• What you ought to know about Hindu Dharma
• What Every Hindu ought to know--I
• What Every Hindu ought to know--II
Dec 12, 2005
Himalayan heights of religious bigotry in the 21st century
Contents:
====================
Russian Archbishop Calls Lord Krishna an "Evil demon"
-- Press release of Hindu Council UK
Archbishop Nikon writes to the Mayor of Moscow
-- Complete Text of his Letter
World Hindus furious
-- Hindu Forum, UK
Krishna 'evil demon', says Russian Orthodox Archbishop
-- By Ruth Gledhill, Timesonline, UK
Comments from the readers
-- Posted at Timesonline, UK
Archbishop Nikon: Construction of Krishna temple in Moscow insults Russian religious culture
-- By Interfax-Religion
-- By Srinivasan Kalyanaraman
The archbishops remarks are racist pure and simple.
-- Radha Rajan
Hindus condemn Russian Archbishop's comments against Krishna
-- By Rediff
Hinduism and Christianity: Poles Apart or Parallel
-- By Sudeep Roy
Comment from the readers
-- Posted at hsc Samskar
In Hyderabad, India, Hindus have to convert to Christianity to get admission to the B.Ed course
-- By N. Krishna
Indian Missionaries Get Rs.600 crores for Tsunami Conversions from UK
-- By S. Anand, Outlook India
Son of God of unholy Hindu parents!
-- Satiricus, Organiser
====================
Also read:
High-ranking clergyman spits at the sun!
http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com/2005/12/high-ranking-clergyman-spits-at-sun.html
====================
In a nutshell:
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A High-ranking clergyman spat at the sun! Lo! The spittle splattered on his face and he made himself a fool of an ass!
When the Russian Archbishop poured venom on Lord Krishna, he only betrayed the Himalayan heights of the Christian intolerance and bigotry! "His intemperate and uncouth utterance sums up the attitude of the Christian church towards other religions. Hindus have to wake up and realize that just because their religion preaches and practices tolerance and harmony that does not mean that other religions also preach the same. In fact, they preach the opposite".
Indeed, the Archbishop is a classic example of the Himalayan heights of religious bigotry in the 21st century
"Archbishop representing the Orthodox Church which is involved in the Iraqi payoffs now takes on Hindu…. When Churches talk money, they also talk hatred. That is the nature of money, the hall-mark of Western Civilization", as rightly pointed out by Srinivasan Kalyanaraman.
"Table 3, allocations to non-contractual beneficiaries, list the impressive levels of allocations made to Russia-Communist Party running into millions of dollars. One entry from Table 3, Summary of Oil sales by non-contractual beneficiary, is as follows:
"Impexoil LLC, Russia; No. of contracts 4; Non-contractual beneficiaries for one or more contracts: Orthodox Church; Russia-Peace and Unity Party; Voloshin, Mr.; Barrels allocated: 7,850,000; Barrels lifted: 5,487,799; Contract value $117,949,145.
"Note the footnote in the Volcker Table 3: Beneficiary: The name of the individuals and entities other than the named contracting party that were named in the Ministry of Oil records as intended beneficiary of the oil allocation. In some instances, the named beneficiary is an official of the contracting party. The entities are listed in alphabetical order by the name as transliterated from Arabic. For the purposes of creating the table, when an individual entity was referred to under different variations of his/her name, a standardized version of the name was created by the Committee (Source: SOMO allocation records). Summary of Oil Sales by Non-Contractual Beneficiary, Table 3 (60 pages pdf document)."
Hindus, the world over, have condemned Archbishop's comments. When the high-ranking clergyman called Lord Krishna an "Evil demon", Mrs. Radha Raja was not at all surprised. To her "The Archbishop's remarks are racist pure and simple"
"Russians, like most or all White skins, are racists. I have personally never experienced racism because it is very difficult to get racist with some of us without inviting a public scene and I am not afraid of creating a scene even if I don't get public support. The idea is to create the scene to frighten the racists.
"Racism is barely beneath the surface in Russia as it is in the US and the UK. I have felt it in all three countries. Most black and brown ppl put up with it silently -- including intellectual racist attitudes if you all know what I mean.
"This Russian's opinion of Lord Sri Krishna is racist white Christian attitude to other cultures. The archbishops remarks are racist pure and simple".
****************************************
Russian Archbishop Calls Lord Krishna an "Evil demon"
Hindu Council UK
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2005/12/11.shtml#2
LONDON, ENGLAND, December 9, 2005: HPI note: The Hindu Council UK (office@hinducounciluk.org) sends the following press release. The first half explains the issue, and the second is the actual letter from the Archbishop to the Mayor of Moscow, a letter no doubt to become a classic exposition of religious bigotry in the 21st century.
Press release begins:
Hindus all over the world have expressed outrage and anger after a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nikon called the Hindu God, Lord Krishna an "evil demon" around the time of Indian Prime Minister's state visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Putin. In a letter to the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, wired by Interfax news agency on November 30, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Nikon called Lord Krishna "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God," and "a livid lascivious youth." The Archbishop further requested the Mayor to ban construction of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise become "an idolatrous disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and malicious 'god' Krishna." "Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia," Interfax quoted Archbishop Nikon as saying.
"We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural coexistence, a leader of the Russian Church chooses to make statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to one billion Hindus in the world," said Kishore Ruparelia, speaking on behalf of the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign launched in London last week. "The motives for spreading such hatred are clear - it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple," explained Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain. "It is unbelievable that a leader of such a powerful Church can make such disgraceful and dogmatic attempts to instigate tension between different religions. This is completely against all principles of multi-faith coexistence and cooperation that ancient and inclusive religious traditions like Hinduism stand for."
"The statement by Archbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church has hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus worldwide," commented O. P. Sharma, President of the National Council of Hindu Temples UK. "It is an insult to the tradition of tolerance, peace and inclusivity that Hinduism stands for, and highlights the resentment that dogmatic and exclusive views on religion can generate."
The president of the Association of Indians in Russia, Sanjeet K. Jha, said, "For centuries faith in Lord Krishna has been the very foundation of the Indian tradition of tolerance and respect for all religions and for all life. Therefore the shower of offences that Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts."
According to several Moscow-based Indians, the discriminatory move by the Moscow government, the harassment of Indians by Russian ultra-nationalistic groups, inspired by open hostility of some Church leaders towards Hinduism, is making Russia a less than appealing place for Indians to live. "Hindus are one of the world's most peaceful communities," commented Dr. Girdhari Bhan, President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK. "In most countries of the world, the Hindu diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nikon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements that will surely be rejected by people of common sense and dignity."
