The world has changed significantly within the last few years. Many of these changes are very concerning, especially the casual talk by some politicians about the possibility of a nuclear war, and the dangers of artificial intelligence, which will not only render many jobless and possibly directly influence our thoughts, but may even go out of human control. Further, the big economic downturn in many countries and the increasing censorship of speech. It seems as if the world is moving towards a China-type controlled one-world society.

In this scenario, social media is both a boon and a bane. It is a bane, when it keeps our attention, addictively, on scrolling for ever more information or entertainment, without giving us a break to be present in the here and now—the most important place and time of our life. And our phones may even lure us into debasing our life with violent computer games or pornography.
Yet, on the other hand, social media has also contributed greatly to waking people up to what is happening. ‘Deep State’ has become a household word. Mainstream media has lost the trust of many. Even science, academia, and medicine have come under scrutiny and do not look so good and innocent any longer. Too many claims, ridiculed by the media as ‘conspiracy theories’, have unfortunately been confirmed as true.

There is another, very positive aspect which gets traction, and that too, is thanks to social media platforms—more and more people are searching for the Truth—not merely questioning facts that are presented by the media, but searching for the big, transcendental Truth about God and themselves.
Many Westerners are going back to Christianity and declaring their faith in Jesus. Even a decade ago, it would have been inconceivable that Tucker Carlson, a big American influencer, would ask Russell Brand, a big British influencer, on stage to lead an audience of ten thousand in prayers.

I consider it a good development for Westerners. The erosion of belief in a Supreme Power was obviously planned—starting in Russia and China with communism and taking root in the West with the Hippie movement of the 1960s.
Now, there is a pushback against the agenda which wants us to identify only with the body, and focus only on sensual enjoyment, never mind how low that enjoyment may be. The Zeitgeist is changing, even though the elite still try to convince us that ‘It is ridiculous to believe in a God or a soul’ (a recent quote by the celebrated historian and author, Yuval Noah Harari who is a regular at the World Economic Forum).

Yet, I wish that people all over the world would know about Bharat’s Eternal Wisdom, called Sanatana Dharma. Or rather, I wish they would know what this Eternal Wisdom is really about and not be influenced by false, mischievous claims by those who don’t want this Wisdom to be known.
The reason: Sanatana Dharma is closer to the Truth than Abrahamic religions.

Devotion to God or Jesus or Allah is definitely helpful in life. But doubts may arise from time to time, because those religions are all about ‘belief in a story’ that happened several hundred years ago. It is all about ‘thinking’ and not about ‘who or what enables thinking’.

Since ancient times, India was the ‘Land of Wisdom’. Vedic wisdom is not based on belief in a story. It gives knowledge about the Absolute Truth and asks us to verify it by experiencing it within ourselves—true Self-Realisation.

The most important knowledge is: We are not small persons in a big world, but are one with Brahman. And Brahman, though indescribable, is best described as limitless, blissful Consciousness, out of which, this world and everything in it, ‘appears’. It means, the world and our small, individual selves are not solid. They are more like Virtual Reality, or in Indian terminology, Maya. What is ‘solid’ and really true is only our essence or self—Pure Consciousness.

When I heard this for the first time back in April 1980, at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar—it immediately made sense to me. For the first time, I got convincing answers to questions that had troubled me since my teens.
Questions like:
– What is most important in life?
– Is there a God?
– Is death the end of me?

These questions were now replaced with the most important question:
– Who am I really?
Yet, this question cannot be answered with words. It needs to be ‘known’ within. The goal of our life is to realise the truth of who we are.

I wanted to dedicate my life to search for the Truth and stay on in India, because the country was just more conducive for spiritual search. Yet to do this, I needed a longer visa and earn some money.
So, in 1981, I wrote my first article—about insights I had gained while being in the presence of Sri Anandamayi Ma and other great spiritual personalities like Devaraha Baba, and from reading numerous books and sitting still for many hours in meditation. I felt that this precious wisdom, which is still alive in India, is lacking in the West.

I was fortunate. This first article was published in the German magazine Psychologie Heute; two other magazines reprinted it. The editor asked me to continue writing, as he had rarely seen such clarity regarding Indian Wisdom. He even gave me an advance for my next article—a report on a conference in Mumbai on ‘The Convergence between Indian Wisdom and Modern Science’. Obviously, back then in 1981, India’s Wisdom was appreciated.

