Guest guest Posted January 27, 2001 Report Share Posted January 27, 2001 Thank you for the insight on hind religion.Swami Dayananda has taken this cause , lalitha - <vediculture> <vediculture> Friday, January 26, 2001 4:23 AM [world-vedic] Digest Number 134 > This is an information resource and discussion group for people interested in the World's Ancient Vedic Culture, with a focus on its historical, archeological and scientific aspects. Also topics about India, Hinduism, God, and other aspects of World Culture are welcome. > > ------ > > There are 2 messages in this issue. > > Topics in this digest: > > 1. Will Hindus Become Extinct? > Frank Morales <fmorale1 > 2. Dancing with Siva > shanmugan > > > ______________________ > ______________________ > > Message: 1 > Wed, 24 Jan 2001 17:14:02 -0600 > Frank Morales <fmorale1 > Will Hindus Become Extinct? > > Are the Hindus Destined to Become an Extinct Race? > > By Ishani Chowdhury > > > In the Spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian > government led by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was held hostage by a > guerrilla group, headed by George Speight. They were demanding a segregated > state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any > rights the Indian inhabitants have now. Port Louis, Mauritius witnessed > three days of racial violence in February 1999, when popular reggae singer > Kaya died in police custody. Riots quickly developed along racial lines > with black Creoles attacking Hindus. Police stations housing terrified > Hindus were not spared. Likewise, Northeast India has witnessed a surge of > nearly 200% in their Christian population in the past 25 years due to the > wily tactics of foreign missionaries. So strong is their grasp there that > practicing Hinduism is forbidden in these areas. Durga puja has become > almost obsolete as deities are destroyed or stolen in broad daylight. This > confrontational climate has led to numerous militant outfits, sponsored by > the Church, who are fighting for secession from India. > Every minute of everyday an innocent Hindu is attacked solely because of > his faith. It is absolutely heart-wrenching to see that being Hindu gives > almost everyone the right to automatically verbally and physically abuse > us. Have we taken ahimsa to such an extreme that merely standing up for > one's own rights has become a dreadful thought? It is a sad fact to say > that while Southern Baptists are openly calling for the conversion of > 'heathen' Hindus, that the vast majority of us sit quietly in our fancy > homes and luxury cars falsely reassuring ourselves that 'they do not mean > me.' But indeed they do, and it is happening every minute of everyday in > almost every country in the world where we live. So pathetic is the present > situation that not only are we being abused and terrorized by the > minorities in our own country, but by the majority population in the lands > where we live abroad. Indeed we can distinctly go down in history as the > most cowardice race that has ever lived. > > This long tradition of having a slave mentality started thousands > of years ago. History has been witness to the numerous onslaughts that we > have suffered not only due to disunity, but also to our selfish interests. > Even the prior knowledge of Alexander's conquest did not stop many Hindu > kingdoms from willing joining hands with him. This led to the successful > expansion of Alexander's empire. Even after Alexander's death, many > kingdoms, such as that of Raja Parvataka's Keykai, chose to remain a lackey > to the Greek governor appointed to the region. It was only one brave man > who came forward to set India free. It was the passion in Chanakya's heart > that led him to form the great Mauryan Empire an empire, which brought > together the many small, fragmented kingdoms. For the first time it was > demonstrated how one man could stir a person's soul and become a force to > reckon with. > But history has played a cruel joke, for the Mauryan Empire lasted but a > short time, and so by the seventh century AD, we became the targets of > another set of tyrannical conquerors - the Muslims. For eight hundred years > we watched as our women were raped, our treasure house of books burned > (including the world-renowned Taxila and Nalanda university libraries), our > temples destroyed, our people sold as slaves to Middle Eastern countries, > and killed or forcibly converted. At that time very few Hindus, if any, > chose to rise. Instead, we were too busy being a traitor to our own people > and becoming a foot-boy for the king. The Koran, with the countless