On Sunday (17th March), Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s Hinduphobic mindset was once again on display. During ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’s concluding rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, the Congress’ blue-eyed boy took a dig at the PM Modi-led NDA regime comparing them to the powerful Hinduism symbol of ‘Shakti,’ often associated with Maa Durga, one of the most important goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. Rahul Gandhi said that he wants to fight this Shakti.
“There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti? The soul of the King is in the EVM. This true. The soul of the King in the EVM and every institution of the country, in ED, CBI and Income Tax department. A senior leader from Maharashtra left Congress and cried in front of my mother and said ‘Sonia ji, I am ashamed that I don’t have the power to fight this Shakti. I do not want to go to jail.’ Thousands of people have been threatened like this,” Rahul Gandhi said in a shocking distortion of the meaning and value of the concept of Shakti.
He added, “What do you think? People left Shiv Sena and the NCP just like that? No. The Shakti I am talking about grabbed them by their throats and turned towards the BJP. And all of them have gone there out of fear.”
Rahul Gandhi’s bizarre interpretation of Shakti, took Netizens by shock, who called Gandhi hinduphobic and misogynistic. The BJP too called out the INDI bloc’s repeated insult to Hinduism.
Rahul Gandhi has been trying since 2014 to accentuate his Hindu credentials, from frequenting temples to studying the Upanishads and Gita, all out of his desperation to acquire the PM chair, which he and his Momma think belongs to him as a birthright and has been usurped illegally by rank outsider Modi. However, in his desperate attempts to unseat the BJP, he has inadvertently repeatedly exposed his innate disdain for Sanata Dharma. And by disparaging Shakti, who is revered in Hinduism as the “Great Mother” and is the ultimate essence and manifestation of Divine feminine power, he has only descended farther today.
Shakti is deeply ingrained in Hindu theology, philosophy, and mythology
Shakti is considered to be The Divine Feminine which is the energy present in all beings. In Hinduism, there is no concept of fighting against Shakti, instead, Shakti is what helps fight against evil.
According to Hindu mythology, there are 10 Mahavidyas (also Dus Mahavidya) who are the manifestations of Goddess Shakti. They are Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi, and Kamala. All these Mahavidyas reside in Manidweepa (the eternal supreme abode of Shakti).
The concept of Shakti is deeply ingrained in Hindu theology, philosophy, and mythology, and it has a rich history dating back thousands of years.
Philosophical Significance: In Hindu philosophy, Shakti is considered the primordial cosmic energy that underlies all existence. She is believed to be the active aspect of the divine, responsible for creation, preservation, and destruction. Without Shakti, the male deities such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva would be inert and powerless.
Mythological importance: Shakti is personified as various goddesses in Hindu mythology, each representing different aspects of feminine power and energy. Some of the prominent goddesses associated with Shakti include Durga, Kali, Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. These goddesses are revered for their strength, wisdom, nurturing qualities, and ability to protect devotees from evil forces.
Spiritual importance: The core of many Hindu rites and rituals is the worship of Shakti. Shakti is a spiritual energy that is linked to kundalini energy, which is said to remain latent at the base of the spine and can be awakened by a variety of spiritual practices in Hinduism. In contrast, yagna is a form of devotion that entails offering sacrifices to the goddess in a sacred fire and praying to her.
Role of Shakti as a creative force: According to Hindu mythology, the goddess Shakti is connected to creative force and is in charge of both the creation and destruction of the universe. Shakti is represented in Hindu mythology as a strong, energetic force that propels the universe forward. The mother goddess, a central figure in Hinduism, is one of the most important ways Shakti appears as a creative force. She is seen as a symbol of the protective and life-giving qualities of the divine feminine.
A common portrayal of the mother goddess is that of a strong warrior who uses weapons to defend and shield her devotees. She is connected to the cycles of birth, death, and reincarnation. She is a symbol of compassion, love, and strength, embodying the virtues of motherhood via her protective and nurturing nature.
Shakti peethas: According to Hindu tradition, there are powerful energy centres called Shakti Peethas scattered across the Indian subcontinent and neighbouring regions. These are believed to be the places where parts of the goddess Sati’s body fell after she immolated herself in the sacrificial fire of her father Daksha’s yajna (ritual sacrifice). Each Shakti Peetha is associated with a specific goddess and holds great religious significance for devotees.
