ජාතික බෞද්ධ බලවේගය
Proselytizing
Slokas On The Mount
Slokas On The Mount
May 12, 2008
Outlook India
Om Namah Jesu could well reverberate inside hundreds of Catholic churches in India very soon, if the changing physical face of these places of worship is anything to go by. The Vatican-blessed process of ‘inculturation’ being implemented by the 168 Catholic dioceses in India has already seen Jesus acquiring the form of a Hindu sage, St John the Baptist with a ‘kamandalu’, grottos in the shape of conch shells, and a church in Bangalore that can easily be mistaken for a temple.
‘Inculturation’, broadly speaking, is the indigenisation of the Church through the process of assimilating local culture and symbols in construction, layout, interior design, furniture and religious fixtures like the tabernacles. So far, around 45 churches across the country have been wholly or partially ‘inculturated’—many have adopted Indian architectural forms and motifs, and quite a few have been refurbished and their interiors redesigned to include murals, panels, furniture et al that have been inspired byHindu religious symbols. The tabernacle at the recently inaugurated Our Lady of Mount Carmel church at Murugani near Dumka in Jharkhand, for example, has been rendered in the shape of a ‘kula’—used by local tribals and people in neighbouring states, including West Bengal, to thresh foodgrains, and regarded as an auspicious symbol.
jesus_flock_20080512.jpg
Indian Panel: Jesus with his flock
This process began gradually in the early 1990s, but gathered momentum about five years ago. “Initially, there was a lot of opposition to this from conservative elements in the Church. For them, any dilution of the European element in church construction, or in the murals depicting scenes from the Bible where all the people look European, or in statues or church articles, was totally unacceptable. That has slowly changed with the growing realisation that the Church has to incarnate the Gospel in the culture in which it is being preached,” a senior priest from the Archdiocese of Calcutta told Outlook on condition of anonymity.
Explained Father Varghese Puthussery, the Jesuit Provincial of Dumka-Raiganj who inaugurated the Murugani church, “In many parts of Asia, especially in India, Christianity is inseparably linked with Western culture, which is looked upon as alien. Many committed Christians in India feel a split between their Indian cultural experience and the still-Western character of what they experience in the Church. Inculturation, thus, is the Church’s attempt to bridge that divide.” The Murugani church is an eloquent example of ‘inculturation’. “The structure is not typical; we’ve incorporated elements of Islamic architecture since many old buildings in this region have a strong Islamic influence. The tribal influence too is very strong in this church. The pulpit is a replica of a ‘morai’ used by local Santhal tribals to store grains, the altar rests on a tribal drum, the fibreglass statue of Jesus at the sanctuary looks as if it is carved out of wood, since tribals worship wood-carved !
deities, and the stained glass windows depicting parables from the Bible have persons with a distinctly tribal look,” Subrata Ganguly, the man helping the Catholic Church implement the ‘inculturation’ process, told Outlook.
Ganguly runs Church Art, a firm that designs new churches and renovates existing ones to give them a strong local flavour. “We have worked in all states of the country. In the case of new churches, we formalise a concept after intensive discussions with the local diocese and congregations, and then work with a local architect to give the concept a concrete shape on the drawing board. Next, we work with the contractor to ensure proper construction.After that, we start working on the interiors and various other objects like the pulpit, the altar, murals, windows and various other objects. With old or existing churches, too, we follow a similar routine. All the moveable ‘inculturated’ objects, including murals and statues, are made at my workshop in Calcutta and transported to the respective sites. Big objects like statues are transported in knocked-down form and then reassembled at the site,” says Ganguly.
jesus_lotus_pose_20080512.jpg
A seer for the Indies: An Indianised Jesus in the lotus pose
Remarkable specimens of the studio’s creations exist around the country. Like Jesus sitting cross-legged on a lotus (installed in a church in Hyderabad), or Jesus emerging after a purifying bath in the Ganges with temples on the riverbanks (in a mural in a Haridwar church), or rendered as a typical Bastar tribal priest surrounded by tribal women at a church at Bhopal. At a church at Jhansi, scenes from Christ’s life in a set of 40 paintings has human and animal characters that leap straight out of Amar Chitra Katha and Panchatantra comics. “We’ve installed similar panels in many churches and the feedback has been very good. We’re getting requests to make more such panels and murals, which show biblical characters in Indian forms, from various churches, seminaries and Catholic institutions all across the country,” says Ganguly.
“There is greatness and divinity is every culture and the Church draws from that to make itself more acceptable to local congregations. This is more so with tribals and in tribal areas,” says Dumka’s Bishop Rev Julius Marandi. ‘Inculturation’, sayCatholic priests, is an evolving process specially tailored to different local traditions. “The requirements for an inculturated church or seminary in Northeast India are very different from those at Ambapara in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, where the next ‘inculturated’ church is coming up,” explains Ganguly. “At a seminary near Shillong, for instance, Jesus is shown in a mural standing under a pine tree with people in Khasi and Garo headgear around him. At Ambapara, we’ll show Jesus as a Bhil tribal. We’ve studied and researched extensively on the Bhils; we always do this before every such project, to get an accurate idea of local customs, traditions and culture,” he adds. Already, typical Hindu rituals like ‘aarti’ are being performed in!
side churches.
