Rama Sethu, sacred ecology of the Sethusamudram

By: Dr S KALYANARAMAN

letters@newstodaynet.com

Monday, 15 December, 2008 , 02:52 PM

In a heartening development catalysed by the Rameshwaram Rama Sethu Protection Movement, a group of scientists gathered in London in November 2008 to declare the imperative of saving and protecting Sethusamudram as the world’s sacred ecological treasure.

Location map of Rama SethuLocation map of Rama Sethu: bathymetry map of Sethusamudram (reproduced from Murty et al., 1994)

http://www.Setusamudram.in/htmdocs

/Articles/cp_rajendran_2.htm

Sethusamudram

The Gulf of Mannar and Palk Straits of the Indian Ocean separated by the causeway Rama Setu called Setusamudram. Setusamudram is a compound term: Sethu + Samudram (Causeway + Ocean). Unlike the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, the Sethu has for millennia served as a causeway linking India and Sri Lanka. This sacred monument is venerated in the cultures of millions of people of many nations along the Indian Ocean Rim – nations that can be called the Indian Ocean Community, analogous to the recently constituted European Community. The Sethusamudram is so sacred that every year hundreds of thousands pilgrims assemble in the oceanfront near Rameshwaram (a jyotirlinga pilgrimage place) to perform samudrasnanam (sacred bath in the ocean) at a place where the Indian Ocean remains placid like a lake. This samudrasnanam is a celebration of and homage to the ancestors of many civilizations, Hindu civilization, in particular. This homage is called pitr-tarpanam reinforcing the identity of a billion people on the globe who revere the story of Rama and the history of Sethubandha (the bund to cross the ocean built by the architect Nala, under the direction of the Avatarapurusha, Sri Rama and by vanara army led by Sri Hanuman. Both Sri Rama and Sri Hanuman are worshipped in many temples across the globe. [vanara is erroneously translated as ‘monkeys’; va-nara literally means people-like speakers, evoking the evolution of man on earth.] The causeway is a physical structure superimposed over a ridge formed by collapsed canyons in geological past in an ocean zone exemplified by Mannar volcanic rocks, heat-flows of geothermal energy potential and plate tectonics (earthquakes caused by plate-movements).

HeatflowS in Rama Sethu 100 to 180 milliwatt per sq. m. comparable to Himalayan hotsprings. Will dredging in the area activate these heat zones?

Corals of Sethusamudram

Sethusamudram is home to corals. The coral conglomerates [* File contains invalid data | In-line.JPG *], which are referred to as floating stones in many versions of the story of Sri Rama, were used to construct the causeway, Sethu (which is explained in Tamil encyclopaedia Abhidana Chintamani as ‘ceyarkarai’ that is, artificial, man-made bund). Sethubandha is celebrated in ancient texts, in the song, dance and sculptural traditions of the Indian Ocean Rim states.

Sethubandha construction shown on a 9th century sculptural panel in Parambanan (Brahmavana) temple in Indonesia.

The devastation warned, affecting over 60 million people should make every public official and scientist pause and consider the sacred ecology that Sethusamudram constitutes. Over the millennia, people have venerated the Indian Ocean as a life-source. Many young, married couples go for the samudrasnanam praying for the birth of children in their families. Millions of marine folk along the long 7,500 km coastline of India live off the marine wealth of the coastline including the wealth of corals. Corals have a particular sacred significance in Hindu civilizational traditions. The shankha or turbinella pyrum is also called the sacred conch. This sacred conch, shankha, adorns the hands of Vishnu and Bhairava, two divinities worshipped in thousands of temples all over the world. The shankha is also venerated as the conch-trumpet called Panchajanya used by Avatara purusha Sri Krishna to call the troops to battle in the Kurukshetra war described in the epic Mahabharata. Sri Rama is also shown blowing the shankha trumpet in an exquisite terracotta sculpture of the 3rd century in a village near Ayodhya.

Terracotta panel of Bhitargaon showing Vishnu blowing the conch, an event depicting Rama as Vishnu Avatara, defeats the Rakshasas led by Malyavan, Mali and Sumali and as narrated in the Uttarkanda of the Ramayana (Cantoes VI-VIII). http://ignca.nic.in/pb0020.htm

Quake-induced uplift of coral families in Sumatra Mentawai islands.Sethusamudram is an Indian Ocean region famous for the coral turbinella pyrum, shankha. At Kizhakkarai, 15 kms from Rameshwaram, West Bengal Development Corporation has an office for acquiring the shankha; the annual turnover is over Rs. 50 million ($1 million). The shankha is used to make bangles. Without shankha bangles, no Bengali or Oriya marriage is complete. So sacred are the shankha bangles.Studies of the type carried out in Mentawai Islands near Sumatra have to be carried out in Sethusamudram to record the upliftment, if any, of the coral reefs, in the region which is earth-quake prone, apart from being the only coastal region with evidence of Mannar volcanic rocks and heat-flows comparable to the heat-flows recorded in the sub-Himalayan hot-springs.

Sethu as tsunami-protection wall

The Sethu has served as a natural tsunami-protection wall in an ocean zone subject to many earthquakes and consequent tsunamis. The nearby region of Sumatra is also home to the world’s most devastating volcano, the Mount Toba that had a super-eruption about 74,000 years ago spewing volcanic ash to a depth of 6 to 12 inches all over South India south of the Vindhya Mountains.

The Bay of Bengal part of the Indian Ocean is a trough subject to recurring, severe cyclonic storms from the area of depression near Taiwan. The storm surges get sucked into the trough of Bangladesh causing enormous damage to lives and properties. The tsunami which occurred on December 26, 2004 was an event triggered by the subduction of the Indian plate under the Burmese plate resulting in the displacement of water which surreptitiously traveled as tsunami resulting in the loss of over 200,000 lives and the virtual disappearance of Aceh island. A tsunami expert, Prof. Tad S. Murthy notes that if any channel is laid across Sethusamudram, the channel will act like a funnel absorbing the energies of the next tsunami and devastate the coastline of South India because of what is known as the ‘quarter-wave resonance amplification’. This is proved by the Alaska tsunami of 1964 which resulted in maximum devastation along the Alberni Canal in Canada and the destruction of the Alberni Port.

The sentiments expressed in the London seminar echoe the judgment of the Supreme Court of India which asked the Union of India to reconsider the Sethusamudram Channel project and noted that a Pachauri Committee will go study the issue. Prof. Rajendra Pachauri heads the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an institution that received the Nobel Prize for Peace. Pachauri Committee should not only recommend the scrapping of the Sethusamudram Channel project, which will be a world calamity if carried through, but also recommend a serious, multi-disciplinary agency to study the impact of another tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Another tsunami in the Indian Ocean is not a theoretical model but a reality. Scientific advances have not been able to predict the exact date of the next tsunami but all scientists are agreed that another tsunami more devastating than the December 26, 2004 tsunami is a possibility.

This nightmare warning, this possibility has been studied by seismologists (researchers of earthquakes) and earth scientists studying corals. In a recent study published in the Science Magazine (December 16, 2008) scientists have observed that many coral colonies in the Mentawai Islands near Sumatra were killed in September 2007 when large earthquakes lifted the reefs 1 meter or more out of the water. Seismology studies show that an earthquake of magnitude greater than 8.8 on Richter scale, could rock the coastal areas of Bengkulu and Padang in the next 30 years (along the Sumatra earthquake belt), triggering a major tsunami which could put over 60 million people of the Indian Ocean, east coast of India, west coast of Burma and south coast of Bangladesh at risk.

Pachauri Committee will also be well advised to review the creation of Marine Economic Zones all along the long 7500 km. coastline of India to create new economic opportunities for the coastal and marine people.

Tsunami-protection wall in Japan

A multi-disciplinary team of experts should be constituted IMMEDIATELY, by the Union of India to study the warnings of another tsunami which will devastate the nation’s coastline and lives and property of coastal people and establish Disaster Management Zones all along the vulnerable coastline with structures like tsunami-protection walls constructed in Japan.

Next tsunami

Sacred traditions help us remember the sacredness of the earth in which we are only trustees of the present and future generations.

We do NOT have the right to destroy this sacred ecology and deny future generations, the privilege of worshipping sacred sites and remembering the ancestors who have given the humanity its very identity.

Indian Ocean Rim states impacted by the tsunami of December 26, 2004

http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/propagation-database.html

The next tsunami is likely to impact the same Indian Ocean region – a lesson learnt from history.List and locations of catastrophic tsunamis of Indian Ocean.catastrophic tsunamis of Indian Ocean

What the scientists tell us about earthquakes and tsunamis should make us pause and ponder.The 9.0 Earthquake of December 26, 2004 at 6.58 hours at the epicenter (and in Sri Lanka) led to a sequence of 15 quakes across the Andaman region. While earthquakes could not be predicted in advance, once the earthquake was detected it was possible to give about 3 hours of notice of a potential Tsunami. Such a system of warnings is in place across the Pacific Ocean but is only being put in place in the Indian Ocean; this needs further cooperation among the nations of the Indian Ocean Community.

