Fooling Around With Faith

New Delhi, Nov 15, 1999: The conversion controversy has kicked up a storm as unwelcome as the Orissa cyclone. On October 25, 1999, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest US Protestant group issued a prayer booklet for its 41,000 church members to "pray for Hindus lost in darkness" during the Hindu festival of Diwali. Its International Mission Board said in a press release that the 12 days of prayer would be "aimed at dispelling the darkness that holds more than 900 million Hindus in spiritual bondage."

The content of this prayer book was even more appalling than what the original protests indicated. The booklet calls Hindus "slaves bound by fear". The goddess Kali is described as the "evil goddess of destruction." The booklet also claims that "Satan has retained his hold on Calcutta."

Hindus across the world has denounced this call as "illiterate and offensive."

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In India, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman said: "First, India is more religious than any other country in the world. Morally, it is more Christian than any other Christian country. Secondly, is it not an insult to India to tell Hindus that they are all sinners and that only Jesus can save them?"

White House Press secretary Joe Lockhart said at a Press briefing on November 8, 1999: "You have all heard the President speak very passionately about the need of religious freedom and expression. I think the Pope has made important statements on the subject over the weekend in India and it is something that we should practice here at home too."

The Kathmandu-based World Hindu Federation said the Southern Baptist Convention was misguiding people and its claim to provide salvation was a "farce".

"Those who believe in one god, one book and one messenger, they talk of conversion. Hindus have many gods and many messengers and we do not believe in conversion," said a spokesman for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu hardline organisation.

The Hindu Students Council, the largest Hindu student group in the US and Canada, said in a statement: "Ironically, while the booklet states that Hindus have no "concept of sin or personal responsibility," Hindus around the world were praying to God so that everyone, regardless of their religious belief, be "led from ignorance to truth" and "darkness to light." During Diwali and year-round, Hindus in the U.S. seek to propagate the ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The Entire Universe is One Family) and Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahudha Vadanti (Truth is One, Sages call It by different names).

The Convenor of American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD), a coalition representing several major Hindu organizations in North America said in Press release: "By denouncing and denigrating the Hindu Dharma, Hindu philosophy, Hindu way of worship and the Gods and Goddesses Hindus hold dear, the Southern Baptist Convention has sought to prejudice the vast majority of American population from accepting this rich philosophical and religious tradition. The attack on Hindu faith, we believe, is nothing short of blow to multiculturalism in USA". "When one seeks to convert a person to another faith, it is implicit that those who seek to convert do not consider all religious paths to be leading to the same God. It is the religio-cultural superiority complex that leads to all attempts of conversion", the statement added.

"They are trying to throw a challenge to us. We Hindus are prepared to accept the challenge. They cannot convert Hindus by and large. It is just not possible,'' said Acharya Giriraj Kishore of the World Hindu Council.

David Frawley, an American Hindu teacher in a statement on the Southern Baptist booklet said: "While one cannot call the member of another race a nigger today, one can still call the member of another religion a devil-worshipper, which is actually a worse statement of denigration. In the modern world we must recognize pluralism not only of races and cultures but also of religion, which means that Christianity is not the only way. Such religious hate statements should no longer be tolerated and the organizations promoting them should be challenged".

The Bottom Line
During Diwali Pope John Paul II was in India. The Eucharist that the Pope performed on the Diwali day is notable. The altar was decorated with Diwali lamps, the Pope had a tilak marked on his forehead and his speech was bristled with references to the festival of light. If this is any indication, cultural exchange, global oneness and growing religious assimilation will be the order of the day in the unfolding millennium.

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