In Nagercoil, a ground which once saw the evangelical preacher DGS Dinakaran stand in the middle of a large crowd jeering, “Is there any scriptural text for Hinduism?”, today hosts Jaggi Vasudev, addressing a larger crowd on topics like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Upanishads. Times have changed, indeed.

Today can anyone approach a Hindu youth and arrogantly verbalise anti–Hindu propaganda? There will be atleast one voice among the crowd that will respond saying Hinduism has the most wonderful texts on yoga, philosophy as well as unmatched epics. He will have the answer to those questions about the Upanishads, Yoga Vasishtha and the like.

But to get to this point, it took us two long decades and huge institutional reaching out.

Eight years ago at Nagercoil, I happened to hear the same old taunt by a Dravidian orator about Lord Ayyappa. But this time, a youth had a befitting reply. ‘Shiva symbolized Yoga Shakti and Vishnu symbolized Boga Shakti; Lord Ayyappa their synthesis,’ he explained. He further stated that such symbolism existed in all traditions and requested the orator to refrain from making nonsensical statements without understanding. The ‘rationalist’ black-shirt was taken aback and pathetically muttered asking him to read Ingersoll, Marx and Erode Venkata Ramasamy(EVR). The boy retorted that those thinkers and their thoughts were old and outdated and that the ‘rationalist’ should rather read Joseph Campbell and the likes. ‘You should first learn how to look at a symbol as a symbol. You first read and learn that and come’ he said. Impressed, I called him and enquired. He said that it was the answer Jaggi Vasudev gave for the same question in Nagercoil.

It is for this, that one needs a corporate setup.