Indicator Of A Larger Agenda? Decoding Rahul Gandhi's Definition Of 'Devtas'

Initially, it looks foolish. Most Hindus would laugh it away as yet another example of a ‘Pappu’-ism. But dig deeper and you will find a disturbing worldview.

Rahul Gandhi recently held forth on the word ‘devta’. He said that the term does not mean god. It means a person being transparent — "a person whose internal feelings are exactly same as his external expression".

Surely, that is laughable. But remember, this 'prime minister-in-waiting' is surrounded by powerful people who want to make an inviolable gospel of wisdom out of every word he utters. So when he says this, these people are more than ready to repeat the very same statement.

Another takeaway from Gandhi's views on 'devta' is this. This is almost exactly what a Christian evangelist would say to his Hindu target. He would not want to outright offend the Hindu target by saying that what he or she worships is not divine. Instead, he adopts a stance of feigned superiority, claiming that you do not know what you are worshiping. "What you worship is not God as Jesus — eternal and everlasting — but perhaps ancestral worship, perhaps good ancestors but just that — ancestral worship. I will define your religion and your Gods for you. Because I have the Truth which is the Gospel of Jesus."

What needs to be reminded here is that total acceptance of Rahul Gandhi's words — no matter how foolish or offensive to common sense — determines the careers of Congress politicians.

The rank and file of the Congress, including Hindus among them, will not only swallow this calculated attack on Hinduism but will praise Gandhi's words too.

Is a gram devta ‘a transparent person’?

Gram devtas are divine presence in the villages, protecting the boundaries and crops and cattle. Some, not all, grama devtas may be ancestors. Even then, they are ancestors whose divinity has been recognised, experienced, and they are seen as one with the divine. A gram devta can very well be the manifestation of Brahman and can become the path to realising Brahman.

What about isht devta? It is the divine of one’s choice. It is a cardinal principle of Sanatana Dharma. I choose the divine form that I find the most spiritually appealing. Then isht devta becomes everything for the bhakta. It is not ‘a person’. It is the Brahman.

But Rahul Gandhi, in his politics, appears to stand diagonally opposite to this philosophy and many of his speeches and public interactions testify that.

At the start of his political walkathon, he made a point to visit and engage in discussions with a Catholic church priest who had been arrested for hate speech in the past. If one recalls, they would remember what the priest said to him: Jesus is the god, unlike Shakti.

Then a few months before the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul himself spoke of how his fight was against 'Shakti'.

That is eerily close to the evangelical agenda which can be summed up thus: if I cannot rule over and convert you, I will have you demonised.

Rahul Gandhi frequently portrays Hindus as aggressive and intent on intimidating or persecuting non-Hindus. Of course, he avoids directly mentioning Hindus, referring instead to the 'RSS-BJP'. However, the underlying meaning is quite evident — "Hindus cannot be trusted with the safety of non-Hindus. They can only create a casteist society. So Christian nations should intervene."

The only two possibilities remaining for India in such a worldview are that it is either de-Hinduised or Balkanised.  

That is the message. That is the constant message he gives, intentionally or otherwise.