Conversions, missioneries, indigenous faiths

Not all of us are bad or vilent and not all of a religion / sect/ ideology / birth can be branded so and so .....

Not every christian is a proselytiser the links in this post only shows wot is happening with the poor of the world in the name of goodwill conversions and most of the times insulting local indigenous faiths.

Christist-Police clashes in Mangalore, following public outrage against aggressive proselytisation by a sect.

Blasphemy of Hindu Gods by peace-loving Christians

Mangalore christian attack

Conversions of Dalits: R.L.Francis

** Inducements Lure poor..

** Churches and Fundamentalism


Satya Darshini - the reason for attacks?
DH News Service, Mangalore:
As Bajrang Dal claims, the basic reason for its ire against the New Life prayer halls, is a book titled 'Satya Darshini' where the Hindu gods and goddesses have been shown in a bad light hurting the religious sentiments...


According to Bajrang Dal state convener Mahendra Kumar, this ‘humiliating literature’ is being circulated among the society encouraging conversion of Hindus.

As per the available pages of ‘Satya Darshini,’ the book has been originally written in Telugu (Ruju Darshini) by one Rev Paravastu Sooryanarayana, which has been translated to Kannada by Sriramreddy of Bangalore, and revised by Rev Samson S Malekar of Davangere. The editor of the book is A G Prakash of Suvarta Sevadal, Bellary.

Rev Paravastu Sooryanarayana published the original book through his Karunamaya Ministries, based in Hyderabad. According to the book, he took his birth in a traditional Brahmin family and was educated in Jagannathamutt Vidyapeeth. He was the chief priest (archak) in Sri Lakshminarayanaswamy Temple, and later embraced the teachings of Jesus Christ.

In his book, Sooryanarayana interprets select verses (shlokas) from various Hindu epics and explains why did he dislike the religion, the gods and goddesses. Analysing one such verse, the books states “Like human beings, the divine people also commit sins. Nara and Narayan did the same..... In fact, Rama and Krishna are not at all divine incarnations. They took birth like humans, committed sins and experienced its after effects. Hence, they are not gods and cannot give salvation (mukthi)...” (page 44).

In another chapter, it is stated “Madigas eat meat. Brahmins eat ghee, produced from cow’s fat. What is the difference between Madigas eating meat and Brahmins eating fat?” (page 48). Another explanation on the same page says, “Seer Vasishta, the mentor of Sri Rama, is the son of a prostitute, Urvashi.... Vashishta made her his own wife... Brahmins are the progeny of this couple... Hence, Brahmins are Shudras.”

“Sri Krishna is not light; he is darkness. One who is not light cannot be a god... If Sri Krishna is not eligible to hold Shamantakamani, how can he relieve you from sins? Himself being in darkness, how can you provide light?” the book asks (page 49, 50) analysing the incident of Shamantakamani from Vishnupurana.



Double standards?

Kumar Uttam and M Madhusudan | New Delhi
Source: Pioneerindia

Page 48 of Satya Darshini reads: Urvashi, the daughter of Lord Vishnu, is a prostitute. Vashistha is the son of this prostitute. He, in turn, married his own Mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama.

Page 39 mentions: It was Brahma himself who kidnapped Sita. Since Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were themselves the victims of lust, it is a sin to consider them as Gods. When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? Since Krishna himself is a shady character, there is a need for us to liberate his misled followers.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which along with the VHP and Bajrang Dal, is under attack for inciting violence in Karnataka, lists out the aforementioned paragraphs from the controversial book, allegedly being distributed by Christian missionaries, to claim it led to an "outrage among the Hindus".

Retaliatory actions subsequently resulted in attacks on more than a dozen churches and prayer halls in the State.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwary termed it a state-sponsored terrorism. "The test of a democracy is not how you treat your majority but it is how you treat your minority. Both the Orissa and Karnataka governments are working on pre-conceived RSS ideology and orchestrating state-sponsored terrorism against minorities," he stated.

But while Tiwary said he wasn't sure whether the Centre's advisory to the Karnataka government was under Article 355 or was a general one, it has already attained severe political connotations with the BJP going hammer and tongs against it. To compound matters, Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta too declined to reply as to whether the advisory was under Article 355.

The entire action is not only an abuse of Constitutional provisions but shows rank double standards, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"Congress-ruled Assam has witnessed killing of large number of Hindi-speaking and other bonafide residents by ULFA and other extremist organizations for the last few years but the State government failed to give any security. Yet there was never any directive given under Article 355," Prasad added.

