Jnanadeepa Pune Journal of Religious Studies ISSN 2249-1503 www.punejournal.in DOI: 10.5281/zenodo. 4260450

Stable URL: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo. 4260450 Hindu Missionaries and Conversion Antony Mookenthottam, MSFS

Abstract: “ is a pacifist, non-violent, and tolerant religion.” “It is a model for all religions.” “Hinduism is not missionary.” “It has no expansive designs and does not send any missionaries.” These are some of the presuppositions and assumptions propagated by even scholars of international repute. The famous indologist Max Muller, for example, declared that never proselytized.1 Almost all the articles published in the leading secular dailies of like the Hindu, The Times o f India, and The N ew Indian Express, after the Indian Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee’s call for a national debate on conversions in the context of the attack on the Christian communities and the murder of the Australian Missionary Graham Steines, presupposed as self-evident that Hinduism is not missionary and does not convert. But is this true?

Keywords: Max Muller, A. B. Vajpayee, Religious conversion, Graham Steines Cited as: Mookenthottam, Antony. (2000). Conversion: Legal Perspectives (Version 1.0). Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies, January 2000 (3/1), 51-64. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo. 4260450

2000-01-01

Updated on Nov 10, 2020 JPJRS 3/1 (2000) 65-73

Hindu Missionaries and Conversion Antony Mookenthottam, MSFS Suvidya College, Bangalore

Introduction the missionary character of Hinduism. “Hinduism is a pacifist, non-vio­ Let us first of all search for evidences of missionary activity jn Hindu Sacred lent, and tolerant religion.” “It is a model literature. Then we shall investigate for all religions.” “Hinduism is not mis­ Hindu missionary activity in the pre- sionary.” “It has no expansive designs and post-Christian era, tracing some of and does not send any missionaries.” These are some of the presuppositions the tendencies from the beginning up to and assumptions propagated by even now. scholars of international repute. The fa­ mous indologist Max Muller, for ex­ The Hindu Sacred Literature ample, declared that Brahmins never Although there are no direct evi­ proselytized.1 Almost all the articles dences of missionary activity in Hindu published in the leading secular dailies Sacred Literature, one could trace in of India like the H indu, The Times of them clear evidences for unmistakable India, and The New Indian Express, af­ missionary activity. The disappearance ter the Indian Prime Minister A. B. of Dasyus and Panis - referred to by Vajpayee’s call for a national debate on Rgveda as enemies of the Aryans and conversions in the context of the attack described as “riteless, indifferent to on the Christian communities and the gods”2 - and the institution of murder of the Australian Missionary vratyastoma sacrifice to receive outsid­ Steines, presupposed as self-evident that ers into the brahmanic fold' are un­ Hinduism is not missionary and does not doubtedly such instances. convert. But is this true? Absorption and Assimilation: The No serious research has been done Aryans progressively absorbed non- on the missionary character of Hindu­ Aryans into the brahmanic fold by ab­ ism so far. Obviously, there is a scar­ sorbing their deities and assigning them city of historical records in this regard. a place in the vedic pantheon. , Besides, the Hindu Scriptures and the who later became Siva, is a non-Aryan do not give any direct evidence deity.4 Sri appears only in the of missionary activity. These pose seri­ supplements to the Rgveda - an indica­ ous problems for a researcher. tion that it is a later addition.5

All the same, even a superficial re­ The Upanisads give further evi­ searcher cannot escape being struck by dence of absorption and assimilation.

