False Gurus and Organizations in Christianity

[Eastern Mind]

Dropping the Bible in the nearest river?! I still keep the tiny pocket Bible-NT (KJV) that I was given way back in 1970 when I studied at the St.Joseph's College, Trichy. It has survived the flashfloods that inundated our area in 1976 when the Kauvery was overflowing. Although I never had any need to go through it and have been using it all along as a paperweight, I don't regret having to occasioinally refer to it now when I feel the need to protest when someone here tries to extrapolate its quotes.

So lets all try to keep Christianity away from all HINDU forums except the one here on Christianity.

Rest was deleted by me for breaking this thought.


Aum Namasivaya

[MahaHrada]

Vanakkam Saidevo: You see what I mean? St. Josephs College? I remember a quote my Guru used taken from some Catholic Bishop Whatever in Jaffna. "We may not make them Catholics, but at least they will never be good Hindus again." I think you should have a funeral service for your paperweight. Sit by the banks of the mighty Cauvery, start a small 'funeral pyre' and burn it. Then cast the ashes into the Cauvery physically and mentally pray for the remaining thoughts you obtained from that college to float away with the ashes. Then go to a nice little Indian shop and buy yourself a new paperweight. Might I suggest a small brass or stone murthi of Lord Ganesha. He will make a much better paperweight anyway. Then please make a stop back at Trichy and go to the Uchi Pillaiyar atop the rock. Take the Ganesha with you and have the priest hold it against the famed Pillaiyar there for blessings. In fact, if you give me your address I will send you a personal cheque and I will buy you that paperweight. It can be my randon act of kindness for today. I am dead serious.

Just to let you know, next January I will be back in India with my wife. We're doing the Araipadaveedu pilgrimage over 13 days (two days at each temple except for Palani which is 3.) Maybe I can personally hand you a new paperweight somewhere near Swamimalai.

Aum Namasivaya

And i thought only muslims, christians, communists and fascists are burning books. That obviously was a mistake. This is very sad. The idea to use a murti as a paperweight is also very inappropriate to say the least.

[Eastern Mind]

And i thought only muslims, christians, communists and fascists are burning books. That obviously was a mistake. This is very sad. The idea to use a murti as a paperweight is also very inappropriate to say the least.

Deleted by EM for breaking this thought:
So lets all try to keep Christianity away from all HINDU forums except the one here on Christianity.
Aum Namasivaya

[MahaHrada]

So it is more appropriate for a Hindu to carry a constant reminder of another foreign belief system than it is to carry a reminder of his own? Preposterous.
Perhaps carrying a small murthi is inappropriate, I give you that. Maybe a simple rock would do. Any simple paperweight besides the Christian reminder one then. And I suppose you could just return the Bible to whomever gave it to you in the first place. I find Hindus just too polite sometimes. If a proseltyser comes to the door offering bible, the Hindu just takes it in and adds it to his collection of holy books. Imagine what the Christian would say it in return he was offered a copy of Gita. He'd refuse it.

The river sadhana I was referring to is one that is carried on all over... at the Ganges, at the Cauvery ... it is a mystical method of releasing negative thoughtforms. Obviously another idea ... mysticism ... that the Christians have managed to have taken out of the Sanatana Dharma.

Hindus are more polite (weak) than atheists. Here in the west for quite some time the Gideons (proselytysers specialising in Bibles.. think hotel rooms) had a deal with the educational system to distribute bibles to all grade 5 students, regardless of faith. I recall vividly the day a student named Dennis approached my desk one day after the fact. He said, "I don't want this thing. My Dad will kill me if I bring it home. Mr. M., what should I do?"

Without hesitation, I said, "Throw it in the garbage on the way home then." I have no regrets about the wise instruction.

Aum Namasivaya

With proposed book burning you introduce barbaric behaviour into Hinduism, that has no place there. The written word is sarasvati , vak devi herself and is treated with respect. If you want to dispose of something written it is done in a respectful way.

" But Hindu states always supported religious pluralism; Hindu tradition never stifled debate, never stood in the way of science, and in its early stage even incorporated and encouraged it.

Hindu India has had no history of book-burning, of executing heretics or confining dissidents to lunatic asylums. The Buddha could preach his heterodox doctrine till his old age without ever being persecuted. As Dutch indologist Sjoerd de Vries writes: "In Indian society, an amazing tolerance vis-a-vis people of unusual opinions has existed for ages.... Only very few instances are known where conflicts have erupted for the sake of religion. Not until the advent of Islam did India get acquainted with religious persecution."

KOENRAAD ELST

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules...hp?itemid=3087

Take a look at what kind of persons did indulge in book burning in history and for what reasons and you will see how barbaric and despicable this custom is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning

[Eastern Mind]

Deleted by EM for breaking this thought:
So lets all try to keep Christianity away from all HINDU forums except the one here on Christianity.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ganeshprasad]

Pranam EM ji MahaHrada ji
I agree with MahaHrrda on burning off books it certainly sounds horrific so on principle I would not wilfully do that act of disrespecting vak devi (although it is bizarre how devi is reduced to demigod by some hindu),
Vidya in the form of books even exercise books were treated with respect well that was the standard in my days.

But I understand where EMji is coming from because I would reject out right any one shoving their scripture in my face. So how would I dispose off bible if I had it in my possession? Not in a way if I were to hurt some ones feelings not in a wilful way that would rebound on our character. I remember seeing this hindu lady on you tube rejecting Ganesh Murti breaking it when she embraced Islam. Now I would not like to be like them. EM ji please do not take this as criticism because like you I advise any Hindu to reject Bible only I find drastic burning brings a different dimension to our Hindu way of thinking.
On the subject of disposing a question arises, we frequently get flyers, calendars etc in the post where gods are present how do we dispose them?
Jai Shree Krishna

[Ekanta]

I must tell a "funny" story. First time I was in India and visited a temple I sat outside waiting and had brought a book with me. Since it took some time to open I decided to sit on the book... I remember several indians became quite upset by this... I asked why and it was the story of Vak... I dont sit on books after that, and neither do I put them on the ground. [it wasnt a bible] ops! I mentioned the forbidden word.

