Simhachala kshetramu

Simhachala kshetramu
https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2019/04/simhadri-appanna-shrivaraha-lakshmi.html

Shri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple is situated on the Simhachalam hill. The hill range having the temple is a part of the Eastern Ghats and is named Kailasa. The temple is situated on the hill 800 meters (2,600 ft.) above the sea level at a distance of ten miles to the north of Visakhapatnam. Simhachalam town is situated 300 meters below the temple. It is located nearly North side to Visakhapatnam. It is dedicated to one of the Hindu trinity deities Vishnu, who is worshipped there as Varaha Narasimha.

As per the temple’s legend, Vishnu manifested in this peculiar form, with a boar head, human torso and a lion’s tail, after saving his devotee Prahlada from his father Hiranyakashipu. But we do not find any such reference in Puranas but for, may be, in local Sthalapurana, which may be an insertion. Any ways the legend attributed will not come closer to Vishnu Purana, Varaha Purana or Bhagavata Purana. None of these Puranas say about taking the peculiar form of Varaha Narasimha. Moreover In the middle of Nalamala ghat range we find AHOBALA (Ahobilam) which contain the evidences of Narasimha, Prahlada, Hiranyakasipu, Chenchulakshmi and so on. We can find there Nava-Narasimha temples also there. (In its true sense TEMPLE does not denote what we call as Devalayamu, Kovela, Gudi, Mandiramu etc. It is unfortunate to use temple as a substitute to these sacred and meaningful words). The Sthalapurana also synchronizes with the Puranas referred above.

Prior to 11^th century, Simhachalam’s deity was believed to be Shiva. The notable ones were the unusual position of the deity’s idol, the gate at the lower terrain named Bhairava Dwaram. There are two temple tanks Swami Pushkarini near the temple and Gangadhara at the bottom of the hill. I could not find in my trail to explore whether the name ‘Swami Pushkarini’ is adopted from Tirumala or the name of the pool itself is that. If it is so as per Niruktha and also what I heard from Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati Mahaswami ‘Swami’ is another name of Shanmukha. Then both the pools are related to Lord Siva. There was time when the Idol was considered as Siva-Linga and being worshipped as Siva by the devotees. After the advent of Swami Ramanuja in 11^th century the temple was converted into a Vaishnavaite temple and the religious practices and customs of the temple started following the lineage shifted to Pancharatra Agama. The second temple tank being referred to with the name Ganga-dhaara.

The temple said to have been built in the 9th or the 10th century but I could not find any evidence to that effect. However there are standing evidences which establishes that the ‘Alayam’ was extensively rebuilt in the 13th century however we can find the inscriptions of 11^th century. There are 525 inscriptions in this temple, and the earlier one dates back to 1087 A.D. as per the records. Actually this is the period around which Swami Ramanuja visited this place. An inscription dated as far back as 1098 AD of the Chola King Kuloththunga provides some clue as to its antiquity. Another inscription shows a Queen of the Eastern Ganga of Kalinga (ancient Orissa) (1137-56 AD) covering the image with gold while a third inscription says the eastern Ganga King of Orissa, in 1267 A.D. Narasimha Deva, built the main/central shrine . So all the evidences

Compel to conclude that things started getting altered in 11^th century.

Except on Akshaya Tritiya, the idol of Varaha Narasimha is covered with sandalwood paste throughout the year, making it resemble a Shiva Lingam. Actually Akshaya Tritiya signifies the birth of Parashurama and a tithi dearer to Goddess Lakshmi. Though Parashurama is incarnation of Lord Vishnu he is a staunch devotee of Lord Siva. It is the only incarnation where the artist uses ‘Vibhuti’  

Confirming the Shastra – Slokas
Aakaasaat patitam toyam yathaa gacchati sagaram

Sarva deva namaskaram kesavam prathigacchati

Any God worshipped in any form will be the same one who is,

All-pervading omnipotent omnipresent and omniscient like the rain drops gradually becomes a huge river and culminates into the sea.

Sivaya vishnuroopaaya sivaroopaaya vishnave

Sivasya hridayam Vishnuh Vishnoscha hridayam Sivah   

Consider no distinction between Siva and Vishnu. Worship 5them as you like. While Vishnu is the heart of Siva, Siva is the heart of Vishnu. The similes are just to make us understand. They are not human beings having hearts which may be subjected to operation. Moreover Goddess Lakshmi is the feminine form of Lord Siva as both of them shower prosperity. (‘Sam’ in Sankara is prosperity and Lakshmi is also prosperity). All these things convey us not to take sides as it will tantamount to an incongruous act. With all the above explanation are these customs of the temple look odd for anybody who knows about Puranas.

