04-06-2006, 11:08 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Crooked Catholic Chicanery</b>
Your recent piece on the Catholic Churchâs deceptive activities (âCatholic Church Expands Deceptive Program of âIndianization,â â Hindu Press International, Oct. 30, 2005) is very interesting. I am Canadian of British background, as well as a teacher and writer on yoga. My heart is in the Upanishads and the life and teachings of Ramana Maharshi. I consider Gandhi to be the greatest modern example of karma yoga in its highest expression. The Catholic Church is doing the same nonsense in India which it has done to the native peoples of Canada since the fifteenth century. Reading about Christian-run schools in India reminds me of a horrifying period in Canadian Native history. Canadaâs infamous residential schools (sixty percent of which were run by the Catholic Church) indoctrinated aboriginal children with Catholic dogma, forbade them to speak their native tongues, disparaged their cultural values and made every effort to assimilate them into white society.
These wonderful indigenous peoples have been demoralized, and their cultural and spiritual traditions completely undermined by the pernicious influence of this chauvinistic institution. It is simply enslavement done in the name of Jesus. Hidden From History, by Kevin Annett, gives a full account of the devastation caused to the aboriginal peoples of Canada. Does this sound familiar? It should, because this is essentially what the Catholic Church, their phony sadhus and other evangelical churches are doing in India today. Hindus, take note! Furthermore, the Government of India must take a strong stand against efforts to convert Hindus, especially among those who are weak and vulnerable. Respecting religious freedom does not mean tolerating aggressive proselytizing. If anything, proselytizing is itself a violation of human rights and should be stopped whenever and wherever it raises its ugly head. Hindus must all become little Gandhis when it comes to protecting the Sanatana Dharma, i.e. nonviolent warriors. As a devotee of the Sanatana Dharma myself, I often repeat a prayer that was spoken by the modern sage, Ramana Maharshi: âO Vinayaka, who wrote on a scroll the words of the great sage Vyasa and who presides at the victorious Arunachala, do remove the disease of ignorance which is the cause of repeated births and protect, graciously, the great and noble Upanishadic faith, which brims with the honey of the Self.â
Duart Maclean
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
duartmc@sympatico.ca<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Your recent piece on the Catholic Churchâs deceptive activities (âCatholic Church Expands Deceptive Program of âIndianization,â â Hindu Press International, Oct. 30, 2005) is very interesting. I am Canadian of British background, as well as a teacher and writer on yoga. My heart is in the Upanishads and the life and teachings of Ramana Maharshi. I consider Gandhi to be the greatest modern example of karma yoga in its highest expression. The Catholic Church is doing the same nonsense in India which it has done to the native peoples of Canada since the fifteenth century. Reading about Christian-run schools in India reminds me of a horrifying period in Canadian Native history. Canadaâs infamous residential schools (sixty percent of which were run by the Catholic Church) indoctrinated aboriginal children with Catholic dogma, forbade them to speak their native tongues, disparaged their cultural values and made every effort to assimilate them into white society.
These wonderful indigenous peoples have been demoralized, and their cultural and spiritual traditions completely undermined by the pernicious influence of this chauvinistic institution. It is simply enslavement done in the name of Jesus. Hidden From History, by Kevin Annett, gives a full account of the devastation caused to the aboriginal peoples of Canada. Does this sound familiar? It should, because this is essentially what the Catholic Church, their phony sadhus and other evangelical churches are doing in India today. Hindus, take note! Furthermore, the Government of India must take a strong stand against efforts to convert Hindus, especially among those who are weak and vulnerable. Respecting religious freedom does not mean tolerating aggressive proselytizing. If anything, proselytizing is itself a violation of human rights and should be stopped whenever and wherever it raises its ugly head. Hindus must all become little Gandhis when it comes to protecting the Sanatana Dharma, i.e. nonviolent warriors. As a devotee of the Sanatana Dharma myself, I often repeat a prayer that was spoken by the modern sage, Ramana Maharshi: âO Vinayaka, who wrote on a scroll the words of the great sage Vyasa and who presides at the victorious Arunachala, do remove the disease of ignorance which is the cause of repeated births and protect, graciously, the great and noble Upanishadic faith, which brims with the honey of the Self.â
Duart Maclean
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
duartmc@sympatico.ca<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->