My religion takes you to heaven, yours to hell. Can God be so partial?

[Guest guest]

My religion takes you to heaven, yours to hell. Can God be so

partial?

By Dr C.I. Issac

 

An eleventh commandment is the need of the hour so far as

Christianity as well as other Semitic religions are concerned. Their

God had failed to make such a command in the past. It has prompted

the gods to safeguard their endurance because in an era of a

competition of gods for survival, the existence of a particular God

was being challenged by other gods. So the gods of the Semitics were

forced to limit their commandments to ten. That is why He hath

issued some harsh ordinances like, "Condemn to death anyone who

offers sacrifices to any God except to me, the Lord" [see Exodus Ch.

22, Aphorism 20].

 

But in India, it has been much different to the Semitic situation.

Here for thousands of years, one type of worship or way of

realisation of God never infringed upon other gods. It was because

of this reason that the Indian mindset was moulded/shaped by the

rishis [great teachers] who presented a worldview of lokah samasta

sukhino vabantu and proclaimed the unity and oneness of God. That is

why there are four authoritative texts of the Hindus—Vedas, adhering

to the message of monism/Advaitam/unitarianism or the strong

foundation of monotheism. Hence, each Veda proclaimed the message of

monotheism of first degree without any obscurity: Rig Veda proclaims

pranjanam Brahma; Yajur Veda highlights aham Brahmasmi; Sama Veda

announces tatvamasi; and Atharva Veda confirms ayammathma Brahma.

Above all, the Rig Veda mantra of eakam sat vipra bahuta vadanti

became the basis of the Hindu approach to other faiths. Thus, in the

light of this Hindu approach, let us examine the recent

controversies on the question of proselytism.

 

On November 6, 1999 Pope John Paul II in his sermon at the Sacred

Heart Cathedral of New Delhi, openly stated, "Just as in the first

millennium the Cross was planted on the soil of Europe, and in the

second on that of the Americas and Africa, we can pray that in the

third Christian millennium, a great harvest of faith will be reaped

in this vast and vital continent [Asia]".

 

We should take this call on its face value as the Pope is the head

of a big Christian faction. No doubt this call was an open challenge

upon the sovereignty of a democratic country and its people, while

considering the political statuesque of the Pope, i.e. the head of

another sovereign country [even though its area is below 250 acres],

the Vatican city. No doubt it was part of a conspiracy going on in

Christendom all over. On the basis of the sermon of Pope, we should

see the American President George Bush's Asian Christianisation

project worth one thousand crore dollars. The World Christian

Encyclopaedia, Vol. I, 2nd edition, 2001, p. 366 of OUP, New York

reads on India as follows: "Christians and Muslims will probably

both find room to grow in the mosaic of India's peoples so that by

2025, Christians account for 7.4 per cent and Muslims for 12.2 per

cent while Hindus decline under 73 per cent [down from 80 per cent

in 1900]... With sustained growth over the next few decades,

Christianity could grow to nearly 10 per cent of India's population

by a.d. 2050. Hindus will potentially decline as a percentage of

India's population as other religions continue to win adherents over

the next few decades." In the light of all these, we must try to see

the question of conversion going on amongst the Hindus of India in

general and particularly of the Hindu jatis in Kerala.

 

The society of Kerala is highly literate and that is why the

Christian/Islamic stratagems on proselytism are entirely different

from the rest of India and are multi-faceted. In the light of this

insight, one should see the Hindu antipathy over the minority

approach of en masse dismemberment of a community/culture. No doubt

this proselytisation process is suicidal insofar as a civilisation

is concerned. Under the guise of charitable service, a Kenyan

national, Brother Bernard, on a visiting visa and some nuns of the

above missionary organisation in an economically backward Hindu

settlement, were opposed and blockaded at the entrance of the hamlet

by some youth hailing from all non-communal political parties. This

piece of news is being vocally debated upon in the mainstream

newspapers of Kerala. One year back another US citizen, named Rev.

Joseph Cooper, with a visiting visa, publicly ridiculed and

belittled Hindu gods and goddesses in a Christian convention at

Kilimannoor, near Trivandrum. The public however managed to control

the situation and the state government along with the ruling and

opposition front paved the escape route for the missionary, who

violated visa norms from the eyes of law as had happened in the case

of Brother Bernard recently. Both were engaged in conversion of

Hindus, but those who are responsible to bring them before law,

closed their eyes wilfully.

 

Kerala, no doubt is the cape of suicides and number one in the

world. In this suicidal cape more than three dozen farmers opted for

the path of suicide on account of their mounting insolvency. A good

number of them were Christians and belonged to the cash crop rich

area of Wyanadu, a place near the nuns of Missionaries of Charity

who are labouring in the Hindu hamlet of Calicut. They could find no

time to console the families of the ill-fated Christians or extend

any relief to the kith and kin of the unfortunate victims. Possibly

the `messiahs of service and charity' bypassed the sorrows of the

poor, traditional Christians because they have already been granted

rooms in heaven. No, diluting the grief of the traditional

Christians is never a profitable business as far as the agents of

conversion/ proselytism are concerned. So they are now on the doors

of the needy Hindus with their `charity'.

