Guest guest Posted November 13, 1999 Report Share Posted November 13, 1999 Peace and Blessings to all ! Please excuse my erratic postings of late, as I have been, by necessity, away from the computer and have been neglecting my dear friends on the Ramakrishna Digest Mailing List. Although away from the communications medium, my mind has been engrossed with the 'Hullaballoo' caused by the recent declaration by the Southern Baptist Convention [concerning their position on Hinduism],and also the Holy Father's visit to India. Let us step back and look at the whole picture. A tiny Albanian girl of eighteen comes to India as a Roman Catholic Nun. She learns the 'ways of the land' and eventually blends what she has learned from this ancient culture, together with the 'newer' dispensation of her own faith, and creates a world-wide INDIAN RELIGIOUS ORDER of selfless social workers, clad in saris and following strict monastic rules of conduct. Is this good for the world-image of India ? Is this good for Hinduism ? The answer must ne a resounding YES !!!! Whether these are Roman Catholic Nuns & Brothers or not, in the eyes of the world, this is a Hindustan Organization, and therefore Hindu. Hindus are BIG ENOUGH to absorb all faiths into their land. They have no fear of being dominated. History has proven, time and time again, the resilience, the self-invigorating power of Sanatana Dharma, forever modern, forever learning and absorbing. Not mired in ancient dogma, but rather searching for new ways to respond to the urgent demand of our very own Sri Swami Lord Vivekananda of Bengal: " This is the great ideal before us, and every one must be ready for it - the conquest of the whole world by India - nothing less than that, and we must all get ready for it, strain every nerve for it. Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality ! Aye, as has been declared on this soil first, 'love' must conquer hatred, hatred cannot conquer itself. Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by materialism. Armies when they attempt to conquer armies only multiply and make brutes of humanity. Spirituality must conquer the West. Slowly they are finding out that what they want is spirituality to preserve them as nations. They are waiting for it, they are eager for it. " So, my dear brothers and sisters in tapasyA, let us encourage the Christian sects to make new converts on the subcontinent. How else will India and Hinduism be able to help her brothers and sisters worldwide? Any religion practised in the spiritual environment of India, will produce beneficial effects and increase levels of tolerance, which may then be shared with the rest of humanity. Does this sound reasonable ? om shanthi om ____ 123India - India's Premier Search Engine Get your Free Email Account at http://www.123india.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 1999 Report Share Posted November 14, 1999 SWami Vivekananda once said: " If India dies, there is real danger that Truth will also vanish from this earth. " (somewhat to this effect). This predicament lends the concern and urgency to save spiritual treasure of India. If this is done by the leaders and saints of other religions we welcome it; but the fact is that still there is no requisite growth visible in other religious organizations that should take over the task of keeping the flame of Advaita Alive! In whatever crude or ambiguous form it may be alive, only Sanatana Dharmi (follower of Sanatana Dharma) is the saviour at present. And because Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda are the torch bearers of such Principles of Truth, this love for and hope from them! dr c s s -------- omtatsat wrote: > Hindus are BIG ENOUGH to absorb all faiths into their land. They have > no fear of being dominated. History has proven, time and time again, > the resilience, the self-invigorating power of Sanatana Dharma, forever modern, forever learning and absorbing. Not mired in ancient > dogma, but rather searching for new ways to respond to the urgent demand of our very own Sri Swami Lord Vivekananda of Bengal: > " This is the great ideal before us, and every one must be ready for it - the conquest of the whole world by India - nothing less than that, and we must all get ready for it, strain every nerve for it. Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. > Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality ! Aye, as has been declared on this soil first, 'love' must conquer hatred, hatred cannot conquer itself. Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by materialism. Armies when they attempt to conquer armies only multiply and make brutes of humanity. Spirituality must conquer the West. Slowly they are finding out that what they want is spirituality to preserve them as nations. They are waiting for it, they are eager for it. " > So, my dear brothers and sisters in tapasyA, let us encourage the > Christian sects to make new converts on the subcontinent. How else will India and Hinduism be able to help her brothers and sisters > worldwide? Any religion practised in the spiritual environment of India, will produce beneficial effects and increase levels of tolerance, which may then be shared with the rest of humanity. > Does this sound reasonable ? > om shanthi om ==================================== E-magazine on science and spirituality. Visit: http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/index.html ==================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 1999 Report Share Posted November 15, 1999 Nothing is possible for us unless we come up as one, united Hindus and the downtrodden, known as Harijans (Mahatma Gandhi christened this name) as one soul of Hindus. Till then, there is no Dharma or no question of vanishing truth from earth. They have been ignored before independence and they are being ignored more even after independence. And that's the reason why they would prefer to convert in to a Christian and have better name in the society. A harijan with the name Suman will be respected by everyone if he is called Samuel. We have hidden so many things under the name of Hinduism. Well, I'll will not argue the same thing against any Christian Missionary/missioners because what they are doing is wrong and at the same time why its being done is the fault of our system.We have not changed a bit after independence. many of us think that we were better under British regime.There are thousands of Panthas in Hinduism and one is confused whom to follow and whom to worship. If some body will ask me a question who is responsible for the present condition of India. I'll definitely say, the educated people and the religious leaders. They have spoiled India. True or false, this is my opinion. - Dr C S Shah <drcssha <Ramakrishna > Saturday, November 13, 1999 9:25 PM Re: [ramakrishna] hullaballoo > Dr C S Shah <drcssha > > SWami Vivekananda once said: " If India dies, there is real danger that > Truth will also vanish from this earth. " (somewhat to this effect). This > predicament lends the concern and urgency to save spiritual treasure of > India. > If this is done by the leaders and saints of other religions we welcome > it; but the fact is that still there is no requisite growth visible in > other religious organizations that should take over the task of keeping > the flame of Advaita Alive! > In whatever crude or ambiguous form it may be alive, only Sanatana > Dharmi (follower of Sanatana Dharma) is the saviour at present. > And because Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda are the torch bearers > of such Principles of Truth, this love for and hope from them! > > dr c s s > -------- > omtatsat wrote: > > > Hindus are BIG ENOUGH to absorb all faiths into their land. They have > > no fear of being dominated. History has proven, time and time again, > > the resilience, the self-invigorating power of Sanatana Dharma, forever modern, forever learning and absorbing. Not mired in ancient > > dogma, but rather searching for new ways to respond to the urgent demand of our very own Sri Swami Lord Vivekananda of Bengal: > > " This is the great ideal before us, and every one must be ready for it - the conquest of the whole world by India - nothing less than that, and we must all get ready for it, strain every nerve for it. Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. > > Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality ! Aye, as has been declared on this soil first, 'love' must conquer hatred, hatred cannot conquer itself. Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by materialism. Armies when they attempt to conquer armies only multiply and make brutes of humanity. Spirituality must conquer the West. Slowly they are finding out that what they want is spirituality to preserve them as nations. They are waiting for it, they are eager for it. " > > So, my dear brothers and sisters in tapasyA, let us encourage the > > Christian sects to make new converts on the subcontinent. How else will India and Hinduism be able to help her brothers and sisters > > worldwide? Any religion practised in the spiritual environment of India, will produce beneficial effects and increase levels of tolerance, which may then be shared with the rest of humanity. > > Does this sound reasonable ? > > om shanthi om > ==================================== > E-magazine on science and spirituality. Visit: > http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/index.html > ==================================== > > > Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah > Vivekananda Centre London > http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 1999 Report Share Posted November 15, 1999 Dear Ramakrishna list members I think that the response in India certainly does not arise out of feeling that Christian religious ideas " threaten " Hindus in any way. I heard this biblical story yesterday. When god gave Moses the ten commandments and asked him to enjoin them upon his followers, Moses asked god " Who am I to