At a church in Nadia, the Good Shepherd looks like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the 15th century Vaishnavite saint of Bengal, his arms raised in a beatific trance. At this rate, can the cross taking the shape of a trishul be far behind?
Religion, Marxism and Slumdog
Religion, Marxism and Slumdog
François Gautier
16 March 2009
Indian Express
WHY did a film like Slumdog Millionaire, which conveys an utterly negative image of India — slums, exploitation, poverty, corruption, anti Muslim pogroms — create so many waves in the West, pre and post Oscars? And why does not the Indian government protest, as the Chinese would indeed have, for a twisted and perverted portrayal of its own reality? There are several answers: When the missionaries began to evangelise India, they quickly realised that Hinduism was not only practised by a huge majority, but that it was so deeply rooted that it stood as the only barrier to their subjugating the entire subcontinent.
They therefore decided to demonise the religion, by multiplying what they perceived as its faults, by one hundred: caste, poverty, child marriage, superstition, widows, sati … Today, these exaggerations, which at best are based on quarter-truths, have come down to us and have been embedded not only in the minds of many Westerners, but also unfortunately, of much of India’s intelligentsia.
We Westerners continue to suffer from a superiority complex over the socalled Third World in general and India in particular. Sitting in front of our television sets during prime time news, with a hefty steak on our table, we love to feel sorry for the misery of others, it secretly flatters our ego and makes us proud of our so-called ‘achievements’.
That is why books such as The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, which gives the impression that India is a vast slum, or a film like Slumdog Millionaire, have such an impact.
In this film, India’s foes have joined hands. Today, billions of dollars that innocent Westerners give to charity are used to convert the poorest of India with the help of enticements such as free medical aid, schooling and loans.
If you see the Tamil Nadu coast posttsunami, there is a church every 500 metres. Once converted, these new Christians are taught that it is a sin to enter a temple, do puja, or even put tilak on one’s head, thus creating an imbalance in the Indian psyche (In an interview to a British newspaper, Danny Boyle confessed he wanted to be a Christian missionary when he was young and that he is still very much guided by these ideals — so much for his impartiality).
Islamic fundamentalism also ruthlessly hounds India, as demonstrated by the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, which are reminiscent of the brutality and savagery of a Timur, who killed 1,00,000 Hindus in a single act of savagery.
Indian communists, in power in three states, are also hard at work to dismantle India’s cultural and spiritual inheritance. And finally, the Americanisation of India is creating havoc in the social and cultural fabric with its superficial glitter, even though it has proved a failure in the West. Slumdog plays cleverly with all these elements.
Many of the West’s India-specialists are staunchly anti-Hindu, both because of their Christian upbringing and also as they perpetuate the tradition of Max Mueller, the first ‘Sankritist’ who said: “The Vedas is full of childish, silly, even monstrous conceptions. It is tedious, low, commonplace, it represents human nature on a low level of selfishness and worldliness and only here and there are a few rare sentiments that come from the depths of the soul”.
This tradition is carried over by Indologists such as Witzel or Wendy Doniger in the US, and in France where scholars of the state-sponsored CNRS, and its affiliates such as EHESS, are always putting across in their books and articles detrimental images of India: caste, poverty, slums — and more than anything — their pet theories about ‘Hindu fundamentalism’.
Can there be a more blatant lie? Hinduism has given refuge throughout the ages to those who were persecuted at home: the Christians of Syria, the Parsees, Armenians, the Jews of Jerusalem, and today the Tibetans, allowing them all to practise their religion freely.
And finally, it is true that Indians, because they have been colonised for so long (unlike the Chinese) lack nationalism.
Today much of the intellectual elite of India has lost touch with its cultural roots and looks to the West to solve its problems, ignoring its own tools, such as pranayama, hata-yoga or meditation, which are very old and possess infinite wisdom.
Slumdog literally defecates on India from the first frame. Some scenes exist only in the perverted imagery of director Danny Boyle, because they are not in the book of Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat, on which the film is based. In the book, the hero of the film (who is not Muslim, but belongs to many religions: Ram Mohammad Thomas) does not spend his childhood in Bombay, but in a Catholic orphanage in Delhi. Jamal’s mother is not killed by “Hindu fanatics’, but she abandons her baby, of unknown religion, in a church. Jamal’s torture is not an idea of the television presenter, but of an American who is after the Russian who bought the television rights of the game. The tearful scene of the three children abandoned in the rain is also not in the book: Jamal and his heroine only meet when they are teenagers and they live in an apartment and not in a slum.
And finally, yes, there still exists in India a lot of poverty and glaring gaps between the very rich and the extremely poor, but there is also immense wealth, both physical, spiritual and cultural — much more than in the West as a matter of fact.
When will the West learn to look with less prejudice at India, a country that will supplant China in this century as the main Asian power? But this will require a new generation of Indologists, more sincere, less attached to their outdated Christian values, and Indians more proud of their own culture and less subservient to the West.
fgautier26@gmail.com
Tension grips Jamalpur following forced conversion
Tension grips Jamalpur following forced conversion
March 17, 2009
Indian Express
Ludhiana Tension gripped the Economic Weaker Section (EWS) colony in Jamalpur on the Chandigarh Road following allegations and counter allegations of forced conversion to Christianity and subsequent destroying of Bible scriptures.
