Hindus Fighting Back Christian Conversion

[Guest guest]

No all is lost. Hindu organizations are fighting back with their full force as well. To show off their strength they are organizing a huge "Shabari Kumbh Mela" in Dang, Gujrat. Nearly 1 million tribals are expected to come together and claim themselves to be hindu. More details on http://www.shabarikumbh.org

 

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A huge kumbh (religious gathering) of Hindus is on the cards on February 11, 12 and 13, 2006. Named Shabri Kumbh it promises to be an unprecedented assembly of awakened Hindus. The Kumbh will be the culmination of sustained efforts towards awakening the Hindus in general and the vanavasi Hindus in the Dang region of Gujarat in particular.

 

Vanavasi Hindus target of Christian missionary offensive

 

For long, Bharat has been a special target of the Christian Church worldwide. To the Church, the Hindus represent the greatest stumbling block in their grand design to establish Christs kingdom on earth. The poor, illiterate, mild Vanvasi Hindu is an obvious target in this nefarious scheme. For years, under the garb of social service, the Church has been spreading its tentacles in far-flung, tribal regions of our country. These converted vanavasis become alienated from their customs and traditions. They get uprooted from their cultural milieu. Conversion to Christianity is invariably associated with separatism and terrorism as is evident in North-East Bharat. There are several areas in our country which have become hotbeds of christian missionary activity. The Dang district in Gujarat is one such area. The word Dang is a corruption of Dandakaranya, the legendary forest where Sri Rama and Lakshman spent some time while in exile. It is in this region that Shabari Mata, the immortal devotee of Sri Rama met her Lord and lovingly offered him sweet berries which she had tasted herself. The spot where this meeting took place is located on Chamak hill in this region. There is a temple of Shabari Mata at this site. The picturesque Pampa sarovar (lake) is located in this region. Situated on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, this district is predominantly inhabited by vanavasi

Hindus. The district has 352 villages; the district headquarter is Ahwa. The town of Navapur in Maharashtra is close to the Dang district of Gujarat.

 

It is pertinent to note that the first church was established in Dang district in 1904. Since then, conversions to Christianity had been progressing at an alarming rate. In the period 1991-2001, the Christian population grew by a massive 400 per cent! The process of self-alienation and separatism which inevitably accompanies conversion had become visible in Dang. Makeshift, illegal churches had mushroomed in cowsheds and residential areas. These churches were unregistered and illegal. Such was the terrorism of Christian activists that it had become unsafe for Hindus to move out of their houses after dusk. It was in the midst of such hostile conditions that a Hindu swami descended upon Dang

 

Arrival of Swami Aseemananda

 

Swami Aseemananda, a Hindu sannyasi heads the shraddha vibhag of the Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. For over 50 years, the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram has been doing yeoman work in the vanavasi regions of Bharat. A Bengali by birth, Swamiji has spent several years in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. His innovative and bold methods in arousing the latent feeling of Hindutva amongst the vanavasis have made him a byword in the field of Hindu awakening. Little wonder then that Christian zealots have made many murderous attempts on his life. Deeply concerned by the Christianization of Dang, Swamiji resolved to stay in Dang and foil the designs of Christian missionaries. It was in August 1997 that this saffron-clad sannyasi set foot in Dang. All that he carried with him in this unfamiliar and hostile terrain were around 500 lockets of Hanuman and an unshakeable resolve! He would knock at the door of each house and would ask the inmates one question, “Are you Hindu or christian?” At the house of one such Hindu, Swamiji asked him, “May I spend the night in your house?” The Hindu gladly welcomed Swamiji. Swamiji kept his luggage, distributed the Hanuman lockets to the children and asked them to bring their Hindu friends in the evening for a Ram katha. That night, Dang witnessed the first ever Dharma sabha. Sensing danger, Christian missionaries asked Swamiji, “What brings you here?” The Swami posed them the same question. We have come here to serve the people replied the Christian missionaries. “I have come here to drive away those who have come here to serve” retorted the Swami. That was the beginning of the Hindu awakening in the Dangs.

 

Hindu awakening in the Dangs

In 1998, 25000 Christians embraced the religion of their forefathers in just two months. The submissive Hindu who had been hitherto terrorized by the Christian missionaries began to assert himself. “Hindu jaage, Christi bhaage” became a popular slogan of the vanavasis of Dang. From 1998-2004, a total of 55 Vishal Hindu Sammelans were organized. These were attended by a total of four lakh Hindus. As Hindus objected to conversion activities of Christian missionaries, clashes broke out.

The so-called mainstream media used this pretext to tarnish the Hindus. In December 2004, press reporters from 40 countries descended upon the Dangs and spread a misinformation campaign. As a result, the court restrained the Hindus from conducting any public ceremony around Christmas in future. Meanwhile, the tide of Hindu awakening only swelled. Today, Christian conversion activities have come to a halt not only in Dangs but also in the surrounding twelve districts.