verses > calling for jihad against the 'infidels,' became a weapon for every Muslim > ruler from Mahmud of Ghazni to Tipu Sultan. So poisonous is the Islamic > creed that having a Hindu lineage did not even matter as was the case with > Jehangir, son of Akbar and his Hindu wife, Jodabai. > > By the arrival of the Portuguese and the British, much of Gandhara > (present-day Afghanistan) and Western India (present-day Pakistan) was > demographically lost to the Muslims. The terrible pogrom known as the Goan > Inquisition led to the forcible conversion of Hindus to Christianity and > the large-scale confiscation of ancestral property. Scores of temples were > demolished and churches built in their place. To add insult to injury, one > of the greatest so-called "saints", Francis Xavier, feverishly declared > "When all are baptized, I order all temples of their false gods destroyed > and idols broken into pieces. I can give you no idea of the joy I feel > seeing this done."1 With the cross in one hand and the sword in the other, > these European forces went about annihilating Hindus, so much so that we > have now lost about 35% of our Goan brothers to Christianity. > > The British drained us of our wealth and left us crippled in 1947. > The rising, violent Muslim demand for the separate homeland led to the > vivisection of one-third of India. As Gandhi was preaching "shanti, > shanti," Muslims perpetrated the most heinous pogrom remembered in > partition history the Noakhali Danga. There is not one family in India > that has not seen or suffered the brunt of partition. Gandhi did not do > much or say much when his fellow Hindus were being hounded like > prey instead he accusingly stressed to us that we be kind and considerate > to our 'gentle' Muslim brethren. One cowardice act led to another, as Nehru > created our problem of Kashmir and chanted "Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai" while > the Chinese were attacking Arunachal Pradesh. By this act, we have lost a > large portion of our land to yet another set of modern invaders. > > In 1971, while troops under Indira Gandhi's direction liberated > Bangladesh it turned a blind eye to the nearly three million Hindus killed > by the Pakistani army and the ten million refugees that flooded the border. > She willingly fed, sheltered and handed over 90,000 captured Pakistani > troops. Inconsiderate of the fact that we lost hundreds of our soldiers in > the front line, she returned to Pakistan a portion of POK (Pakistan > Occupied Kashmir) that we managed to re-capture from them. Is this the way > one treats one's enemy? Certainly let us not forget Kargil, when bodies of > Indian troops were found butchered, their genitals severed, tongues cut and > eyes gouged out. This scene takes you back to the medieval days when Muslim > kings would not only kill their own relatives for power, but use these same > exact means to slowly torture them to death. Indeed, the injunctions of the > Koran are followed even in this most advanced day and age. And what does > our beloved India do after seeing the condition of these unfortunate Kargil > martyrs? Exactly what she did over eight hundred years ago absolutely nothing! > > Our government has become a lackey for the minority > population just begging to appease them at any instance they get, even if > it may be an unreasonable, outrageous demand. But what has happened to the > 85% of the population who are Hindus, do our votes not count? Apparently > not. And how is it that our most 'loyal' civil servants are feeling this > way? It is simple, because we ourselves do not care what is happening, so > why should they? > The fault lies not with ministers, governors or the Prime Minister it lies > solely with us. We are the people, and the voice of power. If we are > weak why should they even bother? But, if 12% of the population, the > Muslims, scream and shout they win the battle, as well as the war. While > the rest of the world's democratic, secular countries only allow for one > man to marry one woman, India has given Muslims the special privilege of > marrying up to four wives, not to mention alimony for only three months. > Even the Supreme Court did not have a say when Rajiv Gandhi overturned > their verdict in the Shah Bano case, and instead enacted a law making sure > that the court finds no scope of jurisdiction in the matters of Muslim > marriage, divorce, etc. in the future. > > Minority institutions, namely churches, madrasas (Islamic > schools), etc., in India receive special funding from the government. > Likewise, minorities also receive subsidies on pilgrimages, such