Accepting the legitimacy of all pathways to the divine

All our great national leaders before independence rejected the colonial contention that India was an artificial construct, a motley collection of assorted faiths, communities, and ethnic entities situated in a specific geographical area. Great Hindu nationalists like Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malvia, Sri Aurobindo and others emphasized the underlying cultural unity, social coherence and spiritual integrity of our civilization dating back to Vedic India. As Sandhya Jain puts it, 'They attributed the great variety of beliefs and practices to the unique Hindu characteristic of representing all levels of consciousness and accepting the legitimacy of all pathways to the divine'. V SUNDARAM vsundaram@newstodaynet.com HOME Adi Deo Arya Devata: A Panoramic view of Tribal-Hindu Interface by Sandhya Jain