@DeepInThought4U

ॐ तत् सत् || Truth. Dharma. Equality. Free speech. I endeavour to uphold these virtues. I lean neither to the Left nor the Right. Instead I aim to align myself with the Truth. Views expressed in this eclectic blog may be strong, amusing and/or based on personal opinions - all in keeping with the virtues listed above. All open-minded enthusiasts are welcome to peruse, share, learn and teach. Kindly remember to respect copyright and acknowledge this as the source.

Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Film conversations: The Kerala Story

Why I saw this film...

Usually, I never venture into the multiplexes due to prior bad experiences, preferring instead, to catch a new release when it arrives on OTT platforms. Even as I was watching this film, there was a group of people continuously chattering throughout the movie just behind us. But I put up with all this only because of one thing: to make a statement. When the filmmakers are sticking their necks out to show the truth as it is, and others are out to ban the film for the exact opposite reason, I thought I should express my solidarity with the former.

About the A rating...

This film has been rated A by the censors. Although understandable, this is unfortunate because adolescent girls, who are one of the gullible and vulnerable target groups, would be deprived of the opportunity to see radical evangelization in action in this film.

While the ticket sellers were thoroughly checking the IDs of young people at the counters, I couldn't help wondering about the futility of this exercise, because in just a few weeks, this film will make its way to the OTTs where even five-year-olds will have access to it! When it does, though, I hope adolescent girls do watch it.

Be that as it may, even as I was walking within the theatre, I saw a family with a woman holding a young sleeping child - either they had given a written undertaking to the ticket sellers that they will keep their child sleeping throughout the film, or, more likely, they snuck in the child by hiding it while buying the tickets!

Contents of the film...

I am not going to go into the technical aspects, or indeed, the performances in this film, all of which are very good. I will leave that to the cine critics of which you will find plenty on the Internet. I shall, instead, focus on the story on which the film is based. I am also assuming that given the evidence presented towards the end of the film, these stories actually happened and the reasons behind them occurred as shown in the film.

It's also important to remember, as we go into this, that one should challenge the radical ideology per se, and not hate the person with such an idea. Since Hinduism is the primary target of radical thoughts expressed in this film, I shall focus on this, and attempt to pass on the wisdom gained to the groups involved in or affected by the story of faith-based conversions and persecution.

To the radicals...

One of your kind, a 'snake-in-the-grass' female recruiter in the film talks about Hindu Gods' powerlessness to defend Hindus, while her Almighty never lets them down. Here's my counter:

Why did a crane collapse, killing hundred of 'believers' in the holiest of holy places a few years ago? Why do 'believers' suffer from hardships such as natural disasters, poverty, and diseases across the globe? You may defend and deny as much as you want, but one just needs to take a peek in our neighbouring country's yard to understand the dangers stemming from the nexus between a theocratic government, a subversive military, and nonstate extremists.

Further, a woman's clothing does not afford her any protection against a determined sexual predator as has been reported in several crime news reports. Admit it; the tent-like garb is an expression of extreme patriarchy and intended to keep the woman subdued, something that is harrowingly depicted in this film.

To the pseudoseculars...

Are you okay with the reductive division of 'believers' and 'non-believers/kafir/heathen' of the entire human population? How can these prescriptive religions proclaim that their's is the only correct path and that all others are false? As it is, these book-based religions are yet to figure out if they should interpret their scriptures literally or figuratively.

Indeed, this very confusion has resulted in the divergent, radical ideologies that the story of this film is based on. This comes to the fore during several scenes, one such being the discussion whether the use of mobile phones is blasphemous or not.

How is it that you, the paragons of scientific rigour and logic, are unable to see the stupidity inherent in such misogynistic customs as keeping women under tent-like body/head covers, female genital mutilations, and coerced marriages contingent on conversions of non-believers?

Why is it that you apply the law of free speech differentially? A case in point: you were okay when the BBC documentary on Gujarat riots was shown in the streets, but silent when the governments of two states banned this film. One loses count of the number of slurs that Bollywood has inflicted on Hinduism and its adherents over the years. You ignored all of that, but you are up in arms over this film that has dared to call a spade a spade.