Nature magazine reports: “Tens of millions of people along the heavily populated coasts of Myanmar, Bangladesh and West Bengal could be living under threat of a tsunami as massive as the one that devastated the Sumatran coast in 2004, according to a report to be released by Nature on Thursday this week. The report claims that while the 2004 disaster took the scientific community by surprise many of the same warning signs currently exist in the Bay of Bengal.”

When the plate boundaries abruptly deform and vertically displace the overlying water, a tsunami occurs. A tsunami travels very fast as ocean waves, about 800 km/h, or 0.2 km/sec for a water depth of 5000 m. Seismic waves are faster and cause enormous upheavals on the earth’s crust and ocean-beds. Oceans are the treasure of humanity and it is our responsibility to harness the treasure in a sustainable manner through well-regulated Marine Economic Zones which have the potential to make the Indian Ocean Community a veritable powerhouse to create wealth of nations, while providing new livelihoos opportunities to over 2 billion people on the globe.

Tsunami impact on land cover of Indian Ocean Community

http://www.unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/freeproducts

/Tsunami/JRC/Asia_Tsunami_07January_landcover.pdf

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/

fullMaps_Sa.nsf/luFullMap1724ADB850F3F30B85256F8E0055AB65/$FileEUJRC_tsu_cov_sasia070105.pdf?OpenElement Land cover

/ potential land affected by tsunami (26 December, 2004)

Details of scientific papers on “Sacred ecology, sacred ocean, sacred Setusamudram” are provided at http://sites.google.com

/site/kalyan97/setu

(The author is the National President,

Rameshwaram Rama Sethu Protection Movement

and he can be contacted at kalyan97@gmail.com)

http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=29

இந்தியாவில் செயின்ட் தாமஸ் கட்டுக்கதை — வேதபிரகாஷ்

http://www.hamsa. org/vedaprakash- intro.htm

[quote] The distortions sought to be introduced by the myth of St. Thomas in the history of Tamil Samayam are relatable to a larger framework: expressions of Christianity in many parts of Bharatam. These have been effectively demonstrated in: Expressions of Christianity, with a focus on India, 2008, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan Trust, Chennai 600005

The book ‘Expressions of Christianity, with a focus on India’ presents a few aspects and dimensions of Christianity, in particular Indian Christianity. This volume is meant not only for the specialist intellectual but also for the ordinary man who is interested in knowing about Christianity, which is increasingly confronting him in his everyday life. In short, it gives an academic understanding of the subject of Christianity in India and also helps as a guideline to deal with the Christian experience in an objective manner, keeping the widest interest of the country as a whole.

The Vivekananda Kendra felt it necessary to bring out this volume on Christianity not because there is any dearth of literature on this subject in our libraries. On the contrary, such material is abundant at the present juncture. But it has been written by authors who are keen to present Christianity from a particular angle and with a particular motive.

There are writings by self-confessed missionaries, by acknowledged supporters of Christian imperialism and there are also writings from self-appointed secularists. Even so- called objective historians have been hesitant to come out openly and call a spade a spade. Their hesitation is mostly due to the fear of organized, hostile criticism which will not only adversely affect the book market but also make them vulnerable to charges of being communal. Unpleasant truths are very often played down or distorted, if not totally suppressed. The total outcome of all these is that an Indian student of Christianity finds it difficult to get the truth which is reliable and useful. A lot of misunderstanding has been created by interested missionary writers and Christianity in India and also about the methods Christian missionaries have used to propagate their religion in this country.

The book exposes the methods by which highly placed clerical personalities have unscrupulously tried to fabricate history for spreading Christianity in a systematic manner. The true history of Christianity all over the world, including India, shows beyond a shadow of doubt that missionaries have indulged in cruelty and violence for spreading their religion.The Goan inquisition is well documented and no one can deny or disprove it. The destruction of temples has also been recorded. Francis Xavier who was declared a saint has a history of the cruelest sort of violence used for spreading Christianity in the coastal areas of India. Letters written by Francis Xavier himself to the king of Portugal have been published wherein he publicly declared.

“I have no words to express the joy which I felt at seeing a number of temples destroyed by their erstwhile worshippers after they were converted to Christianity.”

It was not only the poor and the neglected or the outcaste and untouchables of Hindu society whom the missionaries targeted for conversion, though that was their loudly proclaimed objective. They had another strategy of selectively approaching important personalities who wield great influence over the society by their moral and spiritual stature and leadership qualities. They made persistent efforts to contacts and slowly win over such persons to Christianity. Sri.NarayanaGuru, the saint and reformer of Kerala was one such with whom they engaged in a religious dialogue. Similarly, they made serious efforts to appeal to Mahatma Gandhi’s religious sympathy and admiration for the teachings of Christ. Needless to say that their efforts had no impact whatsoever on these stalwarts. But what is significant is that such silly efforts were made with the firm conviction that these great souls are doomed to eternal hell if they do not get baptized and that it was their bounden Christian duty to save them.

The outcaste and the untouchable were inhumanly treated by the upper caste Hindus and their salvation here and hereafter would be assured if they became Christians. That was the carrot dangled before them. But it was only a ploy. The converted Dalits remained in the same plight with all their social and economic disabilities unrelieved. Even separate churches and separate sitting arrangements were provided for them, and equal social status- intermarriage and interdining, for instance-was denied. Even today, these deplorable conditions continue to prevail except nominally. The disillusioned Dalits clamor for better treatment.

The book will bring a clearer, better and more authentic understanding about Christianity in India and will ultimately pave the way for a better and more cordial understanding between all concerned. It deals with Christianity’s historical developments both in the West and in Asia. As the title suggests, the book looks at the practical, outer expressions of Christianity rather than its theological foundations.

What interests us is not how a Christian preacher might ideally present his creed, but how it has manifested in actual fact for pre-r non-Christian Europeans, for the natives of America, Africa or India-also for Western intellectuals who started questioning Christianity. The publishers acknowledge that they cannot do justice to such a vast and complex theme in a single volume, but have tried to offer an overview, of which the average Indian reader will usually be quite unaware as it is: while this perspective is frequently and freely discussed in West, it rarely, if ever, forms part of debates on Christianity in India. Indian Christians themselves have the foggiest notion of the history of their religion, its origins, its expansion, its institutions, its destruction of other cultures, the ways in which it was challenged by leading Western intellectuals, its clash with science, and finally its spectacular retreat in the West.

Just as histories of colonialism have been largely written by the colonial powers, in effect erasing the testimony of the colonized, most histories of Christianity- and in India, all of them –have adopted Christian standpoints as a matter of course. In this volume, the publishers sought to reverse the perspective and assert the right of the countless victims of Christianity to be remembered, and, when still possible, to be heard.

At this stage, sincere Christians usually object that if their religion does have a dark past, that past also has a brighter side: think of the spread of Christian values, or selfless service offered at great personal scarifies in the farthest corners of earth; think of the countless kind –hearted Christians who have been embodiments of compassion, charity or service; think of the vast amounts of literature, painting, sculpture or music inspired by Christian themes; think, finally of the great heights of spirituality reached by Christian mystics. Have such achievements not benefited humanity at large? And do not other religious have their own darker sides, too? Is it fair, therefore, to single out Christianity for a one-sided treatment? Is this not as bad a mis-portrayal as the one Hindus Complain of when it comes to their religion?

These questions contain partial truths. Partial, because the spread of Christian values, in the few cases where those values were practiced at all, was always at the cost of earlier cultures which were illegitimately assumed to be inferior, because every religion gave rise to literature and art, which conquering Christianity often destroyed, because Christian mystics have been far fewer than those of others religious ( especially India’s native religions) and were often regarded with much suspicion, sometimes persecuted, by church authorities, and because whatever dark spots there may be in non-Abrahamic religions, none has ever treated dissenters or adherents of other belief systems remotely as cruel as Christianity did.

There lies Christianity’s Central and persistent problem: it has been all too eager to practice its God’s declaration that “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” ( Genesis 8:21) – a dismal stamp of sin and evil put on humanity. Again , no non – Abrahamic religion or culture so demeaned the human being.

Nevertheless, if a Christian chooses to believe in a doctrine of original sin and redemption, of damnation and salvation, of eternal hell or paradise, the Hindu, for instance, will respect such a choice. If a Christian claims to find spiritual fulfillment in his religion, the Hindu will feel happy for him, even if the reverse is rarely true.

But the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Native American, African or Australian, the Neo pagan also have a right to ask

Why the spread of Christianity has meant so much misery and the dehumanization to non- Christian?

Why the “good news” and glad tidings” had to manifest through physical and cultural genocides, leaving trails of broken families and shattered cultures?

Why Christian colonizers stole land from non-Christian cultures when they were supposed to follow a commandment enjoining them, “you shall not steal” ?

Why criminals and abusers among them were more often protected than prosecuted?

Why apologies have been so few and vague, and concrete reparations even rarer?

In this era of human rights, they are entitled to ask what will be done to restore the rights of those who threatened no other culture, but whose land and traditions were preyed upon.

