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Xian-Hindu Dialogue P,   Hi, I am the Vedic guy who met you at the base gym, and we exchanged our cards.   As I indicated, let me know if small or large groups have open mind and interest to know what the Vedic dharma really is. As I indicated the Vedic dharma, whose incorrect name is Hindu dharma, tells to not convert any one by force or economic or other pressures or entices. It is universal and presents the complete science of spirituality. The world needs to appreciate that this most ancient Vedic dharma and culture has never killed any culture, nor has invaded or killed for conversion.   I have some request for the Christian preachers, but before I tell it to you, I need to do something to assure you that I am you friend, not your competitor or opponent.   My prayer to God is that the Christian preachers divert all their efforts and resources in converting Islam followers till the terror factories are closed, and no one thinks of opening any again. This is possible by civil programs with a well planned education system. Military power cannot win terrorism that is an asymmetrical warfare of very long duration, and never will end till Kuran is preached.   More later after your response.   Regards, Thank you so much for your email message.  I had to go back to review some of the teachings and principles of Vedic dharma and there are certainly some common ground with Christianity.  We both believe in a spiritual path according to the respective codes of conduct, a spiritual discipline.  Even the ten essential rules of dharma are very similar to principles found in the Bible. Christianity would have a problem with "karma", which says our future life is determined by our actions and our faith would emphasize the grace and forgiveness of God.  The Christian faith would emphasize the fact that Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for our sins.  In Christianity God took the initiative to provide hope for all people.  The Christian faith would also have a problem with reincarnation but at least there are some areas of agreement.  We always give respect to one another, even though there may be differences.   Blessings, P Hi P,   Thanks you for the message. Sure, all religions have some things common. The humans, however, have experienced severe conflicts due to the differences all along the history.   I have copied and pasted your second paragraph and then inserted my response to your lines below.   Christianity would have a problem with "karma",   S: Christianity had faith in re-incarnation till some 300 years after Jesus. I could quote a book that talks about it if you wish. A nuclear physicist and devotee Vasu Murthy has written a 1200-pages book after through research in Christian literature showing that Christianity had so many things common with the Vedic dharma that they need to support Vedic dharma (bhakti yoga) rather than oppose or convert them.   which says our future life is determined by our actions and our faith would emphasize the grace and forgiveness of God.   S: Krishna in Gita has not said that our (means any person's) fate is solely determined by one's past karma only. There is more detail there that I could share if you wish to know.    The Christian faith would emphasize the fact that Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for our sins.    S: Yes I know it, but the Vedic people have difficulty understanding how one could pay for the sins of un-borns and born after Jesus departed. Besides, the Vedic dharma encourages all to live every moment of life as much sin-free as one could, and strive to live sin-free. Also any sins could be forgiven/wiped out by God and His pure devotees (saints). But that is up to God and the saints whether to do it or not. Also, a Vedic person does not like some one pay/suffer for his/her sins, because it is not fair. However, saints do have capability to take over others' sins and suffer. Some do it out of compassion; but a Vedic person will not ask a saint to suffer for what the person did. To do so is to totally misuse a saint. One has to learn to live sin-free from saints.   In Christianity God took the initiative to provide hope for all people.    S: He is not alone. Each person of any time and place has equal opportunity to realize god and become godly, says Krishna in Gita.   The Christian faith would also have a problem with reincarnation but at least there are some areas of agreement.   S: There are books describing how many people, even small children, somehow did not forget their past life. Karma and re-incarnation are related. Gita has all the essence about it. I could discuss more when I see interest to know.     We always give respect to one another, even though there may be differences.   S: That is very good and nice. I would say that no one has to worry about the Vedic people. The greatest deadly force against Christianity is I S L A M. Both these ideologies are not comfortable with all and any non-believer, as I see it. The tension has worsened because one has oil and another has greatest need for it due to car-culture, and a few other reasons.   I hope you will take the discussion positively.   I pray God help us understand higher and higher spiritual truths, and help us live sin-free.   