During the first 20 years, I stayed in the ‘spiritual Bharat’ of ashrams, pilgrimage places, sadhus, and mainly met Indians who were connected to their roots. I thought that all Indians were like this. After all, their tradition and scriptural heritage is a treasure trove.

Only when I moved into a ‘normal’ environment in 2001, did I realise that Hindu Dharma is not only ignored in education, but also viewed negatively by the media and academia.

I realised only then that on the one hand, many Indians had converted to Islam and Christianity during the long foreign rule, and naturally, their new religion indoctrinated them into believing how bad their previous faith was.
And, on the other hand, even many Hindus have no idea about their spiritual treasure. Especially the convent-educated Hindus who often dismiss their tradition as ‘primitive’, without knowing even a basic text like the Bhagavad Gita.
They are like those proverbial people who are sitting on a box of gold but do not know it, and instead go for artificial jewellery elsewhere.

This ‘box of gold’ has many aspects.
The most important one is:
India has preserved the most profound philosophical and spiritual insights of the ancient rishis (sages), and their methods on how to fulfil one’s life’s purpose and how to be truly free and fearless.
Yet it seems, free and fearless people are unwanted in our times. Otherwise, it is hard to explain why the media and academia hardly ever mention anything positive about India. It almost seems as if they do not want to draw any attention to India, maybe because they fear that people might discover that great treasure.

This book is a collection of forty-three of my over 200 articles. Some are unchanged, like my letter to Pope Francis, who has meanwhile passed away, or my reply to Zakir Naik, a radical Islamic preacher. Many are updated or have otherwise been improved.

The main topics are:
– The truth about who we are, what is our purpose in life, and where can we discover true love and happiness.
– Some aspects of the living Hindu culture.
– How Hinduism relates to Buddhism and to the Abrahamic religions.
– What is special in Hinduism—like Rebirth or the regard for animals.
– Why is Hinduism attacked so much?
– The great influence that India had on German philosophers.

In recent times, attacks on Hinduism have become very vicious. Hindu Gods are called demons not only by Christian missionaries but also by Western academics and certain Indian politicians who want the faith of the Hindus to be ‘eradicated’.

There are mischievous attempts to associate Hinduism with dark satanic cults, whose existence in secret societies of the topmost global elite can no longer be ignored. Those cults are the complete opposite of the benevolent Sanatan (= Eternal) Hindu tradition.

Hinduism’s focus is on a dharmic (righteous) life and, to overcome one’s ignorance regarding this illusionary world and to realise one’s true Self.
In contrast, the focus of those satanic cults is on achieving pleasures, riches, and power in this ephemeral world, even if it requires selling one’s soul to the devil.

Are the attacks on Hinduism an expression of the spiritual fight of the forces of darkness against the forces of light? Of the egoistic Asuras against the benevolent Devas?

Bharat is probably the only country in the world, where the Devas are worshipped every day in thousands of temples across this ancient, vast land.
And, Bharat is probably the only country in the world, where the knowledge about our essential divinity is still alive; and, where not only countless sadhus, but also many ordinary Hindus dedicate some time daily to connect with divinity.

The vicious attempts of reviling the Hindu tradition need to be countered. At the same time, the precious wisdom of the ancient Vedas, which uplifts and gives meaning to life, needs to be spread.
People will then realise that Hinduism is not what mainstream media, Western academia, or the clergy of Abrahamic religions want us to believe. Rather, it is our best guide to true fulfillment and love.
I hope this book contributes in spreading this profound knowledge and inspires readers to search for true love and happiness within.

by Maria Wirth

the books are available on Amazon, PadhegaIndia, Hindueshop
in Hindi https://www.amazon.in/dp/9391154832
in English https://www.amazon.in/dp/8119670655
abroad the English version is available, also on Kindle.
My earlier Book “Thank you India”, too is on Amazon.

The post Why Hindu Dharma is under attack? first appeared on Maria Wirth.

