Coming home to intuition and reason – from blind belief

Can’t get our psedo-seculars to see your rational logic about comparative analysis of religions so lucidly brought out by you. Because, it is money that drives not only conversions, but also our MSM and other pseudo_intellectuals who were indoctrinated by fake beliefs of tolerance to minorities and lack of respect for their own origins. Salute your relentless effort at making us religiously impoverished and ill-informed stupid liberals and selfish Commies see the beauty of our religious philosophy!

In our family there was a rebirth.
My mother in law’s Father.when he was 3/4 yr old he sometime used to tell about his previous life. That he was a pandit who while coming back from a feast fell from the horse n died. ( in Bharat we give food to poor n also to brahmins, for the Good of our ancestors, )
So the sons of previous life came n met him and asked about the money he had hidden .which he told them .
So re birth do happen there are two more known stories
So our karm do matter n where we will take next birth depends on karm only.

“If there should be a conference among the most imaginative minds they will agree that almost all institution of learning are only nurseries of prejudice, corruption, barbarism and pedantry.”

From this point of view, it definitely looks very dim for billions – fitting, I would say for this age of Kaliyug.

Kali Yug where so much darkness in the form of ignorance penetrates everywhere. Seer blindness and ignorance with terrible results for so many lives, human and no human lives…..the eternal churning between Dharma and Adharma becomes more and more evident with so much visibility in the internet age. Dharma will have to speak louder, because clearer is impossible!!
Blessed you are for siding Dharma. Thank you, Maria. We know what we talk about when it comes to abrahamic religions!.

Wonderfully explained Maria ! God bless you…..

Interesting conversation on the “Ghar Vapsi” program
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/agenda/ghar-wapasi-those-who-converted-speak-up/349772?hp

You wrote: “But I do have a constitutional right to practice my faith and to preach it without deception, force or bribery. It pains to see such basic rights of mankind being cruelly violated every day in this great Hindu nation”.

Please be honest and have some integrity. You would be well aware that Hindus do not “cruelly violate every day” this basic right. They are by any standard the most tolerant and by far least violent of all the 3 big religions.
But Christian missionaries do violate this right. Please watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3c1_5OQpCc

Maria – As i have maintained, you cannot judge a world view by the people who abuse it. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the video, but I do not subscribe to deception, or force in any way. It violates the basic human freedom and right to believe what he wants to believe. Very recently someone who helps out in my house was very sick and was told by a non-christian that he coulod get free treatment at a Christian Hospital if he converted. I told this friend that if it was the case, I would be the first person to lodge a police complaint! On the other hand it is appalling to hear the leaders of different outfits who are running the “Ghar Vaapsi” or “home coming” campaign across the country which is driven by power, force and fear. Does it bother you when someone in the leadership position bluntly claims: “Converts to Christianity and Islam are Hindu’s stolen property. Now that Hindus have power, we have the right to snatch back what is ours.” At a very basic level, it dehumanizes humanity and start treating people like cattle and livestock… Having abused, used, mistreated, looted and plundered human beings for centuries under the garb of caste system, some folks have suddenly woken up and we hear talks about fighting untouchability and allowing them to draw water from the same well!!! Today, another leader from one of those outfits has said that his organization would not allow conversion of Hindus as it would “downsize” their population. “Hindu culture and people are safe only if they remained in the majority.” I wonder if such blatant statements and activities bother you! I wonder how do you see or what would you say to something like what happened at Kandhamal in Orissa, or what was done to Graham Staines and his 2 children at Mayurbhanj. Or what was done to Christian churches across Karnataka during the previous government. Here is a video of the actual events captured on camera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn7m3HsKN5c

However, I still choose not to judge a world view by the people who abuse it, but by evaluating its claims and its teachings. Do they answer some very fundamental questions – Where do I come from? Who am I? What is the purpose and meaning of life? Where do I go from here? Any world view, as I had said earlier, has to answer the four questions of Origin, Meaning, Morality and Destiny. And the answers must cohere. The babas, the religous leaders and the custodians of faith can continue to fight over the numbers, because their ultimate goal is not the well being of people, but usurping of power!

Another video from what happened at Kandhamal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i_E8WpXkXA

sorry, meant ‘burrows’ above

I am a fan of Maria.And whenever I see any of her article I post it on our website http://www.samvaadbhartipost.com so that more and more people may read her views. Regarding conversion I wish to enclose here an article by Philip Goldberg who visited India last year.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-goldberg/missionaries-in-india_b_4470448.html?ir=India .The article is reproduced here.
Imagine you’re poor and living in a rural area. Your child gets sick. You manage to transport her to a hospital or clinic. To your relief, the condition is treatable. But the cost of treatment is not just beyond your means, it’s beyond your imagining. However, says the kindly health care worker, you can get the treatment free of charge. All you have to do is renounce the centuries-old traditions of your people and convert to a foreign religion.

Such offers are being made to desperate people in the villages and tribal areas of India.

I just returned from a month in that country, to mark the Indian publication of my book, American Veda. In the 18 cities I visited, the most frequently mentioned topic was the shady tactics of certain missionaries.

Not all of them, mind you. Not the intrepid souls who work selflessly to help the poor, the afflicted, and the illiterate, in the spirit of their savior’s exhortation to serve “the least of these.” Such missionaries have been welcome in India for centuries, and the Hindus I spoke to are grateful for their good works. What is causing consternation and anger is a new breed of zealots, heavily financed by American fundamentalists, who seem driven to pile up numbers like door-to-door salesmen racking up commissions. Determined, fervent, and creative in pursuit of souls to save, they sound more like the snake-oil hucksters of legend than servants of Christ.

Targeting mainly the impoverished and uneducated, some of their tactics make the hospital bargain I described earlier look as reputable as ordering a book from Amazon. I was told of missionaries giving people temporary jobs in return for converting, and then threatening them with job loss — not to mention eternal damnation — if they reconvert to Hinduism. Families have apparently been torn apart because the converts are made to disassociate from the heathen.

I heard about missionaries who dress in orange robes to look like swamis. Gullible and desperate villagers are told that their traditional gods are actually corrupted versions of Christ; that the venerable saints and sages of India’s past were really Christians; that the three horizontal stripes traditionally drawn on the foreheads of Shiva devotees stand for the Holy Trinity; that the Upanishadic prayer that includes “Lead us from darkness to light” was meant as a cry for Jesus to save them.

A mother is sick? A father loses his source of income and can’t feed his family? The bus filled with youngsters suddenly “stalls” on a dangerous mountain road? Well, say the missionaries, try praying to your Hindu gods. Hmmm, imagine that: nothing changes. Well then, see what happens if you pray to Jesus. Wow! Lo and behold! The mother receives medicine. The father gets a one-day job that puts rice on the table. The bus engine starts again! If one prayer to Jesus produces miracles like those, imagine what converting will do!

I heard about people being told that their misfortune derives from their worship of Hindu deities, because the idols are really forms of the Devil; about village strongmen being paid to coerce conversions from other villagers; about women given a choice of walking a mile to haul water from their usual source or using the new well conveniently dug in front of a church. The price? Conversion, of course.

I don’t know if these egregious actions are commonplace or rarities. I do know that they are dishonorable. They’re about coercion, not spiritual conversion; extortion, not the exchange of ideas. And, if I may say so as a non-Christian, they are an affront to Jesus, whom every Hindu I’ve ever met regards as a holy man of the highest order if not an incarnation of God. I can’t help thinking that he would be as outraged by the deception being perpetrated in his name as he was about the moneylenders in the temple.

I told people in India that most American Christians would be appalled if they knew what was being done by their overly aggressive brethren. I was tempted to wait until after Christmas to test that thesis, but I decided that this season of goodwill might be the ideal time. So, what do you think, my Christian sisters and brothers? Is there some cosmic war for souls going on, in which anything goes? Or are there rules of engagement that civilized people should observe? What would Jesus say?

Permit me to say something. I was also born in a Christian Catholic family, which means I know thi religion from inside. Moreover because I made it a point to know it to as much extent as it was possible to me. Your faith, as anybody else´s, it is a matter of deep respect, and nobody questions it (or should not). Your personal relation with Jesus, also foremost respectable.
But we are not talking about people freely chosing one faith or other tradition, as I have also done and I am a hindu. It is a matter of the core of the philosopies and how much sense it makes to anyone. I pity that you did not find exactly the answers that I found in Sanathan dharma, which is absolutely a subject of verification by oneself. What unfortunately cannot be said from abrahamic religions.
Further, there is one point that you are missing, a very important point: it is a duty of a christian to convert others. They stand from a superiority complex, according to which everybody is wrong and the only way is Jesus, unique son of God for them. It is a violent faith per se, by itself. Iin its core it is ordered to undermine others faith and impose their only truth. Whoever doesn´t do it, it is not considered a good christian. “Sharing” like you gently say it, is not a problem. The problem is imposing: and imposing is a must for being a christian. Please read in the web of Vatican itself, how the whole Asia has been targeted to make it Christian in this century. According to my understanding, that could not be called “sharing”….I would call it an adharmic attempt of conquering by hook or by crook.