"It is difficult to understand why a Hindu temple poses a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church in this day of respect and tolerance," added Ramesh Kallidai. "The only Hindu temple in Moscow had been demolished last year, leaving some 15,000 Indians and 10,000 Russian followers of Hinduism without a place of worship. Now the Mayor of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church are together trying to stop Hindus from having a place of their own."
According to Mr. Jha, In January 2004, the Mayor of Moscow Mr. Luzhkov signed a decree allocating land in northwest Moscow for construction of a new temple in place of the demolished one. This was followed by mass protests orchestrated by the Russian Orthodox Church against the building of the temple. In October, 2005, the Mayor repealed the decree and gave the order to remove a temporary Hindu shrine that devotees had erected from the allocated land.
"Now, the Russian Hindu community in Moscow have no place to house the consecrated Deities they had worshipped for the last decade," claimed Dr. Mihir Meghani, President of the Hindu American Foundation. "This is a pity because this was the only Hindu temple in Moscow serving the spiritual and cultural needs of thousands of Hindus in Russia, and now they are left without any place to worship."
According to Mr. Jha, the statement by Archbishop Nikon just adds to the exasperation felt by Indian community in Moscow in regard to the razed temple. "With the old temple demolished and the new temple project thwarted at the very root, thousands of Indians living in Moscow feel utterly disappointed," he added.
The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed this matter with President Putin during his recent visit to Moscow. Putin has agreed to meet the Mayor of Moscow next week to find out more about the issue.
On behalf of all the Hindu community in Australia, the Chair of the Hindu Council of Australia, Dr. Balasubramaniam said, "I strongly condemn the outrageous and shameful behavior of the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in denigrating the oldest religion in the world and depriving the peace-loving Hindus of Russia their right to practice their religion. Hindus have always respected all religions. India, which has a majority Hindu population, has always been a friendly country to Russia. It is only proper that the sentiments of a trusted friend and ally are respected. We appeal to the Russian President Putin to intervene and stop this kind of outrageous behavior against the peace-loving Hindus of Russia. The international communities are monitoring the situation closely."
* * *
Complete Text of Letter
by Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of Moscow
Hindu Council UK
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, November 29, 2005: Following is the entire letter sent by the Archbishop Nikon to the Mayor of Moscow protesting the construction of a temple to Lord Krishna in Moscow:
FROM:
ORTHODOX CHURCH
Moscow Patriarchate
Ufa Eparchy
29 Sochinskaya street,
Ufa, 450103, RUSSIA
Phone +7 (3472) 724990,
Fax (3472) 711226
Email: commserv@mospat.dol.ru
November 29, 2005
TO:
Mayor of Moscow
Y. M. Luzhkov
Dear Mr. Luzhkov,
Situation with the construction of Krishna "temple" in Moscow does not fail to keep us thoroughly surprised for the last two years. One might fear that this satanic obscenity is destined to be built right in the heart of the Orthodox Christian country of Russia - and yet, all of a sudden, not only due to the mass outcry of the people, but -- miraculously! -- even due to imperfections in the Russian secular law the construction of this citadel of idolatry has become impossible.
Sectarians and various so-called "human rights activists," whose activity for some reason is always anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox, are exerting unprecedented pressure on you as they did last year, and so does the USA - the pillar of "democracy" and the foremost international lobby of various cults. Under the circumstances, you may well be tempted to yield to the pressure and to fulfill the demand of Krishna followers to build their idolatrous temple for Krishna.
But we are requesting you to ponder deeply on who this "god" Krishna really is, who is worshipped by all these almost "angelic," "benevolent" people who do not smoke, do not drink, do not eat meat, who "care" so nicely for the homeless by feeding them with idolatrous food and who may seem to work so laboriously and so voluntarily for the benefit of Moscow?
Krishna ("black" in Sanskrit) has many faces, and all of them are abominable. Here is just one of them: "I see in Your body many, many arms, bellies, mouths and eyes, expanded everywhere, without limit. I see You with blazing fire coming forth from Your mouth, burning this entire universe by Your own radiance. All the planets with their demigods are disturbed at seeing Your great form, with its many faces, eyes, arms, thighs, legs, and bellies and Your many terrible teeth; and as they are disturbed, so am I. Our chief soldiers are rushing into Your fearful mouths. And some I see trapped with heads smashed between Your teeth."
And on top of it, this "nice god" reclines on a bed of snakes.
This disgusting appearance is fully concordant with his own self-description: "I am Yama, the lord of death. I am all-devouring death, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people."
However, even human-like appearance of Krishna reveals an equally repugnant scene - a livid, plumpish, effeminate and lascivious youth.
For Christians, Jews and Muslims, for whom it is commanded: "I [am] the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have none other gods before me" (De. 5:6-7) and "For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens." (Ps. 96:5) The satanic identity of Krishna is obvious from his own words: "Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me."
Respected Mr.Luzhkov - can you really allow the idolatrous disgrace to be erected for the glory of this wicked and malicious "god" Krishna? The construction of this Krishna "temple" is a blatant offense of our religious feelings, and an insult to the millennial religious culture of Russia, where the overwhelming majority of people, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, consider Krishna an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God. It is shown that even for Buddhists, Krishna is a negative figure, the head of black demons. Sikhs and Jains also consider him the most formidable demon.
Of course, modern Russia is a secular state, based on secular laws. But can these laws screen our peoples from the judgment of God? Can the Russian Constitution abolish our common responsibility for our acts before God? The Holy Scripture attests that there have been quite a few periods of "religious pluralism" and the equality of "rights" of the followers of various "religious denominations." We have already mentioned to you in our first letter what had happened to the united Jewish state after Solomon allowed for the construction of various pagan temples in the city Jerusalem: "...and the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant." (1Ki.11:11)
Let us cite two more instructive passages from a whole many of kind, as described in the Old Testament: "Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. and he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." (1Ki.16:29-33). "Manasseh ... reigned in Jerusalem, he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.... And he set a carved image ... in the house of God." (2Chr.33:1-7)
But their worship was not a triumph of religious democracy, but the "EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD" (1Ki.16:30) and "ABOMINATIONS" (2Chr.33:2), for which not only the idolater kings, but all of their citizens paid a heavy price. In the first case, they suffered from a most severe drought which lasted for 3.5 years, and then Ahab was killed in a war with Syrians. In the second instance, "Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." (2Chr. 33:11).
How much has Russia already suffered due to our sins in the former century? But have we got less crime and unlawfulness?! No, unfortunately. People has become as if blind and deprived of all intelligence, they engross in sins, they separate themselves from God's commands by their own earthly laws, they utterly disregard history of the past and commit the same blunders over and over again. The bitter words of Isaiah the Prophet, which he spoke over 2.500 years ago, now seem to be spoken just for our sake: "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more." (Isa. 1:4-5).