 

Sister Nirmala, the Mother Superior of the Missionaries of Charity,

who pretends to respect secularist values, clearly explained their

approach towards other religions in the following

words: "Christianity is the only religion which is totally true; the

other religions are true only partially." The CMI, the monastic

order of the Catholic church, in their document relating to their

education policy published in 1991 for private circulation, states

that the ultimate aim of their education service in India is "to

grant acquaintance with the persona of Jesus Christ and His Gospel"

to the Hindu boys. It is interesting to see that Francis Xavier, who

was responsible for the establishment of the `Holy Inquisition of

Goa', in which Hindu women were raped and immolated alive and Hindu

places of worship were desecrated, has been elevated to sainthood,

and Christian educational institutions in India are being

established in his name. The same Francis Xavier wrote to his

monastic authorities at Portugal about his `heroic deeds' in India

in the following words: "I order everywhere the temples to be pulled

down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I

feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols."

[Kanayalal M. Talreja: Holy Vedas and Holy Bible, p. 18].

 

Jawaharlal Nehru pictures the vulgar face of the `Holy Inquisition'

in his work Glimpses of World History, p. 191 as follows: "About

this time, the Inquisition, that terrible weapon which Roman Church

forged to crush all who did not bow down to it, was established in

Spain. Jews, who had prospered under the Saracens, were now forced

to change their religion, and many were burnt to death. Women and

children were not spared." See how cruel the Christianity was as

practiced by the `angels of service'.

 

The first Dalit conversion in Kerala took place on September 6,

1854, that is exactly 150 years back, and one Daivathan was

converted to Christianity and christened as Habel. Now, the

Christian, source certify that there are three million Dalits

converted to Christians, who reside in Kerala. Their social as well

as economic status is very pathetic and they are destined to the

savarna Christian's ostracism. Their journey to paradise was no

doubt like the old saying that goes `from the frying pan to the

burning fire'. Now their social position is between the devil and

the deep sea. That is why the progenies of the first converted Dalit

[Daivathan/ Habel] returned to poorva dharma, i.e. Hinduism. Let us

quote an Anglo-Indian novelist of contemporary Kerala, Nirmala

Aravind: "Their church had started out by encouraging converts from

low castes, but after some time the Syrian Christians [savarna

Christians] could not stomach the former untouchables sitting side

by side with them on the same pews, and there had been a cleavage.

Now there are separate churches in some places, though converts are

still admitted." The plight of the poor Dalits, once converted to

Christianity, is horrendous. Father Chavara, the blessed, a CMI

padre, was a pioneer in the field of Dalit conversion to Catholic

faith in the 19th century. Large numbers of Dalits was converted to

the Catholic church through him and he constructed a church and a

school for them. In the deluge of time they were kicked out from the

church and the school, worth one hundred million rupees, by the

savarna Catholic Christians and the poor converts now satisfy

themselves with 25 cents of cemetery meant exclusively for the

converted Christians. It is relevant to quote J.C. Kumarappa (an

Indian Christian) that "before these Christian missionaries landed

in Africa, the Africans had their land with them, but not the Bible.

Now they have their Bible with them, not their land." [The Hindu,

March 13, 2001, Open Page, Kochi edition]. Prof. Joseph Pulikunnel,

a veteran Syrian Catholic social reformer, comments, "There are

about 150 Christian colleges in Kerala [now its number is double],

but you will not find any Dalit working there." [Organiser, April

29, 2001].

 

Secular Hindus and the progressive media usually raise the question

that why do we fear the conversion. Particularly when even after the

conversion, the same person leads a life without any difference from

the earlier one. Now that the Hindus are more than 85 per cent, why

do we worry about the majority status of Hindus? These all are

positive questions immediately generating positive answers. But

actually what happened in the yesteryears of the republic of India?

It is interesting to see that the Muslims of India during the days

of Bengal's Partition in 1905 were Muslim nationals who fought

against the divisive attempts of the British Raj. The Muslims fought

this battle shoulder to shoulder with their Hindu brethren and

uttered the same slogan of Hindus, `Bharata Mata ki jai' without the

fear of loss of their religion. Again they never forgot to celebrate

the holy Deepavali, Raksha Bandhan, and other national festivals and

tie rakhee on their wrist with a feeling/sense of nationalism. But

what happened in the year 1947? The number of Muslims in 1901 was

2,91,02,000, i.e. 12.209 per cent of the total population and

thereafter in 1941, this population rose to 68.24 per cent and

reached 4,26,45,000, i.e. 13.380 per cent of the total population,

so they demanded a separate nation for the Muslims. There are

several factors which led to the division of India and amongst these

several factors, the population factor was very vital. On the basis

of the population factor, Muhammad Ali Jinnah raised the same

question to justify the `two-nation' theory that he placed before

the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. At present, several

regions in India have begun to stomach such an abnormal level of

Muslim/Christian population growth and all these places are becoming

the epicentres for divisive as well as subversive activities.

