of the families engaged in Theyyam by making them a part of cultural festivals, I feel that to see them as part of people’s living traditions and faith, is a completely different experience.

Conclusions

In one of the villages I visited, I watched a young man patiently lying on the ground for a couple of hours, while the make-up of God Narsimha was being put on his face. While he was getting ready, his uncle, Mr. Narayan, who was one of the drummers and had come home from Delhi, especially for this ceremony, had explained to me the significance of different steps of his preparation.

The most beautiful moment for me had come when after getting ready, the young man had moved away from the group and walked up to a small hill (image above). There he had bent down to touch the ground and then stood there with his eyes closed in a silent prayer. When he had opened his eyes and turned towards people, there was a subtle difference in him – he had transformed into Theyyam. Moving with a feline grace, he had walked to the courtyard of the temple, a God descended on earth.

That transformation had touched me deeply. Gods and humans, together and separate, are bound together in the sacred stories of human imagination - Theyyam is an illustration of this bond.

*****

Note: Post originally written in 2018, updated in 2023

Reforming Hindu Traditions

In 2018, I had spent a few days in Rishikesh where a chance meeting with a young Swami ji (ascetic) had led to some interesting discussions about how to bring reforms in Hinduism. (Click on the images for a bigger view)

In terms of discussions around Hinduism, it is strange how a new aggressive narrative of Hinduism is being pushed in some traditional and social media (especially in English). Hinduism (along with Buddhism and Jainism) is predominantly seen as a religion of peace which accepts people of different religions and creeds, as shown by the millennium-long Indian traditions of accepting people persecuted in their own lands including Parsi, Jews, Armenians, etc. International image of Hinduism is also associated with spirituality and Mahatma Gandhi including elements such as Yoga, meditation, non-violence and vegetarianism. However today, there are many persons in India and outside, who talk of Hinduism exclusively in terms of hate, violence and discrimination.

This post is about a discussion with a Swami ji from Rishikesh about how to reform Hinduism, it does not go into the new narratives being built around it.

Rishikesh

Rishikesh is the last mountain town where the river Ganges passes before reaching the plains in Haridwar. I had been to Rishikesh a few times as a child. My most memorable visit was in early 1968 with my maternal uncle. At that time, the Beatles had just visited the ashram of the Guru Mahesh Yogi and this had brought international spotlight on this obscure town. Last year when I went to Rishikesh, I had vague memories of those old journeys. I went to look for the old ashram of Mahesh Yogi but it was closed and covered with overgrown vegetation. This part of Rishikesh has now many new ashrams and there is a new huge white statue of Shiva built in the middle of the river.

As the river Ganges comes down, the old town of Rishikesh is located along its left bank, near the area of Triveni Ghat. All the new ashrams and yoga centres of Rishikesh are located to the north of the old town, along the opposite side of the river.

I was staying near Triveni Ghat and spent a great deal of time sitting along the river bank, with my feet in the ice-cold river waters, talking to old men and women who had come here on pilgrimage from different parts of India. Every afternoon, underneath the trees of Triveni Ghat, persons gathered in small groups and discussed. These discussions were usually very down-to-earth and mixed an earthy humour and occasional obscenity with the spirituality.

Meeting the Swami

The Swami ji was much younger to me, probably around 40 years and was clean shaven. He wore the saffron cloth of renunciation and seemed well educated. I met him near Bharat temple, which is one of the oldest and most beautiful temples in Rishikesh. He was from West Bengal and I talked to him about my experience of living in Assam. I was curious to ask him what had brought him to the path of renunciation, but felt a bit embarassed, it seemed like a very personal question to ask to an occasional acquaintance.

We started talking about Upanishads and I explained to him my fascination with Katho-Upanishad, which tells the story of Nachiketa's visit to Yama, the God of death and their discussions about the meanings of life and death. He was very knowledgable and recited different shlokas from that book, explaining his understanding of it.

Then he asked me if I had been to the Ganga-aarti? During this aarti a group of young Brahmins do a choreographed dancing prayer holding metal lamp-stands full of burning lamps, which has a great visual impact. I explained to him that for me, the teachings of Upanishads held the real meaning of Hinduism and I did not have much faith in rituals like aarti. I had found aesthetic pleasure in the choreography of the burning lamps and prayers sung by the faithful, but not any spiritual connection to it.

 

My comments about the aarti provoked a discussion during which Swami ji explained to me his understanding of Hinduism. He said, Hinduism is like Ganges, a river made of a lot of different streams. There is the Spiritual stream of Hinduism with an abstract view of God, and this stream finds a value in the sacred books of Veda and Upanishad. There are many other streams. Like the Vaishnav stream of belief which is practiced in Assam by the followers of Shrimanta Shankar Dev, which focuses on Bhagwat Puran and does not have any idols. However, according to him the biggest stream of Hinduism is that of simple persons who believe in the different Gods, in the different avatars of Vishnu and in the stories of Ramayan and Mahabharat. For them, the stories of Ram, Krishen and Shiva are the bedrock of their faith, these are felt as true in a material sense.

