jpost.com/Israel/Shinto-priests-come-to-Jerusalem-looking-for-common-ground#!
(Jerusalem Post)
About the final statement: it's true that currently christian/western-style weddings are some of the more popular types in Japan. But they're not christian weddings. They take place in fake churches: Japanese have built 100s if not 1000s of fake wedding churches to allow couples to simulate the appearance and experience of western weddings. Often western English teachers dress up as reverends and speak the usual wedding lines of "do you take blabla" and ask the couple about their vows. Note that this flies in the face of christianism which disapproves of fake reverends. (It is far more rare to have actual reverends or actual christians hired to do the job, and when these christians offer to missionise the couple as xtians invariably do, Japanese couples make it clear they're not interested in christianism and they're just in it to have their western-style wedding.) Other couples use the fake wedding churches as a backdrop for their wedding photos.
And wearing crosses as a fashion accessory among non-christians is also common not just among western atheists but also seen in Japan, Korea and other Asians (in Korea, there are even Buddhists who wear "christian" crosses for fashion purposes). Some Japanese celebrate "christmas" just like all non-christians in the west do: with a fir tree, santa theme, decorations etc. None of it means they're actually christian. They're just doing "western" stuff for the fun of it/as part of a trend. BTW, missionaries have found that none of these help to actually christianise the Japanese.
Hindus should invite Japanese Shintos over to India and let them speak to us about their religion, and tell us about their Gods. Since Shintos are so eager to form alliances with other religionists and have their religion known and recognised, it is the perfect opportunity for HindOOs to cultivate a deep heathen friendship with Shintoists.
I thought of the above article when I came across two news items on Hindu vocalists threatening that the time was right to Bauddhise E and SE Asia again and to missionise there. Apparently, Modi has similar plans, probably to milk Japanese and SG tourist money by creating Buddhist sites in India, to peddle Buddha relics like his left tooth, his canine, his molar, etc. (Is that sanitary? But yay for the relic industry
arcasm: Why is it only laughable when jeebus followers do it?)
Along the way, Modi - too busy building Buddhism up in India to rebuild the Sri Rama temple at Ayodhya - will be the new patron saint for Bauddhising India.
And Hindu analysts/vocalists have threatened not just to Bauddhise Asia again, but to export Hindu "culture" and especially new age Indian movements/cults to China as our "soft power", which shows what kind of regard such Hindus have for their religion. And how stupid they hope the Chinese will be to join modern Indian godmen cults.
Anyway, the 2 links:
1. vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=3314
So Modi's using Hindu money to promote Buddhism - which is a stated and long-standing competitor of Hindu religion - in India. (Again: and no Sri Rama Kovil in Ayodhya.)
He's even working to help promote Buddhism in Nepal. Yet in both countries, Buddhism has tried to replace Hindu religion - and WILL try again. Why is Modi so naive about it? What do Hindus owe Buddhists/Buddhism anyway? Wasn't it enough that Buddhists desecrated a Shiva-lingam (=longstanding practice) at the Bodh Gaya temple that Hindus had built for Buddhism? Hindus are such sticklers for punishment.
Not just the Sri Lankan Buddhist comment at the above VV article, but also the usual modern Hindus who like to mix Buddhism etc with Hinduism, expressed their happiness at the news. But of course. The last kind have a short memory.
I am *certain* that at least some of the Buddhist tourists and tourist nations that Modi hopes to attract will end up turning into missionaries trying to missionise on Hindus. Sri Lankan Buddhist and Japanese Buddhist groups already work in India to convert Hindus. How is this any different from christian missionaries?
And why does Modi have to approach Japan with *Buddhism* as "common ground" rather than approach Japan using a heathen affinity between Shinto and Hindu religion as common ground?
Japanese Shingon Buddhists aren't the only ones that do Gomas (Homas) in Japan, Shintos do it too. And some Shintos - in the past - used proper Vedic rituals (instead of the Bauddhised variations used by Buddhists).
Why couldn't Modi have stopped by ancient Shinto shrines in Japan first, especially since Japan is a Shinto nation not a Buddhist one (at most it can be described as a somewhat Bauddhicised yet nevertheless Shinto nation). And also, Shinzo Abe is IIRC Shinto. How would Hindus like it if every western delegate always visited christian churches in India and declared to christianise India so that he could attract more Indian christian tourists to European churches? Isn't that what Modi is doing with his "Buddha diplomacy"?