One point more: withdraw the figure of Jesus and see what happens with the whole edifice of christianity. But in Sanathan Dharma, even if you didn´t believe in what you call “myth” it doesn´t matter: you don´t need to believe in Lord Ram to be a hindu. You just need to look within and will find that the eternal truths you find there are called Sanathan Dharma.

Still, I insist in your right to believe in whatever convinces you. But I cannot help but saying that having to convert others is, like Swami Dayanada Saraswati says, a violence to the others. A violence of the worst cattegory: spiritual violence. Conversion must be only a fruit of own´s will, and if now it is given in India, as an opportunity, why this fuss has not being done before with the millons of hindus converted FORCIBLY by both Christianity and Islam?

There is no comparison between what Sri Sri is doing in the West and elsewhere, and what the Christian missionaries are doing in India. Even though one is an ardent follower of Sri Sri (or most other popular international Babas), one can still go to Church and pray to Jesus/God sincerely . One can still maintain your Christian religion strongly. His original religion is just not categorized by Sri Sri as inferior or false or wrong.

I simply cannot imagine Christian missionaries (or any Abrahamic religion) allowing vice-versa.

Hinduism cannot be categorized as a religion like Abrahamic religions. It is an enormous conglomeration of different faiths, spiritual processes, life-styles which were existing in relative harmony in the land of Indus/Sindhu/India under 1 umbrella.

Unfortunately, Hinduism has been gradually “Abrahamacized”. It happened over time and the science (especially science of the rituals) got lost. It got replaced by fear, superstition and strictness of method. Rituals have now become mechanical. Sadhguru explains it brilliantly here:
http://youtu.be/VCatYnhgFko

Yoga/meditation/Kriyas etc. are sciences. They work for everybody. This is why “Art Of Living” could start and function even in a country like Pakistan. As one Pakistani Art of Living devotee thanked Sri Sri telling that his Namaz, his connection with the Divine has become far deeper after doing the Art of Living Course.

Acceptance of other religions also as equal but unique paths to God is the fundamental difference between Hinduism and Abrahamic faiths. All the recent violence by right-wing Hindu groups are recent in origin and more of a reaction. It started with the Indian freedom movement and has continued.

My respect for Christianity increased manifold when I read Yogananda Paramahamsa’s (a phenomenal “Hindu” Saint of the 20th century) magnificent translation of the Bible.

It was then I understood the difference between a literal translation and experiential translation of a scripture. No wonder, 127 out of 140 people gave the book a 5/5. As one reviewer writes about Yogananda’s book:
“Imagine if Jesus Christ personally told you what the gospels meant — told you what the holy ghost was (and how you could actually “receive” it). Imagine if he explained his parables to you, took all the confusion out. Imagine if he explained heaven and hell in a way that actually made sense to you! Imagine if he talked to you in a way that you could feel a connection to him, the way you did when you were a kid maybe. Imagine if the things he told you not only made you feel good like that, but they were also totally logical, so you didn’t have to choose between your religion and the teachings of modern science. Imagine if religion and science turned out to be one and the same thing. Can’t imagine it, can you? I know I couldn’t. But do yourself a favor anyway. Read the book.”

http://www.amazon.com/The-Second-Coming-Christ-Self-Realization/product-reviews/0876125577/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_13?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=13&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
http://www.amazon.com/The-Second-Coming-Christ-Self-Realization/product-reviews/0876125577/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_14?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=14&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

http://www.amazon.com/Second-Coming-Christ-Resurrection-Self-Realization/dp/0876125577/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419881517&sr=8-1&keywords=Second+Coming+of+Christ#customerReviews

To me, this is the astonishing broad-mindedness of Hinduism and Hindu Saints. The very concept of “conversion” rarely exists in Hinduism as it does in Abrahamic religions.

You can read Sri Sri’s article on religious conversion below:
http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-articles/science-of-spirituality/real-conversion-is-what-happens-within

Saji, you come across as a sales person, a suaver one who is focusing on educated Hindus, but still a salesperson. I don’t think it is natural to tell your friends about Jesus, never mind how wonderful your experience was. Hindu bhaktas would not tell you about their feeling and experiences regarding their Ishta devata. It is not recommended, too.

Please ask yourself whether you are honest. Hindus are the ones who are open minded. Christianity wants to put a straight jacket on everyone. A historical person can be of help on the way to truth, but truth certainly does not depend on one historical person.

Your Hindu friend who gave the answer “Mano to bhagwan hai: na mano to patthar hai” is right. A pity that you can’t see it. All is permeated by the Divine.

You are wrong in your statement “conversion cannot be forced”. Conversion can be ‘forced’ even with offering to pay medical treatment cost, etc. but faith or belief cannot be forced. It can be “professed” and this makes people hypocritical. One can appear to be in line. However, their children who are indoctrinated from childhood by the Church are likely to believe and that’s what the Church speculates on – till the time when they use their own intelligence, as it happens more and more in the west. The Church wants to keep its power and focuses now on “unreached areas” while losing out in the “Christian countries”.

some 15 years ago i met the priest/ brother who was the model for the hero of the book and film “City of Joy”. in the film he is called Stefan Kowalski, if i remember rigth. He told me that he doesn’t know of any genuine conversion and he stopped baptising adults, as there was always some ulterior motive. he baptised only children born to Christian parents…

Please also note that this section is meant to comment on the article.

Anil, thank you for putting up the article on your website.
the situation regarding conversion is very bad. They prey on vulnerable people, even visit hospitals, Hindu friends told me from own experience.
but i also noticed, that for excample among the taxi drivers i know, those who converted are looked down upon by others as being for sale.

simple: christianity and islam are diktats you MUST BLINDLY follow, MUST NOT break, must believe in because they are manacles, shackles, straitjackets you cannot shed: YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. however, hinduism is not a religion, far less a diktat: it’s a way of life you may follow the way you want to, not the way your rabbi, priest or mullah wants you to. so the fear: the dictating religions rule by fear – hinduism and buddhism, jainism, sikhism lead to the truth through love and compassion for all things.

Yes indeed. It is very intuitive and very humane to believe that scavengers and other low lifes among us are untouchables. I am sure those 50 scavengers in Agra made a very intuitive choice.

You are partially right altaican. In Hinduism, everything is acceptable. God is personal and non-personal both at the same time. It is such a huge cosmic vacuum that it suctions everything in. There is no truth or non-truth. The lines are completely blurred. So when someone picks up a few stones from the rubble outside my apartment and puts it under a tree, it becomes a god where worship is offered day in and day out. When someone ties a wall clock to a lamp post in the middle of the road and lights up a few incense sticks and put a garland to it, it becomes the “ghadi baba” and there is a queue of people lining up to offer prayers to the clock, and we have a traffic jam as a bonus!!

When Jesus, speaking to his disciples in John 14:6 says “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”, it is a mouthful of a statement. But it is a very reasonable statement. There are just 3 options here – He is either telling the truth, or he is lying, or he is a lunatic. You need to investigate this claim and decide for yourself. I investigated this and found the claim very reasonable and decided to follow Christ. So if Sri Sri says that you can be his follower and still be a Christian, he does not have the faintest idea of what he is talking about. One can’t have both Sri Sri and Jesus! Truth by its very nature is exclusive!! A good read of “Mere Christianity” by C S Lewis or “Evidence that demands a verdict” Josh Mc Dowell will give you a better understanding of it.

A doctor on his daily rounds in the psychiatric clinic comes up to a patient and asks him his name. “I am Napoleon Bonaparte” came the reply. “And who told you that you are Napoleon Bonaparte” asked the doctor. “God told me” was the quick response, to which the patient on the adjacent bed shouted “He is lying, I never told him so!!” Any one can claim to be God. stones, cows, goats, trees, men,… anyone. But then, that claim has to be validated by evidence, not by just blind faith!!