And what will be done to protect the rights of those still preyed upon today. Those questions and many more, remain largely unanswered; our sincere Christians must address them.

For Christianity’s dark side is regrettably not confined to the past; a companion volume will focus on proselytism – a euphemism for predation-again adopting the perspective of the prey rather than the prevailing one of the predator.

The materials presented in the book are authentic and intended to stimulate an informed debate. The articles are arranged under the following five sections:

Ø Origins and early history of Christianity

Ø Expressions of Christianity in the west

Ø Expressions of Christianity in India and elsewhere in asia

Ø Intellectual Challenges to Christianity

Ø The decline of Christianity

All boxed items appearing in the book have been prepared by the Vivekananda Kendra’s editorial team.

The authors who wrote papers specially for this book and its forthcoming companion volume, Christianity: Proselytism and Conversion, with a focus on India; include eminent thinkers such as Michel Danino, Nicole Elfi, Sandhya Jain, M. Pramod Kumar and S. Aravindan Neelakandan.

A book of this nature might be opposed by the Pseudo-Secularists and by the liberalized and Westernized Hindus, who are interested only in continuing their Utopian ideas of Westernization and in whose eyes, Indian religious values are all superstitions.  Communists are bound to disapprove all what is written, in spite of the fact that they are still deeply immersed in the Hindu religion. The maximum opposition may be expected from the Pseudo-Secular politicians of today, who are always engaged in double talk. [unquote] Book review by Pradeep Kumar, 9 June 2008.

http://www.haindava keralam.com/ HKPage.aspx? PageID=6459&SKIN=C

Thamizhar Samayam: A reply to the Christian protagonists and propagandists?

The public seminar on Thamizhar Samayam was conducted by   Dharma Rakshana Samithi, Chennai at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, T Nagar, on 07-12-2008 at 6.30 pm. Muthukumaran Former Barathidasan University Vice-Chancellor presided over the function and Krishna Jagannathan of Vidhyabarathi Educational Trust gave the introductory speech. Sri Omkarananda Swamigal of Sri Bhuvaneswari Avadhutha Vidhya Peetam, rendered the special address[1].

Muthukumaran Former Barathidasan University Vice-Chancellor[2]: Delving on the Christian and Mohammedans methods of evangelization, he pointed out that the educational system of Tamilnadu had completely devoid of the religion of Tamil people. 60 years before, Tamils were taught about their religion and the Temples were functioned as their nerve-centre of all activities, but now, the Temples have gone into the hands of politicians.

We still read the “Indian history” written by the British: He pointed out that as we read the “history written by the British”, the Tamil society has been at loggerhead with divisions of hatred. The text books have not been re-written in right perspective[3]. The more our children read, the more they grow with such planted ideas.

He told a story to expose the irreligiousness and hatred of the missionaries: Three persons – one Christian, one Mohammedan and a Hindu travelled in a boat and suddenly, the boast was about to be drowned. The Christian prayed to Jesus and he was saved; the Mohammedan prayed to Allah, he was saved; but the Hindu started addressing prayers to different Gods one by one, but he could not be saved! But it s wrong to say that Hindus have been not monotheistic and idolatrous, as they know very well about Unity of Godhead.

While the Tamils spread nearly 50 countries all over the world celebrated Tamil festivals, the Tamils of the TN, ironically do not know even the significance of their festivals and days, drawing the nearing of “Periya Karthhikai”.

He denied the “Aryan-Dravidian” racial dichotomy and pointed out as to how the people of north and south respected the southern direction and followed common culture and tradition[4]. Tamils wherever went followed only such tradition, even in naming the places as Uttara Kasi, Dakshina Kasi and so on[5]. Due to climatic changes, men originated from the equatorial region could have spread north and south[6]. Actually, the mention of “Dwaraka” and “Kapadapuram”, where people tried to enter and settle down after deluge could be one and the same, as both convey the same meaning (the city, where people entered).

The entire Tamil literature has been full of religious references to Sanskrit literature. Perhaps, there is no other literature like Tamil, which has religious aspects in it. When Jainism and Buddhism tried to enter Tamizhagam, Bakti movement originated and spread to the north. This Bakti movement was revived again, when the Mohammedan incursions started.

From Kumaragurubarar, we can understand that Tamil poets had never been against any language, as he could lecture in Hindusthani, as Sanskrit was used before.

The nature of Tamils had / has been to build temple first and then house, wherever, they went. In Mauritius, Tamils have built almost all temples. Such has been their religious consciousness.

Krishna Jagannathan of Vidhyabarathi Educational Trust: Referring about the Christian manipulation of religious propaganda, he warned the Tamils about the misinterpretation of Christians that their religion was derived from the Christianity etc. He openly accused Deivanayagam, John Samuel, Devakala and others for organizing “International conferences” and blaspheming Hindus under the guise of “Thamizhar samayam”. He referred to three conferences conducted –

1. One at Newyork in 2005[7].

2. Second in 2007[8]

3. Another in 2008[9].

He urged that Tamils cannot take such nonsense lightly, as they have been trying to repeat such lies thousands time to make it to appear “truth”.

He regretted that even former president had participated in such anti-Tamil conferences conducted in 2007[10]. Ironically, they use cine-actors directly and indirectly for their propagandist activities, while Rajinikanth name was mentioned for the role of Tiruvalluvar in their proposed 100-crore mega movie on “mythical thomas”, Kamal Hassan was made to blabber out that Tiruvalluvar could be a Jain, a Buddhist or Christian!

He retold the above story: In the context of Mumbai-Jihadi attacks, he added that Christians and Muslims could not be saved, as Jesus and Allah had to run here and there being a single entity, but Hindu God sent different Gods to different places, so that Hindus could be saved.

The DK ideology and DMK rule have only made the Tamils irreligious forgetting their Temple culture, tradition and heritage.

Sri Omkarananda Swamigal of Sri Bhuvaneswari Avadhutha Vidhya Peetam: Being a Tiruvalluvar exponent, Tirukkural teacher and Mutt Head, he expressed his anguish, the way in which Tiruvalluvar is degraded and Tirukkural disrespected by the Christians and Tamil atheist groups.

Hindu Religious Heads and Hindus feel offended and pained much: Religious Heads pained, wounded and anxious about their activities. They might think that Hindus have been very tolerant and learned to be patient to the core, thus keep quiet. The Hindus have never been taught hatred against other religious Gods and religious beliefs and that is why they do not ask any inconvenient questions, even when the Christians and Mohammedans ask why you God has many wives, Why Vinayaka has elephant head and so on. But such non-hatred quality cannot be considered weakness of Hindus.  But now a situation has come that Hindus should learn how to answer them or question them effectively.

Babar and Teresa are quoted for Tirukkural: He pointed out as to how a Vice-Chancellor[11] of a University of TN requested him to preside over his book release function on “Tirukkural”, but he was totally taken aback to note that he had only given examples from Therasa, Babar and others, but none from Indian personalities in citing references to the Kural. He observed that the author of the “Tiruvalluvar book” could not recite even Tirukkural properly.

The Hindu haters should read “Azhukkaranai” chapter of Tirukkural[12]: “Azhukkaramai” means the psyche of without jealousy, envy or covetousness. The Christians, Mohammedans, Tamil atheist groups and Hindu-haters should read and understand before talking nonsense about Hindus. He questioned the duplicity of the Dravidian-Tamil politician about the hypocritical approach towards Tiruvalluvar[13]. He challenged the politicians that they should recite Tirukkural before the public, before contesting elections.

Tirukkural should be written in the hearts of the Tamil people: As he has been preaching and teaching Tirukkural, he exposed the hypocrisy of the Tamil politicians. He pointed out that it is not enough, if Tirukkural is written on the buses or commentaries given by CMs and VCs, but they should be written in the hearts of the Tamil people.

Can Hindus send books urging Mullahs and bishops to “change their minds”? He also pointed out the audacity of a Christian, who sent him books on Christianity and appealed him to “change his mind” to accept Christ. He sent a suitably reply and challenged him to come for a public debate at Palayankotai itself, bringing his Christian heads, but there was no reply from him. While mentioning this, he also pointed out as to how a “Hindu journal” did not publish his letter![14] Retorting, he asked whether any Hindu had guts to send books to Bishop, Imam. Mullah etc., and urged them to “change their minds”?

He urged that one conference should be conducted, taking this meeting as a starting point, to refute such misinterpretations.

VEDAPRAKASH

07-12-2008

Also see at:

http://vedaprakash. indiainteracts. com/2008/ 12/07/thamizhar- samayam-a- reply-to- the-christian- protagonists- and-propagandist s/

[1] The entire proceedings were conducted in Tamil, just for convenience and the news to reach the non-Tamil people, it has been typed in English.

[2] He has been associated with the “New Educational Policy of Tamilnadu” known as “Samac-ceer kalvi murai” to be implemented.

[3] Would the Dravidian / Tamil friends agree for this, or would be he dubbed as a party to “saffronization of textbooks” project!

[4] Referring to the discarded race hypotheses and theories still followed by the Dravidian political parties in Tamilnadu.