If he wants to invite more Japanese to travel to India, then why not make Vedic marriages popular among Japanese, since Japanese are open to non-Japanese marriage styles?
Consider:
- mercenary "Hindus" in India have anyway started selling "Vedic" weddings, though to aliens from the west - i.e. modern Hindus are selling Vedic weddings to terrorist dabblers who have a history of genociding heathen religions and of betraying their own ancestral religions
- in contrast, Shinto heathens are heathens, i.e. not aliens, and moreover, some Shinto ritual groups even have a history of safeguarding the Vedam/safeguarding the (proper i.e. "Brahminical"**) homa rituals and especially Hindu Tantra rituals from Buddhists. So why not invite Japanese Shinto couples to have frugal weddings in India blessed with Vedic rituals invoking the Hindu Gods to ensure their long and happy life together?
** "brahminical" is how the Buddhists dubbed (dub) anything Hindu still unbauddhified/anything not yet taken over (inculturated upon) for Buddhism.
Better yet, Hindus can promote the idea of (the traditional, beautiful yet frugal) Shinto weddings for Japanese Shinto couples, and then invite them to top it off with a Vedic marriage ceremony. Shintos are already familiar and even fond of Hindu Gods, and have historically written in praise of our Gods (a.o.t. the Bauddhified versions of Hindu Gods), since Shintos have seen our Gods - and apparently some still do, owing to some still worshipping Hindu Gods diligently with Hindoo rituals alongside worshipping Shinto Gods.
2. rajeev2004.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/fwd-time-for-india-to-use-its-soft.html
An article on "Time for India to use its soft power" vis-a-vis China. Glanced over it.
As regards the first line about Sri Sri etc: Great, India can't even get rid of its own godmen cults, it has to impose them on other heathen Asian nations. So that they can all become brainlessly new age like modern angelsk-speaking Indians!
Now I understand why destiny should favour China in reducing India to nothingness: because modern Indian "Hindus" *deserve* it.
It's bad enough that India exported Buddhism historically, inundated Asia with it and wiped out many native religions there to replace them with Buddhism, and where it was less successful, Buddhism drove other Asian native religions into desperate survival mode (owing to Buddhism's repeatedly initiating aggression to convert Asia). Now Indians - not even Buddhists, but so-called Hindus - have to threaten to drown Asia once more. Not only with Buddhism but with godmen cults. And even with diluted Hindu "culture".
What do Hindus have to offer the Chinese that the Daoists do not already have? They have "similar" things for practically EVERYTHING of value in Hindu religion. A pantheon of very real Gods, religious practices and rites (that work), temples, vigraha fashioning, tai chi and qi gong whereas we have yoga, traditional Gong Fu (not to be confused with the later "Shaolin Gong Fu") and other ancient Daoist martial arts whereas Hindus had their own, the apparently-5000 year old Chinese strategy game of Go which is very popular in Japan in place of our (later) chess, sacred ancient dance styles, music styles (one particular raagam is particularly sacred in Chinese music), sacred instruments etc. Why can't Hindus encourage the Chinese to retain their heathenism? Why threaten to missionise on them with either Buddhism or even Hindu religion? How does it make such modern Indian Hindus seeking converts in Asia any better than christian/islamic missionaries?
It is true that the Chinese, the Japanese and even the Koreans (well the heathens among all 3) have an innate tendency to find affinity with Hindoos and Hindoo religion. And so did and do SE Asians.
E.g. I've watched more Japanese dramas than Korean ones, but even Korean dramas have characters learning yoga. Yet, unlike in new agey India - where even Hindu stotra albums comprising Shankaracharya stotras and Vedic recitation are tattoed incomprehensibly with a Buddha in front - yet the Koreans in a drama doing Yoga did so in front of Nataraja moorties rather than Buddha images. The same drama had the 2nd female lead visiting Thailand and promising the hero that the God Hanuman (subtitles even used a capital G, IIRC) would look after/protect him. IIRC another Korean drama had an older man joining up in yoga classes to be with his son and eagerly greet his son with "Namaste". Not surprising perhaps, since Korea is still 70% un-christianised after all. Just like India is about 70% Hindu still. [Don't want to give the impression that only Hindoo heathenism was referred to in the heathen/secular Korean dramas: the ones I saw also included references to Taoism, Confucianism and mentioned native Korean Gods like the Goddess that safeguards childbirth, the God presiding over successful lovers' meetings, the Gods of the winds and seasons, and references to "Gods" - plural - in general, etc. Clearly not everyone in Korea has converted to monotheism yet.]
