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December 11, 2005

1. Russian Archbishop Calls Lord Krishna an "Evil demon"

2. Complete Text of Letter by Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of

Moscow

1. Russian Archbishop Calls Lord Krishna an "Evil demon"

Hindu Council UK

 

LONDON, ENGLAND, December 9, 2005: HPI note: The Hindu Council UK

(office) sends the following press release. The

first half explains the issue, and the second is the actual letter

from the Archbishop to the Mayor of Moscow, a letter no doubt to

become a classic exposition of religious bigotry in the 21st century.

 

Press release begins:

 

Hindus all over the world have expressed outrage and anger after a

leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nikon called the

Hindu God, Lord Krishna an "evil demon" around the time of Indian

Prime Minister's state visit to Moscow to meet Russian President

Putin. In a letter to the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, wired by

Interfax news agency on November 30, Archbishop of the Russian

Orthodox Church Nikon called Lord Krishna "an evil demon, the

personified power of hell opposing God," and "a livid lascivious

youth." The Archbishop further requested the Mayor to ban construc

tion of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise

become "an idolatrous disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and

malicious 'god' Krishna.Construction of the temple to Krishna

offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year

religious culture of Russia," Interfax quoted Archbishop Nikon as

saying.

 

"We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural

coexistence, a leader of the Russian Church chooses to make

statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to one billion

Hindus in the world," said Kishore Ruparelia, speaking on behalf of

the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign launched in London last week. "The

motives for spreading such hatred are clear - it is an attempt to

discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them

from building a temple," explained Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general

of the Hindu Forum of Britain. "It is unbelievable that a leader of

such a powerful Church can make such disgra ceful and dogmatic

attempts to instigate tension between different religions. This is

completely against all principles of multi-faith coexistence and

cooperation that ancient and inclusive religious traditions like

Hinduism stand for."

 

"The statement by Archbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church has

hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus worldwide," commented O. P.

Sharma, President of the National Council of Hindu Temples UK. "It is

an insult to the tradition of tolerance, peace and inclusivity that

Hinduism stands for, and highlights the resentment that dogmatic and

exclusive views on religion can generate."

 

The president of the Association of Indians in Russia, Sanjeet K.

Jha, said, "For centuries faith in Lord Krishna has been the very

foundation of the Indian tradition of tolerance and respect for all

religions and for all life. Therefore the shower of offences that

Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us

intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts."

 

According to several Moscow-based Indians, the discriminatory move by

the Moscow government, the harassment of Indians by Russian ultra-

nationalistic groups, inspired by open hostility of some Church

leaders towards Hinduism, is making Russia a less than appealing

place for Indians to live. "Hindus are one of the world's most

peaceful communities," commented Dr. Girdhari Bhan, President of the

Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK. "In most countries of the world, the Hindu

diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nikon

should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making

such atrocious statements that wil l surely be rejected by people of

common sense and dignity."

 

"It is difficult to understand why a Hindu temple poses a threat to

the Russian Orthodox Church in this day of respect and tolerance,"

added Ramesh Kallidai. "The only Hindu temple in Moscow had been

demolished last year, leaving some 15,000 Indians and 10,000 Russian

followers of Hinduism without a place of worship. Now the Mayor of

Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church are together trying to stop

Hindus from having a place of their own."

 

According to Mr. Jha, In January 2004, the Mayor of Moscow Mr.

Luzhkov signed a decree allocating land in northwest Moscow for

construction of a new temple in place of the demolished one. This was

followed by mass protests orchestrated by the Russian Orthodox Church

against the building of the temple. In October, 2005, the Mayor

repealed the decree and gave the order to remove a temporary Hindu

shrine that devotees had erected from the allocated land.

 

"Now, the Russian Hindu community in Moscow have no place to house

the consecrated Deities they had worshipped for the last decade,"

claimed Dr. Mihir Meghani, President of the Hindu American

Foundation. "This is a pity because this was the only Hindu temple in

Moscow serving the spiritual and cultural needs of thousands of

Hindus in Russia, and now they are left without any place to worship."

 

According to Mr. Jha, the statement by Archbishop Nikon just adds to

the exasperation felt by Indian community in Moscow in regard to the

razed temple. "With the old temple demolished and the new temple

project thwarted at the very root, thousands of Indians living in

Moscow feel utterly disappointed," he added.

 

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed this matter

with President Putin during his recent visit to Moscow. Putin has

agreed to meet the Mayor of Moscow next week to find out more about

the issue.

 

On behalf of all the Hindu community in Australia, the Chair of the

Hindu Council of Australia, Dr. Balasubramaniam said, "I strongly

condemn the outrageous and shameful behavior of the Archbishop of the

Russian Orthodox Church in denigrating the oldest religion in the

world and depriving the peace-loving Hindus of Russia their right to

practice their religion. Hindus have always respected all religions.

India, which has a majority Hindu population, has always been a

friendly country to Russia. It is only proper that the sentiments of

a trusted friend and ally are respected. We appeal to the Russian

President Putin to intervene and stop this kind of outrageous

behavior against the peace-loving Hindus of Russia. The international

communities are monitoring the situation closely."

 

2. Complete Text of Letter by Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of Moscow

Hindu Council UK

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, November 29, 2005: Following is the entire letter

sent by the Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of Moscow protesting the

construction of a temple to Lord Krishna in Moscow:

 

FROM:

ORTHODOX CHURCH

Moscow Patriarchate

Ufa Eparchy

29 Sochinskaya street, Ufa, 450103, RUSSIA phone +7 (3472) 724990,

fax (3472) 711226

November 29, 2005

 

TO:

Mayor of Moscow

Y. M. Luzhkov

 

Dear Mr. Luzhkov,

 

Situation with the construction of Krishna "temple" in Moscow does

not fail to keep us thoroughly surprised for the last two years. One

might fear that this satanic obscenity is destined to be built right

in the heart of the Orthodox Christian country of Russia - and yet,

all of a sudden, not only due to the mass outcry of the people, but --

miraculously! -- even due to imperfections in the Russian secular

law the construction of this citadel of idolatry has become

impossible.