Sincerely, S What freedom bible does not give?   Bible does not give freedom to be morally pure or without sin and guilt.  The Bible makes it very clear that we were made with a free will, even to the point of rejecting God and His mercy and love, but never without trespasses and sins.  Bible indicates that "all have sinned" and are apart from the grace of God.  Even though we all have sin as our nature and are guilty in God's sight, forgiveness is possible.   What does bible say about how to look at and treat non-Christians?   We know that the essential being of God is love, so that when He made us in his own image, he gave us a capacity to love as he loves.  God's two great commandments are to love him and each other, for this is our destiny.  A truly human existence is impossible without love.  This love is not only to fellow Christians but to all people.  So, to non-Christians we are to show respect to their person and to their beliefs and convictions and to share with them the Christian faith, as you and I are doing.   Definition of spirituality:   It would be a focus on sacred things as the spirit, distinguished from the physical.  It could be an adoration of a god, but not necessarily since some new age philosophies look at the spiritual sense as a force or a being or a higher power.   Spiritually advanced if not a Christian?   Using this general definition it is certainly possible to be spiritually advanced and not be a Christian.  However in Christian circles we use the phrase "spiritual growth' or the "spirit-filled life" and this would be a little different because it is focused on a personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, and would only be possible for the Christian believer.   QUESTIONS   Does "enlightenment" or "faith" ever come into being through reason, logic, or knowledge?   I have a hard time understanding the "caste system".  How do you justify placing people into these categories when the government has declared it illegal?   One of the cardinal tenets of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead?  How do you respond to this claim?   I am grateful for this opportunity to share with you and for us to learn from each other.   P P,   I appreciate you are happily doing this exchange. Because Bible says to go and convert, I feel that you will feel frustrated or unhappy when you find that I am not inclined to accept Christianity as my religion. Whereas I have no desire to convert you, I could not get frustrated by the exchange. Below I have pasted your last message, and then have inserted my response in it.   What freedom bible does not give?   Bible does not give freedom to be morally pure or without sin and guilt.  The Bible makes it very clear that we were made with a free will, even to the point of rejecting God and His mercy and love, but never without trespasses and sins.  Bible indicates that "all have sinned" and are apart from the grace of God.  Even though we all have sin as our nature and are guilty in God's sight, forgiveness is possible.   S: This paradigm, that we all are sinners is not in the Vedic dharma, because we or I of a person is the soul, and god is supersoul within the heart of each living being. There is complete knowledge of this eternal soul in the Vedic literature and in Bhagavad Gita, THE BOOK of Vedic dharma. I have not found this knowledge in Bible. The supersoul and a soul are qualitatively identical like an inferno is identical to a small spark of fire, but quantitatively a soul is like a small spark with limited power, compared to the supersoul, God, that has infinite power. A soul is not as much able to control the material energies as God is. All the energy in the universe is owned by God. … Because God is sin-free, a soul is sin-free too. There is eternal loving relation between a soul and the supersoul. This material universe is only 25% of God’s creation. The rest is the spiritual universe where the population of the souls is very large compared to the population in this material universe. There the souls live with god and other souls in bliss. … God never takes way freedom of the souls because he loves them all equally. When some few souls desire to control the material energy as God does, then God helps them forget Him, and sends them to take birth in the material world. It is not possible to take birth here unless one forgets God. So, God’s potency – maayaa (illusion)- helps a soul to forget God, and the soul takes birth in the material world. Here in the material world there is no bliss or permanent joy as it is in the spiritual world. So, the soul suffers ore than it enjoys and after one or many many births it ultimately finds out that it was not its wise decision to control the material energy like God does. Then after it may choose to go back to god; and following one of several processes given in Gita a soul progresses towards God and finally goes back to the spiritual universe.  .. So now, what is sin? It is sin to obstruct one’s spiritual progress towards god. Sin is what causes suffering in this or next life. To kill a living being is sin. So, even eating vegetarian foods is sin too. But the process given to be free from this sin is to cook, with love, for God only, and serve Him first before eating or tasting it while being cooked. The Vedic scriptures say that God does take one’s offering if offered with deep love to Him. Once served, a food – bhoga- becomes prasadam – mercy of God, and it does not accrue sin when honored – eaten. To kill or eat a cow is very serious sin per Vedic literature. Each act of sin is not of same seriousness. Some sins are big, and some are very small. The spectrum is from zero to infinity. To cause suffering to the people on the path or righteousness is also sin. Gita says that greed, lust, and anger are the three gates of hell where the sinners are sent by nature to suffer. So, the Vedic scriptures and its processes train how to live sin-free, and never encourage to sin. The soul is inherently divine as the supersoul is. We souls of this world, many have passed millions of births here, and have forgotten our identity and the fact that God lives us. The Vedic processes help revive this relation with god, so that one can go back to Him. This is too long a view how it is in Vedic dharma, and it may not cover all the detail. So, feel free to ask if you want to know. The paradigm that one is a sinner will encourage one to sin. The Vedic people do not have this problem. It does not help to make one believe that he/she is a sinner.   What does bible say about how to look at and treat non-Christians? We know that the essential being of God is love, so that when He made us in his own image, he gave us a capacity to love as he loves.  God's two great commandments are to love him and each other, for this is our destiny.  A truly human existence is impossible without love.  This love is not only to fellow Christians but to all people.  So, to non-Christians we are to show respect to their person and to their beliefs and convictions and to share with them the Christian faith, as you and I are doing.   S: I wish and pray that the Christians do not organize like a military organization with billions of dollars and missionary armies and plan to convert the whole world. The Vedic people do not do such a thing. My feeling is that the Christians are not feeling comfortable when they see a non-Christian, and therefore they organize to convert. The Vedic people have no problem with any infidels as long as the infidels do not make them the subject of conversion by various tactics. The fair game is to convert only to one who asks to be converted, and not make any attempt to run huge programs of conversions. It is also fair to convince the Vedic gurus to accept Christianity, but only by intellectual and open debates. If you could succeed, they will happily accept Christianity. To convert the less intelligent and poor people by different tactics in not fair. It causes social disturbance in my view. The Vedic culture has millenniums old tradition of open debates on religious matters. The debates could continue for days. Each party never insults the other, no personal attacks, no threats, no lures/bribes/payments, no anger, no pressures of any kind, no ridiculing. Just as the scientists debate in the matter of science, the Vedic people debate on religious matters. At the end, whoever could not support his points/hypothesis accepts the other as his/her guru. So, I could accept Christianity if I am intellectually convinced (but so far no one has succeeded.) I am not expecting any one who listen me to accept Vedic dharma. It is his/her free choice what to do.   Definition of spirituality:   It would be a focus on sacred things as the spirit, distinguished from the physical.  It could be an adoration of a god, but not necessarily since some new age philosophies look at the spiritual sense as a force or a being or a higher power.   S: Yes,   Spiritually advanced if not a Christian? Using this general definition it is certainly possible to be spiritually advanced and not be a Christian.  However in Christian circles we use the phrase "spiritual growth' or the "spirit-filled life" and this would be a little different because it is focused on a personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, and would only be possible for the Christian believer.   QUESTIONS   Does "enlightenment" or "faith" ever come into being through reason, logic, or knowledge?   I have a hard time understanding the "caste system".  How do you justify placing people into these categories when the government has declared it illegal?   One of the cardinal tenets of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead?  How do you respond to this claim?   I am grateful for this opportunity to share with you and for us to learn from each other.   P P,   I got both your e-mails with same message. Yes, it is true that nothing happens unless god wished it, but the concept of god, what He does, and what His characteristics are, where He is, and how we are related to Him and what He wants us do are different in different religions. This is a major source of conflicts. When a religion says his god is jealous, that means there is another superior god, else the most powerful and supreme god cannot be jealous of any one as no one could be any close to Him in power, etc.   