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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

http://sulekha.com/chpost.asp?for...ilosophy&show=0&cid=75340

This is just the tip of the iceberg! Contemplate and think out what
we need to do to save our culture, beliefs and nation. I don't know
how many of you are aware that the representative leading the Naga
delegation, when the insurgency started, seeking separation from
India was a White missionary!

This article is written by a Retired Air Marshall from Indian Air
Force, in anguish about what is being done
to Hinduism

*************

THE WAR AGAINST HINDUISM

By Stephen Knapp

September 21, 2003

Over the years, we have all heard about the many attempts that have
been made in India to convert various sections of society from
Hinduism to either Christianity or Islam. But only after my last trip
to India (June, 2001) did I really get a much clearer understanding
of what has been going on. Furthermore, most devotees in Iskcon, as
well as many Indians, are not fully aware of how the war against
Hinduism is happening, nor how serious it is. It is taking place on
many levels, and because of this, in some areas, the practice of
Hinduism is declining rapidly.

When I was traveling, I had gone on a lecture tour, speaking every
night at places like Mumbai, Nagpur, Warangal, Visakhapatnam,
Vijayawada, Hyderbad, Bangalore, Trivadrum, and Chennai. So I had the
chance to meet with many of the intellectuals and some of the
spiritual leaders in these areas, and learned how conversion was a
very hot issue.

Now I don't have anything in particular against Christianity itself.
I was born and raised a Christian, so I know what it is, but also how
they work. My main contention is when the teachings that are said to
come from Jesus are twisted and misinterpreted into something that
does not spread the genuine love of God and humanity that we are all
supposed to develop, but becomes the dog-like barking and criticism
against every other religion that is not Christian. This does not
only go on toward every religion outside of Christianity, but also
within it between Catholics and Protestants and other denominations.
It seems that this faith has become not something that promotes our
similarities for cooperation, but our differences in that everyone
who is of a unrelated Christian denomination are all going to hell.

In regard to India, there is a great number of missionaries of
various denominations who are working there right now, all competing
for the most number of converts. The Southern Baptists alone are a
group that has
nearly 100,000 career missionaries in North India, all working to
spread the "good word." We also find that in order to make converts
from Hinduism some of the numerous Catholic priests in Southern India
dress like
sannyasis, and call their organizations ashramas. This is to make
Christianity more similar to the Vedic traditions. Bharat Natyam
dance is also taught in the Christian schools, but with Christian
symbols and
meanings replacing the Vedic. This is all in the attempt to actively
sway Hindus over to Christianity.

Some of the tactics that the Christian missionaries have used to help
make converts is to offer cheap polyester pants to the tribals of the
Northeast if they become Christian, or even offer motor bicycles if
they
help convert their brothers, which also means their wives and family.
In Madhya Pradesh, as noted in the Neogy Report, the missionaries
give small loans on interest to the tribals, who cannot pay back such
loans easily. However, if they become Christian, then such loans and
the interest are dismissed. This is what goes on in the democracy of
India, and under the tolerance of the Hindus, while if one such
incidence would ever occur in a Muslim country, the result would be
an immediate expulsion of the missionary from that nation.

Another trick that has been done is that missionaries, while treating
the sick, will give medicine of no value and ask the tribal to take
it while offering prayers to his local deity. Naturally, no cure of
disease is
likely to occur with the useless medicine. Then the missionary gives
the tribal real medicine and asks the tribal to take it while
offering prayers to Jesus. Then when there is a recovery, it is
attributed to the
power of Christ and not to the medicine. Such conversion activities
take place these days more often in the tribal areas under the guise
of social service. However, true social service should be done
without expecting
anything in return, including conversion.

Another thing that takes place is mass healings at meetings similar
to revivals. What they do is pay people to attend the healings
portraying themselves as being sick, or invalids on crutches, etc.,
who then get
called up and are miraculously cured of their disease. This is
attributed to the power of Christ, which then convinces many tribals
that they too can benefit in various ways if they become Christian.
This has not had
much of an effect amongst the Brahmin classes, but the lower classes
who attend are more vulnerable and are impressed by such things, and
are then swayed toward Christianity. This is why Christian conversion
tactics have been focused more toward the tribal areas than other
regions of India. So these conversions are not taking place due to
pure preaching of the Bible or the message of Jesus, but are
accomplished by trickery and the emphasis on material facility. This
is, of course, what is being objected to by
the general Hindu population. However, when or if people convert for
purely spiritual reasons, then there is no objection.

