A Liberal mind in India — still sin in India

Or to be more precise having a liberal mind is being toxic or people may also consider you as a non-religious, very bad, bad person.

Here is an anecdote that I will share to make my point more clear — to show the sad reality of the world. It is related to the legal marriage of the same gender.

So, this woman was sitting beside me watching an Instagram reel, on which an Indian gay wedding came, she showed me that, thinking I might share the same views as hers but surprisingly she was sitting beside a woman who is not like her. Not even a bit. So she showed me the reel in the illusion that I might share her disgust but these words of mine somehow burned her. The words were — “oh! that's good. Let them be.”

And damn the way she started speaking like how she cannot agree with me and that it is religiously so wrong and on and on she went. It was good to see a human using her right to speak but it was also sad to see such a close mind trying to impose their thinking on others. Then when I tried to elaborate those few words of mine for humanity's sake, she brought religion in between telling me that I am not obeying God or more like going against God and the things I am saying are because I’m educated and I am being prideful — How?!?!

That’s when it clicked to me that not everyone is worth your time. Sometimes there are people who don't want to understand your way of thinking. Sometimes it is their beliefs that blind them. They don’t want to be in the shoes of another human who is being judged, all they want to do is judge and then judge some more! This is so sickening.

The other day I was reading this Novel called “Gora by Rabindranath Tagore” and I came across this character named Anandamoyi who is married to a really orthodox man, who in his working times did most of the unorthodox stuff to earn the money through Britishers and now that he is retired he ‘purifies’ himself and doesn’t even let his wife come near him because she is very non-orthodoxy and raised a British child who isn’t even hers.

Anyways, so I was in this part where Anandamoyi expresses her thought that what if her very orthodox son- Gora, chooses to marry this girl, named Sucharita, who belongs to Brahmo Samaj — what a perfect couple they would make, to which Binoy, another character, gets shocked. Here is the conversation that follows —

“The question is, rather,” said Binoy, “whether Gora would be allowed to
marry into a Brahmo family. Have you no such objection?”
“None whatever, I assure you,” replied Anandamoyi.
“Haven’t you really?” cried Binoy.
“To be sure I haven’t, Binu,” repeated Anandamoyi. “Why should there
be any? Marriage, is a matter of hearts coming together — if that happens,
what matters is what mantras are recited? It’s quite enough if the ceremony is performed in God’s name.”
Binoy felt a great weight lifted from his mind, and he said
enthusiastically: “Mother, it really fills me with wonder to hear you talk like
that. However, did you come to have such a liberal mind?”
“Why, from Gora of course!” answered Anandamoyi, laughing.
“But what Gora says is exactly the opposite,” protested Binoy.
“What does it matter what he says?” said Anandamoyi. “Whatever I have
learned comes from Gora all the same! — how true man is himself, and how
false the things about which his quarrels divide man from man. What after all is the difference, my son, between Brahmo and orthodox Hindu? There
is no case in men’s hearts — there God brings men together and there He
Himself comes to them. Will it ever do to keep Him at a distance and leave
the duty of uniting men to creeds and forms?”
“Your words are honey to me, mother,” said Binoy as he bent to take the
dust off her feet. “My day with you has been fruitful indeed!”

(Glad that Binoy didn’t argue with her the way that woman did with me)

The reply that Anandamoyi gives — and every time that I read it makes me feel so warm and makes me feel at peace that even if it’s not the whole of India at least there are people growing day by day to think in such a way. The novel was published in 1910 but the shock at such liberal thinking, that is shown in the above text, isn’t changed a bit. You may get that reaction in today’s India for such normal and human thinking.

Everyone has their definition of open-mindedness or of liberal thinking.

Here’s my definition —

Having a liberal mind doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you human. Having a kind attitude and the ability to try and understand other human beings is amazing. It doesn't make you a non-religious person. In fact, when you truly know what you support, you spiritually get connected to that world of belief. Your God is in you. He listens to you, he understands you, he is with you, and trust me he won’t punish you for being you. Change is in human nature and so must change in thinking is necessary for good. Keep in mind being modern and having a liberal mind are two completely opposite things.

I don’t have any more to say besides that I am sad to see that humans can’t let humans just live. It’s sad to see people hurting others for castes and religion. It’s sad to see that it’s 2021 and we are still writing to show human hypocrisy. I’m grateful for those Indian citizens who are like Anandamoyi.

I just wish everyone gets a little kinder day by day, it’s not weakness but strength.

I hope it gets better.