Hi Maria. I think you have misread me. I do not go about marketing my belief. I just share the joy and peace that I have found with others, hoping that they would also be able to draw from this treasure trove, that they would also discover the truth that sets them free from every bondage! It is the gurus who seem to be mass marketing the mysticism of new age spirituality with esoteric thoughts like “empty your minds, fill your hands”, “you are nothing, an illusion, all that you see is maya”, “he who speaks does not know and he who knows does not speak”….

You asked me to be honest to myself. Let me ask you to ask yourself an honest question. Do you honestly believe that the various religious groups honestly care for the people. Is that the reason the so called upper class has oppressed the so called lower class masses for centuries under the garb of casteism. Is it for the love of people that they have ensured that these people continue to be trapped in their misery or is it because having them enslaved by their untouchability and caste ensures them control and votes and power! And then when someone comes along and opens their minds and asks them to think and know that they are equals in the sight of their creator, it creates a huge problem! Because some folks see their grip on the masses loosening!

Please read this recent news article about the kind of things that are happening around and give yourself some honest answers.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com//articleshow/45688344.cms?intenttarget=no

All is created by the God, but hat does not make everything God!

This priest you met has no clue about baptism. There is no child baptism mentioned anywhere in the Bible. People who have come to an age of understanding and make a voluntary choice to follow Christ take baptism as a public proclamation of a personal choice that they have made. I converted at the age of 36 took baptism when I was 37. My son took baptism at the age of 18, when he decided and not when I wanted him to. My daughter who is 16 has not made that choice yet and I respect that. She is free to make her choice, and I would not love her any lesser even if she chooses otherwise!

Hi Maria Lozano. Let me answer some specific questions you have asked:

When Jesus says “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”, it is a most unambiguous statement. If you read the book of John you will understand that he did not mean anything else. Quite unlike the esoteric and vacuous statement like “Completeness is that, completeness is this, From the completeness, completeness it comes. Remove completeness, and only completeness remains.” Some people who empty their minds are wowed by this mysticism.

Do christians worship a cross? Why do they bend on the knees in front of a cross? Why do they take images of Jesus and Virgin Maria on processions, made them in new garments and follow the queue with great devotion? Are they worshipping the sculptures? The wood? The stone? The plaster?… – No Christians do not worship the cross, images of Jesus or Virgin maria or garments or take out processions of Mary and infant jesus or sculptures or wood or palster or stone… people who have been brought up in traditional catholicism do that, not Christians. This is probably the Christianity that Maria Wirth was brought up in. The people who do this have never bothered to pop open a Bible ever in their life, or taken the effort to know the Christ whom they profess to follow. I did not – for 36 years! At 36 years of age I first took up a Bible to discover the truth about Christ and that has set me free!

1. That Jesus really existed – yes he did. It is a historical event and even the most skeptic historians would not dispute his existence.
2. In case he existed, he really said those words and it is not the fruit of the countless interpolations that the (many different) bibles have. – Very valid question… The New Testament is constantly under attack, and its reliability and accuracy are often contested by critics. If the critics want to disregard the New Testament, then they must also disregard other ancient writings by Plato, Aristotle, and Homer. This is because the New Testament documents are better-preserved and more numerous than any other ancient writings. Because they are so numerous, they can be cross checked for accuracy . . . and they are very consistent. There are presently 5,686 Greek manuscripts in existence today for the New Testament. If we were to compare the number of New Testament manuscripts to other ancient writings, we find that the New Testament manuscripts far outweigh the others in quantity. The internal consistency of the New Testament documents is about 99.5% textually pure. That is an amazing accuracy. In addition, there are over 19,000 copies in the Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic languages. The total supporting New Testament manuscript base is over 24,000. No other historical document comes even close in terms of accuracy. What it essentially means is that the Bible we have today is 99.5% textually accurate when compared to the original documents.
3. That we was talking literally and not metaphorically – it depends how you interpet those words. – I do not know how you can make a more unqualified literal statement than this.

Ms. Wirth, you really write things so well and with such a balanced perspective.
Thank you and really enjoy reading. Actually, enjoy is not the right word, I learn a lot from your articles.

actually it might be better he would understand that absolute truth does not depend on a historical figure. a person can point to the moon, but you have to see it with your own eyes. historical figures are guides, but truth is the same one essence in guru and shishya, always present.

Saji:
The only way of understanding something is “emptying the minds” from all external dogma and experience by oneself. Just because others say is the fabulous way of making flocks that abrahamic religions use.

– Whether Jesus existed or not has not been proved fully. In fact, if you want to find, there are many authors denying his existence with as many proofs or more as the ones who defend his existence. It is a matter of pure faith and one is very much free to believing in whatever they choose. But this basic right is not respected by the abrahamic religions when they insist in proselytizing and converting.
– What a risk, depending upon what others have said that truly was there in the Bible for assuring one´s salvation…
– Unqualified statement according to whom? People who know much more than us have given different explanations to Jesus´s words. Refer for example to one of the comments here, regarding the many explanations that Swami Yogananda ji has given to the Bible. Why theirs cannot be valid? Just the Christians have the monopoly in understanding the Bible? Then they should remain reading that only holy book their whole lives and refraining from doing the distortions that they have done from the Vedas, like Max Müller and the likes, whose translations are still nowdays contributing in the distortion of the understanding of Hinduism.

Good for you that you feel free through Jesus. I just felt free the moment I start investigating by myself and finding answers. And those answers happened to be eternal truths beyond any historical figure. And had been discovered long ago but much more wiser people than us, the Rishis and Rishikas. And those eternal truths happened to be acknowledged in what is called Hinduism.

So my point in commenting in Maria´s article is agreeing with her and appreciating what she says regarding conversions as undeniable truths. It would be more honest to acknowledge that, like Christians have the only truth, according to them, they have to convince the whole world that are mistaken. And we hindus would tell Christians: please, do the whole world a favor and RESPECT non Christians, their traditions and their philosophy. Live and let live. Christians should live happily with their own faith, but forget about converting others that have not asked for it. This way, the world would be a much happier place.
But, can Christians forget about converting others? No, it would be going against one of their main duties: to spread the word of Jesus (whether the rest of the world wants it or not) and to “harvest souls”. Then as long as disrespecting others is one of the duties of a religion, with what authority can any person talk in the name of a religion that seeks dominating the whole world through unwanted impositions? What is that fear of diversity? I don´t have any problem in the existence of even as many religions as individuals are on the earth. And this is a problem of the abrahamic religions: allergy to diversity in thought. Same applies to Islam.

Happy new year (according to Gregorian Calendar) to all.

The Hit keeps on coming!

[b]The past of Leela Samson[/b]

http://shankhnaad.net/index.php/heritage/subversion/item/154-leela-samson-past

1) Leela Samson’s story, for all means and purpose, begins with Kalakshetra, a Classical Dance instituition founded by Rukmini Arundale – a guru who rescued the Bharat Natyam dance form from the era of colonial evangelism. Rukmini spoke of dance as ”Sadhana which requires total devotion.”

2) Rukmini was a bit reluctant to admit Leela Samson to the institution given her Judeo-Christian background. Little did she know her fears will come true tenfold in years to come.

3) Leela faked her qualifications to become Director of Kalakshetra in 2005. Ministry of culture (under UPA govt.) permitted her to continue despite her fraud getting exposed.

4) The first thing she did after her appointment was elimination of the spiritual roots of Bharata Natyam. She ordered removal of all Ganesha and Nataraja statues from the campus (despite heavy student & faculty protest) calling it ‘Hindu superstition’.

5) She changed the logo(which was there since 1936) because it had Lord Nartana Ganesha with Lord Shiva‘s Emblem.Again, citing superstition.

6) She refused permission and threatened expulsion of students from participating in inaugural dance piece in the Health and Happiness Program Organized by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ‘s The Art of Living in Chennai between Dec 5th to 8th 2006. Reason cited: It is a “Hindu Event”.
( The Student-Artistes ignored her threat, came and participated in the event, reminding her that Art is bigger than the Artist. She then continued harassing the Faculty who participated and coordinated in the event.)

7) In the morning assembly, Samson allegedly told the students and teachers that “idol worship” is superstition and should be discouraged at Kalakshetra.
Samson used to ridicule Hindu scriptures and deities, comparing them to walt disney characters.

8) A CAG report severely indicted her ways of functioning during her seven year tenure (2005-12). She demolished the temple structure of the Kalakshetra Auditorium with the excuse of modernising it. Then there were fund irregularities in tunes of crores and at least 16 appointments were done defying qualification standards and institution norms. A blatant misuse of her power because she had Sonia’s backing. And why not – Leela was a dance teacher for Priyanka Vadra.

