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Dear Bhagavatas: 
Though the articles quoted below have nothing to do with the mission statement 
of "Sri Ranga Sri", we are tempted to feature them. 

Much of the material in these articles are really interesting and substantiate 
the views expressed in the first Chapter of my book "Hinduism Rediscovered" - 
"What is Religion? Why Religion?" etc.

THIS IS  FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY AND NOT FOR TRIGGERING ANY DEBATE OR 
DISCUSSION IN "SRI RANGA SRI" JOURNAL.

However, if you have any inputs, you may feel free to send them to my personal 
id "Ramanbil@xxxxxxxxxxx". Such messages will be reviewed and, if found 
suitable, published in "Sri Ranga Sri"

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Anbil Ramaswamy
Moderator
======================================================================



Dear Friends 
 
This is an excellent article by Stephen Knapp.
 
Venkitesh (Viji)
 
 
 Speaking Out Against Prejudice Toward Hinduism and India

by Stephen Knapp

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/speaking_out_against_prejudice.htm

 

Although I am primarily engaged in writing books, there are times when I notice 
that prejudice and false ideas about Hinduism and India become too apparent in 
various publications to disregard. In such cases, we will write in and speak 
out to present more accurate views regarding the true nature of Vedic culture.

 

Here is an example of our response to a Christian minister who wrote a letter 
to the "India Tribune" about his false notion regarding the need for the 
freedom of Hindus to convert to Christianity to bring them out of their plight 
of poverty and oppression under "Hindu" leaders. His prejudice and bias was so 
obvious that we felt compelled to write in a more accurate and truthful view of 
the situation. This was also appreciated by others who wrote in their approval 
of our letter, and contributed additional valid points with which we agree, 
some of which we have included following our letter. We wrote it under our 
publicist's name of Jim Martin. The letter was published in the September 2, 
2000 edition of the paper, and was printed and titled as follows:



Invaders Aimed to Dismantle Indian Culture

by Jim Martin

Dear Sir:

I am writing in response to the letter published in the August 5 edition of 
India Tribune, by Rev. Dr. George E. David, titled "Legitimate Conversions Must 
Be Supported." He is a Christian minister and I am also one who was born and 
raised a Christian. However, I have some serious differences of opinion in 
response to what he said in his letter.

 

First of all, I also agree that everyone should have the right to decide for 
themselves what faith is most appropriate for them. No one has to really 
monitor that, as he seemed to suggest. It is a freedom in any democratic 
country. But he goes on to criticize Hinduism as being to blame for the poor 
and illiterate people in India. And that the Hindu leaders have kept people 
under control through such illiteracy and poverty. He suggests that is the 
reason why there is a need for so many Christians, due to their love of Jesus 
Christ, to come to the rescue and save India and help the needy.

 

There are many parts of the world who need humanitarian work, and to do that is 
fine. However, as a Christian myself, I know and have heard time and time again 
this ploy as a standard tactic to justify why Christians need to go to India 
and "Deliver the good news about Jesus" while bringing different kinds of 
humanitarian help. I have heard this from local churches as well as numerous 
television evangelical preachers as well, such as Jerry Falwell and others, and 
then watch them count their success in how many converts they have made. So 
this is nothing new. And after a while you begin to see through it.

 

To me this seems completely unfair to make such an assumption that illiteracy 
and poverty are caused by Hinduism, as if Rev. David knows all about the 
history of India and why it has lost so much of its glory and power, and the 
immense damage the "Christian British" did to India, and its attempt to 
dismantle whatever there was of Hinduism and its Vedic literature. Also, how 
they purposely controlled food production and distribution of commodities in 
order to turn people to Christianity. How they purposely tried to control and 
change the Vedic texts to reduce the high standards of living, morality, and 
its understanding of God so that people would more easily be converted to 
Christianity, along with so many other things they did. He has little right to 
blame the social conditions of India on Hinduism.

