From: sanjeev nayyar Mailing-List: list vediculture@yahoogroups.com Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2003 18:57:37 +0530 Subject: [world-vedic] Fw: Intolerant India -- a conversation of Conversions - cross post From: chicken-m IndiaWinners, Here is a Cross-post originally written by Mukund Khur. I am posting it here to get a feel of how the group feels about missionaries, conversions (both forced & coerced) and it's impact on future India. If India needs to have a stable future in 21st century, social stability is very very important. We can't just ignore that one of the basic problem of today's intolerant India is the conversion practice. I personally want to know more about the truths/lies/rumours associated with conversions. Read the post below and comment on what should be India's policy when it comes to conversion. This post might seem more 'right-wing', but there are lots of points in here which are very valid in today's circumstances. The closest one to heart was the question about Mother Theresa. I am a big fan of the catholic nun's service to Calcutta's poor, but it's equally true that there are innumerable cases of 'local' Indians doing similar selfless service. Why are they not recognized to the same level? Or... Do we care for western recognition? ============= Original Post ================= Christian missionaries, with active monetary and political support from the West, have been converting people in India without any hindrance for the past 300 years. As a result, today Nagaland (87.5%), Mizoram (85.7%) and Meghalaya (64.6%) are Christian-majority states. Nagaland and Mizoram have witnessed bloody secessionist movements. There is a direct linkage between conversion and secession. Why do Western missionaries come to India? All the missionaries, including Mother Teresa, deeply believe in Christianity. They strongly believe that they should lead non-Christians to the path of salvation; hence their efforts are whole-heartedly directed towards proselytization. They definitely serve the poor, provide them with education and medical facilities, and take care of them. But this service is not selfless. Yes, the missionaries are not gaining any physical reward in the process. But they do get what they sincerely believe in: Converts to their Lord Jesus! We must always keep this in mind: service of the poor is not the aim of the missionaries, it is just a means to get them to convert to Christianity. I myself have personally met scores of Christians in the USA who fanatically believe that Jesus Christ is the only true god, and consider it their duty to bring other peoples into the fold. This Western and Christian self-righteousness and superiority complex is blatantly obvious. Their beliefs that non-Christians need to be saved, that only Jesus Christ can save them, and that the Christians have the duty to meddle into the private lives of other peoples are blatantly obvious. Even so, our Indian discourse raises the question: So what is wrong if people get converted to other religions? Is India not a secular nation? Dont we consider that every religion basically leads to the same truth? Let us examine this proposition. Yes, we Hindus do maintain that all religions lead to the same truth, that all saints speak of the same God. But while believing in our philosophy, we must also know the viewpoint of the other party. What do the Christians, and for that matter, the Muslims, think about this issue? In my personal discussions with both Indian and American Christians, and in my reading, I have come across the bottomline: For a Christian, there is one and only one god - Jesus Christ. For a Muslim, there is one and only one god - Allah, with Muhammed as his Prophet. The Christians and the Muslims do not subscribe to the theory that all religions leads to the same truth. For them, their own religions are the only 'true' religions. A Southern Baptist pastor, with whom I have had long and serious discussions about Christianity and Hinduism, once asked me: How would Jesus be viewed by Hindus. I told him that Jesus would be considered as a great man by many Hindus. Based on my observation in India, I also said that some Hindus will even consider Jesus as God. Then he asked me: Will these Hindus consider Jesus as the only God? I was flabbergasted. I said, they will think of Jesus as a God, just like they think of Ram and Krishna as their Gods. He was upset, and unsatisfied. He clearly told me that a true Christian would consider Jesus and only Jesus as the god. Under this circumstance, Hindus need to change their world-view. There is no point accommodating someone if they are not willing to accommodate you in return. Now, someone may ask if there are any practical problems arising out of conversion to Christianity. I say YES! Massive, unchecked and systematic conversion activities by missionaries has completely changed the demographics of key states in India. As we have seen time and again from the examples of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Kashmir, any substantial change in religious demographics leads to separatist mentality. This is especially true when the separate religious identity and conversion process is fueled by foreign money. I ask, what is foreign money doing in Indian religious life? Why does India allow foreign money inside, that foreign money which converts people to anti-India lifestyles? The West has systematically assaulted the religious and civilizational foundations of societies like North and Latin America, Australia, Philippines and Africa. The West has succeeded in completely changing the ethos and culture of all these lands, where their natives once lived happily. The West has done all this through its religion, its economics and its military power. Truly, the expansionism of the West has been all-round. Given these facts, any thinking man will have reasonable doubts when Mother Teresa, a white missionary is awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Have not there been many, many Hindus who have selflessly served the poor Indians? Were they ever rewarded internationally by the West? This may not be the final proof of any Western conspiracy, but it is an ominous indication. Anyone who has studied world history will be at least forced to think about that eventuality. Of course, the reason why some Hindus convert to other religions is because they are frustrated in the Hindu system, to say the least. For this situation, the traditional Hindu caste system is directly responsible. Completely eliminating the caste system, and creating a truly egalitarian society must be the goal of every Hindu. This realization is growing among the masses. To achieve this goal, public and private education at all levels is a must. The VHP is doing a great job by re-converting willing Christian tribals to Hinduism. This is a great step in the right direction. Hinduism has never sought to convert any outsider. Nay, re-conversion to Hinduism was even forbidden till recent history. If the massive foreign assault on India's religion and culture has woken up the Hindu masses to shed such retrograde and destructive tendencies, and if it encourages them to open their eyes and treat all Hindus as equals, I would say well-done! But nothing should be used as an excuse to silently approve and condone the conversion by missionaries. When Indian journalists shut their eyes to the truth, when they one-sidedly accuse someone of being 'Crazy' without objectively taking into account their genuine concerns, the enemies of India gain strength. One must not forget that we are dealing with the same West which went into Africa and America with the Bible, and 'exchanged' it for the lands of the native residents. Today, our overt and covert enemies lie in wait. It is time for the Hindus and India to wake up, and learn the truth about this world.