On Husain, Khajuraho and moral policing
I wrote a follow-up comment on Jo’s blog following my earlier comment� which I feel is worth reproducing in full here:
Jo,
First a clarification (which I think is very important):
I am all for freedom of expression and as I have maintained several times in the past, I label myself as a liberal who is prepared to fight for the ideals of freedom, tolerance and respect for others
To make it absolutely clear: Although I do feel offended by certain paintings of Husain 1] this is a free country and Shri Husain is free to paint what he wishes to 2] I absolutely and unequivocally condemn the death threats and threats of violence in this situation (just as I would condemn the fatwa against Salman Rushdie) and 3] if certain people are upset about it, they have recourse to judicial means.
Now to the main argument (and this is not really about just the one painting that you have on your blog).
What I cannot understand is the inconsistency in the stand of the government (the cartoon controversy comes to mind), in the mind of the artist (did Shri Husain defend the Danish newspaper editor? not as far as I know although I am willing to be corrected on this) and in the minds of various defenders of “freedom of expression”.
I think it is really very simple: Either you are FOR “freedom of expression” – in which case you would also show the Mohammed cartoons on your site along with the Husain painting (- or desist from showing both out of deference to popular sensibilities) OR you are FOR “limited/restrained freedom” in which case you will probably agree that Husain’s paintings are sometimes over the top.
I am not a right-wing Hindutva-wadi (in the sense that you imply) and I cannot support their threats of personal violence against Shri Husain (or the moral policing by certain groups that you refer to – the Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty controversy comes to mind).
In fact, the essence of Hindu traditions (as I have written before on your blog) is to hold all alternative viewpoints in equal respect and not consider them as blasphemous or sacrilegious. So a true Hindu may be offended by Shri Husain’s paintings but will not call for his death just because of that. Further, a true “Hindu fundamentalist” will (i) have belief in the one-ness of all life and (ii) hold that in spite of diversity and external dissimilarity, all beings are one, all life is sacred and all creatures are part of one eternal truth and (iii) be tolerant and respectful of others. The “Hindutva-vadis” you mention are far removed from this.
As regards dieties being painted in the nude, let me try and explain:
Hindu temples are not just places of meditation and solemn rituals. Temples have historically (and even today) been one of the important centres of social and cultural activity in any village, town or city. This is important so that one can understand the context and appreciate that not every sculpture or icon in a temple belongs to a diety.
The Khajuraho sculptures that people routinely refer to, are not those of Gods and Goddesses but of courtiers, courtesans, royals and ordinary mortals. Please go and visit if you have not done so far (or if you do not believe me).
Bear in mind also that the Khajuraho tyemples were built by Chandela kings who were heavily influenced by (and were followers of) the Tantric cult. This is not the best place to get into the complexities of that belief system (and it is widely mis-understood) but that partially explains the sexual postures on the outside of temples.
Yet, to be clear, the temples do not contain sexual themes inside the Temple premises or near the deity(-ies).
The erotic carvings themselves are a small proportion of the overall art (they obviously get disproportionate attention) and the idols of Shiva, Durga and Vishnu avatar are clothed.
Hope this clarifies things somewhat.
Related Posts:
Shantanu,
Dont even waste your breath explaining your stand to non entities like Jo. Firstly hypocrites like Jo blow hot and cold if mohammad’s cartoons are published in Denmark and they stall parliament and hold rallies in delhi. But if a joker like M F Hussein in the twilight of his career wants desperate publicity by painting Hindu goddesses in the nude they harp about free press, personal freedom and a whole lot of bull crap.
Even explaining your stand to Jo is a wasted effort. You really think Jo dint know all this before you explained yourself. Some nitwits prefer to be oblivious of relaity in their own cucoon of ignorant mental retardation.
These people and things in life are best ignored. Even crediting such non entities with a rejoinder is disgusting.
I agree Dr. Durya.
Jo and all band is converted lot. They have heart full of hate as they are not a part of this great Hinduism. Sorry for them. There thinking will never get wider to understand a simple meaning of what is extremists? Water in their stomach will not even ripple if real extremist rip the train but when Hindus only threat they get disturb by the fact that Hidus are becomeing stronger. They want Hindus of olden age, who allowed to destroy thir temples and civilisation. They want us to be – dont speak, dont hear and dont smell the foul play of iresponsible religion of theirs.
Who the hell is this JO??????
visited his blog, substandard and biased baseless writing. it seems like he is specialising in anti-hindu writing. for him, peoples talking the word hindu or hindutva are fundamentalists. Its better to ignore these impotent fellows. He doesnt know the cultural values of our country and he is least bothered about other serious threats faced by our society. only thing he is telling always is about hindu fundamentalism. Yeah we cannot expect much from a person like him, its not his problem…. I dont know the reason behind his hindu hatred. let him go hell. why we are giving un necessary importance to these third rate blogs promoted only with the object of earning comments by writing nonsense. these peoples wants to increase their adsense revenue by increasing the hit to his blog by creating controversy by writing bullshit. anyway I apreciate shantanu and indian for their nice replies…
thank you.
Good post Shantanu.
I really think that enlightning people about Hinduism/Hindutva is the need of the hour. So many people including the Jos of this world start getting all sorts of wrong ideas by the mere mention of Hindutva and in that sense your sharing of views about the real notions through this blog might atleast clear some minds.
Noticed “www.satyameva-jayate.org”!! So are you now hosting independently?
DrSurya, Indian, Nikky and Manoj: Thanks a lot for your comments and for your support.
I think the “debate” with Jo is not moving in any constructive direction so I am not going to comment on it any more. I feel some people just dont have the concept of motherland in the sense of this shloka: “Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gari Asi” – which is why they find it difficult to understand how someone can be hurt by derogatory references to “Bharat Mata” or “Matrubhoomi”.
Instead, as many of you have suggested, I think it would be more worthwhile to spread awareness about the true nature of “Hinduism” and our rich traditions and heritage.
Thanks.
I appreciete Shantanu’s view point that why did Chandela’s bild that building as after Budhhism the “Vairgya” led to reduction in libido & population was on decline?
The statues and carvings of Khajuraho
The Khajuraho temples do not contain sexual or erotic art inside the temple or near the deities; however, some external carvings bear erotic art. Also, some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner wall.
There are many interpretations of the erotic carvings. They portray that, for seeing the deity, one must leave his or her sexual desires outside the temple. They also show that divinity, such as the deities of the temples, is pure like the atman, which is not affected by sexual desires and other characteristics of the physical body. It has been suggested that these suggest tantric sexual practices.
Meanwhile, the external curvature and carvings of the temples depict humans, human bodies, and the changes that occur in human bodies, as well as facts of life. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show deities, they show sexual activities between people.
The rest depict the everyday life of the common Indian of the time when the carvings were made, and of various activities of other beings. For example, those depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folks. Those mundane scenes are all at some distance from the temple deities.
A common misconception is that, since the old structures with carvings in Khajuraho are temples, the carvings depict sex between deities.
Source:
http://www.liveindia.com/khajuraho/index.html
Satyameva Jayate Nanritam (Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood).
Bharat
=====
Just for the reference, check the various ‘works’ of Mr M F Hussain shown at http://www.hindujagruti.org/activities/campaigns/national/mfhussain-campaign/
(ignore the comments/views shown with paintings if you may want.)
Bookmarking this for reading later: MF HUSSAIN:- Secular Holy cow or Market-Driven Peddler? by U. Narayana Das
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