h o m e

G l i m p s e s    X I I

c o n t e n t s

A Glorious Hindu Legacy: Indic influence in Southeast Asia.

Greater India - The Asianization of Indian Culture    

Introduction:  

Before the term Southeast Asia became common usage, the region was often described as Further or Greater India, and it was common to describe the Indonesian region or Malay Archipelago as the East Indies. The reason may be found in the fact that, prior to Western dominance, Southeast Asia was closely allied to India culturally and commercially. The Ramayana reveals some knowledge of the eastern regions beyond the seas; for instance Sugriva dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java or Sumatra, in search of Sita. It speaks of Burma as the land of silver mines. Towards the end of the fifth century, Aryabhatta, the Indian astronomer, wrote that when the sun rose in Ceylon it was midday in Yavakoti (Java) and midnight in the Roman land. In the Surya Siddhanta reference is also made to the Nagari Yavakoti with golden walls and gates.

The Agni Purana, along with many other Puranas, calls India proper as Jambudvipa as distinguished from Dvipantara or India of the islands or overseas India. Seldom has the world seen such a protracted and pervasive cultural diffusion. It stands a monument to the vitality and magnetism of Indian civilization.

(Note: Recently an Ancient statue of Lord Vishnu has been found in Russian town of the Volga region. For more refer to chapter on Suvarnabhumi).

The ancient city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, the Thousand Pagodas at Pagan in Burma, the colonnaded gallery of Angkor Wat in Cambodia – these relics of past grandeur – bear mute testimony to one of the least known yet most glorious chapters in the history of mankind: that of the classical cultures of ‘Greater India’. 

It was India, at the apogee of her glory and ranking with China and Rome as the three great centers of world culture that brought the flame of civilization to all three areas and imposed the indelible stamp of her religious, philosophical, technical and artistic heritage.

The Prambanan temple in Java displays an elegance and majesty which is surely unsurpassed anywhere in South East Asia

Many people respond with an equal or greater joy to Prambanan, a temple complex than Borobudur. 
 The first temple was dedicated to Brahma, the second and largest to Siva, and the third to Vishnu.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

The eastward expansion of Hindu civilization has not yet been fully traced.  Western scholars were mainly stimulated by their own colonial involvement in the area and generally concentrated attention on their own activities. An idea of the extent of knowledge about Southeast Asia may be gained from an European scholar who wrote in 1861, that, except for Burma, “Indian countries situated beyond the Ganges hardly deserve the attention of History.” 

Burma was presumably excepted because the British by that time had fought two successful wars against her and had annexed Lower Burma to their Indian Empire, and a few British administrators, such as John Crawford, Henry Yule, and Arthur Phayre, had written accounts of their missions and the country. Stamford Raffles in 1817 produced A History of Java from materials collected by a staff of collaborators, but it does not seem to have stimulated much interest among British writers who remained, almost until the end of World War II, excessively preoccupied with the British in India. Neither the realization of the close and ancient Indian cultural contact with Southeast Asia nor the fact that Burma, Malaya, and their other territorial possessions in eastern Asia were tied to Indian administration, evoked British interest in the study of early Southeast Asia. Even today, with the exception of a few notable orientalistss and scholars of cultural history such as Richard Winstedt, G H Luce, H G Quaritch Wales, Reginald Le May, and Roland Braddet, British historians have made little serious inquiry into the cultural past of these Asian countries. A people with no long cultural history of their own perhaps could not be expected to be attracted by the ancient cultural past of the people they dominated.

Equally strange is the attitude of Indian historians towards the cultural past of Southeast Asia. But on the whole they have remained generally indifferent, not even attempting to integrate their own ancient history with that of their neighbors.

The history of Indian expansion covers a period of more than fifteen hundred years.  

George Coedes says, “I am convinced that such research will reveal numerous facts which will indicate a much deeper Indianization of the mass of the population than the sociologists will at present admit.” 

The advent of Indians in Southeast Asia has hardly a parallel in history. It cannot be equated with the arrival of Europeans in America, because the Indians did not go to Southeast Asia as strangers. In view of the ethnic affinities between the prehistoric Austro-Asiatic races of India and those of Suvarnabhumi, contact between the two regions may well go back to the remotest antiquity. References to Suvarnabhumi are found in the Ramayana, the Jatakas, Kathakosa, Niddesa. 

The Ramayana reveals some knowledge of the eastern regions beyond the seas; for instance Sugriva dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java or Sumatra, in search of Sita. It speaks of Burma as the land of silver mines. The Kathakosa tells the story of Nagadatta who went to Suvarnadvipa with five hundred ships to conduct a profitable trade. The Jatakas tell many stories of enterprising merchants and princes, sailing to Suvarnabhumi for trade. The Agni Purana, along with many other Puranas, calls India proper as Jambudvipa as distinguished from Dvipantara or India of the islands or overseas India. Seldom has the world seen such a protracted and pervasive cultural diffusion. It stands a monument to the vitality and magnetism of Indian civilization.

(source: India and World Civilization  By D. P. Singhal Pan Macmillan Limited. 1993 Part II p. 80 - 95 and Lost Cities of Asia - By Wim Swaan p. 13).

***

Java, Indonesia - The Prambanan Temple

During the early years of the Common era Indonesia became increasingly influenced by Indian civilization and culture. Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms grew up in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan (Borneo). In the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. the great trading empire of Sri Vijaya, with a powerful centre at Palembang in eastern Sumatra, dominated the Malay Peninsula and much of the Indonesian Archipelago.

Build around the middle of the ninth century, the great temple of Loro Jonggrang at Prambanan, near Yogyakarta, is arguably Central Java's greatest architectural achievment. While not so large as the famous Borobudur, Prambanan displays an elegance and majesty which is surely unsurpassed anywhere in South East Asia

Many people respond with an equal or greater joy to Prambanan, a temple complex (16 km east of Yogya) than Borobudur. Prambanan is best seen shortly after dawn or in the late afternoon when slanting sunlight picks out details with a rounding, golden touch. But it is still beautiful at any time. 

Prambanan was completed about 900 A.D. The highest courtyard contains the principal edifices. Entering from the south you pass a small “court temple.” On your left (west) are three larger temples: the first was dedicated to Brahma, the second and largest to Siva, and the third to Vishnu. Opposite these are three smaller temples which contained the “vehicles” of the gods: the gander (hamsa) of Brahma; Siva’s bull (nandi), a monolithic, amazingly relaxed beast carved with consummate skill, and unfortunately the only “vehicle” remaining; the sun-bird (garuda) of Visnu.  

The largest temple, the masterpiece dedicated to Siva, is also known as Loro Jonggrang a name sometimes given to the whole Prambanan temple complex. As legend tells it, Loro Jonggrang was the daughter of Ratu Boko. She remains at Prambanan as Siva’s consort, Durga, a statue in the northern chamber of the main temple. Other major statues include Agstya, the “Divine Teacher,” in the main temple’s southern chamber; Ganesa, Siva’s son, in the western chamber; an outstanding 3 metre figure of Siva in the central chamber. There is also a multi-faced Brahma in the Brahma temple. 

One aspect of Loro Jonggrang’s (Prambanan Temple) appeal is its glorious symmetry and grace. Another is its wealth of sculptural detail.

(image sourece: Java - Insight Guides - By Peter Hutton).

***

A wealth of sculptural detail: on the base of the main terrace, the so-called “Prambabab motif." Durga in the main chamber of temple.

  A perfectly preserved guardian of one of the cardinal directions on the wall of the Brahma temple.  

***

Nandi 

***

One aspect of Loro Jonggrang’s appeal is its glorious symmetry and grace. Another is its wealth of sculptural detail: on the base of the main terrace, the so-called “Prambabab motif” in which little lions in niches are flanked by trees of life and lively menagerie of kinnaras, hares, geese, birds, deer and a host of other endearing creatures: on the outer balustrade of the terrace, animated groups of singers and dancers, and panels of relaxed, beautiful celestial beings; on the main wall of the temple, the regents of the heavenly quarters; and finally, on the inner wall of the balustrade, the wonderfully vital and utterly engrossing Ramayana episodes which end (on the Siva temple) with the arrival of Langka of Hanuman and his ape army. 

Lord Ganesha and Rishi Agastya

(image source: The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson p. 252 - 254).

***

The positioning of the reliefs is formal. The movement within each panel is free flowing, filled with fascinating detail. Even the most tumultuous scenes include lovingly rendered touches: monkeys in a fruit tree, birds robbing a grain bin, kitchen scenes. Prambanan’s beauty and variety demand more than one visit. 

(source: Java - Insight Guides - By Peter Hutton  p. 185 - 190). (For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

A Colossal work

The last great monument of the Central Javanese period is indeed a colossal work, built when the kings retreated from central to eastern Java. This monument is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and represents the shrine in the form of the cosmic mountain. There were originally no less than 232 temples incorporated into the design. The plan was centred on a square court with four gates containing the eight principal temples. The central one, the largest, about 120 feet high, was devoted to Shiva and faces east. To north and south it is flanked by slightly smaller temples to the two members of the Hindu trinity, Vishnu and Brahma. Facing it is the pavilion containing a statue of Nandi, Shiva's bull-emblem. The walls have splendidly lively reliefs of deities and of scenes from the great Hindu classics, especially the Ramayana. One series of the 'guardians of the directions' is especially beautiful in the manner in which ornamental motifs are integrated with the plastic forms of the bodies; both are derived from the same thematic motifs. A motif peculiar to Prambanam is the lion in an ornamental niche flanked by a pair of panels with ornate jewelled trees. 

Chandi Lara Jonggrang, Prambanam model 

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

(source: The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson p. 252 - 254).

The Indonesian Ramayana

The archaeological evidence of the Rama story in Indonesia dates back to the ninth century AD, the period of the Sri Vijaya Empire. It consists of the bas-reliefs at Prambanan in Central Java. These bas-reliefs, considered to be the most splendid depiction of the Rama story in sculpture, do not follow the Valmiki Ramayana. Other reliefs, dating back to the Majapahit period (13^th and 14^th centuries AD) are at Panataran in East Java. These reliefs have greater affinity with the Valmiki story. 

Indonesia thus presents evidence of both the Valmiki and non-Valmiki versions of the Rama story. The various written versions in Indonesia are the Kakawin Ramayana, the Serat Ram, the Javanese Uttarakanda, the Carit Ramayana the Serat Kanda, and the Rama King. 

The Kakawin Ramayana of Yogisvara is considered to be the oldest written version of Rama story in Indonesia. It is placed between the 10^th and 13^th centuries AD. The story, with some variations, follows the traditional version given by Valmiki. Its source, however, is considered to be the Bhaatikavya, a Sanskrit work on the Rama story written in Kashmir in the 5^th century AD. The Kakawin, like the Bhattikavya, does not contain the Uttarkanda (the last book of the Valmiki Ramayana), nor does it give a detailed account of the Balakanda. This suggests that the Kakawin is based on a version of the Rama story which existed before the First and Last Books of Valmiki were added.  

The Serat Ram and the Carit Ramayana are the modern adaptations of the Kakawin. The Javanese Uttarkanda is a separate work describing the genealogy of Raksasas (demons) and monkeys. The Uttarakanda, although it exists as a separate work, complete the Kakawin Ramayana, which ends only with the Yudhakanda (The Book on War). These works, along with the Kalawin, constitute one of the groups of Ramayana which, with slight variations, follow the Valmiki story. 

In the beginning of the Yuddhakanda (the Book of War), the author disgresses from the main story and begins to relate the life of the Pandavas, the characters of the Mahabharata. He then resumes the Rama story. An interesting observation in Indonesia is that while the oldest written version is the Kakawin, the oldest bas-reliefs at Prambanan do not agree with the Kakawin story, which follows the Valmiki Ramayana.

(source: Hinduism in Thai Life - By Santosh N Desai  p 102 – 105).

Top of Page

Is UPA Government anti-Hindu?  
A Muslim President, A Catholic Super PM and a Sikh PM

At a time, when the term secular in India seems largely to be equated with Hindu-baiting, much disquiet is being generated by some events that appear in the nature of an assault on the Sanatan Dharma. Whether by design or coincidence, after the ascent to power of the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, and the party in states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, there has been an increase in Christian missionary activities in the south.  

Synchronous with this development is the offensive against the Kanchi peeth and its custodians, the senior and junior Shankaracharyas and their aides. These events, along with the revival of the Ayodhya demolition case against BJP President L K Advani and the UC Banerjee report on the Godhra disaster, fosters the impression that the present regime is anti-Hindu. 

If its predecessor was seen by many to be selectively pursuing a communal agenda for political ends, the UPA Government has recoursed to the old game of majority bashing. Much to the dismay of their detractors, Hindus still comprise 80.5 per cent of the population, as per the 2001 census. Their numbers then totaled 827.5 million. Muslims, at 138.2 million, comprised 13.4 per cent, the second largest group but minuscule when compared to the majority community. The 24 million Christians were placed third, at 2.3 per cent. Sikhs, at 1.9 per cent, numbered 19 million. In view of this data, the civilisational ethos of the country remains overwhelmingly Hindu, despite most of the northeast and many tribals becoming Christian. 

Yet, there is good reason to believe that there is no one at the helm to take care of the interests of Hindus, or feel their pain when their beliefs or gurus are assailed. The two top positions in the Indian state - those of President and Prime Minister - are currently occupied by non-Hindus. 

The UPA chairperson's religious affiliation remains ambiguous, since Ms Sonia Gandhi was born a Roman Catholic and presumably nurtures sentiments for her natal faith. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy being Christian, he could not have been expected to rush to the Shankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati's aid when the Tamil Nadu police arrested him in his state.   

(From Filipe Neri Rodrigues in Goa to Stephan Marandi in Jharkhand -loyally assisted in the holy crusade against the satanic BJP by Margaret Alva, Ajit Jogi, Oscar Fernandes, Rajashekhar Reddy, Ahmed Patel, Jamir and Razi - Sonia was all set to turn the hand into a clenched fist, to muzzle democracy and attain absolute authority.

(source: Holy Roman Empire in Delhi - indiacause.com - newsletter). Refer to Of Course She Needs the Left to Christianize India and Coercive Religious Conversion: A Crime against Humanity - By Dr. Babu Suseelan). Refer to She became loyal to India a trifle late, by 16 years! - By S Gurumurthy. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org and The Burningcross

Sonia Gandhi (the Congress President), attending Ramakrishna Mission function, propounded that  "India remained secular because Hinduism, both as a religion and a way of life, respected other religions and people. Truth is one, the wise pursue it variously."

If truth is one, what is the justification for conversion? Does not conversion by external means constitute violence? Surely Ms. Sonia Gandhi realizes that people need freedom to pursue the truth variously; that attempts at conversion deny this basic freedom; and proselytization, however subtle or coarse (as in the Dangs), is ultimately an assault on the integrity and dignity of other faiths."

(source: Conversion to Christianity: Aggression in India - By Dr. M S Srinivasan p. 96). Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. and Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America.

Lalu Seeks Christian Missionary's Aid For Win

Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is now seeking help from a famous Christian preacher to ensure the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s return to power in the crucial October-November Assembly polls.

Mr Yadav had a meeting with Brother D.G.S. Dinakaran, who runs the Christian faith centre "Jesus Calls" in Chennai, in his hotel room, where he sought his blessings and requested him to pray for his success in the polls, sources close to him said. The preacher was in Patna to address a mass prayer on Saturday and Sunday. "Dinakaran told him (Mr Lalu Yadav) that the RJD would storm back to power but advised him not to eye the chief minister’s chair this time," a senior RJD leader and close confidant of Mr Yadav said. The RJD chief was accompanied by Jharkhand United Progressive Alliance convenor Stephen Marandi, who is known for his long association with Dinakaran. The preacher reportedly asked Mr Lalu Yadav to continue with his secular policies and work for the poor and downtrodden. 

(source: Lalu Seeks Missionary's Aid For Win - asianage.com and christianaggression.org).  For Cruelty inflicted by Christianity - Watch Constantine's Sword movie 

The Centre's Communist allies have made a career out of zealously guarding minority interests, however recondite, while its Bihari socialist component, the RJD, survives on Muslim-OBC support. They both thrive on populism, that challenges the status quo. The disturbing conclusion is that the ruling coalition's policies are subversive in the context of the dominant ethos. 

Two events, in particular, fuel suspicion of a hidden design to alter India's religious and cultural identity. The first is the rapid descent of Christian missionaries in tsunami-hit areas in the south, and their shameful attempts to trade charity for conversions among the victims of the natural disaster. A January 24 report of Rediff on the Net is edifying. The writer, at the site of temporary shelters, built for tsunami victims in Pattancherry village in Nagapattinam, witnessed "a minor scuffle in a corner" between some inmates and a Christian priest and two nuns. The former were resisting the missionaries' attempts to convert them. Eventually, the three were forced to leave the place. 

Elsewhere, said the reporter, the locals complained to the police that a missionary group had taken away their belongings and the relief they had got from NGOs and the Government, which they had kept inside the temple. There was immense anger over the effort to capitalise on their misfortune. At Karakkalmedu village in Karaikkal, for instance, the fact that they had survived the disaster had led to a resurgence of faith in local Hindus. Their faith in their goddess was stronger than before. 

The second such episode concerns the American evangelist Benny Hinn's healing mission in Bangalore, that saw Chief Minister Dharam Singh gracing the event with his presence. Either the Chief Minister was in need of the preacher's intercession himself, or had been instructed to attend the jamboree. There could be no other reason for Karnataka's political supremo to take time out of his busy schedule to give his seal of approval to an exercise, aimed against Hindu idolatry. Why the evangelist was allowed the freedom to launch such an attack begs an answer. It was left to the media to highlight his excesses and force his hasty exit from the country.   

Watch Benny Hinn examined - youtube.com.

As its indifference, if not hostility, to the majority community's feelings becomes evident, the Congress and its allies may soon have to brave Hindu anger.

(source: Is UPA Government anti-Hindu?  by Anuradha Dutt  - dailypioneer.com - January 26 2005).  Refer to Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America.  For more on Benny Hinn - refer to Benny Hinn Exposed

Note: Contrast this with the treatment given to  Baba Ramdev by CPI member Brinda Karat wife of Prakash Karat, India's most influential Communist today, general secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist versus the one given to fake faith healer Evangelist Benny Hinn. Baba Ramdev is the latest victim of the Congress-Communist campaign to defame and denigrate the symbols of Hindu pride.  Ms. Karat,  one of the most Radical Feminists India ever produced, has accused famous Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. 

When Marxist leader Brinda Karat attacks Swami Ramdev, she is not attacking Ramdev in particular, she is attacking Hinduism in general.