Swami ji felt that many of the present problems of Hinduism were caused by the disconnect between persons believing in different streams of the religion. According to him, most of the highly educated Hindus among the thinkers, writers, academics and other influential groups are like me, who appreciate the higher teachings of Gita, Veda and Upanishad but do not have the simple faith of common persons in their Gods.

"Persons like you, they dominate the society and what they say is taken up by TV and newspapers. You do not believe in Gods and Goddesses but you give your advice on what should be done about Hinduism. How to celebrate our festivals, where to make our temple, how big should be the statue, how to reform our traditions, you know everything and you want to take all the decisions for all the Hindus. The simple people for whom Ram, Sita, Krishna and Shiva are real, their opinions are considered as inferior and unimportant. This is creating problems in our society because they are the majority but they do not have a voice and people like you are a minority but you have a big influence", he said.

My point was that if a festival like Diwali creates pollution because of crackers or if we use Plaster of Paris statues covered with chemical paints at Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja and after the festivals, throw them into rivers & create pollution, then something has to be done. Why can't we find another way to celebrate these festivals without feeling that others are persecuting us? Our religions need to change with the changed reality of the world.

He said that reforms in Hinduism must come from within, they can't be imposed by others. According to him we need persons like Mahatma Gandhi, or a Guru who understands the bigger picture and who shares the faith of common Hindu - only such a person can bring a change from the grassroots.

Conclusions

The words of that Swami ji have remained with me and I have reflected on them. I can see that I have a certain intellectual way of being a Hindu, I do not really believe in temple-rituals or Gods. I like visiting temples, just like I like visiting churches, museums and art exhibitions, for an aesthetic pleasure.

There is a lot about Hinduism in India, as it is lived by millions of persons, which I don't really understand - from Kanwariyas who walk for hundreds of kilometres to collect water from Ganges for their temples, to the pilgrims who spend weeks on the road for festivals like Ambubashi or Kumbha Mela - I understand all of it in an intellectual way but I can't understand the simple faith which moves these people.

The question is how can we promote a grass-root change in them? According to the Swami ji, the reformist movement has to come from them, and from their gurus and other persons in whom they have faith. These can't be forced by laws. In a way I understand this point, I had written about it in relation to the Sabarimala judgement.

But I am not convinced about the role of persons like me, who believe in Hindu spirituality but do not have the simple faith in rituals and prayers, do we have any role in promoting reforms related to that way of faith in following Hinduism? What do you think? Please do share your point of view in the comments below.

(Originally written in 2019 and updated in 2023)

*****

The Angry Indians

There are some persons on the Social Media, whom I call the "Angry Indians". They can be broadly divided into 2 main groups. One group is of persons who claim that they are trying to safeguard Indian culture and Hinduism. Often they have furious fights amongst themselves and some of them are full of hate. They often act in ways contrary to the beliefs they claim to defend.

The other group of that of persons who define themselves as progressives or liberals. They claim that they are trying to safeguard India's plurality and diversity. However, their main aim seems to be to counter BJP-Modi, and they are not really concerned about anything else. Like the first group, often they also act in ways contrary to the beliefs they claim to defend.

I call these 2 groups, the Hindu Cultural Warriors and the Progressive Cultural warriors. They are also co-dependent on each other, creating spaces for their fights and constantly, feeding-off each-other. Here are some recent examples of issues around which they fight.

India Versus South Asia

Recently the American vice-president Kamala Harris greeted the "South Asians" on the Holi festival and the Hindu Warriors erupted in protests. Don't you know that Holi is a festival only of Hindus of India, they asked. They don't like to be grouped together with India's neighbours, especially with Pakistan. On the other hand, Progressive Warriors love using the term South Asia, I think mostly because Western progressives like it and even more, because they know that the other group hates it.

I need to confess that I am partial to Kamala Harris, since she has my mother's name, but my defence of the term "South Asian" has nothing to do with her name. I feel that the term "South Asian" acknowledges the common cultural identity of what was once known as Indian subcontinent. It is an identity which is shaped mostly by Indian culture, by its tradition of creating and accepting, even encouraging, blurred boundaries between the religions and its basic idea of "all the different paths lead to the same God".

All countries of South Asia have some Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhists - in India and Nepal as majorities and in other countries as minorities. So wishing "Happy Holi" to all the people of these countries, did not seem like a bad thing to me and I can't understand why the Hindu Warriors don't like the term South Asians.

I can understand if conservative persons of other religions in "South Asia" resent Harris' greetings, because that is happening in some parts of the world. For example, there are many persons in Europe who get offended if you wish them for festivals which do not belong to their religions (for example, some Muslims get offended by the widespread Christian symbols in public spaces around Christmas and Easter times. So they are coming out with ideas like hiding Christmas trees in private spaces and saying "Season's greetings" instead of "Happy Christmas").

However, in India, festivals of all the religions are holidays for everyone and I have grown up in an environment where we wished everyone for all the festivals. For example, we always said "Happy Eid" or "Happy Gurupurab" and not "Happy Eid to Muslims" and "Happy Gurupurab for the Sikhs". So, if Harris is treating all South Asians as "people who celebrate Holi", why should the Hindu Warriors get offended? They should be jumping with joy!

