03-14-2006, 08:49 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Quota of evangelical vituperation</b> By Balbir K. Punj
AT a time the Muslim ummah was up in arms for cartoons on Prophet Mohammed published Jyellands-Posten in Denmark, Hindus seem to have swallowed a large quota of evangelical vituperation with minimal protests. Parliament condemned the cartoons, the editor of Senior India who had published them was arrested, and Muslim protest rallies were allowed to vent their ire on Hindu shops in Hyderabad and BJP office in Lucknow. A minister of Uttar Pradesh government who announced contract-killing money of Rs 51 crore was left undisturbed in his constitutional office.
The 'anxieties´ and 'concerns´ of Christian community in Dang, Gujarat over Shabri Kumbh got place in national media. But the outrage against scurrilous evangelical literature in Kota, Rajasthan virtually evaded nation´s notice. Hakikat (The Reality), a substandard evangelical literature in Hindi, written by M.C. Mathew, and published by Dr. D.M. Thomas and Samuel Thomas of Emmanuel Literature Society, was source of major tension in Kota, Rajasthan recently. <b>The book contains many vulgar references to Lord Ram and Krishna, Hindu saints like Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Satya Sai Baba, Ma Amritanandamayi, Digambar Jain saints, in addition to objectionable reference to Ganga, Vande Mataram, and Arya Samaj, ISKCON etc</b>. The book is subtitled as an analytical study of 'Bunch of Thoughts´ by Guru Golwalkar. On page 100 it comments about Sri Ramâ"Ram´s wife Sita was been taken away. She was left in forest according to wish of Ram. Later Ram permitted Laxman to kill Sita. This Laxman was defeated in fight by Ram, and later Ram disgusted with his life drowned himself in Saryu. <b>All this happened with advice, consent and religious belief of half-naked sadhus of Hindutva."</b> Elsewhere in p. 269 it says: "In modern world many Ramas of this belief are living carefree. They marry several times, desert their wives, marry several times, and leave them. Many Ramas kill their Sitas. They are following their god Rama." But pray, why Vatican is still clinging to dead Latin in its services? Why Ratzinger on becoming Pope, addressed the international crowd first in Latin, which nobody understands?
Did Sri Ram ever depute any one to kill Sita? Might be Mr. Mathew knows better than the author of Ramayana. We knew that Sita was left in Sage Vashishta´s cottage in sylvan forest. Sri Ram, felt that he was a king first, husband later, and when Ayodhya´s people had indirectly cast doubt over Sita´s chastity, she should be left, even to Sri Ram´s great agony. May be Sri Ram was overreacting, but he was more alive to people´s concern.
The divorce and profligacy rate is much higher in Western (Christian) countries. History records that Popes had illegitimate children. Can we attribute this to Jesus Christ, who as Dan Brown has found out was married to Mary Magdalene but left her? Neither Hinduism, nor Christianity, has divorce, but it is obtainable under secular law in India as in any western country. I don´t know if Ramayana has incited people to do single wicked act. Ramayana also elevated people´s consciousness. It is one book, which we are never tired of living. Father Kamil Bulke, of Belgium, spent his lifetime researching on Ramayana-literature.
In Gospel, according to St. Matthew (12:47-48) when a disciple of Jesus informs him that his mother and brother have come to meet him, Jesus says, "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren´. In Western countries most parents end their life in old age homes, left by their children. One might then say, they owe their inspiration from Jesus, who refused to acknowledge his mother and brother, once he got popularity. Jesus himself has never said he was son of God, but always son of Man. To install Jesus as Son of God was the work of First Council of Nicea held in 325 CE. But Hindus have never leveled such scurrilous charges against Jesus. Is this not enough to prove who is acting godly and who otherwise.
About Vande Mataram it says-"For India the only use of Sanskrit is by Hindutvawadis to sing Vande Mataram". Vande Mataram is a wonderful hymn to Mother India, even Universal Motherhood, which is also enshrined in our Constitution as national song. Polyglot Indologist Sir William Jones has this to say about Sanskrit: "Sanskrit language is of wonderful structure, more perfect than Greek, more copious than the Latin."
