|
Critical Podium Dewanand Religion
An open letter to Pope John Paul II Conversion is
violence by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Sacrificer Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Sacrifice code wfor0463
Sacrifice date 25 march 2009
An open letter to Pope John Paul II
Conversion is violence
Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Your Holiness,
On behalf of many Hindus whom I know personally, I welcome your visit
to Bharat. This is a country with an ancient civilisation and unique religious
culture which accommodates many religious traditions that have come to
this country throughout the centuries.
Being the head of the Vatican State and also the Catholic Church with
a great following all over the world, you enjoy a highly venerable position
and can play a significant role in defusing religious conflicts and preserving
the world's rich cultures. You have in your Apostolic Letter tertio millennio
adveniente, 38 (November 10, 1994) voiced your intention to convoke a
Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia. After seeing the report
of the Pre-Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
Special Assembly for Asia appointed by you, I want to bring to your kind
notice the concerns of many Hindus in this country about religious conversion.
In the Second Vatican Council, the status accorded to the world religions
was that of a means of preparing them for Christ. We all understand that
the Catholic religion does not accommodate other religions, except in
this context. But I am appealing to you here to accept that every person
has the freedom to pursue his or her own religion.
In the recent past, you mentioned that reason should be respected. On
the basis of reason, no non-verifiable belief is going to fare any better
than any other non-verifiable belief. Therefore, according to reason,
there is no basis for conversion in matters of faith.
Apart from reason, there is another important issue which I request you
to consider. Among the world's religious traditions, there are those that
convert and those that do not. The non-converting religious traditions,
like the Hindu, Jewish and Zoroastrian, give others the freedom to practise
their religion whether they agree with the others' tenets or not. They
do not wish to convert. I would characterise them as non-aggressive. Religions
that are committed by their theologies to convert, on the other hand,
are necessarily aggressive, since conversion implies a conscious intrusion
into the religious life of a person, in fact, into the religious person.
This is a very deep intrusion, as the religious person is the deepest,
the most basic in any individual. When that person is disturbed, a hurt
is sustained which is very deep. The religious person is violated. The
depth of this hurt is attested by the fact that when a religious sentiment
is violated, it can produce a martyr. People connected to a converted
person are deeply hurt. Even the converted person will suffer some hurt
underneath.
He must necessarily wonder if he has done the right thing and, further,
he has to face an inner alienation from his community, a community to
which he has belonged for generations, and thus an alienation from his
ancestors. I don't think that can ever be fully healed. Religious conversion
destroys centuries-old communities and incites communal violence. It is
violence and it breeds violence. Thus, for any humane person, every religious
sentiment has to be respected, whether it is a Muslim sentiment or a Christian
sentiment or a Hindu sentiment.
Further, in many religious traditions, including the Hindu tradition,
religion is woven into the fabric of culture. So, destruction of a religion
amounts to the destruction of a religious culture. Today, for instance,
there is no living Greek culture; there are only empty monuments. The
Mayan, Roman and many other rich cultures are all lost forever and humanity
is impoverished for it. Let us at least allow humanity to enjoy the riches
of its remaining mosaic of cultures. Each one has some beauty, something
to contribute to the enrichment of humanity.
In any tradition, it is wrong to strike someone who is unarmed. In the
Hindu tradition, this is considered a heinous act, for which the punishment
is severe. A Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew, are all unarmed, in that they do
not convert. You cannot ask them to change the genius of their traditions
and begin to convert in order to combat conversion. Because it is the
tradition of these religions and cultures not to convert, attempts to
convert them is one-sided aggression. It is striking the unarmed. I respect
the freedom of a Christian or a Muslim to practise his or her faith. I
do not accept many of their beliefs, but I want them to have the freedom
to follow their religion.
You cannot ask me to respond to conversion by converting others to my
religion because it is not part of my tradition. We don't believe in conversion,
even though certain Hindu organisations have taken back some converted
people. Thus, conversion is not merely violence against people; it is
violence against people who are committed to non-violence.
I am hurt by religious conversion and many others like me are hurt. Millions
are hurt. There are many issues to be discussed regarding conversion,
but I want to draw your attention to only the central issue here which
is this one-sided violence. Religious conversion is violence and it breeds
violence. In converting, you are also converting the non-violent to violence.
Any protest against religious conversion is always branded as persecution,
because it is maintained that people are not allowed to practise their
religion, that their religious freedom is curbed. The truth is entirely
different. The other person also has the freedom to practise his or her
religion without interference. That is his/her birthright. Religious freedom
does not extend to having a planned programme of conversion. Such a programme
is to be construed as aggression against the religious freedom of others.
During the years of your papal office, you have brought about certain
changes in the attitude and outlook of the church. On behalf of the non-aggressive
religions of the world, the Hindu, the Parsi, the Jewish and other native
religions in different countries, I request you to put a freeze on conversion
and create a condition in which all religious cultures can live and let
live.
The writer is the head of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam
***
Critical Podium Dewanand Religion
All rights reserved.
|
|