12-03-2005, 10:56 PM
Sankrant Sanu is somebody i have great respect for. But it is unrealistic to expect the world to eschew freedom of religion . Because freedom of religion has become synonymous with freedom to proselytize and the established western churches know it
We can take the practical approach, somewhat similar to our stance on nuclear weapons. We dont like it but as long as others do it we will excel at it .
In reality the organized church is mortally afraid of our 'pagan' religion as it is drawing votaries right now without any effort on our part.
Along with the proselytiization comes a new way of perceiving Hinduism. Some pointers
1.It is a great privilege to be a Hindu,the dharma of dharmas
2. You must go through a ceremony to be recognized as a HIndu
3. You have obligations as a Hindu,including an obligatory amount of charity and the responsibility to proselytize
etc.etc.
If Hindus become good at it, pretty soon there will be clamor against proselytization by the west and then depending on circumstances the various religions can work out a new ethic based on the new realities.
Right now we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back, implying that we look down on proselytization.
Incidentally, i see few alternatives to proselytization if our goal is to preserve the HIindu ethos and the grand freedom that it gives the human mind. The beauty of proselytization is that the seculars cannot object to it since other religions in India are already heavily involved.
We can take the practical approach, somewhat similar to our stance on nuclear weapons. We dont like it but as long as others do it we will excel at it .
In reality the organized church is mortally afraid of our 'pagan' religion as it is drawing votaries right now without any effort on our part.
Along with the proselytiization comes a new way of perceiving Hinduism. Some pointers
1.It is a great privilege to be a Hindu,the dharma of dharmas
2. You must go through a ceremony to be recognized as a HIndu
3. You have obligations as a Hindu,including an obligatory amount of charity and the responsibility to proselytize
etc.etc.
If Hindus become good at it, pretty soon there will be clamor against proselytization by the west and then depending on circumstances the various religions can work out a new ethic based on the new realities.
Right now we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back, implying that we look down on proselytization.
Incidentally, i see few alternatives to proselytization if our goal is to preserve the HIindu ethos and the grand freedom that it gives the human mind. The beauty of proselytization is that the seculars cannot object to it since other religions in India are already heavily involved.