9) Despite being over age, she was given a grand extension and made the Censor Board Chief .
Her own cinema knowledge was zero but she used to call most members of the board uneducated and an embarrassment. When legal notice was issued by 2 of the members, she was forced to apologize.

10) Although she’d strongly object to anything remotely funny about Christians or Muslims in cinemas, she’d routinely pass cinemas ridiculing Hindu beliefs in name of freedom of expression.

She is not alone. There is a massive nexus of such Congress appointed stooges of Sonia who often indulge in anti-Hindu anti-Indian propaganda. These are the very people who represent our nation at international forums and present a sorry picture of our nation to please the west. The new government at the centre has a huge challenge at its hand of cleaning up the system which is so rotten from inside that it may fall from the consequences of it.

Saji,
This is all what Missionaries wanted… they only know to disintegrate the great culture of India only through to break the root culture and let the people in India fight together…. They know like individuals like you all will fight on their own behalf….. they trained to brain wash the people / understand the human psychology…. once the individual crossed the line, will himself fight for them…. But, I am sure, they will not suceed…. Saji, you know Indian culture belives there r different way to know the god…liberal…. no one god or path is not the solution… like the one reach the destination through different road… atalst all end the final destination….. No sunflower can say to lotus that I am great…. our culture teach respect self and respect others….. Yes, their strategy followed in Kerala trying to do the same in other parts of the country….. the root cause of the worlds problem today is all the concept of My god is only good and yours is bad and will go to hell…. 2 way can conquer a nation… through arms fight or through the culture conquer… missionaries are trying the second method, following words are worth to understand my dear fellow citizen….

” When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
– Desmond Tutu

Dear friend know the condition of christian in pakistan… living in ghettos.. you will know from dawn.com Please for god sake… don’t fall into these missionaries hand to beat your own motherland…. they all have vested interest…. Now, the choice is yours…. But, the truth cannot be hide for a long time…

Saji
You say that don’t criticise the faith for its abusers,but the proof of the pudding is in eating,please recollect the birth of Christianity and the conflicts it has generated since last two thousand years,from the day Romanian emperors Justanain began by trickery and massacres of Roman pagans and there after the decimation of classic Greek and Roaman civilisation due to spread of this creed,leading to dark ages Europe
You talk of casteism of Hinduism,no doubt it was Varna system which degenerated in to casts and has its historical reasons but Hinduism is an evolving religion and reforms and corrective measures have been taken and will continue to be taken.
Now against this aberration of Hindusim let us see the record of Christianity and the havoc it has caused due to its monoithmsm and its righteous tone of certitude and contempt towards other faiths and followers:
1)Catholic church goaded and lead Spanish conquistadors like Cortez in action and conquests causing untold harm by means speead of pestilence and European diseases and massacre and
decimation of millions of natives of American continents and decimation and destruction of the Mayan and Incan civilisation,loot of their wealth,land and culture and replacing it by half breed Euproean culture with huge number of preteen pregnancies,promiscuous life style,drug abuse,huge lands under drug cultivation ruled by drug war lords,who are devout Catholics and no doubt contribute collassol wealth to church.
2)Above reord is repeated in North American continent with native red Indiana robbed of land and confined to few reservations again justified on the the doubt ful doctrine of the monopoly of Christain beliefs and contemept towards so called pagan beliefs
3)It was the same religious lust to speed the message of Christianity which lead to enslavement of Africa which allowed the missioneries in their so called civilising mission justifying the reduction of African natives as ignorant pagan natives to sub human leval and their shameful slavery by White Euorpean American Protestant and Catholics for three hundred years and the misery of the separation of families and agony and torture of these wretched coloured people which the church happily participated gloatingly.
4)Coming down to India we are familiar with inqisition and torture and forced conversion of Hindus by Catholic Church of Portugal in Goa and Manglore merely on the grounds are Devils as decreed by the utterly fanatical and primitive nay even primitives are more human let us use the words Christian blind beliefs which is more apt.
4)Finally the church advanced the cause of Britsih colonism in India and allowed India to be enslaved for 150 years and found collaborators in Newly converted Indian Christians who due to their blind misleading belifs and Doctrines of Bible felt and justified the British Christan rule.
This leads us to the present where Billions of dollars are being pumped in South and eastern India by Amercian churches with same doubious conversion drive and they have succeeded tragically in adding to their flocks in millions and are spreading at a cancerous speed
Entire demographics of composition of population in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have changed.
This is a sure recipe for disaster and major religious conflics in future in these parts are the only outlook one can predict all solely due to the dangerous religious lust of the church to mindlessly add to their numbers
So the largely peaceful Indians who were immune due to the liberal Hindu ethos and beliefs to the insidious conflict and turmoil causing doctrines of Church are in for the period of uncertainty.
Hope the above will reach the sane section of Hindu society to avoid the disasters.

Right. Well observed. They are doing so purely for electoral gains.

Realty…. these are all wolfs in the sheep clothing….

Raj – Shorn of all your big words, the question remains – What culture? Chucking out your pregnant wife to the jungles? Abominable. Hope none of us do it, trying to follow a wrong role model. That would be a big big dis-service towards your followers.

Asusual, informative and enlightening.

Alok Asthana · January 1, 2015 – 1:59 pm · Which Culture, Where a king banishes his pregnant wife to the jungles ?

In the same culture where a King even in his dream or thought can’t think (forget touching) of any other woman other than his wife.

why don’t u follow this ideal? The very arrogance displayed in ur question signify u r hear to tussle than to pursue the truth