Islam has now begun to show its true face. But the Muslims of India

are nowadays reluctant to stomach a non-Islamic faith. Let us quote

M. Riaz Hasan, a UK-based Muslim NRI, who has worked and travelled

widely in Muslim countries. In his own words: "Islam is now a

religion of paradoxes and its practice is totally inconsistent with

its preaching. The Indian Muslims including the Kashmiri Muslims are

perhaps the most fortunate religious minority in the world today

because they live in a truly secular, pluralistic democracy in the

world.'' [The Hindu, Kochi, Open Page, dated November 27, 2001].

While disseminating their intolerance, they are not properly

accounting for the reality revealed by M. Riaz Hasan. Muslims,

wherever they be, are still under the old Arab psyche. Let us quote

Will Durant: "The immigration of two hundred Meccan families created

a food shortage in Medina. Mohammed solved the problem as a starving

people do by taking food from where it could be had. In

commissioning his lieutenants to raid the caravans that passed

Medina, he was adopting the morals of most Arab tribes in his time.

When the raid succeeded, four-fifths of the spoils went to the

raiders, one-fifth to the Prophet..." [The Story of Civilisation—The

Age of Faith, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1950, Book II, Chapter

VIII, p. 168.]

 

Just think what happens in Nagaland? The brave Nagas fought a

consistent war against the British Raj. Nobody can question the

genuineness of their national commitment and their fight for the

cause of our national freedom. But what happened in the subsequent

days? The British used their missionaries and converted one person

after another and gradually the national spirit was extinguished

amongst them all. By 1951 the Christian share of the total

population of Nagaland was 46.04 per cent. It gradually enhanced and

reached 52.97 per cent in 1961 and thereupon the progenies of the

same old Nagas of 1900s who stood for the national cause turned

against us and now treat the rest of Indians as foreigners [not

reproducing the obscene phrase that is used by the Naga separatist

mentality to identify we Indians]. Now the Christian population

comes to 85 per cent. The case of Mizoram is not much different from

the situation in Nagaland. The missionaries of `charity and service'

altogether dismembered the Hindu population and now its Christian

population is 85 per cent. In 1951, Meghalaya's Christian share was

only 22.66 per cent and at present it is 55 per cent. [Population

data other than for 2001 is reproduced from Arun Shourie's

Missionaries in India.] All the Christian-dominated states of north-

east are labouring for the cause of our national disintegration.

What a paradox it is! In short, one thing is clear that wherever in

India, minority religious groups secure a decisive role, they turn

against the national interest.

 

On taking into consideration all the above-mentioned facts, one

thing is clear that the minorities' chief priority is not the nation

but their religion, paradise and a worldly State of their exclusive

own. They cannot digest other faiths. Their religion and God is not

for peaceful coexistence. Let me quote the Bible: "Think not that I

am came to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a

sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father;

and the daughter against her mother; and daughter-in-law against her

mother-in-law." [Mathew, Ch. X, Aphorisms 34, 35]. Christianity is

looking too smart with its concealed biting teeth, posing a

potential threat, seemingly different from that of Islam. They are

not ready to reread their theology on the basis of time and space.

This means they are not ready for any compromise on the question of

conversion. This is also very clear from the words of the Pope. Now

the Christians have a 31 per cent share in the world population,

Muslims have 19.6 per cent and the Hindus have 14 per cent. Both of

them are targeting the Hindus—the most unorganised religious/ethnic

section in the world.

 

It is better to quote Samuel P. Huntington, who says, "Muslim

nationalism is becoming more extreme. It now takes no account of

other national sensibilities; it is the property, privilege and

political instrument of the newly predominant nation... The main

result of this new Muslim nationalism is a movement towards national

homogenisation... Increasingly, Islamic religious fundamentalism is

also gaining dominance in determining Muslim national interests...

In the emerging era, clashes of civilisations are the greatest

threat to world peace, and an international order based on

civilisations is the surest safeguard against world war." [The Clash

of Civilisations and the Remaking of World Order, 1997, p. 270.].

For an international order that guarantees peace and tranquillity to

the world, Semitic religions must add one more commandment to its

didactics, that is, an eleventh one which must ensure world peace

and teach its faithfuls to respect other gods and religions. When in

an age gods were in competition for survival, they limited the

commandments to ten, including "worship no God but me". [Exodus, Ch.

20, Aphorism. 3]. But now the same Semitic gods need not worry

because they have got a sufficient number of Christians [31 per

cent] and Muslims [19.6 per cent] in the world population. The most

liberal Hindu gods are now destined to remain satisfied with only 14

per cent of Hindus.

 

(The author is Head of the PG Department of History, CMS College,

Kottayam, Kerala and can be contacted at Chavanickamannil,

Vadavathoor, P.O. Kottayam, Kerala-686 101; e-mail:

ciissac; visit: www.christiansofkerala.com)

 

Publication: Organiser

January 9, 2005

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