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RE: Shocking!
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Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
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You are perhaps right about the "restricted" nature of Christianity.
Yet, we need to ponder if we can get away with restrictions
in a pursuit of truth and holiness?
Should we not seek to purge harmful superstitions and evil, that
has always been part of religious practices of all the religions of this
world?
Is it not possible that a absolutely Holy God, if exists, forbids
worship of anything/anyone lesser?
The fact that we are free-thinking human beings, entails some
moral responsibilities too and if we choose to take the responsibilities
seriously, we are actually choosing to take a "restrictive" path
(at least in this sense of seeking truth and holiness as against the
elements of superstition and profanity).
Sunil.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jiyalal S. [SMTP:jekins@vsnl.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 12:42 AM
> To: debate@indiapolicy.org
> Subject: Re: Shocking!
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Shocking it is and has been all along. But we the neo secularists have our
> eyes shut by our convent educational background. All along during our
> education, we have been looked down upon by our educator missionaries as
> we
> are people who would refuse to convert to the "most modern and
> international
> religion, christianity that has come to save the people of India from its
> old, superstitious, castetist 'religion' called Hinduism"
>
> If you ask any enlightened Indian, Hindu or not, whether Hindus ever need
> to
> have converted from an all encompassing, free thinking 'way of life' into
> which they were born i.e. Hinduism, they will tell you that conversion
> need
> not have taken place in the first place! Indians left to themselves would
> not have converted, at least into a more restrictive regimen called
> religion
> after having lived in a free state of mind. Had 'Force' of state power and
> money not been used, it is illogical to find people in such large numbers
> tying their hands up into the a new religion of their 'choice' born less
> than 2000 years ago and not even having any revolutionary thoughts to
> offer.
>
> Hinduism by its very character does not restrict you to follow any
> particular form of worship or God's name, much less a godman's name.
> If there are 36 crore gods it just represents the fertility of the human
> mind when left free to choose one's own God to worship. Regimentation is
> the
> last thing recommended by the vedas or our thinkers, the rishis. But by
> the
> same token, Hinduism would not even stop voluntary conversion. Each Hindu
> sect (and those who do not like to call themselves Hindus, namely
> Buddhists,
> Jains, Sikhs) is after all a group of converts from basic Hinduism. So
> there
> should be no objection to conversion per se.
>
> Then what is shocking us. The shocking part is that large sums of money
> should be pumped into the country for the purpose of quick and fly by
> night
> conversion activity that too by foreign elements, and official apathy in
> claiming that no foreign missionaries are given visas to enter the country
> in the recent past. And we the neo secularists are busy castigating the
> RSS/VHP for crimes against minorities which perhaps they have never
> committed. Yes, they have criticised the 'alleged forcible conversions'
> and
> asked these to be banned. Although I have nothing to do with their
> ideologies, I feel that there is some merit in their demand for an
> immediate
> stop or at least lawful regulation to proactive conversion activity.
>
> It has been seen that whenever any area in India has a majority of any
> minority religion, it becomes the Hub of illegal secessionist activity
> sponsored by unfriendly foreign powers. Kashmir, Punjab Northeast are
> examples.
>
> Although it would be unfair to ban all conversion from your present faith,
> Law should regulate the activity to ensure that the decision to convert
> was
> the individual's own and not the statistic of success story of a
> missionary
> (definitely not a foreign missionary). I am amazed how Indian missionaries
> have decided to collectively pounce upon the RSS for suggesting formation
> of
> an Indian Church. It is a perfectly fine idea if we stop being biased
> against Hindu
> organisations. The Vatican and Pope have done a disservice to Humanity by
> calling to redouble efforts at conversion to christianity. Why should
> Indian
> Catholics not behave as Indians by rejecting the conversion diktat of the
> Vatican and strive to spread christianity vertically and convert only
> those individuals who have really decided for themselves to convert rather
> than offer inducements to convert shaky people to fill statistics to show
> their foriegn masters?
>
> I would suggest that we evolve a consensus to have a 'Conversion
> Commission'
> like Minorities and Human rights Commissions. This Commission should have
> the right to declare any doubtful conversion null and void legally and
> also
> hear complaints of 'Forcible' or 'Proactive' conversion activity and
> should
> have the status of a legal body. Let political parties think of the future
> of the country rather than pander to missionaries desires in return for a
> few votes of minorities. The Indian minorities have the capability to rise
> above their organised religious heads' demands and show their true
> Indianess.
>
> S.Jiyalal
>
>
>
>
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> This is the National Debate on System Reform. debate@indiapolicy.org
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This is the National Debate on System Reform. debate@indiapolicy.org
Rules, Procedures, Archives: ../debate/
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