Now we come to the argument put forth by Sri Ramanujacharya. Ramanuja argued that the idol of Varaha Narasimha is in a posture in accordance with the Pancharatra Agama rules. Pancharatra Agama rules are for a particular set of Vishnavas. How can they be acceptable to the Vaidics or Smarthas? While Smarthas believe in one God of any form, even male or female, Vaishnavas consider only Vishnu as God. More over Vishnavas are mainly divided into ‘thenkalai’ vadakalai’ ‘vaikhanasa’ who have their own systems and ritualistic procedures.

You can see the 21^st October ‘Swarajya’ for the order given by Madras High Court to stop the recital of Nalayira Prabandham till further orders at Kanchi Varadaraja Kovil. (Swarajyamag.com, Oct21 2018)This is the unity and uniformity they have.   Another strange thing is that Sri Ramanuja added that Kamadahana is celebrated here for the temple’s purification as per the Sishtachara traditions. Every temple barring one or two follow sishtachara tradions only irrespective of it’s being Siva or Vishnu Alaya. Bairava is neither the guardian of the Bhairava Dwaram nor worshipped as one. Bhairava is always the guard of Lord Siva. We can take the example of Varanasi. When this is the truth what argument, Srimad Ramanuja would have put forth to forefeet the arguments of the scholars at Simhachalam.  The only possibility is this. During his period the then kings were divided into two and while some patronized saivism, some Vaishnavism some patronized smarthism (they belive in whatever form he is, God is one.) Bhagavad Ramanuja would have approached the kings who worshiped him as there guru and got the work done.

Let us come to the next point. Varaha Narasimha’s idol, when covered with sandalwood paste, resembles a Shiva Lingam. Ramanuja took personal possession of the temple and ordered the priests to remove the paste.  The conversion work began and before completion, the idol started bleeding.  Feeling the deity’s anger for violating the rule, sandalwood paste was applied again which stopped the bloodstream.  They presumed that the deity wished to look like a Lingam and continued the tradition except for one day. If this is true what is it envisaging? Is it not advising us to trust in God who has no specific form and pure bhakti is the only important component for a Bhakta to realize God. This is nothing other than Advaita.

Sri Krishna Deva Raya after defeating the Gajapati Prataparudra Dev of Orissa, visited the shrine twice in 1516 AD and 1519 AD and offered numerous villages for maintenance of worship along with valuable jewelry of which an emerald necklace is still in the temple.

Shiva’s manifestation Tripurantaka is the kshetrapala (guardian deity) of Simhachalam. Tripurantaka and his consort have a temple dedicated to them which is located on the way to ganga-dhara. It is one of the oldest South Indian temples dedicated to this deity. Bhairava was believed to be much fierce than Narasimha. Notwithstanding whether the above statement is true or not, the guardian deity is identified with Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Bhairava. Then how that Tripurantaka emerged as the kshetrapalaka?

Simhachalam temple resembles a fortress from outside with three outer courtyards and five gateways. The five gateways denote the five heads of Lord Siva. This fact cannot be scored out by any argument.

Near the entrance, the footprints of Hindu saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu installed by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in the year 1930 can be seen. Once the shrine is converted people, top to bottom follow it with all fervor and cannot there be any difference of opinion.

In the Mukha mandapa (main hall), there is a pillar named Kappam Stambham (The Telugu word kappam means paying tribute in English) which is believed to have curative powers.  It is consecrated using the Santana Venugopala Yantra and is known to grant unfulfilled wishes especially for the couple craving for children.

The moolavirat of Varaha Narasimha is kept in a separate hall named Prahlada mandapa. The mandapa might have been named after conversion. In its original form, the idol of Varaha Narasimha is two and a half feet tall. The deity stands in a tribhanga posture with a boar’s head, a human torso and a lion’s tail.  About this I have explained at the bigining itself. On either side of the deity, the idols of Sridevi and Bhudevi holding lotus flowers are seen. Certainly these would be crafts created by the sculptor to add strength to the conversion. The sculpture of Varaha Narasimha has no ornaments and drapery carved on the body. The moolavirat is covered with sandalwood paste imported from Srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu. Why Srivilliputhur? I could not find any specific reason except that it is the birth place of Periyalwar and Andal and hence the followers of Vaishnavism will be more where from the people of Simhachalam can acquire Vaishnavic knowledge from them sustaining unbroken communication. 

After application of the sandalwood paste, the moolavirat resembles a four feet tall Shiva Lingam.  There is enough space for the devotees to offer pradakshinas (circumambulations) to the deity inside the Prahlada mandapa. There are only four main ornaments used in the temple: a Thirunamam made of diamonds and rubies, a chain of emeralds, a 100-tola gold bracelet, and a golden crown.