If these issues and the terrorist activities that stem from their misinterpretation do not open your eyes to the clear and present danger they pose to the world and to the future of humanity, I don't know what could be afflicting you. Instead of calling out this radical ideology for what it is, you are intellectualizing and rationalizing the problem to the extent that one fine day, it will come back to bite you.

To the parents of girls...

Watch the film and wake up! As one of the characters asks her hypocrite communist father why he did not teach her about Hinduism, I ask you if you have done enough to educate your children about the beauty of Sanatana Dharma? Have you told them why it is called so - the Eternal Religion?

Have you told them about the innumerable Saints that have graced this beautiful land of ours and left behind a rich legacy of love and wisdom? Have you taught them the meaning behind our customs and rituals, which often have a logical and/or a health-related basis for their existence?

Have you taught them the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma: sarvatmabhava (oneness of all souls), satya (truth), dharma (righteousness or right duty), karma (action and fruit of such action), and vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family)? Have you pointed out that these values are more important than superficial rituals and a narrow, divisive worldview?

To girls and young women...

Do not believe in 'love at first sight'. It only signifies the psychological phenomenon of collapse of ego-boundaries - that is, you are only temporarily identifying with your lover. When you regain your ego-boundary, the lover's shortcomings become painfully visible, or, in this case, his true colours.

Instead, place high value on character assessment before you commit to any kind of relationship. Looks are important initially, but in the long run, the harsh reality is that marriages are hard work, and require a high degree of commitment, trust and adjustment from both parties for them to work.

Understand that love, in its truest sense, is unconditional. The moment somebody says 'I shall marry you if you convert to my religion', run from such a person as fast and as far as you can. You are perfect as you are, and if someone really loves you, he/she will accept you for what you are - your entire personality with its strengths and weaknesses, as well as your faith, language and culture.

Beware that they will throw the caste brick at you. Even though the concept of caste/varna/jati is only an indication of the professional groups that traditional Indian society was divided into, no doubt, casteism is a bane in todays' world. But then, you should ask them, 'why is your own religion divided into so many sects and denominations?' If there is only one formless Almighty, why then are adherents of these groups fighting amongst themselves for supremacy of their own ideology?

Remember that not all followers of prescriptive religions are radicals, but some are - telling them apart is the problem! Be friendly with people of all faiths, but do not get so overinvolved that you fall for the indoctrination attempts of those with a proselytizing, bigoted mindset.

Finally...

The message, one hopes, the followers of book-based religions get is that they live and let live: keep your religious practices, but make sure you are not harming others by disowning radical thoughts and respecting others' faiths. As I have already said, our battle is with the ideology, not the person - it's the mind and the body that could be corrupted, not the Atman which is pure in all beings.

Evangelism and conversions are reflective of the underlying insecurity of book-based religions and exposes their patronizing efforts at homogenizing the entire world according to their own restrictive worldview.

For the reasons cited above, The Kerala Story is highly recommended viewing!

May truth prevail and justice be done in the cases covered in this film, as well as in all cases of religious conversions and persecution.

Picture source:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24268454/?ref_=tt_mv_close

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

God's own country? Not for this Hindu God

Swami Ayyappa, Swami Ayyappa...

Neene gatiyappa, nanage neene gatiyappa...

[O Lord Ayyappa... You are my only refuge...]

Thus sings Kerala's living legend Yesudas in an old Kannada film. (It would be very interesting to know the legend's views on the chaos unleashed by the Supreme Court's recent verdict on Sabarimala.)

First of all, let's cast a glance on the mytho-history of the place. Lord Ayyappa, born of the union of Shiva and Vishnu (as Mohini), is also called Hari-Hara Putra for this reason. He was borne specifically to bring an end to the demoness Mahishi. After her annihilation at the hands of the Lord, Mahishi was released from her curse and was transformed into a beautiful maiden. She proposed marriage to the Lord. The Lord refused, but relented later by stating that he will marry her if and when His devotees stop appearing at his doorstep.

Malikapurathamma, as Mahishi is called today, is said to be waiting in a separate temple in the Sabarimala complex for such an eventuality to occur. As a mark of respect for her patience and sacrifice, women in the childbearing age voluntarily refrain from entering the sanctum of Lord Ayyappa.