More recently, I narrated a <5 min summary version of the Kumarasambhavam to yet another Chinese friend and she declared it was the most romantic thing she had ever heard. And I'm pretty much pathetic at telling kathas, so her appreciation is all owing to the innate attraction of the Kumarasambhavam. Further, despite not being religious, she had no issue with the Kumarasambhavam concerning the lives of Gods - whereas modern "Hindus" gawk at the notion of multiple Gods, unable to comprehend their own religion. Instead she found many commonalities with her own country's native religion that I had not known. So yes, E Asian heathens (and even non-religious E Asians) are entirely understanding of Hindu religion and have an automatic ability to appreciate it and respect it.
But to conspire against them and see them as our missioniary target, as a "soft power" project? Not to speak of terrorising them again by trying to re-introduce Buddhism in the rest of Asia and increase its naturally-waning power there? (In contrast, interest in Daoism among ethnically-Chinese appears to be on the rise.)
And to think that Japanese Shintos and ethnic-Chinese Daoists from TW, CN, SG, etc trust Hindus. Evidently, their trust is misplaced and they've made a Big mistake. Modern Hindus are clearly a threat to E and SE Asia. Maybe the onset of the christoislamic deluge in India is just desserts.
Why can't Hindus promote native heathenisms in each Asian nation? Then we will truly have done them good and have done ourselves good thereby. But no, modern Hindus are drunk on some delusional superiority-complex that makes them imagine that the solution to Asia's "problems" is to have Indian religions - including a severely missionary one - foisted on them. I have no issue with heathen Asians choosing to include Hindu Gods (and associated rituals for worship) in their pantheons. This is as natural an occurrence as how many Asians have included Daoist Gods and practices. But all such must be the result of a natural process, not by one set of people designing and scheming against another population, let alone for lame "soft powah" ends. Sick.
And also, why do modern Hindus never think to reciprocate, but instead consider E Asia as a Sink for their own wares? Why not listen to Chinese traditional music - it's really beautiful, and feels satisfying and reassuring to the spirit - or learn Japanese? Actually, why does our govt not encourage the learning of Japanese in schools, since it is one of the most beautiful languages ever? (At least Modi was to have greeted the Japanese in their own language. Points for that.) Look at E Asians: several of them studied to speak Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. All 3 and sometimes more. Modern Hindus will only learn western languages (usually only English and badly at that) and maybe - maybe - Indian ones.
There is something very self-centred about modern "Hindus" that they forever see E and SE Asia as a dumping ground, as people who have to learn from us, and become like us and be molded into far-Asian versions of us. There's no thought of modern "Hindus" meeting them half-way let alone appreciating them for who *they* are, what their ancestral heathen identity is.* I think it means such modern Hindus are looking down on E and SE Asians, as allegedly being people in need of us to "teach" them. As if they have no heathen civilisations and identities of their own. As if they are forever derived or "must be". <= Isn't that supposition what the oryanists have done to Hindus? Can't be a heathen AND a missionary. Heathens are defined by their ethnic-religious identity and would respect that of others. Hindus weren't always like this sudden craze for missionising/manipulating others for "soft powah" though. I think this smugness and egotism came with de-heathenisation: even as modern Hindus have become blindly proud of their religion and swagger around arrogantly threatening to create convert followings, they know far less about their religion than their ancestors did and so look doubly foolish.
