My comment on today's The Hindu article, "The Christian Ethic..."
Today's (8th April 2015) The Hindu carried this article, "The Christian Ethic...", http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-christian-ethic/article7078257.ece, by a skeptical Hindu professor who benefited a lot from Christian missionary service activities. My comment on it is as follows:
From a professor, I expected a more balanced article. While I certainly do appreciate the benefits of the Christian mission for many middle-class educated Hindu Indians, without any direct attempts to convert these middle-class educated Hindus to Christianity, this article gives the impression that no Christian mission tried to convert Hindus. I think in rural India, in the past, it seems to be an accepted fact that fair bit of conversion of Hindus to Christianity was done via the Christian mission's service activities. In fact, a Christian writer wrote in The Hindu some days ago about 'rice Christians'. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_Christian, "Rice Christian is a term used, usually pejoratively, to describe someone who has formally declared himself/herself a Christian for material benefits rather than for religious reasons."
However, I think in today's early 21st century India, all religions should go beyond such means of attracting people to their religion. Let the sustained practise of the noblest tenets of a religion by its practitioners be the silent magnet that will draw others to that religion, instead of any 'conversion campaigns'.
It is also quite disappointing to me that the professor did not make attempts to go beyond the "ritualistic Hindu" practices of her father to discover and get enlightened by Hindu paths like that of selfless work (Nishkama Karma), or of unconditional love towards an ishta devata (Bhakti), or the deep philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. Instead she became skeptical of her own family's Hindu religion! That's quite a pity. A few questions arise in my mind: a) Did her education in Christian missionary institutions make her skeptical of her parents' religion of Hinduism? b) Did this education involve exposure to only positive aspects of Christian religion? c) Did this education involve any exposure to positive aspects of Hinduism?
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The initial part of the above comment has been accepted by the moderator of The Hindu web page of the article. The second part of the comment (as the above comment was too big for The Hindu comment size) has not yet got accepted.
From a professor, I expected a more balanced article. While I certainly do appreciate the benefits of the Christian mission for many middle-class educated Hindu Indians, without any direct attempts to convert these middle-class educated Hindus to Christianity, this article gives the impression that no Christian mission tried to convert Hindus. I think in rural India, in the past, it seems to be an accepted fact that fair bit of conversion of Hindus to Christianity was done via the Christian mission's service activities. In fact, a Christian writer wrote in The Hindu some days ago about 'rice Christians'. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_Christian, "Rice Christian is a term used, usually pejoratively, to describe someone who has formally declared himself/herself a Christian for material benefits rather than for religious reasons."
However, I think in today's early 21st century India, all religions should go beyond such means of attracting people to their religion. Let the sustained practise of the noblest tenets of a religion by its practitioners be the silent magnet that will draw others to that religion, instead of any 'conversion campaigns'.
It is also quite disappointing to me that the professor did not make attempts to go beyond the "ritualistic Hindu" practices of her father to discover and get enlightened by Hindu paths like that of selfless work (Nishkama Karma), or of unconditional love towards an ishta devata (Bhakti), or the deep philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. Instead she became skeptical of her own family's Hindu religion! That's quite a pity. A few questions arise in my mind: a) Did her education in Christian missionary institutions make her skeptical of her parents' religion of Hinduism? b) Did this education involve exposure to only positive aspects of Christian religion? c) Did this education involve any exposure to positive aspects of Hinduism?
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The initial part of the above comment has been accepted by the moderator of The Hindu web page of the article. The second part of the comment (as the above comment was too big for The Hindu comment size) has not yet got accepted.
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