Simhachalam temple found many literary references and lyrical works dedicated by anonymous writers; some of the latter are preserved in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Chennai. The earliest known literary mention of the temple is found in Lakshmi Narasimhapurana written by Telugu poet Yerrapragada of 14^th century. A devotee by name Krishnamacharyulu wrote devotional vachanas (prose) in praise of Varaha Narasimha of Simhachalam. Krishnadevaraya mentioned his visit to Simhachalam in his epic poem Amuktamalyada. The king’s visit was also documented by poets Allasani Peddana and Dhurjati in Manucharitra and Krishnaraya Vijaya respectively. All the record is available after conversion of the Devalaya.

Chandanotsava (sandalwood festival), also known as Chandan Yatra, is the most important festival celebrated in the temple. It is celebrated on the festival day of Akshaya Tritiya (April – May) in accordance to the temple’s legend.  On this day, the Sandalwood paste, commonly referred to as Chandanam, covering the moolavirat throughout the year is removed on that day and as a result, devotees could see the original form of the deity’s idol for 12 hours once in the whole year. That is now being continued as a tradition.

Kamadahana is another significant festival which occurs on the full moon day in the month of Phalguna. It is considered as an auxiliary festival which not specified by ancient texts of the temple. Followers of Sri Vaishnavism consider Kamadahana as a self-purification ceremony. Kama dahanam is specific to Lord Siva. Madana Damana is the epithet he has. Moreover ‘Kama’ is the son of lord Vishnu.

The architecture of this temple is a mixture of the styles of the Kalinga, Chalukya and the Chola. The temple faces west instead of east, signifying victory.

Let us also touch a little of Sthapatya Sastra and know what it says. Simhachalam during the 11^th century was not part of Vishakhapatnam. Its name was Adavipuram. Even today the natives sustain the same name on their tongues.  As I heard, for this village the Alayam is to the north and the deity is facing south.

According to Alaya sthapatya sastra, the temple of Vishnu should face the village, while that of Narsimha should have its back to the village. The temple of Shiva should face outward, except if it is built in the east or west, in which case it should face the village. As for the temples of other god, they may face any direction. This itself confirms that the Deity of the Alayam is Lord Siva.

This is not the only Alayam maneuvered for conversion.  Even in Tirumala for Venkateswara also the same thing happened. No Vishnu Alaya deity will have Eshwara added to his name. More over Venkata is not a Sanskrit word whereas Eshwara is Sanskrit. As such there should not exist any ‘Sandhi’ in between these two words.

‘Venkata’ is a derivative of the Tamil word ‘Vengadam’. While ‘Vem’ is to sins ‘gadam’ is to cut. Hence Venkateswara means one who erases all our sins. Conversion of this temple also took place in 11^th century only. Prior to that The Idol was being worshipped as Siva for six months and Vishnu for six months. For this also, like in the case of Simhachalam the Kshetra Palaka is Lord Siva.

These are all past and we cannot and need not revive them for any sort of dispute for the reason, worshiping  in any form of God will ultimately reach him only says Advaita. Here, with all grief, one truth I will tell you. The Various types of Vaishnava Mathadhipatis who are called jiyyars, do not visit Lord Ganesha, whom Siva Purana, Linga Purana says to be the son Lord Siva, even if the Idol remains in the same precinct of Lord Venkateswara or any other Vaishnava  Alayas constructed nowadays  for communities. As Knowledgeable readers do you think their practice is correct?

However my intention of writing the article is to convey the message of harmony and integrity and not disharmony and dis-integrity. I also request my dear human society members not be carried away by the pompous God-men. Have trust in God of any form, worship him with total devotion, dedication and fervor and that helps you to be free from worries and gain solace.

Swasti.
The inspiration to write this article is the information provided in the Wikipedia on Simhachalam. From the core of my heart I acknowledge my dear friend (name anonymous) for helping to obtain certain information in the article.

The Greatness of Our Temples

The Greatness of Our Temples

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-greatness-of-our-temples.html

I happened to read about the temples in Kerala with particular reference to Padmanaba Swami temple at Thiruvananthapuram. Most of the old records (done in brass or copper plates) say the land belongs to “pandaram vaha” (in Malayalam Pandaram=Bhandaram=Hundi. Vaha = One who bears = Maintainer= Nirvahaka) That is, the things, articles, lands belonged to the deity of the relative temple.

The King was just a Dasa (slave), not to even be called as trustee, of the deity. In Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala State, the King was known as “Padmanabha Dasa” (=slave of Lord Padmanabha). And the temple was built for Sri Padmanabha (Lord Vishnu). Sree Padmanabhaswamy is the tutelary deity of the royal family of Travancore. Vaishnavaits would be familiar with the Shibboleth (Slogan, A word or phrase identified with a particular group or cause), “Adiyen, Ramanuja Dasan” (Me, slave of Ramanuja)?