* Even that Indo-Japanese friendship film witnessed the Japanese collaboration team making the Ramayanam animation along with Indians as a sign of Japanese friendship to us. I.e. they animated a sacred Hindu narrative in order to show their friendship to Hindus. Would Hindus have ever thought of animating the sacred tale of Susanowo no Mikoto Kamisama or similar? [Why not? Do the Japanese and Chinese and Koreans not have grand epics? A: they do, by the way. Like the Chinese, the Koreans also have a heavenly host of Gods governed by a King of Gods - Hindus do too. And E Asians' Gods and heroes also have had epic adventures. Why do modern Hindus readily threaten to inundate the Chinese with the MBh and Ramayanam etc without at least also threatening to copy for ourselves the sacred literature and oral traditions concerning the Shen, Kami and Shin of the E Asians?]
In contrast to the Indo-Japanese friendship animation "Ramayana", in E/SE Asian films where there is a degree of colloboration between several (south-)eastern Asian nations, the characters are always shown as learning about the host country and its traditions, instead of seeing it as an opportunity to enforce their own traditions onto the host country.
Indians these days look forever westward to find their "superiors". They look to Iran, to Europe, to America. And have respect only in that direction. If they ever remember to look east, they look down their nose as if looking at inferiors, as if needing to play the teacher role. Asians to our (south)east are not our inferiors nor did they ask to enroll as our students, they are actually Hindoos' equals. And there is much to learn from them. Humility and a non-egotistical (non-uni-directional but reciprocal, non self-aggrandising) friendship for one.
(Jerusalem Post)
Quote:Shinto priests come to Jerusalem, looking for common ground
By MARK REBACZ LAST UPDATED: 03/18/2010 05:32
At Hebrew University, 26 Shinto priests from Japan conduct interfaith dialogue.
[Image caption:] Shinto priests conduct interfaith dialogue at the Photo: Mark Rebacz
Though a polytheistic religion such as Shintoism, and the worldââ¬â¢s oldest monotheistic religion ââ¬â Judaism ââ¬â seem worlds apart, followers of the two seem to think there is common ground. To that end, 26 Shinto priests from Nagoya, Japan, met last Thursday at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to conduct an interfaith dialogue with Israeli academics. Among the academics were Prof. Ben-Ami Shilloni and Dr. Nissim Otmazgin, both of the Department of East Asian Studies, who discussed similarities between Jewish and Shinto beliefs.
According to Shilloni, followers of Shintoism, which believes in multiple gods, seek interfaith dialogues in an effort to get past religious barriers that are, in their eyes, the basis for much of the worldââ¬â¢s conflicts.
Shintoism, Japanââ¬â¢s ââ¬Ånatural and oldest religion,ââ¬Â is a pacifistic faith that accepts other beliefs. The delegation comes from Nagoyaââ¬â¢s Atsuta Shrine, traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keiko (71-130 CE). The 200,000 square meter shrine complex draws more than 9 million visitors a year.
At the meeting, Shilloni read the verse from Isaiah in Japanese, ââ¬ÅThey shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.ââ¬Â
Shilloni elaborated, ââ¬ÅThough this was prophesized by Isaiah 2,600 years ago, Japan has been blessed with peace, while the Jews have yet to be.ââ¬Â
According to Shilloni, the followers of Shintoism have a very positive view of Judaism, and see it as the mother of Western religions, and thus holier than other monotheistic faiths.
Bahij Monsour, head of the Foreign Ministryââ¬â¢s religious department, said this trip was initiated by the Shinto priests, who approached the Israeli ambassador in Tokyo, Nissim Ben-Shitrit. Shinto priests last visited here about 10 years ago, when they met with then-Sephardic Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron. The current delegation, here for just five days, did not meet with either chief rabbi. They did, however, visit Yad Vashem.
According to Shilloni, the dialogues aid in portraying Shintoism as a less primitive religion than is believed by most of the monotheistic world, and aim to show the common ground shared by Shintoism and other faiths. Israel also has an interest in interfaith dialogues, as they contribute to Israelââ¬â¢s and Judaismââ¬â¢s image as open and accepting, he said.
ââ¬ÅIt is much easier for us to conduct interfaith discussions with the Shinto than with Christianity or Islam, since the latter two reject Judaism in favor of their own faiths, while Shintoism accepts Judaism as it is,ââ¬Â Shilloni said last week.
(That's 'cause E Asian heathens and heathenisms are Kewl. They're ethnic religions and don't try to missionise. They don't try to inculturate. They don't like christoislam and its adherents, but they have no problems trying to make friends with Israelis.)