Maria Wirth’s latest book is a guide in Shatrubodh
Communists, Christian Evangelists, and Islamists are at the forefront of defaming and demonizing Hindu Dharma. I would add HINOs (Hindus in Name only) to this Hindudveshi/Hinduphobic group. Maria’s latest book has 43 essays that answers several uncomfortable questions including the deliberate demonization of Hindu Dharma by the aforementioned forces. These essays also teach Hindus how to counter the hateful propaganda directed at us. I would call this a handbook in Swayambodh and Shatrubodh that every Hindu should read to deal effectively with the anti-Hindu propaganda and defeat the agenda of these inimical Hinduphobic forces.

Most hate directed against Bharatiya civilization comes from deep-rooted hatred for practices such as reverence for cows, murti Puja, and others that these groups term as ‘primitive’ and ‘irrational.’ This stems more from hatred that is instilled in Abrahamics along with a sense of superiority since the start. Maria brings out the difference between inclusive Hindu Dharma and exclusive dogma of Abrahamic faiths clearly in her essays.

Maria believes that Hindu Dharma’s openness makes it a threat for Abrahamic religions who believe that only their path is the right one. The biggest strength of Hindu Dharma is its resilience that has made it stand tall in the face of repeated invasions for centuries. Despite an overwhelming number of HINO Brown Sahibs, Hindu Dharma has managed to survive and thrive. Maria Wirth also highlights that these English educated Brown Sahibs are also the harshest critics of Hindu Dharma because they believe that anything associated with Bharatiya tradition is ‘backward’ and in contrast, anything western is ‘modern.’

Review of the book
In the 43 essays, Maria Wirth covers a variety of topics from Ram Mandir Struggle, Kanwar Mela to Vedic Wisdom and and Caste Questions. The book begins with the Bharatiya wisdom that anti-Hindu forces don’t want people to know. The chapter on Vedic wisdom along with the first chapter equips Hindus with the important knowledge about Hindu Dharma.

There are chapters explaining the ‘difference’ between Hindu Dharma & Hindutva, why Buddhism is readily acceptable & projected as ‘intellectual’ while Hindu Dharma is hated, if Germany is Christian why Bharat shouldn’t be Hindu, the letters to Pope and Zakir Naik and many others that keep you hooked. Maria has kept the language simple and the book has a smooth flow from start to end.

As someone who has been active on Social Media for more than a decade and has witnessed a lot of hatred towards Hindutva, both from within and outside Bharat, I found this book talking to me. Questions that I have often asked to myself, have been addressed by Maria Wirth with exceptional clarity and lucidity.

For example, a simple post celebrating the Ram Mandir verdict triggered many of my Christian and Muslim friends even though I had never been hostile to them or their religious beliefs. When you read this book, you’ll realise that Abrahamics are conditioned to see Hindu Dharma as something ‘evil’ and its followers who would receive hellfire for not believing the ‘one true God.’ Very few are able to move beyond this conditioning. Also, Hindus need to be thankful that we aren’t conditioned to hate irrationally.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to equip themselves to take on the anti-Hindu brigade, in addition to gaining clarity about their Dharma. Maria has explained various aspects of Hindu Dharma with extraordinary clarity. We must take pride in the fact that we belong to a Dharma that sees divinity in all things and motivates its adherents to discover the truth within themselves.
(end of review)

link
link: https://www.amazon.in/dp/8119670655
it’s also available abroad under amazon.com and is on Kindle

The post Review of my new book in Hindu Post by Maitri first appeared on Maria Wirth.

Even though I criticize Christianity, I consider it for normal Westerners (not clerics) much preferable to believe in Jesus and his Godfather than to be rootless atheists or communists, as long as these Christians don’t buy into the dogma that “only Christianity can save you”.
Unfortunately, in America (not so much in Europe), many buy into the supremacy claim, as they have only Islam and Judaism as comparison, and the Christian God of the New Testament is relatively less violent and less fiercely protective of only his own people.

NRI Hindus generally do not discuss their faith, and have allowed media, the Church and academia to shape a negative view of Hinduism. But even in Bharat, many Hindus don’t articulate, and maybe don’t know, the essence of the tradition, which they have inherited.