Hindu gurus are all vulnerable in today's India: The Kanchi Shankaracharya has already been hit. So has Satya Sai Baba. Amritanandamayi has to live under the constant shadow of a hostile Kerala Communist-dominated government. Dhirendra Brahmachari is dead and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is periodically targeted as the 'Guru of the rich', the 'Glib Godman' etc.  

Baba Ramdev doing yoga and Communist party - Brinda Karat.

Baba Ramdev is the latest victim of the Congress-Communist campaign to defame and denigrate the symbols of Hindu pride.  Accusations against Hinduism of superstition, brainwashing, ritualistic ignorance, date back from British missionaries and have been taken up today by the Communists. 

Watch Swami Ramdev Interview in London - hinduvoice.co.uk.

***

Accusations against Hinduism of superstition, brainwashing, ritualistic ignorance, date back from British missionaries and have been taken up today by the Communists.

Baba Ramdev and his Yoga technique have attracted adherents from across the globe. His approach is in line with Indian scientific tradition. Hundreds of people vouch for the benefits they experienced by following his teachings. He has become a cult figure with millions, who practice his healthy way to life as a religion. Along with popularising the ancient Indian wisdom of Yoga, he has been tirelessly preaching Indian values, swadeshi and the art to live a life of contentment. In the process, he has contributed to create a commune of patriots in every nook and corner of the country. It is not his medicine but his mission that is the target of the tirade. The Uttaranchal government under Shri N.D. Tiwari has not found anything wrong with the Baba. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav has seen through the game. He said he was with Baba Ramdev. He added, “Guru Ramdev promoted indigenous medicines.” Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. He said: "I appreciate the work done [by Baba Ramdev] to propagate yoga in a scientific way."

"The way Baba Ramdev is imparting knowledge in Yoga, the entire world was respecting India. Even his medicines are hugely popular and Indians are proud of him. Communists have attacked him because they have always been against the nation. They cannot substantiate their claims.

(source: In defence of Hindu gurus - By Francois Gautier - rediff.com and  Brinda on Baba’s toes -  organiser.org and Uma Bharati slams Left charges on Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and Pawar appreciates work of Ramdev. Also refer to chapter on Nature Worship).

We need a Nationalist Front – says Subramanian Swamy 

Swamy calls for nationalist front against Congress. The Janata Party President, Subramanian Swamy, on Thursday called for the formation of a nationalist front, which would include political parties and organisations such as the RSS and the VHP, to oppose and defeat the Congress. Dr. Swamy, a former Union Minister, said here that the fundamental danger today is "to the Hindus in the Indian nation."

"There is a need to trounce the Congress and its allies. For this I am trying to assist in the formation of a nationalist front which will include the RSS and the VHP," he told presspersons.

(source: We need a Nationalist Front – says Subramanian Swamy  - hindu.com).

Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS and The Sunshine of Secularism. Also refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org). Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to The Republican War on Science - By Chris Mooney

Thomas Jefferson  (1743-1826) a liberal Christian President of the US, recognized very early the deleterious impact of religion on a pluralistic America which was then getting established. Writing about religion, he said that its negative potential “has been severely felt by mankind, and has filled the history of ten or twelve centuries with too many atrocities not to merit a proscription from meddling with government"

He also objected to religious conversions rather strongly when he said that:

“were the Pope, or his allies, to send in mission to us some thousands of Jesuit priests to convert us to their orthodoxy, I suspect that we should deem and treat it as a national aggression on our peace and faith."

(source: Proselytization In India: An Indian Christian's Perspective - By C. Alex Alexander).  Refer to Indian Identity in American Schools - By C Alex Alexander - sulkeha.com. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America .

Why this war on Hinduism?- These two (Christianity and Islam) hostile ideologies, flawed because they are not based on human experience but on spurious and fantastic literature, are based on a priori illusion that human beings are genetically flawed and can be redeemed only by symbolic conversion and the acceptance of their bookish deity. For instance, if the Christian and Islamic clergy do not propagate and force their sterile ideologies down the throats of unsuspecting or helpless people through dubious means, or do not force them to stay on with censure and punishment, their religions would be wiped out in decades. Europe is a primary example.

(source: Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil - christianaggression.org). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion. Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to Indian Identity in American Schools - By C Alex Alexander - sulkeha.com. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org and The Burningcross

Top of Page

India is now 6% Christian: according to World Christian Database
Destruction of Native Cultures of India ?

Since first arriving in the New World, resource-hungry invaders have been systematically persecuting indigenous tribal peoples – all in the name of God. 

As author Norman Lewis (1908 - 2003) notes: 

“The great human tragedy of the missionary conquest of the Pacific is being repeated now in all ‘untouched’ parts of the world. In another thirty years no trace of aboriginal life anywhere will have survived. Many Christian missionaries have perpetrated the destruction of native cultures through their ruthless and relentless practices – from the stripping of forests and theft of land to the wholesale enslavement of populations."

(source: The Missionaries: God Against the Indians – By Norman Lewis - back cover). For more refer to Christian Missionaries and The Burningcross.

***

The 2005 edition of the World Christian Database (http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org/) says that India is now 6% Christian.

The government of India last conducted a census on the Indian population in 2001 said that Hindus were 81.4% of the population followed by Muslims at 12.4% and Christians at 2.3%. However, the more recent data from the World Christian Database states that Hindus are now 74% of the population and Christians are 6% of the population. The new survey claims that Catholics have grown from 1.52% of the population in 1970 to 1.66% in 2005. 

Religious breakdown in India according the World Christian Database:

Hindu: 74%
Muslim: 12%
Other Christian: 4%
Catholic: 2%
Sikh: 2%
All other: 5%
Not religious: 1%

Catholic population:
1970: 8,432,713 (1.52%)
2005: 18,250,000 (1.66%).

The recent data suggests that the rampant and aggressive conversion by Christian missionaries is much more widespread than previously acknowledged.

(source: India is now 6% Christian: World Christian Database - christianaggression.org). Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism.  Refer to Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil. Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887.

Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon

Christianity is dying in the West. But it is springtime for Christianity in Asia and elsewhere. A Paradox? No. The Pope himself says so. According to Pope Benedict, "there is no longer evidence in the western world for a need of God, even less of Christ."

Dear Hindu reader, are you listening? Do you know the implications of what he says? Perhaps not. But you should know-Christianity is in decline in the West because the West is ashamed of the Christian God Yahweh, who used to drink human blood, and it is flourishing in Asia because Asians are still under the spell of religion. A commission of Bishops (of York and Canterbury), after 16 years of research, declared that the Bible story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ was incorrect. It is this lack of proper evidence of his life and work, which made Ian Wilson, author of Jesus: The Evidence conclude: "There is scarcely a crumb of information to compel a belief in Jesus' existence." Rudolf Bultmann, the greatest New Testament theologian of the 20th century, almost said the same thing. Ernest Kasemann, a specialist on the New Testament at the Tubingen University, says of the research on the life of Jesus: "One is overwhelmed by how little of the accounts about Jesus in the New Testament can be called authentic! Among the distinguished theologians, who authored the book was Prof. Canon Maurice Wiles, Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford. They said; "The historical Jesus never presented himself as incarnate."

(source: Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org). Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org. Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com).  Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org and The Burningcross

Top of Page

Can Hinduism survive such an onslaught? - By J. G. Arora

Sir John Woodroffe (1865-1936) the well known scholar, Advocate-General of Bengal and sometime Legal Member of the Government of India. He served with competence for eighteen years and in 1915 officiated as Chief Justice. He had predicted in his book, Is India Civilized: Essays on Indian Culture  p. xlviii, that: 

“In every way, the coming assault on Hindu civilization will be the greatest which it has ever had to endure in the whole course of its long history.”

Ibn Warraq put it, "Historically speaking, Monotheism has often shown itself to be ferociously intolerant, in contrast to polytheism on behalf of which religious wars have never been waged."

John P Jones has observed (1908) in his book - India: Its Life and Thought:

"Be it remembered, Christianity never met with so doughty a foe as that which confronts it in this land. The ancient faith of Greece and Rome, which Christianity overcame, were infantile and imbecile as compared with the subtle wisdom and mighty resistance of Brahminism. The conditions of the conflict in India are different from those eve met before by our militant faith. The subtle and deadening philosophy of the land, the haughty pride of its religious leaders, the great inertia of the people, the mighty tyranny of caste, the debasing ritual of Hinduism and its debauching idolatry - all these constitute a resisting fortress whose overthrow seems all but impossible."

(source: India: Its Life and Thought - By John P Jones p. 424). Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887 and The Burningcross

Laxminarayan Sarma – author of Will the next Pope be an Indian Roman Catholic?  

"It is a fact that White colonialism and Christian evangelism are two sides of the same coin. Sword in one hand and the Bible in the other, the white nations sent out marauders into the civilised Orient to enslave, exploit and loot the nations and send the booty home to feed their impoverished populations. And to maintain their stranglehold, the clerics accompanying the marauders converted the colonised populations wholesale, and alienated them from their social, religious and cultural roots. The brain washed and mentally shackled the unconverted sections through their educational institutions, creating a cadre of pro western elite who kept the colonial wheels turning. Circumstances arising out of World War II compelled the white Christian powers to take to their heels leaving behind ruined, impoverished colonies, A large number of former colonies remained backward and impoverished due to the seeds of dissension the colonisers had sown between ethnic groups and communities." - 

***

Spiritual Imperialism ?

Western obsession for promoting religious conversions under the aegis of India's Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

In 1984, the then Episcopal Bishop of Newark (NJ), John Shelby Spong visited India and wrote the following: 

“what I learned about Hinduism enhanced my appreciation for this ancient religious tradition. I saw a beauty in it that was enviable, and I found many points where Christians and Hindus are seeking to deal with the same human needs in remarkably similar ways”. 

He admired the absence of the “spirit of missionary imperialism” in Hinduism and questioned whether or not the “Christian claims to possess infallibility or ultimate truth are not signs of a brittle pettiness that cannot endure”.

(source: Proselytization In India: An Indian Christian's Perspective - By C. Alex Alexander). Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

Save Hinduism - By J G Arora

A unilateral war against Hinduism is being waged by anti-Hindu forces to wipe out Hinduism from the face of the earth the way other native cultures and religions have been obliterated from the world.

Trimurti: Three aspects of the Supreme One.

It is tragic that Hinduism, the faith proclaiming universal brotherhood and one-ness of humanity is the target of vexatious attacks, and is threatened with extinction.

(Artwork courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. www.krishna.com).

***

It is tragic that Hinduism, the faith proclaiming universal brotherhood and one-ness of humanity is the target of vexatious attacks, and is threatened with extinction.

Indian sub-continent including the present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and even Zabol in Iran was Hindu land till Muslims attacked the sub-continent in 8th century. Hindus lost Afghanistan to Muslims in 987 in a fiercely fought battle. After many centuries, Muslims got Pakistan in 1947. In 1971, East Pakistan became Bangladesh. Though India is a Secular Republic, Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic Republics and have driven out most of the Hindus and Sikhs from their land.

And in independent India, Hindus have undergone genocide and eviction from Kashmir to become refugees in their own country. And even this tragedy has not stirred India's secular souls.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

It is a sad spectacle to see glorious Hindu religion that once stretched from Afghanistan to Indonesia being reduced to its present pitiable plight. Yet Hinduism can be saved; and will be saved. 

Entire Indian sub-continent was Hindu land with no Muslim presence till Muslim attack in 8th century. Hindus lost Afghanistan to Muslims in 987, and Pakistan in 1947.  At present, just five thousand Hindus and Sikhs are left in Afghanistan. And Pakistan and Bangladesh too present a dismal picture. In 1947, Hindus accounted for 24 per cent of the then Pakistan's population, but now number under two per cent. In Bangladesh Hindus numbered 30 per cent in 1947; but now number nine per cent. Nevertheless, in India, the present percentage of Muslim population is much higher than that in 1947. And independent India has seen genocide and eviction of Hindus from Kashmir to become refugees in their own country. 

And in independent India, Hindus have undergone genocide and eviction from Kashmir to become refugees in their own country. And even this tragedy has not stirred India's secular souls. And under the pretext of bringing democracy to Nepal, anti-Hindu forces, missionaries and Maoists want to shatter the Hindu identity of Nepal, the only Hindu nation in the world.

Apart from discriminatory government control of all prominent Hindu temples (whereas no Christian church or Muslim mosque has been touched by government control), discriminatory Article 30 of the Constitution of India is also demolishing Hinduism. Many Hindus just surrender to attacks on Hinduism since they have been de-Hinduised by Macaulayan education, and brain-washed by anti-Hindu media. And some Hindus indulge in self-flagellation. Since self-pity or self-flagellation or abject surrender has never helped any victim, Hindus will continue to be attacked till they confront their tormentors.

But Hindus can confront their tormentors only if they have the basic weapons of an unbiased media and a strong nationalist political party. 

In India, many of print and electronic media are controlled by anti-Hindu forces. They are denigrating Hinduism, spreading misinformation about Hindu scriptures, dividing Hindu society and hurting Hindu sentiments. Hindus are being brain-washed to forget their religion, heritage and history; and Hinduism is being derided, distorted and destroyed by anti-Hindu media.

Killing of thousands of Hindus in Kashmir and eviction of several lacs of Hindus from Kashmir are no news whereas Gujarat riots which started after Hindu rail passengers were torched at Godhra are always in the news in anti-Hindu media. Infiltration of crores of Pak-Bangla nationals threatening to create one more Islamic country on Indian soil finds no space in media. Similarly, conversion of poorer Hindus to Christianity by fraud, inducement and coercion creates no ripples in anti-Hindu media. Congress-led UPA government has no plan to end discrimination against Hindus, or to confront terrorism and demographic invasion.

And the right effort is bound to bring success as Atharva Veda (7.52.8) proclaims, "Kritam may dakhshine haste, jayo may savya aahitah" ("Effort is in my right hand, and victory in my left"). 

(source: Save Hinduism - By J G Arora - centralchronicle.com).  Refer to Indian Identity in American Schools - By C Alex Alexander - sulkeha.com. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org and The Burningcross.

***

Missionaries' target - 'Preying upon'  

Karl Kautsky (1854 – 1938) the leading Marxist thinker of the Second International, defined imperialism as the political domination of underdeveloped countries by developed nations. 

Christian mission is merely the religious component of a general program of domination by the West.

(source: Evangelism and the Future of Christianity – by Alister McGrath p. 163). Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America and The Burningcross

George Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers (1795-1869), the famous anthropologist writes: 

“The public at home probably does not appreciate how strongly the majority of field ethnographers, sympathetically anxious to learn all about the customs and religion of the people and working in all parts of the world, have been driven, often against their inclination, to the conclusion that Christian proselytism had done irretrievable harm to native races by disintegrating their culture and to us also by the unrest and antagonism the process evokes.” 

(source: The Clash of Culture and Contact of Races - By George Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers  p. 240). Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. and The Burningcross

While commenting upon Biblical Science, George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) the famous playwright, critic and essayist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925, observes:

“Bible is hopelessly pre-evolutionary; its descriptions of the origin of life and morals are obviously fairy tales; its astronomy is terracentric; its notions of the starry universe are childish; its history is epical and legendary: in short, people whose education in these departments is derived from the Bible are so absurdly misinformed as to be unfit for public employment, parental responsibility, or the franchise.” 

(source: voice of dharma). 

***

Over seventy years ago, Mahatma Gandhi stated that: “proselytizing under the cloak of humanitarian work is unhealthy, to say the least. It is most resented by people here."

(source: Gandhi, Mohandas K: In Young India, April 23, 1931).  Refer to Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil.  Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org. For Cruelty inflicted by Christianity - Watch Constantine's Sword movie 

"Evangelism is an irrational impulse, a form of tyranny over the mind. " - Dr. Babu Suseelan.

If Pakistan and Bangladesh are focused to Islamize India, missionaries are determined to Christianize India. 

While addressing Bishops and priests in New Delhi on 7th November, 1999 (which happened to be Diwali, an important Hindu festival), Pope John Paul II gave a call to convert Asia to Christianity as follows: 

"Just as the first millennium saw the Cross firmly planted in the soil of Europe, and the second in that of America and Africa, so may the Third Christian Millennium witness a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent."

Hindus and India are favourite targets for this harvest of faith. Missionaries have already conquered North-East India. Every where else in India, missionaries and their Non Government Organizations (N.G.O.s) having large funds at their disposal are aggressively busy converting poorer Hindus to Christianity under pretence of charitable social service. Reinhard Bonnke, the global evangelist famous for his crusades in Africa, is reported to have stated that during 20 years of his activity in Africa, Christian population rose from 2 percent to 40 percent, and now India tops his conversion agenda. 

With each passing day, India is becoming more Islamic and more Christian; and less Hindu.

The only solution

Though for several centuries, Hindus fought the invaders bravely to defend their faith and motherland, Macaulay's education has made Hindus ignorant of their religion, heritage and history; and indifferent to attacks on Hinduism. Hindus have to re-invent themselves, become pro-active, and tackle this attack at political, social and religious levels.

Genuine secularism ?

Though a sublime concept, 'secularism' has been wrongly equated with anti-Hinduism in India. Since in the name of secularism, sectarian and anti-Hindu agenda is being followed, Hindus and their organizations have to assert themselves and force the government to act as follows.

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution giving special privileges to minorities regarding educational institutions is fragmenting Hindu society since various Hindu sects claim non-Hindu status to get benefit of Article 30. Vide the Supreme Court's judgement reported as Bramchari Sidheswar Shai & Others versus State of West Bengal (AIR 1995 Supreme Court 2089), even Ramakrishna Mission, a leading Hindu organization, unsuccessfully claimed a minority (non-Hindu) status to fall under Article 30. Justice demands that fundamental right under Article 30 must be extended to every community, whether majority or minority.

Government control over Hindu temples is another aberration. Since secularism implies separation of State and religion, government control over Hindu temples is anti-secular, and deprives temples of their income. Besides, it is discriminatory since only Hindu places of worship have been brought under government control.

Why conversions?

Any attempt at conversion from one religion to another by fraud, inducement or coercion is horrible, and must be defeated.

Apart from helping needy sections of society, Hindus and their organizations have to confront and thwart those who are bent upon converting Hindus to Christianity by deception, enticement or force. Inflow of foreign funds meant for subversion and conversion has to be barred. Conversion by fraud, allurement or coercion must be banned. Besides thwarting questionable conversion, all efforts to welcome the converts back to Hindu fold have to be made.

Hindu unity

And only a united Hindu society can tackle anti-Hindu forces.

There is a misconception in some minds that Hindu scriptures sanction the caste system. Vedas, the foundation of Hinduism, are all-embracing and stipulate a casteless and classless society. Innumerable Mantras of Vedas emphasize one-ness, universal brotherhood, harmony, happiness, affection and commonality of entire humanity. All-embracing message of Vedas has to be practised and propagated to foster unity in Hindu society.