Though the followers of Shinto embrace all faiths, not all faiths embrace them. This, suggests Shilloni, may be the reason priests did not meet with any Christian or Muslim representatives during their visit. While Christianity and Islam classify people as either believers or nonbelievers, the followers of Shintoism have no problem accepting other religions and practices, and one can be a perfect Shintoist while simultaneously serving other gods or participating in other types of worship. Testimony to this, said Shilloni, are the Christian wedding ceremonies most Japanese couples undergo, despite their adherence to Shintoism.
About the final statement: it's true that currently christian/western-style weddings are some of the more popular types in Japan. But they're not christian weddings. They take place in fake churches: Japanese have built 100s if not 1000s of fake wedding churches to allow couples to simulate the appearance and experience of western weddings. Often western English teachers dress up as reverends and speak the usual wedding lines of "do you take blabla" and ask the couple about their vows. Note that this flies in the face of christianism which disapproves of fake reverends. (It is far more rare to have actual reverends or actual christians hired to do the job, and when these christians offer to missionise the couple as xtians invariably do, Japanese couples make it clear they're not interested in christianism and they're just in it to have their western-style wedding.) Other couples use the fake wedding churches as a backdrop for their wedding photos.
And wearing crosses as a fashion accessory among non-christians is also common not just among western atheists but also seen in Japan, Korea and other Asians (in Korea, there are even Buddhists who wear "christian" crosses for fashion purposes). Some Japanese celebrate "christmas" just like all non-christians in the west do: with a fir tree, santa theme, decorations etc. None of it means they're actually christian. They're just doing "western" stuff for the fun of it/as part of a trend. BTW, missionaries have found that none of these help to actually christianise the Japanese.
Hindus should invite Japanese Shintos over to India and let them speak to us about their religion, and tell us about their Gods. Since Shintos are so eager to form alliances with other religionists and have their religion known and recognised, it is the perfect opportunity for HindOOs to cultivate a deep heathen friendship with Shintoists.
I thought of the above article when I came across two news items on Hindu vocalists threatening that the time was right to Bauddhise E and SE Asia again and to missionise there. Apparently, Modi has similar plans, probably to milk Japanese and SG tourist money by creating Buddhist sites in India, to peddle Buddha relics like his left tooth, his canine, his molar, etc. (Is that sanitary? But yay for the relic industry
arcasm: Why is it only laughable when jeebus followers do it?)Along the way, Modi - too busy building Buddhism up in India to rebuild the Sri Rama temple at Ayodhya - will be the new patron saint for Bauddhising India.
And Hindu analysts/vocalists have threatened not just to Bauddhise Asia again, but to export Hindu "culture" and especially new age Indian movements/cults to China as our "soft power", which shows what kind of regard such Hindus have for their religion. And how stupid they hope the Chinese will be to join modern Indian godmen cults.
Anyway, the 2 links:
1. vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=3314
Quote:Modiââ¬â¢s Japan visit: Buddha diplomacy at work
by Ashok B Sharma on 31 Aug 2014 3 Comments
[...]
Mr Modi has found an unique opportunity to hard sell the concept of Buddhist tourism in India. To give a fillip to attracting tourists, plans are afoot to fast track development of the first phase of the Buddhist Tourist Circuit in the country. The resurrection of the ancient Nalanda University has invited participation by major Buddhist countries. The first two schools of Nalanda University - the School of Historical Studies and the School of Ecology and Environment Studies ââ¬â are slated to begin programmes from the academic year September 2014. Among other Southeast Asian countries, Singapore will be contributing towards the library of the university.
The planned Buddhist Tourist Circuit encompasses and follows the footsteps of Lord Buddha from the place of his birth in Lumbini in Nepal to Piprahwa in Uttar Pradesh where he spent his childhood, Bodhgaya in Bihar where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh where he delivered his first sermon and Kushinagar in the same state where he attained Mahaparinirvana. In the next phase, the Buddhist Tourist Circuit will cover 17 states, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha.