|| The War Against Hinduism ||
Over the years we have all heard about the many attempts that have been made in India to convert various sections of society from Hinduism to either Christianity or Islam. But only after one of my trips to India did I really get a much clearer understanding of what has been going on. Furthermore, most people, as well as many Indians, are not fully aware of how the war against Hinduism is happening, nor how serious it is. It is taking place on many levels, and because of this, in some areas the practice of Hinduism is declining rapidly.
When I was traveling in June of 2001, I had gone on a lecture tour, speaking every night on the importance of Vedic culture at places like Mumbai, Nagpur, Warangal, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Hyderbad, Bangalore, Trivandrum, and Chennai. So I had the chance to meet with many of the intellectuals and some of the spiritual leaders in these areas, and learned how conversion was a very hot issue.
Now I don’t have anything in particular against Christianity itself. I was born and raised a Christian, so I know what it is, but also how they work. My main contention is when the teachings that are said to come from Jesus are twisted and misinterpreted into something that does not spread the genuine love of God and humanity that we are all supposed to develop, but becomes the dog-like barking and criticism against every other religion that is not Christian. This does not only go on toward every religion outside of Christianity, but also within it between Catholics and Protestants and other denominations. It seems that this faith has become not something that promotes our similarities for cooperation, but our differences in that everyone who is of an unrelated Christian denomination are all going to hell.
In regard to India, there is a great number of missionaries of various denominations who are working there right now, all competing for the most number of converts. The Southern Baptists alone are a group that has nearly 100,000 career missionaries in North India, all working to spread the “good word.” We also find that in order to make converts from Hinduism some of the numerous Catholic priests in Southern India dress like sannyasis, and call their organizations ashramas. This is to make Christianity more similar to the Vedic traditions. Bharat Natyam dance is also taught in the Christian schools, but with Christian symbols and meanings replacing the Vedic. This is all in the attempt to actively sway Hindus over to Christianity.
One way they are trying to bring Christianity deep into the culture of India is by superimposing its rituals, symbols, and even types of dress on the Hindu forms of the same. Thus, you will see the cross on the lotus, some priests dress in saffron, and some churches have the ambiance of a Hindu temple. If this keeps up, maybe one day Christianity will be more Hindu than Christian.
While traveling in the far Northeastern states of India I have seen some of the tactics that the Christian missionaries have used to help make converts, such as offering cheap polyester pants to the tribals of the Northeast if they become Christian, or even offer motor bicycles if they help convert their brothers, which also means their wives and family. In other places like Madhya Pradesh, as noted in the Neogy Report, the missionaries give small loans on interest to the tribals, who cannot pay back such loans easily. However, if they become Christian, then such loans and the interest are dismissed. This is what goes on in the democracy of India, and under the tolerance of the Hindus, while if one such incidence would ever occur in a Muslim country, the result would be an immediate expulsion of the missionary from that nation.
Another trick that has been done is that missionaries, while treating the sick, will give medicine of no value and ask the tribal to take it while offering prayers to his local deity. Naturally, no cure of disease is likely to occur with the useless medicine. Then the missionary gives the tribal real medicine and asks the tribal to take it while offering prayers to Jesus. Then when there is a recovery, it is attributed to the power of Christ and not to the medicine. Such conversion activities take place these days more often in the tribal areas under the guise of social service. However, true social service should be done without expecting anything in return, including conversion.
Another thing that takes place is mass healings at meetings similar to revivals. What they do is pay people to attend the healings portraying themselves as being sick, or invalids on crutches, etc., who then get called up and are miraculously cured of their disease. This is attributed to the power of Christ, which then convinces many tribals that they too can benefit in various ways if they become Christian. This has not had much of an effect amongst the Brahmana classes, but the lower classes who attend are more vulnerable and are impressed by such things, and are then swayed toward Christianity. This is why Christian conversion tactics have been focused more toward the tribal areas than other regions of India. So these conversions are not taking place due to pure preaching of the Bible or the message of Jesus, but are accomplished by trickery and the emphasis on material facility. This is, of course, what is being objected to by the general Hindu population. However, when or if people convert for purely spiritual reasons, then there is no objection.
Another way conversions are accomplished is with the promise to the Dalits or the lower caste Hindus that they will not have any more caste recognition by becoming Christians. However, after conversion many find out that this is not true. Even amongst the converted Christians there is found to be a caste mentality, with the lower castes forced to use separate doorways, separate seating, or have marriages performed only among equal caste Christians and in separate facilities, or to even be buried in separate cemeteries. When this becomes obvious to those who are newly converted, some of them want to come back to being Hindus again, which has been facilitated by such organizations as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
An interesting point is that in spite of these duplicitous ways of converting that the Christians have used, the Christian churches have threatened violence against the process of reconversion back to Hinduism that had been launched by the VHP. It is as if they do not want anyone to have the right to do what they are already doing. It was Rev. V. K. Nuh, secretary of the Nagaland Baptist Convention who said, “If someone tries to impose their faith, Christians in this region will not surrender. There will be a battle and we shall have no option. There will be a physical and religious war if attempts are made to propagate Hinduism by forceful means in the Northeast.” In this same line of thinking, Rev. M.D. Oaugma, head of the Garo Baptist Convention of Meghalaya said, “It could be a threat to Christianity if we remain silent to the VHP’s game plan of mass conversion. We shall have to fight, we shall have to resist.” (Maharashtra Herald, July 11, 1998)
Of course, it is easy for Hindus to be nonchalant toward other religions because they feel that each spiritual path takes you toward God. So in this light, it is alright to be tolerant of them or let them thrive. But the problem is that not all religions feel the same way toward Hinduism. Some feel that Hinduism is a culture that should be removed or destroyed. An example of this is that in Northeast India, in states like Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur, they have witnessed a surge of nearly 200% in their Christian population in the past 25 years due to the wily tactics of foreign missionaries. Their grasp is so strong now that practicing Hinduism is forbidden in some areas. Where is the democratic freedom in that? Hindus can no longer do worship or arati in the open because of the fanaticism in parts of the land. Durga puja has become almost obsolete as deities are destroyed or stolen in broad daylight. This confrontationalclimate has led to numerous militant outfits sponsored by the Church who are fighting for secession from India. So now the Northeastern portion of India wants to secede from it, and another part of India will be lost if this should happen.
If the Catholic Church in particular is supposed to espouse the message that God is love, and that it is by love of God and neighbor that mankind is saved, it certainly has not shown much of that kind of love toward any other religion. With the Pope’s recent call for conversions in Asia, it certainly shows that it is not a friend of other religions, but still holds the goal that other spiritual paths should be brought down to be replaced by Christianity. This should be clearly understood. This is also the case with the Baptists and other denominations.
While I was in New Delhi, I also met with Mrs. Shanti Reddy, a member of a government agency called the National Committee for Women. She revealed that another thing that missionaries have done was to kidnap young Indian children. What one Christian missionary couple in Chennai was doing before they were arrested was to bribe tribals into giving their young baby girls to them. They would pay the tribals as little as 2000 to 5000 rupees for baby girls, and then turn around and sell the girls to foreigners for as much as $30,000 to $40,000. According to the records that had been confiscated from the missionaries’ home, this had been a thriving business, and nearly 25 of such transactions had already taken place. The Indian authorities said they probably saved 300 baby girls from such a fate from the indications on the records they found. So this has been another one of the forms of activities that such missionaries do for their own benefit and profit against the real interest of India. However, whenever Hindus react with force against such people, they are labeled as fundamentalists, antagonists, communalists, or worse. But how can you expect that Hindus should not display serious and violent reactions when such activities become obvious? It usually takes a lot to make Hindus react, as they are often most pacifistic and tolerant people. This is also why they make lousy terrorists, they just do not see things that way.
Nonetheless, another way that India is slowly losing its Vedic culture is through the process of secular or English and Christian education. Of course, in public schools all Vedic books have been removed from the curriculum. So there are no possibilities to study the ancient Indian literature or art in such institutions. So Vedic values are no longer part of what the children are taught. Furthermore, the Christian schools, often staffed by Christian missionaries, can teach Christian values in their classes, and include a short study of the Bible everyday, or the Koran if it’s an Islamic school. The so-called secular government has even helped them with free land and facilities. Since these schools offer English in their education, along with good discipline, many of the middle classes of Indians are favoring sending their children to these schools. Today, in the Indian cities, many of the parents of children are the graduates of Christian schools, who also send there own children to such schools. As this trend continues, there will be a decreasing number of Hindus in the educated sector. Thus, children in India, with the help of the secular government, are learning Christian values and perceiving their own history and culture as something less than honorable. They are taught that such important books as the Bhagavad-gita, Ramayana, Bhagavata Purana and other Vedic texts are nothing more than mythology, and not a result of one of the most profound civilizations in the world. They are also taught that their own God is but a demon and the only real way to God is through Jesus.
An example of this is that a few devotees from the New Delhi Iskcon (Hare Krishna) temple go out and give presentations to the children’s classes in schools. Some of the questions that are asked by the children are, “Who is your God?” and “hat can your God do for me?” and so on. Obviously, these questions are nothing but a direct result of the Christian and English oriented education that these children are receiving. Now I ask anyone, isn’t this practically a covert form of conversion? This form of education indoctrinates the children to doubt their own culture, and disrespect their own history and traditions. As a result of this form of education, the Hindu population is slowly forgetting the unique history and lofty culture of their homeland.
As I traveled around, it was not unusual to see elementary schools around India with a name something like “Saint Xavier’s School.” People should know that this Francis Xavier, who is now one of the greatest so-called “saints,” feverishly declared, “When I have finished baptizing the people, I order them to destroy the huts in which they keep their idols; and I have them break the statues of their idols into tiny pieces, since they are now Christians. I could never come to an end describing to you the great consolation which fills my soul when I see idols being destroyed by the hands of those who had been idolaters.” (From “The Letters and Instructions of Francis Xavier,” 1993, pp 117-8) This was his goal, to destroy Indian culture and make India a Christian nation. So it is ironic that now India embraces the schools that honor him in this way. How could they not know his true intention?
What is often not recognized is that, up until recently, for the last 50 years the politicians who have been directing the destiny of India are the ones who have an anti-Hindu attitude. They have set the economic direction and the educational policies that the country has been forced to follow. They have also promised the protection of the religious minorities with the hopes of acquiring votes. This has been one of the reasons why the secularists in the Congress party have treated everything that is Hindu with disdain.
Another aspect of the loss of Vedic culture in India is that the younger Indian people, especially ages from 15 to 25, are readily giving up Vedic customs to follow the more decadent so-called freedoms of the West. They see the western movies, they read what the celebrities say in the papers, and they admire them and want to adopt their forms of dress and lifestyles. Thus, in the big cities like Mumbai you have Indian couples living together without marriage, which is something you never would have seen before a few years back. Now the Vedic principles are looked upon as something obsolete, something that restricts the style that those who look to the West want to adopt. Thus, they are leaving Indian traditions behind and losing respect for anything Vedic. In this way, they adopt foreign standards, or lose so much respect for Indian and Vedic values that they become embarrassed to admit their Hindu background and heritage. Furthermore, Sanskrit scholars at the temples are also slowly dying out, and the modern Indians view the Ramayana and Mahabharata as merely myths or gaudy television shows.
Although India has been invaded by outsiders so many times and has always survived, what we are talking about is more than mere property or geography. What is actually being threatened is the basis of Indian culture itself. As younger generations give up their Vedic heritage, even if they return to it later when they are older and looking for more philosophical support, with whatever percentage of loss occurs with each generation, time has shown that it is never fully recovered. A portion of it is lost forever.
Another way of looking at this is that India presently enjoys an 85% Hindu majority in its population. This may sound quite significant, but in actuality this includes 15% Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains. So it is really only a 70% majority. How many more generations will go by before we see a big drop in this percentage due to the process of secular (meaning Christian or English, or even Islamic) education, or with the present rate of conversions by tactless Christians? This percentage could easily drop well below 50% in only a few more generations at the present rate of change.
How many more generations will it take before the Hindu majority is no longer a majority, but a minority in its own country? As Hinduism declines, you will see that the demands on the government and those voted into politics will also change, and the laws will also alter more in favor of the increasing minority religions at the expense of declining Hinduism. Then as the years go by there will appear only small clusters of Hindu or Vedic communities, most likely centered around prominent holy places, until the more aggressive religions act in ways to diminish these as well, in the same way that they are presently doing in other countries.
The point of all this information is that it is time for all Hindus and supporters and followers of the Vedic culture, Sanatana-dharma, to realize what is actually happening and give up your timidness or nonchalance and speak out while such freedom still exists. We must become more pro-active for defending this culture. The point is that if you do not take it seriously, I can assure you that there are others who take this inaction and tolerance extremely seriously to promote their own goals and religions in India. It is because of this that India may not always remain the homeland of an active and thriving Vedic culture as it is now. We need to protect whatever is left of it and maintain the present liberties that Hindus or followers of Vedic culture still have in India. Then we all can continue to engage in Vedic traditions without hindrance, and with full freedom. For this, we need to unite ourselves in a concerted effort to make this happen. And it most certainly is possible.
Not long ago, as told to me by Professor Subhash Kak, it was noted in a reputable publication that now 1% of the Russian population claim that they are Hindu. The article stated that this was primarily due to the preaching efforts of Iskcon. This shows a major social impact. This shows what is possible if we can work together in a concerted effort. This is why I am convinced that if we all work in a pro-active way under the banner of a united family of Vedic followers, or Global Vedic Community, we can keep and even expand the present freedoms that we now have to practice Vedic and indigenous traditions, and keep India as the homeland of Vedic culture, the most ancient roots of humanity.
India must be protected and kept as the homeland and center of the Vedic heritage, Sanatana-dharma, Hinduism. Without it, what is its value, in spite of whatever else it accomplishes? The value of Hinduism and India are clearly expressed in the words of the famous English theosophist Dr. Annie Besant. She put great emphasis on the value of India, its history, the Vedic culture, and its importance to the world. As written in the cover notes from the book, Hindus, Life-Line of India, by G. M. Jagtiani, she says: “After a study of some forty years and more of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect, none so scientific, none so philosophic, and none so spiritual as the great religion known by the name of Hinduism. The more you know it, the more you will love it; the more you try to understand it, the more deeply you will value it. Make no mistake; without Hinduism, India has no future. Hinduism is the soil into which India’s roots are struck, and torn of that she will inevitably wither, as a tree torn out from its place. Many are the religions and many are the races flourishing in India, but none of them stretches back into the far dawn of her past, nor are they necessary for her endurance as a nation. Everyone might pass away as they came and India would still remain. But let Hinduism vanish and what is she? A geographical expression of the past, a dim memory of a perished glory, her literature, her art, her monuments, all have Hindudom written across them. And if Hindus do not maintain Hinduism, who shall save it? If India’s own children do not cling to her faith, who shall guard it? India alone can save India, and India and Hinduism are one.”
In this light, it is absolutely necessary that as followers of Sanatana-dharma, Vedic culture, we realize that we need to repair whatever differences we have between us regarding whatever issues there may be. This is necessary in order to work with some cooperation with whomever we can if we expect to be a substantial force in defending the Vedic cause. Otherwise, all the issues that invariably come up, although these should not be ignored, should not take so much of our attention that our preaching or sharing or promoting of our culture stops. Otherwise, we will only serve as contributors to the continuing deterioration of all spiritual standards as the age of Kali-yuga progresses. This preaching, of course, means that we must all stay in touch with and practice the Vedic standards, and be ready to let others know of its advantages, and to defend it from those who wish to see its demise.
We cannot allow ourselves to be led into the danger of endless debate that leads to inaction. We all must be pro-active in some way to help defend and spread Vedic culture. Then we can work together to keep the freedom we presently have to practice the Vedic traditions and keep India as the homeland of a thriving, dynamic, and still living tradition. Such freedom does not come without its challenges, and we must be prepared as a society to meet those challenges. To take such freedoms for granted means that it’s only a matter of time before they are lost. And that is exactly what some people want to happen. So we must be willing to work all the harder to prevent such a decline of our Vedic heritage.
– by Stephen Knapp

