The original lyrics of Raghupati Raghava Rajaaram are attributed to Sri Lakshamanacharya ; This Ram Dhun was later edited and popularised by Sri M.K.Gandhi; This was widely attributed to his attempts to bring about reconciliation but it is anybody’s guess how many Muslims would have actually sung this. Compare this with the confusion that it brought about in the minds of Hindus.
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Rahul A. Shastri
THE ORIGINAL LYRICS RAMA DHUN – GANDHIJI & DHARMA
Gandhiji changed the lyrics to equate Ishvara & Allaa and to ask for divine support for both.
This was done in good faith, in an attempt to draw Muslims into a civilisational unity. It may have succeeded with small sections and to that extent, may have contributed to unity. The formation of Pakistan showed its limitations.
Moreover, his effort unilaterally disarmed a whole nation that swore by the indic beliefs of samsāra, karma & moksa, which is the foundation of Hinduness, and paved the way for the horrors of partition.
Mere good faith, however noble its roots, cannot integrate sections that are deeply sworn to separatism, to the point of becoming contentious. It is also a wonder how a belief system that led to the destruction of Ishwara’s temple at Somnath, seventeen times over several centuries, could be convinced to accept the equivalence of Ishvara & Allaa.
However the dhārmic roots of Gandhiji’s attempt cannot be denied. It is clear that the people wedded to Hinduness also called Hindutva have a world mission which must be based upon a national rejuvenation and revival.
Gandhiji as well as Rabindranath Tagore sought to establish a seamless confirmity between the two. This was an error born of Cartesian logic. Sri Aurobindo adopted a more dialectical approach to the problem of integrating India’s national revival with its world mission.
The problem of a tension between means and the end has not yet been demonstrably solved in Bhārat and India. Only time will speak for the Divine Will and Way.
THE ORIGINAL LYRICS RAMA DHUN – GANDHIJI & DHARMA
Gandhiji changed the lyrics to equate Ishvara & Allaa and to ask for divine support for both.
This was done in good faith, in an attempt to draw Muslims into a civilisational unity. It may have succeeded with small sections and to that extent, may have contributed to unity. The formation of Pakistan showed its limitations.
Moreover, his effort unilaterally disarmed a whole nation that swore by the indic beliefs of samsāra, karma & moksa, which is the foundation of Hinduness, and paved the way for the horrors of partition.
Mere good faith, however noble its roots, cannot integrate sections that are deeply sworn to separatism, to the point of becoming contentious. It is also a wonder how a belief system that led to the destruction of Ishwara’s temple at Somnath, seventeen times over several centuries, could be convinced to accept the equivalence of Ishvara & Allaa.
However the dhārmic roots of Gandhiji’s attempt cannot be denied. It is clear that the people wedded to Hinduness also called Hindutva have a world mission which must be based upon a national rejuvenation and revival.
Gandhiji as well as Rabindranath Tagore sought to establish a seamless confirmity between the two. This was an error born of Cartesian logic. Sri Aurobindo adopted a more dialectical approach to the problem of integrating India’s national revival with its world mission.
The problem of a tension between means and the end has not yet been demonstrably solved in Bhārat and India. Only time will speak for the Divine Will and Way.