Author: Maria Wirth
‘God’ is a much used word yet hardly anyone pauses to find out what is meant by it. ‘Isn’t it clear?’ religious people may ask and answer: God is the Highest, the Creator of the universe, the Almighty who knows whatever any human is dong or thinking and it is He who will give the punishment or reward in the afterlife.This is a predominantly Western notion. Nobody will quarrel with the fact that this universe and we included have to come from somewhere and ‘God’ is given as the verbal answer. Yet somehow, ‘God’ has acquired strange attributes in the…
Observations by someone who grew up in the stifling atmosphere of dogmatic Christianity and appreciates the freshness and freedom of undogmatic Hinduism– and wonders why a section of Hindus are so apologetic about their religion when it actually is the best bet for a fulfilling life. Hindus used to say, “All religions are equal”. They did not want to see that the two biggies, Christianity and Islam, did not agree. Each of those religions claimed for itself, “We alone are the only true religion. Our God is the only true God.” They pitied Hindus that they might actually believe that by…
Though I live in India since long, there are still some points that I find hard to understand – for example why many so called educated Indians on TV discussion forums become agitated whenever ‘Hindutva’ is mentioned. The majority of Indians are Hindus. India is special because of its ancient Hindu tradition. Westerners are drawn to India because of it. Why then is there this resistance by many Indians to acknowledge the Hindu roots of their country? Why do some people even give the impression as if an India that values those Hindu roots was dangerous? Don’t they know better?…
“Don’t forget about god”, Rajesh Bedi, a photographer in Delhi, said to me out of the blue while I was taking leave. I was surprised that a young, successful man talked about god in such a natural and matter-of-fact way and I wondered what he meant by god. At that time – some 33 years ago – I was new in India and did not know that god is alive in this country. Later, after I had met Devaraha Baba and Anandamayi Ma, I discovered how alive god is and that he* (* the use of ‘he’ does of…
The II. World War had ended only five years before I was born in western Germany. And already as a child I ‘knew’ who is good and who is bad and who is right and who is wrong: the Russians were bad and the Americans were good. The Roman Catholics were right and the Protestants were wrong and all others very wrong. For long I never questioned those axioms. They seemed to be fundamentals. Everyone around shared them. I never had seen a Russian, but surely they were not normal people like us Germans. They were terrifying. They had taken…
It is amazing that figures that compare India with other countries are hardly ever put in relation to the population. India is huge, unlike any other country except for China, and one certainly would expect that, next to the real, the relative figures are also given. For example, a major national newspaper blared some time ago: “India is the Murder Capital of the World”. Recently media all over the world were berating India over the frequent incidences of rape. India’s image has been dealt a severe blow. Yet when one puts the figures into relation to the population, it turns…
Christian missionaries have become increasingly visible and controversial in India. As I grew up as a Christian, I would like to share my observations from a personal angle. When it comes to religion, I noticed that Indians tread cautiously. Care is taken ‘not to offend the sensibilities’ of the followers of other religions. Well, I should specify: Hindus take care not to offend the sensibilities of Christians and Muslims. As those are in the minority, it is argued, they need special consideration so that they don’t feel threatened by the Hindu majority. It is true that those religions are in…
I have lived in Germany for 30 years. I also have travelled in almost 40 countries in Europe, America, North Africa and Asia before coming to India. Yet, of all the countries I visited, I clearly love India the most. I once even dreamt that in front of me there was a thick, 3-dimensional map of India. Looking at it my heart expanded and I felt great love. Still dreaming I was surprised that one can love a country so much. It was, however, not love at first sight. After my first visit during my studies, I supposedly even said,…
I had not come to India for spiritual reasons. Yes, I was interested in spirituality, but Hinduism seemed an obscure religion and I associated stereotypes like polytheism and caste system that I had heard already in school in Germany. Like many westerners, I was interested in Buddhism, but did not connect Buddhism with India, rather with Tibet or Japan. At that time I did not know that the British colonial masters had skilfully crafted this negative image of Hinduism, as they had realised that they could not subdue India, unless they break Indians away from their great culture. I visited…
Recently, I spent time with my mother in Germany. She lives in a small town near Nuremberg with only some 6000 inhabitants. I was missing India. Reading newspapers and watching news on TV, it seemed as if there was no India. Yet when I met people and mentioned that I live in India, all were curious, positive and keen to know more about the country. I couldn’t help telling how special India is because, as I see it, India and Indians have a lot going for them, more than any other civilization. Parts of the Indian tradition have been hijacked…