From: "U. G. Barad" <[email protected]>
I fully agree with the essential force of the Vatican message to the
Hindus
on Diwali.
Under the circumstances, I wonder if there is any need for the Vatican to
continue with a programme of conversion that they are undertaking.
**Dr.U.G.Barad,
It is a pleasure to have a dialogue with you again. For some reasons it was
interrupted, but the Church has to be in dialogue with the world religions
and with the atheists and agnostics.
1.Christian religion is a missionary religion, therefore nobody can stop it.
"Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all nations" (cf.Mk
16:15; Mt 28:16-20), commands the Founder of Christian movement. It is the
Call to Universal Mission. It is the duty of every Christian to witness to
the Person of Jesus, to Truth. Conversion is the work of God in human hearts
as well as that of human freedom. Christianity means transformation of
hearts, of the society, it is human integral development. Christianity is
behind the civilization of love, civilization today. While all work for the
welfare of the world, for a better world, it is the right of each and every
human being to choose the religion of preference. It is the duty and right
of each one to witness to the values and to proclaim them to others, it is
the right of each one to opt for what one prefers. Nobody should object.
Everyone should be open to research and reflection.
2.Christianity can become incarnate in any culture. As Paul VI puts it: "In
the mind of the Lord (Jesus of Nazareth), the Church is universal by
vocation and mission, but when she puts down her roots in a variety of
cultural, social and human terrains, she takes on different external
expressions and appearances in each part of the world" (Evangelii Nuntiandi
n.62). The ideal of a genuine synthesis of Christianity and Hindu religion
was most vigorously pursued by Brahmabandhab Upadhyaya (1861-1907), a
disciple of Keshab C.Sen. Upadhyaya joined the Catholic Church and remained
proud of being a Hindu. He and his companions proclaimed: "We are Hindu
Catholics". He also supplied a rational basis for the claim by pointing out
that the Hindu dharma has two branches: -samaj dharma and -sadhana dharma.
The samaj dharma is concerned with social rules like the daily bath,
abstaining from eating beef and drinking liquor. The sadhana dharma is
concerned with attaining salvation. Hindus, he maintained, are bound by the
samaj dharma, but as far as the sadhana dharma is concerned, a Hindu can
follow any religion. He found that the more strictly he practised the
Catholic faith, the better he grew as a Hindu.
3.Not a few Reformers in India adopted some Christian principles. Thus, Ram
Mohan Roy was impressed by Christ's insistence that the love of God must
find expression in service of one's fellowmen; Mahatma Phule declared
Christ's teaching on the equal dignity of all men as the truth on which
society must be built; Pandita Ramabai saw in Christ's attitude towards
women the hope and salvation of Indian womanhood; Mahatma Gandhi pointed to
Jesus as the Prince of Satyagrahis and wrote: "I shall tell the Hindus; your
lives will be incomplete unless you reverently study the teaching of Jesus"
(M.K.Gandhi: The Message of Christ, Bombay, 1963, p.42). Swami Akhilananda
stated: "The teachings of Jesus are applicable in our daily lives; we still
further to say: "When they are not applied, life is not worth living" (Swami
Akhilananda: Hindu View of Christ, New York, 1049, p.139).
It is, therefore, not surprising that some great Hindus saw the best
hope of India's greatness and prosperity in the total acceptance of the
Christian Religion. They were convinced that Jesus helps Hindus to become
better Hindus and shows the way to make India a better place to live in.
Regards.
Fr.Ivo
* * *
IS YOURS one of the stories of Goans on board the S.S.
Dwarka, or at the Strait of Hormuz, Basra or Bahrain, Dubai,
Swindon, Mombasa, Poona or Rangoon? Selma Carvalho's new book
*Into the Diaspora Wilderness* docks at many other ports. Get
your copy from Broadways, Panjim [9822488564] Rs 295. P&p
extra. http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/