"A Supreme Court judgment of 2005 wherein the apex court had while declaring the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 (IMDT) unconstitutional held that because of large-scale infiltration the State of Assam is facing external aggression and internal disturbance as enjoined in Article 355 of the Constitution. The SC had asked if the Union of India had taken any measure for that purpose," he pointed out.

He also went on to cite the cases of Nandigram in West Bengal, violence against north Indians in Maharashtra and the knee-jerk actions against the guilty to question the Centre's move to send in the advisories under Article 355.

While the war of words continues, political observers do not rule out the UPA government's move as one being timed to deflect attention from the series of blasts by terrorists across the country. Particularly, after the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has come in under severe criticism from even the UPA allies like Lalu Prasad.

"The UPA has realised attack is the best defence. Being assailed for going soft on terror, the ruling coalition's decision to send in the advisories under Article 355 in NDA-ruled Orissa and Karnataka surely puts its intentions under scanner," they maintained.

BJP leaders claim both Karnataka and Orissa were putting extra efforts to curb violence that began after the killing of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati in Orissa and distribution of an "inflammatory" book by missionaries of New Life church - Satya Darshini at different churches in Karnataka.

"Now they have to battle a virtual threat of dismissal from the Centre," they pointed out adding with Assembly elections in six states due this year and Lok Sabha polls likely to be announced any time, the Congress wants to deflect the country's attention from terrorism and price rise.

Though senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily said that despite the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) being in force, the BJP government failed to invoke it, on the Congress' front, the party hasn't come out clearly on the issue of advisories or the Article 355.

"Already having been embarrassed by allies like Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who supported SIMI, one expected the Congress to make things clear on the issue before too much is read into its intentions," observers felt.

More so, since after burning its fingers on the issue of Ram Sethu and Amarnath land allotment row, a section in the Congress believes the party should be more cautious and prompt while dealing with issues related to faith, especially, in an election year.

Article355

Article 355 of the Constitution says: It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution

Quote unquote

There was no need for such an action by the Centre. It's hasty and a politically motivated decision. The state government has already ordered a judicial probe (headed by a retired judge of the High Court) into the attack and violence in parts of the state and directed officials to punish the guilty. We will not allow Bajrang Dal to take law into their hands

-- Karnataka Home Minister Dr VS Acharya

It is unfortunate and politically motivated. When there are disturbances in many parts of the country, they (Centre) have chosen two states where Congress is not ruling. The State government has tried its best to maintain peace but the Centre has been very slow in sending security forces to the State. We have not got the adequate number of forces to deal with the situation in Kandhamal and elsewhere

-- Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik

The particular situation in Orissa and Karnataka invited Central government's action. These states are keeping silence when minorities are being tortured. Moreover, the violence by Bajrang dal is supported by the state administration. Centre should intervene to protect the minorities

-- CPI National Secretary D Raja

The statement issued by the Government of India to Karnataka and Orissa is a part of vote bank politics. Madam (read Sonia Gandhi) ko 355 candles ki aarti utaari gayi hai (It is an act to please Madam). It's an attempt to target non-Congress governments and deflect attention from the simmering anger across the country against terrorism. I want to ask the Centre why it did not use Article 355 when Hindi-speaking people were massacred in Assam, when blood continued to be spilled in Nandigram and terror attacks continue to take place in Jammu and Kashmir

-- Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi

An advisory has been issued to the state government asking it to take effective measures to bring the situation under control. The Karnataka situation was being closely monitored by the Home Ministry and that the state government has been told to report back to the Centre on the steps to check attacks on the churches and prayer halls

-- Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta

The test of a democracy is not how you treat your majority but it is how you treat your minority. Both the Orissa and Karnataka governments are working on pre-conceived RSS ideology and they are orchestrating state-sponsored terrorism against minorities. I am not sure though whether the Centre's advisory is under Article 355 or is a general one

-- ongress spokesperson Manish Tiwary

The BJP strongly condemns the move. The entire action is politically motivated, highly prejudicial, patently discriminatory and a belated attempt by the UPA government to divert popular attention over its abject failure to take strong and effective measures to contain terrorism

-- BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad

The attacks are a national shame. Such incidents should never have taken place. The Karnataka government should have enforced provisions of Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act (KCOCA) against the attackers who launched pre-planned attacks on 20 churches at a time. The KCOCA is still in force but the government failed to take advantage of this Act

