During the Ujjain Simhasth Kumbh 2016, a Vichar Maha Kumbh, an International Convention, was organized from May 12 -14, and a Universal Declaration was released in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
I had sent in a proposal on the topic “Religion for human welfare”. Here it is:
Since ancient times the Kumbh Mela was an occasion where spiritual personalities guided lay people on the dharmic way of life, and fearlessly and honestly conducted debates about truth.
Today, the world is interconnected. It means that the debates on truth need also to take note of the truths that are propagated elsewhere. Sincere questions must be asked and satisfying answers sought also of Christians and Muslims.
Indian philosophy is solid. It makes not only sense but is validated by modern science. Indian wisdom is slowly spreading over the world. But this is not enough.
Intellectual sincerity demands that Swamis not only share their tradition with Indians and the world, but also point out dangerous aspects of other traditions, if they are there. There is no doubt that in the name of Christianity and Islam great misery was brought over mankind, killing millions over the centuries. It is absolutely necessary to find out how this could happen.
Unfortunately, Hindus shy away from this task. Maybe the reason is that they don’t know Christianity and Islam well enough as they are no insiders of those religions. They are told only the good points which are also there.
Another reason may be that Hindus don’t want to say anything negative about other religions, even if it is true, as it may be seen as an insult. This is however a weakness. The search for truth must overrule such consideration, and ideally those, who are criticized, would be happy to discover their flaws. And anyway, others have no such hesitation towards Hinduism which they freely criticize and blatantly condemn as falsehood.
Today, every second child in the world is either Christian or Muslim and is indoctrinated into a fixed doctrine that must not be questioned. The followers of Christianity and Islam account now for more than half of the world population, and if those, who can clearly see the dangerous aspects in those doctrines, keep quiet, soon there may be no more chance to speak, and we would have failed humanity in a big way.
What contains this fixed doctrine?
I for example ‘knew’ already as a child that I am very lucky that I was born in a Catholic family, because Catholics alone have the true belief and God loves us, because we love his son Jesus who died for our sins, etc.
A Muslim child is probably told something similar – that she is very lucky that she was born in a Muslim family because Islam is the only true belief and Allah loves those who follow Prophet Mohammed’s instructions.
Each of those two religions makes also a terrible, but untrue claim: all those who don’t belong to their own religion, will suffer for all eternity in hellfire.
Anybody who is not indoctrinated can see immediately that there is something very dangerous and discriminative in these claims.
Let’s analyze them:
First: It is not possible that there are several absolute Divine Powers. Now if there is only One, is it possible that this inconceivably powerful, consious Being which is the cause for the billions of galaxies insists on one specific way of worship and on one specific name?
Second: Is this great Power really separate from creation, as those religions claim or is it the essence and awareness in all human beings, never mind whether they call the Divine by the name of God, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Pure Mind, Brahman, etc.?
Third: the claim that those who don’t convert will burn in hell for all eternity needs to be dismissed outright. It is ridiculous, but unfortunately still widely believed by those who were indoctrinated into their fixed doctrines.
The issue is serious. Today’s most pressing problem, Islamic terrorism, has its roots in the claim that infidels are rejected by Allah. ISIS and others don’t see them even as human beings, but rather as sub-human, and therefore it is easy to kill them. Their foot soldiers consider it a sacred duty to rid the earth of such sub-humans to please their god. Obviously they are convinced that what they were taught is true and they will get paradise for their acts.
Christians, too, see it as their duty to ‘save’ Hindus and in the process uproot them from their tradition and make them look down on it and on their Hindu fellow citizens. Even if they lose faith in Christianity later, it will be almost impossible for them to value again their ancestors and they are likely to become atheists. (Europe is an example).
Hindus are called “idol worshipper”. Idol worship is the worst sin for both Christianity and Islam. This label has done great harm. Hindus who are killed seem to matter far less compared to Christians or Muslims. We need only watch the news to know that it’s true or go back into history.
The term Religion is only about 1000 years old and was used first for the Church and later for Islam. It means ‘to bind’. If religion is for the welfare of people, it must bind oneself to the Divine and not to one book or doctrine.
If religion is for the welfare of people, it must also mean that terror against ‘others’ has absolutely no place in religion. In fact, there should be no ‘others’ (as Hindu Dharma demonstrates).
