02-02-2004, 06:27 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->You can't change something that happend in 15th century in 20th century, those were diffrent times and ethos and now we are living in more tolerable times.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Rytha:
Read my post again, I DID say that you cannot change what happened in the 15th century. What I was trying to say is that thanks to our impotent leadership, we cannot prevent the events taking place now.
The rest of the world is recognizing the wrongs done in the past and making some amends - witness the reparations to the Jews for the suffering of the holocaust; the discussions and in some cases actual steps to compensate the victims of slavery or punish the perpetrators at least (the city of Chicago has a law that bars any company from doing business there that has a history of profiting from slavery).
I am NOT advocating the replacement of mosques built on temples, even though the provocation is extreme and in any other country it would have happened overnight without all this discussion. All I am saying is, LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN. If you discover a magnificent and glorious structure under an insignificant mosque that is and was a symbol of pride to the majority of the people living in a land, why don't you allow those people to witness it, rather than cover it up to please the very ideology that destroyed the same. In contrast, any historic site discovered during the process of construction in Manhattan is immediately preserved for posterity with any construction proscribed in the area.
Did you know that the oldest extant mosque in India, the famous Quwattul Islam mosque in the Qutub Minar complex is built from the remains of not one or two but twenty seven temples? This fact is displayed proudly by the Archaelogical Survey of India on a plaque outside the structure. If you have ever been there, you would see the idols of the temples buried in the walls of the mosque plainly. Would your heart not burn with the shame of it, and would you not want to do something about it instead of just walking past it and passing it off as idle curiosity? I know mine did.
It is one thing to read about the "invasion of Hindu India by the Arabs out of Persia" in a cold history book. It is another thing to imagine the brutal slaughter of the Hindu priests on the steps of the temple, the spraying of their life-blood on and the burial of the idols underneath the steps of the newly converted mosques to forever desecrate the place for Hindus. The relish with which these acts were commited and recorded for history, glorified in song and verse, handed down by generations as an example to follow by all iconoclasts to come, the continuing massacres of people just because we pray to a different God, this is what I think of when I see or read about our ancient temples and their ruinous outcome.
Perhaps I have a vivid imagination, perhaps I am too sensitive, perhaps I need to chill, but I can't help thinking, If we don't know about it, if we don't talk about it, if we don't read about it and if we don't educate our fellow Hindus about it, we will be doomed to repeat our sad history over and over again.
One thing I have learnt from living in the United States: The squeaky wheel gets the oil. How true. Hindus should learn from the jews. I have a partner who is orthodox, a fact that he proudly wears on his sleeve, and is willing to challenge anyone who questions it. He makes the world around him bend and accomodate to his needs and not the other way around. The holocaust is a part of him (both his parents were in the camps) and he never forgets it. This fact is a constant reminder to him and others like him, NEVER AGAIN!
There are almost a billion Hindus in the world. There are only eighteen million jews. Yet, they influence the world in ways we cannot imagine. Why can we not do so?
In my efforts over the years, guess what I have found is the most difficult thing? To make my fellow Hindu wake up and smell the coffee. We are the most pathetic creatures on the planet, forever apologizing for our Gods and Godesses with the dozen arms. When was the last time you said "I am a Hindu" with pride? We indeed are our own worst enemies, and do not need anyone else to drag us down.
So, get up my friend, educate yourself. Be proud of who you are. You don't need to destroy anything to feel good. Just learn to tell the truth and let it be known. Maybe this forum will help........
Rytha:
Read my post again, I DID say that you cannot change what happened in the 15th century. What I was trying to say is that thanks to our impotent leadership, we cannot prevent the events taking place now.
The rest of the world is recognizing the wrongs done in the past and making some amends - witness the reparations to the Jews for the suffering of the holocaust; the discussions and in some cases actual steps to compensate the victims of slavery or punish the perpetrators at least (the city of Chicago has a law that bars any company from doing business there that has a history of profiting from slavery).
I am NOT advocating the replacement of mosques built on temples, even though the provocation is extreme and in any other country it would have happened overnight without all this discussion. All I am saying is, LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN. If you discover a magnificent and glorious structure under an insignificant mosque that is and was a symbol of pride to the majority of the people living in a land, why don't you allow those people to witness it, rather than cover it up to please the very ideology that destroyed the same. In contrast, any historic site discovered during the process of construction in Manhattan is immediately preserved for posterity with any construction proscribed in the area.
Did you know that the oldest extant mosque in India, the famous Quwattul Islam mosque in the Qutub Minar complex is built from the remains of not one or two but twenty seven temples? This fact is displayed proudly by the Archaelogical Survey of India on a plaque outside the structure. If you have ever been there, you would see the idols of the temples buried in the walls of the mosque plainly. Would your heart not burn with the shame of it, and would you not want to do something about it instead of just walking past it and passing it off as idle curiosity? I know mine did.
It is one thing to read about the "invasion of Hindu India by the Arabs out of Persia" in a cold history book. It is another thing to imagine the brutal slaughter of the Hindu priests on the steps of the temple, the spraying of their life-blood on and the burial of the idols underneath the steps of the newly converted mosques to forever desecrate the place for Hindus. The relish with which these acts were commited and recorded for history, glorified in song and verse, handed down by generations as an example to follow by all iconoclasts to come, the continuing massacres of people just because we pray to a different God, this is what I think of when I see or read about our ancient temples and their ruinous outcome.
Perhaps I have a vivid imagination, perhaps I am too sensitive, perhaps I need to chill, but I can't help thinking, If we don't know about it, if we don't talk about it, if we don't read about it and if we don't educate our fellow Hindus about it, we will be doomed to repeat our sad history over and over again.
One thing I have learnt from living in the United States: The squeaky wheel gets the oil. How true. Hindus should learn from the jews. I have a partner who is orthodox, a fact that he proudly wears on his sleeve, and is willing to challenge anyone who questions it. He makes the world around him bend and accomodate to his needs and not the other way around. The holocaust is a part of him (both his parents were in the camps) and he never forgets it. This fact is a constant reminder to him and others like him, NEVER AGAIN!
There are almost a billion Hindus in the world. There are only eighteen million jews. Yet, they influence the world in ways we cannot imagine. Why can we not do so?
In my efforts over the years, guess what I have found is the most difficult thing? To make my fellow Hindu wake up and smell the coffee. We are the most pathetic creatures on the planet, forever apologizing for our Gods and Godesses with the dozen arms. When was the last time you said "I am a Hindu" with pride? We indeed are our own worst enemies, and do not need anyone else to drag us down.
So, get up my friend, educate yourself. Be proud of who you are. You don't need to destroy anything to feel good. Just learn to tell the truth and let it be known. Maybe this forum will help........