The Conversion Agenda

"Freedom to convert" is counterproductive as a generalized doctrine. It fails to come to terms with the complex interrelationships between self and society that make the concept of individual choice meaningful. Hence, religious conversion undermines, and in extremes would dissolve, that individual autonomy and human freedom.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Hinduism as a Danish writer sees it

By Dhamu Chodavarapu

Other day I went to buy morning bread, there a lady, said to me, “Are you not the person who writes in Nordjyske, a Danish newspaper? I could not deny. She went on, “You put words on our thoughts. Keep it on, why not write on Hinduism, we know nothing of it.” I said, “If I am to write on Hinduism, the newspaper has to give special addition, but I will see if I can within the space allotted to me.”

Hinduism is not a religion in its traditional understanding. All religions have a God and people worshipping in submissive way, following do's and don’t do's, dictated by Him in their daily life. But Hinduism does not prescribe any such.

Hinduism is life style, where human beings are exalted to God himself. Thereby it is atheistic religion, no God, everyone is God. All living beings, human, animals and plants do have an element of God, the soul and again a part of a kind of suzerainty.

Before 1829, there was no word as Hinduism. It was Christian missionaries that coined the name Hinduism to corner and identify of the religion.

It was known to Indians as lifestyle according to Vedas. The term “Veda” means wisdom to understand and to know oneself. In Vedanta, popularly called as Hinduism, maya, the unwisdom, a kind of mental darkness, covers the Godly element, as ash covers the embers, needs to be blown out to come to it.

Therefore, we have no 10 commands nor any do this and that. It is all left to each individual how to blow the ash away.

It is both very good and very bad. It promotes individual capabilities but the collective society weakens, looses. It was therefore completely incomprehensive in any religious understandings. If the man can control himself, what God is to do? Muslims gave up to understand and used sword to convert Hindus and Christians.

Very heinous and barbaric crime is to deprive human to think and take decision. It was/is exactly why Indian society was so much divided, never was a unique unit. Every individual made a stall for himself, it is what we know now is caste system. Indian society was divided in various stalls without contact to the other. Wiser exploits unwise. This was the backside of the medal. All religions try to create a uniform society at the cost of individual freedom and have a rigid central control.

The present Christianity in the West, is slowly moving towards Vedanta understanding while Islam still waiting.

The central element in Hinduism is all moves in cycle around suzerainty, with no beginning and no end. There was nothing that evolves into an other soul. It was time when dinosaurs were dominating, now it is human beings are dominating the earth. No indication that human beings were not there, at dinosaurs’ time.

The Hindu trinity, the creator, Brahma, did not create the human being on one fine morning at 5 o’clock, but a thought is created, an action is taken, a possibility opens up by Brahma, and Vishnu sees it conducted perfected, while Shiva ends it. Then all start again, that is how mathematical zero, was born in Hindu thinking. Karma ones behaviour, decides ones future.

Rebirth, therefore, is not ununderstandable thought but a natural part of life. A man is born again as man, cow as cow, likewise, as we all know there are no DNA between man and animals.

Dharma, another central point in Hinduism, is a kind of human behaving plan. It is neither, nor was decided by any central body, but by every individual for himself. It needs wisdom. It can be achieved by studying, listening and understanding the epics of Hindu and performing certain rituals, meditation and puja. It gives clarification to clarify the behaviour of humans in all situations.

What praying means to me: It is to get contact with God, who is in me. The few seconds contact, I achieve, gives me a state of mind, where I can identify myself completely with God and feel His presence in me, knowing fully well I am too a part of Him. As if some thing of me comes out as God and sometimes I talk to Him. It always ends with “I can do it.”

Hinduism demands all to carry their duties and take responsibility; therefore anybody can be a Hindu. It is, therefore, causing many suffocations and indigestion to Muslims and Christian Missionaries to convert Hindus by augmentations.

(The author who contributes frequently in Danish newspapers has sent the English version of his latest article. He can be contacted at Kajmunksvej 21, DK 9600 Aars, Denmark.)

1 Comments:

At 7/04/2006 08:00:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

amazing writeup. and to put so much information about hinduism in such short space is exemplary.

 

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