Besides, the bhaktas of Lord Ayyappa are required to observe brahmacharya - complete celibacy for a period of 41 days before the Makara Sankranti (in mid-January every year) when they congregate at Sabarimala for the ensuing worship and festivities. The male bhaktas are required to wear the mala and black dress throughout the period of abstinence. They are to follow strict rituals and changes in lifestyle: not smoking/drinking, not consuming non-vegetarian diet, and crucially, abstaining from sex. (I have seen several patients, severe alcohol-dependents who have turned teetotalers during this period.)

A male bhakta is to look upon others as his brothers and sisters, and address his fellow bhaktas as 'Swami'/'Sami'. Basically, an average male follower transforms himself into something of a living saint during this period of purity and abstinence. Therefore, for the male bhaktas, contact with women in the reproductive age-group is strictly prohibited.

These, as far as I am aware, are the only reasons why women in childbearing age are disallowed from entering the holy sanctum at Sabarimala. And mind, the women in this age-group have been following this dictum voluntarily; they are not being oppressed or excluded from worship due to any patriarchal reasons.

Having said all that, do we want the status quo to continue? Do we want women to be excluded from the sanctum, even due to the reasons cited above? Clearly not. We want them to enter the sanctum... eventually. We want the perception of purity to undergo a transformation that does not look at the act of menstruation as necessarily evil or impure. But such a change takes time.

All through the history of Indian society, there have been examples of arrival and settlement of alien cultures and traditions that went through the dual process of conflict, and adjustment and assimilation, before the syncretism that we see today became a reality. This is true of foreign invasion and occupation of India and the sociocultural changes thereof, the bhakti movement that originated from the need to negate ritualism and varna/jati system, the abolition of sati, the prevention of child-marriage, the laws against dowry system, saving and educating the girl child, decriminalization of homosexuality, etc. None of these occurred instantaneously: they came about only after several hundreds and thousands of years of conflict, adjustment, and finally, acceptance.

In time, with gradual change in opinions, through well-intentioned laws and acts, and altered public perception, the bigger transformation will come about. So the key word here is, eventually... eventually change will occur; it is not easy to change firmly entrenched cultural and religious notions by the single stroke of a tipsy judge's pen.

I say tipsy because the Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court seem to have acted on a whim - the kind that occurs to you after downing a peg or two. I further wonder if the Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court got out of the wrong side of the bed on the day, and said, "Yo dude! Let's do something rad today!" And then 4 of the 5 Judges decided to strike off the sacrosanct 800 year old religious custom at Sabarimala. (It is interesting to note that the one Judge who dissented was a woman.) I would like to call these four assenting Judges, the 'Rad 4'.

The present Keralite government is of course, chuffed, considering its manifesto appears to be aligned only against Hindu practices, and not any other religion's. The government, in all likelihood, arranged for the surreptitious entry of women in childbearing age-group into the sanctum. They also brought out a human wall of women in support of the Supreme Court's verdict. It was howlarious to watch interviews of burkha-clad women who hadn't a clue what they were doing there; one of them confessed her husband asked her to be there! Sorry mate, Irony, that's another death for you...

Apparently the Rad 4 were concerned about "equality, freedom of conscience and right to personal liberty" of [Hindu] women, and the fact that "to treat [Hindu] women as the children of a lesser God is to blink at the Constitution," and "placing the burden of men's celibacy on women stigmatizes them, stereotypes them." Noble... noble thoughts indeed!

I have added [Hindu] to the above statements since the Rad 4 appear to be concerned only about the welfare of Hindu women. Dear Honourable Rad 4, may I draw your attention to the following non-Sabarimala examples where women are so stigmatized and stereotyped that their plight blinks at the Constitution?

1. Girls/women are not allowed into the sanctum of the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. Yes, even infant girls are not allowed - I have experienced this first-hand.

2. Women are disallowed from attending Friday prayers in mosques.

3. Churches of many denominations do not have female priests/pastors because "only a baptised man validly receives sacred ordination".

4. Women of a certain religion are required to wear redundant head-cloths and dress up like walking bank vaults. They are considered to be the 'personal property' of their husbands with hardly any rights to property/divorce.