You are very right, Pankaj. There are numerous examples of unethical attempts by Christianity to convert people to their fold. let us learn from them as ‘ bad examples – what not to do’, rather than ‘good examples – something to follow’. The present ‘ghar wapasi’ campaign takes us on their road, which we so heartily criticize. In our case, it is more insidious, since it is firmly backed by the political party in power. Hinduism has NEVER been a political force. It should not be.

I beleive it is a confrontation of relegions right now, not beause we all love one god, but just that we are more attached to our own faiths. In the last 400 or 500 years, faith in god has been decreasing, and now it is very certain that god is a good beleif system, but nothing beyond, be it jesus or krishna or allah or whoever. Relegion is the very reason why people are sensitive in the first place, going forward relegion’s relevance will diminish.God, soul, life after death, hell and heaven, all such notions will lose their significance just like we no longer think that the earth is flat. However the repercussion is that, people once they know for sure that god doesn’t exist, will lose control, and will live a life of indulgences and reckless callousness. After tasting the bitter fruit of bad morals, new movements and revolutions will come up again, that do not beleive in god or soul, but schools of thought that advocate moderation of indulgences and a balance.

Interesting to see that Corrupt characters of all religions are trying to define religion for each other , sometimes using the name of Hinduism, sometimes using the name Christianity, and current govt. of India has latched upon this chance to decide who is truth and who is not.
Funny games of Gods of sanatan dharma agents in India, Catholics in Vatican, and Talibans in Middle east !
Kudos for comparing Maria.

Add to the list now- Hindu mahasabha, RSS, BJP.

so why cant you put efforts to understand the culture and the practices a religion is assosiated with? if you are a simpleton does it make a religion absurd? Hinduism is the religion that doesnot follow a book or a prophet or a doctrine. It is deeply based on Sanatana Dharma.

Thanks to BJP.. Hinduism is not associated with beheadings, killing kaffirs, selling slaves, or issuing fatwas on cartoonists, and exploiting poor for conversions.

oh.. come on.. so do the women in india stop worshipping Ram for banishing his wife or do they want their husbands to be like Lord Ram? ask any..

Rama stand for an ideal as “raja dharma” knowing it will bring him immense pain and agony.

PS: The part where Rama sent his wife to forest doesn’t exist in valmiki Ramayan. But added later, called as uttara ramayan.

Very honestly written….. My conscience had similar conflicts when trying to detest the Christian belief that Jesus is the ‘ONLY’ way. Grown up in an Indian Christian family, going to Church regularly, I just could not comprehend IT too!!

U.S. Views on God and Life Are Turning Hindu
By Lisa Miller

America is not a Christian nation. We are, it is true, a nation founded by Christians, and according to a 2008 survey, 76 percent of us continue to identify as Christian (still, that’s the lowest percentage in American history). Of course, we are not a Hindu—or Muslim, or Jewish, or Wiccan—nation, either. A million-plus Hindus live in the United States, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity.

The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: “Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names.” A Hindu believes there are many paths to God. Jesus is one way, the Qur’an is another, yoga practice is a third. None is better than any other; all are equal. The most traditional, conservative Christians have not been taught to think like this. They learn in Sunday school that their religion is true, and others are false. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
Americans are no longer buying it.

http://www.newsweek.com/us-views-god-and-life-are-turning-hindu-79073

Dont forget that there is political angle of prselytization in itself.Increasing their number so that they can get political mileage has been the sole motto of Muslims and Christians in India.One sided exponential growth of Christians in North Eastern states and growth of Muslim population in large number of districts of Assam, W.Bengal, Bihar, U.P.,TN, AP, Telangana and Kerala is purely motivated by political consideration.If Hindu leaders too decide to increase their number or to some how retrieve the lost ground to prevent India from becoming Pakistan or Iraq or Seria what is wrong in it?Those who dont want to see the writings on the wall are free to delude themselves.Just read Justice Niyogi Commission Report of 1954 and see what are the dangers of conversion by Christian Missionaries.As far as casteism is concerned Christians too have more than five thousand denominations whose life styles differ from each other.see :http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/christianity-has-over-5000-denominations-sects/
India is secular only till India remains a predominantly Hindu country.