Festivals and worship: Throughout India and in Hindu communities worldwide, various festivals and rituals are dedicated to honouring Shakti. Navaratri, Durga Puja, and Kali Puja are some of the major festivals celebrated with great fervour, where devotees worship the goddess and seek her blessings for protection, prosperity, and spiritual growth.
Similarly, the celebration of Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the goddess Durga in her various forms. The festival is celebrated over nine nights and involves fasting, puja (worship), and other rituals to honor the goddess.
Empowerment of women: The worship of Shakti has also been instrumental in empowering women in Hindu society. By venerating goddesses who embody strength, courage, and independence, Hinduism provides a spiritual basis for gender equality and the recognition of the divine feminine.
Worship of Shakti has been persisting for last 8000 years
The concept of Shakti has been a fundamental part of the Hindu tradition for thousands of years. The worship of feminine deities and fertility goddesses can be traced back to prehistoric times in the Indian subcontinent. While the origins are not clear, it has been reported that the worship of Shakti or Mahadevi has been going on in the subcontinent for the last 8000 years.
Archaeological evidence suggests that ancient civilizations revered female fertility figures, which could be considered early manifestations of Shakti worship. For example, the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1300 BCE) had a sophisticated culture with evidence of goddess worship. Archaeological findings include figurines resembling female deities, possibly associated with fertility and the nurturing aspects of the divine.
After the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization and the advent of the Vedic Age, worship of Devi and Shakti persisted. A new pantheon of gods emerged with the Vedic Age, and the deities associated with the Cult of Shakti found a position in this pantheon.
Since the Vedic Age also brought writing and texts that were created to formulate ceremonies and rituals, this was the time when Shaktism became codified. Among the female deities mentioned in the Vedas, Ushas is the most significant. The Vedas have several hymns that are only dedicated to her.
Shakti is also mentioned in Rig Veda, one of the oldest Hindu scriptures, describing her as the cosmic energy that permeates the universe. The three Divine Mothers mentioned in the Rig Veda who birthed the Vedic gods are Aditi, Prithvi and Saraswati. Prithvi continued to exist in later Hinduism as Bhudevi (goddess of the earth).
Essentially, Shakti is the central figure in Hinduism and Rahul Gandhi’s derogatory statement about her has transformed him from an awkward, lousy and gaffe-prone communicator to an outspoken adversary of Hinduism and an anti-Hindu tool of the grand old party.
Number of times Rahul Gandhi has insulted Hindus and their faith
Last year, in his desperation to deride the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi ended up making a statement which was deeply Hinduphobic. While trying to make the point that MPs were not contributing to any productive work in the parliament by way of formulation of laws, Rahul Gandhi compared them to Murthis in a Temple. Rahul Gandhi made the argument that the Murthis, that Hindus worship, are powerless and ‘useless’, just as the MPs in the parliament – which is to say – they serve no purpose.
This is the exact trope which is used by Islamists to negate and insult Murthi-puja – the very core of the Hindu faith. The argument made by the Islamists and extremist Christians is that the Murthis in the temple are merely stones and serve no purpose beyond perpetuating superstition. This line of argument is extended to denying legitimacy to Sanatan Dharma and the Hindu faith in general, insulting those who practise ritualistic Hinduism.
For Rahul Gandhi to claim that Murthis are useless, essentially means that he believes Murthi puja – the very core of Sanatan Dharma – is merely a superstition and serves no purpose – essentially furthering the Hinduphobic narrative of the Islamists and Missionaries against Hindus.
This is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has made Hinduphobic comments. In 2014, speaking about women’s safety, Rahul Gandhi had said that people go to the temple and worship to the Goddess, call women mothers and sisters, but the truth is that those very people molest women in a bus.
Rahul Gandhi seems to have an uncanny ability to connect every ill of the society to the Hindu community and shield every ill of any other community. One recalls how a Wikileaks document revealed how the Congress party played politics over the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. It did not escape the notice of even the then U.S. ambassador to India, David Mulford. The observation made was that the Congress party after the attack had chosen to pander to Muslim fears.
Further, there was another Wikileaks cable that revealed that Rahul Gandhi had travelled abroad and claimed that Hindu extremism is worse than Muslim extremism and terrorism. This comment was made in 2009.
Therefore, it is clear that Rahul Gandhi has a lengthy history of disparaging the Hindu population and linking himself to groups that often make disparaging remarks about Hindus. In this instance as well, Rahul Gandhi has insulted the Hindu community and their beliefs in his zeal to attack the Modi government.