FACT CHECK: Chinna Jeeyar Swami's viral Video Was Clipped And The Claims Are Misleading
A video of seer Chinna Jeeyar Swami is viral on social media in which he says that he is an atheist and that all Hindus are wretched.
HYDERABAD: A video of seer Chinna Jeeyar Swami is viral on social media in which he says that he is an atheist and that all Hindus are wretched.
Click here to view.
Fact Check:
The claim is misleading.
We found the full video from where the viral reel was extracted, on YouTube, published 10 years ago. In the full video, he said: "We all come from the Bharata clan. The name of our race is 'Bharata Jati', 'Bharata Jati'. Someone came and termed us Hindu and it is an insult to us. They came from the Sindhu valley and hence, the name Hindu. If you were born in the valley, you would have had the same name, but you (viewers) were not born there and were born near Godavari, Krishna or other rivers. People hailing from the Sindhu valley do not have a history beyond a certain point, like 5,000 years ago. But they say Ramayana, Bharata and Vedas belong to ancient eras and if we are owning them, then the argument of originating in Sindhu valley is a blatant lie and does not have scientific background. Hindu was a term given by people hating idol worship and treating those people praying to the idols as kafirs. Hindu means Kafir. Kafir means wretched. Are you wretched? I don't think so. It is said that even the gods in heaven become envious about people born in India. We belong to a great nation.
His complete explanation about the same can be seen in the video. From 8:20 minutes in the video, he speaks about the greatness of Ramayana, Mahabharata. He says, "Some people asked me why I don't use the word 'Hindu'. It is because the British invented the word and imposed it on us. Vivekananda had to say that word that day due to lack of destiny. But it is not good to describe our race with that word. If we call ourselves with that word, it is as if we have cut our beard. There are a few different accounts of how this word came about. It is said to have come from the Indus civilization. Does that mean there are no other ancient civilizations in India except the Indus which existed 5,000 years ago? Is this nation and this race uncivilized? Are you all from the Indus river? We are born near Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra and other rivers. Why should you be identified with the civilization that came from that valley? Secondly, the letter 'sa' became 'ha', That is why the word 'Sindhu' had become 'Hindu'. Is this real? That is for you (viewers) to think".
From 15:45 minutes, he said: "Actually 1,000 years ago, this word (Hindu) did not exist. A term used to refer to those who oppose idolatry, such as the Parsis who practice it and they used to be called 'kafirs'. The word Hindu has come to make us ahistorical. There is no such word anywhere in Vedas and epics. None of the religious teachers used it. If you want to tell your history, you can tell the name of the clan. It is 'Bharata clan'. The name of your race is 'Bharata race'. You have one standard, that is the Vedas. Various gods can be worshiped in it."
The full video of the clip where Chinna Jeyar Swami says he is an atheist can be seen here. In this video, China Jeeyar Swamy narrates a conversation between Pedda Jeeyar Swamy and E.V. Rama Swami (Periyar).
Rama Swami: I am not a staunch devotee. I don't believe in God.
Pedda Jeeyar Swamy: Why?
Rama Swami: When I was young, my family members used to drink coffee only after offering it to the Lord Ganapati. Once I saw a cockroach crawling on the portrait of Ganapati. I looked for a while to see if God would be able to remove the cockroach from the portrait but there was no such thing. Then I felt that how can God remove our sins which are invisible while he cannot get rid of a cockroach which is visible and crawling on himself. Since then I have become an atheist."
Hence, the claim is misleading. The videos were clipped. In the full video, he said, "I do not consider Hindus as infidels. We are a great race." Also in the clip where he said that he is an atheist, he was speaking at E.V. Ramaswamy's remarks while in conversation with Pedda Jeeyar Swamy. So this post is misleading.