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Conversion or Inversion? Organised
religious conversions are basically unethical. When such conversions are
inspired by foreign money and resources and targetted towards poverty ridden
illiterate sections of the society they are unacceptable. Such conversions are
the root cause of tensions leading to communal disharmony and ill-will. They are
contrary to our secular ethos. The history of
medieval Europe is a history of religious wars extending for well over three
centuries. There was more bloodshed in Europe in the name of religion than for
any other cause. Call it crusade or jehad it was sheer religious fanatism that
impelled its adherents to claim that salvation was possible only through the
prophet they chose to follow and through none else. Repelled by such senseless
wars and the atrocities committed in the name of God and Propeht, Karl Marx
concluded that religion was opium of the masses. The problem
with all personality-based religions is their exclusiveness, intolerance and
inflexibility. It starts with the supposition that an extra-cosmic-creator God
having His abode in heaven sends messages through His chosen Prophets for the
governance of mankind. The messages in the book are God's commandments to be
strictly followed by all men. Any violation thereof will invite God's wrath and
retribution. Being totally based on mere faith, there is little scope for
rational analysis of dogmas, creeds and rituals. The dos and don’ts are
supposed to be followed without questioning as they are God's commands.
Questioning amounts to heresy. Exclusive
religions lead to clash of personalities, each claiming to be superior to the
other. Missionaries in
general and the Christian missioanries in particular base their claims to
convert on the ground of social service such as opening hospitals, schools or
colleges and serving down-trodden masses in several other ways. All social
service is secular in character. A service with an ulterior motive and with
strings attached is no service at all. True social service is service without
motive or reward. What has social service to do with religious conversions? Ethiopia, the
world's oldest Christian country, adhering to Christianity for more than a
thousand years, is also the poorest country in the world. More than a thousand
years of Christianity did not mitigate the awful poverty of its people and
religion did not help raise their standard of living. Just a decade ago millions
perished due to famine. The citizens of Ethiopia continue to remain ill-fed,
ill-clothed and illiterate, steeped in poverty and disease. Philippines,
another very old Christian country, is no better in terms of social uplift.
Numerous countries in Africa, whose inhabitants follow personality-based
religions, continue to be exploited, oppressed and suppressed. True, Europe
and America are prosperous today. The credit goes to science and technology and
not to their religion. In fact religion in Europe opposed science at every step.
Scientists and philosphers were subjected to inquisition and were burnt at the
stakes for speaking the truth. The prosperity
of these countries is also partly due to the fact that most of them were
colonial imperialist powers till recently and much of their wealth was
accumulated by ruthlessly exploiting the resources of the colonies. If a large
section of the Indian population is poor and illiterate and continues to be
dalit, the colonial masters and the missionaries have an obligation to explain.
A hundred and fifty years of British rule was more than enough period to remove
poverty and to mitigate all social ills. They had the countries resources at
their command. They wielded unfettered power in the economic, social and
political field. They had at their disposal the entire adminsitration. What
prevented them from removing poverty and uplifting the down-trodden, specially
when they claimed to be governed by Christian ideals? In fact the colonial
rulers gave a free hand and encouraged missioanries of various churches and
denominations from different parts of Europe and America to engage in the work
of conversion. This
conclusively establishes that all claims of social uplift through conversion of
religion is fantastic nonsense. Conversion is the real motive under the garb of
social service. The age-old
Indian tradition in the spiritual field is aimed at assimilation and not
conversion. For us religion, unlike politics, is not a game of numbers. All the
spiritual disciplines that originated in India follow this glorious tradition of
assimilation. There have never been religious wars in this country—no crusades
or jehads. Buddha, Mahvira, Rama, Krishna, Guru Nanak and a plethora of rishis,
saints and sages command respect of a vast majority of the inhabitants of this
country. Truth can only be one. these spiritual scientists discovered the same
truth over and over again, each corroborating and fulfilling the other. We, in this
country, revere Lord Jesus Christ equally well. The very picture of Jesus, rings
an affectionate chord in the heart of everyone. We are not averse to bowing our
heads in reverence to this noble prince of love, peace and amity. We adore Jesus
Christ as much as any Christian. Just as Lord
Buddha is reverred as the tenth avatar (by all Hindus), Jesus Christ could well
have been the eleventh. If this has not come to pass, there must have been some
reason. Perhaps, the reason is that the Christian Church has erected a
barbed-wire fence of exclusiveness around Jesus Christ. The Church
would have us believe that salvation lies only through Jesus Christ and through
none else. They tell us to turn our faces away from Buddha, Mahavira, Guru
Nanak, Rama and Krishna. They would want
us to disown our rich spiritual heritage, centuries old culture and tradition
and tread only a single track. This attitude
is totally un-Indian and unacceptable to the vast majority of our countrymen. We
in this country are habituated to swim in perennial rivers and not in small
ponds or lakes. Ours is a spiritual horizon without borders. It is this
clash of basic ideologies that disturbs every right thinking Indian about the
dangerous consequences of motivated religious conversions. India's
spiritual tradition lays stress on tolerance and assimilation and accepts truth
from wherever it may come. The Church on the other hand propagates a religion
based on a singular personality, conformity and conversion. The one is
all-inclusive, the other is dangerously exclusive. No exclusive
personality-based religion can support a secular state in the true sense of the
term. It is only an all- inclusive religion or spiritual discipline that can
sustain a secular state. The ultimate aim of conversion is to subvert the unity
of the country by changing its demographic chracter leading to demands of
separation and when these organised attempts are inspired by foreign-aided
money, they are clearly politically motivated. It is in the interest of a secular state like ours to enact laws prohibiting organised religious conversion under the garb of social service. It is equally necessary to stop the inflow of foreign money and resources singularly aimed at conversions.
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