Another way conversions are accomplished is with the promise to the
Dalits or the lower caste Hindus that they will not have any more
caste recognition by becoming Christians. However, after conversion
many find
out that this is not true. Even amongst the converted Christians
there is found to be a caste mentality, with the lower castes forced
to use separate doorways, separate seating, or have marriages
performed only
among equal caste Christians. When this becomes obvious to those who
are newly converted, some of them want to come back to being Hindus
again, which has been facilitated by such organizations as the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP).

An interesting point is that in spite of these duplicitous ways of
converting that the Christians have used, the Christian churches have
threatened violence against the process of reconversion back to
Hinduism
that had been launched by the VHP. It was Rev. V. K. Nuh, secretary
of the Nagaland Baptist Convention who said, "If someone tries to
impose their faith, Christians in this region will not surrender.
There will be a
battle and we shall have no option. There will be a physical and
religious war if attempts are made to propagate Hinduism by forceful
means in the Northeast." In this same line of thinking, Rev. M.D.
Oaugma, head of the Garo Baptist Convention of Mehgalaya said, "It
could be a threat to Christianity if we remain silent to the VHP's
game plan of mass conversion. We shall have to fight, we shall have
to resist."
(Maharashtra Herald, July 11, 1998)

Of course, it is easy for Hindus to be nonchalant toward other
religions because they feel that each spiritual path takes you toward
God. So in this light, it is alright to be tolerant of them or let
them thrive. But
the problem is that not all religions feel the same way toward
Hinduism. Some feel that Hinduism is a culture that should be removed
or destroyed.

An example of this is that in Northeast India, in countries like
Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur, they have witnessed a surge of nearly
200% in their Christian population in the past 25 years due to the
wily tactics of
foreign missionaries. Their grasp is so strong now that practicing
Hinduism is forbidden in some areas. Hindus can no longer do worship
or arati in the open because of the fanaticism in parts of the land.
Durga
puja has become almost obsolete as deities are destroyed or stolen in
broad daylight. This confrontational climate has led to numerous
militant outfits sponsored by the Church who are fighting for
secession from
India

So now the Eastern portion of India wants to secede from it, and
another part of India will be lost if this should happen. If the
Catholic Church in particular is supposed to espouse the message that
God is love, and that it is by love of God and neighbor that mankind
is saved, it certainly hasn't shown much of that kind of love toward
any other religion. With the Pope's recent call for conversions in
Asia, it certainly shows that it is not a friend of other religions,
but still holds the goal that other spiritual paths should be brought
down to be replaced by Christianity. This should be clearly
understood. This is also the case with the Baptists and other
denominations.

While I was in New Delhi, I also met with Mrs. Shanti Reddy, a member
of a government agency called the National Committee for Women. She
revealed that another thing that missionaries have done was to kidnap
young Indian children. What one Christian missionary couple in
Chennai was doing before they were arrested was to bride tribals into
giving their young baby girls to them. They would pay the tribals as
little as 2000 to 5000 rupees for baby girls, and then turn around
and sell the girls to foreigners for as
much as $30,000 to $40,000. According to the records that had been
confiscated from the missionaries' home, this had been a thriving
business, and nearly 25 of such transactions had already taken place.
The
Indian authorities said they probably saved 300 baby girls from such
a fate from the indications on the records they found. So this has
been another one of the forms of activities that such missionaries do
for
their own benefit and profit against the real interest of India.
However, whenever Hindus react with force against such people, they
are labeled as fundamentalists, antagonists, or worse.

Another way that India is slowly losing its Vedic culture is through
the process of secular or English and Christian education. Of course,
in public schools all Vedic books have been removed from the
curriculum. So there are no possibilities to study the ancient Indian
literature or art. So Vedic values are no longer part of what the
children are taught. Furthermore, the Christian schools, often
staffed by Christian
missionaries, can teach Christian values in their classes, and
include a short study of the Bible everyday, or the Koran if it's an
Islamic school.