For example, the focus of I S L A M and Christianity are to gain control in this material world and not rest till all are converted. Still we see that within each religion are many sections and each fight with the other. If the freedom if an individual is respected then, there is no need to convert any one. To organize for conversion with billions of dollars and millions of missionaries is not a way per the Vedic literature. Additionally, if an enemy ideology is organized that way to convert, then that is the one against which the Christians need to do all their effort to convert and not the ones who never are a threat to Christianity. So, in that sense all the efforts to convert the so called Hindus (the Vedic people) of Bharat is a waste of time and effort and it does not help towards peace, in my view. Sure, the Vedic people do have their internal problems. But if you are concerned about those problems, then help them live correctly according to Gita; encourage them to follow dharma correctly, instead of converting them to a foreign religion that is just a 2000 years toddler; where as Vedic dharma is millenniums old, and still living despite brutal multiple genocides caused by invaded I S L A M for almost 1000 years. Also, you might know that Christianity has done most brutal violence in Goa, Bharat to convert the Vedic people, according to Christian historians. Is it something to be proud of for a Christian?   Have a wonderful trip. With Best Regards, S P,   Here I attempt to answer your questions.   Q: Does "enlightenment" or "faith" ever come into being through reason, logic, or knowledge?   A: Enlightenment and faith are two different things. Enlightenment is when one realizes God, and thereafter he/she does not sin, that is, none of his/her actions are sinful. It comes by the mercy of God or by an enlightened one, but this mercy is not possible usually unless one has made some effort to realize God in present or past lives. It is said that the devotees of God are more merciful than God. When one tries to acquire the true answers of questions like - Who I am? - Why I am here? - Who created this word, and the universe? - Why the heart beats? Who make it beat? - Who digests the food in stomach? - Who controls the remembrance and forgetfulness? - etc then he is prepared to advance spiritually. Knowing is one thing, but only living per the knowledge helps in advancement. To know something as truth, one has to trust, or have faith in, one’s self or someone else, like a guru, saint, or a scripture. Most people know when they really know or do no know something. So, reason, logic based on the truth, and knowledge of the soul and supersoul does help, but is not sufficient to get enlightenment. Faith is when one accepts something as truth without reason or logic. A faithless person cannot get enlightenment.     Q: I have a hard time understanding the "caste system".    A: This is a dead horse, or almost a dead horse, that the non-Vedic people try beating over and over. It is a shame for the Vedic people because it is/was a malpractice of varna-aashrama dharma described in Gita and the Vedic scriptures. The Vedic society is designed so that every person in it has equal opportunity to progress spiritually and realize God. It has brahmanas, the intellectuals who study scriptures and live according to dharma. Then they guide the society advance spiritually. They are not after money. They live on donations they receive for some religious services they provide. Then there are kshatriyas that protect the society from internal and external miscreants who try to take away the freedom, property, land, women, wealth, lives, and peace of the people. Kahstriyas are like police and military. Then there are vaishyas or traders and merchants. They mainly do farming, trading, and cow protection. The rest of the people are shudras who are least intelligent and therefore they do labor, manual service, to the other three classes. The class is determined by qualification and the acts they do, not by birth. If you think a Vedic society as a person, then brahmans are the head, kshatriyas are the arms, vaishyas are the belly, and shudras are the legs. Each class needs the other’s service, and all can advance spiritually doing their own dharma as prescribed in the scriptures. So, those who correctly say that caste system is not good but is sin, need to help the Vedic people by encouraging them to follow varna-aashrama dharma correctly. What I described is varna, not aashrama.   Q: How do you justify placing people into these categories when the government has declared it illegal?   A: The Gov. rightfully has declared it illegal, but no Gov. is God. So, the standard is Vedic scriptures for serious Vedic people. Again it was a malpractice and is going away for good. Besides every society have different classes. Try to invite your grand-grand boss for dinner. Most likely he/she will not come. Pope will not come to you home for diner. Nor they will invite you for dinner or dance. That is a class. In military officers, enlisted, civilians, and contractors are the classes in hierarchy.   Q: One of the cardinal tenets of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead?  How do you respond to this claim?   