Counter-arguments by HJS for Chopra's pro-'Love Guru' stance

May 8, 2008

Vaishakh Shuddha Trutiya/Chaturthi

The article published here is the answer of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti to Deepak Chopra's pro-'Love Guru' arguments on Beliefnet. Hindus, do remember such anti-Hindus at the time of Dharmakranti! - Editor


Deepak Chopra muses, 'On one side we have a Mike Myers comedy that is likely to be raucous and nose thumbing; on the other, a blogosphere campaign about giving offense to Hindus. With a huge cadre of Hindu fundamentalists lurking in the background in India, Hollywood is walking on eggshells.'  'If comedies don't poke fun, he asks, what else can they do? 'Advocates for the mentally disabled didn't rise up over Dumb and Dumber. Hasidic Jews resisted holding protests when Woody Allen hilariously appeared as one in Annie Hall,' he adds

In this current age of democracy, an objection taken by a section of a community in a peaceful manner because their faith has been ridiculed is being termed as fundamentalism.

Many respectable Hindu spiritual masters have criticized denigration of deities by Christian Missionaries in India. Even Mahatma Gandhi protested against missionaries for denigrating Hindu deities for their selfish aim and with a dogmatic attitude. Now what is the difference between their denigration and what Mike Myers has done! If Deepak Chopra were to be around the time of Swami Vivekananda and Gandhiji, he would have branded them as Fundamentalist too. Christian Missionaries made fun of the Hindu faith, to harvest souls and Mike Myers is doing it to earn money. Let people decide who is worse!

Comedy is appreciated when it brings a smile to all, as opposed to coming at the expense of mocking someone's faith.

‘The premature outcry against the movie is itself religious propaganda’, Deepak Chopra continues. 'Worse than that, the protestors expose the insecurity of Hindus who don't believe that their faith can stand on its own.'

Hindus, please understand Deepak Chopra's language. It is clear from it that making fun of Hindus is a deliberate thing. It's a deliberate thing! The problem is not with the protestors' faith, but the movie's spreading misinformation about Hinduism and its sacred Guru tradition. So, as per Chopra's logic, the Islamic protestors in the Danish cartoon controversy become persons with the weakest faith! Why doesn't Chopra test his faith by making some parody and comments like this on them! The fact that Chopra does not laugh at them shows that he is taking undue advantage of the tolerance and apathy of Hindus in such matters.

“The deeper irony is that the phrase 'Hindu fundamentalism' is a paradox to begin with,” he says with pain. 'The more purely you follow Hinduism, the more you tolerate differences, because God is seen everywhere,' he explains. The Atman or higher self not only transcends the turmoil of material life but is more real than material life. He hopes in the final reckoning the Hindu concept of Lila will prevail. Didn't the play of Goddess Shakti create the world out of sheer delight, he asks.'

Deepak Chopra preaches us a sermon about advaita (non duality with God). Does he know that the Sage like Adi Shankaracharya, who actually realized ‘Brahman Satya Jagan Mithya’ (God alone is the Truth, everything else/this world is illusory), went around the country, defeating mithyavada (falsehood/illusion) prevalent that time.

Obviously Deepak Chopra does not know that Sanatan Hindu Dharma teaches that the Guru is God and God is Dharma. Hinduism places in front of the common man Moksha-prapti (God realization) or advaita (non duality – God and I are one)  as the goal of life. Hinduism provides guidance on how the society should be, and facilitates reaching the ultimate aim, by giving direction about Dharma (righteousness) and adharma (unrighteousness).

Guru shows the path to the disciple by providing guidance on what is right and what is wrong. The Guru’s guidance is for society at large and also for a person’s individual progress. Dharma takes effort to spiritually elevate society, so that more and more people become eligible for the grace of a Guru. So is it not the duty of every Hindu to preserve the sanctity of the ‘Guru-disciple’ traditon? This is exactly what the protestors are doing.

'Lila shocks Westerners because the purpose of the universe isn't goodness and reverence for God but a divine comedy,' Chopra muses. 'The universe is recreational, and the most devout believers are those who abandon care and woe to join the cosmic dance'

So according to Chopra, his band of “devout believers” will, in the name of fun and comedy, mock the basic foundations of Sanatan Hindu Dharma, a philosophy that has stood times immemorial and has guided many great disciples of it like Swami Vivekananda, Maharshi Aurobindo and Ramkrishna Paramahamsa.
Chopra’s views totally contradict that of these great Saints. Whom should we believe? Writing bestseller books and having a following across the world does not entitle one to a claim that one is spiritually enlightened and to make one’s own ground rules on how Hinduism is to be interpreted.
 
Chopra says he does not consider himself a Hindu and that has been his spiritual position for over 25 years.

Herein lies the irony – a self-declared non-Hindu, educating society on Hinduism!