[5] Implying that the so-called “Aryans” or “Dravidians” could not ave come from outside, that is from north to soputh, but the other way!

[6] Hinting to Gondwana / Pangaea / Kumarik-kandam hypothesis and theories linked with the “Three Sangams” existed 12,000 YBP.

[7] First International Conference on Early Christianity in India, August 13^th-16^th, 2005.

[8] Held at Chemmencherry at the premises of Instutute of Asian Culture and Sathyabhama Deemed University.

[9] The First Tamizhar Samayam Cionference at Pastoral Centre, Mylapore August 14^th to 1th, 2008. For details refer to my blogs in www.indiainteracts. com

[10] Mentioning “Abdul Kalam” specifically!

[11] This has been the status and standards of Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of Universities of Tamilnadu and what Tamils could expects from them?

[12] Chapter 17 of Tirukkural containing ten verses aptly placed between the chapters “Forgiveness” and “Covetousness”!

[13] Obviously, referring to  what has been going on in Tamilnadu miusing Tiruvalluvar and Tirukkural.

[14] Such has been the quality of “secular standards” even by the so-called “Hindu journals”, why then blame “The Hindu” then?

Saint Thomas Legend and Indian Christianity

An enquiry into the colonial and missionary interest.

Prof. C. I. Issac

An historical narrative of Indian Christianity would not be complete without the study of Christianity in Kerala. Christianity is believed to have reached the shores of Kerala in the first century of Common Era [C.E.], though this is not supported by documentary or authentic evidence. The emergence and spread of Christianity in Kerala is shrouded in such myths and legends. Kerala’s Christian past is essentially pivoting on the stories popularized by the Church on the fragile foundations of theology and belief. Therefore, historians encountered many problems in deconstructing its past. First is the question of the arrival of Saint [St.] Thomas and subsequent conversion of Hindu aristocracy [particularly the Namboothiris] to Christianity. Second is the date of the origin of Christianity in Kerala. Third one is the European interest behind popularization of generating aristocratic [savarna] feeling among the native Christians. Finally, how far these missionary activities mutilated the national life?

The centre of the pre-colonial phase of history is the question of savarna origin of Kerala Christianity and the role of Thomas, a disciple of Jesus. This savarna origin theory of Indian Christianity was firstly constructed and popularized in Kerala by Fringies [Portuguese Catholic Missionaries] in the sixteenth century for the fulfillment of their colonial ends¹. It is true that before the arrival of Europeans in India, a nominal Christian presence was seen only in the Travancore and Cochin regions of Kerala. The antagonism that was generated amongst the Christians and Muslims due to the Crusades of 11^th, 12th and 13^th centuries prevented Christian proselytism enterprises from planting their roots in the Malabar region where Muslims got roots quite earlier. It is only during the British period that the Christian society came into being in the Malabar region. It is true that the Christians in Travancore and Cochin regions were only a marginal community confined to a few port towns before the arrival of Europeans. For that reason during this period the churches in Kerala were very few in numbers and could be counted on fingers. Hence, since the arrival of Portuguese till the early decades of the nineteenth century here in Kerala there were only less than three hundred Christian churches of all the denominations². According to Ward and Conner, even after two centuries of the birth of Christianity, the number of Christians on the Malabar Coast shrank to eight families. The Christian population altogether in Travancore and Cochin during the early decades of the 19^th century CE was 35,000 with 55 churches3. Thus the native Church’s claim of the story of St. Thomas and the early origins of Indian Christianity is not a universally accepted fact. In the year 1952 CE, the native Catholic Church approached the Papacy in Rome for Pontifical approval to celebrate 1900^th year of proselytism of Kerala since the arrival of St. Thomas on its shores. The Papacy declined the request of the Kerala Catholics on the ground that the claim has no historicity. In spite of this denial, the Savarna Catholics, the Syrian descendants of those said to have received baptism from disciple Thomas, celebrated the 19^th centenary of the arrival of Thomas with much pomp.

Behind the building of such a story of apostolic and savarna origin of Indian Christianity there was a willful plan of destabilizing the foundations of Hinduism through the conversion of higher castes of India. It means the total conversion of Hindus. Robert de’ Nobili, [hailing from Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy]⁴ was the brain behind the savarna origin theory of the early Indian [Kerala] Church. It was the part of his ambitious programme of converting the Brahmins to Christianity. Because of his zeal to convert the Hindu aristocracy to Christianity; he adopted their mode of life, mastered in Sanskrit and so had to cut himself off completely from intercourse with his fellow missionaries. He worked in Madurai, Mysore, and the Carnatic till old age and almost complete blindness compelled him to retire to Mylapore⁵. Through him the cultivation of savarna feeling amongst then wealthy sections of the Christian faith started. A section of the Church en-cashed this new feeling for their missionary ends. His labour in this direction may further encouraged building the story of Thomas’ christening of the Namboothiris of Kerala. Another derogatory step that follows from the missionary interest in India is the recasting of the traditional Hindu symbols to suit the Church’s purpose of conversion. The pioneer in this line was Robert De Nobili, an early seventeenth century Catholic Missionary of India, who lived in the attire of a Hindu hermit and established a monastery in Madurai to convert Brahmins. He attempted to place Christianity within the Vedic tradition which would appeal to the upper jatis. The old Nobilian legacy is still continuing. ⁶.

. The only historical record pertaining to the arrival of Saint Thomas is the book ‘The Acts of Thomas’. But this book does not mention the Malabar Coast. “Acts of Saint Thomas is a historical romance written in Syriac towards the end of second or by the beginning of third centuries.”7 In the history of social formations of ancient Kerala, it is interesting to see that up to the fourth century CE this land was occupied by the pre-Vedic settlements only⁸. So Nambootiri as a Hindu jati was seen only after the fourth century of CE. The Terisapalli [St. Theresa Church] Copper Plate Grant [Terisapalli Cheppedu] executed in 849 CE by Ayyan Atikal Tiruvatikal of Venadu during the reign of Emperor Sthanu Ravi (844-855) is the available oldest historical documentation linking Christianity to Kerala. But this grant was obtained by the foreign Christian merchants⁹. The first Christians of the Kerala may be the merchant community hailing from the new faith who settled here temporarily or permanently for business purposes. The Persian Christian migration was the prime reason of the growth of Christianity in Kerala. In addition to it the threat posed by the religion of Islam in the Persian region since 7^th century CE onwards through its Christian persecution caused the influx of Christian refugees to this land, supplemented to the Christian population of Kerala. Even after the Persian Christian migration the Christian population remained here as a marginal group/jati in this tiny region until the European occupation of this land. Several travelers’ accounts and British documents are referring to the emaciated conditions of the native Christianity. Only after the indiscriminate conversion of native jatis from sixteenth century CE onwards by the European Christian missionary bands resulted in the enhancement of the Christian population of Kerala to the present level¹⁰. Further more G. T. Mackenzie observes, Christians prior to the arrival of Portuguese, did not form the part of Travancore aristocracy. Pope Nicolas IV sent Monte Corvino, a missionary to convert India and China and he wrote to pope in 1306 that “There are very few Christians and Jews [in India] and they are of little weight”.¹¹. Thus the earliest migrant Christian population was numerically a negligible section. The natives regarded Christianity as another path, as well as an upasana system¹². Therefore it functioned here as an offshoot of Hinduism till the arrival of Portuguese. Even the names of the Christians were Hindu.¹³

After the arrival of the Portuguese, a large-scale aggressive proselytizing movement started in Kerala under the stewardship of a padre called Francis Xavier. His eight-year stay in South India changed the entire course of its history. In a short period, he was able to enhance the numerical strength of Kerala’s Christian population. He was no different from Mohammed Ghazini or Aurangazeb in the space of proselytizing enterprise. Francis Xavier was the man solely responsible for the establishment of the Inquisition Court in Goa in 1560, under which Hindu women were raped and burnt alive and Hindu temples were demolished¹⁴. The wrath of the Catholic Church that was started with Francis Xavier in Goa did not spare even innocent children of Hindu origin. This notorious religious court functioned in Goa till 1812. Francis Xavier once remarked, “I told the new Christians to demolish the shrines of the idols and saw to it that they crushed the images into dust. I could not express to you the consolation it gave me to watch the idols being destroyed by the very hands of those who so recently used to worship them”¹⁵. No doubt Francis Xavier was a mentally debased bigot. Thus the history of temple annihilation in Kerala starts with Francis Xavier in Travancore-Cochin. The first prey was the temple at Thevalakkara in Quilon district and Palluruthi near Cochin¹⁶. Another church demolished by the Christian fanaticism during the said period was the Church at Palayoor near Guruvayoor. Until the day of the collapse of the disputed structure at Ayodhya, the Palayoor Church authorities kept a board in front of the church which reads: “The church was constructed by St. Thomas after demolishing a temple”. [Now the board has been removed]. The last one of such demolitions took place in 1950, by setting fire to the famous Sastha Temple at Sabrimalai. In the Malabar region it continued unabatedly until the resistance movement organized in 1969 under the organizational umbrella of Kshetra Smrakshna Samiti by the renowned freedom fighter K. Kelappan [Kelappajee]. De Souza, the Portuguese governor, made a futile attempt to plunder the shrine at Thiruppathi is also to be remembered in this context. The Portuguese did not spare the Muslims of Malabar. The Sixteenth Century Muslim Arabic scholar of Kerala [Ponnani], Shaik Zainuddin, in his work Tuhafat-ul-Mujahiddin, mentions their plunder and destruction of mosques. They did not spare the Kerala’s Jews either: to escape the Portuguese persecution, in 1565 the Jews of Crangannoor escaped to places of Hindu dominancy such as Paravoor, Mala, Chennamangalam, Ernakulam, etc.

