Monday, February 28, 2011

Stark: missionising Hinduism

Of particular interest is the additional claim that, because Hindus realise that all religions and Gods are one, Hinduism is not a missionising religion.  Ironically, this claim is made most often by people who are in the act of missionising on behalf of Hinduism, as in: "You should embrace my faith because it is so much wiser and more tolerant than that narrow and disgusting creed of yours."

...As the Danish religious historian Johannes Aagaard put it:
The nature of Hinduism is normally described in connection with the liberal reformers...Therefore the nationalist and revivalist line is turned down and the expansion and mission of Hinduism is not seen.  The result is a complete caricature of Hinduism and its nature and mission...for which the scholars are to be made responsible...It is not a minor mistake.

...The very idea that Yahweh, Jehovah, and Allah are alternative names for Brahman is anathema even to most Hindu intellectuals, let alone the rank and file.  Were it otherwise, how would one explain the chronic and brutal violence against non-Hindus that has gone on so long in India, especially since the British left, and the need to partition the subcontinent into Hindu and Muslim nations?

...But the definitive proof that Hinduism is a missionising faith is to be found in the presence of literally hundreds of Hindu mission organisations and centers in Europe and North America - many of which frankly include the word "mission" in their names.

One True God, pp106-109

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