CASTEISM AND RECONVERSIONS

On 8/7/07, Mohan Gupta wrote:

Conversion and Reconversion of Hindus

SADHU PROF.V.RANGARAJAN

Founder Trustee, Bharatamata Gurukula Ashram, Srinivasanagar, Kithaganur Road,

Krishnarajapuram, Bangalore 560 036, INDIA.

(Phone & Fax: 0991-80-5610935, 5613716; Cell: 94482 75935

E-mail: sadhurangarajan@vsnl.com)

The word 'caste' is alien to Hinduism. There has never been any caste among the Hindus. The word 'Jaati' as well as 'Varna' only denote the class—like the driver class, the watchman class, the teacher class, the peasant class, the labour class, the business class—a classification based on inclinations and actions (Guna karma Vibhhagashah). There are Vedic hymns which say that all the four 'Varnas' were in the same family, among the brothers and there are cases where the father belonged to one varna, while the son to another and the grandson to yet other. The fourfold division in the Purusha Sookta of the Rig Veda is the depiction of the entire Rashtra purusha, the society, with its various limbs. Even today, people who claim to belong to different 'castes' mention the name of the same 'Gotra' or lineage from the Rishi, when they go to temples to perform Archanas. That means that the forefather of a Brahmana, a Mudaliar, a Kayastha, a Yadav, a Reddy and anyone belonging to any other 'caste' is the same person if they all belong to his 'gotra'. Where is 'caste' by birth?

And, regarding conversion, who is to convert whom? First of all Hinduism is not a religion, but a way of life. Therefore there is no question of a Hindu getting converted to another or alien religion. Historical researches by scholars like David Frawley, N.S. Rajaram, N. Jha and Srikant Talgeri have all proved beyond doubt that the Aryans migrated from Aryavarta or Bharatavarsha to distant lands and the Parsis, Jews, Arabs and Europeans are all descendants of those Yadus, Turvasus, Drahyus, Anus, Purus of the Vedic period and Abhiras of the Puranic period who migrated to distant lands from Vedic India in the remote past. The pagan religions that originated from the Vedic Aryans who migrated to distant lands were in later days destroyed by the Semitic religions that originated as corruption of those religions. Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, the illustrious brother of Veer Savarkar, points out in his research work, JESUS, THE CHRIST WAS A HINDU, that the forefathers of Jesus were Tamil people who migrated from India. God knows to which gotra the forefathers of Mohammed belonged to. Even the Asuras had their gotras from Rishis. Moulana Mohammad Ali Jinnah might have claimed himself to be the enemy of Hindus, but his Gujarati ancestors must necessarily have been belonging to some Rishi Gotra, perhaps the same as Gandhi's. Therefore when it is said that Christians or Muslims are converting Hindus to alien religions, it means the descendants of renegades who were led astray from the Hindu way of life long ago are now misleading the present day Hindus like a drunkard and debauchee misleading a chaste Brahmachari to evil ways.

Now, how to bring back those lost sheep? Reconversion! It is utter nonsense. When there is no conversion at all, where is the question of reconversion? We call it 'Shuddhi'. When someone falls into a filthy gutter, we take him out and lead him to a tap and give him a good bath. It is just like that. Many years ago, a young man from down south approached my siksha guru, Poojya Swami Chinmayananda, and made a submission that his illiterate fishermen parents and family were converted to Christianity when he was a small boy and he now wanted to come back to the parent religion. Swamiji asked him with a smile, "How did the conversion take place?" The youth replied, "We were all taken to the Church and the Father there baptized us." Swamiji asked again, "How did he baptize?" The young man replied, "He took some water and sprinkled it on us and said that we were baptized?" In a jovial mood, the Swami further enquired, "Where did the water fall when he sprinkled it on you?" The youth replied, "It fell on my head, shoulders and arms." Swamiji at once removed his ochre towel hanging on his shoulders, gave it to the youth and said, "Wipe your head, shoulders and arms with this. You are now back into Hinduism!"

A couple of years ago, when this sadhu was in South Africa, a boy from the black community, devoted very much to our Ashram there, approached us and asked to be converted to Hinduism. We told him that he was already a Hindu because he was serving our Ashram there and attending our congregations. But, then he wanted a Hindu name. We asked him what his name was. He replied, "Bright". "Well", we replied, "in Sanskrit language, the word for the bright one is 'Bharata' and hereafter you can call yourself Bharat". The boy was immensely pleased.

What is needed today is that our Dharmacharyas should come down from their Peethas and walk into the slums, especially into the houses of the poor, downtrodden and illiterate people who are labelled as converts to alien religions and enlighten them about their ancestors and their glorious heritage. Flying to distant lands and addressing 'inter-religious congregations' some of them speak about sarva dharma samabhaava which they interpret as 'equality of all religions'. The Bhagavad Gita says :
Vidyaa vinaya sampanne braahmane gavi hastini

Shuni chaiva swapaake cha panditaa samadarshinah

—"Sages look equally on a Brahmana adorned with learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, and even a dog and an outcaste."

But nowhere the sages have declared that a Brahmana adorned with learning is equal to a dog and dog-eater. Those dharmacharyas who declare eloquently that Hinduism and the Semitic religions are equal do not often accept that the other sampradayas within Hinduism are equal to their own. A Madhwa does not want a Shaivite to come into his temple and perform pooja, not even a religious ceremony in his house. A Vaishnavite does not want to get into a Shaivite house or temple and perform a pooja or religious ceremony. No dharmacharya of any of these sects have ever spoken about this 'apartheid' in Hinduism. They know well that if they speak in praise of Semitic religions, no Christian padri or Muslim mullah is going to walk into their Ashram or Mandir posing a threat to their urge for domination, but if they praise any sect or sampradaya within Hinduism, there is a possibility of the adherents of that sampradaya or sect getting into his field and dragging away his sheep, weakening their hold. This is the height of hypocrisy. It is high time that all the barriers within the Hindu society are broken and Hindus call themselves first and last Hindus and Hindus only and their supreme deity of worship, the Motherland, Bharatavarsha. Vande Mataram!

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Christians claim to be a casteless society but want benefits reserved for schedule castes

Christians do claim to be a casteless society and on other hand, they have been demanding SC status for Dalit Christians saying that the change of faith does not improve social status. How can a casteless society have”DALITS"?
That means Christians want to have their cake and eat it too. That's an example of double talk!
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Do_Christians_also_practise_... 18560.cms)

Yes, it is true that the social condition of a scheduled caste DOE NOT IMPROVE on conversion. In fact in some cases it worsens. But CASTE SYATEM is the very EVIL from which the Xian missionaries want to liberate the "untouchables"!! As can be seen, they are NOT succeeding. Xian’s population is 2-3% for last century!! Still the Xian web sites of full of about how dalits are just waiting tom be converted, how thousands of Brahmins are making beeline to the churches.
Now that churches are issuing caste certificates to the dalit Xian’s, the demise of xianity in India is not far off.

DALIT Xian or Muslim is oxymoron. They do not, officially, subscribe to caste system and rather cite as a reason why Dalits should leave Hinduism. But now they want to have castes LEGALLY. Let them have it like St Stephen's has done. Let the churches and mosques issue caste certificates. It will help their reconversion.

But reservations to converted Muslims and Christians must be resisted and reservations should be kept as long as they are Hindus. In fact Hindu dalits should resist such a move for reservations for converted Muslims and Christians..



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SHER SINGH AGRAWAL
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