I watched recently a documentary on India which had been aired on German public TV. It was highly biased against PM Modi and Hindus. Yet there was an incident, where a diamond businessman could have easily corrected the view of Hinduism for the German viewers:

“What is special about India”, the businessman was asked.
His reply: “we believe in God, get our strength from Him, start our day with a common prayer.”
“Which God? You have so many,” the interviewer asked.
“Yes, we have many. I personally pray to Swami Narayana.” He then asked someone standing nearby, ‘to whom do you pray?’

If only he had mentioned that all the different Gods are aspects of the one all-pervading Brahman, Hinduism would have looked very differently to the German viewers and closer to the truth, as well.

I recently tweeted: “A pity that Vedic knowledge/ Hinduism is not known in the West. It is the best option for humanity. Sadly, certain forces don’t want people to know that.”

A foreigner reacted to my tweet:
“Excuse me, but yoking yourself to Hindu DEMON GODS is NOT the best path for humanity.”

This tweeter has obviously fallen for mischievous propaganda.

It reminded me of the World Hindu Congress in Bangkok in November 2023. I was asked to talk about “Articulating Hindu Thoughts”, because this is an area where Hindus don’t do a good job. And unfortunately, it’s true.

There are several videos on the net, where for example Shiva is compared to Satan – not by missionaries but by people who talk positively about the Gods of ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia. Usually, India’s ancient tradition is not mentioned at all, and if it is, negatively.

So, the comment about the Hindu DEMON GODS didn’t surprise me, but pained me nevertheless. Can we Hindus do a better job in communicating what Hinduism is about? (I use Hinduism, as this is the term under which the Vedic tradition is known abroad, even though Hindu or Sanatana Dharma would be better, as ‘ism’ connotes a dogmatic system, which Hinduism is not.)

I remembered my notes from the World Hindu Congress:

First: we need to clearly articulate what is most essential in the Vedic tradition. It is: you are not what you think you are. You are not a separate body and mind but you are one with the one Brahman.
Brahman alone is true. The world is an appearance in Brahman. (Brahman satya, Jagat mithya)

Brahman is the absolute Truth, and the world and everything in it, is the relative truth.
It means, only Brahman is fully independent. It needs nothing else to exist and is eternal. Yet the world is dependent on Brahman and temporary. And here ‘the world’ includes not only the visible universe but also the much maligned “many Hindu Gods”, who are far more powerful and long-lived than humans, and as real as we humans, but are also not absolutely true. They also depend on the one Brahman for their existence.

Brahman is beyond words and thoughts. It is pure, thought-free consciousness or awareness. It is purely “I AM” without “this or that”.

This pure consciousness is the substratum on which thoughts and everything else appear. Thoughts are also objects. I can observe ‘my’ thoughts. So, who am I? This is the most important question.

Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) or Ayam Atma Brahma (this Atma is Brahman) claim the Vedas. Sadhana is needed to wear down the veil that hides our innermost Self. Brahman is the only Subject.

So, is there any doubt that “God”, as the West calls the highest truth, is within us? Are we not all conscious, even though we are usually conscious only of the ‘objects’ (thoughts) within our ‘pure’ (thought-free) consciousness?

To discover the thought-free consciousness is the meaning of life. And this thought-free consciousness is of course very close to us. Closer is not even possible. It is our essence, our Self.

Does this make sense? Does it not sound like top philosophy?

200 years ago and even until 40 years ago, it made sense also to people in the West, to philosophers, to scientists and to many hippies. Yet today, this profound knowledge is completely blacked out. If you google “the greatest philosophers of all time”, not a single Indian is mentioned among the 50 listed, while ancient Greeks, Chinese and Arabs are mentioned.
WHY???
This is surely intriguing.

Unfortunately, even modern Indians have forgotten this basic knowledge.

Yet those Hindus who knew, didn’t do a good job in communicating their knowledge. Even a few years ago, 70 years after the British left, I attended an Interfaith Dialogues and was shocked that the Hindu side didn’t ask any straight question to the representatives of the Abrahamic religions and did not mention the positive sides of Hindu Dharma.
“I can’t afford to be controversial. I have a family”, a participant explained to me his timidity during tea break.

This is very unfortunate, because not to put things straight can become very costly for Hindus in future. Tens of millions of Hindus have been killed due to a terrible misunderstanding or due to an intentional disinformation campaign that “Hindus go against the Will of the “only true God” who doesn’t want other Gods to be worshipped beside Him.”