The so-called secular government has even helped them with free land
and facilities. Since these schools offer English in their education,
along with good discipline, many of the middle classes of Indians are
favoring sending their children to these schools. Today, in the
Indian cities, many of the parents of children are the graduates of
Christian schools, who also send there own children to such schools.
As this trend continues, there will be a decreasing number of Hindus
in the educated sector. Thus, children in India, with the help of the
secular government, are learning Christian values and perceiving
their own history and culture as something less than honorable. They
are taught that such important books as the
Bhagavad-gita, Ramayana, Bhagavat Purana and other Vedic texts are
nothing more than mythology, and not a result of one of the most
profound civilizations in the world. They are also taught that their
own God is
but a demon and the only real way to God is through Jesus.

An example of this is that a few devotees from the New Delhi Iskcon
(Hare Krishna) temple go out and give presentations to the children's
classes in schools. Some of the questions that are asked by the
children are, "Who is your God?" and "What can your God do for me?"
and so on. Obviously, these questions are nothing but a direct result
of the Christian and English oriented education that these children
are receiving. Now I ask anyone, isn't this practically a covert form
of conversion? This form of education indoctrinates the children to
doubt their own culture, and disrespect their own history and
traditions. As a result of this form of education, the Hindu
population is slowly forgetting the unique history and lofty culture
of their homeland.

As I traveled around, it was not unusual to see elementary schools
around India with the name something like "Saint Xavier's School."
People should know that this Francis Xavier, who is now one of the
greatest so-called "saints," feverishly declared, "When I have
finished baptizing the people, I order them to destroy the huts in
which they keep their idols; and I have them break the statues of
their idols into tiny pieces, since they are now Christians. I could
never come to an end describing to you the great consolation which
fills my soul when I see idols being destroyed by the hands of those
who had been idolaters." (From "The Letters and Instructions of
Francis Xavier," 1993, pp 117- Cool

This was his goal, to destroy Indian
culture and make India a Christian nation. So it is ironic that now
India embraces the schools that honor him in this way. How could they
not know his true intention?

What is often not recognized is that, up until recently, for the last
50 years the politicians who have been directing the destiny of India
are the ones who have an anti-Hindu attitude. They have set the
economic
direction and the educational policies that the country has been
forced to follow. They have also promised the protection of the
religious minorities with the hopes of acquiring votes. This has been
one of the reasons why the secularists in the Congress party have
treated everything that is Hindu with disdain.

Another aspect of the loss of Vedic culture in India is that the
younger Indian people, especially ages from 15 to 25, are readily
giving up Vedic customs to follow the more decadent so-called
freedoms of the West. They see the western movies, they read what the
celebrities say in the papers, and they admire them and want to adopt
their forms of dress and lifestyles. Thus, in the big cities like
Mumbai you have Indian couples living together without marriage,
which is something you never would have seen before a few years back.
Now the Vedic principles are looked upon as something obsolete,
something that restricts the style that those who look to the West
want to adopt. Thus, they are leaving Indian traditions behind and
losing respect for anything Vedic. In this way, they adopt foreign
standards, or lose so much respect for Indian and Vedic values that
they become embarrassed to admit their Hindu background and heritage.
Furthermore, Sanskrit scholars at the temples are also slowly dying
out, and the modern Indians view the Ramayana and Mahabharata as
merely myths or gaudy television shows.

Although India has been invaded by outsiders so many times and has
always survived, what we are talking about is more than mere property
or geography. What is actually being threatened is the basis of Indian
culture itself. As younger generations give up their Vedic heritage,
even if they return to it later when they are older and looking for
more philosophical support, with whatever percentage of loss occurs
with each
generation, time has shown that it is never fully recovered. A
portion of it is lost forever.

Another way of looking at this is that India presently enjoys an 85%
Hindu majority in its population. This may sound quite significant,
but in actuality this includes 15% Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains. So it
is really
only a 70% majority. How many more generations will go by before we
see a big drop in this percentage due to the process of secular
(meaning Christian or English, or even Islamic) education, or with
the present
rate of conversions by tactless Christians? This percentage could
easily drop well below 50% in only several more generations at the
present rate of change.

