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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.
***
 
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
***
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
(13th and 14th 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 10th and 13th 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 5th 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.
***
May I be forgiven my arrogance,
but what Indian gurus have to understand is that for Indian Communists, Hinduism
is the Number 1 enemy.
 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 | 