as the > hajj. Yet there is no such facility for Hindus even though we have become > a minority in six states in India. > > Millions of Kashmiri Hindus have been driven from their ancestral > land and are living a dismal life is squatter camps yet not one government > minister is doing anything to address the situation. Sixty ancient temples > were destroyed in 1992, but no one said a word. Hindu marriage parties and > neighborhoods are singled out and attacked, even children as young as eight > are not spared and our papers remain silent. We have become refugees in > our own homeland.2 > > We are not second class, but third class citizens in our own > country. Documented numerous times, Christian missionaries are openly > calling our devas 'shaitans,' compelling tribal converts to illegally > confiscate land for building churches, urinating on deities, forcing > marriages of Christian girls to Hindu boys (so as to make the 'nonbeliever' > a convert) and pressuring converts to force family members to embrace > Christianity.3 SIMI, the Students Islamic Movement of India has declared an > open jihad against Hindus. Posters being circulated include one that > exhorts young Muslim boys to follow the teachings of Islam passionately and > trample upon those who are kaafirs (non-believers in Islam).4 > > If tribal Christians pelt stones at Hindus and we retaliate we > are blamed. If Christians and Muslims openly slander our devas, it is > considered natural, but if we try to defend ourselves or retaliate in kind, > we are considered communal. It has come to the point where even saying that > one is Hindu is a shameful thing. Many organizations are aghast at the > thought of putting the sacred Om on booklets, or rush through pujas so as > not the risk losing the audience. We have successfully demeaned and > cheapened our religion to such an extent that images of deities are sold on > shoes and goddesses are drawn naked. Has Hinduism become so much of joke > that Christians and Muslims find it so easy to 'buy' a Hindu convert? How > can a few saris induce one into discarding his ancestral faith? Why are > millions of Hindus fleeing Bangladesh is it because the rest of the Hindus > can not help or stand behind them? Has Chanakya's dream of a united Hindu > nation become a mockery? > > While India is a total failure in protecting the Hindu > population case in point: Kashmir, the Northeast, the border districts of > West Bengal Hindus in other countries are not that well off either. > According to the Fijian constitution, Indians can not own land, and > Parlimentary seats are not allocated as per normal democratic means. On > July 27, 2000 two hundred terrified Indians were rounded up and held > hostage by George Speight's supporters. Even at 44% of the population we > can not do a thing and the Indian government does not say a thing. > > Fifty thousand Hindus in and around Dhaka, Bangladesh were killed > in 1964 when a holy relic from a mosque was stolen in Kashmir. In 1992, > three thousand Hindu temples were destroyed and thousands of Hindus killed > in religious riots in Bangladesh. This is not something new. "There were > riots East Pakistan almost every year, and severe killings in 1944, 1947, > 1950, 1954, 1958, 1960 and 1963" states S.K. Bhattacharya in Genocide in > East Pakistan/Bangladesh. Added to the long list of mass attacks is the > daily harassment of Hindus. The Dhaka newspaper Sangabad reported on > September 24, 1989, the story of Ms. Birajabala Debnath of Niradabad. She > became a widow after her husband was murdered because he refused to give up > his land to his Muslim neighbor. Then she and her five children were > abducted in the middle of the night and murdered. Amnesty International's > 1996 report details the attack on innocent Hindu students at Dhaka > University's Jagganatha Hall. Seven hundred law enforcement personnel > raided the University's only Hindu hall firing tear-gas, stealing valuables > and raping and beating students. The three hour raid saw hundreds of deaths > and injuries.5 > > There have been legal assaults against the Hindus by the > Bangladesh government as well, most especially the Vested Property Act, > formally called the "Enemy Property Act." It allows for the lands of a > person who has fled the country to be seized and redistributed. In 1989, > Bangla Land Minister Sunil Gupta stated that between 1984-1989 700,000 > acres of land was confiscated from the Hindus, plus thousands of homes, > shops, ponds, etc. The Bangladesh government is totally nonchalant about > this and other incidents. It can be safely said that the government