I am happy if it can open eyes, and please spread it in your circle and feel free to translate it.
But please don’t’ compare with the Upanishads. it is only an analysis. Upanishads are genuine insights

Dear Maria. It has been very distressing to read some of the posts and I realize that it is so easy to gradually slip into a critical and vilifying mode without realizing it. I would not like to comment on the posts others have written, but I felt that some of my posts were unChristlike. The one who taught me to love my worst enemies, to pray for those who persecute me, to offer my other cheek if someone slaps me would not expect this kind of behavior from me. I am sincerely sorry if I have hurt anyone and I would also request you to remove any of my posts you may have found inappropriate or not edifying. Have a wonderful day.

Are you a priest? A pastor? Even if not, you people cannot help but doing your best to convert others, isn´t it? A clear example of what the exclusivity claims bring about: a complete disrespect. Who are you to relate Hinduism with scraps? Please, keep your privileges for yourself and don´t share it with those who have not asked for it, and not with that untolerable tone of superiority complex and insulting Dharma. All you do here, in some lines only, it is exactly what it is to be criticised from the christians: not their beliefs, but the pigheadedness in imposing their beliefs on others (or trying to).by demeaning what for the others is important.

Satya – as your name implies “Truth”, it would be in-correct to say that Hinduism is the only religion that allows a person to pursue the truth. In fact, I find the Bible boldly inviting us to reason –

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”.

Psalm 34:8 – Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good…

John 8: 31-32 – Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

My pursuit was to know the truth that would set me free from my bondage of sin, suffering and death…

Indeed a beautiful written. Thank you very much.many hindu gurus or brahmans have deviated from their path.
May be that’s why other religion followers laugh at us. So much of castism ruining the core of Hindu Dharma for years.
Those so called hindu secular educated elite people of society or politicians and paid media are doing much damage.they don’t know from where these secularism comes from. The ultimate secularism is deep within Hindu Dharma.
Sri Ramakrishna told .”joto mot totto poth” .
means “Many paths leading to one ultimate truth”.
Swami Vivekananda his great follower.
It is high time people should understand what Secularism means. Stop doing all the nonsense they r doing…

nice write up sir, but do you think the evil gardener left only 60 years ago? I differ on this, it is not the incoming gardener who was evil, it was the native residents who were always weak. Weakness is synonymous with being a bharatwasi. This garden of ours has been shrinking for more than 1400 years now, it is nothing new, and the beginning of the garden turning into a desert has begun. The only thing left for this garden’s residents is to keep praising the literature left behind by people 3000 years ago. One hyena is good enough to terrify and scatter 100 cows, you don’t even need a tiger. It’s just law of nature playing out.

‘@Ramasubramaniam, beautiful, apt analogy. thank you. Let’s hope the people wake up and let’s help to wake them up

Superb! India is waking up… after all, 350+65 years of Christianity takes time to shed off the wasted time…

OF GIRLS AND PUBERTY

I went through the various replies to your article on CONVERFSION and see that some people have predicted about the demise of this ancient religion within three centuries. As the name itself implies, Sanatana Dharma is ever lasting. This will be the only religion left standing after all others crumble to dust by the grinding wheels of time. The Veda is nothing but the Voice of the Supreme Himself. I am still pursuing the study of Vedas and I have not the least doubt in my mind as to its permanency. The Vedas are not simple preachings of the Good and the Bad as other religious texts are. It is the most complete guide detailing how anyone should conduct his day-to-day activities, even the most mundane chores – how to rise from bed, how to sit, how to walk, how to brush the teeth, what to use for brushing, which finger to be used, how to answer the nature’s call, how to clean oneself, how & where to take bath, when and how to eat, the correct posture for sitting, walking, sleeping, when & how to have sex, how these daily activities change with the seasons, how to grow up from child to boy to man and be graceful in old age and how to meet a natural end, how to adapt to elements of earth, fire, water, air & space, of the various living beings on land and water, about the sun, the planets, the stars, the constellations, the galaxies and beyond, of matter, the molecules, the atom, sub-atomic particles… the list is endless. The present human life is very short to fully comprehend the Vedas. The Vedas have answer to all the man’s problems, which he faced in the past, the problems currently faced and also the problems that may arise in the future.

All other religious texts, however sacred they may be to their faithful followers, don’t even stand comparison to the Vedas in the sheer volume of information, the technicalities and guidance for the existence of human life. It is like shining a torch to search for the Sun. If, from the other religions’ Holy Scriptures, we delete the portions pertaining to preaching (of the Good/Bad, Heaven/Hell, stories of creation, miracles, etc.), there will be nothing much of substance left. Not so in the case of Vedas – only a small part of Vedas deal with praising Him and the rest is devoted to guiding mankind to lead a purposeful life, friendly with his surroundings and preserve Nature for the future generations.

I will give you a small example – currently, the Western world is facing a grave crisis, which is to explode within the next decade. All the foolish activities of man, in the name of development, have led to shrinking of the life term of the present generation. This will reveal only slowly in a decade or two. The fast paced mindset of this restless generation is unable to notice the slow, imperceptible decline in the quality of its progeny.

The age of menarche was around 15-16 years over a century ago. Around the 1980’s it was down to 13 years. The medicos and the scientists were alarmed at the decline and started their research in earnest to arrest this trend. Even with the rapid strides in science and technology, the computers and other advanced apparatus at their disposal, they could not find a solution to this grave issue. Not only they could find no way in restoring back the menarcheal age to 16 years but they even failed miserably to arrest further decline in the age. During the last decade, the decline has been more rapid and is currently hovering at 8-9 years.

The most alarming part is that the scientists/doctors are of the unanimous opinion that this falling pubertal age is creating major health issues for the younger generation, such as diabetes in teenagers and increasing incidence of breast cancer among 20+ girls. It is not that simply the girls are getting their periods early. The lifetime of these youngsters have shrunk, really. They mature at half their normal age of 16 years. They get their menopause also at half the normal age of 50. By extension they will also succumb of old age and failing health at half their normal age of 80 years. In short, a kid who has lost her childhood by early puberty at 8 years will go into menopause at 25 years and become a geriatric at 40 years. This will be the trend in another two decades, provided the decline dosen’t accelerate further.

The main purpose of education/research, inventions/innovations, etc should be minimising the human suffering and not to just simply fill the coffers. We have been awarding Nobel prizes in all the fields every year to eminent physists, chemists, biologists – all of whom collectively have miserable failed to address this one grave issue facing the human race in spite of more than three decades of research. Isn’t it high time we recall all the Nobel Prizes, awards, strip them of their medals for their collective failure?

Isn’t the Church concerned about this issue? What is the role of the Pope/Bible/Jesus in minimising human suffering? Don’t they have a solution for the problem the humanity is facing. Are all these girls who have their mastectomy done, not praying properly? Will Jesus really come to their aid? What does the Bible say? What is the action plan of the Pope who wants to capture Asia into the fold of Christianity? Let the Pope first formulate an action plan for restoring the normal puberty age in all the faithful Christians living in their land and then come proselytising to our shores.

It is the same with Islam also. Their people too are facing the same problem. Sadly, the current generation of Hindus, by aping the West have started to succumb to this trend as well, though not as severe as in the West.

Interestingly, do the Vedas have a solution? Being rather more a Way of Life, than a mere religion, the Vedas do have a solution to the problem. Personally, I have applied it in a practical way and the result has been amazing! The subject, a girl who was brought up in the prescribed way, had her menarche only at the age of 16 years! It has been over six years since the successful experiment and presently it continues on another girl aged 5 years. It is a slow process, but the experiment is worth it. It has given me immense happiness for having been in a position to ensure a healthy life for the next generation. Though I wish to bring up more girls into the experiment, the current crop of ignorant, money minded, egoist parents don’t want to raise their children in the Vedic way.

But, I wait patiently, for another decade to pass – the condition of the society to worsen, their security and future threatened – the only way these morons will come back to their roots.

Namaskaram…!

Bulls eye Maria! The struggle is always on and will go on..! And its for the every soul to do its bit for it. I guess you and Maria Wirth are at the forefront of this struggle/churn!

Hope with this churning many of those who slumber and sleep with their eyes wide shut, wake up esp. so called *Sickulars* .