From this follows that discrimination of persons, who worship the Divine in another way, cannot be part of a religion. If it is contained in the doctrine of religions, it needs to be put on the table, discussed threadbare and scrapped. When it is discussed openly there is a chance that doubt creeps into the mind of “believers” (this has happened to many Christians in the west). And once doubt about the doctrine has risen, it is not possible anymore to ‘believe’. One still can pretend (if blasphemy laws are in place), but fanaticism has gone.
If an individual demeans another individual because of his religion, he is quickly booked under some laws. Yet until now, the far greater abuse of half of the world population by the doctrines of Christianity and Islam themselves has not been called out as unacceptable. Freedom of religion can never include the right to demean those who worship in another way.
The Kumbh Sangams have a tradition of fearlessly enquiring into the truth. I would earnestly request Hindu representatives at the International Convention to include in the ‘Universal Declaration on the welfare of humanity’ a request to the UN to take up the issue of religious discrimination by the Christian and Islamic doctrines and to direct those religions to stop telling their followers and especially their children that those who worship the Supreme in different ways, are less human and will suffer eternally in hell unless they convert.
It might be even more effective, if the Indian government would coordinate with countries where the majority is neither Christian nor Muslim, like Japan, China, Thailand, etc. and lobby with the UN for this undoubtedly reasonable request. This is not a religious issue. It is about safeguarding their citizens from being unfairly defamed and from hate-crimes which are the natural outcome from such unacceptable discrimination.
It is urgent, because indoctrination into disdain and even hatred especially for Hindus is daily happening and efforts are on by Islamic countries to ban any criticism of Islam. Unofficially, many have already imposed a ban on themselves due to political correctness.
We need to act before it is too late.
By Maria Wirth
35 Comments
Very thought provoking. Same is to be said of Hindus as well. While we can assert ourselves and also decry the deeds of Islamic and Xtian invaders in the past, we also need to accept those who choose to worship differently are not to be disrespected.
Dear Maria, could you pl. add an addendum to your above post and state what EXACTLY was the proposal that you had tabled at the Kumbh conference? While most of that arguments what you have posted above are already known to those who follow your blog regularly, your proposal itself has not been explained in the above post… is your proposal essentially what you have written in the second last paragraph… namely we should coordinate with countries like China, Japan and Thailand to move the UN?
Maria ji, you have raised very important issue in this article. There is an urgent need to adopt ‘Universal Declaration on the welfare of humanity’ which requires ending of religious discrimination by the Christian and Islamic doctrines against pagans of the world. This discrimination pit one half of humanity against other half and resulting brutal killings in every corner of the world. Similar to other agenda of UN such as education, health etc – this demand must be made again and again on every platform as it entails universal welfare and mutual respect which is the agenda of United Nations also. Only acceptance of this demand would eliminate deadly massacres happening in the name of ‘only one true god’ and would usher in peace for all humanity.
yes, it is bringing it up at the UN, ideally supported by different countries to safeguard theri citizens..
i had asked for it to be included in the universal declaration, but “Respect for all religions should be infused in the young through intorduction of appropiate academic curricula” (Point No 9) got into the declaration…
Also: Truth is one. path to readch the truth are many. this understanding alone can bring unity in diversity (8) is there.
if more people become aware, maybe things change, also things in Europe seem to go out of hand and people there also become wary of the dogmatic religions…
The problem with Hindus is that we’re waiting for the Avatar to fix this for us. This is actually a feature or a law not a problem of Sanatana Dharma. We’ve accepted that if things are bad it’s because the victim is receiving fruits of his or her karma. No doubt we can, should and do strive to make things better for ourselves, but wasting energies on trying to teach other people is itself a gigantic problem.
Especially for the seekrs and saints, it’s recommended to interspect within rather than other people otherwise you can’t make spiritual progress.
Anyway IMO the situation has gone out of control in the world I think and humans have the least chance of fixing it by themselves.
Religion is just a tool the fundamental problem is the greed of power and money. ISIS ETC are just a pawn in the grand game of retaining/increasing hegimony on more and more world’s resources by the 1% elite.
