Conversion is Violence
I was out for a week on vacation and went to Pittsburgh area to do some outdoor activities – white water rafting, obstacle course etc. It was fun. However my “Temple Hunting” (as my kids call it!) didnt stop!!!! The location where we did all these was very closer to http://www.svbf.org temple. Had a great darshan of Goddess Saradhamba and Jagadguru Adi Shankara. This is the only temple in US (I guess), where you can find sannidhi for Adi Shankara.
Couple of miles from this place is Arsha Vidhya Gurukulam (http://www.arshavidya.org/home.html), my most favorite place in US. If anyone needs peace, they should go here, spend 2 days. I wanted my wife and kids to see this place, understand what a serene environment, only Lord Dakshinamurthy temple in US, an atmosphere for vedantic studies, one of the finest religious book store and last but not the least – free food! Amazing place…..I must talk about this book store. This is almost like Giri traders. You name a religious book, they have it – so many books….If you’re in US, please visit this place – stay for a weekend and see whats going on there!
As usual, didnt know what to leave – wanted to bring the whole store home 
Not that I would read all of them…I picked up some books Swami Dayanadha Saraswathi Swamigal etc…Also I noticed small – very small books on few topics like meditation, japa. Ok, coming to the main point, one of such small books is “Conversion is Violence”. This is the speech given by Swamiji 0n July 17, 1999 at TTK Hall on a seminar on “Violence to Hindu Heritage” conducted by Dharma Rakshana Sammelan, Chennai. This has just 16 pages. (http://www.jaia-bharati.org/anglais/swami-conviolence.htm) . Amazing lecture – everyone should read this. He brings in both dharama sashtra and basic common sense and vedanta to prove the point how evil this whole process is. How much of human rights violation is compromised in this process? How Hindus are being fooled on a daily basis??
Conversion is not something new…this has been going on for ages. So many of us have seen how this has impacted Hinduism. There are so many organizations that have been fighting to stop this. Sadly, power and money adds fuel to the problem. Mahaperiyava had talked a lot about how wrong this conversion is and during His days, He had talked to several political leaders about this as well. Following His footsteps, Pudhu Periyava has traveled to all corners of Tamilnadu and reached out to so many classes of people to create an awareness to stop this happening. In today’s world, I don’t know if any other religious leader have done this and taken the heat that He took it. I am not saying this just because that I am a devotee of Kanchi Mutt. Protecting our value starts from the root-level problem and in my opinion, we are blessed to have these Pujya Gurus and last but not the least – Sri Subramanyam Swamy in fighting against this.
Mahesh
here’s the text of the speech. http://www.jaia-bharati.org/anglais/swami-conviolence.htm
Fantastic – Thanks a lot!
Thanks for all the useful info Mahesh, now I don’t think I give Arsha Vidhya Gurukulam a miss when I am in the Pittsburgh area.
svbf and arshavidya are wonderful. Every Saturday @ 7 PM , Saradambal will ascend in the Golden Chariot. It is always wonderful.
The details of temple is good.Will try to visit it when again in USA.
Also the lecture on conversion is good.Now just as an Mother protects her child – in any form this is to be noted-be it an animal/bird/human being we should strive to move forward and look to protecting our religion as if it is our child-that can be the way we can move forward.Periyaval in Kanchi are like our guides-they will give us all support and enhance our beleifs but final call rests on each individual only right from birth to death to care of his religion.
VENKAT
There is also another treatise on conversion, By the Shringeri Acharya Chandrashekara Bharati. It is the first chapter on the book ” Dialogs With Guru”. In this case he answers queries from a foreign devotee of the ACHARYA of Christian faith who wants to convert to Hindusim.
You are right when you say that Puthu Periava took risks to stop the conversion to some extent. And he has paid the price due to machinations of the many who saw this Sage as a threat for their own survival. It is equally sad that other
Maths do not come forward to support the actions of this Sage nor they did/do anything to thwart the onslaught on our very heritage. Adjustment has become the mantra for “survival” for many. I am sorry, if I am wrong.
Conversion has become a manace to Hindu religion now a days.Kindly think patiently,why this is happening in India so common now a days, in those days elders used to sit with there younger one in the evening before pooja room and chant at least for 30minutes “Nama Sivaya “Om namo Narayanaya”,and they sow the seed of this japa mantra in there heart and brain and our elders used to tell younger one the story of Ramayana,Bharatham, etc and make them understand the greatness of rightfulness ,truth, and the greatness of sanathana dharma and Hindu religion.Once our mind is put in the right track in our young age,and teach them Bhagavath Geetha properly,we Hindus need not fear any thing about conversion.We never prepare our children basically for any attack to our religion from the path of argument.We used to say our children with a heckle,we follow just following it. that is all.Once our comment is like this to our children,for kids begin to think and believe “Hindu religion is a mere hambuck ,and our own children will join with others to comment our religion very badly.The mistake is ours only. At present in India Happening is this,”How a minority reaching majority,seizing authority,Hates minority” is happening at present.If you say any thing against this trend,then our own Hindus who are all in different cast pockets begin to talk,preach, you are against secularism and preaching communalism. and those people will join with other people to put you down and your thoughts. This is Indian thought now a days.Our Acharyal try to do some thing to the poor Hindus,but it never fetch the expected result to this date. Change should come from the family itself,then only that will last long in this country..Conversion can only bring hatred and discomfort,and lack of faith among countrymen. THis is high time to think on the subject to over come this trend.May GOD bless all Hindus Enough Wisdom to think and act.
conversion not only split the family it can sow the seed of hatred between religion.Please think If the God is the same and is universal .Please understand God is a feeling,wheather it can be Lord Siva,Vishnu Allah or Jesus or Jehova.God will never ask his followers to enroll more to his fold.If he asks so,he is not God,he is only a common politician, a stage spokes person only. If a God says, his followers should kill others if they are not his followers.Then you can understand it is not a GodsHome,but it is only a den of a gang,it is not a garden,if it is a garden variety of flowers will be there
Fragerance will differ from one to another.If God is kind,ominiprecence and ominipotent he will consider each and every thing.It is your way and faith you have no right to interfere and destroy the existing peace.So this conversion going on unabated in this country should be stopped forthwith to keep the country united, Grand and formidable.