The new ArchBishop of Delhi, per the Wall Street Journal.
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So this is my statement to such people:
We Hindus welcome the news of Jesus as another of the infinite manifestations of the Divine. We think it mistaken to consider Jesus as the only or the most important manifestation of the Divine. As long as they do not fall into this error, there is no objection to Hindus to choose or not choose Jesus as their Ishta-Devata. We Hindus can love Jesus and Jesus can love us Hindus with no intermediaries. We are human, not sheep, and we do not see any value of being the flock of some pastor or church. We think the Church, with its officialdom and bureaucracy is what keeps Christians separate from the Divine, and while recognizing the Church's right to exist as long as some Christians mistakenly think they need it, we consider the Church to be a major error made in ignorance and impediment in the spiritual evolution of Christians in particular and humankind in general. As to missionaries and evangelists, we decry the egotism in their belief that they are instruments to bring God to us Hindus, or that they are doing some kind of good work or doing us a favor. We Hindus visit the Divine every day in our puja and meditations, and He/She/It/That replies to each of us individually and appropriately based on our abilities to receive and understand. We think Jesus will speak to us directly if He thinks it necessary, and so we reject all self-styled messengers, alleged carriers of the Good News, and such, who think that our Hindu relationship with the Divine is inadequate, or false, unless mediated through their good offices, unless we have membership in some Church. We pray that they are led from this Tamasic arrogance into the Light.
Asatomasatgamaya, tamasoma jyothirgamaya, mrityormaamritam gamaya!
I will add Pulikeshi's statement too:
Have you heard the Hindu Good News? – Live mindfully, cherish your land, its flora and fauna, and be kind, seek true knowledge and most of all be free.
The divine manifests itself in infinite ways - Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Zarathustra, Guru Nanak, Mani, Shukracharya, Bharadwaja, Vasistha, and so many were special in their own right. As a Hindu, you have the freedom to really choose any, all, any other or none of these sages to help in your journey of self-realization. Further, as a Hindu, no matter where you live, it is imperative that you stay connected to the land, its flora and fauna in your journey. All of Earth and her creatures are sacred, so give back more than you take from her. This means anyone arguing for exclusion or special status for any land, people or Religion should be viewed with suspicion.
The Church is man made and has often lost its way, every Hindu believes that they are the Temple, Church, Mosque or Gurdwara. Every waking hour is a prayer and every dreamy night is being one with the divine. Hindus do not need devices other than those they freely choose. Hindus detest organized Religion and embrace true knowledge, come rejoice in the quest for it. Spread the word of this Hindu Good News to others. Live free or not at all. May this Hindu Good News spread through you.
Om Shanti, Shanthi, Shanthi!
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/12/23/qa-new-delhis-next-archbishop
The next ArchBishop of Delhi says that "the religious and cultural pluralism within which the Christian community finds itself" is a problem for the Church, and it only gets better from there on.
The next ArchBishop of Delhi says that "the religious and cultural pluralism within which the Christian community finds itself" is a problem for the Church, and it only gets better from there on.
WSJ: What do you think will be the main challenges you will face as the Archbishop of a diocese which includes a mega city?
Rt. Rev. Couto: The cosmopolitan nature of the Church in Delhi and the consequent multicultural situation of the people I am called to serve will certainly be one of the main challenges.
....
WSJ: Do you think Catholics are called to evangelize and convert others to Catholicism?
Rt. Rev. Couto: The Church exists to evangelize. She can never run away from the mandate Christ has given to her to proclaim the Good News in season and out of season and to place before all nations the truth of the Kingdom of God.
....
I also pray that God may give numerous new members to the Church through the sacrament of baptism.
Rt. Rev. Couto: The cosmopolitan nature of the Church in Delhi and the consequent multicultural situation of the people I am called to serve will certainly be one of the main challenges.
....
WSJ: Do you think Catholics are called to evangelize and convert others to Catholicism?
Rt. Rev. Couto: The Church exists to evangelize. She can never run away from the mandate Christ has given to her to proclaim the Good News in season and out of season and to place before all nations the truth of the Kingdom of God.
....
I also pray that God may give numerous new members to the Church through the sacrament of baptism.
----
So this is my statement to such people:
We Hindus welcome the news of Jesus as another of the infinite manifestations of the Divine. We think it mistaken to consider Jesus as the only or the most important manifestation of the Divine. As long as they do not fall into this error, there is no objection to Hindus to choose or not choose Jesus as their Ishta-Devata. We Hindus can love Jesus and Jesus can love us Hindus with no intermediaries. We are human, not sheep, and we do not see any value of being the flock of some pastor or church. We think the Church, with its officialdom and bureaucracy is what keeps Christians separate from the Divine, and while recognizing the Church's right to exist as long as some Christians mistakenly think they need it, we consider the Church to be a major error made in ignorance and impediment in the spiritual evolution of Christians in particular and humankind in general. As to missionaries and evangelists, we decry the egotism in their belief that they are instruments to bring God to us Hindus, or that they are doing some kind of good work or doing us a favor. We Hindus visit the Divine every day in our puja and meditations, and He/She/It/That replies to each of us individually and appropriately based on our abilities to receive and understand. We think Jesus will speak to us directly if He thinks it necessary, and so we reject all self-styled messengers, alleged carriers of the Good News, and such, who think that our Hindu relationship with the Divine is inadequate, or false, unless mediated through their good offices, unless we have membership in some Church. We pray that they are led from this Tamasic arrogance into the Light.
Asatomasatgamaya, tamasoma jyothirgamaya, mrityormaamritam gamaya!
I will add Pulikeshi's statement too:
Have you heard the Hindu Good News? – Live mindfully, cherish your land, its flora and fauna, and be kind, seek true knowledge and most of all be free.