For instance read this nice article on the rise of this greed: http://hinduismtheopensourcefaith.blogspot.in/2011/03/slavery-to-banks-vedic-prophecy-by.html
However, it’s also true that “those who protect dharma, dharma would protect them.” Sri Krishna did mention that Mahabharata happened because good people didn’t act to protect dharma (like Bhishma, Karna ETC).
Even Vivekananda also mentioned that he’s not worried about evil people doing evil things but he’s more worried about inactivity of good people.
So keep on doing what you’re doing. Dharma shall protect you and spread your message.
As always you do bring serious points on the table and for that I applaud you, but you are asking a sheep to be come a lion. Do you not think maybe they don’t want to become a lion? Just a question. Or maybe there other reasons. Is it even possible to save humanity doing what they are doing now or even in the future.
We only begin to develop serious rationality when we understand the world better and for that we need wisdom and that only comes with the age and by then it’s too late to implement the change. Do you not agree with this statement?
no, don’t fully agre. there is also something like the Zeitgeist. like in the west now, Christianity has no hold anymore on a big number of people. you cannot bring them on the road to demand that all hav to believe in Christ.
similarly, maybe the time will come when more and more people dare to call out the nonsense and it catches on with the majority. then ‘official representatives’ of a religion have no power anymore.
once one starts doubting what one has been told in childhood, it is not possible to go back. but it has to be said that the brainwashing is very thorough. kids are made to feel specialm proud to have the ‘true’ religion…
What the religious scriptures actually mean only someone who goes into in depth questioning into ones own interpretations of them will be able to tell. Most of the people who practice religion do so based on someone else’s interpretation which is mostly just a literal meaning. These practices exist among all people who live by these interpretations irrespective of which religion. Even people who practice Hinduism do so. The sages (Irrespective of religion) have always condemned such practices which proclaim “holier than thou” attitude or radicalism. Is it necessary to question the religion rather than calling for questioning the radicalism itself irrespective of religion? If you question a religion it will not be accepted as it is a part of a persons/community/nations identity. Maybe de-identification of radicalism from religion will help people question it.
but what do you do when the religions itself are radical? both dogmatic religions clearly have in their manifesto that all human beings have to follow their faith, because it alone is true or else they are damned by the Highest to eternal hellfire.
this poison needs to be taken out if humanity wants to live in harmony.
Religion as preached by someone as kind as Jesus can never be radical. I can’t comment on Islam as I’ve not the slightest inkling, but I believe it can’t be different. It is only our misinterpretation that leads to the radicalism. If the religious leaders proclaim radicalism it is their lack of true knowledge. They are religious leaders, and not sages like Rumi or saint Francis of Assisi just to name some. Let’s target the misinterpretation and not the religion. I’m a Hindu, btw. Cheers. 🙂
i grew up as a Christian and know what i was taught: “Non-Christians go to hell.” after the 2. Vatican Council in the 1960s, the access to heaven was made somewhat easier, mainly for “people of the book” (isn’t this by itself ridiculous?), but not for Hindus, except, if he has never heard of Christ and is a good person.
if missionaries had any compassion (and would believe it), they would stop speaking about Jesus, because they know by now that not all convert…
Also, i would request you to read just about 1/2 an hour in the Quran before coming to conclusions.
pls see https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/can-we-be-honest-about-the-motive-of-isis-terrorists/
As you being part of the former God club you know what they are like and you also know that their marketing campaign is lot more aggressive then of Hinduism but in the Hinduism it’s about personal growth and development of one self and not about fighting the tide of the God club. Therefore they don’t see this as an important task but rather waste of time in ones personal development.
The Hindus already know what they are like, but the members of the God club are not taken seriously because of the the way the dogmatic religions are like. I for one don’t take it seriously because of the same very reasons and I do know what they are like first hand and also know what they are capable of.
We all know what is written in the bible and the Koran and I have also read some of the other texts, and if I have to choose from it then I would have been an atheist and not a Hindu.