Besides, there is an urgent need for a strong global Hindu Forum covering all Hindu sects.

Four Vedas containing 20,416 verses, many Upanishads, Ramayana with 24,000 stanzas, Mahabharata with 1,00,000 stanzas, and several other holy books are the sources of Hinduism. Codification of Hinduism in one book is indispensable to widen its reach. For this codification, appropriate Vedic Mantras and Shlokas of Ramayana, Mahabharata (which contains Bhagvad Gita), and Tirukkural etc. will provide basic material. 

As per Mahabharata, Samvibhaga (sharing of wealth) is an important attribute of Dharma. Many Vedic Mantras direct humans to share their wealth with others. Rig Veda (1-15-8) stipulates, "Let us become God's instruments and distribute fortune to the poor and needy." Similarly, Atharva Veda (3-30-7) commands humans to share their comforts with others. Apart from helping the needy, practice of Samvibhaga will unite Hindu society. If affluent Hindus utilize one per cent of their income to help vulnerable sections, expansionist religions will be unable to prey upon Hindu society.

Besides, every Hindu family has to devote time to defend Hinduism. As per Mahabharata, Dharmo rakshiti rakshitaha (Dharma protects those who protect Dharma).

Remember your history

Hindus need to remember valour of Dahir, Lalitaditya, Bappa Rawal, Raja Bhoja, Jayapala, Vidyadhar Chandel, Bhimadeva, Govindachandra, Prithiviraj Chauhan, Lakshman Sen, Pratap Rudra, Hakka (Harihara), Bukka (Bukkaraya), Kota Rani, Rana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shiva Ji, Hari Singh Nalwa and many others who defended their faith and every inch of motherland.

Today, Hindus in India can fight and defeat the invaders. But tomorrow it will be too late, and Hindus will be crushed in India as they have been crushed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh which too used to be Hindu lands. Unless Hindus confront their tormentors, and take the above-mentioned measures immediately, Hinduism, also known as eternal religion (Sanatan Dharma) will vanish from this earth just in a few decades. Any further delay or reluctance in fighting the attack will hasten disappearance of Hinduism from the world.

(source: Can Hinduism survive such an onslaught? - By J. G. Arora - Author is the former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax).

Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS and The Sunshine of Secularism. Refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org and The Burningcross

Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org. 

Why this war on Hinduism?- These two (Christianity and Islam) hostile ideologies, flawed because they are not based on human experience but on spurious and fantastic literature, are based on a priori illusion that human beings are genetically flawed and can be redeemed only by symbolic conversion and the acceptance of their bookish deity. For instance, if the Christian and Islamic clergy do not propagate and force their sterile ideologies down the throats of unsuspecting or helpless people through dubious means, or do not force them to stay on with censure and punishment, their religions would be wiped out in decades. Europe is a primary example.

(source: Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil - christianaggression.org). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion.  Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

Top of Page

Kali Yuga - The Cosmology of Decay

According to to Vedic scriptures, we are now living in the Kaliyuga, the age of Kali. We are given to using the term Kaliyuga quite freely and frequently, not quite knowing its import or significance. 

In the Cosmic timetable, Kaliyuga is the last of the four yugas (ages) - Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwaparyuga and Kali yuga - called chaturyuga. The duration of Kaliyuga is said to be 432,000 years; of Dvaparayuga 864,000 years; of Tretayuga 1,296,000 and of Satyayuga 17,280,000 years.

Life of Brahma: The four Yugas.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

Kali Yuga is so called because it is dominated by Kali, the embodiment of evil.

According to Hindu scripture, Kali Yuga began at the end of Krishna's bodily lifespan (approximately 5100 years ago, 3102 BC and will last exactly 432,000 years — placing its conclusion in the year AD 428899. Kali Yuga began at the midnight beginning of 18 February 3102 BC. according to the Surya Siddhanta, which is an astronomical treatise that forms the basis of all Hindu and Buddhist calendars.Kali Yuga is the last of four Yuga; upon its conclusion, the world will 'reboot’ into a new Satya Yuga (Golden Age.) This involves the end of the worldas we know it and the return of Earth to a state of paradise

Kali Yuga began at the midnight beginning of 18 February 3102 BC. according to the Surya Siddhanta, which is an astronomical treatise that forms the basis of all Hindu and Buddhist calendars. Kalki the 10th and final avatar of Vishnu, is expected to appear at this time, riding a white horse and wielding a flaming sword with which to strike down the wicked.

Kalki the 10th and final avatar of Vishnu, is expected to appear at this time, riding a white horse and wielding a flaming sword with which to strike down the wicked.

***

The Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.2.19-20) describes Lord Kalki's activities as follows: "Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift white horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings."

We should make note here that, as the Vedic literature explains, when the Supreme kills anyone, that person is immediately spiritually purified by His touch and because the person is focused on the Supreme Being while leaving his body. Thus, that person attains the same destination as those yogis who spend years steadying the mind in order to meditate and leave their bodies while focused on the Supreme. So being killed by the Supreme is a great advantage for those of a demoniac mentality who would otherwise enter lower realms of existence or even the hellish planets in their next lives.

The Return of the Golden Age

Herein we can understand that Lord Kalki will simply chastise by killing all of the evil kings and rogues and thereby bring in a new era of enlightened beings, a race whose minds will be as clear as crystal. They will produce offspring that will follow the tendencies of real human beings as found in the age of Satya-yuga.

(source: The Vedic Universe: Hinduism - alien-ufos.com/forum and Notes on the End of a World - By Rene Guenon). Also refer to Kalki and The concept of Age).

Top of Page

The Puranas: Down to Earth? 
Alone in the Universe?

The Vedas consider Earth as just one station for the train of life – one stop in a universe teeming with life forms and intelligent species. 

The Vedic literature known as the Puranas particularly intrigues forward-thinking readers. The Puranic challenges leads straight to the heart of the cosmic mystery. Besides realizing that we are not alone in the universe, we also become acquainted with our duties and responsibilities as citizens of a universe packed with diversity. Earthy problems of gender and ethnicity  seem quite infantile when compared to Puranic concerns of interplanetary and interspecies relationships. 

Sadly, for so long, Western small-mindedness has banished the Puranas to the Siberia of preposterous myths. 

According to prevailing minds of modernity the zenith of either God’s creation in six days or Darwinian evolution over millions of years, humans on earth were the sole recipients of intelligence in the universe. Therefore, with an erudite knee-jerk reaction, most scholars politely overlooked on vehemently rejected any references by the ancients that might indicate nonhuman intelligence on other planets. 

Outside of the academic establishment, non-mainstream thinkers and researchers ache to know who are the extraterrestrials?  

Here, is a summary of Vedic extraterrestrial themes, especially as presented in the Puranas: 

• Intelligent life abounds on other planets, many of which have civilizations far more advanced than anything Earth ever had.
• The sun is indeed the center of the universe – amid many planets that cannot be detected by human eyes or instruments.
• Interplanetary communication and traveling is as routine as calling from a street payphone or cycling to a neighborhood shop. Previous civilizations on Earth were in constant contact with other planets.
• Countless universes exist, like bubbles in sea foam. They vary in size and are walled off from one another by immense layers of gross and subtle matter.

Intelligent life abounds on other planets, many of which have civilizations far more advanced than anything Earth ever had. Countless universes exist, like bubbles in sea foam.

***

Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, is a festering sore of government mistrust. It also currently reigns as the world’s most famous UFO event. The French report dares to chastise the USA for an “impressive repressive arsenal” on the UFO issue, and it acknowledges the successful American policy of disinformation. 

Premier science writer Paul Davies, a theoretical physicist, predicts, that if Intelligent life is found on other planets: 

“Almost certainly Christianity would not survive the discovery of advanced alien beings.”

Often traditional Christianity have recoiled at the possibility of non-earthly civilizations. Perhaps more than other religions. Christianity, as conventionally known, runs smack into severe doctrinal difficulties. Jesus Christ is accepted as the exclusive Redeemer of only Earth-domiciled humans. If life equally as intelligent or more exists elsewhere, how does it fit into the New testament plan for salvation? A special new millennium edition of the Wall Street Journal neatly summarized the problem: 

“The Christian creed that God so loved the world he gave it his only son simply assumes that this world alone received God’s main attention. But what if a culture on a different planet harbors a similar belief – or doesn’t?   

"Of all the world's major religions, Christianity is the most species-specific. Jesus Christ was humanity's savior and redeemer. He did not die for the dolphins or the gorillas, and certainly not for the proverbial little green men.

After all, in the Christian view of the world, Jesus was God's only son. Would God have the same person born, killed, and resurrected in endless succession on planet after planet? 

This scenario was lampooned as long ago as 1794, by Thomas Paine. "The Son of God," he wrote in The Age of Reason, "and sometimes God himself, would have nothing else to do than to travel from world to world, in an endless succession of death, with scarcely a momentary interval of life." Paine went on to argue that Christianity was simply incompatible with the existence of extraterrestrial beings, writing, "He who thinks he believes in both has thought but little of either."

Catholics tend to regard the idea of multiple incarnations as verging on heresy, not because of its somewhat comic aspect but because it would seem to automate an act that is supposed to be God's singular gift. "God chose a very specific way to redeem human beings," writes George Coyne, a Jesuit priest and the director of the Vatican Observatory, whose own research includes astrobiology. "He sent his only son, Jesus, to them, and Jesus gave up his life so that human beings would be saved from their sin. Did God do this for extraterrestrials? ... The theological implications about God are getting ever more serious."

Ernan McMullin, a professor emeritus of philosophy at Notre Dame University , affirms that the central difficulty stems from Christianity's roots in a pre-scientific cosmology. "It was easier to accept the idea of God's becoming man," he has written, "when humans and their abode both held a unique place in the universe."

(source: E.T. and God - By Paul Davies - the atlantic.com).

One of the most powerful leaders of America’s Fundamentalist Protestants sounded a more ominous note. 

On a national broadcast, Pat Robertson (the founder and chairman of the Christian Coalition -- a group dedicated to becoming the most powerful political force in America) advocated that, according to God’s instructions in the old Testament, UFO enthusiasts should be stoned. Denouncing extraterrestrialism, the televangelist charged, “It’s a clear violation of God’s word.” 

(source: Searching for Vedic India – By Devamrita Swami  p. 497 - 508). For more refer to Pat Robertson wants stoning for UFO seekers - greatdreams.com). Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Quotes from The American Taliban and Christian Fundamentalists to Push Bible as Classroom "Knowledge" and Bush, the Neocons and Evangelical Christian Fiction: America "Left Behind" - By Hugh Urban and The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy - publiceye.org. The Crusaders: Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image - By Bob Moser - rollingstone.com and Dominionist. Refer to The Republican War on Science - By Chris Mooney. 

(Note: Refer to  A conflict between science and God - By Martin Kettle - Crusade against science in Modern America - Three-quarters of Americans, in other words, still do not accept what Darwin established 150 years ago. Just under half of all Americans believe the natural world was created in its present form by God in six days as described in Genesis. They believe, incredibly, that the earth is only a few thousand years old).

Top of Page

Airlangga, Hindu Prince of Java

Airlangga (also spelled Erlangga) lived in East Java from 1001 to 1049 and is regarded as a national hero of Indonesia because he wrested control of his homeland from Sumatran overlords. His 23-year reign as king launched an economic, literary and artistic renaissance in Java and Bali.  

During his reign, a court poet named Mpu Kanwa composed the Javanese epic "Arjunavivaha," as an allegory of Airlangga's life. The story takes place on the day the prince, called Arjuna, goes to war. As he faces his enemies, he realizes they are his own family. Grief overwhelms him, and he doesn't know what to do. So he seeks divine knowledge. Then Krishna reveals himself as a vision of transcendental light.  

God Vishnu seated on his bird-vehicle, Garuda.

***

Airlangga was buried at a place called Belahan, an ancient brick bathing place surrounded by temples on Mt Penanggungan. Carved in red tufa stone against the back wall of the bathing tank is one of east Java's greatest icons, God Vishnu seated on his bird-vehicle, Garuda. Historians believe this image represents the ascended King Airlangga.

Airlangga is known to have been a keen patron of the arts, notably literature. In around 1035, the court poet Mpu Kanwa produced the Arjuna Wiwaha, which has to this day remained one of Java's most popular classical stories. Adapted from the Indian Mahabharata epic, the poem recounts episodes in the life of the hero sage Arjuna, who was an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. There are reasons to believe that the poem was a portrait of the life of Airlangga himself. He, like Arjuna, was seen as a divine incarnation, apparently laid to rest at Candi Belahan, where he was portrayed in stone as Vishnu on Garuda.

Airlangga, Hindu Prince of Java, as Vishnu on Garuda.
His 23-year reign as king launched an economic, literary and artistic rennaissance in Java and Bali.  

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

Towards the end of his life, Airlangga was faced with the problem of succession. The rightful heir, the princess Sanggramawijaya, refused the throne, preferring to live her life as a hermit. She is traditionally associated with the legend of Dewi Kilisuci and the cave of Selomangleng at Kediri. Airlangga's realm was, as a result, eventually divided between two of his sons, giving rise to the separate kingdoms of Janggala and Kediri. It was Kediri, however, which was to become the dominant power until the rise of Singosari in the early 13th century.

An Excerpt from "Arjunavivaha"

Then Arjuna saw the entire universe, infinitely divided, and yet one all-embracing mind. Frightened and overcome with awe, Arjuna bowed his head and prayed.

"Lord Krishna…I see beings without number inside your shining form. You have no beginning, nor middle, nor end. You shimmer with brilliant, glowing crowns. I cannot see through the blazing fire of your sunlight."

Airlangga is remembered in today's Indonesia as a model of religious tolerance. He spent his early years living in the forests as an ascetic.  

(source: Airlangga - eastjava.com and Airlangga, Prince of Java).  

Top of Page

Western Media’s Negative Vision of India – By Francois Gautier
Kumbh Mela a Freak Fair?

Western journalism, when it is applied to India, harps on the anecdotal, the superfluous, the derogatory, deforms everything and transforms what is beautiful and noble into a show of freaks..

The Kumbh Mela which is taking place at the moment in Allahabad, demonstrates once again to which extent Western journalism, when it is applied to India, harps on the anecdotal, the superfluous, the derogatory, deforms everything and transforms what is beautiful and noble into a show of freaks and fanatics. And wasn't that the headline of The Independent of London "A freak fair? " 

News agencies in Europe and the US are only interested in the photos of Hollywood stars (Madonna, Demi Moore, Richard Gere, Pierce Brosnan, etc) who are going to descend on the Kumbh Mela, even if they will be totally lost amongst the millions of (real) devotees.

Isn't it strange that at the time of globalisation and standardisation of the whole world, at a time when the civilisation of Coca-Cola And MTV reigns supreme from Rio de Janeiro to Manilla, from Paris to Shanghai, at a time when man's collective consciousness is universally lowered to an idiotic level by American television soaps -- Bold and Beautiful or or Friends -- nobody in the West finds it extraordinary that 80 million souls converge by plane, by car, on horseback, on foot towards a place which they consider sacred, to pray to That which is beyond us, to this immanent Force towards which men have aspired to since millenniums?  

Nobody in the West finds it extraordinary that 80 million souls converge by plane, by car, on horseback, on foot towards a place which they consider sacred, to pray to That which is beyond us, to this immanent Force towards which men have aspired to since millenniums?  

***

Always these images which denigrate India, always this colonial superior spirit which perpetuates itself in the negative vision which Western journalists have of the Indian subcontinent.

O sadness, O despair that at the beginning of this third millennium, the West remains obsessed by the caste system, or the rise of Indian 'nationalism' (which does not exist) and does not realize the extraordinary miracle that is India, which not only is becoming a great power in Asia, but maybe holds within herself the key to French writer André Malraux's famous (and accurate) prediction: 'the 21st century will be spiritual or will not be.' 

(source: Western Media’s Negative vision of India – By Francois Gautier - rediff.com). For more on Francois Gautier refer to chapter on Quotes and visit his website - Francois Gautier). 

Refer to A conflict between science and God - By Martin Kettle - Crusade against science in Modern America - Three-quarters of Americans, in other words, still do not accept what Darwin established 150 years ago. Just under half of all Americans believe the natural world was created in its present form by God in six days as described in Genesis. They believe, incredibly, that the earth is only a few thousand years old).

Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. and The Burningcross

Top of Page

Hindu Revival in Indonesia  

Ibn Warraq: "Yes, many of these Muslims who converted back to Hinduism, of course, were originally Hindus. So they were sort of going back, as it were, to their ancestral faith."

***

Hindu empires had flourished in Java for a millennium until they were replaced by expanding Islamic polities in the 15th century, setting the stage for Indonesia becoming the world's largest Muslim nation. . Earlier indigenous Javanese and Hindu traditions were retained by the rural population and even within the immediate sphere of the royal courts, especially in a context of ritual practice. In this sense, the victory of Islam has remained incomplete until today.

Lord Brahma and Goddess Durga.

The majority of Balinese consider themselves descendants of noble warriors from the Hindu Javanese empire Majapahit who conquered Bali in the 14th century.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

In the 1970s, however, a new Hindu revival movement began to sweep across the archipelago. Hinduism is gaining even greater popularity at this time of national crisis, most notably in Java, the political heart of Indonesia.

The majority of Balinese consider themselves descendants of noble warriors from the Hindu Javanese empire Majapahit who conquered Bali in the 14th century. A growing number of Balinese are conducting pilgrimages to Hindu temples in Java, most of which have been built in places identified as sacred sites in traditional Balinese texts (often written in Old-Javanese language). Balinese have been heavily involved in the construction and ritual maintenance of these new Hindu temples in Java. They further dominate organizations representing Hinduism at a national level. Finally, many Javanese Hindu priests have been trained in Bali.

Most thought-provoking, perhaps, were the emotional accounts of events since 1965 leading up to a resurgence of Hinduism, and the constant references to the famous Javanese prophesies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya.

A glance at one of the many ancient monuments scattered across its landscape would suffice to remind one of a very different Java, where a succession of smaller and larger Hindu kingdoms flourished for more than a millennium, producing a unique and dynamic mixture of Indic and indigenous Austronesian culture. At the peak of its influence in the 14th century the last and largest among Hindu Javanese empires, Majapahit, reached far across the Indonesian archipelago. This accomplishment is interpreted in modern nationalist discourses as an early historical beacon of Indonesian unity and nationhood, a nation with Java still at its center.

The Hindu Epic of Ramayana in Java.

To a large and growing number of equally 'modern' Javanese, however, their ancient Hindu past is still very present indeed, and prophesied to come alive once more in the near future.

