In a scathing attack on Jawaharlal Nehru, David Frawley, an American Vedic scholar, said Nehru, who came to power after independence, prevented the restoration of famous temples like that how the British made the restoration of Hindu temples impossible.
The Mughals and Islamic forces that invaded India destroyed the temples in India. The aim was to loot the temples which were sources of intangible wealth. When the Marathas defeated the Mughals and became the dominant power in India in the 18th century, they attempted to restore many Hindu temples.
The British who came later did not take much interest in Hindu temples. They were not in favor of any restoration of temples. India became independent in 1947. Before that, India was divided into two countries, Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. But the Hindu community expected a lot from Nehru. He thought he would restore the temples but he was wrong. Nehru did not help in the restoration of the temple. Nehru did not give any support to Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and other Hindu sects, said David Frawley.
David Frawley suggests that new efforts should be made to restore the temples like the Maratha kings did. Because temples used to be centers of learning, festivals and communal gatherings. Temples were the pride and source of intangible wealth of the communities that built them. While respecting the cultural heritage of India, one should also respect the temples which are symbols of glory.
David Frawley says that Swami Vivekanandan, Lokmanya Thilakan, Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi, who sowed the freedom consciousness, wanted to protect not only political freedom but also Sanatana Dharma, however, that has not happened yet.
David Frawley expressed his delight at the restoration of the Mahakal Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingams of Lord Shiva. Similarly, temples of various forms of Brahma such as Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, Hanuman and countless other deities need to be renovated.
David Frawley, an admirer of Indian philosophy, later came to India and studied the Vedas and Upanishads. David Frawley learned Vedanta from teachers who were initiated by Sri Ramana Maharshi. Arabindo etc. He is now running the American Institute of Vedic Studies in Sant Fell, USA. His wife is Indian Shambavi Chopra.
Courtesy: Janmabhumi Daily
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