5. In a certain religion, polygamy is allowed, but polyandry is disallowed.

5. Preachers of a certain religion exhort their male adherents into carrying out certain acts that will get them a place in paradise where they will be served upon by virgins. Yes, nothing short of virgins would do for our intrepid heroes, when, after a hard day's bombing, they go to claim their just reward.

6. In certain religions, the inhuman and dangerous practice of female genital mutilation continues to date.

One could go on, of course, but you get the point? The legend of Sabarimala is a matter of faith - why target only Hindus' faith and not the faith of other religions? Conversely, why not go hammer and tongs at the regressive religious practices of other religions as well? In the absence of the latter, the question that begs to be asked is, does the Supreme Court possess the will, impartiality and courage to do so?

I am not holding my breath over it. However, until the Supreme Court does so, we can seek succour from the song quoted above.

Swamiye sharanam Ayyappa...!

Image sources:
https://www.hindugallery.com/lord-ayyappa-images/
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/unprecedented-security-in-sabarimala-trupti-desai-held-up-at-kochi-airport-due-to-protests-3187451.html

References:
https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/do-you-know-the-story-of-ayyappa/272129
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sabarimala-legend-women-lord-ayyappa-1351674-2018-09-28
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sabarimala-verdict-live-updates-supreme-court-women-temples-kerala-5377598/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordination_of_women_and_the_Catholic_Church. (Vatican Canon 1024: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3P.HTM)

Monday, August 13, 2018

Re Osho: book & film conversations

Was Osho killed? Murdered by the US government?

That's the thought that remains with you as you finish Osho's 'autobiography'. Although Osho has been credited as the author of Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic, it has been put together by his followers. I was interested in finding out about the life of the man behind all those seemingly outrageous opinions and meditative techniques. And it makes for a fascinating read.

Equally fascinating, and some might say, titillating, are the 2 Netflix documentaries on Osho: Wild Wild Country and Guru: Bhagwan, His Secretary & His Bodyguard.

From these readings and viewings, the philosophy of the most charismatic spiritual leaders of our times becomes apparent - somewhat. It is not possible to glean his entire thought process and methodology even if you happened to be a close confidante.

Perhaps, in many ways, it is meant to be that way. Spiritual mystics are meant to be inscrutable and unfathomable - one of Osho's methods was to shock/titillate his followers into some kind of awakening.

Hence you find him, at various times, being jovial, being disinhibited, being cantankerous, lashing out at religious practices, advocating dynamic meditation, advising followers to have sexual contact with each other, owning a fleet of Rolls Royces, using drugs, etc, etc.

But at no other time was his controversial philosophy debated, abhorred and targeted more than during his disastrous stay in America. This is addressed very well in the 2 documentaries, especially in the 6-part Wild Country.

One can't help wondering, in hindsight, why his secretaries ever select this place for his commune? Did they honestly believe that the conservative Christian local population would put up with such practices as personal meditation and sexual expression (as opposed to repression)?

Promptly, the Americans - both the general public and the legal/administrative leaders - reacted as they continue to do towards anything that they see as a threat to their faith, culture and nationhood (remember WMD?). They came down like a ton of bricks on the nascent community with multiple legal proceedings and forced Osho to agree to flee US.

His commune did not help its own cause with its in-your-face attitude and infighting - mostly by Osho and his two groups of close confidantes. When it mattered most, Osho himself could have practised silence, as he most often did in his commune. But he came out with allegations against his secretary, Ma Ananda Sheela, which opened the doors to the final, decisive legal proceedings.

What's not shown in the documentaries (but is mentioned in the book) is that Osho was hounded by the US, and had to move from country to country after his legal settlement in US because he was denied asylum wherever he landed. Sadly, he experienced this even in India, thanks to the bullying tactics by the 'Policeman of the World'. It is particularly disgusting to know how the US president arm-twisted the president of the one country that did give him asylum - Uruguay (by threatening to impose sanctions), and compelled him to expel Osho.

As if that weren't enough, it is also said that Osho died from the effects of thallium poisoning carried out by the US state during his incarceration in US jails. I wouldn't be surprised if the Vatican influenced the US government in persecuting Osho, as later media reports speculated.

Coming to more positive findings from my Osho study. Osho's philosophy struck me as being crystal clear with regards to what matters and what does not in spiritual life. This is evident even from his early life experiences. In the book, he gives a vivid description of his enlightenment moment.