According to Indian civil law, even now, all deities are treated as perpetual minors and the king (now trust) is just a karyakar = (Karyakarudu, పనివాడు) servant, not an owner at all. In all other countries like the West and Middle East, Kings and royal family really “owned” the country. In India, barring some exceptions, the land belonged to the deity. People of the country can build house or do farming obeying the terms and conditions of the trust deed.

So the ancient Indian system of governance, in which temple played major role, when compared with that of West and Middle East where Kings were autocrats is altogether a different style of functioning where even the ruler is also a servant to someone who is superior to him and is the almighty. Let us not be carried away by Indian history text books written by die-hard fans of invaders, as they only teach about the superiority of the westerners to whom we have to be subservient forever.

When Arabians and Europeans came to India, the then Hindu kings thought that they were “Atithis” (Guests) hence considered as “Deva” (God) as we preach and practice  ‘Atithi Devo Bhava'  a Sanskrit phrase which can literally be translated in English to mean “The guest is equivalent to God”. So kings provided them free land and money to build Churches and Mosques along with freedom to worship. If we check mustering our patience the old documents of the relative land donated for Churches and Mosques by Hindu Kings we can realize the reality. Have we ever heard otherwise happening anywhere in the world! Will Saudi Arabia or Vatican give a small piece of land to build a Hindu temple in their territories?)

Another aspect: Ancient temples (Devalayas) were not a place for prayers. The Free Dictionary defines a temple as follows:

a. A building dedicated to religious ceremonies or worship.

b. Temple either of two successive buildings in ancient Jerusalem serving as the primary center for Jewish worship.

c. Judaism A synagogue, especially of a Reform congregation.

d. Mormon Church A building in which the sacred ordinances are administered.

None of  these definitions suffice the real meaning of ‘Devalaya’.

Temples never had a prayer hall like that in Churches or Mosque (Prarthanalaya). Of course, there are mandapas which are pillared outdoor hall for performing arts and public rituals in temples. When you go to an old temple, the sanctum sanctorum itself is very small and dark. Hardly two or three people can stand in front of it.

That means temples had some other purpose. Fact: – temples were powerhouses of energy. Every ritual, prayer, ceremonies were only secondary to be in a temple but the main thing is to be in the field of consecrated energy. I don’t know how did they do it, but I have read somewhere that even individual karmic energy can be stored and retrieved in temple. But we lost all those ancient wisdom on energy contact and we are left only with rituals or we have become overly ritualistic, without understanding the real significance of temples.

Another fact is that temples were store house of enormous treasures too. This explains gigantic fort around the temple. Recently Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram was in the news as it became one of the richest Hindu Temples in India. It is believed that the total assets of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple have now exceeded the assets of the Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The wealth accumulated in the temples was used purely for dharmic deeds.

The priest, mostly a poor Brahmin, in the temple would get one or two meals a day, that’s all. There were choultries associated with those temples that provided food and shelter for not only the poor and needy but also the choultry provides seating space, rooms, water and food to any non-local person who visits the town or shrine for his personal or devotional purpose. These are financed by a charitable institutions or the ‘Devalayas’ itself. Their services used to be at no cost, or up to the visitor to leave whatever they wish as a donation. All the deeds i.e. karma was done based on the concept “Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanam Astu” (Everything I offer to the Atithis tantamounts to offering Sri Krishna or the divine). Everybody followed the Dharmic way of life – the Symbolic Centre of this system was the temple.

That was our ancient economic system – our dharma was based on sharing and caring. Our ancestors built huge store house of energy, wisdom (libraries and universities) and physical wealth associated with the temple premises. They worked hard and stored everything as treasure for coming generations. And temples were highest seat of marvelous architecture, sculptures, Classical Dance, Classical Music, and Shastra and Technology.  That was the glory ascribed to the Nation BHARATA. Among several meanings, Bharata denotes (RATA) dedicated to (BHA) progress.

The Dark Age began with the arrival of the brutal, religious fanatic, barbaric invaders who attacked, looted and destroyed the temple-economy and molested the ladies of the soil inhumanly. According to independent historians, more than hundred thousand Hindu temples (the likes of Samantha temple) were destroyed by those demonic invaders and killed nearly 75 million Hindus (preferred death to giving up their dharma) during the process. The entire temple-system was thus perished. They burned away our universities and libraries.

While our ancestors gave importance to education, arts, music, health, environment and nature, the barbaric invaders did not build even one school or hospital. All they did was to build palaces and gardens for their enjoyment, tombs to perpetuate their memory and forts for their security. Lot of beautiful temples were destroyed and converted to tombs – one example could be the Taj Mahal!

