We must not be abused by these priests

AS A CONCERNED member of the Hindu community, may I compliment “Widow Against Discrimination” for raising a pertinent issue affecting this community as per her letter, “Priest who doesn’t care” ( POST, July 9-13, 2014). We often hear of discrimination against Hindu women, and more particularly against widows by so-called Hindu “pundits”. And yet our scripture, the Vedas, advocates peace, harmony, unity, understanding, progressiveness and mutual co-existence without any form of discrimination. The Vedas shows us the spiritual path of righteousness and this is what everyone who deserves the title of pundit should be advocating with the greatest of respect and humbleness. Yet we are forced to accept abuse from them which goes against the grain of Hinduism and is, therefore, totally unacceptable. I hope more people would raise such issues as it is high time that such matters affecting this community were addressed and the people who have been entrusted to lead our Hindu society do so by example based on knowledge, honesty, kindness and integrity. The words “pundit or pundita” refer to one who is learned in the Vedas. It is their noble duty to expound on the logical and eternal teachings of the Vedas. They should explain to their followers about the all-pervading and eternal creator who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. They should also explain the divine link between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, and hence the reason for us to engage in regular prayer and to perform good and noble deeds. It is their bounden duty to ensure that people understand that although God has given us the freedom of choice, we are responsible for our actions which will determine our present and future lives, leading to the ultimate goal of Godrealisation. If our pundits do not understand the Vedas how are they to impart its knowledge to the masses? If they go against the teachings of the Vedas then how are they to earn our respect? People with ego, anger, arrogance, and greed cannot become a pundit; neither can one who cannot differentiate between Hindu scripture and Hindu literature. Such pundits don’t deserve our respect and instead of bringing dishonour to our religion, they should resign from the priesthood. I suggest that Hindus not engage the services of a priest who discriminates against anyone, for to hurt the feelings of your family and friends, is to go against our Hindu religion. I also suggest that all Hindu women become pro active like the letter writer in question. When requested to engage in ceremonies where they may be discriminated against, they should enquire from their host in advance as to the attitude of the officiating pundit towards women and widows. If any women feel that they are likely to be discriminated against by any pundit, then they should either not attend the ceremony or make it known that they would refuse to participate. In Vedic times women were highly respected as they were considered the nucleus of the family which in turn made up society. As a result of the many foreign invasions in India, Hindu society has lost its spiritual light and unfortunately Hindu women have