--Former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily

Column Ta-Ta economic miracle

I have been impressed by such articles and thinktanks (which I seriously feel is dearth in India). The colletive good is something missing in India, for obvious reasons of sociological and historical reasons. We have long lost the collective good after years of politicking and slavery or may be a non-posessive attitude that let us down on ourselves. Read on....
Source: Expressindia.com

With inflation at around 12.5% , it costs Rs 180 crore per annum just to keep the value of Rs 1,500 crore in tact. Forget about making profits. Thus, half a crore a day is what Mamata Banerjee was costing Ratan Tata at the minimum. The total cost of the gherao of Singur will not be known till the entire fracas is over, and till one figures out the costs of relocating the plant and the personnel and the delay in delivering the product. It will perhaps be in the range of at least around Rs 400-Rs 500 crore.

That is the cost of dysfunctional politics in just one instance. It is democracy and we value it and political rivalry is part of the game. But since 1989, the fragmentation of party politics has meant that the costs of politics have been mounting up. It did not matter because just as single party dominance ended in India, the economic growth rate took off. India could afford its quarrelsome, populist distributional games because the private sector had been freed to make money by open competition and liberal reforms. Indeed, the growth rate went up as coalitions became more fragile. Except during the 1996-98 Left Unity period, there has been no dent in the acceleration of growth though thanks to Chidambaram, who was then finance minister, the damage was contained.

There was a division of labour in politics. States could do what they liked and compete for investment or display their economic ignorance. The Centre held its reins tight and did what was necessary to allow the private sector room for growth. But now there is a sea change in attitude and the economic miracle is about to halt.

Worldwide trends are for a slowdown. In the UK and the EU, there are serious signs of a slowdown if not a recession. The fall in the price of oil has not made much difference there because the oil content of GDP has been falling. The credit crunch and the financial market meltdown continue and one does not know when they will impact even more severely on the real economy. The benevolent macroeconomic climate of 1992-2007 is now gone and may not return for a while.

If the commodity price boom is spent and the Western equity markets are not picking up yet, where is the money going to go for decent rates of return? India could be a destination, for portfolio investment as well as for FDI. But that is exactly where the signals will be flashing red. After Singur, money will hesitate to come to India. After all, if Ratan Tata, as home-grown as one could be, after having followed all the rules and regulations and with the High Court stamp of approval on West Bengal government’s land acquisition cannot carry on business, what chance is there for anyone else? Who can any longer believe the promises of chief ministers whatever their majority in state legislatures? There is, always out there, some group with some caste or religious label or a linguistic identity who can throw a spanner in the works.

The most remarkable thing in this episode has been deafening silence from Team Manmohan, the guardians of the economic miracle. The PM may be more concerned with the indoor gherao at the NSG but even so the hands off attitude without even a word of disapproval about the senseless trashing of India’s most prestigious innovative product tells me that the UPA government is paralysed till the next election whose outcome it cannot predict.

This paralysis started in August 2007 when CPM threw a tantrum about the Indo-US nuke deal. But even after the July 21 vote, there has been stasis. None of the reform proposals we are all waiting for—on labour laws , on retail FDI, on foreign universities , even the Right to Education—have moved at all. The Singur dispute is, after all, due to the dreadful state of land laws which are a thicket and through which none can see his or her way. Where are the reform proposals which will take us away from a 1892 land acquisition law and deliver clarity?

India has now run out of the energy to pursue growth. Perhaps, in six months time, there will be elections. Then, in another six to nine months time, there may be an active policy removing the obstacles to growth. Or, perhaps not, if the coalition includes any of the Third Force parties. Each day that goes by costs crores of rupees, but then who cares? How many vote banks depend on businessmen?

—The author is a prominent economist and Labour peer

'Dahi Handi' n Gokulashtami

The 'Dahi Handi' -- earthen pot filled with yogurt tied on a rope with either side of the buildings at a height -- is broken by groups of youngsters known as Govindas.

According to mythology, Lord Krishna, who was fond of yogurt and butter, used to steal them with the help of his friends -- Govindas -- by forming the human pyramid.

Similarly, the modern day Govindas form the human pyramid and break these pots not only as a custom, but also for a prize that now runs in lakhs!

Govinda a la re!

Lies, chameleons, kashmir and amarnath yatra

Over last many days, Sajjad Lone has been parroting some urban legands on all TV channels.... Some of these are also repeatedly and accepted blindly by many people across different media channels as well.