 

In 2002, Hindu activists approached the famed Ramayana kathakar Sri Morari Bapu and told him, “You mesmerise thousands with Ram Katha. We request you to organize Ram Katha in Dang wher Sri Rama himself spent some time”. Sri Morari Bapu readily agreed. The tremendous response overwhelmed Sri Morari . In the course of his speech, he spontaneously expressed the desire that a formal kumbh be organized at the spot where Shabari Mata had met Sri Rama. Sri Morari Bapus desire was taken up as an order to be implemented. Thus was born the idea of Shabari kumbh.

 

Scale of the Shabari Kumbh

 

Organizing a kumbh in a remote, heavily forested area is a nightmare as far as logistics is concerned. It requires steely resolve, meticulous planning and precision to make the programme a grand success. The 352 villages in Dang district had no electricity, or roads; the town of Ahwa is a good 35 km from the proposed site of the kumbh There are no medical facilities or eateries in the vicinity. But the famed organizational might of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other like-minded organizations is in full gear. Realizing the importance of such a venture to the state of Gujarat, the state government of Shri Narendra Modi has extended full co-operation. Planning started atleast one and a half years ago. A 250-200 hectare site has been chosen for the kumbh. The state government has undertaken construction of roads on a war footing. All the 352 villages of Dang have got electrification. A total of 22 check dams have been built on the river that feeds the Pampa sarovar where the holy bath will take place. A total of 20 lakh vanavasis reside in an area of 80 km around Dang. A survey of 5000 villages in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh was completed in the initial phase. Around 30-35 lakh vanavasis were contacted in this massive exercise. An estimated six lakh Hindus will attend the kumbh; of these, around two lakh are likely to stay for all three days. To arrange for their lodging, 40 townships each with a capacity of 5000 people will be erected. Each township will have 100 workers to look after various arrangements such as security, food, medical aid etc. Thus a total of 4000 workers will be required to look after the arrangements in the townships; an additional 2000 workers will be involved in other arrangemets.

 

About 388 vanavasi janajatis and 137 urban jatis which are currently facing missionary onslaught will be represented at the kumbh. Further, dharmacharyas from all over the country including 800 vanavasi sants will be attending the kumbh and taking part in the deliberations.

 

Each participant will be given a locket of his ishtadevata; Around 20 lakh lockets, 5 lakh Hanuman chalisa and 5 lakh bhagwa dhwaj will be distributed.

 

More at http://www.shabarikumbh.org

[Guest guest]

 

No all is lost. Hindu organizations are fighting back with their full force as well. To show off their strength they are organizing a huge "Shabari Kumbh Mela" in Dang, Gujrat. Nearly 1 million tribals are expected to come together and claim themselves to be hindu.

 

 

Muslims come and throw meat in the mouth of a hindu and suddenly he is an outcaste from the other hindus. Christians give rice to hungry people and they become christians to keep the rice coming. Western Christians become hindus because of the "far-out factor" of the exotic

scene and culture.

 

Muslims are now bombing everyone in sight and Hindus are trying to rally themselves into a "I'm a Hindu" frenzy while most christians are busy trying to enjoy the world through their sense before God blows it up.

 

Really quite a wild bunch we have here.

 

Now if these 1 million tribals were coming together to proclaim themselves spiritsoul and the eternal servants of Krsna it would be very meaningful, but as it is described it's simply useless.

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Jesus...

 

I want to convert the whole world to your teachings.

 

You said that I should help the poor, but I will only feed them, clothe them, house them if they convert to christianity. Non believers starve and are poor because they have regreted your teachings.

 

Charity should have conditions....

[Guest guest]

You make an excellent point. Charity should be unconditional. Why can't they feed the hungry Hindus and let them be remain Hindus?

 

What reasons could there be for this?

 

Obvious need for control is one. They should feed the poor because Christ said to feed the poor. He made no such conditions. He never taught this silly conversions business. He taught love of God and other living beings as the essence of religion. So they are interested in control more than serving Christ.

 

Not just in India. In the boweries of the major cities where the alcoholics are centralized it is often the case that Christian missions hold food distribution programs . They do the same thing. I sat in on one. Before they let these hungry drunks eat they have to sit through a sermon. If they don't sit through the sermon they don't eat.

 

I have seen similar things pop up at Berkeley temple over the years. People get invited over for lunch. Someone comes and they are made to do some chores before they allowed to eat or afterwards to pay for it. "you had your rice now wash pots, Krishna will be very pleased." Apparently they got so fed up with people coming by for lunch prasad that they closed the temple during the daytime. Locked the doors.

 

With the Christians they have this extra pressure based on ignorance but one that is there notheless. Since they don't understand reincarnation they worry that the people they are feeding will go to hell and be lost unless they become Christian, so they have to act fast.

 

Of course all this leads to even a bigger question in my mind. Since there is all this active Hinduism in India why are there so many hungry people in the first place?

[Guest guest]

I agree. Charity should be out of love. So should conversion.

[Guest guest]

Given out of love. And if not out of love then out of duty until love develops.

 

But conversion is not something formal. It is really a change of heart.

 

All these switching of religious labels signs and icongraphy will not help us if we are unwilling to actually love the Lord.