The war against Hinduism- S.Knapp

[Guest guest]

The war against Hinduism

By Stephen Knapp

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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.

 

The Southern Baptists alone are a group that has nearly 1,00,000 career missionaries in north India, all working to spread the “good word”. 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.

 

When I was travelling, I had gone on a lecture tour, speaking every night at places like Mumbai, Nagpur, Warangal, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Trivan-drum, 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 do not 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 towards every religion outside of Christianity, but also within it between Catholics, 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 an 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 1,00,000 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 organisations ashramas. This is to make Christianity more similar to the Vedic traditions. Bharata 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 misisonaries 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 missio-naries 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 interests 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 towards Christianity. This is why Christian conversion tactics have been focused more towards the tribal areas than other regions of India. So, these conversions are not taking place due to pure preachings of the Bible or the message of Jesus, but are accomplished by trickery and with 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.

 

Why at all convert?

 

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 preformed 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 organisations 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 or recoversion 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 Meghalaya 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 think that each spiritual path takes you towards God. So in this light, it is alright to tolerate them or let them thrive. But the problem is that not all religions feel the same way to Hinduism. Some feel that Hinduism is a culture that should be removed or destroyed. An example of this is that in northeast India, in states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, they have witnessed a surge of nearly 200 per cent in their Christian population in past 25 years due to the wily tactics of foreign missionaries.

 

These conversions are not taking place due to pure preachings of the Bible or the message of Jesus, but are accomplished by trickery and with emphasis on material facility. This is, of course, what is being objected to by the general Hindu population.

 

Their grasp is so strong that practising 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 been almost obsolete as deities are destroyed or stolen in broad daylight. This confronta-tion climate has led to numerous militant outfits sponsored by the church who are fighting secession from India. So now, the eastern portion of India wants to secede from it. This is another part of India which will be lost if this should happen.

 

If the Catholic church in particular is supposed to espouse the message that God is kind and that it is by love of God and neighbour that mankind is saved, it certainly hasn"t shown much of that kind of love towards any other religion. With the Pope"s recent call to curb conversions in Asia, it certainly shows that it is not a friend of other religions, but 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 Commission for Women. She revealed that another thing missonaries have done was to kidnap young Indian children. What one Christian missionary couple in Chennai was doing before they were arrested was to bribe couples into giving their young baby girls to them. They would pay the tribals as little as 2,000 to 5,000 rupees for baby girls, and then turn around and sell the girls to foreigners for as much as $30,000 to $40,000. Accor-ding to the records that had been confiscated from mission-aries" homes, 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 but one of the forms of activities that such missionaries do for their own benefit and which goes against the real interest of India. However, whenever Hindus react with force against such people, they are labelled as fundamen-talists, antagonists, or worse.

 

(Courtesy: )

 

(To be concluded)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

we must preach Bhagavad Gita - what else can be done?

[Guest guest]

Yes this is the only solution for the widespread ignorance and poverty that has plauged india. I believe the root of the problem lies with the incompetent govenrnment, most of which is made up of godless, stupid, and often times criminal "politicians". The change must come from the bottom of the system(villages etc.) until it reaches the highest levels of the state, where a real government can be set up in accordance to the laws of God, where the word of Krishna regins supreme. Jai Sri Krishna

-Amit

[Guest guest]

Gita as it is or Gita-as-it-is-and-has-been-changed? For thoes of you who don't belive it has been changed many times, don't anwser this, cause then u don't know anything about it.

 

Can u stay away from this subject if you don't know? Please be a honest person and don't argue as long as you don't know, ok

[Guest guest]

What is your point? What are you trying to say? Don't speak in riddles and nonsensical questions, just be clear and perhaps improve your English.

[barney]

I read the Gita, Shiva purana, Sakthi purana, Kandha purana, Vishnu purana and the Dharma satras. Try converting me into Christianity or Islam. You can try your whole life time but you cannot sway my faith in Hinduism. Even when I was an atheist in my young days and fell in love with my ex Catholic wife, the parish priest tried his best to teach me the bible and Christian ways but I did not give in. My wife was very much in love with me and in the end her father disowned her and we were married according to Hindu rites but one Hindu temple commitee refuse have our wedding conducted in their temple for they feared that the Catholic priest might protess and make trouble. The Murugan temple agreed to conduct our wedding. My wife's father was even willing to transfer his property on to my name if I converted to Christianity but I refused and he became my enemy till his death. Tell me why I did not convert?

[Guest guest]

Gita as it is or Gita-as-it-is-and-has-been-changed? For thoes of you who don't belive it has been changed many times, don't anwser this, cause then u don't know anything about it.

....the revisions of prabhupada's commentary on the gita are only cosmetic... even if there's controversy the meaning is the same in both revised and not revised editions

 

so there's nothing for people like you as a pretext to criticize

.

.

Can u stay away from this subject if you don't know?

...yes, this is my request to you.. or expect to be put in ridicule

 

Please be a honest person and don't argue as long as you don't know, ok

...give us the example behaving like this

[Guest guest]

See, Prabhupada faithfully and sincerely put the Bhagavad Gita in English, with word by word transliteration and translation and purport...and people still criticise the authenticity...this is what you call age of kali 'quarrel and hypocrisy'....