A: There is evidence that Jesus did not die on the cross. He secretly went back to India and became a bodhisattva. Ref. Book – Jesus Lived in India – by Kersten Holger, a German Chaplain.  However, miracles do happen, and no people or country has monopoly to have miracles. Knowign this the Vedic people have no problem believing that Jesus did some miracles; but he is not alone, but is one in millions that they have seen or know of.   P: I am grateful for this opportunity to share with you and for us to learn from each other.   S: Me too. The Vedic people take the words of Jesus, “thou shall not kill,” seriously. These words do not mean “thou shall not murder.” So, the serious Vedic people do not kill animals for food; because there are veg. foods available, and no killing is required.   Any more questions, do not hesitate to ask.   I am glad to send along these greetings and also to respond to some of your comments that you sent to me some weeks ago.    You said, "...there is evidence that Jesus did not die on the cross.  He secretly went back to India and became a bodhisattva."  o not believe there is any question about whether Jesus died on the cross, there are too many historical evidences of that fact.  Even the famed Jewish historian Josephus attests to that reality.  Being crucified on a cross was a common method of putting criminals to death during the Roman Empire.  The real question is not whether Jesus died on a cross but what was the significance.  His death, from the Christian perspective, was an atonement for the sins of mankind.  It was God's sacrifice of His Son that provided redemption for all people.   As far as Jesus going to India, there is no credible historical evidence to support that view.  The fact that a German Chaplain wrote a book to that effect does not constitute credibility. It appears very substantial that the Apostle Thomas went to India, some time after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  When I visited the city of Chennai, there was a church and some artifacts commemorating the visit of Thomas to India and being buried at this site on a hillside overlooking this impressive city.   We are in agreement that "miracles do happen".  The New Testament describes many of the miracles that Jesus did while on the earth but it also describes miracles performed by His disciples.  It is recorded in the Bible that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus and the disciples to perform the miracles and the Holy spirit continues to be the source of miracles today.  Miracles are rare occurrences, which is why they are miraculous events.   I will share more comments in future mailings.  Have a great day.   P P,   To a Vedic person it really does not matter whether Jesus died on the cross or not. But that he re-deemed the sins of the mankind of all the times contradicts the Vedic view.   If he did re-deem, we should see all the people sin-free and not committing sins. Instead, we see that even the Christians commit sins as do others. Besides, 'only he is the son of god and we all are bastards' is not acceptable but insulting when one understands the view given in the Vedic literature.   God is not impotent. If ordinary people can have many children, then God must have billions of children. Krishna in Gita says He (God) is the seed giving father of all. Krishna was not born and died some 5000 years ago. He appeared, and went back to His abode. This takes more time to understand, and some will not understand it.   The thing to know is that the millions of years of Vedic history has seen a lot more materialistic advancements than we see presently, and the Vedic mind cares less about it and focuses on the spiritual science. Even Sanskrit, the ancient Vedic language, is most scientific. This long Vedic history has produced millions of spiritual giants, and Jesus is not impressive to the Vedic people, because they have seen many great ones. To them he is one in millions. Christians should feel satisfied that the Vedic people do not hate Jesus. They are not out there to convert all in the world. So, it is proper and fair to leave them alone and not convert.   I wish you a sin-free life.   -S S,   I am glad to send along these greetings and also to respond to some of your comments that you sent to me some weeks ago.    You said, "...there is evidence that Jesus did not die on the cross.  He secretly went back to India and became a bodhisattva."  o not believe there is any question about whether Jesus died on the cross, there are too many historical evidences of that fact.  Even the famed Jewish historian Josephus attests to that reality.  Being crucified on a cross was a common method of putting criminals to death during the Roman Empire.  The real question is not whether Jesus died on a cross but what was the significance.  His death, from the Christian perspective, was an atonement for the sins of mankind.  It was God's sacrifice of His Son that provided redemption for all people.   As far as Jesus going to India, there is no credible historical evidence to support that view.  The fact that a German Chaplain wrote a book to that effect does not constitute credibility. It appears very substantial that the Apostle Thomas went to India, some time after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  When I visited the city of Chennai, there was a church and some artifacts commemorating the visit of Thomas to India and being buried at this site on a hillside overlooking this impressive city.   