The Supreme Justice Dwells Beyond Idols

By: Salil Gewali

Our tongue has no bones, yet it is very hurtful. Sometimes it’s even more hurtful than wounds inflicted by a lethal weapon. One with an uncontrolled tongue usually makes more enemies than friends. Therefore, in society, a person holding a higher status and enjoying high respect should always measure his words. Such individuals carry greater social responsibility than ordinary citizens. Moreover, people often regard such revered figures as their inspiration. Some even idolize them so fanatically that, over time, it may become more damaging than helpful.

But it is deeply unfortunate these days that many of our top public figures speak impulsively or toss off remarks without weighing their impact. Their seemingly small, controversial acts end up hurting the sentiments of millions. Can any patriotic Indians forget the way Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, publicly denigrated Sanatan Dharma and its culture by comparing it to diseases like malaria and COVID-19? One wonders, was it a slip of the tongue or a full-blown ideological sneeze? Does he even know that the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Gita, on which the edifice of Sanatan Dharma stands, have profoundly inspired some of the greatest scientific minds of modern times, including Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, and Robert Julius Oppenheimer? Even the Supreme Court remained silent in pulling up Udhayanidhi Stalin for such blatant disregard toward the sentiments of Hindus -- perhaps waiting for divine intervention or a PIL with better punctuation!

Well, Christian believers felt deeply wounded during the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony when the Last Supper was represented in a derogatory way? Similarly, there have been countless instances when Muslim communities deeply felt hurt by public figures or organizations who distorted or trivialized their sacred texts. Biharis are routinely mocked in Maharashtra, while people from the Northeast are casually ridiculed and stereotyped in Delhi and Haryana.

Yes, recently, Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai, who is from the Dalit community has hurt the sentiments of a section of Hindus. His remarks did not go down well when he said, “Go and ask the deity himself to do something.” It was in response to a plea seeking the restoration of a damaged statue of Lord Vishnu at the Javari Temple, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Khajuraho temple in Madhya Pradesh.

CJI Govan may have meant it lightly, and it may not have been his intention to hurt—only he knows that best. Still, the impact was felt as deeply offensive. Can he ever utter a single word denouncing religious practices people from other faiths? He would then witness an uproar that could shake him to the bone. One senior lawyer, Rakesh Kishore, who is also Dalit, even attempted to throw a shoe in protest, shouting that India will not tolerate an insult to Sanatan Dharma. He was immediately restrained by security personnel, and the Bar Council of India later suspended his license to practice law. Needless to say, when a symbol or belief or idolized figure that one holds dear---with deep attachment, respect, and emotion-- is mocked deliberately, it’s bound to touch a raw nerve.

Don’t children naturally feel offended if someone bluntly passes insulting comments about their mother? Likewise, a mother can't tolerate when her well-behaved children are insulted in public without reason. This isn’t just emotion, it’s a deeply human reflex.

Let me dig a little deeper. People got hurt by the remarks of Chief Justice B. R. Gavai, but did Lord Vishnu feel hurt too? Absolutely not, absolutely not. Lord Vishnu, as the symbol of the infinite, is beyond praise or insult, as categorically mentioned in the scripture dedicated to Him titled the Vishnu Purana, one of the eighteen sacred Puranas.

Lord Vishnu, or God, or Brahman, by whatever name one chooses to worship, whether it is Allah, Jesus, or Buddha, is not confined to any idol, as many non-Hindu traditions also believe. He, in fact, is the formless “superconsciousness” that breathes through the cosmos and stretches far beyond into realms the mind can ever truly grasp, as the ancient scriptures affirm. The profound concept of God and the depth of metaphysical knowledge as propounded by Hindu scriptures have astonished great thinkers like Voltaire, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and T. S. Eliot. Sadly, Indian intellectuals conditioned by the half-baked wisdom of the West have been actively undermining the cultural heritage of the very land they were born in.

According to the wisdom of ancient India, God is beyond harm, beyond ego, beyond any belief systems, beyond sensory limitation, and beyond time. His devotee, being mortal, may carry a host of human follies, as in the case of Advocate Rakesh Kishore. Yet when that same devotee, through intense yogic practice, transcends the material dimension, he begins to awaken to a deeper truth. He sheds all prejudice toward his fellow beings on earth, and learns to love all with compassion. In that state of expanded awareness, he too begins to see everything as Divine, as proclaimed in the hymns of the Upanishads.

Indeed, idol worship, including temple visits, may be regarded as the elementary stage of spiritual devotion. But the advanced seeker must rise above that. Such a seeker is encouraged to renounce worldly attachments and transcend duality, learning to perceive the presence of cosmic intelligence and bliss—both within and without. Divine consciousness, the eternal witness and intrinsic equalizer, is in essence the SUPRME JUSTICE of this infinite cosmos.

About Writer: A writer and researcher based in Shillong, Salil Gewali is best known for his research-based work, ‘Great Minds on India’, which has earned worldwide appreciation. His book has been translated into fifteen languages and edited by a former NASA scientist, Dr. AV Murali of Houston, USA. Gewali is also a member of the International Human Rights Commission Zürich, Switzerland.