 

Rev. David goes on to say how he sees anger and hatred in a prior letter of Dr. 
Gangadhar Maddiwar, as if Dr. Maddiwar would prefer to keep Hindu people of 
India being poor and illiterate, rather than knowing other faiths. Here is 
another ploy to get Indians to stop being Hindus. Rev. David seems not to 
understand in the slightest degree that simply knowing other faiths is hardly 
anything that will improve the education of Indian citizens. The poor and 
illiterate is a social condition that was inflicted upon India and caused by 
outside invaders, from which India is still slowly recovering. It was never 
caused by Hinduism. History shows that.

 

Even though I am born and raised a Christian, I believe in finding the truth. 
And anyone can investigate the true history of India and look back to see how 
India has been controlled and dominated by invaders of all kinds for the past 
1000 years and more, invaders from the Middle East, the British, and even their 
missionaries. They have all come to dismantle what is India and its culture and 
force a new religion and government on its people, whether through obvious or 
covert attempts. During his latest visit to India the Pope 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 of Asia." Do you think that does not mean to make Indians 
Christians??

 

So there is no doubt that the Christian motive is not necessarily to help all 
people of the third world countries in a selfless manner simply to express 
their love of Christ, but also to provide the means by which everyone can be 
swayed to adopt the same religion. Once you begin to truly investigate history, 
anyone can understand that India has the oldest religion and culture in the 
world, and it can work perfectly well if it is given a chance. A chance outside 
the dictates of its past invaders, or present sectarian government officials 
who work for the cause of minorities at the expense of the majority Hindus. Do 
not think that a born and raised Christian and American such as myself cannot 
see this. In fact, anyone can.

 

For example, there have been two newly released books that are packed with 
important and revealing information about India's history from thousands of 
years ago up to the present. One book is "Proof of Vedic Culture's Global 
Existence" by Stephen Knapp (available through The World Relief Network, P. O. 
Box 15082, Detroit, Michigan, 48215), and the other is "The True History and 
the Religion of India" by Swami Prakashanand Saraswati (available through the 
International Society for Divine Love, Barsana Dham, 400 Barsana Road, 
Austin,Texas, 78737).

 

These books show how India once had a glorious past and was a global influence, 
in fact the parent of humanity and the heritage of all religions. It was 
advanced in many medical, mathematical and scientific inventions that the world 
uses today without recognition of their origins. These books also show the 
damage that invaders, including the Christian British and German nationalists, 
did to the true culture of India and its people in general, and how India has 
been making an uphill battle since then to regain stability. Furthermore, these 
books show that many practices of the ancient Vedic culture, which is far older 
than either Judaism or Christianity, were adopted by each of these newer 
religions. Even the story of Jesus has many adaptations and similarities to the 
older story of Lord Krishna.

 

It would be to the advantage of any Indian to be aware of the abundant 
information that these two books contain to keep in mind the antiquity and 
authenticity of their true past and heritage. There has been many attempts to 
stifle and suppress the knowledge in the above mentioned books for years. After 
learning this information myself, I am embarrassed whenever I see these same 
age old tactics as found in Rev. David's letter, to belittle India and its 
religion by unjustly using social issues to criticize religions, and thereby 
try to establish the superiority of their own religion, such as Christianity, 
which has proved to be one of the most violent and dominating religions in 
history. And I know this is something that most Christians don't like to 
discuss. However, even the Pope has acknowledged and apologized for the cruel 
past of Christianity, so this cannot be denied. Therefore, Indians have every 
right to be proud of their culture, and every right to be a little tired of 
those
 who make continued efforts to defraud or tear it down in any way, religious or 
otherwise. This has gone on long enough. So, as Rev. David says at the end of 
his letter, let us work together to give peace a chance, but I say let everyone 
follow the religion of their choice without the continual attempt to sway them 
this way or that.


_____________________________________________________________________________


In response to our letter were others, such as the following that appeared in 
the October 14, 2000 issue, that not only praised us for speaking out, but also 
made creditable points to which we agree, and share with you here. This makes 
it evident that it is better not to be shy about speaking the truth, for when 
it is done appropriately, it may also become a gathering point and provide the 
impetus for others to come forward to do the same.