Naturally, those ordinary peace-loving Hindus around the temple-system became very scared and insecure; hence they tried protecting the remaining temples. They believed that non-Hindus may destroy it. But, alas, the cunning, pimp-ish Hindu politicians failed the remaining temple-system.

An ardent follower of Sanatana dharma like me would not blame any other religions for this downfall. It is our own politicians, who arrogantly taken over the right to manage richest temples in India. For the most part, the temples and its wealth are transferred arbitrarily by the government for “secular”, non-Hindu purposes. The most damaging side-effect of this is lack of resources for maintenance and upkeep of temples, leading to irreparable damage to many medieval and ancient structures. I have personally seen and experienced this.

Hindus are now feeling insecure and scared, not because of Muslims or any other religions, but because of our own “Hindu Secular Politicians” (all political parties included) who are worst and crooked than the brutal and barbaric invaders.

Swasti.

HOW INDIANS ARE DRAWN TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY

HOW INDIANS ARE DRAWN TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY

Our traditions (the Dharmic values of Bhaarata, the thought process of life, our religion, viz Dharma itself) are now under unprecedented threats. A large group is working to turn the whole of Bhaarata into the religion of Christ, within the country and outside the country. They use the lines mentioned in Bible for this purpose. The lines in Bible are used to console them as well as to convert them through "threats". When I say this, you may doubt whether it is true. That is why, though a boring exercise, you need to realize what is there inside Bible. For this, I shall read out some ten or fifteen lines from Bible. Why reading this? Not a single word I utter should be wrong. If I make a mistake, an allegation will come that I told what is not mentioned in Bible. Or some will say, I interpreted the Bible wrongly. Respected Dr. Joseph Pulikkunnil, the Director of Indian Institute of Christian Studies have made a Malayalam translation of Bible. I am using the same for this quotes. It is big. It is a very large book. I am only taking a few selected lines from it. Because, you too should know Bible than to quote too many ad nauseam. Search and find if what I said is not there in Bible or not.

A portion known as Sefanya, Chapter 1, there are 14 lines. It contains several quotes of the words of the creator (the Biblical God, Yahova usually called 'Karthavu' in Malayalam). As you all know, the Christians here are all trying to take us all to the Kingdom of this God. Hence it is

HOW INDIANS ARE DRAWN TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY

It is necessary to know what is mentioned as "the Day of (the Biblical) God". Here we see what God himself says about the Day of God. Quote: - "Here it is! The great day of God has come! It comes very fast. The sound of emergence of the day of God is horrible. There the soldiers are crying. It is the day of anger. It is the day of disaster and great pain. It is the day of destruction. It is the day of darkness. It is the day of dark cloud and pitch darkness. On this day there will be war cry against all forts. On that day I will create pain to all mankind. They will walk like blind. No one can save them in the day of God. He will destroy all inhabitants in this world." Quote ends.

It is into this day we Indians are being led to, by these Christian fathers and nuns. You decide if you want to follow them or not.

God proclaims again: - "I will raise your undergarment up to your face! Thus I will make the people see your nakedness. I will make the countries to witness you in shame. I will throw dirt onto you."

These are the words from the Biblical God onto a poor woman. Do you think these are words of kindness? The Biblical God is taking revenge upon a poor woman!

There is another portion named Nohum, Chapter 3, fifth line which reads:

Chapter-3 - 5 line

* I now come against you—

Oracle of the LORD of hosts—

And I will lift your skirt above your face;

I will show your nakedness to the nations,

To the kingdoms your shame!”

There is a portion named Amos, Chapter 5, the 18th line which says: - God said: - "Those who seek the Day of God, for you it is disaster." (Note: This is how you are threatened, and forced into the kingdom of god.). Quote continues: - "Why do you need the Day of God?" (Note: this is not my question, but the question of God). "Why do you need the Day of God? It is not light but darkness. This is like a person who after escaping from lion, reaches in front of a bear. The Day of God is darkness. It is not light. It is nothing but lightless darkness. I hate your holy days. I discard them."

All of these are words of God!!! How kind the God is!!? These people are cheating you and taking you all into the vicinity of this God! Think! Do you want to continue in this Christianity? Just think. Or else, do you want to embrace Christianity? All of these are words in Bible. The words in the Holy Bible.

The Biblical God says again: - God says thus: - "A sword is sharpened and polished. For mass murder. O son of God! You cry loudly! Because this sword is for using against my people. The chiefs will succumb to my sword along with my people! Hence you cry loudly!"