There are also hilarious anecdotes of how the child Osho confronted a Jain monk at his grandparents' house with unanswerable questions; and how he conducted his classes when he later became professor at a college - very informally and irreverently, much to the chagrin of his exasperated principal. He also gives rational explanations to most of his seemingly outlandish whims and fancies.

Osho dedicates a chapter to understanding mental health issues, as they are studied and practised in the West. He says, 'Sigmund Freud introduced psychoanalysis into the world. It is rooted in analyzing the mind. It is confined to the mind... The goal of Freudian psychoanalysis is not very great. The goal is to keep people normal. But normality is not enough...' Instead, Osho advocates standing out of one's mind - or ecstasy, or transcending the mind itself.

Broadly, I agree with two particular philosophies of Osho: his critique of organised religions, and the need to address repressed emotions and sexual impulses.

Osho is unsparing in his criticism of organised religions; none of the major religions of India and the world escape his irreverence towards them. And here's the thing - his criticism does not feel exaggerated; indeed one would be hard-pressed to come up with an acceptable counter-argument to his criticism. Basically, Osho advocates stripping Faith of all its unhelpful coverings - rituals, rigidities and falsehoods - leaving only the spiritual core that really matters.

For repressed emotions, he advocates (among many others) a meditative technique that involves 'boiling up' oneself through rapid breathing, letting go of pent up and repressed emotions through crying/yelling/thrashing out, and finally observing a period of silence.

He rightly points out that it is only after these repressed emotions are sublimated, the mind becomes conducive to meditation, which requires stillness and silence from within.

Some of the other Osho gems that I picked up from the book are given here:

On learning:

Why is every language called the mother tongue? Because the mother speaks and the father listens - and that's how the children learn. That's how I learned.

On living life:

Once you are ready to say, "I don't care about respectability," then the society is absolutely impotent to do anything against your will.

On religion:

All holy books are corpses, dead flowers and nothing else... Truth, the living truth, has to be discovered by each individual by himself. Nobody can give it to you.

The moment truth is organized, it becomes a lie. An organized religion is nothing but a hidden politics, a deep exploitation by the priesthood. They may be shankaracharyas, imams, rabbis, or popes - it makes no difference.

True religion has no name, it cannot have any name. Buddha lived, Jesus lived it - but remember Jesus was not a Christian and Buddha was not a Buddhist, he had never heard of the word. The truly religious people have been simply religious, they have not been dogmatic.

...Christianity has not developed the science of meditation in any way. It has remained a very mediocre religion; so is Judaism.

On meditation:

Enlightenment is a very individual process. Every person passes through different phases, because every person in many lives has gathered different kinds of conditionings.

You cannot do meditation, you can only be in meditation... Dhyana is dropping all contents of the mind and just being.

Osho's message:

I am an incurable dreamer. But I can say to you that whatever I have dreamed in my life, I have managed it without doing anything. Just a proposal to existence.

Be in the world, but don't be of it. Live in the world, but don't allow the world to live in you. That's my message...

So, here's what I have to say:

Osho may have been killed. But Osho-hood continues to thrive, and draw in adherents by the millions; his message lives on. You can adore Osho; you can hate Osho. But ignore him and his message at your own peril.

Image sources:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61695TrLHJL.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Wild_Wild_Country.png

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTYwMTg0NTk0N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTMwNDk5Mw@@._V1_.jpg

https://realization.org/img/osho.3.1500.jpg

Saturday, September 26, 2015

This and that: religion

As many as three rationalists; Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Phansare and M M Kalburgi, have been shot dead by alleged right-wing activists in the previous few months. This is a disturbing trend, and does not augur well for the secular status of India, or indeed, for the egalitarian outlook of Hinduism. As Amartya Sen states in his The Argumentative Indian, there has always been a place for dissent and debate in Hindu dharma and in the larger context of an inclusive society. Whatever the motivations behind these acts, Sanatana Dharma does not sanction killing to silence dissent, and thus deny the victim the chance to work out his or her karma in his or her lifetime. Therefore these killings have to be denounced by all. The perpetrators should realize that wantonly silencing anybody who speaks against their thoughts and actions is a surefire sign of emasculation. 'If you are unable to come up with a suitable riposte, get rid of the source of the problem itself', is one of the symptoms of this condition. Instead, why not try your hand at coming up with your own counter-opinion, or engaging in an open debate with the opinionist? Do not malign the sanctity of Sanatana Dharma, and relegate it to a fundamentalist minimalist status.