65 Non-Aryan doctrines like , re­ Vivekananda continues: birth, are integrated, assimilated Hinduism cannot live without Bud­ and become part of brahmanic heritage.6 dhism, nor without Hindu­ This all-absorbing, all-assimilating ten­ ism. Then realize what the separation dency of Hinduism has become even has shown to us, that the Buddhists more pronounced in recent times. cannot stand without the brain and Vivekananda mentions three religions philosophy of the Brahmins, nor the which received tremendous shocks but without the heart of the Bud­ survived by their internal strength; they dhist.9 are Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Ju­ This all-.absorbing, assimilating daism. About Hinduism Vivekananda tendency has been further enhanced in declares: recent times. . . . sect after sect arose in India and Blanket-labelling: The term “blan­ seemed to shake the religion of the ket-labelling” may be used for the to its very foundations; but like wholesale induction of tribals, and the waters of the sea-shore in a tre­ other non-Aryan folks into the Hindu mendous earthquake it receded only fold, though, in reality, they have noth­ for a while, only to return in an all­ ing in common with Hinduism. Unlike absorbing flood, a thousand times other religions, Hinduism does not de­ more vigourous; and when the tumult of the rush was over, these sects were mand a change of heart or faith but only all sucked in, absorbed and assimi­ the prior acceptance of the label. Pro­ lated into the immense body of mother gressive integration of their culture is a faith.7 slow and unperceived process. The fol­ lowing text expresses the just described The Absorption of Buddha and attitude: Buddhism". Not only sects, but even het­ erodox religions are absorbed Into Hin­ In the context of India’s moderniza­ duism. Buddhism, as we know, arose in tion, the only section of the Indian society which can be considered re­ fact as a reaction against brahmin domi­ ally important is the Hindu majority. nation and casteism. Paradoxically, not For legal, sociological and historical only is Buddha accepted in the course reasons, this community also includes of time as an avatara but Buddhism is the Jains and the Buddhists, and mod­ itself presented as the fulfilment of Hin­ ern movements like Sikhism, the duism: Radhaswamis and others. It is plain As the Jew did not understand the enough that while there are important fulfilment of the Old Testament, so the differences of beliefs and world-view Buddhist did not understand the as well as of social organization, the fulfilment of the truths of Hindu reli­ ultimate foundations are the same. gion. Again, I repeat, Shakya Muni The word “Hindu” has covered and came not to destroy, but he was the continues to cover all religions which fulfilment, the logical conclusion, the took birth in India.10 logical development of the religion of This is an extremely subtle way of the .8 converting non-brahmanic religions and

66 Jnanadeepa 2000, Vol. 3, No. 1 bringing them under brahmin domina­ These colonizations were not al­ tion ways pacific: Thus absorption and assimilation The military exploits of these early In­ have been used as powerful means of dian colonists are important as throw­ ing light on certain aspects of the In­ conversion from vedic times to the dian character and genius which have present. It is evident that Hinduism was hitherto not been appreciated. But far not averse to proselytization right from more important is the rich civilization early times not only in India but also they built up in their colonies and abroad. settlements and which endured for over a thousand years.13 ' Conversion of South-East Asia It would not be wrong to conclude that colonization and conversions pro­ We may take it as a well-estab­ gressed hand in hand. lished fact that there vyere Hindu king­ doms by the fifth century CE in South­ Two other factors contributed to East Asia. Both historical and archaeo­ conversions: i) in South-East Asia Hin­ logical evidence favour this view. How duism enjoyed royal patronage because did this process take place? Hindu raja firmly established the authority of the kings, ii) the mis­ Colonization: Jawaharlal Nehru sionary zeal of the Indian legates was writes in The Discovery of India: another reason which brought about From the first century of the Chris­ such a remarkable change: tian era onwards wave after wave of It is only a story of great triumph Indian colonists spread east and south­ against enormous odds. However, it east reaching Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, seems that Brahmanical religion was Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Siam, Cam­ not probably much behind Buddhism bodia, and Indo-China. Some of them in respect of missionary zeal and managed to reach Formosa, the Phil­ proselytising activity.14 ippine Islands and Celebes. 11 This proselytising activity never There were four principal waves stopped except perhaps for brief peri­ of colonization between the first cen­ ods. George Campbell in his report tury and about 900 CE. These were or­ about his government in Bengal wrote: ganized by the state. Colonies were situ­ It is a great mistake to suppose that ated on strategic points and on impor­ the Hindu religion is not proselytising; tant trade routes. Most probably colo­ the system of castes gives room for nization started much earlier than the the introduction of any number of first century CE because such waves of outsiders, so long as people do not interfere with existing castes, they colonization could not have occurred may form a new caste and call them­ “unless they had been preceded for selves Hindus; and the are many generations or centuries by indi­ always ready to receive all who will viduals or small groups intent on submit to them and pay them. The pro­ trade.”12 cess of manufacturing Rajput from