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

To a large and growing number of equally 'modern' Javanese, however, their ancient Hindu past is still very present indeed, and prophesied to come alive once more in the near future. A utopian Hindu revival movement has emerged in Java over the last three decades of the twentieth century, and is gathering momentum in the turmoil of Indonesia's continuing economic and political crisis. Drawing on ancient prophesies, many of its members believe that a great natural cataclysm or final battle is at hand in which Islam will be swept from the island to conclude the current age of darkness. Thereafter, they say, Hindu civilization will be restored to its former glory - with Java as the political center of a new world order that will last for a thousand years.

In terms of their political affiliation, many contemporary Javanists and recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the old PNI, and have now joined the new nationalist party of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Informants from among this group portrayed their return to the 'religion of Majapahit' (Hinduism) as a matter of nationalist pride, and displayed a new sense political self-confidence.

A common feature among new Hindu communities in Java is that they tend to rally around recently built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (chandi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship. One of several new Hindu temples in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt Sumeru, Java's highest mountain. A common feature among new Hindu communities in Java is that they tend to rally around recently built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (chandi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship. One of several new Hindu temples in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt Sumeru, Java's highest mountain. Pondering with some envy on the secret to the economic success of their Balinese neighbors, several local informants concluded that "Hindu culture may be more conducive to the development of an international tourism industry than is Islam".

(source: Hindu Revival in Indonesia - By Dr Thomas Reuter is Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Anthropology, Geography & Environmental Studies. This paper was published in The Australian Journal of Anthropology and is being reproduced with their permission.).

***

The prophecies of Sabdapalon and Sri Mapanji Jayabaya

Sabdapalon was a priest and adviser to Brawijaya V, the last ruler of the Hindu empire Majapahit in Java. He is also said to have cursed his king upon the conversion of the latter to Islam in 1478. Sabdapalon then promised to return, after 500 years and at a time of widespread political corruption and natural disasters, to sweep Islam from the island and restore Hindu-Javanese religion and civilization. Some of the first new Hindu temples built in Java were indeed completed around 1978, for example Pura Blambangan in the regency of Banyuwangi. As the prophesies foretold, Mt Sumeru erupted around the same time. All this is taken as evidence of the accuracy of Sabdapalon's predictions.

Together with the prophecy of Sabdapalon to return, after 500 years and at a time of widespread political corruption and natural disasters (in 1978), to sweep Islam from the island and restore Hindu-Javanese religion and civilization, Jayabaya's prophecy has given much heart to the Indonesian Hindu communities.

Chandi Mendut, Java, Indonesia bas relief: Kuvera, on the north wall of an antechamber. Kuvera is the God of Wealth, the merchants' deity and has sacks of gold under his feet and wish granting trees besides him. 

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

Sri Mapanji Jayabaya reigned over the kingdom of Kediri in East Java from 1135 to 1157 AD. He reunified Java after a split that occurred with the death of his predecessor Airlangga. He is also remembered for his just and prosperous rule, and reputed to have been an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the archetypal 'just king' (ratu adil) who is reborn during the dark age of reversal (jaman edan) at the end of each cosmic cycle to restore social justice, order, and harmony in the world.

When Japan took Java, in the first weeks of 1942, Indonesians danced in the streets, welcoming the Japanese army as the fulfillment of a prophecy made by King Jayabaya, who foretold the day when white men would one day establish their rule on Java and tyrannize the people for many years – but they would be driven out by the arrival of yellow men from the north. These yellow men, Jayabaya predicted, would remain for one crop cycle, and after that Java would be freed from foreign domination. To most of the Javanese, Japan was a liberator: the prophecy had been fulfilled. The Japanese not only freed Indonesian nationalists from Dutch dungeons, but hired them on as civil servants and administrators. In the waning days of 1944, however, it was clear that Japan could not win the war. The Japanese officially granted Indonesia its independence on August 9, 1945, and the commander of Japan's southeast Asian forces appointed future President Sukarno as chairman of the preparatory committee for Indonesian independence. As one account of Indonesian history puts it, "With the minor exception that three crops had been harvested, Jayabaya's prophecy had been realized."

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabdapalon and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayabaya).

Followers and opponents alike explain the sudden rise of a Hindu revival movement in Java by referring to the well-known prophecies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya. Sabdapalon is said to have been a priest and an adviser to Brawijaya V, the last ruler of the Hindu empire Majapahit. He is also said to have cursed his king upon the conversion of the latter to Islam in 1478. Sabdapalon then promised to return, after 500 years and at a time of widespread political corruption and natural disasters, to sweep Islam from the island and restore Hindu-Javanese religion and civilization. Some of the first new Hindu temples built in Java were indeed completed around 1978, for example Pura Blambangan in the regency of Banyuwangi. As the prophesies foretold, Mt Sumeru erupted around the same time. All this is taken as evidence of the accuracy of Sabdapalon's predictions.

A further prophesy, well-known throughout Java and Indonesia, is the Ramalan (or Jangka) Jayabaya. The predictions of Jayabaya are also discussed frequently in daily newspapers. These ancient prophesies, indeed, are very much a part of a current public debate on the ideal shape of a new and genuinely democratic Indonesia.The historical personage Sri Mapanji Jayabaya reigned over the kingdom of Kediri in East Java from 1135 to 1157 AD (Buchari 1968:19). He is known for his efforts to reunify Java after a split had occurred with the death of his predecessor Airlangga, for his just and prosperous rule, and for his dedication to the welfare of the common people. Reputed to have been an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu, Jayabaya is also the archetypal image of the 'just king' (ratu adil) who is reborn during the dark age of reversal (jaman edan) at the end of each cosmic cycle to restore social justice, order, and harmony in the world. Many believe that the time for the arrival of a new ratu adil is near (as the prophesies put it, "when iron wagons drive without horses and ships sail through the sky [i.e. cars and airplanes]"), and that he will come to rescue and reunite Indonesia after an acute crisis, ushering in the dawn of a new golden age.

Hindu Javanese emphasize with pride that their ancestors Sabdapalon and Jayabaya represent a golden pre-Islamic age.

(source: Hindu Revival in Indonesia - By Dr Thomas Reuter is Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Anthropology, Geography & Environmental Studies. This paper was published in The Australian Journal of Anthropology and is being reproduced with their permission. source: 'Great expectations: Hindu revival movements in Java' -  By Thomas A Reuter 2001 The Australian Journal of Anthropology 12(3): 327-338 and The Religion Report).

Top of Page

Endless Demonizing of Hinduism in Western Press and Academia
Three Cs stereotypes - Cow, Caste and Curry - Hurting the Hindu psyche?

Debunking someone else’s faith legitimizes one’s own ?

Caste system, untouchables, cow worship, sati, dowry deaths, widows, brahmanical, communal violence are constantly in the news in the West. It is ironic that when Western academia write about Hindu traditions, it is termed freedom of expression however hurtful it is. When Hindus protest the hurt, it is then termed as the rise of Hindu extremism and fundamentalism.

Just about every scourge under the sun blamed on Hinduism. The motives behind much "human rights" is to perpetuate what has been called "white privileges".

US Schools of Divinity have ulterior motives in offering degrading interpretations of non-Abrahamic faiths. They have no interest what so ever in teaching any student the virtues of India or its predominant Hindu civilization...

***

Just about every scourge under the sun blamed on Hinduism. The motives behind much "Human rights" is to perpetuate what has been called "White privileges". Even when someone criticizes sati/dowry, the goal frequently is not to produce genuine benefit to others, but is a divisive strategy that benefits the dominant culture. Their goal is to weaken the fabric of Indian society through funding/championing internal cleavages, so as to rule over the third world.   

Most Americans know about India’s 3 Cs: Caste, Curry and Cows and the 3 Ps: Polytheism, Poverty and Population!  

Not too long ago, there were many articles in the US and Indian media about the denigration of Ganesha, Ramakrishna Paramahams, Shivaji etc by the sophomoric writings of Eurocentric American Professors associated with US Schools of Divinity. Complaints about such writings were lodged by both Indian scholars in India as well as scholars from among the NRI communities here in the US and UK. But the latter (critics) were often unfairly caricatured by a few Judeo-Christian as well as Indian “intellectuals” characterizing the critics as Hindu fundamentalists or ignoramuses who are unfamiliar with our Bill of Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression. 

These Schools of Divinity have ulterior motives in offering degrading interpretations of non-Abrahamic faiths. They have no interest what so ever in teaching any student the virtues of India or its predominant Hindu civilization, which has contributed, to the evolution of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Hinduism’s core value of pluralism and its tolerance of all faiths are seldom highlighted, nor discussed. They also may not have heard from their teachers that India is the seventh most industrialized country in the world, and that it contributed a great deal to ancient mathematics, astronomy, bronze casting, surgery, and vaccination, Yoga, Ayurveda etc

(source: Indian Identity in American Schools - By C Alex Alexander - sulkeha.com). Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org. and The Burningcross

***

There is an aggressive push by Christian conservatives, particularly in America, to convert the world. Part of that process is to demonize all other religions and ideologies.

(Refer to Arrogance of Faith - By Forrrest G Wood and to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to Indian Identity in American Schools - By C Alex Alexander - sulkeha.com. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887.

Who Killed Our Culture? Aping the West? 
Lessons for Indians?

A Japanese actress mourns her country's obsession with American values.  

The Americans, meanwhile, had Coca-Cola, chocolate, family life, music and dance--all the pleasures we lacked. The goal of post-war Japan was to catch up with America by every means available. The economy took off; we ran up the ladder and became a first-class economic power, pretending all the while not to see the huge hole in the mind, the distrust of our own country.

We are negative about our culture: traditional things are seen as old-fashioned, and everything new is good. Social order and moral standards have disappeared. Some people are even obsessed with denying their Japaneseness. Many girls dye their hair and tan their skin. The streets and towns of Japan are made to look like France or America. Our cities were destroyed and re-created to resemble a foreign country. Traditional culture is not even accessible to most of us; it is disappearing into oblivion. This makes me very sad. We are copying everything about America just because it is American. 

(source:  Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999).

***

Hate Literature by Christian Evangelicals in India ? 

Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) English logician and philosopher, best known for his work in mathematical logic and for his social and political campaigns, including his advocacy of both pacifism and nuclear disarmament. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950.He wrote in 1954, 

"Christianity has been distinguished from other religions by its greater readiness for persecution. “The whole contention that Christianity has had an elevating moral influence can only be maintained by wholesale ignorance or falsification of the historical evidence.”

(source: Arrogance of Faith - By Forrrest G Wood  p. 26). Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org. and The Burningcross

***

The magazine Indian Messenger (September 1998) calls the great Kumbha Mela, which attracts millions of Hindu devotees, a superstitious deception. “The belief that the mud of sins in human souls can be purified for ultimate liberation through Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is superstitious. The Kumbha Mela represents this superstitious deception,” it says. But strangely in a superstitious tone and words it claims: “Liberation from sins can be attained only by the unpolluted blood of Christ the virtuous.” Note not only the superstitions but also the audacity of the suggestion.

Shri Sai Baba, to these Christian fundamentalists, is a satanic spirit and Mata Amritanandamayi a mentally retarded woman. To quote: “The miracles said to have been performed by Sai Baba is mere magic. Satanic spirit dwells in him. Mata Amritanandamayi is a mentally retarded woman. She is half mad and what she does is stupidity”.

Again, the Haindava Suvishesheekaranam says: “No Hindu gods and goddesses exists who have not surrendered to Christ. If Krishna, Rama and Indra surrendered before Christ, what other evidence is necessary to prove that he is the only true God” (p. 181-182).

This Christian fundamentalist propaganda literature often describes Bharat as a “State of Devil”.  Dr K. P. Yohannan in his book Anant Prakash mein Jeevan Vyatheeth Karain writes: “Every time a Hindu is baptized and converted to Christianity, there is a great disturbance in the State of Devil” (p. 114). Hindu religious and community leaders have been termed as “devils” and “satanic” powers by the same author.

Dr. Yohannan’s is not the solitary instance. In fact, he is one of the many who project such views. Another statement in a book named Samvaad: Kyon and Kaisai (Masibi Drishtikon Se) by Dr Benzami Khan are equally inciting: “Moral values play a negligible role in Hindu religion” (p. 98).

If these literatures are to be believed, then all the good things and positive aspects of Hinduism have come from Christianity because it is deeply influenced by the preaching of Christ-be it the Bhakti movement or the stories of Krishna or even that of Shiva! They claim abrasively that the stories of Krishna have been taken from the story of Christ with minor changes! “In fact Christ became Krishna in India,” says the book of Dr Benzamin (p. 71).

***

Common Hindu traditions are always ridiculed. For example application of bindi, tilak sindoor are jeered at as devil eye and related to satanic spirits. “Even though tilak is considered a symbol of Shiva by the Hindus, the use of these symbols is dangerous and gives them an opportunity to come under the influence of satanic spirit. Thus girls beware,” says the book published by Masihi Sahitya Sanstha (see Hindi translation of. Sex, Love and Marriage by Zac. Poonen, p. 102).

For obvious reasons, the missionaries have always been trying to mislead people on the census data. But certain reports, which they do for their internal consumption, are highly revealing and equally disturbing. For example the Church Growth Centre reports that by the end of the 20th century the Christian population will increase 13 times as compared to that at the beginning of the century. It further clarifies that the increase of the non-Christian population would be only 4.6 times during the same period. “In 1900 there were 60 non-Christians for one Christian and by the end of the century there will be only 20 non-Christian to every Christian. Christians’ estimated population in the year 2000 will be 50 million,” the report says.

According to the report entitled Trends and Issues in Evangelisation in India by Augustine Kanjamala SVD, a CBCI Secretary: “In the North-East, conversions among the tribals continue. During the last 30 years the Catholic population has increased nine fold to nine lakhs. In Arunachal Pradesh about 10,000 people join the Church per year, half of them into Catholic Church. In West India more than 45,000 Bhils have joined the Church (The Church In’ India: Its Missions Tomorrow, p. 40).

The same report reveals: “Amri, Kerbi tribal people in Assam have totally declared to become Christians for the prosperity of the tribe.” According to it every day 4,000 new Christians are added to the Church, and 35 new congregations are formed every week. One can very well imagine the aggressive nature of the “harvesting plan”.

In their “hate and insinuation” literature, even Sikhs are not spared. A section of the Sikh community is often compared to thieves and dacoits. (Page 180 of Uttar Bharat tatha Pakistan main Masihi Dharma by Bishop Deendayal and published by Hindi Theological Literature Committee, Jabalpur). To substantiate its point the author refers to “historical instance” when Sikh soldiers allegedly attacked the enemy from behind and indulged in looting.

The missionary propaganda literature has throughout indulged in spreading canards against the Hindu society. It also twists and misrepresents the facts. For instance: “The old Hindu political, economic and philosophical writings like Kautilya’s Artha Sastra and Manu Samiti did not count the dalits and the tribes as human being. The Vedas treated them as Chandals, Gita and Mahabharata showed them as wild animals like monkeys and Rawanas.” This is what you read in Bishop Nirmal Minz’s book Rise Up, My People, And Claim the Promise. He goes on to write: “In the past they (tribes) have been treated as something less than human, according to Hindu attitudes and understanding.”

Finally, if these propagandists are to be believed, the majority of the Hindus are slaves, untouchables, Poor, looters, thieves and nonbelievers. A book Confusion called Conversion by Sunder Raj is entirely devoted to malign the Hindu people. 

Now tell us who are the haters of the other religionists? 

(source: Hate Literature by Christian Evangelicals in India - saag forum.com).  Refer to Quotes from The American Taliban. Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism. Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org.

Why this war on Hinduism?- These two (Christianity and Islam) hostile ideologies, flawed because they are not based on human experience but on spurious and fantastic literature, are based on a priori illusion that human beings are genetically flawed and can be redeemed only by symbolic conversion and the acceptance of their bookish deity. For instance, if the Christian and Islamic clergy do not propagate and force their sterile ideologies down the throats of unsuspecting or helpless people through dubious means, or do not force them to stay on with censure and punishment, their religions would be wiped out in decades. Europe is a primary example.

(source: Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil - christianaggression.org). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion.  Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to A conflict between science and God - By Martin Kettle - Crusade against science in Modern America - Three-quarters of Americans, in other words, still do not accept what Darwin established 150 years ago. Just under half of all Americans believe the natural world was created in its present form by God in six days as described in Genesis. They believe, incredibly, that the earth is only a few thousand years old). Refer to The Republican War on Science - By Chris Mooney and The Crusaders: Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image - By Bob Moser - rollingstone.com and Dominionist. Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. and The Burningcross

Top of Page

Taste of Their Own Medicine ? Judaism threatens Church in Mizoram, Manipur

Nearly 111 years after its advent in Mizoram and Manipur, Christianity has now waken up to the potent threat that the star of David posed to the Cross in the two north-eastern states.The Christian theologians and researchers have of late launched a campaign to counter the growing affinity of some Mizos and Kukis (a tribe of Manipur) towards Judaism.

The synagogues in Aizawl and Imphal have a number of regulars since ages. But what have alarmed the Christian scholars in the two states are recent media reports from Jerusalem that a team of Rabbis from Israel would soon land in the region to conduct mass conversions.

“Such mass conversion of people from Christianity to Judaism will destroy the social fabric of both the tribes. It is the need of the hour that we launch a social movement against any such move,” said P C Biaksiama of the Christian Research Centre in Aizawl.

Although almost all Mizos, who earlier practised indigenous faiths, embraced Christianity by mid 1940s, some of them in early 1970s noticed that many of their traditional customs and rituals matched with those of the Jews. This made them believe that their ancestors had been Jews and lived in Israel.

“The Church has never been convinced with what they (Bnei Menashes) say. They have never been taken seriously. Theirs is a small community, at least till now,” said Rev Colney of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod.

‘Religious invasion’

But Dr Biaksiama said not only the Church, but also the Centre and state government should now wake up to this “religious and cultural invasion”, as the promise of a “better living standards” in Israel may tempt many more to join the Bnei Menashes.

“The mass conversion by foreign priests will pose a threat not only to social stability in the region, but also to national security. A large number of people will forsake loyalty to the Union of India, as they all will become eligible for a foreign citizenship,” he said.

(source: Taste of Their Own Medicine: Judaism threatens Church in Mizoram, Manipur - christianaggression.org). For more refer to chapter on Conversion. Refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org.

Top of Page

Ricky Williams - From NFL to Ayurveda

He's no longer Ricky Williams the football player. He plans to become Ricky Williams the holistic healer. It's been more than 10 months since Williams, one of the premier running backs in the National Football League, last ran off tackle for the Miami Dolphins and four months since he suddenly announced his retirement at age 27.

Then he dropped from sight. But now Williams has turned up about as far away from professional football as you can get, as a student of the ancient Indian medical system known as Ayurveda. In the Sierra foothills, no less. Williams is now a month into a 17-month course at the California College of Ayurveda (pronounced I-yur-vay-da) in Grass Valley, a city of 12,000 in the Gold Country, about 45 miles northeast of Sacramento. 