Some are telling us that Russia is on the way to prosperity, but the country is actually dying away in childlessness, in wanton promiscuity, in alcohol and drug addiction, millions of babies are killed by abortions, selected individuals become affluent while millions of Russians border on poverty, terrorist attacks strike relentlessly, separatists, who want to tear Russia apart, do not slacken, and sectarians are multiplying, who consider Brooklyn, Salt Lake City and Indian ashrams their homeland. They hate their own culture and history and think service to their state and its defense are a grave sin.
So do we really have to add more to the load of our unlawfulness by building idolatrous temples for demons on the land where they are still hated, in the Russian land where the clouds of faithlessness and libertinism have not yet covered the light of Christian faith? Therefore, we once again request you on behalf of all Orthodox Christians of Bashkir Autonomous Republic to not allow the construction of the satanic Krishna temple in Moscow.
Respectfully yours, Nikon, Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak, Derector of the Ufa Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church
* * *
World Hindus furious
http://www.hinduforum.org/
Hindus all over the world have expressed outrage and anger after a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nikon called the Hindu God, Lord Krishna an ‘evil demon’ around the time of Indian Prime Minister’s state visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Putin.
In a letter to the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, wired by Interfax news agency on November 30, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Nikon called Lord Krishna “an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God”, and “a livid lascivious youth”.
The Archbishop further requested the Mayor to ban construction of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise become “an idolatrous disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and malicious ‘god’ Krishna”.
“Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia,” Interfax quoted Archbishop Nikon as saying.
“We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural co-existence, a leader of the Russian Church chooses to make statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to one billion Hindus in the world,” said Kishore Ruparelia, speaking on behalf of the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign launched in London last week.
“The motives for spreading such hatred are clear – it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple,” explained Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain. “It is unbelievable that a leader of such a powerful Church can make such disgraceful and dogmatic attempts to instigate tension between different religions. This is completely against all principles of multi-faith co-existence and cooperation that ancient and inclusive religious traditions like Hinduism stand for.”
“The statement by Archbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church has hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus worldwide,” commented O P Sharma, President of the National Council of Hindu Temples UK. “It is an insult to the tradition of tolerance, peace and inclusivity that Hinduism stands for, and highlights the resentment that dogmatic and exclusive views on religion can generate.”
President of the Association of Indians in Russia Sanjeet K. Jha said, “For centuries faith in Lord Krishna has been the very foundation of the Indian tradition of tolerance and respect for all religions and for all life. Therefore the shower of offences that Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts.”
According to several Moscow-based Indians, the discriminatory move by the Moscow government, the harassment of Indians by Russian ultra-nationalistic groups, inspired by open hostility of some Church leaders towards Hinduism, is making Russia a less than appealing place for Indians to live.
“Hindus are one of the world’s most peaceful communities,” commented Dr Girdhari Bhan, President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK. “In most countries of the world, the Hindu diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nikon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements that will surely be rejected by people of common sense and dignity.”
“It is difficult to understand why a Hindu temple poses a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church in this day of respect and tolerance,” added Ramesh Kallidai. “The only Hindu temple in Moscow had been demolished last year, leaving some 15,000 Indians and 10,000 Russian followers of Hinduism without a place of worship. Now the Mayor of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church are together trying to stop Hindus from having a place of their own.”
According to Mr. Jha, In January 2004, the Mayor of Moscow Mr.Luzhkov signed a decree allocating land in northwest Moscow for construction of a new temple in place of the demolished one. This was followed by mass protests orchestrated by the Russian Orthodox Church against the building of the temple. In October 2005 the Mayor repealed the decree and gave the order to remove a temporary Hindu shrine that devotees had erected from the allocated land.
“Now, the Russian Hindu community in Moscow have no place to house the consecrated Deities they had worshipped for the last decade,” claimed Dr Mihir Meghani, President of the Hindu American Foundation. “This is a pity because this was the only Hindu temple in Moscow serving the spiritual and cultural needs of thousands of Hindus in Russia, and now they are left without any place to worship.”
According to Mr. Jha, the statement by Archbishop Nikon just adds to the exasperation felt by Indian community in Moscow in regard to the razed temple. “With the old temple demolished and the new temple project thwarted at the very root, thousands of Indians living in Moscow feel utterly disappointed,” he added.
The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed this matter with President Putin during his recent visit to Moscow. Putin has agreed to meet the Mayor of Moscow next week to find out more about the issue.
On behalf of all the Hindu community in Australia, the Chair of the Hindu Council of Australia, Dr Balasubramaniam said, “I strongly condemn the outrageous and shameful behaviour of the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in denigrating the oldest religion in the world and depriving the peace-loving Hindus of Russia their right to practice their religion. Hindus have always respected all religions. India, which has a majority Hindu population, has always been a friendly country to Russia. It is only proper that the sentiments of a trusted friend and ally are respected. We appeal to the Russian President Putin to intervene and stop this kind of outrageous behaviour against the peace-loving Hindus of Russia. The international communities are monitoring the situation closely.”
The Defend Russian Hindus Campaign launched last week in London has the support of leading organizations including the Hindu Forum of Britain, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK, National Council of Hindu Temples UK, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu Council of Australia and Hindu Council of Africa.
The Defend Russian Hindus Campaign has asked that letters of protest about the statement made by Archbishop Nikon and the cancelling of the land decree by the Mayor of Moscow resulting in loss of the only Hindu temple in Moscow be sent to:
a. Mayor of Moscow: major@mos.ru
b. Russian Orthodox Church: commserv@mospat.dol.ru
c. President Putin - Website submissions using: http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/articles/send_letter_Eng1a.shtmlor by post to: Mr.Vladimir V. PUTIN, President of Russia, 4, Staraya Square, Moscow, 103132, RUSSIA
d. All Party Parliamentary Group on Russia (UK): contact@tonylloydmp.co.uk
* * *
Krishna 'evil demon', says Russian Orthodox Archbishop
A new 'war of religion' is about to erupt after a Russian Orthodox Archbishop has unwisely described Lord Krishna as an 'evil demon'. The letter from Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak is extraordinarily intemperate for a 21st century Christian leader. Not surprisingly, it has sparked an international protest. You can read the latest details of the protest, to be launched officially in the Houses of Parliament next week, along with the text of the letter, at the Hindu Forum website (http://www.hinduforum.org/)
Details of the row emerged in an article in the Hindustan Times earlier this week. It has also been on Interfax (http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=647)
Lord Krishna is revered by more than one billion Hindus worldwide as the Supreme Lord.
But in his letter to the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, the Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak described Lord Krishna as "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God," and "a livid lascivious youth".
The Archbishop further requested the Mayor to ban construction of the proposed Krishna temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise become "an idolatrous disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and malicious ‘god’ Krishna."