According to sources, on late Sunday evening some persons allegedly stormed into a small church in the EWS colony and damaged holy scriptures. “The assailants also manhandled the members of our community and did not spare even women,” said Albert Dua of the Christian United Federation.
But some persons from the rival group said that some members of the church were forcibly converting a man and the mother of the man had threatened self immolation if he was converted. But Albert Dua denied all the allegations .
After receiving the information, the officers from the district and police administration reached the spot and tried to pacify both factions.
SP (Headquarters) Harish Kumar, SP City II Harjinder Singh, DSP Harmohan Singh and the area sub divisional magistrate (SDM) were among those who went to the area to take a stock of the situation and to broker peace.
SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill said, “The situation is fully under control and thankfully it did not take an ugly turn. Both groups have almost reached to an understanding and the matter is likely to be resolved soon.”
World council churches voice on srilanka unethical conversation
World council churches voice on srilanka unethical conversation
by NBA,
World council churches voice on srilanka unethical conversation
As the below text is pulled out from site of the world council church web site. We intend to do is show The what exactly the evangelicals’ missionary activity at Srilanka.(look for the highlighted letters) The WCC has a fellowship with a 349 churches and seeking unity, a common witness and Christian. WCC general secretariesDr Samuel Kobia has visited to the Srilanka Oct-2008 and meet the Mahanayaka Thero of the Asgiriya chapter.
(WCC general secretary Kobia (right) receives a gift
from the Mahanayaka Thero of the Asgiriya chapter)
Below web extract from WCC:
The Sinhalese arrived in the island in the 6th century BC, probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced a few centuries later, and became the main religion. Tamils, also from India, established themselves on the northern and eastern parts of the island. Some were brought by the British, as indentured labour. Ceylon became part of the British empire in 1815. It gained independence in 1948, and changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972. The Sinhalese constitute 74 percent of the population, the Tamils 10 percent. Since 1983, the country has suffered a violent civil war between the Tamil Liberation movement and the government. A cease-fire was signed in 2001, with the help of Norway. In 2005, negotiations for a political solution were still going on. Sri Lanka’s economy is based on agriculture, processing and manufacturing industries, and tourism, which has been affected by the on-going conflict. The majority of the population is poor and depends on subsistence farming. The island was hit hard by the tsunami of December 2004. The Catholic Church is the oldest and largest church. Methodism and Anglicanism came in the 19th century. There is a large Assemblies of God church (Pentecostal). The National Christian Council is the ecumenical body, and the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka is affiliated with the WEA. Christians are a minority in Sri Lanka. Some groups have created tensions because of their aggressive methods of evangelism. The Catholic Church, the National Christian Council, and the Evangelical Alliance have cooperated in trying to maintain peaceful relations with the Buddhists and others.
Anti Buddhist topic before Celebration of 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment
Anti Buddhist topic before Celebration of 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment
by NBA,
Attention for readers Look for the Bold Sentece we have Marked in below news:
Sri Lankan activists oppose plan to train boys as monks
By Saroj PathiranaBBC News
Many Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka are usually ordained at a very young age
Child rights activists in Sri Lanka have criticised a plan by the prime minister to ordain 2,600 boys as Buddhist monks by next May.
Prime Minister DM Jayaratne says the move is aimed at boosting Buddhism and lifting young people out of poverty.
Next May marks the 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment.
Activists say the boys are too young to be ordained. There have also been reports of sexual abuse in the temples, strenuously denied by the authorities.
Public donations
Mr Jayaratne told BBC News the young monks would be helped financially and funded to go to university. The government also plans to provide financial assistance to their families, he said.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
I can’t fully compare it with Tamil Tigers’ child soldier recruitment, but there are some similar aspects”
Prof Harendra de SilvaChild rights activist
“We will be seeking donations from the public but if there are shortcomings, the government will provide funds,” he said.
But activists are angry at the plans to ordain the boys, who they say could be as young as 10.
They say children have a universal right to be with parents, siblings and friends until they reach the age of 18.
Dr Hiranthi Wijemanne, an activist who is nominated by Sri Lanka to a UN child rights panel, said the leading Buddhist monks should show an example by opposing such schemes.
“I think it is our duty to oppose ordaining boys as it is a clear violation of children’s rights,” she said.
She says children from rich families are rarely ordained at such a young age.
‘Crime‘
Sri Lanka’s National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has arrested scores of Buddhist monks for alleged sex abuse of boys in their care in recent years.
Just one monk was convicted on sex abuse charges. There have been numerous allegations of abuse from parents and children.
Mr Jayaratne (right) says all the young monks will be looked after by the government
Leading paediatrician Harendra de Silva urged the Sri Lankan authorities not to allow the Buddhist temples to repeat “what happened in the Catholic Church”, referring to the child sex abuse scandal that led Pope Benedict to offer a formal apology.