Harmonious pursuits

"Ayurveda deals with using your environment to put yourself in balance,'' he said. "I've realized, both on a psychological and physical level, that the things we do in football don't bring more harmony to your life. They just bring more disharmony." 

The 5-foot-10 Williams weighs 210 pounds, about 25 fewer than his playing weight. He looks healthy and happy. As part of his Ayurveda studies, he said, "I try to give foods and herbs attributes and find out which ones balance me out.''

(source: Ricky Williams: From NFL to Ayurveda - SFGate.com and Former running back turns up at holistic medicine school

Top of Page

Ayurveda: Ancient Medicine of India - by Jonathan Klemens   

Dhanvantri is also the name of several historical figures who are very important to the development of Ayurveda. 

Ayurveda, claimed to be the oldest and most complete medical art, is the 7,000 year old Indian art of healing and rejuvenation that is recently becoming widely available and popular in the West.  Texts dating back before the Christian era attest to the skills of Ayurvedic practitioners in minor and major surgery including cosmetic surgery, and the removal of gallbladders and tumors.  Due to the extreme complexities of this art, this chapter will present only an introduction to the art.  To fully appreciate the many facets of this ancient healing art, one must consult a certified Ayurvedic practitioner.

Ayurveda is one of the most complete holistic types of medicine in the world including everything from herbal therapy, diet, aromatherapy, therapeutic emesis, blood letting, oil massage, steam baths, fasting, astrology, Yoga, mudras (hand yoga), meditation, gem stone therapy, color therapy, and metal therapy. Ayurveda is a holistic soundness of body (shrira), mind (manos) and self (autman).  In 1947, the newly independent Indian government established national councils to oversee Ayurvedic training, practice, and research.  I will just discuss Ayurvedic herbal therapy, gem stone therapy and color therapy since Yoga, meditation, mudras, aromatherapy and massage are covered in other chapters. Ayurveda and Yoga are interconnected.

The origin of Ayurveda is based on ancient Hindu texts (Vedas) compiled by Rishis, or holy men.  The word is derived from the Sanskrit words "ayur" (life) and "veda" (knowledge). It includes natural therapies like proper breathing, nutrition, meditation, and aromatherapy in a manner that involves the interrelationship of the mind, body and spirit.  Common therapies include herbal, animal and mineral remedies, oil massages and steam baths.  The goal of Ayurveda medicine if the purification of body and mind and the balancing of the body’s vital energies - to develop a personal knowledge of life.  The body’s vital energy is moved through the seven major chakras, or energy centers (refer to the next chapter on Yoga for a more detailed discussion of chakras). Disease occurs from uncorrected imbalances brought about by stress, poor lifestyle choices, and poor diet.  A recent study in the "Journal of Social Behavior and Personality," said that Ayurvedic purification, including body massage and an herbal enema, reduced free radicals in the blood, increased energy, improved digestion, and reduced symptoms of illness.

This ancient art is based on the premise that everyone is born with a basic, genetically determined constitution.  Each constitutional type is an expression of the five elements or basic qualities that exist in the universe.  Practitioners diagnose patients by observation, questions, touch and taking pulses.  The diagnosis is very detailed using the radial pulse, tongue, face, lip, nails, and eyes.  The information obtained is used to assign the patient to one of three main constitutional types and then to various subtypes.  The determined classification dictates dietary modifications and selection of remedies tailored to the patient’s specific constitution.

The identification, and subsequent treatment, of an individual’s unique constitution is determined by their tridosha, which is composed of varying amounts of the three doshas: vata, pitta and kapha. Vata is the biological combination of ether and air - it involves the principle of bodily movement.  Pitta is fire and water - it governs digestion and metabolism.  Kapha is earth and water - the structural matter and lubrication of the body.  Everyone has a unique constitution, or “prakruti,” which is a special combination of the three doshas.     

(source: Ayurveda: Ancient Medicine of India  - by Jonathan Klemens - naturalhealthweb.com).

Top of Page

The Dieng Temples of Java, Indonesia

Chandi: The art of Indianized Java    

The religious structures in Java are commonly called Chandis, a term which originally meant a commemorative building.

One particular term for a temple most often seen in Java is called the chandi. It refers to a structure based on the Indian type of single celled shrine, with a pyramidal tower above it, and a portico. Later chandis may have additional external cells on the three walls. A chandi served as a cult focus, housing a potent icon or a group of icons. As in other countries, these were often identified with particular royal persons. The chandi was, like the temple-mountains of Cambodia, a representation of the cosmic Mount Meru, an epitome of the universe. The names of Javanese chandis bear are those of the Hindu epics heroes, such as Arjuna and Bhima.  

(source: The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson p 208).  

Chandi Arjun and Chandi Sumar – Dieng plateau. 8^th to 9^th century. These early temples follow the same pattern of diminishing storeys as the early shrines in Cambodia and Champa.  

The religious structures in Java are commonly called Chandis, a term which originally meant a commemorative building. 

(image source: The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson).

***

Indianization of the Archipelago

A highly sophisticated civilization emerged in Southeast Asia, whose cosmology, literature, architecture and political organization were all closely patterned on Indian models. These kingdoms are best known for the wonderful architectural monuments which they created: Prambanan, Borobudar, Angkor, Pagan and others. Java was known by Indian chroniclers as early as 600 BC. It was known as "Yavadvipa" India was to have a profound influence on Java. 

The great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, visiting Java, said: "I see India everywhere, but I do not recognize it."

5th century Inscription of a Hindu ruler of west Java, King Purnavarman.

***

The eerie strangeness of  Dieng Plateau, its proximity to the heavens, may have been among the reasons that men labored there to erect the series of temples that still dominate the plateau. Built to honor Shiva, and probably constructed in the early decades of the 8^th century, the Dieng temples are remarkable for their simplicity and their sparse ornament. 

The main group of temples is named after the heroes and heroines of the Mahabharata. Arjuna, Puntadewa, Srikhandi, Subhadra, Gatokacha and Bhima  stand in the centre of a flat field. A millennium ago the marsh was drained by a complex series of tunnels; the remains can still be seen on the northwest corner of the field, but they no longer work.   

Shiva from Dieng plateau. 

(image source: The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson).

***

Chandi Gedung Songo – is dedicated to Siva. This temple was built around the same time as the one on the Dieng Plateau in the early 8^th century.  

Candi Sukuh – Built in the middle of the twilight years of the glorious Majapahit dynasty, it strikes a disquieting alien chord with its flat topped Egyptian step pyramid and its Mayan calendar carvings. Its reliefs are crude after the sculptural finesse of Loro Jonggrang. In its setting of steep, pine clad hills, Sukuh possesses an impressive grandeur. In the main courtyard are interesting sculptures, enhanced by the eclectic styles. Three enormous flat-backed tortoises stand on a stone flagged courtyard. A sharp beaked garuda is hovering, an anthropomorphic elephant. 

Candi Sukuh strikes a disquieting alien chord with its flat topped Egyptian step pyramid and its Mayan calendar carvings. 

The religious structures in Java are commonly called Chandis, a term which originally meant a commemorative building.

For more refer to chapter on India on Pacific Waves? and on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor.

***

Chandi Banon

Sage Agastya - divine teacher and Lord Vishnu from Chandi Banon, Java. 9th century.

(image source: The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson).

***

One of the finest statues of Ganesha from Chandi Banon is now housed in the Djakarta Museum Practically nothing now remains of Chandi Banon, a Saivite monument near Borobudur.

(source:  Java - Insight Guides - By Peter Hutton and The Art of Southeast Asia - By Philip Rawson). (For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

(Note: Recently an Ancient statue of Lord Vishnu has been found in Russian town of the Volga region. For more refer to chapter on Suvarnabhumi).

Top of Page

The story of another Shankaracharya during British Raj - By Krishnanand Sagar

This reminds me of the inspiring story of another Shankaracharya during the British Raj. He was His Holiness Shri Bharati Krishna Teertha (1884-1960) the then Shankaracharya of Sharada Peeth, Dwarka, who later on in 1925 became the Shankaracharya of Goverdhana Peeth, Puri (and the renowned founder of Vedic mathematics).

At the time of the non-violent cooperation movement in 1921, Bharati Krishna Teertha delivered a speech in the Khilafat Conference held at Karachi. The subject of the speech was ‘Rajadharma and Prajadharma’. The speech was considered to be seditious by the government of the day and so he was arrested and kept in the Karachi central jail.

The warrant of arrest served on him stated: “Venkataraman alias Bharati Krishna Teertha, a Hindu, who calls himself a Shankaracharya.”

Assailing this in his address to the jury, His Holiness thundered: “The veriest Tyro in Indian religious technique knows that while an English commoner on being raised to peerage has the liberty to and does often voluntarily, assume a new name, a Hindu on entering Holy Orders, has not the liberty to but must necessarily and as a religious rule discard the old name, and not assume but accept the name newly conferred on him by his guru, in accordance with the rules celebrately laid down for this purpose in the Hindu scriptures. Thus, whereas Sir Rufus Issac had the liberty to and actually did assume the name Lord Reading, Prof. Venkataraman Shastri on taking sanyas had not the liberty to assume but had perforced to and did therefore accept the new name ‘Swami, Shri Bharati Krishna Teertha bestowed on him by his guru. Under these circumstances, it was obvious that to speak of us as ‘one Venkataraman alias Bharati Krishna Teertha, a Hindu, who calls himself (or has assumed the title) Shankaracharya’ is no less reprehensible than to speak of ‘one Rufus Issac alias Reading, a Jew, who calls himself (or has assumed the title) Viceroy of India’.”

Ultimately the government had to release him. Again in December 1922, Bharati Krishna delivered a series of public lectures in Monghyr (Bihar) on ‘Dynamic Hinduism’. The topic of one of the lectures of the series was ‘Dharma, Swarajya, Raj Bhakti and the heinousness of British Raj’. British officials were very perturbed over it and arrested him on December 26, 1922. As a Dharma guru of Hindus, he was offered a chair to sit upon in the court, but he told bluntly that as the post of Shankaracharya was much higher than that of a magistrate, his seat should also be higher and if that was not possible, he would prefer to stand. He then carried on his arguments in the court, standing all the time. He defended his actions for three weeks. He was asked to give a surety not to deliver lecture for one year or undergo imprisonment for a year. Shankaracharya preferred to undergo imprisonment. He was kept in Bhagalpur jail, from where he was released in 1924.

In 1925 Prince of Wales visited Bharat. The British government wrote to Shankaracharya that the Hindus considered the king of the country the representative of Lord Vishnu, therefore he should ask his disciples to welcome the Prince of Wales as such. Shankaracharya fearlessly wrote back:

“The work of Vishnu is to work after the well-being of his people. One who can do so can only be called a representative of Vishnu according to Hindu shastras. A king, who instead of looking after the welfare of his subjects, exploits them can never be the representative of Lord Vishnu.”

The government was terribly annoyed at this bold answer. High government officials complained about this to the aged head of Goverdhana Peeth, Shri Madhusudan Teertha. But Madhusudan Teertha replied that he also accepted the views of Bharati Krishna as authentic as far as Hindu Dharma was concerned. At that time Bharat was under foreign rule. Shankaracharya Bharati Krishna stood against foreign rule and did not bow his head even in those adverse circumstances. That is the tradition of our dharmacharyas.
Now the time has changed and we have our own government. People expect from this government not to toe the line of foreign rulers. It should behave according to the Indian traditions and try to become the representative of Lord Vishnu by its deeds. Lord Vishnu gives full respect to the dharmacharyas; he gave respect even to Bhrigu Rishi who strode with his foot on the chest of Lord Vishnu. 
Unfortunately, in the present context, the behaviour of the Tamil Nadu government and the Central Government towards Shankara-charya Shri Jayendra Saraswati is un-Vishnu like. They should stop to denigrate him.

(source: The story of another Shankaracharya during British Raj - By Krishnanand Sagar - oraganiser.org).

Top of Page

Ramayana Murals - Silver Pagoda/Royal Palace of Cambodia

Saraswati River and Political Prejudice in India - By Surajit Dasgupta

"Ambitame, naditame, devitame, Sarasvati"- "O best of mothers, O best of rivers, O best of goddesses, Sarasvati"

               -  About 4,500 years ago the Sarasvati was eulogized thus in the Rig Veda.

***

Satellite images taken by the Geographic Information Systems of the National Geographic Society concur with the Rig Veda. Geological records indicate that during the late Pleistocene period, the Himalayas constituted a frozen mass and there were glaciers in place of rivers. When the climate warmed, these glaciers began to break up and the frozen water trapped within surged forth in great floods to inundate the alluvial plains below. The Rig Veda refers to this first interglacial period in the Holocene era as marking the break-up of glaciers and the release of pent up waters that flowed out to form seven mighty river channels referred to as the “Sapta Sindhu” — traced from east to west.

The “Sapta Sindhu” refers to the Saraswati, Satadru (Sutlej), Vipasa (Beas), Asikni (Chenab), Parosni (Ravi), Vitasta (Jhelum) and Sindhu (Indus) rivers. Among these, the Saraswati and the Sindhu were major rivers that flowed from the mountains right down to the sea. 

The hymns in praise of the Saraswati are probably some of the oldest, composed more than 8,000 years ago.

For 2,000 years, between 6,000 and 4,000 BC, the Saraswati flowed as a great river. R D Oldham (1886) was the first geologist who argued logically, pointing to the great changes in the drainage pattern of the rivers of Punjab and western Rajasthan that served to convert a once fertile region into a desert. According to geological and glaciological studies, the Saraswati was supposed to have originated in the Bandapunch massif (the Saraswati-Rupin glacier confluence at Naitwar in western Garhwal).

The river, which had originated from Kapal teerth in the Himalayas in the west of Kailash, flowed southward to Mansarovar and then took a turn towards the west. Even today, the Saraswati flows from the south of Mana pass which meets the Alaknanda river, three kilometres away in the south of Mana village. Descending through Adibadri, Bhavanipur and Balchapur in the foothills to the plains, the river took a roughly south-westerly course, passing through the plains of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat before finally debouching, it is believed, into the ancient Arabian Sea at the Great Rann of Kutch. 

The hymns in praise of the Saraswati are probably some of the oldest, composed more than 8,000 years ago.

The Saraswati was obliterated within a short span in the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era through a combination of destructive catastrophic events. Unfortunately, we believe what or who we are only when the West says we are so. In this case, if it helps, so be it. The spirit of science rests in challenging every idea, no matter how established it has been. 

***

In its long journey, the Saraswati is believed to have had three tributaries — the Shatadru (Sutlej) originating from Mount Kailas, the Drishadwati from the Shiwalik Hills and the old Yamuna. These flowed together along a channel presently known as the Ghaggar river — also known as the Hakra River in Rajasthan and the Nara in Sindh. Some experts consider these two rivers to be a single course whereas others consider the upper stretch of the Saraswati as the Ghaggar and the lower course as the Hakra. Still others refer to the Ghaggar as the Saraswati’s weak and declining stage.

The Saraswati was obliterated within a short span in the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era through a combination of destructive catastrophic events. Its decline appears to have started any time between 5,000 and 3,000 BC, probably precipitated by a major tectonic event in the Shiwalik Hills of Sirmur region. Geological studies reveal that the massive landslides and avalanches were caused by destabilising tectonic events that occurred around the beginning of Pleistocene period, about 1.7 million years ago in the Shivalik domain extending from Potwar in Pakistan to Assam in India. Those disturbances, linked to the uplift of the Himalayas, continued intermittently. Presumably, one of these events must have severed the glacier connection and cut off the supply of water from the melting glaciers to this river. As a result, the Saraswati became non-perennial and dependent on monsoon rains. The diversion of its waters through the separation of its tributaries led to the Saraswati’s breaking up into disconnected lakes and pools and, ultimately, to being reduced to a dry channel bed. But the Saraswati hasn’t disappeared, it has merely dried up in some stretches.

Archaeological evidence: Most of the archaeological sites of the erstwhile civilisation are located on the Saraswati river basin. There are four Harappan and pre-Harappan sites in Punjab, in addition to the sites in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These sites are located at Rupar (present Ropar), Nihang Khan, Bara and Sirsa valley. Harappan culture flourished in the western part of Punjab around 2500 BC. It is believed that the Harappans entered through the Indus Valley into Kalibangan valley on the left bank of Ghaggar (erstwhile Saraswati) and spread to Punjab along the Saraswati river. Carbon dating of the material at Kalibangan suggests that Harappan culture flourished around 2500 BC in India and existed for 1,000 years. So the present day geomorphologic set-up did not exist till 1500 BC and the Indus, the Sutlej and the Beas followed independent courses to the sea. 

Evidence from Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems of the National Geographic Society, USA: A remote sensing study of the Indian desert reveals numerous signatures of palaeochannels in the form of curvilinear and meandering courses, which is identified by the tonal variations. The Saraswati river could be traced through these palaeochannels as a migratory river. Its initial course flowed close to the Aravalli ranges and the successive six stages took west and north-westerly shifts till it coincides with the dry bed of the Ghaggar river.

Renowned meteorologist Yash Pal and others have found that the course of the Saraswati in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is clearly highlighted in the Landsat imagery by the vegetation cover thriving on the rich residual loamy soil along its earlier course. Digital enhancement studies of IRS-1C data (1995), combined with Radar imagery from European Remote Sensing satellites ERS 1/2 identified subsurface features and recognised the palaeochannels beneath the sands of the Thar desert. A study by NRSA, based on satellite-derived data, has revealed no palaeochannel link between the Indus and the Saraswati, confirming that the two were independent rivers.

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, has made a breakthrough in its research on the existence and probable location of the mythical Saraswati. The Rajasthan Ground Water Department undertook the task to “unearth” the river with the collaboration of BARC and the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad (a wing of ISRO) in 1998. If the effort is successful, those living in the desert belt of Rajasthan will hopefully be supplied more than 3,500-year-old water derived from palaeochannels believed to be the mythical Saraswati. But just because the project was initiated by the politically incorrect BJP-led government, should we turn a blind eye to what the geologists of the West, too, support?

Unfortunately, we believe what or who we are only when the West says we are so. In this case, if it helps, so be it. The spirit of science rests in challenging every idea, no matter how established it has been. And history and geography, of all things, if held hostage by political prejudice, become the ilk of Doordarshan of the Rajiv Gandhi era, if not the Tass agency of the Soviet regime.

(source: Because it helps, so be it - By Surajit Dasgupta - thestatesman.net). For more refer to the chapter on Aryan Invasion Theory.