It is important to consider the information available from the work of C. M. Augur, an English Missionary cum the Resident of Travancore, to pencil in a correct picture of the Christian intolerance from the days of Padre Francis Xavier. According to Augur in 1816 C.E there were, in the Travancore State [now the part of Kerala], 19,524 temples and 301 churches for all denominations. But in 1891, that is after 76 years, the number of temples had come down to 9,364 and the number of churches had burgeoned to 1,116. ^[17]. It really a testimony to understand the depth and extent of extermination of Hindu culture during the colonial phase. While the Portuguese used force to the spread of the ‘faith’ British moved with education and legislation. The British insisted several native kings to nationalize rich temples in order to enhance their revenue. This resulted in the withering away [mercy killing] of several temples having less income which was once supported by the nationalized temples.

In the place of every demolished temples churches were sprang up. One such famous church was established in 1938 was at Malayattoor, near Adi Sankara’s birthplace. It was earlier a Siva temple. The revenue records of the old princely state of Travancore admit this fact. The temple was known to the locality as “Kurinchimudi Temple” [hill peak temple]. After the Christian occupation the name of the place was slightly changed to “Kurissumudi” [Mount of cross]. During the Sangam period the entire South India was topographically divided into five regions. The regions contained hills and mountains were called “Kurinchi“. Really the temple name was associated with its topography was conveniently changed with the ’sign of faith’ by the Christians after their occupation of the temple site. Considering the geographical area, the number of the temples set ablaze or knocked down in Travancore was proportionately much higher than that of temples demolished by the Muslim rulers of Northern India.

The Portuguese’s over enthusiasm to generate a Christian population in India was not born out of their ecclesiastical interest but of their political ends. It is very clear from their Latin American experiences. To generate a section that supports their political interest in India was the need. Hence the early Christians of Kerala fell in their trap. Earlier they supported them and later clashed with them. Their objectives well reflected in the subsequent disguised reform measures.

1. It is to create the way smooth for the establishment of Portuguese domination over Hindustan.

2. To establish Roman ecclesiastical authority over Kerala’s Christianity;

3. To destroy all its Hindu practices, rituals and traditions that were retained by the native Christians;

4. To extend the Latin Christendom to the soil of the Hindus.

All this intended to de-Hinduize the Malabar [Kerala] Christianity resulted in the Synod of Damper [Udayamperoor], 1559, and it was the graveyard of Syrian Christian Hindu morphology¹⁸. Thus the native Christian community reacted against their villainous designs and it resulted in the “Oath of Coonan Cross”¹⁹. It was a delayed response so it didn’t produced any desired results.

During the British period missionaries followed the policy of education and modernization of the natives. Missionaries and indologists together popularized the notion of ‘modernity’ and presented colonialism as the synonym of modernity. It was in the light of the history of this land. They realized the fact that to proselytize a Hindu is a quiet difficult task. To the Hindu, “every religion is a path that leads to God-realization. There is only one God which is called by various names and which is attainable to genuine seeker by sincerely following his own path. All the Hindu scriptures have upheld this view”.²⁰. That is why to a Hindu the question of conversion is immaterial. The obsessive eyes of the English missionaries were always in search of the weaker aspects of the targeted society and people. This is an observable fact that operates from the first century to the present day with some morphological difference only.

On the other hand it is easy to make a Hindu a non-committed Hindu through his schooling. Missionary enterprises through ages moved in this direction. Educational vision of the missionaries in pagan lands not only confined to modernization of its social fabric but to “get acquainted with the person of Jesus Christ and His Gospel” by the youths outside the Christian faith²¹. This is nothing different from the ‘Pauline’ strategy of the first century that successfully experimented in Athens. It can be made clearer by quoting St. Paul, “For I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God’. That, which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you”²².

The colonial and subsequent missionary activities are not finishing with mere change of faith but its far reaching consequences are still confronting by the Hindu populations particularly of Kerala and North Western regions. No doubt, the history teaches that any small change in the demographic pattern will be a threat to the national integrity. The number of Muslim population in India in 1901 was 2,91,02,000, but thereafter in 1941 this population got a growth of 68.24 percent and reached it at 4,26,45,000. So they demanded an exclusive state for the Muslims. In 1940s Muslims has only 13.38 percent share in the Indian population but it established that it was sufficient to demand a separate state for them. Regions like the Northeast secured an upper hand to the Christian population in the 1960s [1961 Christian population: 52.97 % & in 2001: 85%], hence demands their severance. Like wise any slight regional imbalance due to the changes in the religious equilibrium will endanger the nation.

Before the political and economic strength of the organized religions of Kerala the divided Hindu is subjected to the extinction syndrome. Even though Hindus are numerically predominant, the vote bank politics kick them out of the political processes of Kerala. Religious minorities vote is very decisive to all political parties of the state and are very particular to sacrifice the Hindu interest before the religious minorities vested interest. From much applauded land reforms to the educational reforms the Hindu interest were sabotaged. Now the 55 percent of the Hindus population of Kerala controls 11.11 % of the total bank deposits. On the other hand 19 % Christian community commands 33.33% and 25% Muslim population retain 55.55 percent.

Non Resident Keralite [NRK] remittances as well as the income from commercial crops cultivation are the main source of the income of the state. The number of the NRKs during the period 2005-06 was 3, 65,293. Of which, the 82.5% are in the Gulf countries. Of the total Gulf country workforce during the reported period, 49.5% were Muslims and 31.5% were Christians. The Hindu share in this sector is only 19% only²³. 60.5% of the total NRK remittance is the contribution of the minority communities²⁴. Again the total NRK remittance is 184.65 billion rupees and it is equivalent to seven times of the state government receipts as centre budgetary support or fifteen times of the earning from the cashew export or nineteen times of the states marine export. The annual average remittance per house hold is also shown wide imbalances. A Marthomma Christian share is Rs.26, 098/-, a Muslim is Rs.24, 000/-, a Hindu is Rs.6, 134/- and a Hindu SC is Rs725/ ^[25]. On the other hand the average land holding of a Christian family of Kerala is 126.4 cents and of Hindus and Muslims are 69.1 and 77.1 cents respectively²⁶.

In the industrial sector 30% and 35% are under the control of the Muslims and Christians respectively. In the agriculture sector Muslims holds 23% and the Christians hold is 40%. The trade and commerce sector Muslims and Christians correspondingly holds 40% and 36%. Conversely the whole jatis of Hindu’s hold in the segments such as industrial is 28%, in agriculture is 24%, and trade-commerce is 22%. Don’t forget the fact that certain weakest Hindu jatis shares in the above sectors may be zero²⁷. The Hindu population of Kerala as per the 2001 census is 56.2%. Of them 5.5% are farmers and 18.3% are farm labours. The Muslim population as per the latest census is 24.7% and among them 6.1% is farmers, 11.8% is farm labourers and one among the three families has an overseas employed person. The 19.1% Christians are the most blessed and 12.8% of them are farmers and 11.2% agricultural labourers. The numbers of BPLs are too high in Hindu jatis. It is 39.3 lakhs amongst the Hindus. On the other hand it is 24.7 lakhs and 8.2 lakhs respectively amongst the Muslims and Christians²⁸.

Before the growing strength of Semitic religions the Hindu identity itself is in danger at certain parts of the country. This situation further advances to several new states by taking advantage of the changed political situation of India. Under the shield of certain constitutional rights the minority religions labouring to enhance its numerical strength by ignoring the fact that all other sections has the right to protect their religions, faith and cultural identity. If this trend continues unabatedly for another half a century the Hindu nation may shrink to be a concept of the past.

End notes

1. V. Balakrishnan, History of Syrian Christians of Kerala, Trissur, 1999, pp 75, 76

2. C. M. Augur, The Church History of Travancore, 1902, Kottayam, pp 7, 8, 9.

3 Ward [Lieut.] and Connor, The Survey of Travancore and Cochin States, Trivandrum, 1863, pp 146, 147

4. Catholic Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, http://www.newadvent.org

5. Ibid

6 Titus George, Why must it be Vedic identity? The New Indian Express, Kochi, 25 September 2000.

7. The date of the journey of Saint Thomas is not mentioned in this book. The book tells us that Thomas started from Jerusalem spent a few time in Syria and reached Afghanistan. Its ruler was Gondophernes. Thomas converted the ruler and his brother. Thereafter his journey was to Mazda where there he became martyr. See The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Vol. 2, Trissur, 1973, p 3. Three fragments of the Gospel of Thomas in Greek, dated about 200 CE, were found in Oxyrhyncnus, Egypt, at about the turn of the last century and a full text in Coptic, dated 350 CE, was found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. See New Theories in Bible Research, John Dart, Indian Express, dated 9^th April 1978.