Thus the Biblical God instruct us to cry loudly! He says he have come to kill all of you. Then there is these lines from a deeply pained Biblical God,

I can read them: - Biblical God says in Iramya, 19th chapter 4th line:- "I will make a terrible disaster in this region by which the ears of those who hear this will tremble. They have worshiped other gods! I will make them eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters! When their enemies and those who want to kill them, torture them, they will eat the flesh of their neighbors. I will destroy this people and this city. I will make it into a cemetery." - These are the words of Biblical God.

Iramya, 19th chapter, 9th line: - “I will myself make war with you. I will kill the inhabitants of this city. All men and animals will die." Iramya, 21st chapter, 6th line. All these lines, are lines of kindness or threats? These are what is used to convert whole of north east India.

Again, hear the 3rd line of 15th chapter of Iramya: - Biblical God says: - Those who are for the great rain will go to the great rain; those who are for the sword will go to sword; those who are for the famine will go to famine; those who are for bondage will go for bondage. I will send four kinds of threats to them. Sword to kill, dogs to tear the flesh, to eat off, many birds and beasts." These words of Biblical god make even the blood to freeze! It makes even the blood to boil. These are the words of the kind God of Bible! The poor people are led into the church to make them hear all these!

Again, in Iramya, 13th chapter 14th line. Biblical God says: - "I will make their sons and fathers to fight each other, and thus make them perish. I will make them fight each other. These are the words of God. There will be no mercy for them from me. Because they worship other gods." This is the vengeance of Biblical God. This is how Hindus in India are threatened and are forced to convert. That is why you need to know these lines. Is it not how people are converted? Is it because of the reverence towards Bible, Biblical God or to Jesus Christ that you convert innocent people? You go to poor people and tell them, that Biblical God will punish you in these ways naturally they get scared and they will be slowly get converted.

Again, Iramya 8th capter 17th line: - “See, I am sending snakes into your midst. I send poisonous snakes upon whom magic has no effect. They will bite you. These are the words of God. I will make this people to eat bitter plants and make them drink poisonous water. I will make them scatter. I will follow them with sword till they perish." These are the sweetness of the lines in Bible. Hear again: - "In their streets, the children are collecting woods to make bread for the queen of heaven. Their fathers are setting fire. Women are making preparation for bread. They are irritating me by worshiping other gods. Are they provoking me? They are getting themselves into trouble. My anger will fall on them, their animals and plants. It will stay inflamed for long." An all destroying God! All because of the anger and revenge of the Biblical god when people worship other gods. Is the concept of God means revenge, vengeance, anger, hatred etc? Contrast this with the concept of God (Ishwara) of Bhaarata.

Again, Ashaiyya, 36th chapter 10th line:-"See, Your God will take revenge. God will come with his revenge. God has asked me to attack and destroy this nation." A God which think only about destruction!

Ashayya, 34th chapter 6th line: - “God has a sword. It has swollen with blood. It has fed up with eating flesh. God has a congregation in the land of Adam. There, instead of wild bull, men will fall. A race of brave men will fall there. Their land will be bathed in blood. Because God has a day of revenge. A competition for revenge." This is Ashayya 34th chapter 6th line. Instead of bull, men will fall in the revenge of Biblical God, the sword will swell with blood and flesh - all these seems like the language of a terrorist! These are unthinkable in this 21st century. All these words look like the words of the disciples of Bin Laden, but these are the words of Biblical God!

Ashayya 25th chapter 1st line: - "God will split the Earth, tore it open and twist the face of Earth and make the inhabitants of Earth to scatter. God will make the Earth empty by looting everything. These are words of God" Why Biblical God will do all this? Because he is unable to bear people worshiping other gods.

Biblical God said: - "I will make vice to emerge from your own house. I will take your wives and give them to your neighbors, in your very eyes. They will lie with your wives in broad day light. In front of all the Israelites, in broad sun light, I will give your wives to your neighbors." These are words in portion called Samuel part 2, 12th chapter 11th line. When you hear all these what do you think? Is Bible a holy book?

Again: - "In that whole city, Biblical God has created fear of death. The hand of God fell there with great might. Those who escaped death were tormented with ailments. The cry of the city rise upto the sky." This is how Biblical God took revenge on that city. God said:- "I let him alone stay in that city so that he can cry till the eyes start burning and heart start paining. I will make all the people in your house to die by sword. This will happen to your sons too. They both will die on the same day." These are from Samuel part 1, chapter 2, 33rd line. There are two parts of Samuel in Bible.

Again Repetition, 32nd chapter 40th line:-God said: - "With my hand raised to sky, I promise, I will sharpen my glowing sword and take the right to dictate law to avenge my enemies. I will revenge those who hate me. I will make my arrows merry in blood. I will make my sword eat flesh. I will make blood flow from my enemy. He will take revenge of the blood of his servants." These words were read out to Moses. This individual Moses seems like a mad man. These are all found in Bible, with many such glorious words of Biblical God (Karthavu).