Top of Page

I am inspired by India’s heritage says Valentino, Italy’s top designer

Couturier Valentino Garavani is Italy’s most famous designer. And for this year’s Festa Italiana, the annual cultural festival put together by the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce, Valentino is sending down his latest fashion collection. Valentino’s show will be staged at the beautiful environs of the 200-year-old Asiatic Society in Mumbai, on December 5, and at New Delhi’s Purana Qila on December 8.

‘‘I love India and have been there many times, but this time I had previous commitments I could not possibly postpone,’’ says the 72-year-old designer in an exclusive email interview. ‘‘A catwalk show is the most powerful and emotionally involving way of presenting my work.’’

The maker of elegant and glamourous clothes is quite the traditionalist. ‘‘India’s heritage is one of the most fascinating and inspirational of all,’’ he says. ‘‘My 2002 haute couture collection was entirely inspired by India. But there have always been Indian themes running through all my collections. It’s definitely a reference for my idea of beauty and grace.’’

Though he claims to not follow Indian fashion or other designers, Valentino says India should not fall prey to a global Euro-centric fashion, like Japan and China have. ‘‘I consider the sari deeply elegant—it is one of the most grounding elements of what haute couture is all about,’’ he adds. ‘‘In India, modernity and tradition can find a fine balance without erasing a unique heritage. Homogeneity is never a good thing.’’

(source: I am inspired by India’s heritage  says Valentino, Italy’s top designer - expressindia.com).

Top of Page

Jealous God and Historicity

For the Advaitinis, reality is one, undifferentiated, unchanging, formless entity. That is the point of ultimate reference. 

By contrast, for the Old Testament, as for the Quran, the point of ultimate reference is God or Allah. Many attributes are ascribed to this ultimate entity, none as sternly as those of the ‘Jealous God’ – the God whose principal concern is whether or not you and I acknowledge His supremacy. Who proclaims that He shall condone every transgression but not one – namely, our failure to recognize and acclaim that He is supreme. 

Contrast this attitude – The historicity or lack of it of Avatars is of no consequence at all, says Swami Vivekananda. Nor does the doctrine owe it greatness and truth to the fact that it was expounded by or revealed by them. On the contrary; the Vedas do not owe their authority to Krishna, Swami Vivekananda affirms repeatedly, Krishna derives his authority from the fact that he was the finest teacher of the Vedanta. ‘Krishna of the Gita is perfection and right knowledge personified’, writes Gandhiji, ‘but the picture is imaginary. That does not mean that Krishna, the adored of his people, never lived. But perfection is imagined. The idea of a perfect incarnation is an aftergrowth.’ It is just that he performed extraordinary service for humanity, that he lived an extraordinarily religious life, says Gandhiji. 

As this is the perspective, Swami Vivekananda says with the greatest naturalness:  …”There is that most wonderful theory of Ishta which gives you the fullest and freest choice possible among these great religious personalities. You may take up any one of the prophets or teachers as your guide and the object of your special adoration; you are even allowed to think that he whom you have chosen is the greatest of the prophets, greatest of all the Avatars. There is no harm in that, but you must keep to a firm background of eternally true principles. The strange fact here is that the power of our incarnations has been holding good with us only so far as they are illustrations of the principles of the Vedas..” And the Vedas exclude nothing, indeed they include that Nothing too. The ‘eternally true principles’ Vivekananda is referring to are as non-sectarian, as non-denominational as, say, the Buddha’s sermons on meditation. A return to fundamentals in this case cannot but spell tolerance and inclusiveness. 

Next, comes the attitude of the religions to The Book, the repository of that ultimate revelation. Is the Book just an aid – as the Upanishads are and the Sutras of the Buddhists – books that contain suggestions – of the greatest possible insight, pearls of great price, of course – as to how we may proceed, but books which themselves say that they must be transcended? Or is The Book itself an idol, one that, like the Quarn, contains everything, one that must be believed in every particular because God sent it down, one that may never be questioned, one in which nothing will ever date, one to which nothing will ever need to be added? The contrast is vivid as it is consequential....

(source: Indian Controversies – by Arun Shourie p. 616 - 624). Refer to The War of Religions and The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

Top of Page

Astronomy and Cosmology at Angkor Wat

The Solar Numbers at Angkor Wat

"The great Vishnu temple at Angkor Wat is known to have been built according to an astronomical plan. A little understood solar formula of the temple is identical to the one in the 2^nd millennium BC Indian text called Shatapatha Brahmana. It was an expression of the Shatapatha astronomy."  

                                            - says Dr Subhask Kak

The great Vishnu temple at Angkor Wat is known to have been built according to an astronomical plan.

(image source: webmaster's own collection of photos taken during a recent visit).

***

Architectural plans published by Nafilyan (1969) were examined to Assess possible astronomical alignments in context of written records of the Khmer empire and specifically the reign of Suryavarman II (1113-1150AD) during which the complex was built.  Twenty-two possible alignments are identified and their relationship to bas relief and Hindu time cycles examined.

Conclusions:  1. The rising sun appears aligned on equinox and solstice days with the western entrance of Angkor Wat.2. The movements of the moon can be observed from a variety of positions within the temple, and lunar cycles may have been recorded in the three sets of libraries.3. The bas reliefs of the third gallery can be understood in relation to the movements of the sun, which establish their counterclockwise direction. 4. The measurements of the temple appear proportional to calendric and cosmological time cycles.

(source: http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9811040 and http://www.du.edu/~rstencel/Courses/angkor.htm).  (For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

Top of Page

Does Hinduism Teach That All Religions Are The Same? -  By Dr. Frank Gaetano Morales

Historically, pre-colonial classical Hinduism never taught that all religions are the same. This is not to say, however, that Hinduism has not believed in tolerance or freedom of religious thought and expression. It has very clearly always been a religion that has taught tolerance of other valid religious traditions. However, the assertion that a) we should have tolerance for the beliefs of other religions, is a radically different claim from the overreaching declaration that b) all religions are the same. And this confusion between two thoroughly separate assertions may be one reason why so many modern Hindus believe that Hindu tolerance is synonymous with Radical Universalism. To maintain a healthy tolerance of another person’s religion does not mean that we have to then adopt that person’s religion!

In keeping with the Vedic adage that the guest in one’s home is to be treated with as much hospitality as one would treat as a visiting divinity, Hinduism has always been gracious to the followers of non-Hindu religions, and respectful of the gods, scriptures and customs of others. The tolerance and openness of Hinduism has been historically unprecedented among the wider community of world religions, universally acclaimed, and very well attested.

The common mistake that is often made, however, is to mistake the long-held Hindu tradition of tolerating other religions with the mistaken notion that Hinduism consequently encourages us to believe that all religions are exactly the same. We have mistaken Hindu tolerance with Radical Universalism. The leap from tolerance of other faiths to a belief that all religions are equal is not a leap that is grounded in logic. Nor is it grounded in the history, literature or philosophy of the Hindu tradition itself.

Historically, pre-colonial classical Hinduism never taught that all religions are the same.

Hinduism has always been gracious to the followers of non-Hindu religions, and respectful of the gods, scriptures and customs of others. The tolerance and openness of Hinduism has been historically unprecedented among the wider community of world religions, universally acclaimed, and very well attested.

***

A tragic occurrence in the very long history of Hinduism was witnessed throughout the 19th century, the destructive magnitude of which Hindu leaders and scholars today are only beginning to adequately assess and address. This development both altered and weakened Hinduism to such a tremendous degree that Hinduism has not yet even begun to recover. The classical, traditional Hinduism that had been responsible for the continuous development of thousands of years of sophisticated culture, architecture, music, philosophy, ritual and theology came under devastating assault during the 19th century British colonial rule like at no other time in India’s history. For a thousand years previous to the British Raj, foreign marauders had repeatedly attempted to destroy Hinduism through overt physical genocide and the systematic destruction of Hindu temples and sacred places. Traditional Hinduism’s wise sages and noble warriors had fought bravely to stem this anti-Hindu holocaust to the best of their ability, more often than not paying for their bravery with their lives. What the Hindu community experienced under British Christian domination, however, was an ominously innovative form of cultural genocide. What they experienced was not an attempt at the physical annihilation of their culture, but a deceivingly more subtle program of intellectual and spiritual annihilation. It is easy for a people to understand the urgent threat posed by an enemy that seeks to literary kill them. It is much harder, though, to understand the threat of an enemy who, while remaining just as deadly, claims to seek only to serve a subjugated people’s best interests. '

During this short span of time in the 19th century, the ancient grandeur and beauty of a classical Hinduism that had stood the test of thousands of years, came under direct ideological attack. What makes this period in Hindu history most especially tragic is that the main apparatus that the British used in their attempts to destroy traditional Hinduism were the British educated, spiritually co-opted sons and daughters of Hinduism itself. Seeing traditional Hinduism through the eyes of their British masters, a pandemic wave of 19th century Anglicized Hindu intellectuals saw it as their solemn duty to "Westernize" and "modernize" traditional Hinduism to make it more palatable to their new European overlords. One of the phenomena that occurred during this historic period was the fabrication of a new movement known as "neo-Hinduism". Neo-Hinduism was an artificial religious construct used as a paradigmatic juxtaposition to the legitimate traditional Hinduism that had been the religion and culture of the people for thousands of years. Neo-Hinduism was used as an effective weapon to replace authentic Hinduism with a British invented version designed to make a subjugated people easier to manage and control.

(source: Does Hinduism Teach That All Religions Are The Same? - By Dr. Frank Gaetano Morales, Ph.D. - darmacentral.com). Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999.

Top of Page

My religion takes you to heaven, yours to Hell. Can God be so partial?  
Arrogant and Offensive claims to Sole possession of Truth?

George H Smith, in one of his many polemics against Christianity, pointed out that:

"the concept of Hell" has resulted in an incalculable amount of psychological torture, especially among children where it is employed as a terror tactic to prompt obedience."

"It cannot be emphasised too strongly that Christianity has a vested interest in human misery. Christianity, more than any religion before or since, capitalized on human suffering; and it was enormously successful in insuring its own existence through the perpetuation of human suffering."

(source: Atheism: The Case Against God - By George H Smith (Prometheus, 1989) p. 299). George mith  is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Humane Studies, California. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America.  For Cruelty inflicted by Christianity - Watch Constantine's Sword movie

***

Monopoly over God?

Jewish Leader blasts Evangelical "zealots" - Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, said "religious right" leaders believe "unless you attend my church, accept my God and study my sacred text you cannot be a moral person."

"What could be more bigoted than to claim that you have a monopoly on God?"

(source: Jewish Leader blasts Evangelical "zealots" - yahoonews.com).  Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to The War of Religions and The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. and The Burningcross

Pope Benedict Solves Mystery of Pedophile Priests ?

On April 19, 2005, in an arcane rite of “transubstantiation” known only to the College of Cardinals, the rabid Rottweiler Ratzinger became, with a puff of white smoke, the kindly, thoughtful Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th Bishop of Rome and leader of one billion Catholics worldwide.  

During Benedict’s million-dollar-a-day junket to the United States , a trip that the Vatican admits is a P.R. opportunity to change a German Rottweiler into an American Golden Retriever, the mystery of pedophile priests was cleared up . . . sort of. According to Benedict, it is America ’s “increasingly secular and materialistic culture” that caused priests to fondle and rape children. Keep in mind that the “materialistic” remark is coming from a guy who has been seen sporting a pair of custom-cobbled red shoes, Gucci sunglasses, ceremonial gowns by Gamarelli, and listening to an iPod Nano while tens of millions of Catholics worldwide struggle to feed their families, much less put shoes on their feet or sunglasses on their faces.  

(source: Pope Benedict Solves Mystery of Pedophile Priests . . . Sort of - By Robert Weitzel).

***

Truth (God) is one but the wise call it by many names

In India, for thousands of years, one type of worship or way of realization of God never infringed upon other gods. It was because of this reason that the Indian mindset was moulded/shaped by the rishis [great teachers] who presented a worldview of lokah samasta sukhino vabantu and proclaimed the unity and oneness of God. That is why there are four authoritative texts of the Hindus—Vedas, adhering to the message of monism/Advaitam/unitarianism or the strong foundation of monotheism. Hence, each Veda proclaimed the message of monotheism of first degree without any obscurity: Rig Veda proclaims pranjanam Brahma; Yajur Veda highlights aham Brahmasmi; Sama Veda announces tatvamasi; and Atharva Veda confirms ayammathma Brahma. 

Above all, the Rig Veda mantra of eakam sat vipra bahuta vadanti (Truth is one but the wise call it by many names) became the basis of the Hindu approach to other faiths. Thus, in the light of this Hindu approach, let us examine the recent controversies on the question of proselytism.  

According to Sri Aurobindo, in his book, India's Rebirth (ISBN 2-902776-32-2) page 141, says: 

"The mentality of the West has long cherished the aggressive and quite illogical idea of a single religion for all mankind, a religion universal by the very force of its narrowness, one set of dogmas, one cult, one system of ceremonies, one array of prohibitions and injunctions, one ecclesiastical ordinance. That narrow absurdity prances about as the one true religion which all must accept on peril of persecution by men here and spiritual rejection or fierce eternal punishment by God in other worlds. This grotesque creation of human unreason, the parent of so much intolerance, cruelty, obscurantism and aggressive fanaticism, have never been able to take firm hold of the free and supple mind of India".

(source: India's Rebirth - By Sri Aurobindo p. 141).

The Rig Veda mantra of eakam sat vipra bahuta vadanti (Truth is one but the wise call it by many names) became the basis of the Hindu approach to other faiths.

"The mentality of the West has long cherished the aggressive and quite illogical idea of a single religion for all mankind, a religion universal by the very force of its narrowness, one set of dogmas, one cult. This grotesque creation of human unreason, the parent of so much intolerance, cruelty, obscurantism and aggressive fanaticism, have never been able to take firm hold of the free and supple mind of India".

***

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan did not consent with the Christian notion of true and false religion. In fact, he went so far as to say that the idea of one single religion for the humankind is illogical:

"The illogical idea of one single religion for all mankind, one set of dogmas, one cult, one system of ceremonies which all individuals must accept on pain of persecution by the people and punishment by God, is the product of unreason and intolerance. A religion represents the soul of the people, its peculiar spirit, thought, and temperament. It is not a mere theory of the supernatural which we can put on or off as we please. It is an expression of the spiritual experience of the race, a record of its social evolution, an integral element of the society in which it is found [Radhakrishnan 1969:81-82]."  

Sri Ramakrishna is recorded to have made the same point about the variety of paths:

“God can be realised through all paths. It is like your coming to Dakshineswar by carriage, by boat, by steamer or on foot. You have chosen the way according to your convenience and taste; but the destination is the same. Some of you have arrived earlier than others, but all have arrived” (cited in Neufeldt 1987:67). And he also presented the claim that all religions are true as the equivalent of this point: “God can be realised through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole” (cited in Neufeldt 1987:68). 

(source: The Question of Conversion in India - By Sarah Claerhout, Jakob De Roover and The Burningcross

On the contrary, On November 6, 1999 Pope John Paul II in his sermon at the Sacred Heart Cathedral of New Delhi, openly stated, 

“Just as in the first millennium the Cross was planted on the soil of Europe, and in the second on that of the Americas and Africa, we can pray that in the third Christian millennium, a great harvest of faith will be reaped in this vast and vital continent [Asia]”.

We should take this call on its face value as the Pope is the head of a big Christian faction. No doubt this call was an open challenge upon the sovereignty of a democratic country and its people, while considering the political statuesque of the Pope, i.e. the head of another sovereign country [even though its area is below 250 acres], the Vatican city. No doubt it was part of a conspiracy going on in Christendom all over. On the basis of the sermon of Pope, we should see the American President George Bush’s Asian Christianisation project worth one thousand crore dollars. 

The World Christian Encyclopaedia, Vol. I, 2nd edition, 2001, p. 366 of OUP, New York reads on India as follows: “Christians and Muslims will probably both find room to grow in the mosaic of India’s peoples so that by 2025, Christians account for 7.4 per cent and Muslims for 12.2 per cent while Hindus decline under 73 per cent [down from 80 per cent in 1900]... With sustained growth over the next few decades, Christianity could grow to nearly 10 per cent of India’s population by a.d. 2050. Hindus will potentially decline as a percentage of India’s population as other religions continue to win adherents over the next few decades.”

In the light of this insight, one should see the Hindu antipathy over the minority approach of en masse dismemberment of a community/culture. No doubt this proselytisation process is suicidal insofar as a civilisation is concerned. Under the guise of charitable service, a Kenyan national, Brother Bernard, on a visiting visa and some nuns of the above missionary organisation in an economically backward Hindu settlement, were opposed and blockaded at the entrance of the hamlet by some youth hailing from all non-communal political parties. This piece of news is being vocally debated upon in the mainstream newspapers of Kerala. One year back another US citizen, named Rev. Joseph Cooper, with a visiting visa, publicly ridiculed and belittled Hindu gods and goddesses in a Christian convention at Kilimannoor, near Trivandrum. The public however managed to control the situation and the state government along with the ruling and opposition front paved the escape route for the missionary, who violated visa norms from the eyes of law as had happened in the case of Brother Bernard recently. Both were engaged in conversion of Hindus, but those who are responsible to bring them before law, closed their eyes wilfully.

Sister Nirmala, the Mother Superior of the Missionaries of Charity, who pretends to respect secularist values, clearly explained their approach towards other religions in the following words:  

“Christianity is the only religion which is totally true; the other religions are true only partially.”  

The CMI, the monastic order of the Catholic church, in their document relating to their education policy published in 1991 for private circulation, states that the ultimate aim of their education service in India is “to grant acquaintance with the persona of Jesus Christ and His Gospel” to the Hindu boys. 

It is interesting to see that Francis Xavier, who was responsible for the establishment of the ‘Holy Inquisition of Goa’, in which Hindu women were raped and immolated alive and Hindu places of worship were desecrated, has been elevated to sainthood, and Christian educational institutions in India are being established in his name. The same Francis Xavier wrote to his monastic authorities at Portugal about his ‘heroic deeds’ in India in the following words: “I order everywhere the temples to be pulled down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols.” [Kanayalal M. Talreja: Holy Vedas and Holy Bible, p. 18].

Jawaharlal Nehru pictures the vulgar face of the ‘Holy Inquisition’ in his work Glimpses of World History, p. 191 as follows:

“About this time, the Inquisition, that terrible weapon which Roman Church forged to crush all who did not bow down to it, was established in Spain. Jews, who had prospered under the Saracens, were now forced to change their religion, and many were burnt to death. Women and children were not spared.”

At present, several regions in India have begun to stomach such an abnormal level of Muslim/Christian population growth and all these places are becoming the epicentres for divisive as well as subversive activities.