He continued: "Construction of the temple (a satanic obscenity destined to be built right in the heart of the Orthodox Christian country of Russia) to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia where the overwhelming majority of people, Christians and Muslims including, consider Krishna an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God."
The London bureau of the Hindustan Times has described the letter as "displaying stunning ignorance of the world's oldest religion." The paper said this week: "It is also evident from the statement that the Russian Orthodox Church is still embedded in the dark ages of religious exclusivity, which has no place in today’s increasingly pluralistic society.
"To call Lord Krishna ‘satanic’ is not only sacrilegious in the eyes of Hindus, it is also patently ridiculous as any student of Hinduism knows, for Krishna is famous as the slayer of demons."
By contrast, Hindus respect Jesus Christ as a specifically empowered personality.
"We respect all religions," said Bimal Krishna das, General Secretary of the UK’s National Council of Hindu Temples. "We think the Archbishop may gain some fresh insights into his own Christian faith by reading Krishna's words in the Bhagavad-Gita."
Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said: "The motives for spreading such hatred is clear – it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple. It is unbelievable that a leader of such a powerful Church can make such disgraceful and dogmatic attempts to instigate tension between different religions. This is completely against all principles of multi-faith co-existence and cooperation that ancient and inclusive religious traditions like Hinduism stand for."
* * *
Comments
from the readers posted at:
http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2005/12/krishna_evil_de.html
Posted by: Edward Baty Monday, 12 December 2005 at 11:11 AM
* * *
It is typical of the mentality of Christian clergy to ridicule other religions least realising that their own religion is founded on very flimsy and shaking grounds. They want rights to preach in other lands but are very sensitive when someone tries the same in their own backyard. The insecurity shows.
Posted by: bhupi Monday, 12 December 2005 at 10:11 AM
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I think the respected ArchBishop should read the Bhagavad Gita in order for him to enhance and enlighten himself about the teachings and greatness of Lord Krishna. His statement as a person holding an important position is completely lacking in maturity and awareness.
Posted by: Rashmi G Monday, 12 December 2005 at 08:21 AM
The intolerant attitude of the Archibishop is deplorable. Hinduism believes that all religions lead to God. This kind of inclusivity is essential for world peace especially when the entire world is passing through turbulent times. Denigrating others in the name of religion is nothing short of insulting the God that they themselves believe in.
Posted by: Srinivas Sunday, 11 December 2005 at 09:18 PM
* * *
Lord Krishna, is heralded by most Hindus and worshippers of the ancient Vedic religion as the supreme personality of Godhead. All other deities are regarded as angelic beings who are empowered by the power of the supreme Lord. Lord Vishnu is himself a plenary expansion of the Lord Krishna. There is a profound and utterly complete theology that is the most ancient that humanity has to offer. Krishna in Sanskrit refers to the origin of life, which is the same as "Christos" in Greek. Jesus Christ always said that he is serving his father. By adopting a similar life (shepherd/cowherd) and his fathers' names (remarkably their surnames are so similar) he further confirms that Lord Krishna is the supreme Lord. Anyone who reads the Bhagawad Gita, will without doubt know that it is the word of the primordial source of all life, the supreme Lord.
Posted by: Robin Chatterjee Sunday, 11 December 2005 at 06:58 PM
* * *
High-ranking clergyman spits at the sun!
http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com/2005/12/high-ranking-clergyman-spits-at-sun.html
Posted by: swamijyoti Sunday, 11 December 2005 at 06:40 PM
* * *
It is very sad that the archbishop could write such nasty and crude comments on Lord Krishna. Sometimes people write such nasty things because inside they are actually afraid of Lord Krishna and His devotees. Our Bhagavad-Gita teaches a message of peace and goodwill and it would be a good idea on this day of Gita-Jayanti to present the archbishop with a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita. Perhaps, his doubts on Lord Krishna will be cleared. Devotees of the Lord are peaceful and tolerant and this example is wonderfully shown by the Hindus who reside in Russia at present. Hinduism teaches us to be kind and loving to all, so instead of admonishing the archbishop I will pray to Krishna to please forgive him and show him the right path!
Posted by: S. Chowdhary Sunday, 11 December 2005 at 04:34 PM
* * *
I am mailing from India. I want to protest strongly against the letter written by the Archbishop of Moscow, against the construction of the Krisna temple. The letter is outrageous. It is an insult to the icon of India, to Lord Krishna. The remarks from an eminent Russian personality against the majority religion of India will only spoil the relation between India and Russia. I request you to take note of the situaton and act to protect the secular ideology of Russia.
Abhilash.M, New Delhi, India
Posted by: Abhilash.M Saturday, 10 December 2005 at 07:19 AM
* * *
Surely they are missing the point when they say Krishna can't be satanic because he's well known for slaying demons!
On a tangent, I seem to remember that the Russian Orthodox church played a part in expelling the Salvation Army and other Christian groups from Russia, but I could be wrong. I wonder whether this Archbishop is motivated by fervent nationalism as much as anything-- from his mentions of "the Orthodox Christian country of Russia" and "the thousand-year religious culture of Russia", I wonder if he's worried about immigration diluting the glorious culture of his homeland.
Posted by: Phil Craig Saturday, 10 December 2005 at 12:50 AM
* * *
It is utterly shocking that a Russian Orthodox leader should say something like this in this day and age. Generally speaking, the Abrahamic traditions always say that they are the only way to God. This exclusivity leads to all sorts of intolerant attitudes and harrassment of people who do not agree with such dogmatic views.
The Eastern religions like Hinduism and Sikhism on the other hand have a world view of inclusiveness. The Rigveda, a holy book of Hindus declares that although God is one, there are many paths leading to Him.
This attempt by the Orthodox branch of Christianity is a terrible insult to the world's oldest living religion, and surely men and women of good faith will be able to respond to this unreasonable behaviour?
Posted by: Seetha Patel Friday, 09 December 2005 at 06:43 PM
* * *
Archbishop Nikon: Construction of KrishnA temple in Moscow insults Russian religious culture
http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=647
Moscow, November 30, Interfax -- Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak again asked Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov to prevent construction of a Krishnaite temple in the capital city.
‘Sectarians and various ‘human rights activists’ whose activity for some reason is always anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox are exerting unprecedented pressure on you as they did last year,’ the archbishop’s statement reads.
‘However, - he continued, - we ask you to think about this ‘Krishna’ god, who is worshipped by the so called ‘angel-like nice people’, the Ufa diocese missionary department reports.
Christians, Jews and Muslims clearly understand the Satan nature of Krishna, the archbishop is quoted as saying to the Russian Line web-site on Wednesday.
‘Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia where the overwhelming majority of people, Christians and Muslims including, consider Krishna an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God’, the author thinks.