How many more generations will it take before the Hindu majority is
no longer a majority, but a minority in its own country? As Hinduism
declines, you will see that the demands on the government and those
voted
into politics will also change, and the laws will also alter more in
favor of the increasing minority religions at the expense of
declining Hinduism. Then as the years go by there will appear only
small clusters of Hindu or
Vedic communities, most likely centered around prominent holy places,
until the more aggressive religions act in ways to diminish these as
well, in the same way that they are presently doing in other
countries.

The point of all this information is that it is time for all Hindus
and followers of the Vedic culture, Sanatana-dharma, to realize what
is actually happening and give up your timidness or nonchalance and
speak
out while such freedom still exists. We must become more pro-active
for defending this culture. The point is that if you do not take it
seriously, I can assure you that there are others who take this
inaction and
tolerance extremely seriously to promote their own goals and
religions in India. It is because of this that India may not always
remain the homeland of an active and thriving Vedic culture as it is
now. We need to
protect whatever is left of it and maintain the present liberties
that Hindus still have in India. Then we all can continue to engage
in Vedic traditions without hindrance, and with full freedom. For
this, we need to
unite ourselves in a concerted effort to make this happen. And it
most certainly is possible.

Recently, as told to me by Professor Subash Kak, it was noted in a
reputable publication that now 1% of the Russian population claim
that they are Hindu. The article stated that this was primarily due
to the preaching efforts of Iskcon. This shows a major social impact.
This shows what is possible if we can work together in a concerted
effort. This is why I am convinced that if we all work in a pro-
active way under the banner of a united family of Vedic followers, we
can keep and even expand the present freedoms that we now have to
practice Vedic traditions, and keep India as the homeland of Vedic
culture, the most ancient roots of
humanity.

India must be protected and kept as the homeland of the Vedic
heritage, Sanatana-dharma, Hinduism. Without it, what is its value,
in spite of whatever else it accomplishes? The value of Hinduism and
India are
clearly expressed in the words of the famous English theosophist Dr.
Annie Besant. She put great emphasis on the value of India, its
history, the Vedic culture, and its importance to the world. As
written in the cover notes from the book, Hindus, Life-Line of India,
by G. M. Jagtiani, she says: "After a study of some forty years and
more of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect,
none so scientific, none so philosophic, and none so spiritual as the
great religion known by the name of Hinduism.

The more you know it, the more you will love it; the more you try to
understand it, the more deeply you will value it. Make no mistake;
without Hinduism, India has no future. Hinduism is the soil into
which India's
roots are struck, and torn of that she will inevitably wither, as a
tree torn out from its place. Many are the religions and many are the
races flourishing in India, but none of them stretches back into the
far dawn
of her past, nor are they necessary for her endurance as a nation.
Everyone might pass away as they came and India would still remain.
But let Hinduism vanish and what is she? A geographical expression of
the past, a dim memory of a perished glory, her literature, her art,
her monuments, all have Hindudom written across them. And if Hindus
do not maintain Hinduism, who shall save it? If India's own children
do not cling to her faith, who shall guard it? India alone can save
India, and India and Hinduism are one."

In this light, it is absolutely necessary that as followers of
Sanatana-dharma, Vedic culture, we realize that we need to repair
whatever differences we have between us regarding whatever issues
there may
be. This is necessary in order to work with some cooperation with
whomever we can if we expect to be a substantial force in defending
the Vedic cause. Otherwise, all the issues that invariably come up,
although these should not be ignored, should not take so much of our
attention that our preaching stops. Otherwise, we will only serve as
contributors to the continuing deterioration of all spiritual
standards as the age of Kali
progresses. This preaching, of course, means that we must all stay in
touch with and practice the Vedic standards.

We cannot allow ourselves to be led into the danger of endless debate
that leads to inaction. We all must be pro-active in some way to help
defend and spread Vedic culture. Then we can work together to keep
the freedom we presently have to practice the Vedic traditions and
keep India as the homeland of a thriving, dynamic, and still living
tradition. Such freedom does not come without its challenges, and we
must be prepared as a society to meet those challenges. To take such
freedoms for granted means that
it's only a matter of time before they are lost. And that is exactly
what some people want to happen. So we must be willing to work all
the harder to prevent such a decline of our Vedic heritage.

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