Perhaps Mr. Mathew need to brush up his general knowledge on rich corpus of original dramas, poetry, songs, melodies, spiritual, medical, mathematical, astronomical and architectural literature created in Sanskrit. Thanks to 'Secularism´ Sanskrit is not popularised, but people can understand every word of Vande Mataram. Moreover Sanskrit is the mother of most Indian languages, and itself has a mantric effect. If recited properly it has a healing and salutary effect on listeners like the chanting of OM. But pray, why Vatican is still clinging to dead Latin in its services? Why Ratzinger on becoming Pope, addressed the international crowd first in Latin, which nobody understands?
About Arya Samaj it makes most indecent remark that could make your blood boil. It says: "How could Arya Hindus bring Aryanisation on this earth. To be Arya, one has to be born in Arya womb⦠If Arya Hindus want to bring Aryanisation then they will must lend or rent out all Arya womb to non-Aryans. Non-Aryans should be given Brahmin women so that children are born from Brahmin womb" (p.182-183). Now, here Mathew proves himself a cross between mare and donkey (remember, what´s that creature called?). Arya means noble, nothing to do with fictitious 'Aryan race´, postulated by early Indologist or spoken by Hitler. Hindus have been debunking this theory since its conception. Did
Romans become Roman Catholic by cross breading? By Arya, we mean noble and virtuous qualities that any body could adopt. Arya Samaj was in the forefront of debunking casteism, untouchability, and other social ills. In Roman Empire, every body whether he is Greek, Assyrian, Phoenician, was called Roman. Original Romans (Italians) formed a minority in the empire. Before them all people who adopted Hellenic (Greek) values became 'Hellenistic´. Alexander, Selecuss, Ptolemy, Antigonus were Macedonians not Greeks. Yet they are the greatest Hellenic figures of history.
There is indirect attack on the very concept of India´s national unity where it says 'Muslims were of frank ideas and brave that they could demand a separate national state Pakistan for themselves.´ May I add few more recent examples of frankness and braveness of Muslims? 9/11, killing of Christians and burning of churches in Nigeria, and conversion of Yusuf Youhana, Rs 51 crore prize on head of Danish cartoonists. <b>The writer, M.C. Mathew, for your information is recipient of Padma Shree award by Government of India! </b>
(The writer, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Convener of BJP´s Think Tank) <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
AT a time the Muslim ummah was up in arms for cartoons on Prophet Mohammed published Jyellands-Posten in Denmark, Hindus seem to have swallowed a large quota of evangelical vituperation with minimal protests. Parliament condemned the cartoons, the editor of Senior India who had published them was arrested, and Muslim protest rallies were allowed to vent their ire on Hindu shops in Hyderabad and BJP office in Lucknow. A minister of Uttar Pradesh government who announced contract-killing money of Rs 51 crore was left undisturbed in his constitutional office.
The 'anxieties´ and 'concerns´ of Christian community in Dang, Gujarat over Shabri Kumbh got place in national media. But the outrage against scurrilous evangelical literature in Kota, Rajasthan virtually evaded nation´s notice. Hakikat (The Reality), a substandard evangelical literature in Hindi, written by M.C. Mathew, and published by Dr. D.M. Thomas and Samuel Thomas of Emmanuel Literature Society, was source of major tension in Kota, Rajasthan recently. <b>The book contains many vulgar references to Lord Ram and Krishna, Hindu saints like Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Satya Sai Baba, Ma Amritanandamayi, Digambar Jain saints, in addition to objectionable reference to Ganga, Vande Mataram, and Arya Samaj, ISKCON etc</b>. The book is subtitled as an analytical study of 'Bunch of Thoughts´ by Guru Golwalkar. On page 100 it comments about Sri Ramâ"Ram´s wife Sita was been taken away. She was left in forest according to wish of Ram. Later Ram permitted Laxman to kill Sita. This Laxman was defeated in fight by Ram, and later Ram disgusted with his life drowned himself in Saryu. <b>All this happened with advice, consent and religious belief of half-naked sadhus of Hindutva."</b> Elsewhere in p. 269 it says: "In modern world many Ramas of this belief are living carefree. They marry several times, desert their wives, marry several times, and leave them. Many Ramas kill their Sitas. They are following their god Rama." But pray, why Vatican is still clinging to dead Latin in its services? Why Ratzinger on becoming Pope, addressed the international crowd first in Latin, which nobody understands?
