These attitudes still exist
throughout the world and India does not exist in isolation. And
Hindus in India are, and India as a whole is, still being targeted
for conversion. Why is this so? If all the religions teach the same
thing, why is it that certain religions are seeking to convert the
members of other religions to their beliefs?
Hinduism
is a pluralistic tradition. It teaches that there are many paths,
many scriptures, many sages, many ways to come to the Divine to gain
self-realization and it should be free for the individual to find
and follow whatever way he or she thinks or feels works best.
But not all religions are
pluralistic. In fact, most religions are exclusive in their
mentality and in their beliefs. The two largest religions in the
world, with a few notable exceptions, teach that theirs is the only
true faith. The average Christian throughout the world has been
taught to believe that only Christians gain salvation. The idea has
been projected as an eternal heaven for the Christians and an
eternal hell for the non-Christians, particularly for
idol-worshipping Hindus. And so far, we do not have major Christian
leaders in the world contradicting that statement.
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