One of the weirdest lie leaders from Kashmir are repeatedly parroting over media is that the Amarnath cave was discovered by a Kashmiri muslim 130-140 years ago and that the yatra has existed only for last 130-140 years ago.

Now what do you call this - ignorance or political propaganda? This is an urban legend being repeated so often that people have started believing this as the truth. Yes, Buta Malik's family having been part of caretakers and having had rights to the proceed from donations/collections at the shrine is a fact. But the genesis of that is not that Buta Malik discovered the cave.

The historic references to the existance of the holy cave and the traditional yatra go back many centuries. (Source: Wikipedia)

While the earliest reference to Amarnath can be seen in the Nilamata Purana (v.1324), a 6th century Sanskrit text which depicts the religious and cultural life of early Kashmiris and gives Kashmir’s own creation myth, the pilgrimage to the holy cave has been described with
full topographical details in the Bhringish Samhita and the Amarnatha Mahatmya, both ancient texts said to have been composed even earlier.
References to Amarnath, known have also been made in historical chronicles like the Rajatarangini and its sequels and several Western travellers’ accounts. The original name of the tirtha, as given in the ancient textsis Amareshwara,Amarnath being a name given later to it

Giving the legend of the Naga Sushruvas, who in his fury burnt to ashes the kingdom of King Nara when he tried to abduct his daughter already married to a Brahmin youth, and after the carnage took his abode in the lake now known as Sheshnag (Kashmiri Sushramnag), Kalahana
writes:

“The lake of dazzling whiteness [resembling] a sea of milk
(Sheshnag), which he created [for himself as residence] on a far off mountain, is to the present day seen by the people on the pilgrimage to Amareshwara.”(Rajatarangini, Book I v. 267.Translation: M. A. Stein).

At another place in the Rajatarangini (Book II v. 138), Kalhana says that King Samdhimat Aryaraja (34 BCE-17CE) used to spend “the most delightful Kashmir summer” in worshiping a linga formed of snow “in the
regions above the forests”. This too appears to be a reference to the ice linga at Amarnath. There is yet another reference to Amareshwara or Amarnath in the Rajatarangini (Book VII v.183). According to Kalhana,
Queen Suryamati, the wife of King Ananta (1028-1063), “granted under her husband’s name agraharas at Amareshwara, and arranged for the consecration of trishulas, banalingas and other [sacred emblems]”.

In his Chronicle of Kashmir, a sequel to Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, Jonaraja relates that that Sultan Zainu’l-abidin (1420-1470) paid a visit to the sacred tirtha of Amarnath while constructing a canal on the left bank of the river Lidder (vv.1232-1234). The canal is now known as Shah Kol.

In the Fourth Chronicle named Rajavalipataka, which was begun by Prjayabhatta and completed by Shuka, there is a clear and detailed reference to the pilgrimage to the sacred site (v.841,vv. 847-849).
According to it, in a reply to Akbar’s query about Kashmir Yusuf Khan, the Mughal governor of Kashmir at that time, described among other things the Amarnath Yatra in full detail.

Amareshwar (Amarnath) was a famous pilgrimage place in the time of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan also. In his eulogy of Shah Jahan’s father-in-law Asif Khan, titled “Asaf Vilas”, the famous Sanskrit scholar and aesthete Panditraj Jagannath makes clear mention of Amareshwara (Amarnath) while describing the Mughal garden Nishat laid
out by Asif Khan. The King of gods Indra himself, he says, comes here to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva”.

Francois Bernier, a French physician, accompanied Emperor Aurangzeb during his visit to Kashmir in 1663. In his book “Travels in the Mughal Empire”, he writes an account of the places he visited in Kashmir that
he was “pursuing journey to a grotto full of wonderful congelations, two days journey from Sangsafed” when he “received intelligence that my Nawab felt very impatient and uneasy on account of my long absence”.
The editor of the second edition of the English translation of the book, Vincient A. Smith, writes in his introduction: “The grotto full of wonderful congelations is the Amarnath cave, where blocks of ice, stalagmites formed by dripping water from the roof are worshipped by many Hindus who resort here as images of Shiva…..”

