Gods and Godmen of India Read Online Free PDF

permitted to retire. Religious holidays should be cut down to the minimum and everyone compelled to work as long as his mind and body are able to do so.
    Our highest priority is to control our explosive birthrate. Our slogan used to be ‘two and no more’. Now it has to be ‘one and no more’. Just as a couple getting married are required to take vows to remain faithful to each other, they should now be asked to swear before their gods that they will have no more than one child. And on the birth of that one child both of them will submit themselves voluntarily to be sterilized. Legislation has not proved very efficacious in controlling our population. Perhaps a religious code enshrining necessity to restrict bearing of children may prove more effective.
    Our second highest priority is to conserve our environment. Our forest wealth has fallen to dangerous levels causing enormous erosion of soil and silting of our dams. Our river and coastal waters are heavily polluted. We have to impose an immediate ban on the felling of trees and the use of wood for making furniture and buildings. There are plenty of synthetic substitutes to replace timber. Trees were an object of worship in olden times: some communities like the Bishnois of Haryana and Rajasthan still venerate trees and forbid them being cut down. We have to revive the tradition of sanctity accorded to trees. Enormous amount of wood is wasted in cremating the dead. There is nothing in the Hindu or Sikh religion requiring cremation by wood.
    Annadurai and M.G. Ramachandran were buried. Many Hindu communities in south India bury their dead. Most Jain munis are also buried. In towns and cities where there are no electric or gas crematoriums, provision should be made for Hindu-Sikh cemeteries. No graves or tombstones should be made on them and the land ploughed over every five years and returned to agriculture. In coastal towns and cities, the dead should be immersed in the sea. Tree planting should be made a religious obligation as well as incorporated in our educational system. No school or college student should be issued a school-leaving certificate, his degree or diploma unless he or she can produce evidence of having planted a specified number of trees and nourished them. Tree planting should also be given the top priority in bequests for charity.
    This is almost unknown in India. In Israel, on the other hand, you can see miles of dense forests of pine and fir lining both sides of the highways. All of them were planted in memory of the dead. That is how Israel has become green while its Arab neighbours dwell in the desert. Tree planting is as important as donating money to build schools, colleges and hospitals. We can, if we have the will to do so, make our country green and prosperous. That must be the aim of our religion.
    9/8/1992

How Hindu are the Sikhs
    I  have often maintained that as a system of belief Sikhism is much closer to Islam than Hinduism. And that despite the fact that the vast majority of Sikhs are converts from Hinduism and even to this day form an integral part of the Hindu social system. I came to this conclusion because of the Sikh Gurus’ emphasis on monotheism, rejection of idol worship and the caste system, all of which are basic to Islam. Many people have taken issue with me, amongst them my employer, Mr K.K. Birla. I reproduce his views on the subject and invite readers’ comments. Mr Birla writes:
    “Many Hindus regard Sikhism as a part or offshoot of Hinduism. Even if that is questioned, there seems little doubt that Sikhism is much closer to Hinduism than to any other religion.
    “To begin with, how do you define Hinduism? There are several sects in Hinduism based on different philosophies of the religion, such as Advaita, Vishiciltadvalta Dwaita, etc. It is, in fact, difficult to precisely define Hinduism. Hinduism is like a vast tree with several branches of all shapes and sizes; and yet the root of all these branches is common.