We are in agreement that "miracles do happen".  The New Testament describes many of the miracles that Jesus did while on the earth but it also describes miracles performed by His disciples.  It is recorded in the Bible that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus and the disciples to perform the miracles and the Holy spirit continues to be the source of miracles today.  Miracles are rare occurrences, which is why they are miraculous events.   I will share more comments in future mailings.  Have a great day.   P I always appreciate your quick responses to my message and responses that I send to you.  I also do appreciate you taking the time to listen my concerns and then sending your words to me.   The death of Jesus is of great significance to Christianity because it was a substitutionary death on behalf of sinners.    The Bible says we are all sinners and because we have sinned, we deserve death.  Jesus died for all people and provided redemption for all who believe.  The redemption does not mean that we are "sin-free: but the penalty for sin has been paid by the Son of God.  Christians do commit sins as do others but we now live a life in according to the teachings of the Bible.  It is a day by day growth in the Christian life that we aspire after as you no doubt seek to grow likewise in your faith.   I appreciate the Vedic emphasis on the importance on the "spiritual science."  There have been many wonderful achievements in all phases of life by many intelligent and inspired people of history but the spiritual is more important than any other achievements.   Christianity has brought its message around the world because of the love for all people that God has placed in our hearts.  We are not out to control the material world but to bring the message of compassion.  That is why you see schools, hospitals, homes for orphans, health clinics, and emergency assistance from Christians.  When the tsunami hit south east Asia, it was Christians who were there to provide aid and to help rebuild communities.  When I was in southern India last year I saw the clinics placed in areas where there was no medical care, leper colonies, homes for children that were abandoned by their parents, and outreach to the very destitude of the area.  Christianity is not perfect by any means but at least they are trying to put their beliefs into practice in daily life. Have a good weekend. P P: I always appreciate your quick responses to my message and responses that I send to you.  I also do appreciate you taking the time to listen my concerns and then sending your words to me.   S: Thanks P, for the kind words.   P: The death of Jesus is of great significance to Christianity because it was a substitutionary death on behalf of sinners.    S: That seems like encouraging people to sin. If all the Christians die like Jesus for the sins of the terrorists, then the terrorists will rule the world with their ideology. The reality, fortunately, is that no Christian sinner wants to die for any one, and never for an infidel sinner.   P: The Bible says we are all sinners and because we have sinned, we deserve death.    S: Deaths are of several kinds. Generally death means when the soul quits the body. The body, per the Vedic literature, is made of the material elements, and the soul is not a material thing but is spirit that is ever free and eternal. The property of a body of a living being is to grow, stay functioning for a while, and decay or get deceased, and finally disintegrate after the soul quits the body. This is unavoidable, and therefore the Vedic literature says us not to worry about it. The question then is – what is the best use of the body? The answer in the Vedic literature is – to realize god. Only a soul with the human body has that ability to realize god by various ways.   S: A good question is what is sin? Sin is an act (or not acting when necessary or required) that causes suffering to other living beings and hinders their practice of dharma (which helps realize god.) Not causing suffering to others but the self also is sin if it goes beyond certain limit and is not prescribed by the scriptures as an austerity or tapasyaa. An act by itself is not necessarily a sin, with a few exceptions perhaps. For example, killing a terrorist, when that is the only way, has more righteousness than sin in it. The whole chains of people who are in the business of beef including those who buy, cook, and eat are the greatest sinners per the Vedic literature. There are no righteous acts that can wash that sin. The consequneces are suffering not only to the sinners but others as well. This sinning is going on even when there are plenty of vegetarian alternative foods available in the world to all. (There is scientific argument that shows it is smart to be a vegetarian.) This is sad, very sad. You may not understand, but I know well that Jesus is very happy with the vegetarians, even if infidels.   P: Jesus died for all people and provided redemption for all who believe.  The redemption does not mean that we are "sin-free: but the penalty for sin has been paid by the Son of God.    