“I can’t fully compare it with Tamil Tigers’ child soldier recruitment, but there are some similar aspects,” Prof de Silva, a former chairman of the NCPA, told the BBC.
“I strongly condemn this crime against our children,” he said, adding that the government should improve the country’s economy rather than “allowing the children to be abused“.
Discussing child abuse – particulary in Buddhist temples – is taboo in Sri Lanka, as it is in many conservative societies in South Asia.
The BBC repeatedly sought the government’s view on fears the boys could be abused. Children’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadda did not respond.
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Dear Dhamma Friend,
western media and western right activities first came to Srilanka talking and protecting DOG rights around 1990 at the village area and the intellectual Buddhist are mention that period this and extra ordinary things and they will turn their organisation one by one until they stop our children’s are to be monk. As our experience we can say this is the peak of time of evangelical thinkers to speak against Buddhism before celebrating 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment
The second link has post set up pictures those monks in the picture may be not a real one(we haven’t heard some vigorously crying whenthey saving head). we know how evangelicals are aggressive beyond Buddhism as they are in belief of the goodish doctrine. We hope catholic world has enough of sexual abuse from the priest and what is the necessary speech are from Pope. Don’t throw yours/all of you Garbage on Buddhist monk. There aren’t any sexual abuse for last 2559 years (it’s a set up crime against Buddhist Monk), also no killing for spread Buddhism. as per philosophy of Buddhism there aren’t force ordained. Finally we can say there is lot of sexual abuses cases and murders fro evangelical pastors and priest, also our organization has given many witness but still no reply from authorities like National Child Protection Authority…
Buddhis are has to speak about this Matter to public meadia..
NBA TEAM
“I think it is our duty to oppose ordaining
boys as it is a clear violation of children’s rights,“
(Dr Hiranthi Wijemanne)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
“I can’t fully compare it with Tamil Tigers’ child soldier recruitment, but there are some similar aspects,” Prof de Silva, a former chairman of the NCPA, told the BBC.
“I strongly condemn this crime against our children,
Prof Harendra de Silva
___________________________________________________________________________________
the second link has post set up pictures those monks in the picture may be not a real one(we or no one haven’t heard some viogrusly crying when someone saving head)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Footnote:
please kindly bring you voice against to this… harassment.this and Harassment for the Buddhist world it has created through out the missionary concept.our value of moral different with western philosophers or right activists there is no harm if someone become an as monk in his early age as he or she like…
NBA TEAM.
ALERT! CHRISTIAN MAFIA: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF VEN. RATHMALANE SEELAWANSE THERO
ALERT! CHRISTIAN MAFIA: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF VEN. RATHMALANE SEELAWANSE THERO
Christmas according to all newspapers is a time for peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and mercy-all these in the name of God-the all merciful. However, we have seen how contradictory these adjectives used to describe “The Almighty” are when it comes to the actions of His disciples who are here as Reverend Fathers or Pastors. They dupe the gullible innocent civilians, bribe them and employ paid workers to plot and plan the destruction of Buddhist Temples and inflict bodily harm as well as the murder of Buddhist monks who they feel are a threat to their dubious activities of unethical conversions of unsuspecting Buddhists in villages which are inhabited by wholly Buddhists or Hindus.
In the name of god cruelty conpiracy and hypocrisy the mysterious Rathmalane Seelawanse Thero of death of Sri Rathanasara Buddhist Centre, Thanamalwila By Ramani
Christmas according to all newspapers is a time for peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and mercy-all these in the name of God-the all merciful. However, we have seen how contradictory these adjectives used to describe “The Almighty” are when it comes to the actions of His disciples who are here as Reverend Fathers or Pastors. They dupe the gullible innocent civilians, bribe them and employ paid workers to plot and plan the destruction of Buddhist Temples and inflict bodily harm as well as the murder of Buddhist monks who they feel are a threat to their dubious activities of unethical conversions of unsuspecting Buddhists in villages which are inhabited by wholly Buddhists or Hindus.
In 2004 December we experienced the mysterious death of Ven. Gangodawila Soma Thero who was taken to Russia by promising a doctorate to the Venerable monk. Todate, the mystery behind his death is yet to be solved.
The Death of Ven. Rathmalane Seelawanse Thero:
On 23rd December 2006, we heard of the most gruesome and mysterious death of Ven. Rathmalane Seelawanse Thero of Sri Rathanasara Buddhist Centre, Thanamalwila in the Hambantota District. Unlike in the death of Ven. Gangodawila Soma Thero, in the case of Ven. Seelawanse Thero the perpetrators are well known and they have been very active in plotting the destruction of this feerless monk who left no stones unturned to expose the duplicity of Pastor Ashley Samarasinghe who has been actively buying over the Principal of the village school; the police officers of the area and paying of noted thugs and even an individual employed in the army to harass, plot and plan; expedite operations; pressurize villagers into making false allegations against this monk; file court cases against him to insult and humiliate him- you name it, they have resorted to every possible method to destroy the reputation of the monk. For the last 2 years especially, Ven. Seelawanse Thero has been like a “hounded animal” constantly under surveillance, constantly under threat to his life, one attempt to throw a bomb into his temple and one attempt to shoot him at night have all been plotted. The principal of the Angunakolawewa Junior School Mr. E.K. Piyasena and A.K. Priyantha an army officer based in Jaffna have been strong conspirators together with Pastor Ashley Samarasinghe. The highly decomposed body of Ven. Seelawanse Thero with head injuries and 3 wounds in the chest supposedly from gunshots and bruised back, was transferred to the Hambantota Hospital 23rd December 2006 and a post-mortem was held by the responsible medical officer on 24th December 2006 has given the ruling of “homicide” as the cause of death. Although the monk’s body was found inside his temple, no blood stains have been found inside the building which gives us the assumption that the monk was taken bodily to an unknown location outside the temple, murdered and brought back and dumped in the temple.
