In Good Faith: Why India’s society and politics need both the strength and gentleness of Hanuman https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-india-society-politics-need-strength-gentleness-of-hanuman-8639004/
What a conversation outside a temple reveals about the layered connections between faith, identity and political polarisation
This is not a call to look for some golden truth in the middle of two polar extremes. This notion of a “middle” would mean we are still locked in the one-dimensional trap. Nor does it mean that we ignore the importance of electoral politics — even though elections tend to be a binary contest. The challenge lies in cultivating mental spaces which are somewhat free of preconceptions. Then we may have an opportunity to understand what is driving the need to feel strong and even foster spaces where non-aggressive forms of strength and capability can thrive. Only then can compassion and acceptance of the otherness of “others” become a strength rather than being feared as a weakness.
Like the rest of life, mythic images keep changing and being imbued with different meanings. Thus, a contest over which depiction of Hanuman is more “correct” may become just a distraction. What we need is a reaffirmation of the loving and fraternal aspects of devotion. Meeting that young man at the temple showed me these values may be closer to the surface than seems apparent and finding them depends on the tone in which a conversation is initiated.