Like I said Hinduism is about drawing ones own perfect line instead of comparing it with the God club. 🙂 HARRY
Hindus fear being labelled non secular if they raise any question about any other religion. But its good to see christians themselves raising questions about christianity while the same can not be said about muslims. Hope they will also follow suit because there can be not peace in the world if people do not question religions with fixed doctrine. Greatest strength of hinduism is its non dogmatic approach.
there are several Muslims who question their religions, too. unfortunately, most need police protection after speaking out. still, courageous voices are there. a start has to be made.
your point is taken, but it pains me if more and more especially autodriver, taxi drivers, servants… convert and more and more churches shoot up. not everyone is aware and especially the poor are vulnerable to inducement.
therefore speaking out is important. tell them to take whatever they offer, but don’t convert. after all, they collect the money in the west solely in the name of charity, at least in Europe.
Hi MW,
As you are tracking/practising Hinduism for more than 2 decades, By this time you would have seen lot of superstitions belief in Hinduism/followed by Hindus.
How many superstitious believes you have uncovered/witnessed in Hinduism?
So can you please highlight at least 5 i.e. top 5 superstitions belief followed in Hinduism/by Hindus?
What some call superstitions, others may say “we don’t know yet whether there is something behind a custom”. For example taking a bath during Kumbh Mela. It is said that the particular astrological constellation affects the water at that place. It is an ancient belief, dating back to the samudra manthan story. some may call it superstition, others may say, just wait, maybe we can prove it one day. After all water has amazing qualities, like memory, even reacts to feelings as was shown by Japanese Emoto (you can google videos).
As long as superstition does not harm anyone else, there is no problem. Like “cat crossing street” is seen as a bad omen in Germany, as well as in India. Some people even turn back or switch off the car and start journey anew… so what?
Yet when superstition divides humanity, for example when religions claim and their followers believe it that the Highest Power condemns those who don’t believe what they believe to eternal hell, it is harmful. Unless proven such superstitious claims should not be made.
Hi MW,
Thanks for your reply.
I see a problem here. You suggest other communities to question their own way of life/belief but you are not ready/hesitating to call out straight forward superstitions which exists in Hinduism.
Also you say…
“As long as superstition does not harm anyone else, there is no problem.”
This is clear contradiction.
I feel you should follow your own suggestion (at least for once) before suggesting others.
BTW, Do you know (1) why “cat crossing street is seen as bad omen” in India & (2) Who started this?
I am curious to know whether you really aware of the superstition behind “cat crossing street & bad omen” in India.
Also eternal hell is very well defined in Hinduism as well. Do not know how they can claim the features of hell.
If we consider today’s world situation, hell is earth itself. 🙂
FYI: You have to know how many cases are logged on Prof Kancha Ilaiah who questions Hinduism practises & it’s fake/created gods (as per him).
For your reading: Below is the latest article related to Prof Kancha Ilaiah.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/columns/views/Brahminical-gods-under-caste-scrutiny/articleshow/52625856.cms
Thanks.
Jai Shree Rama. In this regard kindly accept the following articles in similar vein, which were put forward as part of MA course in Peace Studies at Bradford University.
21ST MARCH, 1996
UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD PEACE STUDIES DEPARTMENT – MA DAY SCHOOL
Understanding of Peace, War and Conflict Resolution within World Religions
Hasmukh Velji Shah – World Council of Hindus
The ideal world, free of conflict and war, in which we all desire to live is aptly captured in the daily prayers recited by Hindus all over the world “Vishwa Dharma Prakashena; Vishwa Shanti Pravartake; Lok Sanghathna Karye; Dhiyeya Nistha Sthirasthunaha||” – Let there shine a glorious Universal Order which will bring Universal Peace by uniting people of this earth, let this be our noble, unflinching and steadfast aim until we achieve our unity with the Supreme Being.
Unfortunately, the world as we know it is not the ideal we seek. It is full of discordant relations and behaviour which has brought conflict and friction of horrendous proportions. Let us try to understand the reasons for this state of conflict in us.
Disagreement is one reason for conflict. The story of three frogs illustrates this fact amply. The frog who lives in a well has not seen what exists outside and is not prepared to accept anything else, while the one who resides in the pond thinks only in terms of the near valleys and hills, beyond which there is no existence. On the other hand an ocean frog is well aware of wider existence beyond the horizon. Naturally disagreement gives rise to conflict between the three in understanding the definition of the World each one sees and lives in. It is like the four blind men who each give an impression of what an elephant looks like by either touching the trunk or the ears or the tail or the legs. Each one is right but does not represent the whole. Disagreeing to others’ views is bound to lead to conflict.