Sri Rathanasara Buddhist Centre, Thanamalwila- Mysterious Deaths and Disappearance of Monks:
” In 1989 September, Ven. Thiranagama Rathanasara Thero was murdered in the temple;
” From 1989-1999 after the death of Ven. Rathanasara Thero, a number of monks had come to reside at this temple and work for the welfare of Thanamalwila villagers who are poor, innocent and helpless. The monks were keen to give a proper Buddhist education to the village children. However, Pastor Ashley Samarasinghe had used his thugs and paid workers to get rid of these monks by threatening them and ordering them never to return to Thanamalwila;
” In 2001, Ven.Rathmalane Seelawanse Thero went to occupy and reside at Sri Rathanasara Buddhist Centre. Being a fearless monk, he was able to rally the villagers and curtail the unethical conversion activities of Pastor Ashley Samarasinghe. Ven. Seelawanse Thero opened and operated 18 pre-schools in the area to give the children a Buddhist education instead of subjecting them to Christian dogmas. This angered Pastor Samarasinghe who avowed to destroy the monk someday.
” In 2003 February, thugs broke into the temple premises, knocked on the door and when Ven. Seelawanse opened the door, threw a hand bomb into the room with a view of killing the monk but fortunately, the monk escaped with minor injuries;
” In 2006 February, a complaint was made by a girl attending the Dhamma School of Ven. Seelawasne at the police station to say that the monk had attempted to molest her. She is supposed to have stated to the WPC that she was threatened by her uncle that if she did not make the statement to the police, he would kill her mother. The girl had stated that she was making the statement due to fear that her uncle would harm their family;
” In 2006 April on 21st, Ven. Seelawanse Thero’s temple was surrounded by a gang who bundled him into his 3 wheeler (the girl’s uncle was also present) and drove him to the girl’s house. There they had beaten the monk and abused him mercilessly in the process of which, a police officer also had arrived at the scene and kicked and abused the monk without giving him a hearing. Towards the early hours of April 22nd, they had driven the monk to the police station and kept him in a jeep till morning without taking a statement from him. Later, the monk was moved to the hospital and then to the Tangalle prison where he was kept until he was produced in courts and bailed out;
” In 2006 November Ven. Seelawanse Thero who was utterly frustrated with the manner in which the police were conducting his court cases and the continuous harassment from the Pastor Ashley Samarasinghe gang, wrote a booklet outlining in detail, the sequence of events, the underhand dealings of Pastor Ashley Samarasinghe and the indifference and negligence of the police to attend to any of his complaints. In this booklet called “In This Injustice, You are The Jury”( me avanaduwe, juriya obayi- mame Rathmalane Seelawanse Himi(Sinhala translation);
” In 2006 December 23rd, we hear that Ven. Seelawanse Thero has been murdered and that his body is in a highly decomposed state with head injuries and 3 wounds to the chest. The post-mortem verdict “homicide”
Press Control By Christians:
In order to accomplish the agendas of the Christian bretheren, they have ensured that they have controlling powers in the editorial staff of almost all newspapers in this country. Any articles which might seem to be pointing fingers at shortcomings of the Church, or else which might be highlighting the exceptional qualities of Buddhist personalities are conveniently “censored” by the editorial staff of these newspapers and never published.
In relation to Ven. Seelawanse Thero’s harassment, a gentleman wrote to the Sinhala newspapers highlighting his predicament with a view of enlightening the Sinhala readership about harassment meted out to Buddhist monks but it was not published in a single Sinhala paper. By chance if an article does get published which is unfavourable to Christians, the editor of that newspaper will surely receive a phone call before long, to inform them that no further patronizing will be done in the form of advertising if that newspaper continues to publish articles harmful to Christian interests! That is the extent to which they go, to ensure that Buddhist issues do not receive due coverage in the press media!
“Press freedom” in this country, is freedom only for non-Buddhists to air their views and grievances, but not meant for Buddhists to air their grievances. Terrorists in this country are given more coverage than Buddhists!
What is The Use of “Inter-Religious Committees” for Such Anti-Buddhist Conspiracies?
When the Christian Churches are deliberately conspiring against Buddhists and Hindus and employing paid workers to expedite their plots, it should be obvious to any sane thinking individuals that an Inter-Religious Committee is of absolutely no use for any non-Christian to gain any impartial solution to their problems. When the perpetrators themselves are Christians (which includes Catholics, Protestants and Evangelists), will the Christian members of these Committees give a fair hearing? It is very obvious, that their suggestion for such Committees to be implemented, is to whitewash their own sins. This will be a way of dragging on issues without any viable solution given to the victims except humiliation and frustrations. No doubt, this again is their own conspiracy to soft-peddle their own wrong doings.