This term is coined for pseudo secular folks in India for whom its a fashion to criticize any and everything related to Hinduism / true nationalism.

Bloody hell they would even sell their mothers and daughters with a smile to please the devils for the coveted *secular* label ( I am sorry for such strong words, but I dont know another way to put my dismay in).

But even in this age of internet I am amazed that so many people here are still in dark..but I hope this changes soon.

Our education system is to be blamed for this systematic cleansing. For example there is no word of Hindu heros like Khusro Khan, barely a line for Hemu (Hemu Vikramaditya /Hemchandra Vikramaditya) and gross injustice for the likes of Maharana Pratap. The list is endless !! You can read about them on Wiki but I must mention this link for “Khusro Khan”. His name is a misnomer!

http://kalchiron.blogspot.de/2007/03/memorable-love-story-of-khushro-khan.html

This is coz most of the history is written by so called eminent historians who were brazen leftists with romantic notions for Islam or had a soft heart for it.

Nevertheless, Its the beacon of lights like you and Maria who show us the path and may it be so always. May the shankhnaad (the reverberating sound of conch)of your wise words/wisdom wake the dharma of sleeping souls!

May your soul always be blessed with dharma and with this you have peace,tranquility,everlasting joy…something which you spread around always!

Btw , do you have a blog with Maria Wirth does? ( I noticed you share your first name with her)? If so let me know, It would be my pleasure to follow your thoughts!

Jai Shree Ram..!

So kind of you!.You have exaggerated with me 🙂 , thanks for the appraisal.
I went through your link and it is very interesting.
I respond to you now that I have just started my new blog. Hope you like it. It is just my humble attempt.

https://durgadharma.wordpress.com

Excellent. Eye opener.Many thanks.

🙂 Thanks again!. You are most welcome to post your comments.

Cont. from my previous comment..

I for the fact don’t agree with the notion that a minority community should survive only by the good will of the majority. I am against that.

However the situation above as cited in Shah Bano case is even worse! Here the survival of majority seems to be hinging on the mood and whims of the minority!
Minority can decide what hurts them and what laws should not be applied to them selectively. But they cant let majority have same prerogative.
Many a times they insist on deliberately doing things which berates Hindus.

How balanced and “secular” is this approach?

Recently congress government in Karnataka government decided to facilitate Tipu Sultan(The great appeasement/opportunism). What would be the reaction of liberals if Hindus facilitate the likes of Khurso Khan ,Samrat Hemchandra Vikramaditya (Hemu) or Maharana Pratap?

For more historical facts about the religion of peace, check the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus
On the link above you can find the benevolent treatment meted out to Hindus from the likes of Timurs,Ghazni,Tipu etc.

The liberals would argue that those were the thing of past and way too old. That history is hazy and not written correct.
But again it was the thing of past and old times when refuge was given to many people from different faiths in India without extorting any cost in terms of their religious beliefs.

Then their argument would change.They’d say that those were political battles and wars and not related to religion in anyway.

But if you make a war for the booty to forcibly to convert the faith of others, then I guess it goes well beyond just political.
And for the second fact, missionary religions are always at the helm of the politics. They are the nerve centre for politics.
The idea of total domination is what they thrive upon.They derive their clout through politics itself.

In fact the boundaries between religion and politics blur for them.You don’t know when they are being religious fanatics or the politic ones. Talk about wearing many hats but retaining the same dagger!

I am sure many of so unwisely wise Indian “Sickulars” / rationalists would label Maria as a Hindu fanatic and brand her with many a colourful adjectives.

Their opinion would not change even as she states with her utmost honesty and sincerity “Let the Highest be worshipped under many names – as God, Jesus, Allah, Brahman, Ishwar, Bhagwan, Ram, etc.”.

Off course they are correct! How can she say that there are many gods!! She has committed the great sin and atrocity of blasphemy against peace loving missionary religions.

If that does not settle it, then fingers would be raised because she did not say it whilst wearing a skull cap or with a magnificent cross around her neck.

Its seems that an effusive display of “Sickular” minded secularism has its own version of the white man’s burden for Hindus.
Hindus should profess without a question what other religious fanatics ask out of them. To top it up, they should do it in the way as prescribed by these so called peace lovers.That is their *only* expectation.

How many missionary religion folks have you observed talking of peace with a tilak mark on their forehead?

Yet, its Hindus who are jingoists. While these elite liberals are secular!

Even after this Maria shall remain a mindless,senseless, irrational fanatic in the purview of the definition of secularism as scribed by these elite liberals.

She would be an untouchable pariah who’s ideas are a cancer for the secular fabric of India is what they would describe her as. Not to mention that many a unmentionables will be hurled at her, she shall be hounded, and yet its these folks who would don the cloak of being civilized,balanced,logical and liberal!

Even now they will browbeat the same old grass, blow their own trumpets and try to label and dump Maria as a Hindu zealot.

What a sham!

But then these missionary religions, whose sole aim is to convert, are the real peaceful and secular souls(Pun Intended).

Hindus should submit to them,just like these elite liberal rationalists did.
By selling their rationales to the highest bidder in the market, pretending to be asleep with their eyes wide shut and ears stuffed with rancour for the most peaceful and scientific religion alive today.

Thanks but, No thanks..! Not in this life and neither in any ever!

Oh dear elite liberals…wake up…for I feel compelled to recite famous statement of Martin Niemöller as below (albeit a little altered for the Indian Context):

########
First they came for the vulnerable Hindus, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a one.

Then they came for the affluent Hindus, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a one.

Then they came for all the practising Hindus, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a one.

Then they came for me(liberals)—and there was no one left to speak for me(liberals).
########

Jai Siya Ram!

I meant “as Rajiv Malhotra ji says”

The Ishta Devata chooses us, I think :-.). It is not that we choose Him/Her…though it may seem so…

The mistakes in the West are many…..starting for the mindset…..kindly go to my blog, I have just posted regarding that. I am not sure whether the “follow” option is working…I´ll try to keep posting weekly.
Rajiv Malhotra ji´s works is crystal clear and an eye opener, because he knows deeply “both worlds”. There are many videos in youtube of his talks. His books are eye openers. To me “Being different” helped me put into words many ideas I had about why abrahamic religions have nothing to do with dharma traditions.
Yes, please, take your time for reading Maria´s articles. I would recommend all of them! But in this topic there is one saying something like “Please Hindus, don´t say all religions are the same” that it is fabolous.

Thank you for such an excellent article! I feel sad that I now know so little about my own faith! You are inspirational, thanks 🙂

yes, Hindu Dharma is in a different category than the religions based on dogmas, and i am not sure whether it should opt out of “relgiion” category. it would need a broad awareness, though. i thought about it here

https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/is-hinduism-a-religion/

there are some more frank posts. This one is short:
https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/about-calling-a-spade-a-spade/

It is interesting read. Hinduism do not recognize the concept of Sinners and kafirs. Swami Vivekananda says that it is sin to call human being a sinner. Human beings progress from less truth to more truth. These wonderful thoughts have been handed over to Hindus by thousands of years of devotion and practice of truth. It is really nice to learn that Americans started looking for the truth. In the end only the Truth will prevail. But the most important part is the huge difference between principles and practice. Hindus had lost their originality due to 1000 years of slavery. It is only by conscious efforts, Hindu Society has reclaim its original glory.

A very good article . It is not like a foreigner writing. It seems to be an insider Hindu view. The writer could catch essential Hindu thought. Kudos to her.

Simply very nice , i am from india , I like Everything that you write in this article

Wonder who has given such knowledge to you.May satan always use you so that one day you will be part of His Kingdom.God is beyond Human Understanding.Jesus Christ showed us what is it to be faithful to God.Worship the Lord do not question God.Can u question the Birth of your body the same applies to each human.By faith you will understand the truth.Do not see what mortal humans do on earth,but see what GOD has done for you & all.
JESUS IS THE WAY THE TRUTH & LIFE.

You are on the correct way to hell! Pls carry on, at the very end you will find your TRUTH. GOOD LUCK.

A nice article written by you Maria.You have put very basic facts about Christianity, Islam & Hinduism.No wonder Hinduism is gaining popularity in the West,on the contrary Hindus in India are leaving Hinduism because they are not aware about the greatness of Hinduism.If Islam & Christianity can be taught in schools why not Sanskrit & Hinduism? I fail to understand why secularism in India is in danger if you talk, discuss or convince anyone about Hinduism.
You are doing a great job by educating us about Hinduism through this media.Thank you once again.

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