Mr Modiââ¬â¢s recent visit to Nepal was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 17 years. Here he drew parallels between Somnath, Kashi Viswanath and Pashupatinath. He offered assistance for the development of Janakpur, Baraha Chhetra and Lumbini and linking these with the Buddhist Tourist Circuit in India, on the basis of specific proposals from Nepal. Nepal has requested India to allow three additional air entry points at Janakpur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj.
[...]
So Modi's using Hindu money to promote Buddhism - which is a stated and long-standing competitor of Hindu religion - in India. (Again: and no Sri Rama Kovil in Ayodhya.)
He's even working to help promote Buddhism in Nepal. Yet in both countries, Buddhism has tried to replace Hindu religion - and WILL try again. Why is Modi so naive about it? What do Hindus owe Buddhists/Buddhism anyway? Wasn't it enough that Buddhists desecrated a Shiva-lingam (=longstanding practice) at the Bodh Gaya temple that Hindus had built for Buddhism? Hindus are such sticklers for punishment.
Not just the Sri Lankan Buddhist comment at the above VV article, but also the usual modern Hindus who like to mix Buddhism etc with Hinduism, expressed their happiness at the news. But of course. The last kind have a short memory.
I am *certain* that at least some of the Buddhist tourists and tourist nations that Modi hopes to attract will end up turning into missionaries trying to missionise on Hindus. Sri Lankan Buddhist and Japanese Buddhist groups already work in India to convert Hindus. How is this any different from christian missionaries?
And why does Modi have to approach Japan with *Buddhism* as "common ground" rather than approach Japan using a heathen affinity between Shinto and Hindu religion as common ground?
Japanese Shingon Buddhists aren't the only ones that do Gomas (Homas) in Japan, Shintos do it too. And some Shintos - in the past - used proper Vedic rituals (instead of the Bauddhised variations used by Buddhists).
Why couldn't Modi have stopped by ancient Shinto shrines in Japan first, especially since Japan is a Shinto nation not a Buddhist one (at most it can be described as a somewhat Bauddhicised yet nevertheless Shinto nation). And also, Shinzo Abe is IIRC Shinto. How would Hindus like it if every western delegate always visited christian churches in India and declared to christianise India so that he could attract more Indian christian tourists to European churches? Isn't that what Modi is doing with his "Buddha diplomacy"?
If he wants to invite more Japanese to travel to India, then why not make Vedic marriages popular among Japanese, since Japanese are open to non-Japanese marriage styles?
Consider:
- mercenary "Hindus" in India have anyway started selling "Vedic" weddings, though to aliens from the west - i.e. modern Hindus are selling Vedic weddings to terrorist dabblers who have a history of genociding heathen religions and of betraying their own ancestral religions
- in contrast, Shinto heathens are heathens, i.e. not aliens, and moreover, some Shinto ritual groups even have a history of safeguarding the Vedam/safeguarding the (proper i.e. "Brahminical"**) homa rituals and especially Hindu Tantra rituals from Buddhists. So why not invite Japanese Shinto couples to have frugal weddings in India blessed with Vedic rituals invoking the Hindu Gods to ensure their long and happy life together?
** "brahminical" is how the Buddhists dubbed (dub) anything Hindu still unbauddhified/anything not yet taken over (inculturated upon) for Buddhism.
Better yet, Hindus can promote the idea of (the traditional, beautiful yet frugal) Shinto weddings for Japanese Shinto couples, and then invite them to top it off with a Vedic marriage ceremony. Shintos are already familiar and even fond of Hindu Gods, and have historically written in praise of our Gods (a.o.t. the Bauddhified versions of Hindu Gods), since Shintos have seen our Gods - and apparently some still do, owing to some still worshipping Hindu Gods diligently with Hindoo rituals alongside worshipping Shinto Gods.
2. rajeev2004.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/fwd-time-for-india-to-use-its-soft.html
An article on "Time for India to use its soft power" vis-a-vis China. Glanced over it.