Lack of respect for others’ beliefs and way of life also leads towards friction. Denying that there is more than one mode of Worship, denying that more than one Prophet is the Saviour OR not accepting the existence of more than one Holy Scripture is tantamount to disrespect to others.
Respect alone is not sufficient to remove suspicion of others’ way of live, and suspicion leads to conflict. Accepting the equality & Validity of all other Faiths is the touch stone which mankind must build upon for a World free of conflict.
Attempting to Dominate Man & Matter has led to Wars, Massacres, Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing on massive scales since the beginning of Mankind. Domination of Oil, Gold, Minerals, and now the Environment, have all been responsible for taking Human Beings to an abyss of total and self-destruction. But the biggest influence in conflict and war has been that of Religious Domination. Be it Bosnia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Kashmir, East Timor, Nigeria, Mali or our own backyard Northern Ireland, the fuel for murder is Religion. Ethnic cleansing in the nations of post-Soviet era is proof enough of foisting Religious Orthodoxy to dominate that part of the world. In the name of God Man seems to be comfortable to inflict the most brutal torture on mankind. And yet it is Religion which professes to Salvage Humanity. The question is Whose Religion & God and who are the People who will receive the favour of being salvaged?
Where does Hindu Dharma fit in the scenario of Peace, War and Conflict (there is no word in English which has the exact meaning of DHARMA. It has been defined in scriptures as “That which sustains “ – Dharayeti iti Dharmaha. It encompasses all those systems and values which are instrumental in maintaining harmonious relationships between individual, family, society and the Universe. It includes rules of health, hygiene, economy and ecosystem as well as various religious paths for the attainment of salvation). It is not a Dogma given by a Prophet and is not based on one Scripture. It is based on Fundamental Principles or Universal Truths. Some of these are:
– World is One Family – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakama
– Truth is One, Wise Men have called it by different Names – Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahudavadanti
– Acceptance of the Validity of All Other Faiths as its Equal
– Respect & Equality expressed through Action, Speech and Thought – Kaya, Vaacha, Mansa
– Sarvaam Khalvidham Brahman – All is ONE not ALL are ONE
History is evident to the fact that Hindu People have never gone out of their spiritual land, India (Hindustan), to dominate and convert other people and nations around the world through use of force or deceit. They have only influenced other people by sheer example of cultural and spiritual living excellence. They have also given shelter to the fleeing Parsis and Jews when these people were being driven out of their own lands through religious persecution and conversion. Not only were these refugees allowed to stay in peace, but they were given total freedom of workship in their original way while living in India. In the Atomic Age the whole human race has a utilitarian motive for the Hindu way. The survival of the human race is at stake and the primary reason for taking Mahatma Gandhi’s (and his followers Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King) or Emperor Ashoka’s or Swami Vivekanand’s teaching to heart is that this teaching is right – and is right because it flows from a true vision of spiritual reality, equality and unity with divinity. Then and then alone the reason for Conflict and War will be no more and Peace will have a chance to prevail. In other words this is HINDUTVA.
Coming Together Is the Beginning, Staying Together Is Progress, Working Together Is Success -Vedas
HINDU DHARMA (WAY OF LIFE – PHILOSOPHY or by other definition HINDUTVA) –
The British Hindus constitute the third largest (1.2 million) community of the total population of Great Britain, and there are areas where the percentage is significantly large. The presence of this busy, enterprising, prosperous and law abiding community is an unqualified bonus to this Country. Although twenty years ago they looked like a burden to the host people, today the Hindus are a boon to the same. In motivation behaviour and performance they stand out from the rest.
The Hindu People represent the longest living culture in the world and its dedication to Peace and Prosperity of Mankind occupies a valued place in the national and universal community. Its commitment to the all-round development and the comprehensive well being of Humanity has been cordially acknowledged and acclaimed by eminent philosophers, scholars and savants of the World. Arnold Toynbee, the great philosopher observed that, “Hinduism is unique among the historic higher religions in holding that neither Hinduism nor any other religion is a unique representation of the truth or a unique way of salvation. Each of the higher religions is a true vision and a right way and all of them are indispensable to mankind. From today’s point of view, it is becoming clear that a chapter of the world’s history which had a Western beginning will have to have a Hindu ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the Human Race”. The culture represents a mosaic of sublime thoughts and values and the focus of its inspiration has all along been the whole world.