He also noted that ‘sectarians are multiplying, who consider Brooklyn, Solt Lake City and Indian ashrams their homeland. They hate their own culture and history and think service to their state and its defense are a grave sin’.
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Archbishop representing the Orthodox Church which is involved in the Iraqi payoffs now takes on Hindu.
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 05 04:43:24 IST
Table 3 allocations to non-contractual beneficiaries lists the impressive levels of allocations made to Russia-Communist Party running into millions of dollars. One entry from Table 3 Summary of Oil sales by non-contractual beneficiary is as follows:
Impexoil LLC, Russia; No. of contracts 4; Non-contractual beneficiaries for one or more contracts: Orthodox Church; Russia-Peace and Unity Party; Voloshin, Mr.; Barrels allocated: 7,850,000; Barrels lifted: 5,487,799; Contract value $117,949,145
Note the footnote in the Volcker Table 3: Beneficiary: The name of the individuals and entities other than the named contracting party that were named in the Ministry of Oil records as intended beneficiary of the oil allocation. In some instances, the named beneficiary is an official of the contracting party. The entities are listed in alphabetical order by the name as transliterated from Arabic. For the purposes of creating the table, when an individual entity was referred to under different variations of his/her name, a standardized version of the name was created by the Committee (Source: SOMO allocation records). http://www.iic-offp.org/documents/CommitteeTables27oct05/
Table%203%20-%20Committee%20oil%20beneficiary%20table.pdf
Summary of Oil Sales by Non-Contractual Beneficiary Table 3 (60 pages pdf document)
An Archbishop representing the Orthodox Church which is involved in the Iraqi payoffs now takes on Hindu.
When Churches talk money, they also talk hatred. That is the nature of money, the hall-mark of Western Civilization.
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The archbishops remarks are racist pure and simple
From: Radha Rajan (radharajan7@gmail.com)
Subject: Re: Hindus condemn Russian Archbishop's comments
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 05 23:14:07 IST
I am not surprised at all. There are two aspects to this --
Russians like most or all White skins are racists. I have personally never experienced racism because it is very difficult to get racist with some of us without inviting a public scene and I am not afraid of creating a scene even if I don't get public support. The idea is to create the scene to frighten the racists.
Racism is barely beneath the surface in Russia as it is in the US and the UK. I have felt it in all three countries. Most black and brown ppl put up with it silently -- including intellectual racist attitudes if you all know what I mean.
This Russian's opinion of Lord Sri Krishna is racist white Christian attitude to other cultures. The archbishops remarks are racist pure and simple.
But there is another issue here too away from this archbishop and i want some of us to know this.
I spent a year in the Soviet Union when it was the Soviet Union and travelled widely into many republics -- Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Ukraine.
I also visited Leningrad, Zagorsk and other cities big and small inside the republic of Russia. Everywhere i saw the other neglect and dilapidation of churches - big and small - very very similar to the state of our temples in India. But the heartbreak was compounded by another perversion -- Stalin as Periyar -- humiliate and defile religious symbols. Most churches had been converted to bars and hotels.
Compound this with another dimension -- the incessant war by the roman catholic church to finish off the orthodox churches of Russia, and the independent catholic churches of Georgia and Armenia.
The church in Russia was under immense pressure and threat from not only a devilish state but also the western churches and western governments backing their churches.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Vatican and other western protestant churches wanted to cash in the new religious freedom that it brought in its wake and wanted to open shop in Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union.
Naturally, there was tremendous resentment and resistance from the Russian orthodox churches to these attempts. Russia passed a law banning all 'foreign' churches and other religious institutions on its territory and the immediate casualty of this war between Russia and the west was the Ramakrishna Mutt and the ISKON temple in Moscow which were also outlawed.
When this resistance became ferocious, the US passed its infamous international religious freedom act in 1999 of which the USCIRF and the department of human rights labour and democracy of the US state dept are the offspring.
This is the background. When these twp demoniac religions clash they carry their smaller battles on to other fields and Hindus end up as victims -- always.
The previous Pope already visited Russia. You will see some kind of reconciliation between the Russian orthodox and the Vatican, between Russia and the US but they will all turn as one when Hindus and Hindu assert themselves. Proof -- Russia's reaction to Pokharan II.
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Hindus condemn Russian Archbishop's comments against Krishna
http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/10hindus.htm
Archbishop Nixon in a letter to Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov made denigrating comments against Lord Krishna and further requested him to ban construction of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on November 30.
"Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the 1000-year religious culture of Russia," Interfax quoted Nikon as saying.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is understood to have discussed the issue with President Vladimir Putin during their talks on December 6.
The repoted comments have raised the hackles of Hindu outfits. "We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural co-existence, a leader of the Russian church chooses to make statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to 1 billion Hindus in the world," Kishore Ruparelia of the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign said.
"The motives for spreading such hatred are clear -- it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple," Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of Hindu Forum of Britain said.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, UK, president Girdhari Bhan said, "In most countries of the world, the Hindu diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nixon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements."
The Hindu Council of Australia and president of Hindu American Foundation also condemned the remarks.
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Hinduism and Christianity: Poles Apart or Parallel
By Sudeep Roy
http://www.hscsamskar.org/articles/13/1/Hinduism-and-Christianity%3A-Poles-Apart-or-Parallel
Many Hindus attribute Christianity's original interactions with Hinduism to British colonialism, but in fact, Christianity has a long history in India. The earliest recorded Christian to arrive on the subcontinent was St. Thomas, who settled in Kerala around 53 A.D., less than a century after Christ's death. St. Thomas was an original disciple of Christ and should be of great interest to Hindus for the same reasons the Vatican and most Christian denominations do not emphasize his life and writings: The Gospel of Thomas, discovered in 1945 and believed to have predated all the other gospels, has created a stir amongst Christian historians and theologians alike as it provides a fascinating re-telling of Christian religion and philosophy – one that is very different from modern conceptions of Christianity, but has strong parallels with Hinduism.
Whereas the contemporary practice of Christianity is established upon the belief that man must surrender to Christ (and none other) in order to achieve salvation - presupposing that God and man are separate but not equal - the Gospel of Thomas focuses on spiritual rebirth through recognition of, and meditation upon the unity of existence. The following verse from the Gospel of Thomas provides a singular example of a Christian belief in Advaita, or non-dualism (the belief that God and man are essentially the same):
Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom [of heaven] is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.” (3)
Not only does this passage refute the notion of heaven as external to the world and limited to a physical space, but also Jesus reveals to his disciples that they too are sons of the Father. This turns an outward notion of salvation inward, akin to the Hindu ideal of recognizing the ultimate oneness of ātma (the eternal, illuminating spirit within us) and Paramātma (God, or the Absolute). Further, the idea that ignorance of our true nature is equivalent to poverty echoes our own Hindu concept of avidyā (ignorance), underscoring the role of jnāna (knowledge) in overcoming our blindness to māyā (the illusory and transitory nature of this world). In this sense, the Gospel of Thomas offers a much more complex, transcendental understanding of reality and ultimately the purpose of life than what is normally interpreted from the Bible.