 

Sec tarians and various so-called "human rights activists," whose

activity for some reason is always anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox,

are exerting unprecedented pressure on you as they did last year, and

so does the USA - the pillar of "democracy" and the foremost

international lobby of various cults. Under the circumstances, you

may well be tempted to yield to the pressure and to fulfill the

demand of Krishna followers to build their idolatrous temple for

Krishna.

 

But we are requesting you to ponder deeply on who this "god" Krishna

really is, who is worshipped by all these

almost "angelic,benevolent" people who do not smoke, do not drink,

do not eat meat, who "care" so nicely for the homeless by feeding

them with idolatrous food and who may seem to work so laboriously and

so voluntarily for the benefit of Moscow?

 

Krishna ("black" in Sanskrit) has many faces, and all of them are

abominable. Here is just one of them: "I see in Your body many, many

arms, b ellies, mouths and eyes, expanded everywhere, without limit.

I see You with blazing fire coming forth from Your mouth, burning

this entire universe by Your own radiance. All the planets with their

demigods are disturbed at seeing Your great form, with its many

faces, eyes, arms, thighs, legs, and bellies and Your many terrible

teeth; and as they are disturbed, so am I. Our chief soldiers are

rushing into Your fearful mouths. And some I see trapped with heads

smashed between Your teeth."

 

And on top of it, this "nice god" reclines on a bed of snakes.

 

This disgusting appearance is fully concordant with his own self-

description: "I am Yama, the lord of death. I am all-devouring death,

the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy

all people."

 

However, even human-like appearance of Krishna reveals an equally

repugnant scene - a livid, plumpish, effeminate and lascivious youth.

 

For Christians, Jews and Muslims, for whom it is commanded: "I [am]

the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have none other gods before me" (De. 5:6-

7) and "For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD

made the heavens." (Ps. 96:5) The satanic identity of Krishna is

obvious from his own words: "Those who are devotees of other gods and

who worship them with faith actually worship only Me."

 

Respected Mr. Luzhkov - can you really allow the idolatrous disgrace

to be erected for the glory of this wicked and malicious "god"

Krishna? The construction of this Krishna "temple" is a blatant

offense of our religious feelings, and an insult to the millennial

religious culture of Russia, where the overwhelming majority of

people, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, consider Krishna an evil

demon, the personified power of hell opposing God. It is shown that

even for Buddhists, Krishna is a negative figure, the head of black

demons. Sikhs and Jains also consider him the most formidable demon.

 

Of course, modern Russia is a secular state, based on secular laws.

But can these laws screen our peoples from the judgment of God? Can

the Russian Constitution abolish our common responsibility for our

acts before God? The Holy Scripture attests that there have been

quite a few periods of "religious pluralism" and the equality

of "rights" of the followers of various "religious denominations ."

We have already mentioned to you in our first letter what had

happened to the united Jewish state after Solomon allowed for the

construction of various pagan temples in the city Jerusalem: "...and

the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from

the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had

commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after

other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore

the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and

thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have

commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will

give it to thy servant." (1Ki.11:11)

 

Let us cite two more instructive passages from a whole many of kind,

as described in the Old Testament: "Ahab the son of Omri reigned over

Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. and he reared up an altar for

Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab ma

de a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to

anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." (1Ki.16:29-

33). "Manasseh ... reigned in Jerusalem, he reared up altars for

Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and

served them... . And he set a carved image ... in the house of God."

(2Chr.33:1-7)

 

But their worship was not a triumph of religious democracy, but

the "EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD" (1Ki.16:30) and "ABOMINATIONS"

(2Chr.33:2), for which not only the idolater kings, but all of their

citizens paid a heavy price. In the first case, they suffered from a

most severe drought which lasted for 3.5 years, and then Ahab was

killed in a war with Syrians. In the second instance, "Wherefore the

LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of

Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with

fetters, and carried him to Babylon." (2Chr. 33:11).

 

How much has Russia already suffered due to our sins in the former

century? But have we got less crime and unlawfulness?! No,

unfortunately. People has become as if blind and deprived of all

intelligence, they engross in sins, they separate themselves from

God's commands by their own earthly laws, they utterly d isregard

history of the past and commit the same blunders over and over again.

The bitter words of Isaiah the Prophet, which he spoke over 2.500

years ago, now seem to be spoken just for our sake: "Ah sinful

nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children

that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD. Why should ye be

stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more." (Isa. 1:4-5).

 

Some are telling us that Russia is on the way to prosperity, but the

country is actually dying away in childlessness, in wanton

promiscuity, in alcohol and drug addiction, millions of babies are

killed by abortions, selected individuals become affluent while

millions of Russians border on poverty, terrorist attacks strike

relentlessly, separatists, who want to tear Russia apart, do not

slacken, and sectarians are multiplying, who consider Brooklyn, Salt

Lake City and Indian ashrams their homeland. They hate their own

culture and history and think service to their s tate and its defense

are a grave sin.

 

So do we really have to add more to the load of our unlawfulness by

building idolatrous temples for demons on the land where they are

still hated, in the Russian land where the clouds of faithlessness

and libertinism have not yet covered the light of Christian faith?

Therefore, we once again request you on behalf of all Orthodox

Christians of Bashkir Autonomous Republic to not allow the

construction of the satanic Krishna temple in Moscow.

 

Respectfully yours, Nikon, Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak,

Derector of the Ufa Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church

 

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