The Hindu sages have declared,
Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramayah, Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu, Ma Kashchit Dukha Bhag Bhavet
Let all be happy, let all be healthy, let all be free from afflictions and achieve all round welfare and never experience sorrow. Such values imbibe the greatness and glory of the Hindu thought.
Hinduism gives the message of fundamental unity and underlying oneness. The Hindus firmly believe in the ancient adage: “Ekam Sat Viprah Bahuda Vadanti” – Truth is one, wise men and sages call IT by various names. There are a number of sects in Hinduism and there never has been a religious conflict amongst them. This most secular (Plural) outlook forms the very core of Hindu thinking. With this religious upbringing and extreme tolerance, even agnostics and atheists have been accepted in the Hindu fold. Hindus, thus, can never be fundamentalists.
The Vedantic belief of one divinity, pervading the entire Universe and all living beings is nothing but a spiritual call for equality, fraternity, liberty and justice.
The sublime ethics radiated through the Hindu Culture that there is a fundamental unity of man and matter, can be the guiding star of the political and the social life. Hindu thought would provide the spiritual underpinning to all the state institutions and make them vibrant, honest and result oriented.
The dazzling advance of science and technology is not an unmixed blessing. The technological development unaccompanied by commensurate cultural elevation is likely to lead mankind to its total annihilation. The exploitation of nature with no consideration for either ecological factors or the fate of future generations is already proving to be a boomerang. The cancer of consumerism is eating away our green planet. The Hindu thought could become a silent but potent force, under these conditions, for the successful implementation of many of the benevolent objectives such as the preservation and up gradation of our environment and the maintenance of ecological balance.
Hindus believe that the nature or earth should never be considered to be fertile element which has to be conquered and dominated. They believe that earth is mother and we are like her children. The human beings cannot separate themselves from natural surroundings. Those who corner the resources of the earth have been called plunderers. Similarly those who accumulate wealth by unfair means are spoken of as ravagers. The Hindu thought thus gives us the correlation which is most wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect, more comprehensive, more universal – in fact truly human and transfigured eternal life.
The under-current of Hindu values goes to make for a just emancipated and truly democratic order. They believe in a society free of exploitation, so much so that the Hindus have advocated the expropriation of the expropriators.
The Hindus have a strong commitment to the stable family life which eventually goes to make a stable social order. Hindus talk more of duties rather than rights, and never see any conflict in different elements of the society.
The gift of the Hindu thought to the world is light spiritual, slow and silent, calm and potent, yet producing a tremendous result like the gentle dew that covers the whole earth in the morning. That which was perceived as pagan through the worship of mountains, rivers, trees, animate, inanimate and earth is now acknowledged as scientific, logical and environment friendly way of life – by scholars, scientists and philosophers of the World.
In short this is the essence of Hindu Thought or Way of Life, in other words, HINDUTVA.
OTHER GEMS OF HINDU THOUGHT
• Dharmam sharnam gachchami! – I surrender myself to righteousness.
• Atmavat sarva bhooteshu – Consider all like our own.
• Ahimsa Parmo Dharma – Non-violence is the highest form of religion.
• Bahujan sukhaya, bahujan hitaya – Let welfare reach the common man.
• Om asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrityorma amritam gamaya – Lead us from untruth to truth, lead us from darkness to light, and lead us from death to immortality.
• Om sahana vavatu sahanau bhunaktu, saha viryam karava vahai tejas vina vadhi tamstu ma vidwisha vahai – O God! Let us all unite and protect ourselves, let us render service to others and let our studies be beneficial and effective, let there be no hatred amongst us.
• Om aa no bhardrah, kritavo yantu, vishvatodbdhaso aparitas udbhidah – May noble thoughts come to us from every side, unhindered and victorious.