S: Again, that is encouraging people to sin. There is no incentive to live sin-free. The Vedic dharma encourages one to live as much sin-free as one can, each moment.   P: Christians do commit sins as do others but we now live a life in according to the teachings of the Bible.  It is a day by day growth in the Christian life that we aspire after as you no doubt seek to grow likewise in your faith.   S: Bible is devoid of the science of the soul. Consequently, the words “thou shall not kill” are misinterpreted. Christians somehow cannot quit alcohol and drugs. They say, “Drinking and driving do not mix.” They cannot say, “Drinking and any righteous act cannot mix.” (When I said it, my supervisor objected. He said this is America, not India.) They provide designated drivers so that people can commit sin of drinking. Bible does not seem to teach how to quit alcohol and drugs. (The Muslims grow the poppy, but the Christians consume most of it.) Those who are serious about spiritual progress, the Veda (Gita) advises them to not eat meat, not drink or take drugs, not gamble ever, and not engage in sex out of marriage. (The Christians provide all the help to single mothers, and thus encourage sex out of marriage. They cannot teach how to live a chaste life. They have created La Vegas’ where all sins are being done.) To do this is the first step in sin-free living. It is doable, but it does not appeal to the Christians. Sad.   P: I appreciate the Vedic emphasis on the importance on the "spiritual science."  There have been many wonderful achievements in all phases of life by many intelligent and inspired people of history but the spiritual is more important than any other achievements.   S: Yes. The Base Chaplain says in the last Nucleus that spiritual progress or level or health of a person is not measurable. The Vedic literature tells and shows how it is measurable. I have shared some here how.   P: Christianity has brought its message around the world because of the love for all people that God has placed in our hearts.   S: Then why the Christians did the greatest massacre in Goa? Just recently when a Hindu was reciting a Vedic prayer in the senate on 12th, some Christians caused disruption, and some even are calling their politicians and pressing them to ensure it does not happen again. As I (and the Hindus) know, God is not jealous and He cannot be, being Supreme; but the Bible says God is jealous. So, of course the Christians will be jealous of infidels when the Christian God is jealous. It is this jealousy, in my view, that motivates them to go out and convert in grand scale.   P:  We are not out to control the material world but to bring the message of compassion.   S: The motives of Columbus are well known. The massacre of Hindus in Goa tells different thing. The Christians did acquire the Americas, Australia, and South Africa. What happened in Mexico and the Incas? The Christians are very active with arms and conversions in north east part of India. A serous Christian told me that by believing in Jesus he inherits this world. They bury dead bodies with the hope that the dead will rise one day. The dead cannot give up the desire to live in this world. And their God is not capable of giving brand new bodies, so He will recycle old from the graves. The message of compassion was forced on the Hindus and some Red Indians, and others. Bible was used to justify slavery.   P:  That is why you see schools, hospitals, homes for orphans, health clinics, and emergency assistance from Christians.    S: That is good, but why it cannot be done without converting or enticing them to convert? Besides, all different societies do philanthropic work. It will be appreciated more when done without any motive for converting.   P: When the tsunami hit south east Asia, it was Christians who were there to provide aid and to help rebuild communities.  When I was in southern India last year I saw the clinics placed in areas where there was no medical care, leper colonies, homes for children that were abandoned by their parents, and outreach to the very destitude of the area.   S: That is good, and would have been better if it were done without the motive to convert. Besides, others do such works as well.   P:  Christianity is not perfect by any means but at least they are trying to put their beliefs into practice in daily life.   S: I appreciate you said it frankly. We mankind have the Vedic heritage that is carried over generations after generations since the time of creation by the so called Hindus (the Vedic people). The dharma given there is perfect. It just takes time to know it well, and then practice it, live per it. If you want some examples of some perfect things that are not in the Christian history of 2000 years, I could share. Do you know that some Christians call Vedic scriptures the Devil’s work? BTW, there is nothing like Devil per the Vedic literature.   P: Have a good weekend. S: Have sin-free life. It is a cloudy and rainy Sunday afternoon and a good opportunity to send greetings to you.    I am writing this email to send my response to the article, "Police arrest hate monger pastor for publishing hate literature."  