8 P. K. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala Samskarika Caritram, 1991, Trivandrum, pp 206 –211

9. This Copper Plate contains a land grant to Christian community of Quilon for the construction of Teresa Church. A. Sreedharamenon, Survey of Kerala History, Kottayam, 1970, p100.

10. C. M. Agur, Church History of Travancore, Kottayam, 1902, pp 7-9

11. G.T. Mackenzine, Christianity in Travancore, Trivandrum, 1901, p 8

12.P.K.Balakrishnan, Jati Vyavstituoum Kerala Charitravoum, Kottayam, 1983,

p 345 ff

13. See Thazhakadu Church Inscription of Chera King Rajasimha, [1028-1043 C.E]

14.Kanayalal. M.Talreja, Holy Vedas and Holy Bible, New Delhi, 2000, p 170.

15. Francis Xavier in a letter to the Church authorities in Portugal explains his joy and consolation while Hindu idols were destroyed. See V. Balakrishnan, op cit, p 105 & Kanayalal M. Talrej, op cit, p 18.

16.T. K. Velupillai, The Travancore State Manual, Vol. II, [1940] Trivandrum, rpt. 1996, pp 174,175 & A. Sreedharamenon, op cit, pp 228, 229.

17. C. M. Augur, Church History of Travancore, Kottayam, 1902, pp 7, 8, 9.

18. P. Cheriyan, op cit, p 68 & Missionary Register from 1818 to 1817, pp 101-115

19. It is because of the pull caused through the coir rope the Cross curved down. In Malayalam Coonan mean curved or bent. The meaning is “Oath of Bent Cross”.

20. Rg Vedic messages of “eakam sat vipra bahutavatanthi” the centre of Hindu religious approach. See, P. Parameswaran, Hindutva Ideology – Unique and Universal, Chennai, 2000, p 7.

21. “Education is an integral part of our mission to proclaim the Good News to every creature”. See C.M.I Vision of Education, [A policy statement published by Carmelite of Mary Immaculate] Cochin, 1991, pp 1, 6.

22. Paul, the Apostle of Christ, The Acts of the Apostles, New Testament, Chapter XVII, Aphorism: 22.

23. See Economic Times, 19 May 2003

24. See K.C. Zachariah & others, Study, report published in ‘The new Indian Express’, Kochi, 22 July 2003.

25. K. C. Zachria & S. Irudayarajan, CDS Study, New Indian Express, Kochi, 16^th July 2004

26. Kerala Padanam, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, Kozhikode, 2006, p 54. [Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is a Marxist party organization.].

27. K. C. Zachariah, CDS Study, report: The New Indian Express, Cochin, 16^th July 2004.

28. Kerala Padanam, op cit, p 54

Incredible yoga girl

This is what our ancients have left for us as our hertitage! Let’s not lose it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeOTEs4QysM

‘Religions are for humans, not for Gods’

Wisdom from Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Tue, 22 Jul, 2008,03:38 PM

‘Narada Gana Sabha’ was jam-packed and overflowing on Sunday, with the religious elite of Chennai that had poured in to listen to Swami Dayananda Saraswathi’s luminous eloquence on a subject of imperative importance: Do all religions have the same goal?
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’Only Hindus believe all religions have the same goal. All religions must have a goal and there is no doubt about it. But, they need not be the same or they cannot be the same. Religions are for human beings and not for Gods’; said Swami Dayananda Saraswathi.

While categorizing the religious goals as ‘Dharma’ and ‘Moksha’, Swamiji said that all religions are connected to Dharma and asked, ‘is Dharma universal? Is it religion specific? Does each religion have its own views on Dharma?’
Delving deep on Dharma, Swamiji took the concept of ‘Ahmisa’ and clarified that Ahimsa is not universal.

He connected the concept of Ahimsa to the ‘survival instinct’ of all living beings. ‘There is no exception to the survival instinct and no living being wants to get hurt and no one has the right to hurt others! Ahimsa is not subject to double standards! One can have ones own belief and promote one’s religion by respecting others irrespective of their beliefs.

The ‘freedom’ must not be abused! Though we believe in ‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharma’, other theologies believe in hurting others by various means to achieve their goal. There, the ends do not justify means. For them only end is sacred and not the means and hence they indulge in deception, seduction and coercion,’ averred the Swamiji.

He said that the Abrahamic religions do not accept even one common value whether it is Ahimsa or Mutual Respect or what ever.

Elaborating more on Dharma, Swamiji said, ‘Dharma has a matrix of values to make our choice and we can choose either to do, or not to do, or to differently do! Dharma is not a mandate of God, but a manifestation of God and its basis is knowledge, which doesn’t require to be taught.

This aspect brings the ‘universality of Dharma”. Swamiji added, ‘though law is subject to interpretation, in terms of Dharma all indigenous religions held more or less the same view until they are destroyed’.

Dayananda Saraswathi clearly distinguished between the ‘Moksha’ concept of Sanatana Dharma and the so-called ‘salvation’ propagated by other religions. He said, ‘other religions publicize ‘going to heaven’ as salvation. For them salvation is the need of a condemned or a damned person. They wax eloquent on ‘sin’, ‘sinners’ and ‘saviour’ and they save only sinners!

n the process, they address people of other faiths as ‘sinners’ and say that their God alone can save those sinners. We are not sinners; we are not born out of sin, not in this country; if others say that we are born out of original sin, then they are insulting our parents; we Hindus have highest respect for our parents and we will never subscribe to the view that they are sinners; this is ridiculous! Our prayer must be ‘Oh god, save me from these saviours! They also claim that their God alone can pardon us, save us from our sins for our salvation. They even claim that their God died for us! If somebody died for me, I am not responsible! I have the freedom to take care of myself and I am aware of it’.

Analysing the concept of going to heaven Swamiji said, ‘the other religions talk about heaven as a place, where one can stay permanently and happily without any problem, which are all ‘non-verifiable’ beliefs. Life after death and going to heaven are all non-verifiable.

When you say you are going to a place, then it must be bound by space and time. They say ‘heaven’ is the place of their God, but they also say that their God is ‘formless’. Does ‘formlessness’ require a location? A belief is subject to correction and verification! We believe in different forms of God and that He understands our prayers, which we conduct in different languages.

When a human can respond to different calls and catcalls, God can understand any number of languages. We also believe reaching heaven is a result of ‘Punya’, which in turn is the result of Prayer. Prayer is ‘Karma’ containing specific valid and sophisticated rituals. ‘Karma’ comes from the ‘Kartha’ and as Karthas, we earn Punya by the Karmas of Charity, Dharma, Bakthi, pooja, meditation and penance etc.

When our Punya gets exhausted, we come down to the earth, which means the permanent stay in heaven is denied. When all religions hold non-verifiable beliefs and if all religions accept others religious practices and their beliefs, how can there be a ‘dispute’? Only ‘harmony’ must be there!’

Swamiji concluded by saying, ‘this Jagath (world) is the manifestation of ‘Eshwara’ and ‘Dharma’ is Eshwara and it is non-negotiable. For us, the ‘means’ is much more important than the ‘goal’. We will follow Dharma in our means and God will take care of our end’

Dr. Padma Subramaniam, Bharathanatyam expert and Vice President of Dharma Rakshana Samithi which had organised the speech, welcomed the gathering.

In her welcome address she said ‘Hinduism caters to four different concepts namely Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha as clearly spelt out in Tamil scriptures as Aram, Porul, Inbam and Veedu. Sage Thiruvalluvar has dealt with the first three in his magnificent work Thirukkural through Araththuppaal, Porutpaal and Kaamaththuppaal, which would lead us to the fourth Veedu peru that is the Moksha’.

She also said that women are treated equally well in Hinduism, while they are either discriminated against or ill-treated in other religions. She cited the examples of Gargi, Maithreyi,
Avvaiyaar, Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyaar and Mata Amrithananthamayi Devi who have reached the pinnacles of glory in their service to humanity and divinity.

She called for ‘Unity’ among various religions and also made it clear that unity doesn’t mean uniformity and that Swamijis and Gurus are there to relieve humanity from conflicts and sufferings. She gave a small brief about Dharma Rakshana Samithi.

Cho Ramaswamy stayed clear of ‘religion’ leaving the serious topic to Swamiji and enthralled the audience with his humour and sarcasm on the current political scenario. He said that he has been invited as a ‘Speaker’ and that he would not go without speaking.

Being known for ‘confusions’ he wondered how he could give a clear speech! He said that Swamiji’s speech would be ‘new’ and ‘clear’ but not ‘nuclear’! Then talking about the magical figure of 271 and connecting it with Hindu concept of Advaitha, he said, ‘two of ‘us’ take ‘seven steps’ and become ‘one’. He also said that if the world does not have people like Swamijis and Gurus to throw light on us, then what is ‘Left’ will be ‘darkness’ and concluded by saying, ‘If the Left has a future in India, then India has no future’.

