The same people
would not have made the statement had the woman converted to
Hinduism or any other non-Christian faith. We do need religious harmony and dialogue
throughout the world. One of the most unfortunate things is that
there is so much misinformation and even disinformation about
Hinduism in the world. For example, in the New York Times, only last
year, there was a story about the Amarnath pilgrimage in India. And
what did the New York Times call it?
"Hindus going to worship
the sex organs of Shiva, the God of Destruction." What kind of tolerance is that?
What
kind of point of view is being projected by it? But I have to tell you that the
fault for this is not really all with these western people. The
fault lies with Hindus themselves. They have been very poor at
expressing what their religion is and in countering disinformation
and propaganda against them. They do not study their religion
properly and so, they cannot explain what it is. They are also
misinformed about other religions and think that other religions are
just Hinduism in another form.
But
you will not find these rich traditions of yoga, meditation, Vedas
and Vedanta, in other traditions. Particularly in the Protestant
tradition in the West they are rejected almost altogether and, to
these Evangelical Christians, they are considered to be the work of
the devil. Some people say that all
religions teach the same thing. Well, Hinduism teaches the Law of
Karma and Rebirth.
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