Indian Festivals

Another issue which often leaves me confused is when Hindu Warriors get offended if someone dares to say anything about an Indian festival. I can understand the irritation about the extreme positions of some Progressives, who may be motivated by virtue-signalling - for example, their calls for "water saving" at Holi or for not making bonfires on Lohri and Holi. I can also understand the irritation because Progressives seem to focus only on Hindu festivals. However, I don't see the need to feel offended if someone says that Deewali can be hazardous for environmental pollution or the Durga and Ganesh statues pollute our rivers and lakes - I think that we need to look at these seriously and search for solutions.

Compared to other religions, Hinduism is not bound by any one book or any one tradition, so it is easier for us to question our old cultural practices and start new ones. For example, over past decade, I have seen different variations about the way we celebrate Rakhi, the festival in which sisters tie a rakhi on their brothers' wrists. Now, for promoting greater inclusion, some of our family celebrates it by sisters tying rakhis on the wrists of both, their brothers and their wives; and, at Karvachauth, both husbands and wives together keep fast. If we can change our rituals and practices according to the changing times, it is good for us as a community, and is certainly better than to remain with outdated practices and ideas.

Therefore, if the fire-crackers of Deewali cause horrendous increases in pollution and problems for people with breathing difficulties, especially in the big cities, and there are calls to limit their use, why should that be seen as an attack on Hinduism? IMO, it does not matter that traffic or industry or crop-burning are more polluting. On Deewali evenings, even 30-40 years ago, when traffic and other kinds of pollution were much less than today, the doctors' clinics used to be full of people with asthma attacks and breathing difficulties. I can vouch for it because I practiced medicine in Delhi in the 1980s and saw it every year. So why can't we use this opportunity to find alternative joyful and fun ways to celebrate Deewali? BTW, even Europe has campaigns around Christmas and New Year to limit the use of fire-crackers.

If chemical-based colours used in Holi can cause skin allergies or dermatitis, they also end up in our sewage waters and rivers. Our rivers and lakes are usually in terrible shape at festival-times. Use of chemical colours painted on the Durga and Ganesh statues, are bad for our environment in the same way. The answer for Hindu Warriors should not be to shout about these as "attacks on Hinduism" but to think of how to promote a wider use of plant-based natural colours. If we can promote our local artisans and organic colours' and dyes' industries by doing that, it will be even better. It can become an economic opportunity and also in line with our scriptures, which ask for the respect of nature.

BTW, the fun of Holi and the joy of covering people's faces and clothes with colours is increasingly finding emulators in Europe. Vicenza, the provincial town near which I live, has been organising "Holi celebrations" during summers, where it is an opportunity for people to drink, dance and play with colours.

Hinduism - Hinduttva

Many of the Hindu Warriors are promoting a version of Hinduttva which seems to be inspired by the ultra-orthodox members of Christianity and Islam. Progressive Warriors are their partners in this, they also agree that Hinduttva means only that and nothing else. In fact for Progressives, the word Hinduttva belongs only to BJP, so they are fighting against it (they also think that the colour saffron belongs only to BJP and it should not be used).

I personally think that the word "Hinduttva" or the "essence of Hinduism" can not be reduced to only one meaning. Hinduism has developed along thousands of streams of ideas and practices across different parts of India, which have a lot in common and at the same time, an incredible amount of variations. Thus, if our ideas about Hinduism are infinite, the meanings of Hinduttva should also be infinite. So, why do we accept to let the idea of Hinduttva be hijacked by these 2 groups?

IMO, a wide public debate on the meaning of Hinduttva would be beneficial to India. It might help us to understand which cultural values are shared by the majority of Hindus and by majority of Indians. Though I don't think that we shall ever reach a consensus, this discussion would be useful. Probably, this commonly shared idea of Hinduttva would be closer to the results of the PEW survey in 2021 on the Religions of India. This survey report had shown that in spite of different religions, most Indians hold similar common beliefs. The "common shared cultural values of India" should be valued and safeguarded. Such an understanding of Hinduttva will be forged by the encounters of different religions of India and it will acknowledge the blurred boundaries between the religions, as one of its key characteristics.

The more conservatives among the Hindu Warriors do not accept anything except their ideas about traditions of Hinduism. At the same time, the ideas of blurred religious boundaries and common traditions shared across religious diversities are increasingly non-acceptable also to Progressives. They often talk about India's past and how it gave a home to persecuted minorities of the world, to cry about the lost Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb and the lost traditions of accepting religious diversities in ancient India. However, for today's world they do not want to look at the norms and processes governing the acceptance of other religions in India's past. Instead, they would like to follow the ideas of secularism developed in the west, which are based on separation of religious identities.

In India, the Progressive Warriors seem most concerned about how to safeguard the more conservative and orthodox ideas of minority religions. I personally feel that the ideas of identity-politics developed in the west are problematic for a harmonious multi-cultural living in India because they destroy the blurred religious boundaries which has been a fundamental characteristics of Indian cultural world. For the same reason, Progressives defend maintaining separate specific laws for minority religions and fight the idea of common civil code - again, I feel that this is a completely anti-progressive attitude. You don't help the minorities by strengthening the hands of the most conservative and radical voices among them.