Quote:Hence, India should be sending Sri Sri Ravishankar/Mata Amirtanandamayi / Swami Ramdev/ Pramukh Swami/Sankaracharyas/Vaishnavite Seers and other spiritual leaders, Bharatha Natyam experts, musicians, other artists in hundreds to China to " Conquer and Dominate" by our soft power. We need to print millions of copies of Ramayana and Mahabharata and our Puranas and Gita and Jataka stories in all modern Chinese languages and widely make them available. The CDs of Mahabharata and Ramayana etc. can also be given free. We should start some fifty Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans in China. Actually China needs this more than USA even though all our soft power is currently on show in the USA. We should create a fund of at least Rs.1000 crore for this effort. There is a statue of Kalidasa in the Shanghai theatre unveiled by the theater academy. I do not think of any metro in India including the so called "cultural capital" Kolkata, having a statue of Kalidasa. At Kolkata, the Theatre street became Shakespeare Sarani and not Kalidasa Marg!
As regards the first line about Sri Sri etc: Great, India can't even get rid of its own godmen cults, it has to impose them on other heathen Asian nations. So that they can all become brainlessly new age like modern angelsk-speaking Indians!
Now I understand why destiny should favour China in reducing India to nothingness: because modern Indian "Hindus" *deserve* it.
It's bad enough that India exported Buddhism historically, inundated Asia with it and wiped out many native religions there to replace them with Buddhism, and where it was less successful, Buddhism drove other Asian native religions into desperate survival mode (owing to Buddhism's repeatedly initiating aggression to convert Asia). Now Indians - not even Buddhists, but so-called Hindus - have to threaten to drown Asia once more. Not only with Buddhism but with godmen cults. And even with diluted Hindu "culture".
What do Hindus have to offer the Chinese that the Daoists do not already have? They have "similar" things for practically EVERYTHING of value in Hindu religion. A pantheon of very real Gods, religious practices and rites (that work), temples, vigraha fashioning, tai chi and qi gong whereas we have yoga, traditional Gong Fu (not to be confused with the later "Shaolin Gong Fu") and other ancient Daoist martial arts whereas Hindus had their own, the apparently-5000 year old Chinese strategy game of Go which is very popular in Japan in place of our (later) chess, sacred ancient dance styles, music styles (one particular raagam is particularly sacred in Chinese music), sacred instruments etc. Why can't Hindus encourage the Chinese to retain their heathenism? Why threaten to missionise on them with either Buddhism or even Hindu religion? How does it make such modern Indian Hindus seeking converts in Asia any better than christian/islamic missionaries?
It is true that the Chinese, the Japanese and even the Koreans (well the heathens among all 3) have an innate tendency to find affinity with Hindoos and Hindoo religion. And so did and do SE Asians.
E.g. I've watched more Japanese dramas than Korean ones, but even Korean dramas have characters learning yoga. Yet, unlike in new agey India - where even Hindu stotra albums comprising Shankaracharya stotras and Vedic recitation are tattoed incomprehensibly with a Buddha in front - yet the Koreans in a drama doing Yoga did so in front of Nataraja moorties rather than Buddha images. The same drama had the 2nd female lead visiting Thailand and promising the hero that the God Hanuman (subtitles even used a capital G, IIRC) would look after/protect him. IIRC another Korean drama had an older man joining up in yoga classes to be with his son and eagerly greet his son with "Namaste". Not surprising perhaps, since Korea is still 70% un-christianised after all. Just like India is about 70% Hindu still. [Don't want to give the impression that only Hindoo heathenism was referred to in the heathen/secular Korean dramas: the ones I saw also included references to Taoism, Confucianism and mentioned native Korean Gods like the Goddess that safeguards childbirth, the God presiding over successful lovers' meetings, the Gods of the winds and seasons, and references to "Gods" - plural - in general, etc. Clearly not everyone in Korea has converted to monotheism yet.]
More recently, I narrated a <5 min summary version of the Kumarasambhavam to yet another Chinese friend and she declared it was the most romantic thing she had ever heard. And I'm pretty much pathetic at telling kathas, so her appreciation is all owing to the innate attraction of the Kumarasambhavam. Further, despite not being religious, she had no issue with the Kumarasambhavam concerning the lives of Gods - whereas modern "Hindus" gawk at the notion of multiple Gods, unable to comprehend their own religion. Instead she found many commonalities with her own country's native religion that I had not known. So yes, E Asian heathens (and even non-religious E Asians) are entirely understanding of Hindu religion and have an automatic ability to appreciate it and respect it.
