We are currently living in a momentous era where the rise of our collective consciousness of ‘धर्म’, ‘संस्कृति’ and ‘सभ्यता’ has surpassed every popular wave that wants to obstruct the ‘Renaissance’ of our Heritage, or more precisely the ‘Sanatan Renaissance’. An era that has given birth to representatives who question every filth of lies ever thrown at us and rectify it with style.
Therefore, today, I would like to talk about one such representative and his astonishing literary work, which ironed out the popular yet dishonourable works of many authors (or frauds). ‘Waiting for Shiva is a comprehensively researched and engaging account of the historical, cultural, and religious significance of the Gyan Vapi complex in Kashi (Varanasi).
Kashi (Varanasi) has been known as Bharat’s oldest city and spiritual capital. Vikram sir traces the city’s significance through our Ancient Hindu Scriptures namely, ‘SKANDA PURANA’ and ‘KASHI KHAND’, which describe the city as the eternal abode of Lord Mahadev.
He also mentions the Buddhist and Jain scriptures, which mirror the spiritual and cultural significance of the city across other traditions. For centuries the city of Kashi has been the centre of knowledge, philosophy and devotion for the various lineages of saints, poets and scholars who composed some of the most prominent works of literature. From ‘ADI SHANKARACHARYA JI’ to ‘TULSIDAS JI’ and ‘KABIR JI’ Kashi has witnessed the material age of Bharat’s religious and philosophical grandeur.
He further mentions the history of the original Kashi Vishwanath Temple, which was destroyed multiple times by Islamic invaders, notably by the sickest Mughal Emperor ‘Aurangzeb’. Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of the temple in 1669 and constructed the Gyan Vapi Mosque over its ruins to ridicule the faith, he felt inferior to.
As you read further you also learn about the constant struggle of the Hindus (from north to south, to east to west) trying to reclaim their place of worship to rebuild and continue worship at the site. While reading this portion we understand that Hindus never abandoned their connection to their place of worship, and kept its memory alive through oral traditions, rituals and symbolic worship at the remains of the site.
Vikram sir has also drawn a parallel between the Kashi Vishwanath (Gyan Vapi) issue and other disputed places of worship that faced the same fate of inferiority from the Islamic invaders. He talks about the Ram Janmabhoomi Case in Ayodhya, literary reciting the agony and struggles Hindus faced to reclaim their Prabhu’s temple.
Be it waging war or finding ourselves in front of the colonial idea of justice (The Legal System) we Hindus did everything in our might. Furthermore, you will be shocked to know that the first civil suit filed for the reclaiming of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Gyan Vapi) site was in 1936 when the court acknowledged that there was a temple before the mosque, but they couldn’t reach to a conclusive decision about the religious character of the site.
Additionally, he discusses the ‘The Places of Worship Act, 1919’, and how its existence is nothing but a big boulder that would never let the Hindus make their case easy to reclaim their places of worship. He has even dedicated a big chunk of the book to talking about the ongoing legal case (Shri Vishnu Jain standing on our side) and mentioned how the advancement of science has helped Hindus to get a proper archaeological survey of the site. The Appendix of the book covers all the important pieces of evidence that were recorded from the Archaeological Survey of the site, giving the readers a glimpse of the artefacts, and monumental structure of the site. And how it’s enough to slap our way through a major populace that is too blind to see the truth and also crave evidence.
This volume is solely written based on historical records, contemporary narratives and archaeological findings, making a compelling case for the temple’s existence much before the mosque. By highlighting the past and present-day political, social and religious proportions of the ongoing debate, Vikram sir has put forward a balanced side of the story.
In conclusion, I would only say, that the remnants of the temple, including its foundation and carved stonework, have continued to be points of contention and reverence for Hindus. This surely raises a sense of shame for us the Hindus who never collectively tried to reclaim our place of worship and end this curse that was raised upon our innocent civilisation.
Moreover, a big thank you to Vikram Sampath ji for jotting down this volume and making the deaf hear the agony of our civilization that needs to be reclaimed one by one and each one of them.
–Adv. Aniket Pratap Singh