say gave this to me? " God said " I am that I am " . What a wonderful statement. Just a literal translation of " Om Tat Sat " . Sri Ramana Maharshi has quoted the above biblical statement several times when asked to summarise his teaching. I personally cannot in any way look differently upon the Christian teachings and Hinduism than I can differentiate between, say, the followers of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramana Maharshi. Any discomfort that exists in India , if I may say so, has its roots in what maybe called the difference between religiosity and spirituality. Missionaries and Converted christians in India (irrespective of the caste which they belonged to as Hindus) immediately adopt what I can only call a fanatical attitude denouncing all Hindu philosophy as arrant nonsense purely with the aim of increasing their own flock in India. For instance, Krishna is denounced as a war-monger for asking Arjuna to fight (in contrast with Christ's injunction to show the other cheek), as a womaniser when they understand nothing about the significance of Rasaleela. All kinds of ridiculous stories are circulated in pamphlets about how Ganesha got his elephant head which could well have been sent to the trashiest magazine in town catering to people's base instincts. The list is endless and I could go on and on with my own experiences. It is such behaviour coupled with the use of economic incentives to conversion (which many view as exploitation of India's poverty) that have given rise to these tensions. I write this mail only as information to my brothers and sisters who may not be very much in the know about happenings at the grass-root level in India. Let us clearly separate religiosity from spirituality and concentrate on imbibing and living the spiritual truths that every realised soul has sought to convey. If my mails on this subject have disturbed anybody's spiritual practices for even a day, please forgive me. Someone asked Sri Ramana Maharshi, " If I realise myself, can I help alleviate suffering the world? " . Bhagawan replied, " If you realise yourself, there is no one else to help " So, if we can realise ourselves, there is no one else to " converted " either. Om Namo Bhagawate Sri Ramakrishnaya Om Namo Bhagawate Sri Ramanaya Glory to the father in heaven Swami >Let us step back and look at the whole picture. A tiny Albanian >girl of eighteen comes to India as a Roman Catholic Nun. She learns >the 'ways of the land' and eventually blends what she has learned from this >ancient culture, together with the 'newer' dispensation >of her own faith, and creates a world-wide INDIAN RELIGIOUS ORDER of >selfless social workers, clad in saris and following strict monastic rules >of conduct. > >Is this good for the world-image of India ? Is this good for Hinduism ? >The answer must ne a resounding YES !!!! > >Whether these are Roman Catholic Nuns & Brothers or not, in the eyes of the >world, this is a Hindustan Organization, and therefore Hindu. > >Hindus are BIG ENOUGH to absorb all faiths into their land. They have >no fear of being dominated. History has proven, time and time again, >the resilience, the self-invigorating power of Sanatana Dharma, forever >modern, forever learning and absorbing. Not mired in ancient >dogma, but rather searching for new ways to respond to the urgent demand of >our very own Sri Swami Lord Vivekananda of Bengal: > > " This is the great ideal before us, and every one must be ready for it - >the conquest of the whole world by India - nothing less than that, and we >must all get ready for it, strain every nerve for it. Let foreigners come >and flood the land with their armies, never mind. >Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality ! Aye, as has been >declared on this soil first, 'love' must conquer hatred, hatred cannot >conquer itself. Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by >materialism. Armies when they attempt to conquer armies only multiply and >make brutes of humanity. Spirituality must conquer the West. Slowly they >are finding out that what they want is spirituality to preserve them as >nations. They are waiting for it, they are eager for it. " > >So, my dear brothers and sisters in tapasyA, let us encourage the >Christian sects to make new converts on the subcontinent. How else will >India and Hinduism be able to help her brothers and sisters >worldwide? Any religion practised in the spiritual environment of India, >will produce beneficial effects and increase levels of tolerance, which may >then be shared with the rest of humanity. > >Does this sound reasonable ? > >om shanthi om > > >____ >123India - India's Premier Search Engine >Get your Free Email Account at http://www.123india.com > > > >------ >Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah >Vivekananda Centre London >http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ ><< text3.html >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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