Tolerant Hindus Respect all Religions

by S. Arora

Dublin, OH: I read with great interest Jim Martin's opinion -- "Invaders aimed 
to Dismantle Indian Culture"-- published in India Tribune dated September 2, in 
response to Dr. George E. David's view - "Legitimate conversions must be 
supported" - appeared in India Tribune dated August 5.

 

I was greatly impressed by Jim Martin who rightly said that invader's aim was 
to dismantle the Indian culture. I think, it is praiseworthy and highly 
creditable that one such as Jim Martin, who is born and raised as a Christian, 
would so boldly proclaim what he sees as the truth. He has done his homework 
well, for he definitely has a fair grasp of Indian culture and the reasons that 
gradually led to its decline over the centuries.

 

Anyone who has read about Hinduism knows how at one time India was respected 
and looked up to for guidance in matters of religion and spirituality. Even 
Jesus Christ is said to have gone to India for several years during his early 
life to get guidance and spiritual instruction from the sages and yogis of 
north India. (Reference: "Jesus Lived in India" by Holger Kerston).

Swamy Vivekananda represented Hinduism as a delegate in September 1893 to the 
Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, where delegates from all nations 
gathered. There, he emphasized the harmony of all religions, and got a standing 
ovation, significant of their approval. For two minutes, he attempted to speak, 
but the wild enthusiasm of the audience prevented him. When silence was finally 
restored, he introduced Hinduism as "the mother of religions, a religion which 
has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance," and he quoted 
two passages from the Hindu scriptures in support. "As the different streams 
having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, 
O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, 
various though they may appear, crooked or straight, all lead there."

 

The second quotation, "All men are struggling through paths, which in the end, 
lead to Me," is indicative of the truth which his guru, Sri Ramakrishna, had 
taught him, "as many paths, so many religions." Hence, in a democracy, each one 
should have the freedom to follow his conscience, and opt for and follow the 
religion of his choice, without being pressured to conversion to other 
religions.

 

Referring to Swami Vivekananda's speech, the president, Merwin-Mariesnell, of 
the assembly said, "One of the chief advantages has been in the great lesson 
which it has taught the Christian world, especially to the people of the US, 
namely that there are other religions more venerable than Christianity, which 
surpass it in philosophical depth, in spiritual intensity. . ."

In light of this, it is hard to understand why Christian missionaries go to 
India to convert the poverty-stricken Hindus to Christianity, under the guise 
of humanitarian reasons. As Jim Martin has pointed out, the Indians have the 
invaders (wave after wave of them) to thank for the present plight of India and 
the Indians today. In the last 1,000 years, at least, India has not invaded any 
country, but it has patiently suffered the onslaught of aggression from 
foreigners who have unscrupulously taken advantage of the trusting Hindus.

Hinduism accommodates all religions, so Hindus not only tolerate, but respect 
all religions as true, without trying to convert followers of other religions 
to Hinduism. Should not followers of other religions do the same, and live in a 
spirit of peace, goodwill and co-existence?


_____________________________________________________________________________


Another letter in support of our views appeared in the October 7, 2000 edition, 
and was published as follows:


God is Too Big for any one Religion

by A. Ramachandran

Shrewsbury, MA: I wish to compliment Jim Martin for his lively 
opinion--"Invaders Aimed to Dismantle Indian Culture"--published in India 
Tribune dated September 2. It was his response to Rev. David's 
views--"Legitimate Conversions must be Supported"--published in India Tribune 
dated August 5.

 

First, I also agree that conversion is a moral right. India has a long 
tradition of conversion from one faith to another. When Lord Buddha preached 
his eight-fold path to Nirvana, Hindus in large numbers converted to Buddhism. 
When in the 8th century Adi Shankar expounded his philosophy of Adwaita, many 
Buddhists converted to Hinduism. In the 16th century, Guru Nanak offered his 
simpler way to God and many Hindus chose to become Sikhs. In 50 A.D., when St. 
Thomas brought Christianity to Kerala, many Hindus converted to this faith.