[Sagefrakrobatik]

namaste.



You are making a sweeping generalization about Hindu religious leaders and institutions. Can you prove what you say by giving an example of a Hindu religious institution that exploited "the people economically and not give anything back to the commmunity"?

What is your 'test' against the Christian leaders and institutions? What would you say to this thread that highlights that Mother Teresa was not what she seemed to be?
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...ghlight=Teresa

Or to the posts where Yajvan has given some clinching stats of the "behavior of priests" in Churches?

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...9&postcount=19
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...2&postcount=17

Perhaps with this purpose you have stated in your profile:

"I study all religions. I want to know why so many Hindus belief in a religion with little proof. where as in Christianity or Islam..."

your agenda is clear.

First of all I didnt make those comments I was refrencing someone else know that i think of it let me correct myself i think the word he used was superstions.

I would be more than happy to see you provide me with a list of hindu based organizations that provide the community; so far all I know are three. BAPS, Ramakrishna Mission, and ISKON. When I was in India we visited Ama's Ashram so I will count that as well.

It is well known that the church has a problem with pedophile. So that really is not saying much.

I put my profile quote purposely in hopes that someone like you would challenge me otherwise.

The only reason why i refrenced the bible was because I am re-reading it now and underlying everything I think is important. Currently I am reading the New Testment I am near the end of the Acts of the Apostles. I will soon start reading a concise version of the Mahabarta side by side with the new testment. Last few months I was reading the Old Testment and the Ramyana. So my post is a reflection of something I read in the bible recently that i thought was relatable.

[devotee]

Namaste all,

Once I was invited by one of our business partners to X-mas celebrations. I went there with my family. The atmosphere during such Abrahmic celebrations is quite different from Hindu Pooja ceremonies during auspicious days. People were giving lectures ... girls singing carols ... and then dinner ... didn't appear to me an atmosphere of of devotion (may be I was biased) ...

There I was handed over a copy of New Testament. I have read it. I keep it along with my other religious books ... Upanishads, Ashtavakra Gita, Books on Buddhism, Islam etc.

Books are considered a form of Maa Sarasvati in Hindu Dharma. So, all books, even blank notebooks (also pens, pencils, cutter etc. related with reading writing) are revered in Hinduism.

And what I find very impressive in all books that in spite of containing so much different & contradictory ideas within them they don't fight ! Now, that is true Hinduism !!

OM

[saidevo]

namaste EM and other members.

EM, I admire your courage and wisdom in deleting the portion of your post relating to the way you suggested for disposing the Bible-NT I was given in college 40 years back. Now that the post is suitably edited by EM, I request members not to flog a dead horse.

I should furnish one thing here for the sake of record: The Catholic Christians under the banner of 'SJ' (Society of Jesus) who ran the affairs of the St.Joseph's College, Trichy, NEVER EVER tried in any way to thrust their religion on us Hindus who were the cream and the majority among their students and comprised nearly 50% of their teaching and non-teaching staff members. The pocket Bible-NT copy that each student was given was just a routine: there were no sermons under the guise of moral science classes or any efforts of conversion in any manner.

I am proud to have studied in that college, which provided the best education in the city in those days in Arts and Sciences. In the Physics Department I was attached to, the two leading and seniormost professors were orthodox South Indian brahmins: Prof.L.K.KrishNamUrti and Prof.K.Anantha Padmanabhan. Their classes were always in full attendance and their lectures were heavenly. Although the departments were headed by the Christian Fathers, or other Christian professors, the Hindu lecturers were acclaimed for their scholarship. Many of them proudly wore their religious marks on their foreheads.

We Hindu students felt thoroughly at home in the College, which was older than the Madras University it was affiliated to, by 25 years. The College knew and appreciated that it owed its fame and name to the bright Hindu students who brought them the laurels. In fact, during the first year of our graduate course, the College declared a holiday for itself on the day of AvaNi AviTTam, the day when the Hindu brahmins changed their sacred thread. It was the first time in the history of St.Joseph's that the College dared to declare a holiday for an orthodox Brahmin Hindu ceremony.

We never had any ideas then about the conversion efforts of the Christians and saw none of it in our ancient city or college campus. Some of my close friends were Christians. As we had no university exams in the first year of the graduation courses in those days, I devoted much of my time studying English literature, which was a passion for me in those days. The Library Warden who was a Reverend Christian gladly gave me special permission to their reference section meant only for the MA (English) students. An Anglo-Indian lecturer by name Keith Matthews (a boyish-looking young man always dressed in tights) was my mentor in my adventures with English verse. Besides him, I used to show my poetic compositions to an Anglo-Indian friend of mine, who was also the cynosure of the class. When I gave him my poem on Deepavali to read, he gave it back with a small note suggesting that when I write about an Eastern festival, I should not permeate the atmosphere with that of the West (In my poem, I had imagined Ram and Rahim to celebrate Deepavali at our orthodox Hindu home along with John and Jill).

The SJC has earned an entry in the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph's_College,_Tiruchirapalli. It has its own website today at http://www.sjctni.edu/ (link currently not working though).

I had no idea about the Christian concept of God in those days. Yet I saw God in their discipline and religious asceticism, the cleanliness of their surroundings, the way they felt proud of their heritage and such other things, which inspired me to have some of them in my own religious rigours.