Insulting Religions

Some of the Hindu Warriors are always looking for people insulting Hinduism, to fight with them. If you use a Sanskrit verse from a Veda in a rock-song or if you print the picture of a Hindu God on a bag or god-forbid, a pair of shoes or underwear, they are waiting to rise up and start a campaign to destroy you. The Progressive Warriors, OTH, are willing to overlook all insults to Hinduism but are very careful in making sure that you do not insult the minority religions.

I think that the idea of "insulting God" is stupid because it does not fit in with the basic ideas of Hinduism, which include the belief that God is within each of us. "Aham Brahm asmi", "Aham Shivam asmi", "So Hum" - all mean "I am" or that "God is inside me". In Shrimad Bhagvad Geeta, Krishna shows his Virat Roopa to Arjuna to explain that he is there in every particle of this universe. These fundamental ideas should guide Hindus to the respect of nature and respect of every human being.

So, how can anyone justify killings in the name of Gods or religion if one believes in this teaching? If one believes that God is inside every being, how can anyone justify discrimination towards any person because of his caste or his religion? And, once you accept that God is there in every particle of the universe, how can anyone offend God?

Recently, I had read about people being killed in Punjab for "offending" the Sikh sacred book Guru Granth Sahib. I wondered if they had forgotten the story of Guru Nanak's travel to Mecca? The story says that some men complained that Guru Nanak was sleeping with his feet pointing towards Mecca and thus offending God. So, Guru Nanak told them, shift my feet towards another direction where there is no God. The story says that in which ever direction they shifted Guru Nanak's feet, Mecca appeared on that side. Therefore, the idea of Sikhs who get offended because someone disrespects their holy book and kill those persons, seems incomprehensible to me.

It is a pity that such messages of "offending God" are also spoken by people wearing saffron, who talk of beheadings and killings. Their saffron clothes should signify spirituality and learning. Yet, they can refuse the temple drinking water to a thirsty boy, because he belongs to another religion and say that they are defending Hinduism. How can they defend Hinduism if they do not believe in the ideas contained in the Veda and Upanishads?

IMO, Progressives have facilitated this rise in the Hindu chauvinism by closing their eyes to similar ideas and practices of conservatives of minority religions by suggesting that only the majority bigotry matters. Every time, there is violence or aggression involving persons of different religions, it seems that the Progressive speak out only if victims are from the minority religions.

In The End

The Hindu cultural warriors are convinced that if they don't save Hinduism then it is in great danger. The progressive cultural warriors believe that the problems lies only with the Hindu chauvinists and they are blameless. The thinking of both the groups is a problem.

Fortunately, in spite of everything, life goes on. I have great faith in common Indians, as shown by the findings of the PEW survey. I think that in spite of all the mutual hate expressed by the two groups, common Indians will find the right balance and a way to go forward.

Day before yesterday was 23rd March, the birthday of Doctor Saheb (Dr Ram Manohar Lohia), the iconic socialist leader, whose ideas had so much impact on me as a child.

Today it is 25 March, the day on which papa had died 47 years ago at the age of 47. He was an associate of Doctor Saheb. If he was alive today, he would have been 94. Even after so many years, I miss him. I think that I would have loved to talk about the subject of this post to him and to Doctor Saheb - though I am not sure if they would have agreed with me!

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God, Consciousness and Mathematics

In the 2 May 2020 issue of New Scientist there was an article about a new mathematical theory of consciousness. According to this theory "all kinds of inanimate matter could be conscious". To me this mathematical understanding of consciousness sounded very similar to the explanation of Brahman, the universal consciousness, in the Indian texts of Upanishads. (Click on the images for a bigger view)

In 2018, I had written about different ways of understanding God in different religions and how the Upanishads define God in many ways, including as Brahman, the all pervading universal consciousness. This post can be seen as a continuation of that same argument and focuses on the article from New Scientist and its similarities with the ideas in Upanishads.

Here. There. Everywhere?

Michael Brooks' article is titled "Here. There. Everywhere?" He starts with the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) proposed by American neuroscientist Giulio Tononi in 2004. Then he explains the ideas of Johannes Kleiner in Munich and Sean Tull in Oxford, which start from Tononi's ideas and refine them. Tononi had proposed that consciousness was a characteristic of information-exchange and if we could measure that, then we could also measure consciousness. Kleiner and Tull have attempted "to identify the necessary mathematical ingredients of IIT, splitting them into three parts. First is the set of physical systems that encode the information. Next is the various manifestations or “spaces” of conscious experience. Finally, there are basic building blocks that relate these two: the “repertoires” of cause and effect." According to Brooks, the significance of this work is the following:

One consequence of this stimulus might be a reckoning for the notion, raised by IIT’s application to grid-shaped circuits, that inanimate matter can be conscious. Such a claim is typically dismissed out of hand, because it appears to be tantamount to “panpsychism”, a philosophical viewpoint that suggests consciousness is a fundamental property of all matter. But what if there is something in it?To be clear, no one is saying that fundamental particles have feelings. But panpsychists do argue that they may have some semblance of consciousness, however fragmentary, that could combine to generate the various levels of consciousness experienced by birds or chimpanzees or us. “Particles or other basic physical entities might have simple forms of consciousness that are fundamental, but complex human and animal consciousness would be constituted by or emergent from this" ...The idea that electrons could have some form of consciousness might be hard to swallow, but panpsychists argue that it provides the only plausible approach to solving the hard problem. They reason that, rather than trying to account for consciousness in terms of non-conscious elements, we should instead ask how rudimentary forms of consciousness might come together to give rise to the complex experiences we have.