All these conversions were motivated by the hearts and intellects of the 
individuals and no temptation or coercion was involved. Unfortunately, St. 
Thomas was martyred in Madras because of his insistence that Hindu gods were 
false and their devotees were bound to go to hell. (We hear these words are 
repeated even today--please see the Southern Baptist's Prayer Book.)

 

Hindu India in the first millennium was a very prosperous country, rich in 
culture, sciences and wealth. Thanks to their religion, they were a gentle and 
mild people. (Read the impressions of the two Chinese pilgrims to India.) 
However, India's fame attracted booty-seekers from the West who came to 
plunder, pillage, massacre, subjugate, rule and eventually pauperize 
economically.

 

The Christian missionaries followed in the wake of this conquest and 
proselytized under the protection of the Raj. They used Western funds, material 
goods, and medicines to entice poor people to convert. They also used the 
threat of hell to convince the gullible and berated the Hindu religion.

 

This manner of spreading Christianity was also employed in South America by the 
Spanish conquerors and in North America by the European settlers, when the 
natives were vanquished by saber, spear, gunfire and then by the Christian 
cross-war, planted on their soil to save the "poor heathens."

 

India lost everything to the Western conquerors except its soul, and hence 
Gandhi was born, the freedom movement evolved, and India was able to free 
itself from centuries of debilitating foreign rule.

 

When the Indians gave themselves a Constitution, they incorporated the ancient 
Hindu belief of "Sarva Dharma Samabhava"--all religions are equal--contrast to 
the recent Vatican statement that orthodox Catholics and other denominations 
are imperfect. A bumper sticker says it all--"God is too big for any one 
religion."


_____________________________________________________________________________


One final letter that we will include that was inspired by our original letter, 
and which holds some strong points with which we also concur, was published in 
the January 27, 2001 edition of India Tribune as follows:


India subjugated by invaders - Hindus are secular-minded

by Bhikhu Patel

Marshall, TX: I am writing this belatedly in appreciation of Jim Martin's 
opinion--"Invaders armed to dismantle Indian culture"--published in India 
Tribune dated September 2, 2000.

 

Jim Martin needs to be congratulated for his efforts to seek out the truth 
about India's past, and then being a Christian, had the courage to express it 
in a newspaper.

 

Hindu-bashing has been a fashion in the Christian and the Islamic worlds. 
Hindus and their organizations have been labeled as fundamentalists. They are 
being held responsible for all the aches and pains the two creeds are having 
with their policy to proselytize the Indian subcontinent.

 

A Hindu cannot be a fundamentalist because of his universally accepted belief 
in the "Sarva Dharma Samabhava." Dan, Daya and Dharma are the three ingredients 
of the behavior in daily life. That does not mean that every Hindu would 
qualify for a sainthood. He carries all the traits of the human weaknesses. 
However, his overall performance towards his brethren carries high marks. India 
was ruled by foreigners for nearly 1000 years. The British came last, seeking 
trade, but ended up acquiring the whole of India.

 

The Indians were dazzled and outwitted by the cunningness of the invaders. The 
Hindus knew very little of the atrocities and terrorism of the crusades or 
Jehads. Still less, they knew about the spread of the two religions in the "Old 
World." The Indian elite adopted the English way of dressing and mannerism. 
Persian and English replaced Sanskrit. The Christian missionaries with the help 
of the British proceeded to Christianize India. The method adopted was unique.

India was unique. Islam, which was successful in converting the whole 
population in other countries, was only partially successful. Christianity, 
which successfully converted the continents and destroyed cultures of the "New 
World," had a very weak foothold.

 

This unique method was developed by Muller, Cunningham and Jones. The 
fictitious theory of invading Aryans was invented. The scriptures were doctored 
derogatively to demoralize Hindus. The records in the Archeological Department 
were manipulated. Many rare copies of scriptures were destroyed. The Hindu 
building structures became Moghul. The art turned Persian. The etiquette became 
English. The architect of the Taj Mahal was an Italian, maybe a Spaniard, not 
sure. Thus, the roots of India-bashing or Hindu-bashing were laid centuries ago 
and are very deep. The Indian history was rewritten by the British and Islamic 
rulers. It was like Hitler that was given the task of writing British history.