is > indeed playing a major role in systematically exterminating the few > remaining Hindus. Even as early as 1971, the new Bangladesh government > chose to turn a blind eye to the incidents that were happening around them. > The Ramna Kali Bari in Dhaka, hundreds of years old, was shelled by the > Pakistani Army and the new Bangladesh government confiscated the land, > bulldozed the remains and turned the 66-acre area into a park. Bangladesh > Prime Minister Sheik Hasina goes one step further to say "Bangladeshi > Hindus have one foot in India and other in Bangladesh" and asked, given the > divided loyalty, what should they expect and how much the local Muslims > will listen to her government. It seems as though Sheik Hasina is suffering > from an acute case of amnesia as it was her family that the Indian > government saved from the hands of a military coup and the assassination of > her father in 1975. Indeed the Koran's injunction of not trusting a > non-Muslim, as stated in 4:144 of the chapter entitled An-Nisa (Women): "O > ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers: Do > ye wish to offer Allah an open proof against yourselves?" is followed to > this day. > > Bangladesh has indeed followed in Pakistan's footsteps of > exterminating Hindus. Pakistan's Hindu population, once numbering 15% has > been reduced to about 1%. In a recent Indian Express article, the remaining > few are adopting Christian names so as to escape persecution by the > Muslims.6 India Today's November 8th article details the life of Pakistani > Hindus who are crossing the border to settle in India all due to sustained > harassment by Muslims.7 Bangladesh has successfully driven its once 35% > Hindu population at partition to a mere 10% now. Conceivably, by 2050 > Bangladesh will achieve the status of Pakistan: no significant Hindu > population. > > Nepal, the only Hindu kingdom in the world, has not escaped > either. The Christian population, which was almost nil in 1960, has > increased by leaps and bounds. Billions of dollars have been pumped in for > conversion activities. Christians are asking everyone, via the Internet, to > save the 'lost Hindu' souls of Nepal. Islamic madrasas are cropping up in > the border districts. The Muslim population of 2.5% in 1981 has increased > to 3.5% in ten years. In December 1998, Muslims held rallies in Janakpur, > Sita's birthplace, calling for the conversion of Nepal to an Islamic state. > It is indeed apt to ask if Nepal, in effect is a Hindu state.8 > > While Americans are displaying pictures of Sri Krishna in gay > magazines and branding the images of our deities on lunch boxes and > t-shirts, half-way around the world Hindus are losing their lives to > Christian and Muslim fanatics. What is the use of organizing massive > conferences detailing our past history when we are losing our future every > single minute? Can such conferences save our fellow Hindus from the wrath > of Abrahamic radicals? How many of the world's one billion Hindus protested > when 25 Hindus were massacred in Kashmir?9 Compare this with the immense > Hindu response that was given when one bamboo church was burned in the > Dangs. Are Hindu lives that dispensable? The Kurds, a people without a > homeland, rocked the world with simultaneous protests when their leader was > handed over by Greece to Turkey. But the Hindus remained silent when in > 1997 50,000 Reang tribals fled Mizoram -- in fear of the Catholic spree of > looting, burning, raping and killing. We are blissfully ignoring Sri > Krishna's message to Arjuna: to fight adharma wherever it may be. > > It can safely be said that not only are we the most cowardice race > that has ever lived, but also the most selfish one. Sending our children to > Ivy League colleges can not wash away their Indian features or the Hindu > heritage. We are doomed to be confined to the exhibits of a museum to be > gawked at by curious onlookers, for many of whom we are ancestors. > > Let us remember Swami Vivekananda's words regarding conversions: > "And then every man going out of the Hindu pale is not a man less, but an > enemy more." At the same time, let heed his warning: "Religion and religion > alone is the life of India, and when that goes, India will die, in spite of > politics, in spite of social reforms, in spite of Kubera's wealth poured > upon the head of every one of her children." 