Consciousness in Upanishads

Upanishads are ancient Hindu texts written in Sanskrit that often touch on the nature of reality. "Ishavasya" is one of the first Upanishads, dating back to different centuries before Christ. Its name - "Isha" (God) and Vasya (Lives in) - comes from its first line:

It means that God pervades everything, both animate and inanimate. It is similar to the hypothesis of the mathematical theory proposed by Kleiner and Tull, as the text equates 'God' with 'Consciousness'.

The Upanishads define different levels of consciousness including Turiya or absolute consciousness. Turiya is the state of pure being in which awareness is present but the experiences are not accompanied by any thoughts, and it can't be described in words. This philosophy of non-dualness, the unity of our personal consciousness with that of the universal consciousness is known as Advaita philosophy. To me these ideas sound remarkably similar to the considerations of Kleiner and Tull.

Some Hindu texts differentiate between Parmatma or the universal consciousness and Jeevatma, the individual consciousness, where Parmatma is the ocean while Jeevatma are the rivers. There are other explanations about different levels of individual consciousness inside animate and inanimate world, which can be seen as "rudimentary consciousness" in Brooks' article.

The concept of Brahman or the universal consciousness is deeply rooted in Hinduism. It is expressed in words like Brahmand or the universe and Brahmin, the one who has spiritual knowledge. It is also used in the Beej Mantra to be chanted or meditated upon during Yoga and meditation, such as Swam Ho (I am), Aham Brahma (I am the life force), Aham Shivam (I am the eternal truth). Thus, if Kleiner and Tull's theory is about universal consciousness, then according to the ideas of Upanishad, it is also a theory of God.

If we think of God as universal consciousness pervading every object and being of this universe, perhaps we will learn to respect the environment, the rivers and the mountains, the trees, insects, birds and animals, and all the human beings.

Conclusions

I think that with greater scientific and technological understandings of the world, the role of religions will change in our lives. Today, for many persons religion continues to have a fundamental role in differentiating and defining right and wrong, good and bad, permissible and prohibited. However, for many others, religion only has a spiritual significance because it allows us to give a deeper meaning to our lives, but it does not have a prescriptive role.

Questioning and refusing parts of our religious beliefs is essential for many of us. At the same time, our ideas about right and wrong are shaped more by concepts of human rights, equality of all human beings, and, love and respect for the nature. We can pick and choose aspects from different religions, which speak to our heart, but we are not bound by the walls separating them.

I think that this kind of questioning approach to our religions will become dominant in the coming decades and centuries. It is how I look at Hinduism. The phase of human culture dominated by prescriptive religions with rigid boundaries and commands is coming to an end. As humanity will become more self-aware and self-confident, it will focus on spiritual dimensions of religions, allowing each of us to have our own ideas of right and wrong. There may be inspirations to understand the world in our ancient texts and religious books, while there may be other parts that may not appeal to us. And, there need not be a gulf separating the ideas of God from those of mathematical theories.

Note: The images used in this post are from an exhibition of Indian artists held in Delhi in January 2020 and are by Rashmi Malhotra (a mathematician and an artist) and Prince Chand.

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Surgery in Ancient India & Ganesha

Ganesha, the anthropomorphic divinity with the elephant's head, is one of the most loved God-figures in Hinduism. Some persons have claimed that the Ganesha story is a sign of knowledge about advanced surgical skills in ancient India and that those ancient surgeons knew how to transplant an animal head on a human body. While such claims are laughable, I do believe that there can be some links between the myth of Ganesha and the knowledge of surgery in ancient India. (Click on the images for a bigger view)

This post is about surgery in ancient India and how it could have given birth to the Ganesha myth.

The Ganesha Story

I love the figure of Ganesha. For me, it symbolises the omnipresent links between humans and different aspects of nature, which permeate different aspects of Hinduism. They teach us to look with respect at every aspect of nature - from the microscopic bacteria and ants to animals and plants, and even the snow covered mountains. If you have seen individuals in India offering flour or grains to ants and snakes and monks going around with a mask for their mouths, you can understand the vitality of this link between Indic religions and nature.

In the Indian mythology, Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati, born while his father is away. Many years later, one day Shiva comes back home and is stopped by Ganesha, who does not know him and is guarding the door because his mother is taking bath. Angry, Shiva cuts his head. Later when he realises his mistake, it is too late, some animal has eaten his son's head. So Shiva sends his men to look for another head, and his men bring back the head of a baby elephant which is put on the boy's torso. This is how Ganesha's elephant head is explained in the mythology.

Transplanting An Animal Head

Some persons take the Ganesha story literally and believe that ancient Indians knew how to transplant an animal head on that of a human being. Even if it was possible to sew and transplant an animal head on a human body, and even if it was possible to avoid the inter-species transplant rejection, no real elephant's head, not even a baby elephant head, can fit the human body, unless we are talking of elephant-sized giant men from Gulliver's Travels. Thus, this story is only a story.

