'Satyam Shivam Sundaram': Rahul Gandhi on What It Means To Be a Hindu

A Hindu has the courage to look deeply into her own fear and to embrace it, Rahul Gandhi writes.

"To call Hinduism a set of cultural norms is to misunderstand it. To bind it to a particular nation or geography is to limit it. Hinduism is how we mitigate and understand our relationship with our fears."

Rahul Gandhi in an opinion piece posted on X

A day before Gandhi Jayanti, Rahul Gandhi, in a two-page-long opinion piece titled 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', first published by The Indian Express on Sunday, 1 October, wrote:

"Imagine life as swimming through a vast ocean of joy, love and fear. We live together in its beautiful but frightening depths, trying to survive its many powerful and constantly changing currents. There is love, connection and immense happiness in the ocean. But there is also fear. Fear of death, hunger, loss, as well as fear of pain, insignificance, and failure. Life is our collective journey through this beautiful ocean. We are all swimming together."

Rahul Gandhi

In the piece – which the Congress leader posted on X (formerly Twitter) – he opined that life is both "beautiful" and "frightening" at the same time because "nobody has ever survived this vast ocean of life."

It reflects his views on Hinduism and the idea of dharma.

"A person who has the courage to overcome her own fear so that she may observe the ocean truthfully is a Hindu. It is a path towards the realisation of truth and though it belongs to no one, it is open to anyone who chooses to walk on it," Gandhi further wrote.

'Who Is a Hindu?'

Gandhi wrote that a Hindu "looks at herself and everyone in the ocean of life with love, compassion, and respect" because she understands that everyone is in the same water and that a Hindu tries to protect all who are struggling to swim in these waters.

"She is alert to even the most quiet anxiety, the most silent scream. This action and duty to defend others, especially the weak, is what a Hindu calls her Dharma," he further wrote, adding that a Hindu listens for and acts on behalf of the world's invisible worries through truth and non-violence.

"A Hindu has the courage to look deeply into her own fear and to embrace it. She learns to turn her fear from an enemy into an intimate friend that guides and accompanies her through life. She is not a victim. And never ever allows her fear to capture her and turn her into a vehicle for anger, hatred or violence," Gandhi wrote.

Gandhi also highlighted that a Hindu knows that whatever knowledge exists is not her property alone.

A Hindu understands that "nothing ever stands still" and that she has a deep sense of curiosity, one that ensures "she never closes her mind to understanding."

"A Hindu is humble and is always ready to listen and learn from any being that swims in the great ocean."

Rahul Gandhi

Gandhi's note concluded by shedding light on how a Hindu loves all beings, respects and accepts that each one of them has the right to "choose their own path to navigate and understand the ocean" of life.

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)