Unfortunately for us, we have reputed Buddhist monks who have fallen prey to the conspiracies of the “Inter-Religious Committee” concept of the Churches and who are now almost totally under the “thumb control” of the Christian Churches and their view-points. Without even understanding the implications, they “parrot- talk” what the Reverend Fathers of the Christian Alliance want them to say- this indeed is the extent to which some Bhikkus are gullible!
Why Is “The Anti-Conversion Bill” So Important to Be Implemented?
In a democratically elected country with its own judicial system in place, all victimized parties must be able to appeal to a court of law, for them to get a fair and impartial hearing on the from an independent body. In this exercise, they will be able to retain their own lawyers who will present the case as it should be and not like in the “Inter-Religious Committees” where members could twist the interpretations to suit their own agendas. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that relevant police authorities and the judiciary become part of this “problem solving operation” even though it might take some time.
So many incidents have taken place during the last 10-15 years with no proper solution and therefore, it became evident to Buddhists and Hindus that a Bill must be passed in parliament without further delay. Freedom of Conscience does not mean that aggressors can override the religious freedom of others!
Buddhists have never ever shed blood to propagate Buddhism nor have they ever plotted and planned to do any bodily harm to any believer of another faith. However, the same cannot be said of over zealous Christians and Muslims who are utterly intolerant of believers of other faiths. They will even go to the extent of paying individuals to harm their own places of worship and implicate Buddhists and also spread distorted information through their Christian websites world-wide which they are doing all the time. All this is done “in the name of God” who is so merciful, loving and forgiving- is this not the height of hypocrisy?
The case of Ven. Rathmalane Seelawanse Thero is another example of their ruthless conspiracies. Who knows how many more Buddhist monks are targeted- we will probably see in the very near future? Let us hope that the Government of Sri Lanka will take appropriate steps to implement the necessary Bills which could expose the activities of heartless conspirators!
PRIEST CONVICTED IN RWANDAN GENOCIDE
PRIEST CONVICTED IN RWANDAN GENOCIDE
A Roman Catholic priest has been convicted of taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide by ordering militiamen to destroy a church while about 2,000 Tutsis were seeking shelter inside. source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, December 13, 2006
A Roman Catholic priest has been convicted of taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide by ordering militiamen to destroy a church while about 2,000 Tutsis were seeking shelter inside.
The Rev. Athanase Seromba was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Wednesday for his role in the killing, but will receive credit for four years already served. He is the first priest to be tried at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Arusha in Tanzania.
In the genocide, which lasted 100 days, about 800,000 Rwandans, mainly Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists. Tutsis are a minority group in Rwanda.
According to prosecutors at the trial, when 2,000 Tutsis sought shelter in his church in Nyange in western Rwanda, militiamen tried to kill them with machetes and guns; Seromba then ordered them to bulldoze the church on April 12, 1994.
Seromba was found guilty of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity. He denied the charges.
The tribunal, backed by the United Nations, has held trials for 31 people since it was convened 12 years ago, according to a report by BBC News.
Authorities have detained about 63,000 suspects in Rwanda implicated in the genocide, and justice officials said at least 761,000 should be forced to stand trial for taking part in the mass killing. The suspects make up about 9.2 per cent of Rwanda’s population of 8.2 million people.
Nun jailed for 30 years
In November, the tribunal sentenced a Roman Catholic nun to 30 years in prison for her role in the killing of hundreds of people who had sought shelter in a hospital. The nun was convicted of helping militiamen carry out the murders.
Thousands of Rwandans have become disillusioned with Catholicism because church officials, including priests and nuns, have been implicated in the killings and some churches became massacre sites.
The genocide is said to have begun on April 6, 1994 after a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down as it was getting ready to land in the capital, Kigali. It is said to have ended when rebels, organized by current President Paul Kagame, toppled the Hutu government that had organized the killing.
Militia members, the armed forces and civilians are said to have carried out atrocities, mostly against Tutsis, but also against moderate Hutus who were refused to kill or who belonged to opposition parties.
The tribunal was established by a UN Security Council resolution in 1994 to prosecute organizers and leaders of the Rwandan genocide
TIRUPATI: UMA MAHESHWARI’S SUICIDE – WHY ARE OFFICIALS SILENT?
TIRUPATI: UMA MAHESHWARI’S SUICIDE – WHY ARE OFFICIALS SILENT?
| source: Eenadu, March 15, 2007 (Telugu newspaper) (Translated by a reader) |
Newstoday, Tirupati
Events raise more suspicion
Ms. Uma Maheshwari’s suicide confirms the allegations that Christian missionary activity and conversions are going on unabated in Padmavathi Women’s University. It has been confirmed that for the past few months Uma Maheswari has been participating in Christian religious activity. It seems that the victim and some other women students used to spend all their time discussing about Christianity while avoiding contact with non-Christians. Some students confirmed that every Sunday two preachers  visit their hostel. Recently the hostel management has been handed over to a firm whose employees are all Christian. It seems that these employees were involved in Christian preaching inside the hostel.
