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Rise of Cultural Nationalism || Acharya Prashant, with O P Jindal University (2022)
Bharat
71 views
2 years ago
Spirituality
Religion
Vedanta
Upanishads
Bhagavad Gita
Cultural Jingoism
Caste System
Rituals
Description

Acharya Prashant observes that many people prioritize rituals and ancestral traditions over the core teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. He notes that when questioned if their actions are sanctioned by the Vedas or Vedanta, individuals often admit they do not care for these scriptures, preferring to follow what their forefathers did. This has led to a rise in cultural jingoism where religion is reduced to popular, low-level culture rather than spiritual truth. He emphasizes that religion and spirituality are currently at odds, which is a critical battle to address. A disastrous consequence of this conflict is that intellectual young people often conflate religion with spirituality; because they dislike the hooliganism or the caste system associated with religious practice, they mistakenly discard profound spiritual texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Acharya Prashant clarifies that these scriptures actually reject the caste system, with entire Upanishads dedicated to discarding it. He concludes that the word religion has been sabotaged and must be liberated to restore the primacy of spirituality.