The esoteric and symbolic nature of the Gospel of Thomas provides a sharp contrast to contemporary interpretations of Christianity. This text does not address eschatology (apocalypticism), the Passion (the sufferings of Christ in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion), or even resurrection. But one need not look to the Gospel of Thomas to find parallels with Hinduism. Indeed, the Bible itself provides direct testimony of Advaita, though any such passages receive nowhere near the primacy they perhaps deserve. The following is one such example:
“And when [Jesus] was demanded of the Pharisees, ‘When the kingdom of God should come?’ He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”.
Why do the teachings of Jesus, who lived half a world away from India, reverberate so closely with the truths perceived by our rishis so long ago? To answer this we need look no further than India itself. A growing body of researchers investigating the life and travels of Christ are now confident that he must have spent a considerable amount of time in India. Within the last twenty years, dozens of books have been written by historians who support the view that a roughly twelve-year period in Christ's life, between his childhood and when he began preaching (of which there are no records), were spent traveling through Palestine and Afghanistan, ultimately leading him to India. Several Buddhist and Persian texts provide references to a man resembling Jesus and claiming his title. Significantly, our own Bhavişya Mahā Purāņa, dated to 115 A.D., provides the most credible account of an encounter of a King Shalivāhana with Christ in what is now the region of Kashmir.
There is evidence suggesting that Jesus lived in India during his formative years, and this raises the question as to whether he achieved his spiritual awakening whilst there. This is a likely possibility if one were to take Christ's celebrated declarations - “I am the messenger of God”, “I am the son of God” and “I and my Father are one” – to correspond with spiritual evolution from a belief in Dvaita (dualism), to Vishişţādvaita (qualified non-dualism), and finally Advaita (non-dualism).
Aside from the close philosophical and metaphysical ties between Hinduism and Christ's life and teachings, a number of cultural similarities exist in the literature and practices of Christianity and Hinduism in India today. For one, both religions have a version of a flood story. We're probably familiar with the story of Noah's ark and how he saved all life on Earth by transporting a pair of each and every creature to safety across the flooded oceans. Our own tradition provides an account of a massive flood in which Lord Vishnu descended to Earth in the form of Śri Matsya, an avatāra in the form of a fish, to assist King Manu in rescuing all living creatures from destruction.
From a ritualistic and religious perspective, many Hindus earnestly believe in the power or holiness of Christ, visiting churches and other Christian pilgrimage sites, as well as worshipping his image alongside those of Rama, Krishna, and others. We might not believe that Christians are as open to worshipping Hindu deities, but in fact a number of Indian Christians also make pilgrimages to Hindu holy sites on a regular basis. Moreover, there are several churches in India that closely resemble Hindu temples in their architecture and in the manner in which worship is conducted. For example, there is a church in Nagarjunakonda in Andra Pradesh which may easily be mistaken for a Hindu temple. Inside this church, one may discover a statue of Mother Mary garlanded with flowers and standing on a padma (a lotus) - just as we would expect of Goddess Lakshmi.
Finally, Hinduism has managed to absorb a number of Christian cultural practices into its own fold. One example is the harmonium, originally used as a portable piano to sing Christian prayers as a form of proselytization prior to the advent of colonialism in India. Nowadays, the harmonium is a veritable necessity in the performance of bhajans and kirtans, along with other forms of devotional singing and chanting.
Why is this information relevant to Hindus or even to India? The answer to this mystery came to me the other day I met a young woman who had recently moved to the US from India. When she informed me that she had grown up in Mumbai, I naturally asked whether she was Maharashtrian. Immediately she said no, that her family was Catholic. A bit puzzled, I replied that I was in fact curious to know whether she spoke Marathi at home. She answered that her family only spoke English, but knew enough Hindi to deal with the outside world. This incident reminded of an article by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in Hinduism Today where he suggested that many Christians living in India voluntarily choose to disassociate themselves with any sort of cultural, regional, linguistic, or even national identities, instead identifying themselves exclusively along religious lines.
Such a drastic identity change may not pose a threat to Hindu communities abroad, but it is problematic in India for a host of reasons. There is a saying that the welfare of the world depends on the well-being of its nations, the welfare of a nation depends on the well-being of its communities, and the welfare of a community depends on the wellbeing of its families. Inevitably, the health and prosperity of the family-unit is fundamental to the welfare of the country, but this is also most difficult to monitor and support when groups do not consider themselves part of their own nation, region, or even language group. Any attempt to create national solidarity – across ethnic, caste, linguistic, religious, and class divisions – requires a minimal sense of belonging to something greater, which may not always take precedence to religious affiliation, as demonstrated in the aforementioned case.
This brings me to my final point. What can we as Hindus do, knowing now that Christ's life and teachings are essentially congruent with Hindu philosophy? For this, I direct your attention to an essential and oft-quoted Vedic doctrine: Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahudā Vadanti – “The truth is one; sages call it by many names”. If we truly accept the validity of this statement, we must also accept Christianity to be just as sacred as any other sect of Hinduism. That doesn't mean we should remain silent in the face of injustice, but rather that constructive criticism should be provided whenever appropriate. Most importantly, we need not chastise Indian Christians for embracing Christianity, but instead engage in constructive dialogue about the unity of faith, as evinced by Christ's connection to India and his deep spiritual insights. Instead of further distancing ourselves from Indian Christians, we may all benefit from recognizing our common past and the shared destiny we have the power to construct. May we never forget that parallel streams eventually merge with the same sea.
Bible, Luke 17: 20-21.
See Mason, Mak (1997), Choudhury, P (1996), Hassnain, Fida (1997), Deardorff, James (1994), Chaudhry, Aziz. (1992), Holger, Kersten (1993), Matlock, Gene (1991), Childress, David (1985), etc.
See verses 16-33 of the third khanda of the Pratisarga parvan of the Bhavishya Mahapurana.