However, ancient Indians did develop surgical skills almost 2000 years ago, which were probably unique in the world at that time. Some of those techniques are still used in modern surgery. I wonder if the story of one such surgical operation could have given birth to the Ganesha myth. Let me explain.

Surgery in Ancient India

Mentions of surgery are found from Rigveda onwards in different texts of Hinduism and some of the well known ancient surgeons mentioned in these texts include Ashwini Kumaras, Chavana, Dhanvantari, Atereya Agnivesh and Sushruta. Sushruta from 600 BCE is called the father of Indian surgery, and his book known as Sushruta Samhita contains indications regarding cosmetic, plastic, and dental surgery ("Sandhan Karma").

Dr. Vibha Singh in an article published in the Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery in 2017 had written about it:

The ancient surgical science was known as Shalya Tantra. Shalya means broken arrow or a sharp part of a weapon and Tantra means maneuver. Shalya Tantra embraces all processes, aiming at the removal of factors responsible for producing pain or misery to the body or mind. Since warfare was common then, the injuries sustained led to the development of surgery as refined scientific skill ...Complicated surgeries such as cesarean, cataract, artificial limb, fractures, urinary stones plastic surgery, and procedures including per- and post-operative treatment along with complications written in Sushrutaa Samhita, which is considered to be a part of Atharva Veda, are surprisingly applicable even in the present time ...Even today, rhinoplasty described by Shushruta in 600 BC is referred to as the Indian flap and he is known as the originator of plastic surgery. Besides trauma involving general surgery, Sushruta gives an in-depth account and a description of the treatment of 12 varieties of fracture and six types of dislocation. This continues to spellbind orthopedic surgeons even today. He mentions the principles of traction, manipulation, apposition, stabilization, and postoperative physiotherapy ...

Knowledge about surgery travelled from India to the Arab World in the 8th CE and then to Europe. Prof. Thamburaj in his book Textbook of Contemporary Neurosurgery wrote that Sushruta Samhita was translated into Arabic as 'Kitab Shah Shun al–Hindi' and 'Kitab–I–Susurud'. There were Latin and German translations of this text in early 19th century but I think that there must have other translations of this text in the past and the knowledge about the Indian techniques had reached Europe much earlier.

Dr Frank McDowell in his 1977 book on Plastic Surgery had written: "Through all of Sushruta's flowery language, incantations and irrelevancies, there shines the unmistakable picture of a great surgeon. Undaunted by his failures and unimpressed by his successes, he sought the truth unceasingly and passed it on to those who followed. He attacked diseases and deformities definatively, with reasoned and logical methods. When the path did not exist, he made one."

The Skin Grafting Technique from India

Skin grafts are needed when the skin is destroyed, such as in burn and crush injuries. Broadly, there are two kinds of skin grafts - a partial skin graft and a full skin graft. The full skin grafts were described in Sushruta Samhita.

When wounds are big or deeper, and a thin strip of skin is not enough, we need a graft with the full depth of the skin and underlying tissues including blood vessels and nerves. For this, the surgeons cut a piece of full skin tissue from three sides, usually from abdomen, arms or thighs, while making sure that it remains attached on the 4th side to the original part of the body, from where it can continue to receive blood. This skin flap is used to cover the wound. This means, the surgeon needs to bring together the wound to the body part which is going to donate the skin, and they need to stay together for some weeks, till the grafted skin starts getting blood from the underlying tissues. Once the grafted skin is well fixed to the new area, the flap can be cut at the base and two parts can be separated.

The Origins of Ganesha Myth

Is it possible that the Ganesha myth started from a surgery in ancient India? Lets suppose that there was a young boy who was a priest at a Shiva or Shakti temple and he was attacked by someone who wanted to loot the temple. He was able to protect the temple but his nose was cut during the fight. He was operated by a surgeon who took a full skin flap from his upper arm and used it to construct a nose for him. After the operation, he was forced to keep his arm close to his face with his forearm hanging in front of his face like an elephant's trunk for a few weeks or months. Suppose, someone called him the boy with the elephant's head and over time, it gave rise to the Ganesha story?

Hinudism has a strong traditions of an oral culture, where old stories are made into songs, adapted to the local context and passed across generations. Over centuries, such a story could have become the Ganesha's mythical story and the sages incorporated that story in a sacred book, explaining him to be Shiva and Parvati's son.

Conclusions

Hinduism is a living tradition that has roots going back to antiquity. This living tradition is incredibly complex, where each story has innumerable versions, and some of them can be contradictory. Over centuries, stories which can have deep metaphorical meanings become widespread and find a place in one of its sacred texts.

My considerations about the origins of the Ganesha story are just speculations and can't be taken as truth. They build a story around the surgical skills about skin-grafting in ancient India. There is no way to prove this story and any way, that is not the purpose of this post.

Additional notes about this surgery in India are given below:  I think that this additional information is important because it shows that Ayurvedic operations based on the ancient techniques described in old books of Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita, were being practiced in India in 18th century and were taken to west much more recently than has been claimed.