Biblical God said: - "In this world, if anybody invite you into other gods, you should not budge. Don't hear him. You should not show any mercy to him. You should not leave him. You should not hide him. You should kill him. You should be the first to raise hand to kill him. Then all people should raise their hands. They should stone him to death.

Repetition, 13th chapter, 9th line: - "You should go to neighboring countries. You should destroy their religious monuments and their idols." This is what Fancies Xavier has done. This is what St. George has done. This is what St. Sebastian has done.

"You should not worship other gods, because the Biblical God (Karthavu) is intolerant. The name of Biblical God is 'Intolerance'. These are words from Purappadu, 34th chapter 13th line. Interesting to note that even the meaning of the name of Biblical God is 'intolerance'!!! These are words of Bible, translated by Dr. Joseph Pulikkunnil. I just read it out for you. These are not my own translation. I am just telling you the lines of Bible as it is written.

Now hear, the 23rd Chapter, 24th line of Purappadu: - Biblical God said: - "I will wipe them off. I will destroy all of their gods. I will destroy all their stakes of gods. Worship only your god, the Biblical god. Don't worship any other god. Biblical God is impatient and intolerant. You should destroy all people who worship other gods." Purappadu, 22nd Chapter, 20th line says this. Similarly Purappadu, 20th chapter 5th line says: - "You should not have any other god other than me. You should not have any idol. You should not make any idol of anything. Do not bow your head onto them. Because I am your god. I am an intolerant god. For those who hate me, I will revenge by troubling upto their 3rd and 4th generation.

Thus, it is not one or two lines in Bible. It clearly outlines the characteristics of the Biblical God. These are repeated from the chapter of Genesis to upto the beginning of New Testament, in around 700 to 800 pages. This is what is told by Yahoa, the Biblical God (Karthavu in Malayalam). Be alert about this. Listen to this. Study this. Is this the definition of the word God? Is this mercy? Is this the concept of Iswara in Bible? I am amazed how the Christian fathers and nuns are able to adore this book called Bible!!!

I am not saying there are no words of virtue in Bible. That I said all these, doesn't mean that I hate Christians. I do not have any enmity towards any Christian. I am repeating this again. I respect many Christians. Especially in St Alberts College, Principal Dr. Father Agustine Kunnulli, Father Kalarikkal. If these people were not there I won't even get admission to St Alberts College. Then there is Professor Mathai Sir. He helped me to get admission there. Dr AJ Mathew got me job at CSIR. I adore all of these teachers. I do not have any enemty towards any Christian. But I see these horrible and cruel words in Bible being used to convert innocent and poor Bhaaratiyas (Indians). What do Christians gain by this? This is what I want to ask to all Christians. Mostly it is Christians from Kerala, who do all these in the whole of India, these cruel acts.

My advice is, study this, and tell this to the whole world. I have given you all the references. I can give you any number of books, notices or brochures on this. These are the lines found in Bible, very cruel words. I am only truthfully reporting and submitting these to the world. Let people and you decide, if this heinous words in this book needs to be accepted and this heinous practice of religious conversion is to be followed or not.

I do not have any other motives. Only one objective. The whole world is embracing this nation, my mother land, Bhaarata and its Sanatana Dharma with both hands. I want to protect this Dharma and sustain it. I wish to do this till my last breath. I need your support in this.

MANUFACTURED HINDU TERROR

The acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and others in three cases of “Hindu terror”, including last week in tThe Samjhauta Express case, due to lack of evidence, demonstrates the sinister nature of the plot to paint Hindu terror as a threat to the “idea of India”. – Minhaz Merchant

Over several years, a myth has been carefully manufactured that “Hindu terror” poses an existential threat to Indian Muslims, Christians and other minorities.

During the Congress-led UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments, this myth was given a label—“saffron terror”.

The crafting was meticulous.

The reported Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, Ishrat Jahan, killed by the Gujarat police, became a secular cause célèbre. Websites sprang up describing her as an innocent college girl, murdered apparently on the orders of then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The narrative was smoothly taken up by certain co-opted media. In Parliament, Home Minister Shivraj Patil spoke darkly of “Hindutva terrorism”.

P. Chidambaram, then finance minister, warned of the dangers of saffron terror. Terrorism, he reportedly said, had no religion—but it had a colour.

Rahul Gandhi showed an early predilection for backing such subverted narratives. He reportedly told a visiting American envoy, in a conversation leaked by Wikileaks, that right-wing terror was more dangerous to India’s integrity than Islamist terrorism.

In November 2008—as if to cruelly mock that assertion—LeT terrorists killed 166 people in two Mumbai hotels, a Jewish outreach centre and Mumbai’s largest railway station, over three and a half days of rampaging terror.

The acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and others in three cases of “Hindu terror”, including last week in the Samjhauta Express case, due to lack of evidence, demonstrates the sinister nature of the plot to paint Hindu terror as a threat to the “idea of India”.

By aligning its position with Pakistan, against the court’s acquittal of Swami Aseemanand, the Congress has once again revealed where it stands on “saffron terror”—the wrong side of history.

Comments by Sam Pitroda, Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s senior advisor, apparently questioning the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s role in the Pulwama terror attack and the efficacy of the IAF’s Balakot air strikes, underscore deep fault lines in the Congress.

A cottage industry now exists that also promotes the bizarre position that “saffron terror” is different from “Hindu terror”—this is a direct fallout of the realisation by the Congress and its so-called secular bedfellows, such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Left, that conflating terrorism with Hinduism loses votes.

Hence, the painstaking effort to differentiate “saffron terror” from “Hindu terror”.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi’s attempted transformation into an observant Hindu, praying at temples, paying homage to the holy Ganga and visiting sadhus, has been met with an understanding wink from the Congress’ faithful Muslim vote bank.

Muslims know which side Rahul is really on. His temple-love, they nudge each other, is to win elections. Don’t worry about it. He’s our man.

The foreign media is puzzled by all this chicanery.

The Economist noted dolefully that the Congress is no longer “secular”. In a recent cover story on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it wrote: “The BJP’s main opponent, the Congress party, has largely dropped talk of secularism. Since winning the state of Madhya Pradesh in December, Congress has outdone the BJP on cow protection, budgeting millions to build shelters for retired cattle. Its national leader, Rahul Gandhi, now punctiliously visits temples.”

It added unctuously: “The rival visions confronting India’s 900 million voters have rarely been so sharply defined. Hindu nationalists regard India as a nation defined by its majority faith, much like Israel or indeed Pakistan. On the other side stand those who see India’s extraordinary diversity as a source of strength. For most of the country’s seven decades, multicoloured secular vision has prevailed. But the orange-clad Hindutva strain has grown even bolder. Under Mr Modi, the project to convert India into a fully-fledged Hindu nation has moved ahead smartly.”

The Economist’s understanding of India’s complexity has never been particularly sophisticated.

Modi has, in fact, done less to drive the Hindutva agenda than both his detractors and benefactors expected. The Economist notes this without recognising, artlessly, how it contradicts its earlier argument on Modi’s Hindu nationalism—“The demand to erect a Ram temple in Ayodhya has not progressed, either. The issue has been stalled in courts for decades. This has not helped Mr. Modi’s standing with the Hindu religious establishment. At this year’s Kumbh Mela, several senior religious figures seemed unhappy. They have been talking of nothing but Ram, Ram all these years, and now they ask us to stop? mutters Swaroopanand Saraswati, the head of two of Hinduism’s most prestigious monasteries. Another high-ranking holy man, his forehead streaked with turmeric, complains that the BJP and RSS are trying to hijack the faith while doing little for issues such as protecting the sacred Ganges river.”

Clearly, Modi isn’t quite the Hindutva icon people expected—it shouldn’t surprise anyone with, unlike The Economist, a passing knowledge of Indian politics.

During his more than a decade tenure as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi ran the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) out of the state, demolished temples that encroached on public spaces, and sent the VHP’s fire-breathing president Praveen Togadia into near-oblivion.

~ ~ ~

Hinduism has more than one billion adherents worldwide. The other two major religions—Christianity and Islam—have respectively two billion and 1.6 billion followers globally.

Uniquely though, all but around 25 million (2.5%) of Hindus live in one country, India—that is a concentration level of 97.5% in one nation.

By contrast, Christians and Muslims are widely dispersed. The country with the largest concentration of Christians is the United States. But even its 300 million Christians make up only 15% of two billion Christians worldwide. Islam is even more dispersed. Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam’s holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina, has 33 million Muslims—just over 2% of 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide.

The reason, of course, is the sword and the gun.

Christianity proselytised with gunships, Islam with swords. As a result, the subcontinent, with nearly 600 Muslims in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, comprises nearly 40% of the world’s total Muslim population.

And Hinduism? It never proselytised. Its monks went to China, Cambodia, Indonesia and further east to share knowledge—not to convert. The great temples of Cambodia and Indonesia are testament to the benign influence of Hinduism.

The challenge for India’s one billion Hindus now is to embrace modernity, rise above caste that holds so many back, and make Hinduism the all-embracing mother religion it was always conceived to be. – Daily-O, 25 March 2019

» Minhaz Merchant is the biographer of Rajiv Gandhi and Aditya Birla. He is a media group chairman and editor, and the author of The New Clash of Civilizations.