Here, he seems to have a point, though in a superficial way. He is insinuating that the Hindus in their outrage against his tweet are actually behaving like their Islamist-Christian counterparts. Hence, the hijab jibe.
However, the Hindu outrage does not stem from the imitation of the Islamo-Christian mindset. It has more to do with the deliberate replacing of a sacred context with a male-centric commodification of the sacred-feminine.
So, when a juvenile ‘rationalist’ tweets an obscene picture of the Goddess, removing her from her sacred context, what is actually happening is an abuse of culture at one level and self-abuse at another level.
As a Hindu, we need to reach out to correct both.
The real problem here is the typical shallow approach a Western-trained ‘free-thinking’ mind.
The Western free-thinking tradition had to counter a religion that insisted on taking its mythology literally. So, the Western free-thinkers had to counter it by showing how ridiculous the literal meaning of the sacred text was in the light of modern science.
A free thinker who applies the same template to Hindu context is however incapable of discrimination and is hence, irrational.
It is quite natural for a Westernized mind to think of all religions as being the same as Islam and Christianity. So, they err the same way.
In the case of Armin Navabi what is on display is yet another aspect. He seems to appreciate the bravery of the Hindu depiction of goddesses but he errs or rather commits the blunder of sexualising the Goddess - just as how a male-dominated civilisation objectifies the female body.
Kali, Durga and thousand and one goddesses who make every nook and corner of India sacred, represent the quintessential feminine principles embedded in the very fabric of existence, and which is also transcendental.
The worshipers of the Goddess, who considered themselves as nothing but her children have described her form in language that may be for an untrained and juvenile mind, ‘erotic’.
Let us consider the following lines from one of the greatest mystic-poets of Shaktic tradition from the recent past - Kamalakanta Bhattacharya (1769-1821).
Lying inactive under the woman
He yearns for the sweetness of love.
Whispering endearments into Her ears
Siva makes love to the Beautiful Goddess
in the locus of
the heart lotus of
Kamalakanta
For our juvenile tweeter the above lines may provide nothing but arousal and result in a prude Victorian aversion. But for a Hindu, even a child, these lines of the verse could be understood in their correct cultural and spiritual context.
Because these lines are not mere 'erotic' poetry but poetry that is pregnant with extraordinary layers of meaning, so much so that it can become a poetic depiction of the deeper cosmology modern science unveils.
Consider the following lines by the same mystic-poet:
She is Matter,
and then
She is Shakthi,
She is then the complete Void.
Now know why
contemplating Her,
Kamalakanta
goes mad.
In the West a few have been able to understand this aspect. Physicist Fritjof Capra captures this aspect of the Hindu sacred feminine beautifully and crisply:
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