Another traveler, Vigne, in his book “Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardu” writes about the pilgrimage to the sacred spot in detail, mentioning that “the ceremony at the cave of Amarnath takes place on the 15th of the Hindoo month of Sawan” and that “not only Hindoos of every rank and caste can be seen collecting together and traveling up the valley of Liddar towards the celebrated cave……”
Vigne visited Kashmir after his return from Ladakh in 1840-41 and published his book in 1842. His book claims that the Amarnath Yatra drew pilgrims from the whole of India in his time and was undertaken with great enthusiasm.

Guru Arjan Dev is said to have granted land in Amritsar for the ceremonial departure of Chari, the holy mace of Lord Shiva which marks the beginning of the Yatra to the Holy Cave.
In 1819, the year in which the Afghan rule came to an end in Kashmir, Pandit Hardas Tiku “founded the Chhawni Anmarnath at Ram Bagh in Srinagar where the Sadhus from the plains assembled and where he gave
them free rations for the journey, both ways from his own private resources”, as the noted Kashmiri naturalist Pandit Samsar Chand Kaul has pointed out in his booklet titled “The Mysterious cave of Amarnath”.

Amarnath is deeply enshrined in Kashmiri folklore, such as the story of Soda Wony.

The temple is reported to be about 5,000 years old and was mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. The exact manner of discovery of the cave is not known.

The Amarnath Yatra, according to Hindu belief, begins on Ashadha PurnimaFull Moon in the Hindu Month of Ashadha) and ends on Shravana Purnima (day of the full moon in the Hindu month of Shravana).

Another Proud moment for India

Another Proud moment

Small is Big and this son of a ticket conductor and a Govt school educated poor boy has made India proud. While the earlier was a well equipped rich man's son who made India proud, while not undermining the achievement of Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra he was born with a silver spoon but there are several unexplored talents in the rural Indians. This one Sushil Kumar is one live example.

"Probably you may say that there was no expectation from the people back home and the media too. But me and my coach (Satpal) always knew I had a fair chance of winning a medal and I'm happy I could achieve that," a beaming Sushil told reporters at the China Agricultural University in Beijing.

"While it is good not to have that burden of expectation on your shoulder, I think we can give even more provided we get better facilities," said the wrestler, taking the occasion to make a point.

"I want to dedicate this medal to my coach Satpal," said Sushil who is the current world number seven.

Happy independence day: enjoy the ten National anthems

First things first

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Have been the browsing online for the independence day stuff and stumbled upon this wonderful music blog from Gaurdian newspapers UK. It was surprisng and wonderful as well as shocking that My Indian National Anthem was not in the top 10 (Quite naturally everybody loves to see their National anthem in at the Top). Don't miss the Comments section of the blog.

Uruguay: National anthem

One of the most euphoric pieces of classical music I've ever heard. Banks of trumpets play crescendos to false endings - for five minutes. But somehow it works.

Bangladesh: My Golden Bengal

A wonderful anthem that sounds like it was written for a stroll along the Seine. It really needs Jacques Brel. Which is probably not what composer Rabindranath Tagore had in mind.

Tajikistan: National anthem

Written when the country was part of the USSR, it sounds like the music that plays in James Bond films when a Russian spy is about to cut off Bond's manhood. It doesn't try to soar, but frighten, and it's all the better for it.

Mauritania: National anthem

A trip into the heart of the souk, albeit a menacing one. The melody is so unusual that most Mauritanian's can't sing along to it, so pretend it doesn't have any words.

Dominica: Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour

A simple, spiralling melody stuck on repeat for 47 seconds, but there's such movement and elegance to it. Don't confuse with the Dominican Republic's, which is wretched.

US Virgin Isles: Virgin Islands March

It's Mary Poppins! One of the few anthems to literally pull out all the bells and whistles. This should be a soundtrack to a kid's film.

Senegal: Strum Your Koras, Strike Your Balafons

How can an anthem that name checks two local instruments in its title - a harp and a xylophone - be any less than brilliant? It's really two tunes - the first twinkles, the second strolls. But both are amazing.

Nigeria: Arise O Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey

Written in 1978 by the Nigerian Police Band, this should be an awful march. Fortunately it features relentless afrobeat percussion, which makes any tune outstanding.

Nepal: Hundreds of Flowers

Adopted last year, when Nepal's House of Representatives threw out the old, western-style anthem. This folk melody on strings and hand drums sounds like slowed-down bhangra. Shame it's probably unplayable by brass, so unlikely to be heard outside Nepal.

Japan: May Your Reign Last Forever

Solemn. So much so, it'll have you thinking of everyone you've lost for its duration. Rarely does an anthem carry such weight.