But to conspire against them and see them as our missioniary target, as a "soft power" project? Not to speak of terrorising them again by trying to re-introduce Buddhism in the rest of Asia and increase its naturally-waning power there? (In contrast, interest in Daoism among ethnically-Chinese appears to be on the rise.)
And to think that Japanese Shintos and ethnic-Chinese Daoists from TW, CN, SG, etc trust Hindus. Evidently, their trust is misplaced and they've made a Big mistake. Modern Hindus are clearly a threat to E and SE Asia. Maybe the onset of the christoislamic deluge in India is just desserts.
Why can't Hindus promote native heathenisms in each Asian nation? Then we will truly have done them good and have done ourselves good thereby. But no, modern Hindus are drunk on some delusional superiority-complex that makes them imagine that the solution to Asia's "problems" is to have Indian religions - including a severely missionary one - foisted on them. I have no issue with heathen Asians choosing to include Hindu Gods (and associated rituals for worship) in their pantheons. This is as natural an occurrence as how many Asians have included Daoist Gods and practices. But all such must be the result of a natural process, not by one set of people designing and scheming against another population, let alone for lame "soft powah" ends. Sick.
And also, why do modern Hindus never think to reciprocate, but instead consider E Asia as a Sink for their own wares? Why not listen to Chinese traditional music - it's really beautiful, and feels satisfying and reassuring to the spirit - or learn Japanese? Actually, why does our govt not encourage the learning of Japanese in schools, since it is one of the most beautiful languages ever? (At least Modi was to have greeted the Japanese in their own language. Points for that.) Look at E Asians: several of them studied to speak Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. All 3 and sometimes more. Modern Hindus will only learn western languages (usually only English and badly at that) and maybe - maybe - Indian ones.
There is something very self-centred about modern "Hindus" that they forever see E and SE Asia as a dumping ground, as people who have to learn from us, and become like us and be molded into far-Asian versions of us. There's no thought of modern "Hindus" meeting them half-way let alone appreciating them for who *they* are, what their ancestral heathen identity is.* I think it means such modern Hindus are looking down on E and SE Asians, as allegedly being people in need of us to "teach" them. As if they have no heathen civilisations and identities of their own. As if they are forever derived or "must be". <= Isn't that supposition what the oryanists have done to Hindus? Can't be a heathen AND a missionary. Heathens are defined by their ethnic-religious identity and would respect that of others. Hindus weren't always like this sudden craze for missionising/manipulating others for "soft powah" though. I think this smugness and egotism came with de-heathenisation: even as modern Hindus have become blindly proud of their religion and swagger around arrogantly threatening to create convert followings, they know far less about their religion than their ancestors did and so look doubly foolish.
* Even that Indo-Japanese friendship film witnessed the Japanese collaboration team making the Ramayanam animation along with Indians as a sign of Japanese friendship to us. I.e. they animated a sacred Hindu narrative in order to show their friendship to Hindus. Would Hindus have ever thought of animating the sacred tale of Susanowo no Mikoto Kamisama or similar? [Why not? Do the Japanese and Chinese and Koreans not have grand epics? A: they do, by the way. Like the Chinese, the Koreans also have a heavenly host of Gods governed by a King of Gods - Hindus do too. And E Asians' Gods and heroes also have had epic adventures. Why do modern Hindus readily threaten to inundate the Chinese with the MBh and Ramayanam etc without at least also threatening to copy for ourselves the sacred literature and oral traditions concerning the Shen, Kami and Shin of the E Asians?]
In contrast to the Indo-Japanese friendship animation "Ramayana", in E/SE Asian films where there is a degree of colloboration between several (south-)eastern Asian nations, the characters are always shown as learning about the host country and its traditions, instead of seeing it as an opportunity to enforce their own traditions onto the host country.
Indians these days look forever westward to find their "superiors". They look to Iran, to Europe, to America. And have respect only in that direction. If they ever remember to look east, they look down their nose as if looking at inferiors, as if needing to play the teacher role. Asians to our (south)east are not our inferiors nor did they ask to enroll as our students, they are actually Hindoos' equals. And there is much to learn from them. Humility and a non-egotistical (non-uni-directional but reciprocal, non self-aggrandising) friendship for one.