BOOK REVIEW
Awaken Bharata: A Call for India’s Rebirth by David Frawley
Voice of India. 294 + xxxi pages. Price Rs 250 (HB), Rs 150 (PB).

Reviewed by Dr. N.S. Rajaram.
David Frawley, known also as Vamadeva Shastri, is probably the West’s most insightful scholar of the Vedas and ancient India. He is a prolific author whose best known books on the topic are Gods, Sages and Kings, and Vedic Aryans and the Origins of Civilization, the latter written jointly with the present reviewer. In Awaken Bharata, Frawley turns his attention to contemporary India with its manifold problems, particularly the challenges faced by, and weaknesses in what many have noted as the ‘Hindu Resurgence’. Characteristically, he frames them in spiritual rather than political or economic terms. In his own words:

"The theme of the present book is the need for a resurgent Hinduism, particularly on an intellectual level: a new Hindu intelligentsia to meet the challenge of the media and the computer age and the burgeoning information revolution. Such a new Hindu intelligentsia requires both a critique of anti-Hindu forces, which are numerous and well funded, and a self-examination among the Hindus, exposing the weaknesses within Hindu society and in contemporary thought."

The author’s appeal to Hindu thinkers is to be what he calls ‘intellectual kshatriyas’, i.e., show courage and conviction in their positions and statements. As many (including this reviewer) have noted, the Hindus have a tendency to shy away from stating unpleasant truths and confronting evil by failing to call a spade a spade. They seek refuge in moral relativism allowing adversaries and even sworn enemies to set the rules of combat to their own advantage. This often places the Hindus on the defensive right at the start of any debate. The damaging effect of such defensiveness was notably evident during the Ayodhya dispute when the aggressors were allowed to pose as victims. This mistake was all but repeated following the recent nuclear tests when hostile forces tried to portray an act of national defense as an unmitigated evil. It is a measure of progress that they met with much stiffer opposition than during the Ayodhya debate.

(This was further emphasized when Pope John Paul II recently visited India. Several Hindu organizations went on the offensive, demanding acknowledgement of previous wrongs. The BJP Government also gave the Pope what the foreign media called the "most low profile reception ever accorded to the Pope," by sending a lowly minister of state — one not even of cabinet rank — to receive him. The Pope’s own crude performance did not enhance his image or that of his Church. After his public appeal for evangelization of Asia in the name of ‘human rights’, his supporters were silenced. Even the normally supportive English media wrote highly critical editorials. This shows that the Hindu intelligentsia has made progress, though still lacking somewhat in sophistication.)

While Awaken Bharata covers a wide range of topics, the core of the book may be seen as an appeal for the restoration of the kshatriya values in national life. It is essentially a positive approach to life and leadership, as opposed to a reactive — if not a timid one embodied in moral relativism that goes by the name of sarva dharma samabhava. The author correctly phrases it as sarva dharma sambhrama or ‘confusion of religions’. This may also be viewed as a ‘confusion of values’, for dharma consists essentially of a system of values. Confusion leads to weakness and moral collapse — like the plight of Arjuna in the face of battle. It took a great kshatriya leader like Krishna to dispel the moral confusion and restore dharma. It was India’s tragedy that at a crucial period in her history, she was saddled with this principle of moral weakness called sarva dharma samabhava. Frawley’s Awaken Bharata is an eloquent call, and a guidebook, for the restoration of dharma rooted in the kshatriya spirit.

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