Additional Notes, 11 August 2020 (From @trueindologyorg on Instagram):

The above is the picture of world's first known modern plastic surgery. It is also the picture of world's first known modern nose job. It was performed by a traditional Indian surgeon named Kumar. The person in this picture was known as Cowasji. He was a Maratha bullock driver. He had been imprisoned by Tipu Sultan and his nose was cut off in prison. His nose was later restored by a traditional Surgeon named Kumar using "ancient Indian methods" in 1794 CE.

A Britisher named Lucas observed in action the traditional Indian surgery of Cowasji and documented every detail of this operation. This picture was a British portrait of Cowasji AFTER Rhinoplasty (c. 1795 CE). At that time, the Europeans lacked the scientific knowledge and expertise needed to perform plastic surgery. They were greatly intrigued by this method and found it was commonly performed in India. They also noted how Susruta Samhita described this procedure of Rhinoplasty in detail. These details were then accessed by a scientist named Joseph Constantine Carpue. Using these techniques, he performed world's "first" modern Rhinoplasty 20 years later.

Joseph Constantine Carpue is widely known as the father of Plastic Surgery. But in his book "An account of two successful operations" , he acknowledges that it was performed by "Indians from time immemorial". He learnt it through his friends who "copied from Hindoo practitioners" in his own words. Nasal reconstructions had been practiced as a relatively routine procedure in India for centuries. The procedures are described in two well-known early Indian medical works like the Suśruta Samhitā. By the nineteenth century, the technique had been handed down through families.

Traditional Indian sources recommend that Kumbhakaras (potters) perform the surgery owing to their skill. They performed it till 18th century. Source: "An account of two successful operations " by Joseph Constantine Carpue. Image source: https://blogs.bl.uk/science/2016/10/britains- first-nose-job.html

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#surgery #medicine #ayurveda #ancientindia #ganesha #hinduism

Dark-Skinned Gods of Hinduism

Some of the most popular deities of Hinduism are dark-skinned. Considering the Indian obsession with fair skins, I had often wondered, how did that come about and why did ancient Hindus imagined their Gods to be dark-skinned? I have thought a lot about it and I have not yet found any convincing explanation about it.

Over the past couple of centuries, it seems that we have started a whitening process of our dark-skinned Gods, much like our craze for the whitening creams. If not fair, they are shown as light blue or green coloured figures, as the figure of lord Ram in the picture above. In plays and films, light-skinned actors are taken to play their roles.

For the past 10 days we are closed in our homes because of the Corona virus epidemic. Schio, the tiny town at the foothills of Alps mountains in the north-east of Italy where we live, has been largely spared from this epidemic so far. Thus, I have a lot of time to think and write for my blog! This was how I started to think about the popular Gods of Hinduism and ask myself, why are they shown as dark-skinned?

Dominant Narratives

For the past couple of centuries, the dominant narrative about ancient Indians and Hindus in India has been that of lighter-skinned Aryans, who had come from central or west Asia, and who pushed the darker skinned original inhabitants of India to the south or in the forests. Some even believe that they were invaders, who had destroyed the Indus Valley civilisation. However, that invasion theory is not considered now because no evidence had been found of widespread violence and war in the archaeological explorations in the Indus Valley. 

It sounds like a linear and clear explanation, and seems quite plausible. However, I find it difficult to place the black-skinned Gods of Hinduism in this narrative.

Why Did Aryans Choose Black Gods?

The question which I ask is this - if Vedic Hinduism was brought by light-skinned Aryans, who had come to dominate India and had pushed many indigenous groups to the margins of the societies, why did they choose so many dark-skinned Gods as their principle deities?

Two of the most popular deities of Hinduism - Ram and Krishna, both known as incarnations of Vishnu, are described as dark-skinned. Krishna's name, itself means black/dark. On the other hand, most of their consorts, the female deities, are described as fair skinned, except for Kali, one of the female deities associated with Shiva.

Possible Explanations

According to a Hindi article I found on the internet, the black colour of Hindu deities was a philosophical choice because the black colour is formed by mixing of all the colours and thus it has all shades of the Prakriti (nature) in itself. However, I find it difficult to accept this explanation, because it seems like a more cerebral answer and does not say anything about the ideas and attitudes of the common persons, who needed to pray to those deities.

Vedic culture has been characterised as a Patriarchal Society - why did a Patriarchal Society choose low-in-hierarchy black-skinned figures as their male deities? One explanation can be that ancient Indians who believed in Vedic culture were themselves dark-skinned persons (or were a mixed group, somewhat like today's Indians, and dark-skinned persons among them had high-prestige roles) and that is why they preferred dark-skinned deities. If we accept this idea, what does that mean for the Aryan-Dravidian theories, as well as, for the caste theories?

Another explanation can be that the ancient Vedic Indians believed in the mother-goddess and female deities, while the dark-skinned male deities belonged to Indus Valley people and indigenous people of the forests. When Aryans arrived and gradually assimilated with pre-existing Indian groups, they took over the pre-existing male deities. Thus, the dark-skinned deities came to Hinduism from the indigenous people of India, as the two groups assimilated and inter-mixed their deities.

Yet, another explanation can be that the principle deities of Hinduism arose as representations of the natural forces, and thus deities representing dark forces such as clouds and thunder, took on dark colours. But this logic does not seem to apply to the figures of Ram and Krishna.