Why officials are not revealing the contents of suicide note?
Hostel students demanded the management to reveal the reasons for Uma Maheswari’s suicide. Students demanded the authorities to reveal the contents of the suicide note.   Officials  concealing the suicide note is raising the suspicion that suicide note contains specific reasons and might reveal names. Veena Noble Das, the Vice Chancellor of the University was always in  controversy for forcing students to convert to Christianity
why are her room mates missing?
Uma Maheshwari has 3 other room mates who are missing since the day incident happened. Officials had to bite dust when students demanded to see the other three room mates. Officials mentioned that they are in the lab but it seems that they are staying at a senior official’s home. Questions are raised on why these three students are moved away from hostel and not allowed to speak to anybody.
In a related development 22 leaders of BJYM, AVBP and BJP leaders are arrested under non-bailable warrant for staging a dharna outside the University premises. The protestors seems to have damaged the official car used by Ms. Veena Noble Das, the Vice Chancellor of the University.
A CLASSIC CASE OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE IN TAMILNADU
A CLASSIC CASE OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE IN TAMILNADU
source: Organiser, April 22, 2007
Police bigotry
The district office of Tamil Nadu Special Armed Police is situated in Subramaniapuram, Tiruchy. On February 18, 2007, Shri Daniel, a Sub Inspecter attached to this office, tore the pictures of Hindu Gods and Goddesses from the walls of the office. Constables on duty opposed this. As a result, tension mounted. The SP of the district, Shri Rajasekaran instructed ADSP Shri Manickavachagam to conduct a departmental enquiry about the incident. Even as the enquiry was in progress, Daniel was transferred to Perambalur Special Armed Police centre. Once the enquiry is over, Daniel may be suspended, police sources said.
එළිය දැක දැක අඳුරට පියමංකළ දෙමාපියන් නිසා දියණියකට සිදුවූ අකල් මරණයක්
එළිය දැක දැක අඳුරට පියමංකළ දෙමාපියන්
නිසා දියණියකට සිදුවූ අකල් මරණයක්
රෝගවලට වෛද්ය ප්රතිකාර තිබියදී
ඇදහීමෙන් රෝග සුවය පැතූ දෙමාපියන්ගේ වරදින්
හංසනී සිසුවියට මෙලොව හැරදා යන්න සිදුවිය
බිංගිරිය සෝමසිරි ඒකනායක සහ කටුපොත ඒ. එම්. දයානන්ද
යාඥවෙන් ලෙඩ සුවකිරීමට ගොස් කාන්තාවන් දෙදෙනකු මිය යැමේ උණුසුම මැකීයාමටත් පෙර නිකවැරටිය ප්රදේශයේ තෙලහැර ගොවිගම්මානයක 14 හැවිරිදි පාසල් දැරියකද අසනීපයට වෛද්ය ප්රතිකාර වෙනුවට ජපන් ආගමික සංවිධානයක් ජොහොරේ නමැති ඇදහීමේ ක්රමයකින් සුවකිරීමට යැමෙන් දැරිය මියගොස් මුළු ගමම කැලඹීමට පත්ව ඇත. නිකවැරටිය නගරයට ආසන්න හැවන්පැලැස්ස ගම්මානයේ පිහිටි ලංකා සෙකයි ක්යqසේ පදනම මගින් මෙම ජොහොරේ ඇදහීම සිදුකරන අතර මෙමගින් මිනිසාගේ ආත්මය සුවපත් කොට එම චිත්ත ශක්තියෙන් ලෙඩ රෝග සුවකරන බව අනුගාමිකයන් තුළ විශ්වාසයක් ගොඩනගා ඇත. මෙම අනුගාමිකයකු වූ මියගිය දැරියගේ පියා තම දියණිය අසනීප වී මියයන තෙක්ම ඉන්පසුවත් මෙම විශ්වාසය මත සිටි හෙයින් දින 2 ක් තුළ දැරිය බෙහෙතක් නොලබාම මියගොස් ඇත.
මෙසේ මියගොස් ඇත්තේ තෙලහැර නියරවල්පිටියේ ඒ.ජී. එම්. තාරකා හංසනී නමැති 14 හැවිරිදි පාසල් දැරියකි. කොබෙයිගනේ ශ්රී පරාක්රම ජාතික පාසලේ 9 වසරේ ඉගෙනුම ලබමින් සිටි ඇය දහම් පාසලේ ද ජනප්රිය සිසුවියකි.