The Abrahamic religions claim, “there is only one God (separate from his creation)”.
The Rishis claim “there is only God /Brahman (pervading and containing the universe)”.

Is it possible to discover who is right?
Yes, it is. Because the truth can be experienced. Even some Christian and Muslim mystics discovered their oneness with God or Allah – names don’t matter for That what is unnameable. Hindus, too, have other names besides Brahman, for example simply Tat (That), Parabrahma, Parama Shiva…

Other points which speaks greatly in favour of Hindus.
For example, only Hindus pray for the whole world to be happy. “Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu.” In contrast, the Abrahamic religions pray only for their own group and even – incredibly – believe that their God is favouring only them and sends others to hell. It means, their God is more like a tribal God and not the source and basis of all that exists.

Further, Hindus pray to the Gods and not to the demons. Every day, in thousands of temples, the Gods are worshipped. Gods are called Devas and demons are called Asuras.
The difference between them is this: The Gods are compassionate and helpful. The Demons are egoistic and walk even over dead bodies to get their advantage.
Both are within this world of Maya. Therefore, DEMON GODS are not possible in India/ Bharat. Yet today, even the Asuras of extinguished ancient cultures, are ignorantly called Gods.

In the West, demons are more likely to be worshipped than in Bharat – egoistical pursuit of one’s own advantage is paramount in our times, never mind if other humans or animals suffer.…

Open-minded Christians, Muslims and atheists should be able to understand which view is closer to the truth and which is more likely to promote harmony in society.
The Hindu view or the view of the Abrahamic religions?

by Maria Wirth

The post Hinduism is misunderstood all over the world. Because Hindus don’t articulate its essence well. first appeared on Maria Wirth.

In an isolated area in the state Jharkhand, 300 km from its capital Ranchi, a 28-year-old Spanish/Brasilian woman and her 64-year-old Spanish husband had pitched their tent. They had travelled all over the world for some years and had come from Bangladesh on 2 motorbikes.
At 11 pm on Friday night, 1. March, a police patrol saw 2 foreigners by the side of the road. Due to the language barrier, the police couldn’t understand what they said.

The police took them to a community health centre 60 km away. ‘The Week’ mentions, that the two foreigners were in a position to ride on their own bikes to the health centre and were escorted by the police.
In the hospital, the woman told the doctor that she has been sexually assaulted by 7 or 8 men, who had attacked her husband, tied his hands and then, one after the other, raped her. The culprits also stole some of their belongings, including a diamond ring. But their main intention, she said, was to rape her.
The whole ordeal lasted from 7.30 pm to 10 pm, before the police patrol passed by. She gave her statement to the police in the health centre and also released a video on her Instagram handle that night. She meanwhile deleted the video.

Right after speaking to the woman, on Saturday morning, 2. March, the cops started interrogating suspects. Some confessed and were arrested already on 2. March. They spilt names of others.
Meanwhile all 8 have been arrested in record time.

The Hindu reported that the court took suo motu cognisance of the case, since this incident could reflect badly on the image of Bharat. A woman judge met the biker woman, and concluded that the victim is physically stable but mentally a wreck.
A cheque over 10 lakhs was handed over to them, and on 5. March, they continued their travel to Nepal “amidst heavy security” according to Times of India.
Incidentally, Dumka, the area where it happened, was earlier represented in the Assembly by the present chief minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren, and the BJP, which is in the opposition in the state, attacked the Jharkhand government over failing law and order.

When I saw the tweet with the video, where the Spanish woman talks about her ordeal, 9 hours after it was posted by a Turkish woman, it had already 49 million views… this was incredible and highly suspect. I guessed, correctly as it turned out, that those who will be arrested won’t have Muslim names.
It looked as if a toolkit has been activated to demean the image of India, as it was done in 2012, after the Nirbhaya case. At that time, the news spread over the whole world like wildfire, and not the culprits stood accused as much as India and her (Hindu) culture.
At that time, the purpose was in all likelihood to try to equate India with Pakistan, which some months earlier, had got an extra bad name due to the Rotherham grooming scandal in which mainly Pakistani Muslims were the rapists. The propaganda against Bharat was fierce and successful. Most Westerners, who didn’t know India from own experience, mistakenly believed now that India has a huge “rape problem”.