All the Christian-dominated states of north-east are labouring for the cause of our national disintegration. What a paradox it is! In short, one thing is clear that wherever in India, minority religious groups secure a decisive role, they turn against the national interest. They cannot digest other faiths. Their religion and God is not for peaceful coexistence. Let me quote the Bible: “Think not that I am came to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father; and the daughter against her mother; and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” [Mathew, Ch. X, Aphorisms 34, 35]. Christianity is looking too smart with its concealed biting teeth, posing a potential threat, seemingly different from that of Islam. They are not ready to reread their theology on the basis of time and space. This means they are not ready for any compromise on the question of conversion. This is also very clear from the words of the Pope. Now the Christians have a 31 per cent share in the world population, Muslims have 19.6 per cent and the Hindus have 14 per cent. Both of them are targeting the Hindus—the most unorganised religious/ethnic section in the world. 

(source: My religion takes you to heaven, yours to hell. Can God be so partial? - By Dr C. I. Issac). Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism.and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS. 

Refer to The Republican War on Science - By Chris Mooney. Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in American and The Burningcross

Refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org. Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org and refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com and Quotes from The American Taliban. Also refer to Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion. The Crusaders: Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image - By Bob Moser - rollingstone.com and Dominionist.

Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and American Christian Fundamentalist Leader Calls for Global War - By Yoginder Sikand - christianaggression.org). Refer to A conflict between science and God - By Martin Kettle - Crusade against science in Modern America - Three-quarters of Americans, in other words, still do not accept what Darwin established 150 years ago. Just under half of all Americans believe the natural world was created in its present form by God in six days as described in Genesis. They believe, incredibly, that the earth is only a few thousand years old).

Top of Page

'Ma Ganga' becomes Mekong 

The mighty river Mekong that flows through six Southeast Asian countries gets its name from India's holiest and biggest river, the Ganges. 

"Me is a shorter version of mae or mother and Kong is from Ganga," Pradeep Kumar Kapur, India's ambassador to Cambodia, told IANS after welcoming the first India-ASEAN car rally into the country.

The 4,350-km Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia, the seventh longest in Asia and the 12th longest in the world.

Cambodia has ancient and historic ties with India and some of its oldest rulers came from India. The name Cambodia comes from the Indian king Kumbha who married a Cambodian princess Mera. The old name of Cambodia is Kampuchea.

A caravan of 60 cars carrying 240 people are part of the 8,000-km, 20-day car rally which is tracing a historic land route across southeast Asia from India's northeast to Indonesia. The rally ends at Batam, Indonesia Dec 11.

(source: 'Ma Ganga' becomes Mekong).

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor and Seafaring in Ancient India).

Top of Page

Academic Researchers Versus Hindu Civilisation - By Gautam Sen

Indian studies in the West (especially the US and the UK) are overwhelmingly hostile to their object of study. In the first place, ethnocentric and parochial perceptions will usually dominate when one culture critically evaluates another. And once the resulting interpretative canon becomes firmly established through common consent, prolonged practice and appropriate imprimaturs, it becomes painfully difficult to dislodge, even if it is motivated by an intellectually disingenuous political rationale. In the case of the contemporary Western critique of India, and increasingly Hinduism, its rationale and sheer perversity can be attributed to mundane political reasons and international power politics.

'Scorched earth' techniques of 'academic' investigation are typified by the disgraceful and (as it also happens) dubious scholarly methods employed by an American academic, who engaged in gross abuse of the Indian Saint Ramakrishna. Some morally bankrupt Hindu psychoanalyst (the closest modern social science gets to witchcraft) supported this author deviously, though without the courage to do so explicitly. He took out political insurance for himself by confessing that he had portrayed a fictional character inspired by Ramakrishna sympathetically, in a novel. Such scholarly discourse is equivalent to stripping someone's mother naked in public because it merely violates the taboo of shame and causes no actual bodily injury.

British colonial roots of Cold War hostility towards India

The long-standing Anglo-Saxon critique of Hindu society and independent India has roots in the visceral British hatred of the educated Hindu elites of late nineteenth century Bengal that they themselves had originally sponsored. The resulting confluence of British imperial interests and subsequent Muslim politics in India is too well known to require detailed recounting.

An unbroken straight line can be drawn, from this burgeoning British hostility towards Hindus over a hundred years ago to the constant fabrications of British journalists and editors in the print media and television about India today. 

***

An unbroken straight line can be drawn, from this burgeoning British hostility towards Hindus over a hundred years ago to the constant fabrications of British journalists and editors in the print media and television about India today. These contemporary lies will one day transmute into 'unassailable' archival material, cited in journals by academics to assert the superiority of their research methodology and dismiss the amateur investigator.

Attempts by academics to injure Hindu civilisation

The 'expose' of Indian Hindu 'mumbo jumbo', the irrationality of its licentious and sensual religion also serves to defuse India's significance in the public imagination. The exotic may be fascinating, but it is not a legitimate way of life recommended for imitation in the sane real world. But when a supreme interpreter (Wendy Doniger) of myth, with vast evident knowledge of Hinduism and Hindu society, casually espouses the oxymoron of Hindu fundamentalism as a conceptual category one's confidence in her wider scholarly competence begins to waver. Hindus may be bad people, their politics may be reprehensible, they may be extremists, violent, but the notion of religious fundamentalism, which has a very specific meaning about the relationship between literal textual interpretation and behavioural norms, does not advance the understanding of Indian society and politics.

The collaborationist Indian left and the West

Allied to the designs of US Cold War politics and its academics an overwhelming majority of India's English speaking scholars has been mobilised in a veritable campaign against the alleged dangers of a Hindu awakening in India. These native scholars and their assorted domestic allies wield influence disproportionate to their numbers, a counterpart of the Anglicised consumer, who, despite numerical paucity, generates vast advertising revenues for India's English newspapers, though this too is changing as the pockets of the 'untutored' bulge with cash. What are their motives?

(source: Academic Researchers Versus Hindu Civilisation - By Gautam Sen - sulekha.com). Refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org. Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to Communismwatch and cpmterror.

Top of Page

Why India has had an anti-Hindu tendency since Independence
Nehru's Marxist attitude toward religion

Arrogance and elitism are the hallmarks of the India's leftist intellectuals.

Jawaharlal Nehru had a word of caution for those mixing religion with politics: it is a kind of self-intoxication which dulls the mind and prevents clear thinking. 

"I do not take to religion; I resent its ways and outlook. I see no escape from any conflict of the mind in that fashion. Nor do I approve of allowing my mind to sink into a sentimental morass, which is soothing no doubt and often helps in a small way, but which is not good enough," says Nehru, in a letter written on May 22, 1944, from Ahmadnagar fort to his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit. "It is a kind of self-intoxication which dulls the mind and prevents clear thinking. It is indeed the sentimentalism and emotionalism about religion which I dislike; I do not mind the philosophic aspect of it," he says. Nehru saw religion overladen with this sickly sentimentality and spurious emotion. "The relief it gives may be compared to the relief obtained from some intoxicating drug or alcoholic drink," he says in the letter, published in a new book, "Nehru's letters to his sister before freedom (1909-1947)." "Most people find some adjustment, consciously or unconsciously, in religion and the ways and practice of some kind of religion, added on to life's daily tasks," writes Nehru but adds "that is hardly an adjustment of thought and action; it is a kind of surrender, or so I think, and thus a way of escape from the problem.

(source: Why India has had an anti-Hindu tendency since Independence - hinduismtoday.com).  Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to Communismwatch and cpmterror.

Top of Page

Deconstructing Indian Secularism
Secular Fundamentalism?

The phenomenon of 'Secular Fundamentalism' itself is the result of an ideology replacing a religion. The fervor that these secular creatures possess is like that of a religious zealot. One can see this kind of fervor in converts (for example, a Hindu converted to Christianity or Islam would tend to over-compensate by being more zealous and fundamental than the ones who are natively of that religion) -- which in turn unleashes the process of conversions and so on. 

Steeped in the 'high' traditions of religious denigration (since religion is a dirty word for them), these secular zealots -- specifically those Hindus with the brown sahib mentality and education, do not realize that what they denigrate. 

It is a culture and not a religion (as Ms. Burkha Dutt so eloquently puts it ..."we were blind to the idea that for most in India, religion is about culture, inextricably linked to the everydayness of their lives…"). It is an entire way of life [there are other cultures and other countries with similar traditions -- the real Chinese (not the red brigands, but the Taoists, the Buddhists, the traditionally alive Chinese), or the Japanese]. By rejecting the validity of the religion, these secularists rejected an entire way of life (for 95% of their brethren). 

They take extreme pleasure in denigrating Indian heritage (at least anything that did not stem from the Mogul or other Islamic empires). 

They make comments similar to Macaulay's: “Even a library full of Indian classical literature does not match up to a single book in English”. They believe in the 'Aryan Invasion Theory' or if a little more sensible 'The Aryan Migration Theory' (neither of which are worth even a second look and have been proven to be suspect imperialistic propaganda initiated in the 19th Century by European Christian philologists) and try to maintain the Aryan-Dravidian divide myth, fanning anti-Brahminical hatred. They generically label everything Hindu as evil, propagating the myth that social phenomena such as the Varna and Jati systems are actually results of Sanatana Dharma. And this misconception thus established to be factual is used to browbeat anyone who tries to speak in favor of Sanatana Dharma (in defiance of the Church of Secularism in India). They harp on and on about the 'intolerance' of the Hindus (because there have been occurrences of Hindu-Moslem riots). Why, have they ever stopped to think of the fact that one cannot clap with a single hand (more effective in Hindi 'ek haath se taali nahi bajti hai)? Moreover, if one were to dig deep enough, I guess they'd find some very 'secular' politicians behind the outbreak of these riots. The average Indian has enough troubles as it is, and does not need to exacerbate these by adding rioting to it.

(source: Deconstructing Indian Secularism - By Rudra - sulekha.com). Refer to Communismwatch and cpmterror.

***

Indian ‘peculiar’ Secularists 

The Indian Secularists are the most peculiar creatures on earth! I think they are not even sure of what they are arguing for. While, on the one hand, they denigrate religion (read " Hindu") saying that it is the opium of masses, they themselves have become inebriated with an even more potently intoxicating opium, namely secularism! Today, ironically, all these secularists, communists, progressives, modernists (and what have you) rally behind, and espouse, the cause of INTOLERANCE, and the real danger to India comes, not from the Hindus, but from these very same people. I strongly argue that the need of the hour is not this dirty word anymore, but Tolerance, and Co-existence, which the Sanatana Dharma never lacked. 

Secularism is just another monotheism.  

Show me a Hindu radio station or Hindu favoring newspaper that has enough circulation to reach all Hindus. The national newspapers won't even publish letters sympathetic to Hindus. The true threat to Indian secularism is the thunderous silence maintained by the secularists on any issue regarding Abrahamic religions. Even the slightest criticism of these religions is considered as anti-secular. On the other hand continuous criticism of Hindu dharma is in their view essential for the welfare of secularism. It is this double standard that is eroding support for secularism.

Take the example of the mosque in the Kolkata airport. The issue has reached such a pass that a mosque in the middle of Kolkata airport can not be removed even though the Government acknowledges that it is a security risk and is preventing the airport from extending their runways. Union minister of state for North-East states, Tapan Sikdar on Tuesday blamed the West Bengal government for not doing much to shift a mosque located close to the runway at the N.S.C Bose International Airport in Kolkata. “The state government had no hesitation in removing three temples on Jessore Road that were coming in the way of development of the airport, but for the mosque, it kept silent,” Sikdar said while replying to queries of members of the Swadeshi Research Institute.

(source: unknown). Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999. Refer to My People, Uprooted: "A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal"  - By Tathagata Roy

Top of Page

How to become a Hindu? - By Michael Moore  

"Since we cannot create, we have no right to kill any living entity, and therefore man-made laws that distinguish between killing a man and killing an animal are imperfect"   

~ Swami Prabhupada - Founder of ISKON

***

The Sanctity of Life

The Isa Upanishad tells us that everything, from a blade of grass to the whole cosmos, is the home of God. God lives in every corner of existence. Therefore the whole creation is sacred. The Ganga is the symbol of that holy spirit that permeates every river and holy mountain. Kailash is the holy mountain, but all mountains are holy because God lives there. The cow is holy because ultimately all the animal kingdom is holy. This sense of the sacred in the whole of creation is fundamental to our relationship with nature.

Western civilization considers human life to be sacred, but Hindus have gone much further and said that not only human life but all life is sacred. Therefore all life forms, not just human beings, must be revered and respected. This is the reason for being vegeterian, which is ecological in the deepest sense. 

(source: Vedic Ecology: Practical Wisdom for Surviving the 21st century - By Ranchor Prime p. 96). For more refer to chapter on Nature Worship

Michael Moore author and filmmaker of Fahrenheit 9/11 has written:

"Entering Hinduism has traditionally required little more than accepting and living according to Hindu beliefs. Among those beliefs is that the cow should be revered as a mother to all because of the nourishing milk it provides. Therefore slaughter of cows is sacrilegious. "  

(Note: More than 25 billion animals are killed for food every year in the United States. This video shows the lives and deaths of chickens, cows, and pigs and makes a poignant case for vegetarianism and humane legislation. For more on animal slaughter - refer to http://www.meetyourmeat.com/).

Generally, the steps to becoming a Hindu are:   

• Join a Hindu worship community (you could find one near you at www.hindu.org/temples-ashrams/  

• Complete a course of study comparing Hinduism to other beliefs. 

• Discuss your changed beliefs with representatives of your former faith, and if needed, obtain a letter of release from your former religious organization. 

• Adopt a Hindu name at a name-giving ceremony. 

• Run an announcement in a local newspaper for three days explaining that you have severed your ties with your former faith and have adopted a new name. 

• Obtain a certificate testifying that an authorized Hindu priest has approved your entrance into the faith. 

(source: Stupid White Men ...and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! – Michael Moore   p. 133). Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to The Republican War on Science - By Chris Mooney. For more refer to How to Become a Hindu - By Hinduism Today publisher Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami).

Top of Page

What's in a Name? It is about Hindu Identity and Pride?

Many non-Hindus are completely ignorant of Hinduism, as a religion, and Hindus, equally are confused of their identity, and not only shirking to introduce themselves as Hindus, but also unable to give any definition of Hinduism, and one comes across several “Jacksons”, “Pauls”, “Siegals”, and “Auroras”, who suffer from their religious ignorance, try to hide their Hindu names respectively as Jai Kishans, Pals, Sehgals, and Aroras, in order to improve their images by identifying themselves with “whites” of similar names.

(source: The Philosophy of Hinduism - By Galav). Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999.

Top of Page

OM say Germans as they take to Yoga

From Berlin to Cologne, Hamburg to Munich, modern-day Germans are using yoga to get fit and explore the body-mind connection, according to German radio Deutsche Welle.

Yoga has long since been transformed from a flaky pursuit of ex-hippies into one of the West's most pervasive fitness trends. 

Throw a stone on any New York or Los Angeles street, and it seems you'll hit someone on the way to a yoga class, exercise mat in tow. Stars like Madonna, Sting and Gwyneth Paltrow have praised its virtues, and new yoga studios are sprouting in US cities like mushrooms after a rain.

Now, yoga's rocketing popularity has crossed the ocean. In all its styles and variations, Germans can't seem to get enough of yoga.

Kumud Schramm, spokeswoman for Germany's Yoga Teachers' Association, said more than three million Germans do yoga on a regular basis, and there are over 8,000 teachers to serve them. "We're really experiencing a boom in yoga," said Schramm. "Our lives are hectic, demanding, and take us to the limits of our physical and psychological limits. "People are seeking quiet, relaxation, and a look inside themselves. That's what they get with yoga."

Germany's latest fitness trend has its roots in a Vedic 3,500-year-old system that seeks to join the body and mind, using breathing techniques and meditation mixed with a series of physical postures, or Asanas. Today, however, yoga has moved more into the mainstream, and its focus is often just as much physical fitness as mental well-being. Yoga today is just as often seen as a good workout or a relaxation method as a stop on the road to enlightenment.

(source:  OM say Germans as they take to Yoga - newindpress.com. Refer to chapter on Yoga and Hindu Philosophy.

Top of Page

Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay

“The Races of Men. the means by which, in my judgment, the Asiatic, the African and the Indian will be brought into the Christian fold, will be by the propagation and extension of the White Races, carrying with them the Christian religion and European culture, with the untold blessings which follow in their train. The Greeks, in ancient times, propagated themselves by colonization - the Romans by conquest. From these two sources have originated all the great impulses which have been given to the civilization of the World. In one or the other of these ways have the blood and culture of the superior been diffused among the inferior races...The mission of the White Races upon the earth, seems to have been, as I have said, to civilize and Christianize it. For this the Creator has specially endowed them. Iie has given them powerful intellects; frames and constitutions wonderfully adapted to the vicissitudes of climate the extremes of heat and cold. He has made them ambitious, discerning and reckless of danger. Above all, he seems to have implanted in their bosoms an instinct which, in spite of themselves, drives them forward to the fulfillment of their lofty mission.”

(source: Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay - By George Otto Trevelyan). Refer to The War of Religions and The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

Top of Page

Hindu Mythbusters

Do Hindus eat monkey brains? You would think so if you saw the film "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Though some western viewers might have taken this Hollywood excess with a pinch of salt, many still have misperceptions about Hinduism--from the horrors of caste to the burning of widows. Yes, and don’t forget rat worship, arranged child marriages, female infanticide, dowry and the killing of young brides.

As always, sensational aspects are magnified, and a deeply complex religion is seen as some sort of a primitive idol-worshipping cult.

So who will set the record straight in the West? After all, here in America, Hinduism is not organized religion with a huge PR machine and official spokespeople. It is simply a way of life, a philosophy of living practiced by individuals in whichever way they choose, each working toward salvation. 

In a small town in rural Pennsylvania, yet another Hindu is debunking myths for non-Hindus. Dr. Jeffery D. Long is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College and received his PhD in comparative religious studies at the University of Chicago, focusing on Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Long, who is 34, has been involved with informal study of Hinduism since his childhood and ultimately embraced it.  The most common misconception of Hinduism that he has encountered has to do with cows and Gods: “There is a commonly held view that if people in India ate their cows, their hunger problem would vanish. This is, of course, absurd.” He explains to these skeptics the symbolic importance of the cow in Hinduism, as well as the fact that respect for the cow is really emblematic of respect for all life.  As for the perception that Hindus are idol-worshippers, Long explains the symbolism involved in murtipuja and the respects in which the many Gods are simultaneously One God. 

Michael W. Smith, 61, of St. Francis, Minnesota, has been teaching high schoolers, college students and adults about Hinduism for 30 years. Smith, who acquired knowledge through reading and from his gurus, says: “Christians generally think of Hinduism in terms of idol-worship, a belief in false gods rather than a single God, cults, devil worship, primitive superstitions and the abuses of the caste system and ill-treatment of women."