පසුගිය 6 වැනිදා දහම් පාසලේදී උණ, වමනය හා බඩේ අමාරුව නිසා නිවසට පැමිණි ඇයට වෙනත් ළමයකුට ලැබෙන වේදනා නාශක බෙහෙත් පෙත්තක්වත් ලැබී නොමැත. ඒ ඇගේ පියා ජොහොරේ ඇදහීම විශ්වාසය කළ හෙයිනි. එසේ වූවද පසුදින වනවිට දැරිය සිහිමද ගතියෙන් දෙඩවීමටත් ඉන් අනතුරුව සිහිසුන්ව යැමත් නිසා මවුපියන් දැරියව ජොහොරේ මධ්යස්ථානය වෙත ගෙනයන ලදී. මේ පිළිබඳව ඇගේ එකම සහෝදරයා වන විරාඡ් හංසක (19) නමැති අය පැවසුවේ සඳුදා (7) දහවල් 11 පමණ වනවිට නංගීට තදින්ම අමාරු වුණා. සිහි නැති තත්ත්වයට පත්වුණා. පසුව තාත්තා අපි සියලු දෙනාම නංගී ජොහොරේ මධ්යස්ථානයට රැගෙන ගියා. එහිදී සවස 4 පමණ වනතුරු ඇදහීම් කලත් නංගීට සිහිය ආවේ නෑ. එනිසා ඇයව නිකවැරටිය රෝහලට ගෙන ගියා නමුත් ඇය මියගොස් ඇති බව වෛද්යවරු පැවසුවා යෑයි කීය.
මෙම සිද්ධිය සැලවීමත් සමග ගම්මුන් මෙම මධ්යස්ථානයට කඩාවැදීමට සූදානමක් ඇතැයි සැකපිට නිකවැරටිය පොලිසිය ආරක්ෂක කටයුතු සංවිධාන කර තිබිණි.
මෙම සිද්ධිය පිළිබඳ ගම්වූ විවිධ අදහස් දක්වති. තෙලහැර එස්. පියසේන මහතා පැවසුවේ,
මෙම ආගමික මධ්යස්ථානයේ ප්රධාන ශාඛාවක් වාරියපොල නගරාසන්නයේත් පවතින අතර මෙමගින් සිදුකරන්නේ මිනිසුන්ගේ ඔළුව හා මනස විකෘති කරන බවය…. දිගෙන් දිගටම මෙම ජොහොරේ ඇදහීමට සහභාගී වන එක් එක් පවුල්වලට මෙහි බලය ආරූඩ කරන අතර ඒ සඳහා මූලස්ථානයට යම් මුදලක් ගෙවිය යුතු වෙනවා…. මේ දැරියගේ පියාත් අපි දන්නා පරිදි ඒ බලය ලබාගත් කෙනෙක් එනිසාම ඔහුත් මේ සුව කිරීමේ ක්රමයට වගකිව යුතු යෑයි කීය.
මෙම දැරියගේ පශ්චාත් මරණ පරීක්ෂණ කටයුතු කුරුණෑගල මහ රෝහලේ සිදුවූ අතර සිරුරේ යම් යම් කොටස් රජයේ රස පරීක්ෂකවරයා වෙත යවා ඇති අතර ඒ අනුව තීරණයක් ලැබෙන තුරු විවෘත තීන්දුවක් දෙනු ලැබීය.
මෙම සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙන්ම මානව හිsමිකම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් කොබෙයිගනේ ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාසයේ ග්රාම නිලධාරීන් සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරීන් ඇතුළු පිරිස් දැනුවත් කිරීමේ වැඩසටහන අතරින් නීතිඥ විපුල චන්ද්රසේකර මහතා පැවසුවේ… මෙවැනි සිදුවීම් අප විසින් බොහෝ විට හඳුනන්නේ මිනීමැරීමක් නොවන සාවද්ය මනුෂ්ය ඝාතනයක් ලෙසයි. අරමුණ මිනීමැරුම නොවේ එසේ වූවත් සිදුවී ඇත්තේ මරණයක් ඒ අනුව මෙම ක්රියාව සිදු කළ අයත් ඒ සඳහා අනුබල දීම වෙනුවෙන් ඇගේ මවුපියන් පවා අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමේ හැකියාව තිබෙනවා යනුවෙනි.
කෙසේ වූවද මේ වන විට දැනටමත් එම ජොහොරේ මධ්යස්ථානය වසා ඇති අතර දැරියගේ අවසන් කටයුතු සිදුකළ 10 වැනි දින ගමේ තරුණ පිරිස් තෙලහැර මාර්ගයේ පරීක්ෂා කිරීමේ ස්ථාන 2 ක් පිහිටුවා මළ ගෙදරට සහභාගි වන අය පරීක්ෂා කොට යවා ඇති අතර මෙහිදී වැඩි පරීක්ෂාවට ලක්කර ඇත්තේ ආගමික මධ්යස්ථානයේ අනුගාමිකයන් පැමිණෙන්නේද යන්න බව තරුණයෙක් අප සමග පැවැසීය.
කෙසේ වූවද නවීන තාක්ෂණය විද්යාව දියුණු මේ යුගයේ පිටිසර ගොවි ගම්මානවල වෙසෙන මෙම බෞද්ධ ජනතාවගේ මනස විකෘති කිරීමේ සංවිධාන වහා වසා දැමීමට තවත් කල් මැරීම සුදුසු නොවන්නේය යන්න තෙලහැර, නියරවල්පිටිය, හෙංගමුව, වදුරැස්ස ආදී ගම්මානවල ජනතාව වගකිවයුත්තන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිති.
Source Divaina.lk
ජාතික බෞද්ධ බලවේගය 