* * *
Comment
posted by the readers at hscsamskar.org
http://www.hscsamskar.org/articles/13/1/Hinduism-and-Christianity%3A-Poles-Apart-or-Parallel
Posted by Bharatvarsh
"Many Hindus attribute Christianity's original interactions with Hinduism to British colonialism, but in fact, Christianity has a long history in India. The earliest recorded Christian to arrive on the subcontinent was St. Thomas, who settled in Kerala around 53 A.D., less than a century after Christ's death. St. Thomas was an original disciple of Christ and should be of great interest to Hindus for the same reasons the Vatican and most Christian denominations do not emphasize his life and writings: The Gospel of Thomas, discovered in 1945 and believed to have predated all the other gospels, has created a stir amongst Christian historians and theologians alike as it provides a fascinating re-telling of Christian religion and philosophy – one that is very different from modern conceptions of Christianity, but has strong parallels with Hinduism." The story of St.Thomas landing up in S.India is a myth, for more info go to www.hamsa.org The other question is about Christianity ebing accepted by Hindus. Christianity may have some similiarities with Hinduism but there are sharp differences, some of these include: 1) Christian belief that human's are inherently sinful while Hinduism teaches that we have the divine spark in ourselves. 2) Christian belief in eternal hell (Jesus believed in this) while Hindus believe in karma and reincarnation. 3) Christianity teaches that it is the only true way while Hinduism does not. All these are sharp diff's which we can't just wish away, Hindus are being converted at alrming rates and we should analyse Christianity and develop a unified position regarding Christianity instead of shouting sarva-dharma-sambhava.
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Comment Posted by Tamil Hindu
Christians are desperate to convert Hindus. They have tried everything in the book. When the British were in power over India and Sri Lanka, they allowed christian missonaries to convert heathen hindus. They tried to do this by force or by giving educational incentives. My grandfather was offered the chance to study at a prestigious christian school in Jaffna so long as he convert to christianty. My grandfather declined to trade the faith of his ancestors for the religion of his oppressors. Unfortunately many hindus had no such qualms and became 'anglicized'. These people are a joke! When the british left, these ex-hindus were going around with the bible in order to convert the remaining hindus. I wish for the day when one of these people come to my door! Now christians are doing backdoor tactics. Christain harvest groups, funded by wacko fanatic evangelicals in America's bible-belt, are recruiting brown christians, training them to 'spread' the word in native languages. Some of these christians recruits even have hindu names and try to come across as 'local'. All this is a farce. This is another form of colonialism: mental colonialism. The anti-hindu media do not help. They scream like wild birds when some hindus resist christian missonaries or attempt to block their tactics. When some hindus by converted by force or material allurement (especially during natural disasters where christian groups denied aid to hindus so long as they convert) then these media outlets look away or even better, say it is 'permissable in a free, secular society and as hindus are meant to tolerate everything, they must accept'. These fools do not realise that even their hero Mahatma Gandhi was against christian missonaries and wanted them expelled from India!
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Comment Posted by kalibhakta
Again, thoughtful and heartfelt, clearly. Reference to the current division in Christianity, with most Protestants and Catholics polarized against Gnostics (who are generally more accepting of the recently discovered Gospels of Thomas, Mary, and other scrolls), might have clarified that like Hinduism, Christianity does not have one unilateral theological platform but rather many hundreds and thousands of splintering sects and viewpoints. The point about Indians of non-Hindu background attempting to divest themselves of regional and linguistic ties is well-taken, and has in my experience extended to Muslims as well. Why does this exist and how might it be combatted? Is the problem inherent in those non-Hindu religious views, or is it a misguided impulse in those trying to create and solidify their minority identities, cutting off their noses to spite their faces?
* * *
In Hyderabad, India, Hindus have to convert to christianity to get admission to the B.Ed course.
From: n krishna (bharatian2001@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed, 07 Dec 2005
Many foreign firms employ christians only. I know many in Hyderabad who declared their religion as christinity just to get the job. The situation to get admission in BEd is so bad that children are forced to convert to christianity and this was reported in Times of India newspaper August 27, 2001 Metro section.
vide http://www.flickr.com/photos/51637380@N00/?saved=1
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"In Hyderabad, India, Hindus have to convert to christianity to get admission to the B.Ed course. Most of the private educational institutions are owned by the christian church in India and they are given many tax breaks by the Indian Government. Yet the christians which forms only 2.3% of the population carryout their nefarious conversion activities in India with foreign funding and has become enemies of Hindus which forms about 85% of the population"
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We should declare christians as our enemy and treat them accordingly. The latest one such attack by fanatic chrisitans is cementing a cross inside the temple area in Tirupathi:
vide http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com/2005/12/exposing-clandestine-cross-at-sacred.html
* * *
Indian Missionaries Get Rs.600 crores for Tsunami Conversions from UK
http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1133940286
"You can create 10 new Nagapattinams with the kind of money the NGOs have."
-- A. Selvamani, fisherman, Akkarapettai
As of 9 November 2005, according to Relief Web (www.reliefweb.int), the commitments, contributions and pledges for tsunami-related work routed via UN agencies and INGOs from the world over account for USD 6,138,895,063 (more than USD 6 billion). Compiled by OCHA (the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) on the basis of information provided by donors and appealing organisations, this works to Rs 28,853 crores. About 40 percent of these are private donations. AlertNet, a Reuters-managed site that runs a 'Global Pledge-o-meter', almost doubles the figure to USD 11,234,100,000.
The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) in London, a consortium of 12 UK-based INGOs, raised a record £350 million (Rs. 2800 crores) under its Tsunami Earthquake Appeal. Of this, India is a recipient of Rs 565 crores (see Table). According to a senior INGO official, India is likely to be a recipient of at least 20 percent of the overall Rs 28,853 crores (the lower world estimate). The tsunami-related NGO aid flow into India would then be in the range of a minimum of Rs 6,000 crores. It could go up to Rs 8,000 crores. Tamil Nadu being the most affected, and since the government has been eager to incorporate NGOs, close to 70 percent of these funds would have made their way, making it a recipient of a minimum of Rs 4,000 crores which could be used up to the next three years. Of the Tamil Nadu share, the worst affected Nagapattinam district would be the recipient of at least Rs 3,000 crores. All these lower-end estimates.
Of the overall fund flow to India, according to one estimate, close to Rs 400 crores would have accrued to the Catholic church (CASA, Caritas, CRS) and about Rs 200 crores to Protestant groups such as World Vision.
In Nagapattinam, in January 2005, there were 600 NGOs working. Today, there are 193 NGOs registered with the NGO Coordination and Resource Centre (NCRC), but more than a hundred NGOs work without coordinating with the NCRC. The NGOs, ironically, have injected life into the Nagapattinam economy. Says V. Vivekandandan, chief executive of South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS), instrumental in establishing NCRC: "In a state that has seen 61 per cent urbanisation, Nagapattinam has recorded only 14 per cent. The economy here remains largely rural, Nagapattinam is caught in a time-warp." Now with the strong NGO contingent, the district is being artificially fast-forwarded into the future.