 

Hindus have been the temple builders, not the temple destroyers. India welcomed 
people of other cultures who were being persecuted in their own land, and lived 
amicably with them. The ruins that one may find all over the world were not the 
handiwork of the Hindus. The cultural and civilizational destruction of the 
Aztecs, only 500 years ago, was criminal, was not carried out by the Hindus, 
nor had any hand in the management of slavery. This is by no means a full list 
of big crimes. The worst was to come.

 

The Jewish people continued to suffer at the hands of their brothers, the 
people of the Books. It reached the peak during the second world war, when 
trains loaded with human cargo were sent into gas chambers. The Jewish race was 
nearly exterminated in Europe. The Jewish people in India were quite happy 
living among the Hindus.

 

When around 392 AD, Christianity became the favored and predominant religion of 
the Roman Empire, Emperor Theodosius proclaimed it the sole legal religion and 
ordered all Roman subjects except Jews to become Christians. To be a Christian 
was henceforth a matter of law, not of religious conviction.

 

The burning of the main scientific medical library in Cordoba, Spain, was 
carried out on the pretext of "horrible calamity" to Islam. The famous library 
of Alexandria, which was in existence for nearly 1,000 years containing 700,000 
manuscripts, was destroyed at the instance of caliph Omar. Prior to that, the 
same library suffered destruction at the hands of the Roman emperors in the 
years 272 AD and 391 AD. The actions were criminal. Hindus have always been the 
promoters of knowledge.

 

Hindus have never entertained crusades or Jehads against any religion, nor sent 
missions to other countries on a religious conversion drive. The world 
population comprises 2.5 billion Christians and 1.5 billion Muslims. Still, the 
zeal of these two creeds to proselytize continues unabated. The Pope's recent 
"call for conversion" of Asia, and the Southern Baptists' prayers for the "more 
than 900 million people lost in the hopeless darkness of Hinduism" suggest a 
very strong Christian desire for proselytizing the Indian subcontinent. They 
can do it. They have the power, organizations and the people to act upon their 
instructions.

 

The Islamic desire has taken to the road of violence and terrorism. The Islamic 
organizations have built up a worldwide network of organizations to train 
people in terrorist activities and send them to all parts of the world. All 
sorts of clandestine activities are undertaken, unashamedly to fund these 
terrorist cells. Mosques and madrasas are also being used to indoctrinate 
people, particularly children. Bodarsky, in pointing out the strong, unyielding 
and violent attitudes among the Islamic groups, states that "the dominant 
historic trend in the region (Middle-East) is adamant opposition to the mere 
existence of Israel, let alone peace with it." In their prayers, "Dua" of the 
Azzam Organization states, "O Allah! Cause this relation to come in the form of 
intensified attacks on the Hindu forces in Kashmir." Further, the organization 
states openly its support to Pakistan in its war against India. These terrorist 
groups have no physical boundaries. Professor Masud-ul-Hasan, in his book, 
"History of Islam," writes "Islam is the end all and be all of the existence of 
the Muslims." 

 

The American government, in supporting the Afghanistan war against Russia, 
poured funds and armaments into Pakistan. The Americans have created a monster 
they know not. They certainly don't know how to handle it. It is growing in 
power and its reach is extensive. Does Lord Jesus need Christian organizations 
with their loaded purse and devious methods to propagate the message of love? 
Does Prophet Mohammad need Islamic organizations with their highly devoted 
Jehad to propagate the message of submissiveness to God? Perhaps not. There 
would not be sufficient space to list the ways in which these groups may be 
able to destroy the fabrics of India. Christian, Islamic or other groups should 
be barred and restricted from any activity of forced conversions on Indian soil.

 

India is a secular and democratic country. The Indian Constitution provides for 
equality and progress for all. Every Indian has a duty to make certain that 
foreign groups do not play "tricks" on India. All Indians have lived together 
quite happily in the past. The Christian and Muslim brethren and sisters need 
to disassociate themselves from the clutches of these groups.
(This article is from: http://www.stephen-knapp.com) 












                
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