10 > > > Footnotes: > > 1 E Sa, Mario Carbel, Is the March Over?, Hinduism Today, October 1997, p.49; > > > 2 Ahmed, Mukhtar, Pandits start to trickle out of Kashmir, Rediff on the > Net, March 14, 2000; http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/mar/14jk1.htm > > ` > 3 Alleged assault on boys for refusing to convert, The Times of India, > February 4, 2000; > http://www.timesofindia.com/040200/04indi1.htm > > > 11 NLFT rebels shot dead by Bangladeshi troops, India Today, June 18, 2000; > http://www.india-today.com/ntoday/newsarchives/100/6/18/n24.shtml > > > Goel, Sita Ram, Pseudo-Secularism, Christian Missions and Hindu > Resistance, Voice of > India, 1998; > > > Shourie, Arun, Missionaries In India: Continuities, Changes, Dilemmas, > HarperCollins, 1994; > > > Agrawal, Dr. Ravindra; Church Conspiracy In The Guise Of Service > http://hssworld.org/all/baudhik/christianity/CHURCH_CONSPIRACY.html > > > Bhosle, Varsha, Heaven's Gate, Rediff on the Net, July 10, 2000; > http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jul/10varsha.htm > > > Bhosle, Varsha, Preying Chruch, Rediff on the Net, January 21, 1999; > http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jan/21varsha.htm > > > Kashyap, Samundra Gupta, More reconversion stories, this time from > Assam, Indian > Express, July 10, 2000; > http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20000710/ina10046.html > > > Kumar, Raj, Sahibganj sits atop conversion volcano, The Times of India, > March 7, 2000; > http://www.timesofindia.com/070300/07mpat1.htm > > > Niyogi Commission Report on Christian Missionaries > http://www.secularindia.com/niyogi_commission_report.htm > > > > 4 Verma, Amita, UP students' body calls for all-out jihad, Asian Age, June > 20, 2000; > http://www.asianage.com/asianage/21062000/detfro05.htm > > > 5 Amnesty International, > http://www.amesty.org/ailib/aipub/1996/ASA/31300496.htm > > > 6 Vij, Bhavna, Shyam Sharma turns Peter Joseph, but still doesn't feel safe > in Lahore, > Indian Express, May 3, 2000; > http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20000503/iin03050.html > > > 7 Parihar, Rohit, Home Away From Home, India Today, November, 8, 1999, p. 6; > > > 8 Jha, Hari Bansh, Whither Nepal?, Hinduism Today, October 1999, p.13; > > > 9 Kashmir: The Slaughter of Hindus Quietly Continues, Hinduism Today, June > 1999, p.21; > > > Mercenaries massacre 23 Pandits in Valley, The Hindustan Times, January > 27, 1998; > http://www.hindustantimes.com/ht/nonfram/270198/detFRO01.htm > > > Dutt, Vijay, Evidence of Pak Support to ultras in J&K: Amnesty, The > Hindustan Times, > April 3, 1999; > http://hindustantimes.com/confram/040399/detFOR99.thm > > > 10 "Quotes & Quips," Hinduism Today, August 1999, p.9; > > > > -------- ---------------------- > Frank Morales, M.A. > Languages and Cultures of Asia > University of Wisconsin-Madison > fmorale1 > Home (608) 288-0266 > Dharma Central: http://www.dharmacentral.com/ > > > "How many have not asked 'What is Truth' and at bottom hoped that vast > spaces would intervene before truth came so close to him that in the > immediate now it would determine his duty for action at that very moment?" > > Soren Kierkegaard > > [This message contained attachments] > > > > ______________________ > ______________________ > > Message: 2 > Thu, 25 Jan 2001 11:37:19 -0000 > shanmugan > Dancing with Siva > > Greetings One and All, > > We at Hindu Youth Association (HYA) are selling the 4th Edition > of 'Dancing with Siva' by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami for > Australian Dollars $25. The usual price is US $29.95. > > So if your interested in getting a copy please email us. > > Peace, > HYA > > > NB: Postage would be around $5 for the eastern states in Australia. > > > > Dancing with Siva > HINDUISM'S CONTEMPORARY CATECHISM > > By: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami > > http://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/dws/Home.html > > (Hardcover) Normal Price: US $29.95. HYA Price AUD $25 > > "This 1,008-page sourcebook answers all questions to quench the > soul's thirst for God- and Self-knowledge. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya- > swami spent 50 years in deep study, meditation and samadhi to create > this masterpiece. Clearly written and lavishly illustrated, woven > with 600 verses from Vedas and other holy texts, 165 South Indian > paintings, 40 original graphics, a 40-page timeline of India and a > 190-page lexicon. A spiritual gem and a great value. ""The most > comprehensive and sensitive introduction to the living spiritual > tradition of Hinduism ...a feast for the heart and the mind."" (Georg > Feuerstein). 4th Edition. Hardcover." > > > > > ______________________ > ______________________ > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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