I am angered by the unChristian spirit of the Pentecostal Pastor and abhorred by the literature that he is distributing in India.  It is disgusting that this would be done in the name of Christ because that is not in keeping with the Christian faith.   However, we both know that in every faith group or religion there are zealous followers who are very extreme in the practice of their beliefs and do not exhibit love but hate.  You are an intelligent person  and you can certainly understand that one Pentecostal Pastor who promoted hate does not mean that all Pentecostal Pastors do the same thing.  When I was in India I heard of Hind zealots who burned down a Christian Church in the northern part of the country.  Does that mean that all Hindus, like yourself, are guilty of hate toward another faith.  Of course not.  I read today of some Muslim zealots killed three Christians in cold blood.  Does that mean all Muslims are zealous enough to kill people of another faith?  Of course not.    There are many examples of hate, anger, and unkind words spoken and written and they are all wrong, no matter what faith group they may represent.  Let us be careful to not  try to categorize all people of that faith group by the actions of one or even of a group of them.   Cordially, P P,   Greetings!   God is one, and the understanding and concept about god given in different religions is different. One can compare the messages and information in Gita, Bible, Koran, etc. and will see that some of them are more tolerant of other faiths that others. In principle, tolerating an intolerant faith is encouraging intolerance. Unjustified and foolish tolerance is suicidal and detrimental to society. I wish that the people of the world understand the Vedic dharma and culture that teaches to not go out to convert others. The need however is to convert or keeping check any faith that is totally intolerant of any other faith and does not give freedom that god has given.   Other thing: Once you mentioned that your org works with prisoners. If any prisoners have desire to advance spiritually and change their personality like control passions, anger, rage, greed, avenge, lust, etc. the Vedic literature provides ways to do it. A group of experts could devise a plan and execute it and the progress could be monitored. The task is tough, but the process for improvement could be tested over a period of 1-3 years. If any group has interest to know some Vedic ways, I will be gland to share.   With Best regards, -S I appreciate your responses to my question and statements, however I am very concerned that you make generalizations about Christians and Christianity that have no basis in fact or on critical reasoning.  A true Christian is a person who exercised faith in Jesus Christ and has given their life to follow the teachings of God as outlined in the Bible.  C hristians are not perfect but the goal is to grow in the Christian life and to be more like Christ.  It appears as if you are equating being a Christian is the same as being  an American and I am surprised that an intelligent person as yourself would do such a thing.  Look again at some of your statements:   "Christians somehow cannot quit alcohol or drugs." "Bible does not seem to teach how to quit alcohol and drugs..."  (Not a true statement at all.) "The Muslims grow the poppy, but the Christians consume most of it."   (Very slanderous) "The Christians provide all the help to single mothers, and thus encourage sex out of marriage..." (Christians do not encourage sex out of marriage but teach abstinence.) "They cannot teach how to live a chaste life."    (Not true - the Bible teaches holy living) Inferred - "Christians created Las Vegas where all the sins are being done."    (Money hungry investors created Las Vegas - not Christians) It is my opinion that these statements represent generalizations that are simply a way to categorize and label people. It would be like saying, "lawyers are liars."  There are certainly some lawyers who lie but we would never say that lying is true of all lawyers.    Let's app-ly this same principle to Christians and that should be consistent with the Vedic teaching. P P,   Thanks for the error in my writing. You are correct there. Still, I see no good logic when the people of non-Vedic and anti-Vedic faith go out to convert the Vedic people of Bharat who never intend to convert others by force, tricks, lures, and other means. The desirable situation in the world is that no one tries to convert the other, and conversion happens only by free will when one willingly comes to get converted. Opening a shop/mission and declaring something like, "Come, and accept this religion if you want these and these benefits."   Those whose Books and religious leaders (like Pope) tell them to go out and convert need to invite the top leaders of competing religions for an open debate on TV, radios, newspapers, in universities and schools, or on the internet. Then leave on the audience if any wants to get converted or not. M. Gandhi does not impress me much but he once said the Christian missionaries to not convert the Hindus. He said something like, "Try to convert me with rationale. If you cannot, then do not convert the (less intelligent) Hindus."           Jai Sri Krishna.