Our heart goes out to the victims of the stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage. To see the lifeless bodies of hundreds of pilgrims dressed in white, and heaped upon each other, fills one with a sense of foreboding. Apparently this has happened several times in the past, and a few days before the stampede, a crane crashed in to the sanctum killing several people. While our condolences should go out to the families of the victims, one also has to wonder as to why such a thing has to happen at all. This is exactly the kind of thing that rationalists would spring upon; why did the followers of a religion that steadfastly holds that it is the only true path, die such an ignominious death; and that at the holiest of its sanctums? These sort of incidents also occur at mass gatherings of followers of other faiths as well. Therefore it can be assumed with some conviction that there is no such thing as a perfect religion, which provides immunity to its adherents against such untimely disasters. Therefore, one can also conclude, that conversion from one religion to another is a redundant exercise.

The Pope is visiting the US. Yesterday, it was heartening to see a multi-faith prayer meet at the site of the 9/11 attacks. The priests of Islam, Jewism, Sikhism, and Hinduism, were all seen together with the head of the Roman Catholic Church on the same stage. There must be some hope for humanity after all. It seems that this Pope has brought about a different approach to his role, and is not averse to speaking the truth. Certainly, praying with the followers of other faiths, some that are often considered to be heretical by evangelists, is a step in the right direction. Now, if we can somehow get him to acknowledge that proselytization and conversion do not belong in today's world...I'll dream on.

Image source: http://decorativeprayerflags.com/flags/F0046_SacredSymbols.jpg

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Forget IAS, here's IES

IES. Yes, we have a new civil service establishment in the country - the Indian Evangelical Service. It comes with the added benefit of civil servants doubling up as priests and proselytizers.

For those of you who are still in the dark, an IAS official, no less, has been proselytizing! Not just advertising his religion, but, as reports suggest, openly denouncing other faiths in a communally sensitive area. Apparently, this very same person had gone on record saying that it is "a sign of wrath of God on Hindu sinners" about the Uttarakhand floods.

There was a raging debate on the issue of the IAS official proselytizing last night on the News Hour on Times Now channel. His defenders were suggesting that there is a constitutional right - Article 25 - that allows one to adhere to, believe in and propagate one's religion. No doubt, evangelical organisations have taken full advantage of this clause to carry out their clandestine activities.

Further, another guest on the program suggested that if what the IAS official is doing is wrong, then the pooja offered to Hindu Gods in government offices is also wrong. Two wrongs still do not make a right. By all means ban religious activities in all public service institutions and organisations.

Then they will still cry foul, because that would mean the end of all Christian schools, colleges and hospitals, where faith is openly propagated and religious symbols and icons are prominently displayed.

But then again, why wouldn't they propagate? It is all part of the grand scheme of influencing gullible and vulnerable sections of populations, such as children and the sick people, so that the number of 'believers' increases manifold.

Actually, it already has increased; go to North Karnataka and East Godavari areas and see for yourself. We are not even talking about Kerala and Tamil Nadu here, where Christianity is said to have had its origin, and, over the years, has established a firm base.

As the numbers increase, we should expect more and more of such proselytizers from prominent walks of life, brazenly advertising their religion and gaining new recruits. Ghar wapsi, it can be argued, is a flawed response to evangelisation and conversion activities of all sorts.

Actually, the proselytizers can't help it you see, because it is written. The church 'rule book' has made it very clear that there is going to be a second coming of the Son of God, and when that happens, all the souls who are true believers would be saved and housed in the Kingdom of God. Therefore it is incumbent upon every believer to propagate the faith and get more recruits.

On the other hand, if you haven't signed on to the program, well, then that's your grave error, and you will be rotting in hell for eternity. Really? Only because you did not believe in a notion? I thought God was a lot more benevolent than that.

