Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said there is a need to review Hindu texts and traditions, ANI reported.
“Earlier, we did not have scriptures; [knowledge] it was passed down through oral tradition,” Bhagwat said while addressing a gathering in Nagpur on Thursday. “Later, scriptures were developed and some selfish persons added some wrong things to them.”
Bhagwat’s remarks came two months after a controversy had erupted over Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya claims that parts of Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas contained objectionable language about Dalits, Adivasis and backward classes. He had called for their removal.
Maurya was booked by the Uttar Pradesh Police under provisions of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to hurting religious sentiments, intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace and statements aimed at creating enmity between classes.
In his Thursday address, Bhagwat said that Hinduism is a religion that balances life.
“Our religion follows the principles of science,” the RSS chief said. “Religion is necessary for the benefit of humans, as it helps to bring science to their aid...In our traditions, our ancestors have made contributions in the pursuit of knowledge in every field.”
In January, Bhagwat had said that members of the LGBTQ community and transgender persons have the same right to live as others.
The RSS chief had said that the Hindu society does not see transgenders as a problem and that members of the LGBTQ community deserve to have their own private and social space.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the parent organisation and the ideological backbone to a host of Hindutva groups including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
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