The erroneous use of the word “Bhakt” by educated fools of our nation lacks very basic research work. In an Era where left media deliberately is fixated upon labelleing everything and demonizing even the most constructive actions. How can we expect any better?
Having said that, I still wish to throw some light on the word Bhakt and the Bhakti movement. “Bhakt” literally means a devotee. (अनुरागी). There are “n” number of stories about doing the impossible with “bhakti” or “devotion’ in one’s heart. We have ample songs, dohas etc written in “भक्तिरस”.
Forgotten or Deliberately Ignored?
Bhakti movement was one of the BIGGEST reformist movements of all times. A movement that fought against deep rooted social evils. Through the power of love, art, music, literature and devotion. It is absolutely sinful to shroud this truth under narrowed down definitions.
Meera, a princess from Meerut and devotee of Lord Krishna was revolutionary for her time and even today. She left behind her royal privileges to dwell into Bhakti of Shri Krishna. She is just one example among many. A movement which kept spirituality above blindly following. Ironical, right?
While, in present times it has been narrowed down to people who support a political party, blindly. Many politicians from INC romanticized the word and began using it for supporters of Narendra Modi Government around 2014. Carried forward by our liberal squad.
Bhakti movement was revolutionary before it was cool! It has given us rich heritage in the forms of literary works, bhakti songs and ideologies of Alvars, Nayanars, Sufis and many more. Bhakti has been narrowed down to this. It sure is painful to look at.
But Bhakt is not the only word that has been deliberately used wrongly.
Dharmā and Religion
There is a huge confusion between “Panth-Nirpeksh” which means “secular” with “Dharma-nirpeksh”. The Constitution of India uses the former expression. Why?
Because the latter CAN NOT exist!
Understand before arguing, Dharma is not synonymous with religion. It means quality. It means duty. It is beyond religion, there is no parallel word in English for the same. It is inherent in every being, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Sanskrit has many words for the english word teacher. On the basis of their abilities:
- The teacher who gives you information is called: Adhyapak.
- The one who imparts knowledge combined with information is called: Upadhyaya.
- The one who imparts skills is called: Acharya.
- The one who is able to give a deep insight into a subject is called: Pandit.
- The one who has a visionary view on a subject and teaches you to think in that manner is called: Dhrishta
- The one who is able to awaken wisdom in you, leading you from darkness to light, is called: Guru.
You get the depth! Sanskrit is an extremely logical language. If there is a desperate urge to give labels, atleast attempts can be made to find the right words. As is clear from the aforementioned examples, Sanskrit has a lot to offer. Why use something as reforming as Bhakti for this?
Words like Brahman( literally the Nobel one) are used to induce guilt into right wing supporters. As far as I am concerned, it is okay to debate about one’s ideological differences. But stooping low enough to spreading fake meaning of aforementioned words is showing disrespect to a culture and language. How ethical is that?
To sum up
Words are seldom important, intent matters. But when they are used illicitly or when their grandeur is sweepingly narrowed down, they begin to matter too. It is criminal to find parallels between English and Sanskrit or any other language. Even Arabic, German, Bengali, Gujarati or any other ancient language. A lot is lost in translation and rest is lost in the convenient use of these words by politically motivated folks of our nation.
Moral of the story? A little research before using words never hurt anybody. On the other hand, if this is a deliberate attempt, may God bless you. Left media has officially gone to the dogs.