• Vishwa Dharma Prakashena; Vishwa Shanti Pravartake; Lok Sanghathna Karye; Dhiyeya Nistha Sthirasthunaha – Let there shine a glorious Universal Order which will bring Universal Peach by uniting people of this earth, let this be our noble, unflinching and steadfast aim until we achieve our unity with the Supreme Being.
• Dharmasya Moolam Artha – Economic Prosperity is basis of sustaining civilisation – CHANAKYA (Kautilya Arthashastra)
only one objection i would have and since this was written in the 1990s, maybe you, too, have it by now: accepting of the validity of all faiths as its equal.
yes, some aspects are equal, but dogmatic religions demand that one buys the whole packet…
thank you
If Islamic or Christian countries ban criticism of their religions, it is in a way ok, and I am sure all Hindus when they travel abroad stay away from critiquing other religions. But in India, there is a sinister game of secularism being played out where anything anti Hindu is considered secular, and any incident of criticising other religions is blown out of proportions. Swami Dayananda Saraswati had to get police protection, when he spoke against the Muslims. And the educated elite and media are responsible for it. This will all be comical, but this is creating an opposite reaction. I am afraid India will become a Hindu minority country very soon, with the active connivance of the political class. Also, I am seeing that Christianity in India is stealing many of the ideas from Hinduism, not out of respect, but as a means of converting the unsuspecting. You see attempts at portraying Christian yoga, Jesus as a yogi, churches being built similar to a Hindu temple, and the Christians wearing saffron for velankanni festival. Perhaps Hinduism will have the last laugh, as the proselytisers are getting saffronized, but in the short term it is going to lead to utter chaos. Sri Aurobindo told KM Munshi emphatically that the Hindu culture can never be undermined, but it will need a miracle now. I think the Europeans and Americans will carry forward the torch of Hinduism.
What is the point in beating about the bush and go into lengthy discussions and indulge in futile hair splitting. The issue here is very straight forward. Both Christianity and Islam are two sides of the same coin, in that they only differ in their modus operandi. While one uses sweet talk, emotional blackmail, lure of money, power, and many time even cold lies, the other uses outright thuggery, arm twisting, mindless violence, love-jehaad, land-jehaad, and of course not the least, exponential reproduction. Both take absolutely NO PRISONERS in their relentless expansionism. But the goals of both are the SAME in our land: TO COMPLETELY WIPE OUT HINDUISM FROM ITS ONE AND ONLY LAND ON THIS PLANET.
Christian evangelical forces have mastered the art of conversion and armed with abundant funds resources and without any scruples resort to foul means and deception to lure and some how convert the poorest section of Hindu society to their Abrahmic creed.
Massive section of South Indian Hindus have been converted many of whom have been advised to lay low and not declare themselves as Chrisrians with two fold purpose , one so as to not alarm the Hindus in general and second to allow the Sc/St to avail the benefits of reservation under Indian govt rules which are available only to Hindus,Buddhists, Sikhs.
The potential of these evangelicals cannot be underestimated,in span of 50 years almost entire Budhists population of South Korea has been converted under American Christian influence.
Unfortunately Hindus in India lack awareness,will power or resources to counter the might of the wealthy evangelical forces and the future seems to be bleak
hi! I am a Muslim from Bangladesh and in the interpretation of Islam that I know the following statement is not true, “Each of those two religions makes also a terrible, but untrue claim: all those who don’t belong to their own religion, will suffer for all eternity in hell.” The interpretation I know and follow says there is one God who has many names and existences. in fact each and every human being holds a bit of God in his or her soul. The person who can bring out this godliness the most in this life will be the happiest one in the afterlife. By godliness i mean having the virtues of God. But how much one can bring such virtues out depends on one’s effort and integrity. I am not destined to end up more Merciful or less Truthful just because my father happened to be circumcised or my mother happened to wear vermilion on her head.
glad to know that there are more people like Abdullah (i post the link to my article about him) and a sane human being, but unfortunately, the Quran says otherwise. it says that simply because being an unbeliever (and it means non-Muslims if one reads it in context) one ends up in hellfire for ever.
https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/abdullah/
Quran is universal…. putting it in one single context is derogatory to Quran, according to my believe. the quoted text means, if one fails to bring out the godliness, one ends up in hellfire forever. the context you referred to is the one created by the Salafists. and it was done in the period from 9th to 11th century AD.