Hindu Missionaries and Conversion 67 ambitious aborigines goes on before Though it may not be termed a mission­ our eyes.15 ary activity in the strict sense, the in­ Campbell’s report not only sub­ herent missionary dimension cannot be stantiates Hindu proselytising activity ignored.17 but also gives an insight into another di­ With Vivekananda, the sharing of mension of Hindu missionary method­ the experiential dimension of Hinduism ology, namely, formation of sub-castes becomes a real missionary approach, a under brahmanic supremacy. It also method, a tool. Vivekananda declares: throws light on Hindu opposition to Is­ You must come out from all form if lam and Christianity because they re­ you would see the Light. Drink deep sist reduction into other Hindu castes, of the nectar of the knowledge of God. although both the Christians and the The man who realises, “I am He,” Muslims - but to a lesser extent - have though clad in rags, is happy. Go forth castes in their own respective commu­ into the Eternal and come back with nities. eternal energy. The slave goes out to search for truth; he comes back free.18 What we have seen so far illus­ trates that Hindu proselytising activity This realization is the most impor­ was going on right from the beginning tant: of its existence till now with occasional Religion is not in doctrines, in dog­ interruptions caused by socio-political mas, nor in intellectual argumentation; situations such as Muslim invasion of it is being and becoming, it is realiza­ India and British colonization.16 tion.19 In this missionary activity we may Then follows the subtle, implicit notice a threefold approach: i) peace­ invitation: ful, calm sharing of religious experi­ We hear so many talking about God ence; ii) aggressive missionary activity; and the soul, and all the mysteries of and iii) most subtle intellectual approach the universe, but if you take them one unsurpassed in the annals of the mis­ by one, and ask them, “Have you re­ sionary history of any religion so far. alized God? Have you seen your soul?” - How many can say they have? And yet they are all fighting Sharing of Religious Experience with one another.20 Seeking and sharing religious ex­ Indirectly it means that Advaita perience is a common phenomenon in does not fight, offers realization. the Upanisads. shares his experience of both in public S. Radhakrishnan, one of the debates (BU 3.1-9) and in private (BU former Presidents of India, proclaimed 4.1-4). There are others who seek real­ the message of religious experience: ization like Narada who approaches The Upanisads speak to us of differ­ Sanatkumara for instruction (CU 7.1­ ent forms of genuine religious expe­ 26). We may observe that both the shar­ rience. whether it is contemplation of ing of religious experience and the Absolute, or meditation on the Su­ instrution lead to conversion of heart. preme Person, or worship of the Cos­