Swami Dayananda Saraswathi released a music CD on Aadhithyahridayam and Essence of Vishnusahasranamam sung by Unni Krishnan and composed by Rangasamy Parthasarathy.

Mathura Mangalam Jeer SWamigal and Hindu Munnani President Ramagopalan were also felicitated and honoured.
newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php …

SUPREME COURT SAYS ‘NO’ TO KARUNANIDHI

The Supreme Court allowed the plea of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati for appointing a public prosecutor from Puducherry on Tuesday to hold trial against him in the Sankararaman murder case.

Supreme Court has said that the state of Puducherry can appoint public prosecutor to hold trial against Kanchi Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswati’ in the Sankararaman murder case.

The Apex court was hearing a plea by the seer challenging the appointment of a public prosecutor from Tamil Nadu in the Sankararaman murder case, in which he himself is an accused and whose trial was shifted to neighbouring Puducherry.

The Court on 10th April had reserved the judgement on the issue in which the Seer had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor.

Further, Shankaracharya had submitted that the apex court should address an important question as to which State should be vested with the power of appeal against the order of the trial court.

Sri Jayendra Saraswati had challenged the appointment of a public prosecutor from Tamil Nadu for holding trial in the case, which was shifted to Puducherry on the direction of the Apex court. Seer had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor.

SUPREME COURT FORBIDS TAMILNADU GOVT’S ATTEMPT AGAINST ACHARYA

The Supreme Court allowed the plea of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati for appointing a public prosecutor from Puducherry on Tuesday to hold trial against him in the Sankararaman murder case. Supreme Court has said that the state of Puducherry can appoint public prosecutor to hold trial against Kanchi Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswati’ in the Sankararaman murder case. The Apex court was hearing a plea by the seer challenging the appointment of a public prosecutor from Tamil Nadu in the Sankararaman murder case, in which he himself is an accused and whose trial was shifted to neighbouring Puducherry. The Court on 10th April had reserved the judgement on the issue in which the Seer had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor. Further, Shankaracharya had submitted that the apex court should address an important question as to which State should be vested with the power of appeal against the order of the trial court. Sri Jayendra Saraswati had challenged the appointment of a public prosecutor from Tamil Nadu for holding trial in the case, which was shifted to Puducherry on the direction of the Apex court. Seer had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor.

SC allows Kanchi seer’s plea for a public prosecutor

Tuesday, 22 July , 2008, 12:14
Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 July , 2008, 12:27

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today allowed the plea of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati for appointing a public prosecutor from Puducherry to hold trial against him in the Sankararaman murder case.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said that the state of Puducherry, where the trial was shifted from Tamil Nadu, can appoint the public prosecutor and the case will continue there.

Jayendra Saraswati had challenged the appointment of a public prosecutor from Tamil Nadu for holding trial in the case, which was shifted to Puducherry on the direction of the Apex court.

Seer had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor.

Further, Shankaracharya had submitted that the apex court should address an important question as to which state should be vested with the power of appeal against the order of the trial court.

The Tamil Nadu Government had maintained that Section 24 CrPC provides exclusive right to a state for appointing its own public prosecutor and hence the pontiff’s plea should not be entertained.

The Shankaracharya was arrested on November 14, 2004 by the Tamil Nadu police in Andhra Pradesh’s Mahaboobnagar district in connection with the murder of A Sankararaman, manager of the Sri Vardaraja Perumal Temple, Kancheepuram on September 3, 2004.

Following a petition filed by the pontiff, the Supreme Court on October 26, 2005 shifted the trial against the seer from the Principal Sessions Court, Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu to the District and Sessions Court, Puducherry.

The apex court on May 2, 2006 had also stayed the trial before the session court, Puducherry after the seer opposed Tamil Nadu Government’s move to appoint its own public prosecutor for the trial.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14721038

`Baptising’ Thiruvalluvar to `besiege’ the Hindus!

Monday, 07 July 2008, 02:25 PM

By: B R HARAN

‘History is always written by the victors and whoever controls the writing of history books control the past. Without doubt, the most consistently powerful force in the western world over the last two thousand years has been the Roman Catholic Church and consequently history has often been what it wanted to be’.

– George Orwell in his novel ‘1984′.

(Thamizhaga Anthanar Varalaaru – History of Brahmins of Tamil Nadu – Vol-II-Page599).

As rightly expressed in those immortal words by George Orwell, the Indians have been fed with distorted history by the Western Christian elite before independence and the same has been continued even after independence, thanks to the takeover of the nation’s history by the Marxists and Christian stooges, who continued the dark and sinister legacy of Max Mueller and McCauley. As an important part of the perverted history, which was planted by the western scholars, the so-called St.Thomas’s arrival, life and death were thrust on South India. This thrust gave a solid foundation to the Church to claim as if Christianity was also an indigenous religion.

As brilliantly shown in these columns by Mr.Sundaram for the last four days, many attempts have been made at regular intervals to impose the concocted history of Thomas on the people, thereby removing the facts from their minds, about the persecution of Hindus and destroying of Hindu Temples by the Christian invaders (Portuguese, French and British) from the fifteenth century onwards.

One such attempt, in the line of Arulappa and Acharya Paul, was made by a writer by name Deivanayagam, who wrote a book titled, ‘Vivliyam (Bible), Thirukkural, Saiva Siddantham – Oppu Ayvu (Comparative Research)’, which was published in 1985-86 by none other than the ‘International Institute of Tamil Studies’, Adayar, Madras, either without any application of mind, or, as a deliberate act of connivance. Shockingly Deivanayagam was also awarded a Doctorate by the University of Madras. Deivanayagam had predetermined to conclude his book with a finding that Thiruvalluvar was a Christian and a disciple of the so-called St.Thomas and most of the Saiva Sidhantha and the vivid knowledge found in Thiruklural were nothing but the sayings of The Bible. In order to achieve this devious motive, he distorted and misinterpreted the verses of Kural and Shivite Philosophical Works and completed the book. Later on, Tamil and Shivite scholars protested against this and the ‘Dharmapuram Adheenam’, a famous Shivite Mutt, came out with a book of refutation written by Tamil Shivite Scholar Arunai Vadivel Mudaliar and released it amongst a congregation of eminent Scholars, who strongly criticized Deivanayagam for his perversion of history. This was done mainly to prevent the usage of such deceitful materials by the future generations for research activities. (Ref: www.hamsa.org – Ishvar Sharan)

The planting of the so-called St.Thomas’s story was not only to have a foundation for Christianity in India, but also to spread it through out the country. This fabrication succeeded slightly, over the years, in the areas of Madras, Nagappatinam and Pondicherry, mainly because of the fact that the ‘Kapaleeshwarar Temple’, Mylapore, ‘Vel Ilankanni Amman Temple’ near Nagappattinam and ‘Vedapureeshwarar Temple’, Pondicherry were destroyed and Santhome Basilica, Velankanni Church (Our Lady of Health Basilica) and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Pondicherry were built on their remains respectively. Well known scholars of Archeology have established that, the details of the destruction of original Kapaleeshwarar Temple could be found in Tamil inscriptions on the walls of the Marundeeswarar Temple in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, even today!

But, the glorious religious tradition and cultural heritage of Sanatana Dharma had been so hugely established that, despite the cooperation from the Dravidian racists, Marxists and the English language media, the Catholic Diocese couldn’t expand beyond a certain limit. As a result, it started indulging in ‘inculturation’ methods (saffron dressing, paadayaatra, calling ‘Santhome Mary’ as ‘Thirumayilai Annai’, giving sugar-rice as prashaad, etc) to confuse and win over the gullible masses.

At this juncture, fell on its head like a ‘bolt from the blue’, the categorical statement from Pope Benedict that the so-called St.Thomas never ever visited India! This resounding statement from the Papacy, which shocked the Catholic community, had shaken the very foundation of Christianity in South India! As the Papacy didn’t bother to listen to the Indian Catholic community and their protests, the Madras and Cochin Bishops met in Cochin, Kerala during the second week of June 2008, to find out ways and means of reestablishing the history of the so-called St. Thomas.

As a step in that direction, the Archdiocese of Santhome, Madras, decided to produce a feature film on the so-called St.Thomas the Apostle of India, at a cost of Rs.50 Crore in the banner of ‘St.Thomas Apostle of India Trust’, which has Archbishop A.M.Chinappa, Deputy Archbishop Lawrence Pius, Treasurer of the Diocese Mr.Ernest Paul and Script Writer Dr.Paulraj Lourdusamy as office bearers. The movie will be presenting the life and times of the so-called St.Thomas in South India in general and Madras in particular. The film will have certain supposedly important events like the alleged meeting between Thomas and Tamil Sage Thiruvalluvar, the establishment of Santhome Cathedral and the alleged killing of Thomas by a Hindu Brahmin Priest.