‘@Amit Rahman: Quran is universal? What makes you think that? Quran divides people into believers and non-believers (Kafirs). Any claim to universality vanishes with that concept. The number of hate-verses in the Quran against Kafirs that destroy any claim to universality are too many to list here; but are available here http://freethoughtnation.com/what-does-the-koran-say-about-nonbelievers/
On the issue of hellfire: there are many verses (running into hundreds) claiming that kafirs end up in hellfire. For example verse 98:6 “Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures”. For a list of other similar verses read here: http://www.myreligionislam.com/detail.asp?Aid=5972
No amount of obfuscation can redeem the situation in this open internet age. What is required is not to be apologists but be brave Muslims ready to reform and reclaim their religion from the clutches of the Mullahs.
Talking of context, the Quran that is not compiled in chronological order (thus disregarding the historical context) but arranged in descending order of the size of its chapters, giving the impression that its verses are universally true for all times i.e. context independent. One cannot then require external context to be assigned to a verse other than the context of that chapter.
[…] usually a form of judgement. But she makes her point in a very civilized way and I encourage you to click here to have a look for yourself as she’s far more eloquent than I […]
Your work is very insightful and the call to duty [to dispel the misconceptions regarding sanatan dharm] very evocative.
The Sindhu-descendant, colloquially called Hindu, lives his life as a transient-existence phase that depending upon his action will get reincarnated in any of the 8,600,000 species accorded to him by his scriptures (chaurasi lakh yoni).
There lies the moral dilemma: you are your own hell/heaven overlord (you own actions guide you to your next incarnation [कर्म प्रधान] and ability to influence the world around you), the choices you make, your thoughts(curses and blessings to others)[Mansa], your speech (to those around you liable to hurt and heal)[vach], your actions (capable of crippling or correcting someone’s life)[kaya/karm].
Scriptures are very prophetic in that they have yet described the modern man seen today in india.The indian(Hindu etc) of today is of an inferior moral compass.He fears for his prospects more than his principles, to bother correcting perceptions in order to not offend. Whatever the case, this human seeks to only be the next CEO of Google, not the next guru in rishikesh. Those that garb themselves as spiritual leaders are mere profiteers scamming the naive for seeking the next Sai-baba or buddha among them. Seeking wealth beyond need/necessity, doing anything to gain it at the cost of all else at stake. Seeking materialism beyond spiritualism. Seeing individual gain before collective welfare. Perverting the usage of karma-dharma doctrine, to express disdain other’s misfortune rather than approaching to alleviate some of it in their capacity (saying that they[the sufferers in life] ought have suffered for their past crimes and indiscretions, and hence the haves become mean, pitiful, narrow-minded beings apathetic to all but themselves).
You could see that in the old times the descriptions of the Human at that time sought to seek liberation in sat-yug, despite presence of demons [daitya, asura, danav].
So no, the average elite is more concerned to conserve his elitism, not his pride in his roots. The southern/north-eastern states hate hindi, they prefer english to it.
Your efforts allow us ponder but the conditioning is seldom overcome. Long lived is Macaulay here. Though I too hope it ends. I thank you for your efforts.
thanks a lot, and very sorry, as i saw it only now. never had checked the junk box…
THE TRUTH,
Any get amazed why such conceptualising being not taken up by HINDUS as its the most important aspect of HINDUISM as only HINDUISM has identified such concepts with regards to entire LIVINGONES, Imagine, if entire LIVINGONES are being respected there won’t be any discrimination among HUMANS & is visible in EACH sentence of VEDAS, PURANAS & almost ALL including GEETAJI viz. –
आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत:।
वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम।
स्वस्तिवाचन।
रुचिनाम् वैचित्र्याद् रूजुकुटिल नाना पथजुषाम।
न्रृणामेको गम्य: त्वमसि पयसाम् अर्णव इव।।
& never proposed an expansionist thought for once, & such List is endless, while islam & christianity are being confined to welfare of believers to respective sacts only. Which is an insult to HUMANITY, while HINDUISM has always favoured each one to be preserved, protected & propagated with prosperity at the cost of THY’s existence.
Many congratulations for such realistic approach which is d need of d time n which whole mankind must cultivate.