(source: Hindu Mythbusters - beliefnet.com). Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com).

Since 1989, more than 13,500 civilians and 5,250 security personnel have been killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. By contrast, over the same period, 29 persons have been indicted for terrorism in the state — 13 between 1989 and December 2002; since then, 16.

A symptom of the way things are. The courts won’t deliver. When someone — at the greatest risk to his life — acts to save the country, they shriek, ‘‘human rights violation’’. During the last 20 years, about 64,000 have been killed in terrorist-related violence.

All of them have been killed within the territory of India. 

(source: Listening to Sufi music as thousands are murdered - By Arun Shourie - indianexpress.com).

Hindu Influence in Java - Chandi Penataran

Penataran is the largest and most important Hindu temple complex in East Java. It lies Just 10 kilometres north of Blitar on the lower slopes of Mt Kelud. Dedicated to the God Siva, the temple was in use for at least three hundred years, from the 14th to 16th centuries. Most of the buildings which can be seen today, however, were constructed during Majapahit's golden century. The layout of the temple is similar to that found in the Balinese pura today. A number of small buildings are scattered within a sacred, walled enclosure, with the largest and most important temple at the rear of the complex. Hindu legends, among them the Ramayana epic, are carved in relief on the temple walls and terrace foundations.

The heavy sinous snakes of the Naga temple envelop the squat, square structure with the palpability of living pythons. The religious structures in Java are commonly called Chandis, a term which originally meant a commemorative building.

(image source:  Java - Insight Guides - By Peter Hutton).

***

The Chandi Penataran complex, is in Broadway’s patois, a sleeper. It gathers momentum slowly, gradually dissolving the feeling of anticlimax which is a typical first reaction: it has no soaring Loro Jonggrang pinnacle, no stupendous mass like Borobudur. The heavy sinous snakes of the Naga temple envelop the squat, square structure with the palpability of living pythons. Another level, and the magnificent boldness and bravura of the main temple commands the vision. And then there are the enthralling Ramayana reliefs. Suddenly it all fits. The flat vista of the beginning becomes a wonderland of new details, new discoveries.

Penataran's stones were cut and carved and assembled over a period of 250 years though most of the surviving buildings date from the great years of Majapahit during the 1300s.

Ramayana relief at Chandi Pantaran.

(image source:  Java - Insight Guides - By Peter Hutton).

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

***

The superb reliefs on the base of the sanctuary tell only part of the Ramayana story, but happily a part which is filled with action and excitement: followed anticlockwise the panels (interspersed with medallions of birds and animals) unfold the drama of Hanuman's secret mission to Ravana's palace on the island of Lanka, his capture, his escape, and finally his ferocious battle in which the death of the giant Kumbhakarna anticipates the eventual demise of Ravana on the sharp end of one of Rama's arrows. 

A hundred meters or so to the rear of the temple there's a small bathing place. Steps lead to cool, inviting water, and the walls of the pool are lushly carved with birds, beasts and flowers. It bears the date 1415, which probably makes it the oldest still used bathtub in Java.

Chandhi Sangosari

was the last monuments to be erected by the Singosari dynasty. The main structure of the temple was compeleted, but not all decoration was completed. Of the statues which once inhabited the temple's chambers only one remains: Agastya, the Divine tEacher and mentor of Shiva.

Dwarapala - door guardian

(source:  Java - Insight Guides - By Peter Hutton).

Top of Page

Catholic Ashrams ? Indianization of Christianity ?

Catholic adoption and adaptation of those things that Hindus regard as their sacred heritage and spirituality, a policy the Catholics have named "inculturation." It is a complex issue involving doctrine, cultural camouflage, allegedly deceptive conversion tactics and more

The Shantivanam ashram looks like a rishi's home transported from Vedic times to the banks of the sacred Cauvery River at a forested place near Trichy in South India. A pilgrim's first impressions are strong, and very Hindu: the elaborately colorful Hindu shrine; the bearded, saffron-robed "swami" seated cross-legged on a straw mat; devotees practicing yogic meditations, even chanting Hindu scriptures.

But these impressions gradually prove false. First, the eye detects that the courtyard shrine is for Saint Paul and that "puja" is actually a daily Mass, complete with incense, arati lamps, flower offerings and prasadam. Finally, one meets the "swami", learning he is Father Bede "Dayananda" Griffiths, a Christian "sannyasin" of impeccable British background.

This is a Christian ashram, one of more than 50 in India, which are variously described as "experiments in cross-cultural communication," "contemplative hermitages that revolve around both Christian and Hindu ideas," or (less charitably) "institutions to brainwash and convert India's unwary masses." Are these places to be endorsed by Hindus as worthy attempts to share each other's spirituality? Or are they a spiritual oxymoron, a contradiction of terms, because the Christians are interested in sharing - dialogue is the term they use - only as a means to conversion?

Hindu leaders are more and more aware that the Indianization of Christianity is a serious matter. They remember the fate of the American Indian religion and the native spiritual traditions of Africa and South America. More recently they recall that the Hawaiian people who numbered nearly 500,000 a century ago, are now less than 50,000 - their culture gone, their language spoken by a mere 500 people and their gods worshipped by a dying handful of kahuna priests.  All this was the effective and intentional bequest of a few dedicated Christian missionaries - good people who thought their work necessary and divinely ordained. The purpose which drove these early missionaries to eliminate non-Christian faiths and cultures has not changed. It has become more subtle, more articulately argued. It is certainly more of a problem to Africans, but India's Hindus would do well to remain alert and informed. That is why it is essential to examine and understand such places as Father Bede's Shantivanam.

Father Griffiths is an anomaly - a Hindu on the outside, a Catholic on the inside. And he's not the only one.

G.M. Jagtiani of Bombay wrote: "A mischievous attempt is being made by some Christian missionaries to wear the saffron robe, put tilak on their forehead, recite the Gita, and convert the Hindus to Christianity." S.Shanmukham of the Hindu Munnani, Kanyakumari, states: "Once I met an orange-robed sannyasin. I took her to be a Hindu sannyasin. When asked, she said 'I have put on this dress so that I can come in contact with Hindus very easily and tell them about Christianity.'" R.Chidambasaksiamma, Kanyakumari said. "It seems to be a sinister plan to make people accept Christ as God, the only God. They adopt all the philosophies and practices of Hindus but would accept only Jesus as God. It is only a development of their original plan of Indianisation of Christianity."

At the root of these criticisms is a deep distrust of the Christians in India. Imposed by force from the outside, Christianity is still considered an unwelcome intrusion from the West. Even Mahatma Gandhi stated that from the time Christianity was established in Rome in the third century, "it became an imperialist faith as it remains to this day." This unfortunate legacy has never been forgotten by the Hindus. Though the military backing is no longer present, enormous sums of money are sent into India for the use of missionaries. A well-monied and successful missionary is regarded as a threat to the national stability.

The official government document, Madhya Pradesh Report on Christian Missionary Activities (1956) stated, "evangelization in India appears to be a part of the uniform world policy to revive Christendom for re-establishing Western supremacy and is not prompted by spiritual motives. The objective is apparently to create Christian minority pockets with a view to disrupt the solidarity of the non-Christian societies. The ulterior motive is fraught with danger to the security of the State."

Christians are only three percent of India's population, yet they control 25% of all schools and 40% of all social service organizations. Their Western affiliations give them political entree and cultural clout beyond their numbers. Christians are widely viewed as not necessarily strongly loyal to the nation, the Catholics in particular being thought to be under the direct rule of the Vatican. The Madhya Pradesh report also says, "Because conversion muddles the convert's sense of unity and solidarity with his society, there is a danger of his loyalty to his country and state being undermined."

(source: Catholic Ashrams - hinduismtoday.com). Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism and and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS. Refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org. and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org.

Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation. Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887.

Catholic Church Expands Deceptive Program of "Indianization"

(Note: Catholic Church in India is making clever adjustments to make itself more palatable to Indians. This continues a process begun hundreds of years ago when some of the first Catholic missionaries to the country pretended to be like Hindu sadhus. The external adaptations, however, were not accompanied by any change in the Catholic philosophy that all non-Catholics are denied heaven.)

The Catholic church will take up the study of Sanskrit, adapt to monastic life in an ashram and adopt the Hindu ritual of aarti during mass if the movement towards Indianisation of the church gets the nod from 400 priests and five bishops congregating in Pune. The Catholic church has already adopted a number of Indian traditions and practices and has come a long way, four decades after the historic Second Vatican Council (1962-65) brought an epochal shift in the modern church through its declaration on religious liberty. Pune's Papal Seminary, which has ordained over 1,250 priests during the past 50 years, has continued with its modernisation effort along with its associate institutions such as the Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV), formerly the Pontifical Anthenaeum, and the De Nobili College. Pune-based Catholic leaders such as Joseph Neuner, Kurien Kunnumpuram, Francis X D'Sa, John Vattanky and Subhash Anand have been stressing for lesser control from the Vatican, to make the church "truly Indian and genuinely Christian."

Pandikattu Kuruvilla, teacher of philosophy at JDV and the Papal Seminary's rector, Ornellas Coutinho, explained that a number of Indian religious customs and practices have already been embraced by the Catholic church to become truly Indian. "A number of Christian priests, for example, strictly follow the ancient Indian ashram system of monastic life, such as those at the Bethany Vedavijnana Peeth (Pune), Satchitananda Ashram (Trichy), Kurusumala Ashram (Kerala) and the Sameskshna Ashram (Kalady, Kerala)," said Kuruvilla. "Practising vegetarianism, organizing satsangs and reading Bhagvad Gita are some of the changes that have taken place," he said.

(source: Catholic Church Expands Deceptive Program of "Indianization" - hinduismtoday.com).

Why this war on Hinduism?- These two (Christianity and Islam) hostile ideologies, flawed because they are not based on human experience but on spurious and fantastic literature, are based on a priori illusion that human beings are genetically flawed and can be redeemed only by symbolic conversion and the acceptance of their bookish deity. For instance, if the Christian and Islamic clergy do not propagate and force their sterile ideologies down the throats of unsuspecting or helpless people through dubious means, or do not force them to stay on with censure and punishment, their religions would be wiped out in decades. Europe is a primary example.

(source: Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil - christianaggression.org). Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

Top of Page

Tsunami hit South India: Calamity of epic proportions
Death, devastation, tears, relief

" Nature's majesty is even more awesome deep in the universe, where suns explode and black holes swallow entire solar systems. 

" Hindus believe just as construction is important, so is devastation. Nothing is permanent except the Soul." 

***

Imagine going for a morning walk along the sea as you do every morning. The sea is a Pacific influence and you perhaps dip your toe in the water. But before you realize what’s happening, you are caught in one of the worst natural calamities in living memory. For hundreds in Chennai’s Marina Beach on Sunday morning, it was nightmarishly like this. For thousands of fisherfolk, who had gone like every morning into the sea, it was again the same story — suddenly being caught in a phenomenon, tsunami, which struck India for the first time in recorded history.

The country was still coming to grips with the nature and scale of the disaster. The toll, according to the government, was 2,000 and rising, but other estimates put the toll at over 3,000. And there’s no news yet of 45,000 people in Car Nicobar and Greater Nicobar where a quake of 7.5 magnitude hit early in the morning. The trigger for the tsunami — a destructive wave train created by an undersea disturbance — was an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, just off the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

There were a series of aftershocks, creating mammoth waves that hit coastal Tamil Nadu, where the toll was the highest, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry. Orissa and West Bengal escaped relatively unscathed, with only two deaths reported till evening.
Over a thousand deaths are feared in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with extensive damage to the airport at Car Nicobar, just 115 nautical miles (about 300 km) from Sumatra, and Campbell Bay. The airport at Port Blair was damaged too, but a couple of flights took off later with fleeing tourists. Many more are still stranded.

In Tamil Nadu, the toll is expected to touch 2,500, with one report putting the figure at over 1,000 in Nagapattinam district alone. Cuddalore and Kanyakumari were the other badly-hit districts. Hundreds of pilgrims, including SC Judge GP Mathur, were left stranded on Vivekananda Rock near Kanyakumari. Hundreds of fishermen were missing and Chennai was inundated by what witnesses called six-metre-high waves. The Kalpakkam nuclear power also reported an influx of sea water, but officials said it was "fully safe"

“All the planet is vibrating” from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy’s National Geophysics Institute.

.

Most Powerful Quake in 40 Years Triggers Death and Destruction 

Dec. 26 - The most powerful earthquake in 40 years struck south Asia this morning, triggering tsunamis that smashed into villages, resorts and tourist isles, killing thousands and leaving hundreds missing. Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia were hit hardest as the tsunamis, some 30 feet high, washed away fishermen, tourists, cars and beachside stalls. The earthquake, which generated tidal surges that could be felt as far away as Africa, hit at 6:58 a.m. local time about 100 miles off the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra. It measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, which made it the largest in the world since 1964 and the fifth largest since 1900, according to the National Earthquake Information Center at the United States Geological Survey.

“All the planet is vibrating” from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy’s National Geophysics Institute. Speaking on SKY TG24 TV, Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth’s rotation.

The quake occurred at a place where several huge geological plates push against each other with massive force. The survey said a 620-mile section along the boundary of the plates shifted, motion that triggered the sudden displacement of a huge volume of water.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6754820/  

Top of Page

“A creed religion like Christianity... is constantly competing against all other religions — and, what is more, doing so on their own home grounds. Its success is measured in terms of the number of converts it makes."  

                                          ~  Michael Arnheim author of Is Christianity True (Skeptic's Bookshelf Series). Refer to  Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America and The Burningcross 

***

Natural Disaster - "a phenomenal opportunity" to convert the Hindu Heathens?
Purses with string attached?

Christianity Condition for Tsunami Aid

The Swedish Save the Children organization is concerned that many tsunami victims in Thailand aren’t being given help unless they convert to Christianity.

The pressure comes from Christian charities, primarily from the United States. Complains about the situation are reflected in a survey conducted by the Swedish and British Save the Children organizations, together with the United Nations children’s fund, UNICEF. Speaking to the newspaper “Svenska Dagbladet” the head of Swedish Save the Children’s tsunami relief in southeast Asia says in some places it feels like the 19th century, when missionaries demanded conversion as a condition for food and clothing.

The newspaper reports that when its reporters visited several orphanages, the children, who were Buddhist, were wearing t-shirts with slogans like “God loves you” and “Jesus is the way”.

(source: Christianity Condition for Tsunami Aid).  Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887.

***

Christian Organizations Reach Out to Tsunami Victims

The Christian website, Crosswalk.com, published a long story about Christian relief efforts following the tsunami ("source"). While the Christian charity exhibited by the rapid response of Christian organizations is admirable, the ulterior motives of conversion expressed by some are disturbing:

Some excerpts:

...."Doctor Ajith Fernando, who is considered by some to be the "Billy Graham of Sri Lanka,' heads up the Youth for Christ (YFC) office there. A long-time friend and partner of NDI, he wrote to Williams from Sri Lanka: 'What a sad day this has been! We keep hearing of more and more friends and loved ones of friends who have died or lost much of their belongings. The death toll for Sri Lanka alone is over 10,000 and keeps rising. We have prayed and wept for our nation for many years. The most urgent of my prayers has always been that my people would turn to Jesus. I pray that this terrible, terrible tragedy might be used by God to break through into the lives of many of our people.' "

The most urgent of my prayers has always been that my people would turn to Jesus. I pray that this terrible, terrible tragedy might be used by God to break through into the lives of many of our people.' "

***

...."In the wake of this disaster, Gospel For Asia's 1.5 million-member Believers Church in India is rallying support and deploying its leadership and members to minister to those suffering both physically and spiritually. 'In times like these, we know that God opens the hearts of those who suffer, and we pray that as our workers demonstrate God's love to them, many of them will come to know for the first time that real security comes only through Him,' Gospel For Asia president K.P. Yohannon said. He add, 'We ask that our brothers and sisters in the West take the time today to pray for these millions of victims, that they will feel God's presence and grace in a special way.' "

(source: Christian Organizations Reach Out to Tsunami Victims  Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS

Refer to Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org. and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org. Also refer to and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion.  Refer to of Crimes of Christianity - By G W Foote and J M Wheeler Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887. and The Burningcross

Indian Missionaries Get Rs.600 crores for Tsunami Conversions from UK

UK-based Disaster Emergency Committee's Contribution
(to India from its overall Rs 2800 crores)
Contributing Agency Rupees (crores)
Action Aid 60.46
CAFOD 126.31
CARE 18.44
Christian Aid 84.48
Concern India 2.93
Oxfam India 31.57
Save the Children 46.40
Tearfund* 23.02
World Vision 146.40
HelpAge India 36.28

Total 576.29

(*Comprising Discipleship Centre (DC), Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR) and Salvation.

(source: Indian Missionaries Get Rs.600 crores for Tsunami Conversions from UK - christianaggression.org).

Christian groups see disaster relief as an opportunity to create converts

As Western humanitarian organizations unleash an armada of relief supplies and workers into Asia's crisis zone, some evangelical Christian groups aim to bring the Gospel to the victims, as well.

Religious groups promise to be a major presence in the massive relief and reconstruction effort. InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based non-government organizations, reports that of its 55 member agencies providing tsunami aid, 22 are faith-based.
Most of the religious players, including the Red Cross, the American Jewish World Service, and Lutheran World Relief, have rules against proselytizing. At the same time, though, evangelical groups active in Asia, including the Southern Baptists' International Mission Board, Gospel for Asia, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance, say the Bible always impels them to create converts to the faith.

"This [disaster] is one of the greatest opportunities God has given us to share his love with people," said K. P. Yohannan, president of the Texas-based Gospel for Asia. In an interview, Yohannan said his 14,500 "native missionaries" in India, Sri Lanka, and the Andaman Islands are giving survivors Bibles and booklets about "how to find hope in this time through the word of God."

In Krabi, Thailand, a Southern Baptist church had been "praying for a way to make inroads" with a particular ethnic group of fisherman, according to Southern Baptist relief coordinator Pat Julian. Then came the tsunami, "a phenomenal opportunity" to provide ministry and care, Julian told the Baptist Press news service.

In Andhra Pradesh, India, a plan is developing to build "Christian communities" to replace destroyed seashore villages. In a dispatch that the evangelical group Focus on the Family posted on its Family.org Web site, James Rebbavarapu of India Christian Ministries said a team of U.S. engineers had agreed to help design villages of up to 400 homes each, "with a church building
in the center of them."

Yohannan said Sri Lankan officials are "extremely angry" with Christian missionary work and want to outlaw proselytizing. Some states in southern India have anti-conversion laws that bar "fraudulent manipulation," he said, adding: "I