Did Sri Ram ever depute any one to kill Sita? Might be Mr. Mathew knows better than the author of Ramayana. We knew that Sita was left in Sage Vashishta´s cottage in sylvan forest. Sri Ram, felt that he was a king first, husband later, and when Ayodhya´s people had indirectly cast doubt over Sita´s chastity, she should be left, even to Sri Ram´s great agony. May be Sri Ram was overreacting, but he was more alive to people´s concern.
The divorce and profligacy rate is much higher in Western (Christian) countries. History records that Popes had illegitimate children. Can we attribute this to Jesus Christ, who as Dan Brown has found out was married to Mary Magdalene but left her? Neither Hinduism, nor Christianity, has divorce, but it is obtainable under secular law in India as in any western country. I don´t know if Ramayana has incited people to do single wicked act. Ramayana also elevated people´s consciousness. It is one book, which we are never tired of living. Father Kamil Bulke, of Belgium, spent his lifetime researching on Ramayana-literature.
In Gospel, according to St. Matthew (12:47-48) when a disciple of Jesus informs him that his mother and brother have come to meet him, Jesus says, "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren´. In Western countries most parents end their life in old age homes, left by their children. One might then say, they owe their inspiration from Jesus, who refused to acknowledge his mother and brother, once he got popularity. Jesus himself has never said he was son of God, but always son of Man. To install Jesus as Son of God was the work of First Council of Nicea held in 325 CE. But Hindus have never leveled such scurrilous charges against Jesus. Is this not enough to prove who is acting godly and who otherwise.
About Vande Mataram it says-"For India the only use of Sanskrit is by Hindutvawadis to sing Vande Mataram". Vande Mataram is a wonderful hymn to Mother India, even Universal Motherhood, which is also enshrined in our Constitution as national song. Polyglot Indologist Sir William Jones has this to say about Sanskrit: "Sanskrit language is of wonderful structure, more perfect than Greek, more copious than the Latin."
Perhaps Mr. Mathew need to brush up his general knowledge on rich corpus of original dramas, poetry, songs, melodies, spiritual, medical, mathematical, astronomical and architectural literature created in Sanskrit. Thanks to 'Secularism´ Sanskrit is not popularised, but people can understand every word of Vande Mataram. Moreover Sanskrit is the mother of most Indian languages, and itself has a mantric effect. If recited properly it has a healing and salutary effect on listeners like the chanting of OM. But pray, why Vatican is still clinging to dead Latin in its services? Why Ratzinger on becoming Pope, addressed the international crowd first in Latin, which nobody understands?
About Arya Samaj it makes most indecent remark that could make your blood boil. It says: "How could Arya Hindus bring Aryanisation on this earth. To be Arya, one has to be born in Arya womb⦠If Arya Hindus want to bring Aryanisation then they will must lend or rent out all Arya womb to non-Aryans. Non-Aryans should be given Brahmin women so that children are born from Brahmin womb" (p.182-183). Now, here Mathew proves himself a cross between mare and donkey (remember, what´s that creature called?). Arya means noble, nothing to do with fictitious 'Aryan race´, postulated by early Indologist or spoken by Hitler. Hindus have been debunking this theory since its conception. Did
Romans become Roman Catholic by cross breading? By Arya, we mean noble and virtuous qualities that any body could adopt. Arya Samaj was in the forefront of debunking casteism, untouchability, and other social ills. In Roman Empire, every body whether he is Greek, Assyrian, Phoenician, was called Roman. Original Romans (Italians) formed a minority in the empire. Before them all people who adopted Hellenic (Greek) values became 'Hellenistic´. Alexander, Selecuss, Ptolemy, Antigonus were Macedonians not Greeks. Yet they are the greatest Hellenic figures of history.
There is indirect attack on the very concept of India´s national unity where it says 'Muslims were of frank ideas and brave that they could demand a separate national state Pakistan for themselves.´ May I add few more recent examples of frankness and braveness of Muslims? 9/11, killing of Christians and burning of churches in Nigeria, and conversion of Yusuf Youhana, Rs 51 crore prize on head of Danish cartoonists. <b>The writer, M.C. Mathew, for your information is recipient of Padma Shree award by Government of India! </b>
(The writer, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Convener of BJP´s Think Tank) <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->