DESTROYING AND DIGESTING HINDUISM - BREAKING INDIA FORCES Excellent article for all Hindus CHRISTIAN INCULTURATION OF HINDUISM IS RELIGIOUS PROSTITUTION - by B R Haran On 17 December 2014, Rev. Govada Dyvasirvadam, Church of South India Moderator has said, “Controversies such as the aborted Aligarh mass conversion deserve criticism and the politics behind it abhorred for it is creating fissures in the nation’s religious harmony. Every Indian is free to embrace the faith which he/she believes in. Most Christians in this nation are a product of group conversions conducted by missionaries who arrived in these shores several centuries earlier. So, we are not against conversion. But instances like Aligarh seem deliberately magnified by political outfits and such things deserve criticism” (1). It seems for Govada Dyvasirvadam, the “Home Coming” ceremonies conducted by Hindu organizations are “controversies” while the mass conversions conducted by Christian evangelical outfits are “voluntary embracing” of faith by those converted. Though he has admitted the fact that the Christians in India are products of mass conversions happened centuries ago, he has conveniently forgotten to admit the other fact that the Christian establishments continue the same strategies conceived and executed by the European missionaries who arrived in Indian shores five centuries earlier. As the nation has started a debate on Conversions in the aftermath of the ‘Ghar Vapsi’ event in Agra, and since Govada Dyvasirvadam audaciously attempts to criticize the “Ghar Vapsi” programs while deliberately hiding the illegal conversions indulged in by evangelical outfits, it would be in order to take a critical look at Incluturation, an ugly strategy being adopted by the Church, which poses a huge threat to the peace and harmony. In fact, Inculturation happens to be the most potent weapon of the Church to convert Non-Christians. Sample of Inculturation Celebrant: Om Shri Yesu Bhagavate, Namah Om Shri Deva Putraya Namah Om Shri Sat Purushaya Namah Om Shri Yesu Abbishiktaya Namah Om Shri Sad Guruve Namah Om Shri Taraneshaya Namah…. Congregation: Amen. You are the Fullness of Reality, One without a second, Being, Knowledge, Bliss! Om, Tat, Sat! Prasaad Mantra: Celebrant: This is the Bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this Bread will never die. This is the cup of immortal nectar; whoever drinks of this cup will live forever. For the Lord says, “He will have eternal Life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Do you believe this? Cong: Yes, Lord, we believe, for you have the words of eternal Life. Naamajapa (After taking Communion) Jesu Om, Jesu Om . . . Iswara, Iswara . . . Prayers OM! The Supreme Lord may protect us all. The Supreme Lord may diffuse the frutis of knowledge upon us. May we find the strength to achieve highest knowledge! This study will conduct us to Truth! May nobody of us have ever feelings against another. OM: Shanti! Shanti! Shanti! These are excerpts taken from a complete Prayer conducted during the Order of the Mass for the Monastic Meeting in Petersham, Massachusetts in October 1977. The occasion, convened to lay the Foundation for the formation of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue in North America, was sponsored by North American Benedictine and Cistercian Monasteries of Men and Women. Interreligious Dialogue and Inculturation are “Twin Strategies” adopted by the Church to plant the Cross all over and to Christianise non-Christian nations. The ritual shown above is just a sample of this Inculturation Technique. What is Inculturation? The Oxford Dictionary defines Inculturation as the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a culture or group by a person, another culture, etc. Simply put, Inculturation is the adaptation of Christian liturgy to a non-Christian cultural background. Translation plays a vital role in Inculturation. In his paper presented at the International Conference on “Rethinking Translation” at Milwaukee on 10 June 1995, Stephen M. Beall, Ph.D., quotes the declaration made by Pope Paul VI in 1965 that, “vernacular languages had become vox ecclesi, the “voice of the Church” (EDIL482). Stephen avers that, “On the one hand, the pastors of the Church are committed to the right of Catholics to enjoy their own cultures and to pray in their own language. On the other, they feel an obligation to preserve a certain unity in the way in which all Catholics think and pray. When these values seem to come into conflict, translation becomes a controversial procedure.” Observing that the “Key” to the whole matter is “Inculturation”, Stephen defines Inculturation in the words of Aylward Shorter, as, “the creative and dynamic relationship between the Christian message and a culture or cultures”. He also quotes liturgist, Father Anscar Chupungco that, “the liturgy must think, speak, and ritualize according to the local cultural pattern.” (2) Stephen also says that, “This approach to faith and culture can be traced in part to the documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially Gaudium et Spes.” The Vatican wanted the Bible to reach the non-Christians in their own language and hence applied this approach. In fact, this approach was adopted by the European Christian Missionaries right from the day they landed on Indian soil. Learn all native things Culturally and religiously strong India was a challenge to the European Missionaries. Very soon after landing on India, they realized that their evangelical activities would not bear fruits without the help of the native languages. By learning the native languages and getting to know about the native literatures, they could understand the cultural and religious traditions being practiced by the native people. This in turn helped them to devise different strategies for conversion. Learning of the native languages helped them in two ways. First, they could translate the native literatures into their European Languages and sent them to their masters, so that, they could realise the extent of manpower, money power and political power needed to destroy this ancient culture and convert a spiritually strong India. Secondly, they could translate Bible in vernacular languages, which helped them to reach the native people more comfortably. Inculturation is the adaptation of Christian liturgy to a non-Christian cultural background. Starting from the 16th century, Christian aggression slowly spread to many parts of India. The Portuguese, Dutch, French, German and British establishments landed in places such as Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal and the North-East, etc., in the guise of trade and missions, started encroaching fast and armed invasions followed suit. Padres as Brahmins, Munivars and Iyers The man who laid the foundation of inculturation was the Italian priest Robert de Nobili (1577-1656). He learnt Sanskrit and Tamil, wore saffron robes, sacred thread (a small Cross attached to it!) and sandal mark on forehead and called himself a ‘Roman Brahmin’. He set up an “Ashram” in Madurai, became a vegetarian and wore “Pathukas” (wooden footwear). He claimed the Bible was the “Lost Veda”, the “Jesuit Veda” revealed by God, and was considerably successful in harvesting souls. Nobili is supposed to have written some 15 books apart from preparing a Portuguese-Tamil Dictionary. He is credited with the insertion of many Biblical terms in Tamil. Following his footsteps, Italian Missionary Constantine Joseph Beschi (1680-1746), called himself Veeramaamunivar (Veer-Maha-Munivar) to pretend he was a great lover of Tamil. Outwardly conducting himself like a Hindu Sanyasi, he took care of the conversion business in the districts of Thiruchi, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Thirunelveli and Thanjavur. He built three Churches, Poondi Matha Shrine in Thanjavur, Periyanayaki Matha Shrine in Cudalore and Adaikala Madha Shrine in Elakurichi near Thiruchi. His work on a biography of St. Joseph, Thembaavani, was hyped as a great work and projected as equivalent to Kambar’s Ramayana! He also came out with another work, Paramartha Guruvum Avarin Seedarkalum (Paramartha Guru and his Disciples), to ridicule our centuries old ‘Guru-Sishya Parampara.’ FOR MORE indiafacts.co.in/christian-inculturation-hinduism-religious-prostitution/#.VKvyjCvF8bg
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 15:51:36 +0000
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