It is this basic tenet that compels people such as the IAS officer to 'harvest' souls that can be saved from damnation. Remember also, that merely signing on to the program is not enough. You have to totally give up on your old practices and faith, and not just that, totally denounce them, abhor them and tear up your scriptures, which are an affront to the 'True God'. Really? I thought God was a lot more mature and tolerant than that.

So to fulfil something which has been decreed by the church, which of course, may never come true, proselytizers go out on their mission to create a nation of 'believers'.

Now which of these tenets and notions are actually secular? How can we, as citizens of a progressive, emerging, secular democracy, put up with a notion that says 'mine is the only true path, my God is the only real God, yours is demonic, therefore you should join me if you want to save yourself, otherwise you will rot in hell'? Isn't this kind of thought process that can 'splinter' the country, Mr Obama?

We love Jesus - his life, his work, his example, is worth worshipping and emulating. But he is not alone, as evangelists would have you believe. India has been home to multitudes of seers of similar magnitude and spiritual aura. Besides, Sanatana Dharma has always extolled the validity and equality of all faiths.

The fundamentalist ideology propagated by evangelists goes against the very foundation of a secular democracy. Worryingly, the Christian community has not so far denounced the IAS official's opinion or behaviour at all. Therefore, the only secular alternative that we would be left with - if this continues unabated or spreads to other parts of the country - might just be banning advertising and propagation of all religions.

In this context, there are three monumental works that clearly elucidate the issues at play, the reasons behind them, and possible solutions. These are:

Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dalit Faultlines by Rajiv Malhotra & Aravindan Neelakandan
Harvesting our Souls: Missionaries, Their Design, Their Claims by Arun Shourie
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

Breaking India speaks about the funding sources of certain vested interests who are bent upon bifurcating the country. Harvesting our Souls is a no-holds-barred attack on the lies, manipulations and ulterior motives behind all conversion activities undertaken by missionaries. It also cleverly quotes from the Bible itself to highlight fundamental and intolerant ideas at play. Zealot, on the other hand, tells the charming and touching story of the historical Jesus, which has been twisted, glorified and appropriated to suit the evangelical requirements of the early church.

To date, there hasn't been a convincing response to the above works from the defenders of evangelism. All three, are highly recommended if you are interested in knowing the truth and preserving the secularism and unity of the country.

Image source: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rJxSg4dejsM/0.jpg

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Book condemnation: The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ

Ridiculous!

That's the word that springs to mind as you read the back page blurb; it is off-putting to know that the author later confessed to having cooked up a story as important as this. You are left wondering if what you are reading is fact or fiction.

The way the book progresses also does not help matters. Instead of talking about Jesus in India, Notovitch elaborately describes his own travel details.

Right at the beginning of the book, there are two chapters of his sojourn across northern Indian and the Himalayas, with his coterie of helpers (read slaves) who translate the local language for him and attend to his every need and whom he condescendingly describes as 'my Hindu', his horror at seeing shrines dedicated to 'horrible Hindu idols', and the trouble he took in getting to the monasteries where he encountered 'ugly' Tibetans spinning the prayer wheel, and the likes.

There are sweeping conclusions about Hinduism, its caste system, and religious rituals, typically based on a western man's limited and lackadaisical understanding of these issues, which of course take on a tinge of legitimacy over a period of time, because a white sahib has written it!

There is a laughable conclusion about the original writer of Hindu scriptures. According to Notovitch, Krishna wrote all of them and divided the Vedas - hence he is also called Vyasa! I rest my case.

When we finally get to the bits regarding Jesus' life in India, we are not sure how much of it to believe. Basically it is a re-telling of the events recorded in several versions of the Bible, with the addition of Jesus' Indian experiences - his encounter with Brahmins, whom he countered by uplifting Shudras, his dabble with 'Djainism' (Jainism for you and me), and his final asceticism in a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh.

All this is supposed to have happened during his childhood, before he returned to Israel and went about sermonising and gaining disciples, prior to his ultimate crucifixion. There is a typically short-sighted evangelistic comment about how good it would have been if the whole of India, with its large population, had taken to Issa, and followed the 'true path'.

That all this was investigated and ridiculed by no less a personage as Max Muller means that one can safely overlook this fact/fiction.

This is a pretentious, bigoted, patronising drivel by a discredited 'traveller'.

Read it only for entertainment - and that if you have nothing better to do.