68 Jnanadeepa 2000, Vol. 3, No. 1 mic Spirit or absorption in the world writing. My Godbrother [Kesava of nature, they are all genuine forms, Maharaja in Mathura] insisted to me, as they aim at the same ultimate con­ ‘Bhaktivedanta Prabhu, you must do clusion of self-transcendence.21 it. Without accepting the renounced order of life, nobody can become a Then Radhakrishnan refers to preacher.’ It was my spiritual master other religions which seek union - an who insisted through this Godbrother. indirect reference to Christianity, Islam, So, unwillingly, I accepted.”23 etc. - and indicates what is beyond The missionary activity of Swami them: Prabhupada produced marvellous re­ There are others who wish to go be­ sults. Goswami describes this: yond union to unity, a state of con­ sciousness which is above subject- Before leaving India, he had written object relationship. Naturally the three books; in the next twelve years Upanisads do not adopt an attitude of he would write more than sixty. Be­ dogmatism. This attitude of accep­ fore he left India he had initiated one tance of all forms of worship has been disciple; in the next twelve years, he a persistent character of India’s reli­ would initiate more than four thou­ gious life. The world of God is not sand. Before he left India, hardly any­ bound by languages in which it is spo­ one had believed that he could fulfil ken. It is the one voice that is heard in his vision of a worldwide society of all religions.22 devotees; but in the next de­ cade he would form and maintain the Indirectly, it is an affirmation of International Society for Krishna Con­ the superiority of advaitic experience, sciousness and open more than a hun­ its non-dogmatic character and toler­ dred centres.24 ance. What was the reason for this mar­ While these are indirect, implicit vellous success? To an intellectually missionary approaches through an in­ overfed West, Swami Prabhupada of­ vitation to share religious experience, fered a religion of the heart, of experi­ with Swami Prabhupada it becomes an ence. The method he followed was the open, public proclamation and mission­ ecstatic singing of which at­ ary activity. tracted people and he preached to them. Conversions followed. Conversion through Proclamation While these are pacifist mission­ With A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ary activities, aggressive approaches are Prabhupada, the founder of the Krishna Consciousness Movement (ISKCON), not unknown to Hinduism. sharing religious experience becomes a proclamation to conversion and adher­ Aggressive Hindu Missionary ence to the movement. The Swamiji Activity embraced in order to be a mis­ Colonization of South-East Asia sionary: was not without violence. It is implied In later years Prabhupada would re­ in the statement of Nehru cited eaclier. call, “I was sitting alone in Vtndavana, India embraced Buddhism at the con­

Hindu Missionaries and Conversion 69 version of emperor Ashoka (272-236 or one of its main activities. 'I here were 232 BCE). But by the end of the 12lh and are two kinds of reconversions. One century CE, Buddhism had almost be­ is the reconversion of Hindu converts come non-existence, a religion of no to Islam or Christianity back to Hindu­ consequence in India. Scholars assign ism. The other is the reconversion of various causes for this - sudden internal Dalits and tribal Christians to Hinduism corruption and decay, divisive effect of based on the assumption that all Dalits sectarianism, insufficient cultivation of and tribals are Hindus. In reality, it is the laity or the social failure of Bud­ not reconversion but conversion of dhism, Brahmanic persecution, with­ Christians to Hinduism under the guise drawal of royal patronage and Muslim of reclamation and reconversion. invasion.25 the argument that Buddhism was simply exhausted and died in India The Methods Employed seem ridiculous. Besides philanthropic and relief The most important cause for the work, the Arya Samajists successfully disappearance of Buddhism was employ two methods. The first is to raise brahmanic hostility and Sankaracaryals the caste status of tribals by entitling persecution of the Buddhists and the them to wear the sacred thread. The sec­ reconversion of the masses to Hindu­ ond is to raise the untouchables to the ism: rank of touchables.28 To these we may Kumarila is said to have instigated add the disinformation and misinforma­ king Sudhanvan of Ujjain to extermi­ tion campaign against Christian mis­ nate the Buddhists. The Tibetan his­ sionaries by the RSS, Vi§wa Hindu torians Bu-ston and Taranatha record Pari-had and other sister- and frontal his wars against the Buddhists. The Kerala utpati describes how he exter­ organizations. Since some of these are minated the Buddhists from Kerala. semi-clandestine organizations, it is dif­ A great role in the decline of Bud­ ficult to get details about their hidden dhism was played by Sankara. The agendas. While some of the activities eankaradigvijaya of Madhava tells us of these organizations come to the fore that eankara led a religious expedition at one time or the other, there is an open against the Bauddhas and caused their yet unperceived Hindu missionary ac­ destruction from the Himalayas to the Indian ocean, eankara himself has de­ tivity going on all over the world under scribed the Buddhist system as various guises. “VainasikaO orJiSarva-vainasika”. An Intellectual Missionary On­ According to the Tibetan tradition, at his approach the Buddhist monaster­ slaught: Vivekananda began this mis­ ies began to tremble and the monks sionary onslaught at the Parliament of began to disperse pell-mell.26 Religions in Chicago in 1893, and this was continued by Radhadrishnan and Aggressive Reconversion27 many others. This is carried out at the The Arya Samaj established in intellectual and popular levels. In fact, 1875 by Swami DayCEnand several dissertations could be written on took “reclamation and reconversion” as this topic. I may mention some general

