Bhubaneswar: Diversity is one of the hallmarks of Hinduism, renowned author and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik said during the launch of the Odia translation of his book ‘Ramayana Banaam Mahabharata’ at an event organised by the leading publishing house Pen In Books here Sunday. The book was translated by Tapan Kumar Panda. Elaborating on the comparative aspects of religion, Devdutt said, “Unlike in Islam and Christianity, where there is a singular truth, in Hinduism, the truth changes depending on the person and the situation. The Western belief in a monotheistic God is at odds with Hinduism’s veneration of Ananta. “The dualism of dharma-adharma and paapa and punya exists only in Islam and Christianity. In Hinduism, dharma and adharma are not equivalent to halal-haram.
While some praise Rama, some argue that Rabana is fair. Hinduism has concepts like reincarnation, prarabdha, and karma. There is no judgement day in Hinduism. You have to take birth time and again,” he explained. The author said that the word the word Itihasa emerged in Indian culture thousands of years before the word history came into action. History and Itihasa are not synonymous terms. The great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are Itihasas, he said. “Hinduism values creativity. In the absence of creativity, humanity would perish. Truth and creativity are intertwined in Hinduism. You can’t conceive of anything outside of the sacred texts in Islam and Christianity. No religion, except Hinduism, offers a canon of sacred texts and a variety of interpretations of dharma,” he added.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP