‘Education is the only weapon that can break the chains of dictatorship and Sanatanam’, said actor Kamal Haasan, on Sunday, in Chennai, during an event organized by the Agaram Foundation. Delivering his speech, he further said, ‘Do not take anything else in your hands, only education. We cannot win without it, because the majority can make you lose. Majority fools will make you lose, that is why we must hold on to education firmly.’
Time and again, Sanatana Dharma and its followers have been vilified by individuals like Haasan, who is anyway a serial offender in this regard. Insulting Sanatana Dharma seems like his part-time job now. But what else could we expect of a political ally of the DMK, whose Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, compared Sanatana Dharma to diseases like dengue and malaria? Birds of a feather flock together, and therefore, we see this alliance between DMK and MNM, the party whose founder is actor and MP Kamal Haasan.
Yet again, Sanatana Dharma has been equated with ‘dictatorship’, that, according to Haasan, has to be defeated through education. Alas, if ‘dictatorship’ actually existed in this country or Sanatana propelled the same, most importantly, Kamal Haasan would not have been able to make this statement, or even if he did, he would have had to face the consequent difficulties.
Sanatana Dharma is not autocratic or dictatorial, and the biggest proof of this fact is that since times immemorial, it has made ample room for different ideologies, beliefs, and ways of life, embracing every viewpoint, method of worship, and approach towards faith, calling them its very own; the branches of the same huge tree. And therefore, since ages, even dissenters and haters like Kamal Haasan were able to come, make insulting and hurtful statements towards the oldest religion of the world, with the majority of Indians following it, and go scot free.
Real dictatorship is when people, no matter followers of a particular religion or ideology, are constantly smothered, and absolutely cannot think independently, and question the existing norms and beliefs. Sanatana Dharma is the exact opposite, where each individual gets the opportunity to choose what they like, what they resonate with, and voice their opinions.
Therefore, Sanatana Dharma is deeply rooted in liberalism, that cannot take form without education and a broad mindset, hence, Sanatana Dharma is not to be ‘defeated’ by education, it carries the right education in every single teaching and philosophy.
Calling the majority ‘fools’, Kamal Haasan attacked the largest chunk of the Indian population, and yet, this will not result in anarchy or danger towards the MNM chief, there will be no arson, no deliberate rioting, and most people will not even care, because what Sanatana Dharma teaches is forgiveness, humility, and the art of letting go, virtues that individuals with highest of modern-day ‘education’ blatantly lack.
Education is surely needed, but what is needed more than ever is going back and connecting to our roots, built by the mighty Sanatana Dharma, which have survived innumerable tests of time and blows of those who speak ill of our Dharma. What is needed is to realise that if we are free individuals who enjoy rights and freedom in this country, it is because of this very Sanatana Dharma, which is all-accommodating, loving, and ‘educational’ in the word’s truest sense.