The divine manifests itself in infinite ways - Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Zarathustra, Guru Nanak, Mani, Shukracharya, Bharadwaja, Vasistha, and so many were special in their own right. As a Hindu, you have the freedom to really choose any, all, any other or none of these sages to help in your journey of self-realization. Further, as a Hindu, no matter where you live, it is imperative that you stay connected to the land, its flora and fauna in your journey. All of Earth and her creatures are sacred, so give back more than you take from her. This means anyone arguing for exclusion or special status for any land, people or Religion should be viewed with suspicion.
The Church is man made and has often lost its way, every Hindu believes that they are the Temple, Church, Mosque or Gurdwara. Every waking hour is a prayer and every dreamy night is being one with the divine. Hindus do not need devices other than those they freely choose. Hindus detest organized Religion and embrace true knowledge, come rejoice in the quest for it. Spread the word of this Hindu Good News to others. Live free or not at all. May this Hindu Good News spread through you.
Om Shanti, Shanthi, Shanthi!
Logging you in...
Guest · 518 weeks ago
macgupta 81p · 518 weeks ago
Guest · 518 weeks ago
Arun · 518 weeks ago
Guest · 518 weeks ago
More formal history is rare before contact with Muslims, but there is record of early violence between Hindus and Buddhists.
macgupta 81p · 518 weeks ago
The Mahabharata and Ramayana are not religious warfare. E.g., Ravana worshipped the same deities as did Rama and his allies, the Vanaras. In fact, Ravana was an expert practitioner of the Vedic rituals; he obtained various boons from the Gods that made him invincible, and required intervention of the Gods to vanquish him. The problem with Ravana was the list of misdeeds that he piled up. Likewise, with the Mahabharata., BTW, The Shiva Tandava Stotra, which is sung and danced to, even to this date, is attributed to Ravana. I posted a version here: http://arunsmusings.blogspot.com/2015/03/shiv-tan...
The same holds for the Mahabharata. In fact, the early missionaries used this as a stick to beat Hindus with, when they encountered the epics - that Hindus don't fight over God or theology, they fight over land and women; what gross people they must be!
Similarly, please understand the warfare in the RgVeda. If Thor and Loki fought each other, it does not mean that the Vikings fought each other over anything religious.
But why am I wasting my time trying to educate someone who is the quintessential "Ugly American"? That is a question I need to think about.
Another_Guest · 515 weeks ago
The Gods intervene on the side of the "righteous".
The war described in the original Mahabharata - called "Jaya" - is essentially the story of a civil war within the Bharata clan. It very probably describes the chaotic situation following the desiccation of the Ghagga-Hakra and decline of the Harappan civilization around 1400 B.C.
Guest · 518 weeks ago
Probably because you are a bully who enjoys insulting people.
macgupta 81p · 518 weeks ago
macgupta 81p · 518 weeks ago
Guest · 518 weeks ago
Another_Guest · 515 weeks ago
What is your opinion or understanding of the same ?
macgupta 81p · 515 weeks ago
macgupta 81p · 515 weeks ago
macgupta 81p · 515 weeks ago
"As an example, consider one of the things that Europe 'knows' about India: the Indian caste system. Almost everyone I know has very firm moral opinions on the subject. Many see in it the origin of all kinds of evils in India: from the denial of human rights to oppression; some see in it obstacles to progress and modernization and so on. I suppose we agree that we need to understand a phenomenon before making moral judgments. With this in mind, if you try and find out what this famous caste system is, and why people either attack or defend it, you discover the following: no ancient book exists that tells us what the principles of the caste system are; no Indian can tell you about its structure or its organization; no scientific theory has been developed that explains how or why it continues to exist. Simply put, nobody understands what it is or how it functions. In that case, how can anyone be pro or contra the caste system? If we focus on how people normally describe this system and understand how easy it is to turn such a description upside down, the absurdity of the situation becomes obvious. While emphasizing that I do not attack and much less defend the caste system in what follows, let us look at the existing descriptions and their consequences.
(a) Caste is an antiquated social system that arose in the dim past of India. If this is true, it has survived many challenges - the onslaught of Buddhism and the Bhakti movements, the Islamic and British colonization, Indian independence, world capitalism - and might even survive 'globalization'. It follows, then, that the caste system is a very stable social organization.
(b) There exists no centralized authority to enforce the caste system across the length and breadth of India. In that case, it is an autonomous and decentralized organization.
(c) All kinds of social and political regulations, whether by the British or by the Indians, have not been able to eradicate this system. If true, it means that the caste system is a self-reproducing social structure.
(d) Caste system exists among the Hindus, the Sikhs, the Jains, the Christians, the Muslims… It has also existed under different environments. This means that this system adapts itself to the environments it finds itself in.
(e) Because new castes have come and gone over the centuries, this system must also be dynamic.
(f) Since caste system is present in different political organizations and survives under different political regimes, it is also neutral with respect to political ideologies.
Even though more can be said, this is enough for us. A simple redescription of what we think we know about the caste system tells us that it is an autonomous, decentralized, stable, adaptive, dynamic, self-reproducing social organization. It is also neutral with respect to political, religious and economic doctrines and environments. If indeed such a system ever existed, would it also not have been the most ideal form of social organization one could ever think of?
How can we try to understand this odd state of affairs?"
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Please understand, the above is not a denial of the fact that groups of people mistreated other groups, nor is it a defense of anything except that fact that we really don't understand what we're talking about.
vnm · 515 weeks ago
On this topic - see a paper titled "Early Evidence for Caste in South India" by George Hart. Among other things, Hart makes a very pertinent observation: "... tracing the history of caste involves creating a definition of it." Google will fetch you a pdf version.
macgupta 81p · 515 weeks ago