70 Jnanadeepa 2000, Vol. 3, No. 1 outlines of this missionary approach Christian Response - the need for which on the one hand hid the ugly face a new theology of Religion of Hinduism such as untouchability, A blind acceptance of the biassed brahmanic domination, oppression of opinion of certain scholars is the reason the poor and so forth and made Hindu­ why the Christians are blissfully igno­ ism the most universally acceptable re­ rant about the Hindu missionary activ­ ligion, more desirable than monotheism. ity. As a result, no serious research has Devaluation of Monotheism : been carried out on this matter. In the Monotheists believe that the highest face of today’s multi-faceted and even idea of God is that of a personal God. violent campaign against Christian mis­ The ancient thinkers of India think dif­ sionary activities, the search is on for ferently: an apt Christian response. Any response born out of an ignorance of the mission­ ... the monotheistic idea with which ary nature of Hinduism itself is bound the portion is replete, was to be defensive and ineffective. A genu­ thought by the Aryans to be useless and not worthy of philosophers and ine and serious Christian response first thinkers, and (...) struggled hard for of all calls for the courage to expose a more philosophical and transcen­ those open and subtle ways of Hindu dental idea.29 missionary activities. Inter-religious dialogue does not mean tolerance of Radhakrishnan continued the at­ hypocritical standpoints! Undoubtedly tack: there is the need to enlighten millions Personality is a limitation, and yet of sincere, honest, saintly and open- only a personal God can be wor­ minded Hindus about the true nature of shipped. Personality implies the dis­ tinction of self and not-self, and hence Hindu missionary activity. inapplicable to Being who includes Going a step further, it must be and embraces all that is.30 pointed out that it is the ignorance about While devaluing monotheism, the very nature of religion itself that Hinduism (there, is an implicit identifi­ makes theologians, missiologists as well cation of Hinduism with advaita, al­ as Hindus to cry out: “Don’t Convert!”. though advaita is only a school of Conversion is indeed God’s work, and thought in Hinduism) was presented as not man’s. God may convert one to the most tolerant universal religion.31 It Christianity, another to Hinduism. If the is further claimed that Hinduism is a essence of every religion consists in its religion which is in perfect accordance life-giving function, i.e. its very nature witti'science.32 These together with to show that way for anyone to find other aspects that are appealing to meaning and fulfilment for human life, people at large such-as peace, tranquil­ and if the uniqueness of each religion lity, and so forth have been exploited to consists in the uniqueness of the way it the hilt by several Hindu Godmen to stands for, then the freedom to preach propagate their religion and ideology, and propagate it is logically implied in too vast an area to be covered here. the very nature of religion itself. Simi­

Hindu Missionaries and Conversion 71 larly, the freedom of conscience to ac­ clear that Hinduism is not only not cept any religion of one’s choice is a averse to proselytization, but it has also fundamental human right, which no its own manifold ways of conversion, state or organization can deny. It is from the very aggressive to the quite therefore the need of the hour, as part subtle very effective types. Any mean­ of the Christian response, to develop a ingful Christian response, therefore, new theology of Religion along similar should be born out of an awareness of this naked fact and the courage to ex­ lines, which would definitely provide pose it. Since the freedom to preach and the basic orientation for true religious propagate the unique way that every harmony. religion is is part of the defining char­ acter of any religion, it is the crying need Conclusion of the hour, as part of the Christian re­ A brief glance at the Hindu Sacred sponse to the ‘loud’ Hindu protests to literature as well as the historical devel­ stop ‘conversion’, to develop a sound opment of Hinduism makes it amply new theology of religion.

