Is Mahabharat just for reference like Hadiths while Geeta is a divine scripture like Quran?

My friend asked a question in a personal mail. He wrote: “Muslims believe Quran is divine and Hadiths are not divine. The latter are subject to change. You once said someone did a great mistake by mixing Bhagvad Geeta - a divine scripture - in Mahabharata, a man made scripture. So in same manner, you think Mahabharat is just for reference like Hadiths while Geeta is a divine scripture like Quran?”

Mohammad Alvi writes: Quran is definitely divine in nature. It not only is the word of God but God Himself has taken a guarantee to protect it. Thus, we can safely say that the words of Quran are Divine. However, different arguments can be put forth regarding compilation of Quran after Prophet Mohammad; the manner in which it was done created some confusion regarding its understanding.

The words that Prophet Mohammad has uttered, or the acts that he did, which is generally called Hadith, too may be referred to as Divine. This is for two reasons: one, the book that is Divine in nature i.e. Quran tells that the Prophet says nothing but what is the will of God. Secondly, we know that the Noor which descended in the body of Prophet Mohammad, had a direct relationship with Paramatma [Wajhallah/Rooh/Vishnu] and Quran confirms that the Ahlulbayt (including Prophet Mohammad) are perfectly pure, thereby meaning that no impurity or untruth can get close to them. From this logic too, it can be inferred that Prophet Mohammad would not speak anything that was against the will of God as speaking against the intention of God would bring it in the ambit of impurity. [Read my previous posts to see the relationship of Prophet Mohammad with Paramatma]

I did say that Bhagvad Geeta and Mahabharata were separate works till the 2^nd century A.D. I am not the first person who is saying so. It has been mentioned by commentators of Gita earlier as well. Moreover, I have given logical reasonings to prove that this must be true. The content of Geeta and Mahabharata are altogether opposite to each other. One is the loftiest level of spiritual teachings whereas the other seems to be the work of a person whose vision is curtailed due to his materialistic leanings, which doesn’t allow him to see Krishna’s deeds and acts from spiritual perspective. He sees everything from a materialistic vision [in rajasik state, as Krishna himself has said].

You have asked whether we should treat Mahabharat just for reference like Hadiths while Geeta is a divine scripture like Quran.

Geeta indeed is a divine scripture like Quran. We may read Mahabharata just to know the perspective of materialistic minded people who couldn’t understand the spiritual depth of Krishna’s action. But we should read Mahabharata in full-knowledge that it is the work of a common man, written several hundred years after the war of Mahabharata, and describing the actions as a layman - who gets lured by grandeur and material desires - would see.

In case of Hadiths, the matter is different. We cannot take all Hadiths for reference. If you have been reading my earlier posts, you must have seen that I am repeatedly saying that very soon after death of Prophet Mohammad, his teachings were hijacked and we gradually saw spiritual Islam being replaced by the Islam of the rulers, who were governed by materialistic desires, their own whims and fancies. So much so that within 50 years after Prophet’s death, we saw the entire household of Prophet Mohammad butchered to death by those who called themselves as his followers and based their religion on Mohammad’s teachings. How could this be possible? Why didn’t the Muslims revolted against such rulers? This was possible because other than employing the tactics of barbaric treatment against anybody who dared to differ from them, an entire factory was created of fake hadiths. The real purpose of creating this factory of fake hadiths was to undermine the character and position of Ahlulbayt (who, I am proving, are the Manus or Devatas of Vedas). Fake personalities were created, their closeness with Prophet Mohammad was forged and incidents which never happened were narrated. It is a historical fact that rulers used to pay those who concocted Hadiths that suited them. Imagine, Ali who was the closest person to Prophet Mohammad till his death (regarding whom I have given proofs in my earlier writings that he is none but the man in whom the Noor or Light of Lord Siva descended) too was not spared. For 90 years, Ali was cursed from the pulpits of thousands of mosques in the Muslim empire, in every Friday prayer. Who was leading these prayers? State appointed Imams to the mosques. If state appointed Imams, who surely must be showing themselves off as religious people, cursed Ali prayer after prayer, for 90 years, just imagine how people were misled. These are the tactics through which satan create digressions from original teachings. It has happened earlier as well; to Buddhist as well as Sanatan teachings.

Therefore, the problem with Hadiths is that some of them are authentic while a lot many of them are fake, concocted to serve one purpose or the other. Scholars do a great deal of research to verify the authenticity of the Hadiths, but the truth is that Hadiths which are considered authentic by one sect are seen as false by others and there are also those who get influenced by Hadiths concocted to belittle someone’s personality or upgrade that of others in the eyes of public.

To give an example, Khalid ibn Walid is revered by a set of people as Saifallah (Sword of God). He is seen as a great warrior who led the conquests of many a territories. On the other hand, a set of people believe that he was promoted as a chivalrous person as a need was felt to have someone who stand up to the chivalry of Ali. This set of people believe that Khalid was a plunderer with no regard to Islamic teachings. To support their argument, they cite the incidence of Khalid killing a Majusi (fire-worshipper) because he fell for the beautiful wife of the person. He married his wife (naturally by force) the day her husband was slain. Islam prohibits marriage with a widow till her iddah period is over.

Thus, the difference between Mahabharata and Hadiths of Prophet Mohammad is that while it is sure that the purpose of writing the epic Mahabharata was to belittle the Divine Teachings of Krishna, Prophet Mohammad’s Hadiths (the authentic ones and the concocted ones) are all present in books. The work on compilation of Hadiths was initiated decades after the demise of Prophet Mohammad and hence the Muslims are confused which of the traditions to consider authentic and which to consider as false.

Prophet Mohammad has himself prophesied that if you find any of his tradition in conflict with Quran, discard that. But this is also a sad reality that most of the attacks that are being made on Islam recently are due to the presence of concocted Hadiths, which were concocted in the name of Prophet Mohamad, with various motives.  

Let us see the case of Sanatan dharm. Would you say that the religiosity displayed at the temples of Khajuraho is in sync with the spiritual teachings of Geeta? At least, I do not agree to this. Khajuraho temples are the handiwork of people who were immersed in material pursuits but wanted to give it a garb of religiosity. Likewise, how can you relate the conversation of Puranas which talk of a very old Rishi who married the 50 daughters of a King on a single day and built lavish palaces for all the 50 princesses with teachings of Gita. How can you relate the incident of a priest forcing the king to send his wife to him so that the king may have sons possessing the qualities of ‘devatas’ with the description of real qualities of Devatas in Vedas? Upanishads describe consuming liquor as one of the 5 greatest sins and the books written by materialistic minded men describe Devatas like Indra and Siva committing a lot many sins under intoxication. It is unfortunate that Hindus have stopped drawing a line and have begun to consider all work that is more than 2000 years old as sanctified, even so if it is Kamasutra. You must remember, Tamasik powers were as strong even then and they were working to digress human beings from the path being shown by Avatars. Hindus will reach the truth from their own books the day they start using logic to discard the books that do not befit the title of being called divine owing to the absurdity of their content.

Moreover, I can say with surety that the acts and words of Divine Personalities, be it Krishna or Mohammad, cannot be understood by people immersed in materialistic living, who see no beyond than the pleasures of their organs of action and senses.