From: JAYAN PATTAMBI <jayanptb1981@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Subject: Religious Conversions
To: jayanptb1981@gmail.com
1. What is the essence of Hinduism? What does tolerance mean?
The essence of Hinduism is its pluralism, in which tolerance is a by-product. This pluralism is expressed in a shloka made famous by Swami Vivekanand during his tour of the West at the time of the World Parliament of Religions in 1893. The shloka goes as follows: ekam sad viprah bahudda vadanti. It is translated by him in English as follows: "That which exists is One, sages call It by various names". In short it means that each person has a unique way towards salvation, which is best suited for him/her.To be able to do this, each person has to generate his own spiritual experience. One may take advice from gurus, friends, books, etc. But, one has to apply one's own mind and come to a conclusion of suitability of a path for one's ownself, and one takes the responsibility for the decision. Tolerance means that while one has chosen a path for oneself, one accepts that another may chose a different path, and that eventually both will meet at the same place in salvation. This tolerance is the reason why there have been infinitesimally small religious strife in India throughout the ages.
2.
If people convert due to spiritual reasons, should there be any objection?
When there is true spiritual conversions, there is no objection. This happens when the person does it on his own inquiry, and not motivated by another to make a study. For example, a person who has some emotional problems, may make a change if approached by a missionary. This cannot be called a spiritual conversion.
True spiritual conversion implies that a person not only understands the new religion well, but also that he is well-acquainted with his present one. In this way, he will be able to understand why the religion of his forefathers does not give him the spiritual satisfaction that he will find in his new religion. At the same time, since a man or a woman is always seeking to go on a higher spiritual plane, such a change becomes an enlightened one.
Such an inquiry can be done by one who is materially contented, and one who has the necessary education to make the inquiry. It was in this context that Mahatma Gandhi said to the missionaries that before converting the poor, they should first convert him. They did not pick up the challenge because they knew that the Mahatma had done sufficient study of Christianity and had found that his own dharma was adequate for his purpose.
3. Hinduism is a pluralistic philosophical concept. Why should there be an objection to conversions?
In a pluralistic society – one that believes in multiple paths of salvation – accommodating another religion is not a problem. In this respect, Hinduism has a unique record. It was only in a Hindu land that Jews were never persecuted due to religious reasons. Similarly, the holiest place for the Parsis is in a Hindu land. The earliest Christian arrivals in India in the 4th century were what are called Syrian Christians. All of them came because of religious persecution in their land of origin.
Followers of all the three religions prospered not only in terms of their religion, but also in social and economic terms. This happened because they accepted the civilisational norms of the Hindu society,and worked within its parameters. They did not try to convert, or propagate that their system was better than the ones of their host. The tensions started when first Islam and then Christianity came here with the power of sword, and tried to subjugate the Hindus of the land.
A pluralistic society works in harmony only when all the members accept the norms of pluralism.However, when one tries to dominate another, then the problem starts. Conversions is a method of trying to dominate.