Notes 1. Max Muller affirmed it in a lecture delivered in Westminister Abbey and prophesied that Brahmanism would die. See A.C.Lyall in Asiatic Studies, Religious and Social, Vol.I, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 1976, pp. 99-100. 2. For details see Antony Mookenthottam, “Hindu Missionary: History and Methods,” in Jeevadhara, XXVI /155, 393-395. 3. Ibid. 4. A. B. Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and , HOS, 31, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi, p. 147-150. 5. Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilisation, p. 90-102. 6. See Chandogya Upanisad, V. 10.7; Katha Upanisad,3', 5.6-7. 7. Complete Works o f , Vol. I, Advaita , Calcutta, 1963, p. 6. 8. Ibid., p. 21. Keshub Chunder Sen (1838-1884) presented Christ as the fulfilment of Hinduism. It is very probable that Vivekananda is applying in a subtle way the same teaching to . See Antony Mookenthottam, Indian Theologi­ cal Tendencies, Peter Lang, Berne, 1978, p. 32-33. 9. Complete Works, Vol. I, p. 23. 10. Ibid., p. 146. The author conveniently forgets that the Aryans came to India from outside carrying with them their own gods and religious traditions. 11. Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1973, p. 202. 12. Ibid. 13. Ibid., p. 201. 14. For details see: Dawee Daweewam, Brahmanism in South-East Asia (From the Ear­ liest Time to 1445 AD), Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1982, pp. 23-24.

72 Jnanadeepa 2000, Vol. 3, No. 1 15. Quoted by M. G. Chitkara in , p. 94. 16. It is beyond my scope to touch on the relaxation of Hindu Missionary activity due to invasions and colonizations. It is also perhaps too evident to need further develop­ ment. 17. Sister Namita, A New Paradigm for Evangelization in the Light of Mission in the Gospel According to St. John and the Early Upanisads, Doctoral Dissertation to be published soon, St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute, Bangalore, 1998, See Part Two. 18. Complete Works, Vol. 6, pp.82-83. 19. Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 43. 20. Ibid. 21. S. Radhakrishnan (ed. & trans.), The Principal Upanisads, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1968, p. 143. 22. Ibid., pp. 143-144. 23. Satsvarupa Gosami, Prabhupada, He Built a House In Which the Whole World can Live, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Los Angeles, Bombay, 1994, Introduction, p. xxxii. Prabhupada’s Guru was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. He asked Prabhupada, then a layman, to preach Lord Caitanya’s message throughout the world when he first met him. 24. Ibid., p. ix. This book details about Prabhupada’s life and missionary activity as well as the methods he followed - though not presented as methods as such. 25. S. R. Goyal, A History of Indian Buddhism, Kusumanjali Prakasan, Meerut, 1987, pp. 384-386. 26. Ibid., pp.394-395. See also assimilation of Buddhism by Brahmanism, Ibid., pp. 397­ 399. 27. For details see, Gulshan Swarup Saxena, Arya Samaj Movement in India (1875-1947), Common Wealth Publishers, New Delhi, 1990; Lala Lajpat Rai, The Arya Samaj: An Account of its Origin, Doctrines, and Activities, Reliance Publishing House, New Delhi, 1991, pp. 111-183. 28. Lala Lajpat Rai, The Arya Samaj, pp. 120-122. 29. Complete Works, Vol. I, p. 346. 30. S. Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, Vol.I, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1962, p. 97. 31. Complete Works, Vol.I, p. 3; Ibid., Vol.II, pp.359-396. 32. Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 432-434; Vol. VIII, pp. 20-21.

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