The present Dumka case also spread like a rapid wildfire. The tweet by the Turkish woman alone got 210 million views in only 10 days!! This is impossible without massive manipulation. The case is not only all-over social media, but also mainstream media, including in Germany, where the newspapers didn’t even add “allegedly” before telling what terrible things happened in India ‘again’.

The gang rape may have happened, but nowadays one never can be fully sure. Neither a man’s nor a woman’s word should be taken as true, unless it’s proven to be true. Too many fake cases have been filed in Bharat. I got flak on Twitter, including personal insults, when I pointed out that some things don’t add up:

After such a terrible ordeal, the victim would have surely been greatly traumatised. Would she make a video about the incident in the same night for social media?

Is it possible that an hour after the brutal assault on her husband and 7 or 8 men forcefully raping her, they were in a position to ride their bikes for 60 km?

Another oddity: after they got the cheque and before leaving for Nepal, there seemed great bonhomie with the cop, with whom they made selfies. A photo is on Twitter. Incidentally, the bruise on her face had also disappeared by then.

And one more oddity: a Twitter user dug out an Instagram video by them from 18. January, where they narrate that after a 4 months and 14,500 km long journey through India after entering from Pakistan, they have reached Kanya Kumari, the southernmost point, and will now head for Australia. Why did they change their plans and how did they get back to the north of India so quickly?

I was concerned, that some local youths could have been beaten up to confess something that was not true. Unfortunately, this can happen. It happened in the Kathua rape case. Madhu Kishwar in her well-researched book “The girl from Kathua” brought out, among other valuable information, a painful incident, which left me truly shaken:
The 3 college roommates of Vishal, who was one of several accused, were tortured to sign a false declaration to implicate Vishal in the rape…

In the media posts regarding the case of the Spanish couple, two things stood out:

On one hand, the mainstream and social media went berserk against Indian culture, means Hindu culture, even though the culprits may not be Hindus, and on the other hand, many Hindus felt shame to be Indian and apologised.
The Economic Times had a headline:
‘All Indians should feel ashamed when…’: Singer Chinmayi Sripaada..
Why?
When a German criminal commits a crime, I don’t take the blame, neither is “Christian or German culture” blamed. It happens nowhere. Strangely in India of all places, which has a comparatively low number of crimes, many Hindus take the blame. And they don’t realise that it only encourages others to hit out more strongly.

For example, a tweet by one Daniel Haqiqatjou:
“When a religion worships deities whose mythology involves plenty of incest and sexual assault, this is what a society based on that religion looks like.”
My reply:
“We should indeed find out what a society based on Hinduism looks like compared to those, based on Abrahamic religions. To do this, data on crimes and the religion of criminals needs to be collected. I predict that Hindu society has the least crimes. And people even know it. You too.”

In India, crimes are comparatively low, yet media takes advantage of the huge population and confuses people.
For example, the Business Standard writes on rape statistics:
The number of rape incidents in India in per 100,000 citizens is 22,172 as of 2020 with 1.80 rape rate. It has an average of 87 rapes daily.
Regarding Sweden it says only: Sweden has a rape rate of 63.5 and about 5960 rape incidents in per 100,000 citizens.
Which country looks worse for a casual reader? It would probably be India.
Yet to break it down, it means, if India (130 crore population) was equal to Sweden (1 crore), it would need to have instead of 22,000 rape cases per year 780,000!! (6,000 x 130)
That’s how low India figures.

Many Westerners may say “Oh I never trust Indian numbers”… well, what to say. To Hindus it is obvious that the Hindu mindset based on Dharma is responsible for the low rank in crimes. Of course, to realise this, one needs to know what Hindu Dharma is about.
The question remains: why are those who direct Western mainstream media and have a hold on the algorithm in social media so keen to show India unfairly in bad light? Why are they not fair and reasonable?
Are they so ignorant and genuinely believe that Hinduism is a “beastly religion” as Winston Churchill infamously claimed? Or do they know the truth and fear that Hindu Dharma could put the organised religions out of business?
It would need a thorough research.

The post The alleged gang rape of a Spanish woman biker in India. And how fiercely media attacked Hindu India. first appeared on Maria Wirth.