My view in blue.
This again goes to my previous mails about fortifying defenses. Unfortunately the reaction of the Hindu majority (peaceful ones) is perceived to be "insecurity" while what most of the Hindus are indulging in is being better aware and also talk in blogs and forums. The hardcore ones are probably uneducated, illiterate thugs whose passions get whipped up by politicians.
It depends on the individual, if he wishes to feel insecure about his faith or not...the illeterate thugs and politicians will make "use" of some other divisive platform, if not religion, anyways...
Hindus are unfairly being accused that they want a India only for Hindus. I don't anybody in their right frame of mind can even dream about ethnic cleansing of Muslims or Christians. But at the same time if Christianity and Islam are bent on increasing their numbers by conversion then Hindus have the same right of ensuring their numbers don't dwindle by these conversions. Let us remember here that Hindus are not involved in poaching members from other communities. If a person wants to ensure that his house does not get robbed by someone, would you blame the person for that?
The hindutva forces do beelive in an india only for hindus. Nope they are not talking abt cleansing the ethnic way, they are talking about cleansing the "shuddhi" way. Numbers mean nothing. We indians have anyways bred like fleas, increasing our quantity rather than quality, since atleast the colonial times. Quantity, without quality, matters only for vote banks, it has nothing to do with spiritualism. People have more freedom of choice now.
Lets put it this way - its the kali yuga where people are meant to live in falsehood, and so on. Its a stage of transformation. Things will possibly go in the direction the way its meant to go. This freedom of individual choice and interference by state / governement are perhaps part of the process of transformation (??).
I really don't know if there is something called a free-will conversion. Even assuming the poor Hindu Dalit got so disgusted with the caste system and became a Christian of his own free will(?) but still continues to be called a Dalit Christian and refused entry into Churches meant for the upper class. When these poorer sections convert it is normally through inducements because they care a hoot about spiritual transformation when they cannot afford one square meal a day. If a upper caste, rich Hindu converts seeking spiritual transformation, I might be able to believe in free-will conversion but even here if "spiritual transformation" is the goal you find more westerners seeking eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism) than the other way around. You also find our Gurus never propagating or saying Hinduism should be your way whether it is Satya Sai Baba, SSR or Mata Amritanandamayi. Our Sankaracharyas' tradition is something unquestionable. You can read (www.kamakoti.org) any number of Christians and Muslims who paid glowing tributes to our Paramacharya. They said they saw Jesus or Allah in him. Such is the power of our Gurus who propagate our religion not by proselytising or converting but by example.
Yes, tehre is something called freewill conversion. Did not vadamas convert to srivaishnavism out of freewill? Were all those who converted rich and not poor?
True, the xtian conversions at the most 'base' levels take place due to money inducements, but what about the 'respect' the new converts claim they get, plus what about the great network the converts also claim that they get - getting money to start off with a small biz does help them break the cycle of poverty. Lets face it - the root cause is poverty. So why not address a man's poverty, instead of blaming him for converting?
I for one, do consider Jayendra Swami a great guru. When he instituted education schemes, he was criticized for not following dharma just because he did things that orthodoxy generally does not do. When he was arrested, tehre were people who said that he deserved it because he did not follow dharma (since he provided education for shudras, etc). On the contrary, the critics forgot the early vedic society had no shudras. It is great to have swamis who move ahead with the times. Another example is Chinna jeeyar swami garu who is simply amazing, so much that i have no words for him. It is so heartening to see swamis like Jayendra swami and Chinna jeeyar swami garu...God bless them...and hope they work in support of one another.