Or, perhaps, there are different explanations for each of them and it is by coincidence that we ended up with many dark-skinned deities? It is also possible that when Aryans imagined their Gods in anthropomorphic forms, they did not imagine them to be similar to themselves, but as dark-skinned "others"? Or, can it be that the Aryan-Dravidian narrative is not so linear as has been implied?

Can you think of any other explanation about the dark-skinned deities of Hinduism?

Whitening of the Dark Gods

I am not sure when exactly did we start whitening our deities. One way can be to look at the Hindu deities in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. Hinduism is supposed to have travelled to places like Bali in Indonesia and Champa in Vietnam in first-second century CE. Do they have any dark-skinned Hindu deities in these countries discovered in the archaeological excavations? If yes, that will help us in dating the choice of dark-skinned deities.

We can also look at the probable dates when our epics like Ramayan were written, because Ramayan describes Ram and his youngest brother Shatrughan as dark-skinned, while the two other brothers, Laxman and Bharat, are described as fair-skinned. However, the claims about probable dating of Ramayan are very variable.

According to David Kinsley, "The Vamana Purana has a different version of Kali's relationship with Parvati. When Shiva addresses Parvati as Kali, "the dark blue one," she is greatly offended. Parvati performs austerities to lose her dark complexion and becomes Gauri, the golden one. Her dark sheath becomes Kausiki, who while enraged, creates Kali."

Vamana Purana is a late text, it has been dated to 9-11th century. Thus, this could mean that by 9-11th centuries, Hindus had started whitening its deities or at least to make them seem less dark? Or perhaps the Kali-Parvati story has other origins and looking for explanations based on a predilection for fair skins is misplaced and over-simplification of this issue.

In the second half of 19th century, Raja Ravi Varma popularised the Indian deities through his calendar art, where all the dark-skinned deities were shown either in light blue or fair-skinned. Those calendars had a huge influence and continue to affect how we imagine our Gods even today.

Devdutt Pattnaik in his article - Black Gods and White Gods, had written about this Indian fascination for the fair skins, with the following words:

And so we had gods who were always pink, demons who were always brown and dark gods who were always blue. Indra, Brahma and Durga were pink, Asuras and Rakshasas were brown. Vishnu, Ram and Krishna were blue. Somehow, an unnaturally blue Krishna was preferred over a naturally dark Krishna. ‘Because blue is the color of the sky, of ether, of divinity,’ we were told. No one dared point out that Krishna and Shyam were both proper nouns and common nouns which referred to gods as well as the color black. We forgot to refer to traditional Patta chitras in Orissa where Krishna and Vishnu are always shown using black paint while Balarama and Shiva are always shown using white. When making Krishna blue, we forgot all folk songs, even Hindi film songs, where there is constant reference to Krishna’s dark complexion.

Shiva is the only one, who is described as Neelkanth, the one with the blue throat, because he had drunk the poison threatening to destroy the humanity. Thus, he has been imagined as a blue coloured God. In the past few years, while thinking of increasing pollution and the climate crisis, I have often thought of the blue-throated Shiva as a metaphor and the need for finding a way of "collecting" all the pollution-poison and saving the earth. At the same time, I have wondered, what kind of poisons could have been there in the environment in the antiquity which had necessitated Shiva's intervention, and the origins of this story? Can this mythological story be linked to a big volcano eruption or a meteorite impact which had covered the skies with dust or ash for months or years?

In the 20th century, the process of whitening of the dark skins of our Gods became even more prevalent. Now, Krishna and Ram are usually shown as light blue or green coloured, or sometimes even fair-skinned. In films and TV serials, often light-skinned persons are chosen to play the role of these deities. This has been coupled with an obsessive search for lightening the skin colour through different skin creams among the general population. India is one of the biggest markets in the world for such creams and its TV and magazines are full of advertisements for selling such products.

In 2017-18, Bhardwaj Sundar and Naresh Nil had launched a campaign to create awareness about this change by using dark skinned models to portray Indian gods and goddesses to recreate the paintings of Raja Ravi Roy. The series of images was named ‘Dark Is Divine’ and they had created 7 portraits, each featuring a different deity. The image above shows a dark-skinned Laxmi from this campaign. I don't know if this image makes you feel strange like it does to me - I think that it forces us to reflect on our colour-biases.

Conclusions

For a long time, I have wondered about the origin of dark-skinned deities of Hinduism, because they do not seem to fit in with the Indian fascination for the fair-skins. In fact, today dark-skin is seen almost as a synonym of ugly and inferior by many persons.

The dark-skinned deities also seem illogical in the context of dominant narratives of fair-skinned Aryans who came to India and brought the seeds of Vedic Hinduism with them. They also seem illogical in the context of caste sub-divisions, which were supposed to place dark-skinned persons in the lowest groups of the hierarchy.

Perhaps, the understanding of logic and rationale is not good for understanding Hinduism - because the roots of ancient Indian philosophy and its ways of understanding and interpreting the world are very different from the Western systems of logic. Thus, perhaps my questions about the dark-skinned Gods of Hinduism are wrong and need to be rephrased?

If you have some other ideas about this theme, do let me know!

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