The story of Thirukkural containing Biblical verses was first concocted by G.U.Pope, a Christian Missionary, who learnt Tamil and translated the Tamil Literary works such as Thiruvachagam, Naaladiyaar and Thirukkural in English. The missionaries like G.U.Pope, Joseph Besky (who took a Tamil name ‘Veeramaa Munivar’) and Caldwell have a modus operandi of learning the native language with a motive of distorting history to suit their missionary agendas. The Dravidian racist political party, which always thrived on the bogus Aryan Invasion theory, took immense satisfaction in glorifying these missionaries by erecting statues for them along the Marina Beach when it ruled Tamil Nadu in the late sixties and early seventies, thereby exhibiting its unholy connection with Christian missionaries. No wonder, the Honourable Chief Minister Karunanithi inaugurated this 50 crore movie-magnum on the so-called St.Thomas!

G.U.Pope lived up to the true tradition of Christian missionaries, by telling that Thiruvalluvar lived in Madras between 800 and 1000 years after the birth of Christ! The Tamils never bought this story and laughed at it. As per the available records it is believed that Thiruvalluvar could have lived during the second century based on the evidence that ‘Thirukkural’ was included in the group called Pathinen Keezh Kanakku (Eighteen literary works) during the ‘Kadai Sangam’ (Last Sangam) days. Those days, there was a literary-grammatical procedure by which the author would always make it a point to convey to the readers the identification of his Teacher (Guru) and Patron apart from his own personal details such as name, native place, worshipping deity, etc. But Thirukkural sans such details, and hence, the connection between Thiruvalluvar and Thomas is a mere figment of imagination.

Whereas, a look at many other literary works written after the second century, say for example Kamba Ramayanam, or Periya Puraanam, could lead to the mentioning of Thirukkural or its philosophy in them and none of them would have any information about a religion called Christianity. The glorious rule of Raja Raja Chola was during the 10 century and there was no trace of Christianity then! Also the Santhome Cathedral had the inscriptions of Rajendra Chola of the eleventh century on its corridor walls! Then what meeting is this Archdiocese talking about between Thiruvalluvar and the so-called St.Thomas?

Even the Chief Minister during his speech at the inauguration function, has not mentioned anything about the alleged meeting between Thomas and Thiruvalluvar. It is a well-known fact that, Karunanidhi, himself being a Tamil Scholar and well versed with Tamil literary works, had written his masterpiece ‘Kuraloviyam’ on Thirukkural. As he had not talked anything about the connection between the Bible and Thirukkural or Thomas and Thiruvalluvar at the inaugural function of the movie, it becomes obvious that the ‘Thomas story’ is an absolute falsehood! But, he has waxed eloquent on the supposed killing of the so-called St.Thomas at the hands of a Hindu Brahmin Priest and went on to say that the particular scene alone is enough for the success of the movie! But For this (Thomas’s killing) also, the Church doesn’t have even an iota of evidence.

At this juncture, it can be recalled that the Honourable Chief Minister had recently questioned the truth of Bhagwan Rama, historicity of Ramayana and existence of Rama Sethu, despite the availability of so much of archeological, literary, cultural, numismatic, geographical and historical evidences. But, he has not exhibited the courage to question the historicity of the so-called St.Thomas, despite being aware of the fact that there is absolutely no iota of evidence. The Honourable Chief Minister, who is a well-known expert in Thirukkural, has unfortunately not felt it important to ascertain the truth of the so-called metering between Thomas and Thiruvalluvar, but conveniently left it untouched at the inauguration function. Though the people are aware of the Chief Minister’s hostile stand against the majority community, it doesn’t augur well for him to openly pander the minority community accepting their devious machinations.

The Archdiocese talks of three vital places in Madras namely Santhome (Mylapore), Little Mount (Saidapet) and Thoms Mount (Brungi Malai). While Santhome Cathedral stands on the ruins of Kapali Temple, Little Mount was also built after demolishing a Temple and the Church on the Big Mount was also built on the ruins of a Temple. The Big Mount was called as ‘Brungi Malai’ named after ‘Brungi Maharishi’, who sat in penance there invoking Bhagwan Shiva seeking his Darshan and Blessing. Ultimately Bhagwan Shiva appeared before Brungi Munivar as ‘Nandeeshwara’ and as clear evidence the ‘Avudai Nayagi Sametha Nandeeshwara Temple’ stands near the St.Thomas Railway Station, from where one could see the Brungi Malai clearly. This ‘Stal puraanaa’ can be found in the form of inscriptions on the walls of the Nandeeshwara Temple even today! Even while the Archdiocese has been attempting to establish the fallacy of St.Thomas over the years, it has not exhibited the courage so far to face a public debate despite invitations from learned Tamil Hindu scholars.

The Archdiocese has the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion to propagate its faith, but it cannot be done at the cost of other religious faith. Freedom of expression and freedom of religion cannot be used to distort history, or Christianise the icons of other religions, with a motive of belittling the other faith, which is native in all respects and which has well-established glorious religious tradition and cultural heritage spanning thousands of years even before the birth of Christianity. Thrusting of falsehood on the gullible masses cannot be allowed. It is not too difficult to understand the aims and objectives of the Madras Archdiocese behind this movie project. So, it would be better for them to understand the sensitivity attached with this project, as they have a social responsibility. The government must also ensure that history is not distorted and the people are not repeatedly fed with fabrications and fallacies.

It would be appropriate to conclude with the sensible and courageous words of Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, ‘The Church will have to go, and the Kapaleeshwara Temple re-built on that site. Hindus will do it with the help of sane and civilised Christians if possible, without them if necessary, and despite them if forced. When 83 percent Hindus unite, let those who are seeking to debase Hindu icons by bogus history realise that a religiousTsunami will wash them away’.

Politics has always been interwoven with religion and history in our nation of diversity and in such a scenario, it would be better to leave this project untouched, for the sake of Unity!

P.S:

Ompalaniappan writes:

1. Deivanayagam got Ph.D and then only his bogus-thesis was
published by the IITS.

2. IITS is in Taramani and not in Adyar as stated.

3. Tamil and Shivite scholars were sleeping and it was Vedaprakash
who pursued the matter with the mutts by corresponding with them.
Though Arunai Vadivelu Mudaliar of Tattuva Maiyam, Kanchipuram gave
the typed manuscript, the Mayiladurai Adhinam (International
Institute of Saiva Siddhanta)was not publishing. Sri. T. N.
Ramachandran was secretary at that time.

4. Even Deivanayagam was ridiculing the delay by issuing handbills.

5. Vedaprakash met Arunai Vadivelu Mudaliar and knew the facts,
later made arrangements to reach the copy to the Mutt (Sri.
Palaravayan Mudaliar’s son took the copy from him).

6. “Inculuration” program has been there since early 1960s as the
Vatican Council II documents.

7. Arulappa, the collaborator clearly recorded in his book that the
temple on the Big-mount was Perumal / Vishnu temple. This was
destroyed by the Portuguese after driving away the people living
there.

Ram Sethu: VHP to hold 2-day meet on June 15-16

PTI | May 22, 2008 | 15:05 IST

With a view to strengthening its movement against the Rs 2,400 crore Sethusamudram Shipping Canal, involving dredging of the Ram Sethu (Adam’s Bridge), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad will organise a two-day national meeting of ’sadhus’ to press the Centre to announce Ram Sethu as a national heritage of historical importance.

VHP international president Ashok Singhal told reporters in Chennai on Thursday that the meeting, to be held on June 15 and 16 at Haridwar, would also decide on a ‘massive agitation’ involving 50,000 people, in support of the Ram Sethu movement.

“The belief over Ram Sethu is centuries-old and has followers not only in India, but all across South East Asia, including Cambodia and Indonesia, among others. Followers of Lord Ram in these countries revere him as a historical figure,” he said.

“The meeting will equivocally demand that the Centre announce Ram Sethu as a national monument,” he said while welcoming a recent Supreme Court directive to the Centre on undertaking an archaelogical survey of the monument.

The Ram Sethu has been a bone of contention between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, which wants the project at any cost, and those opposed to the dredging of it as they claim that the bridge was built by Lord Ram to cross over to Sri Lanka.

The issue had even led to the Tamil Nadu chief minister making some critical remarks about Lord Ram, wondering if he was a qualified engineer to have constructed a bridge.

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard had also expressed their reservations over the project.�

While Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had said that the project was ‘viable’ only for small ships, the Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral R F Contractor said there was a possibility of the channel being used by militant groups.

Recalling the Aracheological Survey of India affidavit in the Supreme Court doubting the existence of Lord Ram, Singhal claimed that this had resulted in even the Congress getting divided over the project.

Claiming the implementation of the project as a “great risk for India’s security,” he expressed apprehension that it could also destroy India’s thorium deposits in the region.

The project envisages linking the Palk Bay in India and the Gulf of Mannar in Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the shallow seas.

To a query on the current internal security of the nation, Singhal said that the entire country was “in the grip of terrorism.”

Responding to a query on the recent mandate handed over to the Maoists in Nepal by the people, Singhal said, “It will be another dictatorship, since the Maoists don’t believe in democracy.”

This was the situation in China too, he said.

“The Maoists believe in bullets, not ballots,” he added.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/may/22sethu.htm