In Karaikal, the office of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is located in a bungalow rented for Rs 33,000 per month. MSF has offices in Pondicherry and Nagapattinam too. Two new Boleros and a Qualis bear testimony to the INGO's 'field-work' in 30 tsunami-affected villages in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. The World Vision office in Nagapattinam has rented a building for Rs 7,500. It would have fetched Rs 2,000 pre-tsunami. In Nagapattinam, the resourceful broker G. Anandan has rented offices and homes for more than 50 NGOs and the people who work for them. One of his clients is the NGO Coordination and Resource Centre (NCRC), a nodal agency established under UNDP's supervision, housed in a sea-facing building rented for Rs 13,500 per month. NCRC has hired two office buildings and six residential ones for its staff. "The rents in Nagapattinam and neighbouring Karaikal have gone up fourfold," says an understandably delighted Anandan. As far as Annie George, NCRC coordinator, is concerned: "The general infrastructure in Nagapattinam has improved post-tsunami. Power cuts have come down and the roads are much better." The district administration certainly values the opinions of cash-rich NGOs which have made Nagapattinam their temporary home.
An intelligent estimate of the number of vehicles - Boleros, Scorpios, Tata Safaris, Qualises - procured by NGOs post-tsunami would be 80. Of these, a majority would have be servicing Nagapattinam and Cuddalore. Most of the vehicles would be disposed in less than a year. Says Eve Richard, field coordinator for MSF, "We are an emergency organisation. We will leave in a few months, but our partners will work." The fuel consumption of these SUV guzzlers could perhaps meet the daily kerosene needs of the thousands of households in the temporary shelters.
In the early weeks of the tsunami crisis, there was great concern over the orphaned children and issues of adoption and child-trafficking. Over 11 months, 376 affected villages in TN have been treated as 'orphans' which the NGOs have clamoured to 'adopt'. The 'adopters' sometimes neglect and abuse, and sometimes pamper their 'children'. The NGOs certainly have not proved to be good parents.
UK-based Disaster Emergency Committee's Contribution
(to India from its overall Rs 2800 crores) Contributing Agency Rupees (crores)
Action Aid 60.46
CAFOD 126.31
CARE 18.44
Christian Aid 84.48
Concern India 2.93
Oxfam India 31.57
Save the Children 46.40
Tearfund* 23.02
World Vision 146.40
HelpAge India 36.28
Total 576.29
(*Comprising Discipleship Centre (DC), Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR) and Salvation Army)
Source http://www.tsunami.dec.org.uk/
This piece did not appear in the print magazine
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Son of God of unholy Hindu parents !
Satiricus
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=107&page=23
Jesus Christ! Since when did Hindus have the right to protest against anybody hurting their religious sensibilities? In fact, since when did Hindus have the right to have religious sensibilities at all? At least not since the divine dynasty ushered communally Hindu India into the golden age of secularism. Unfortunately, unlike in India, Hindus in Britain still think they can think as Hindus, and even protest against what they think is anti-Hindu. But Satiricus must say in this particular case, they are being silly on the one hand and ignorant on the other. Silly because had Satiricus been a follower of Hinduism—which he was before his conversion to secularism—he would actually have felt honoured by the stamp rather than being hurt by it. For if the stamp shows infant Jesus sitting in the lap of a Hindu couple, does it not automatically follow that the infant was a Hindu? Why else would three Maga Brahmins journey all the way from this land in the orient bearing gifts for the child? ‘Maga’ became ‘Magi’ and came to called ‘the three wise men from the East’ in the Christian scriptures. All this should logically mean that the founder of Christianity was a Hindu (—as, a few centuries later, the founder of Islam was also a Hindu, as Guru Nanak reportedly said). Then should this not make Hindus happy rather than angry?
Actually a few of them have even written books about this. for instance Veer Savarkar's brother Babarao Savarkar has written a regular book titled “Khristache Hindutva” (‘Christ's Hindu Origin’). But of course no Savarkar can be trusted with history, can he? Then there is P.N. Oak, who has written a whole tome telling us about the Vedic/Hindu heritage of the whole world including the Christian part of it.
Unlike in India, Hindus in Britain still think they can think as Hindus, and even protest against what they think is anti-Hindu
Not content with saying that Christianity is Hinduism by another name, he has actually attempted an exercise in etymology to argue that ‘Christ’ comes from ‘Krishna’. Of course since Satiricus became a secularist he looks upon such an exercise in etymology as an exercise in futility, but, curiously enough, he finds a well-known Indian art historian saying that the picture on the postage stamp is a painting by an Indian artist of three hundred years ago, in which “he was translating the iconography of Mary and the infant Jesus into the pictoriality of Yashoda and Krishna”.
Well, now, if one can ‘translate’ Christ into Krishna, can one not translate Krishna into Christ? Satiricus does not know, as he continues to be a simpleton despite becoming a secularist. But there are others who do, and who say so. For instance, a British Christian by name Barbara Wingfield writes in her book India and the English: “In many ways Krishna worship is very like Christianity, and there is a strange similarity up to a point in the story of the early years of the Christ child and Lord Krishna. Driven from his brithplace by oppression and persecution, the earthly parents of Shri Krishna also found a Nazarite to shelter them for a time, in Gokul, the little city of refuge.”
And in any case why are these British Hindus raising this boorish objection to an imaginary picture of Christ? Don't they have the simple secular sense to understand that every picture of Jesus has to be imaginary because no real picture of Jesus exists? Satiricus would advise them to read the booklet Portraits of Christ by Ernst Kitzinger and Elizabeth Semor, in which the two researchers say, “When we inquire whether there is any representation or description that dates from the time of Christ himself, and can therefore claim to be authentic, we find that there is none... The Christ face as we know it is therefore entirely an achievement of the human imagination.” So much for these British Hindus being so silly.
As for being ignorant, would they be shocked, living as they do in a country ruled by a monarch who is the offical defender of the Christian faith, that they could have almost as many Christs as they want, the choice ranging from no Christ at all to at least three Christs? For two hundred long years (the 18th and 19th centuries) European Christians had doubted the very existence of any Jesus, and a British society known as the Circle of Bolingbroke actually discussed the possibility that Jesus had never lived. On the other hand in his book The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Crisis of Christianity N.S. Rajaram writes that ‘Christ’ was “by no means the unique title of Jesus” but was “a generic term” applied to leaders of a rigidly orthodox Jewish cult known as ‘zealots’.
One of them was executed on the cross by Pilate, Governor of pre-Christian Britain under Roman Emperor Tiberius. Later, another rebel Jewish leader of the same title led Emperor Clandins to expel Jews from Rome. And finally, says Rajaram, a third Christ may have been responsible for the ‘Jesus in India’ stories. See? Which particular Christ are the British Hindus protesting against for having Hindu parents?
Actually, Satiricus wonders if this postage stamp should not anger Christians rather than Hindus? They might well ask their monarch—Is this the way you defend the Christian faith—by showing that the ‘Son of God’ had unholy Hindu parents? God forbid! The exclusive Christian God forbid!
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# posted by swamijyoti @ Monday, December 12, 2005 
