Appeal to Hindu Sadhus

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Selections From Hindu ScripturesSeries No. 4

APPEAL TO HINDU SADHUS

Publisher & Distributor:

Prof. G. C. Asnani

822, Sindh Colony Aundh, Pune-411007 (India)Tel: 91-020-5880347E-mail: prof.asnani@vsnl.comISBN 81-900400-6-5

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Date: 08

th

April 2000Prof. G.C.ASNANI, MSc., Ph.D. (United Nations Service, Retd.)822, Sindh Colony, Aundh, Pune - 411 007 (INDIA)Tel: 91-20-588-0347. URL: http://personal.vsnl.com/asnaniE-mail: 1) asnani@giaspn01.vsnl.net.in2) prof.asnani@vsnl.com

APPEAL TO HINDU SADHUS

Respected Hindu Sadhus,I humbly submit the following for your kind perusal andconsideration

:

1.

Hindu Sadhus are well-versed in the teachings of Hindureligion. You teach that as Hindus we should offer our sincereprayers to God in any form we Hindus like. We can look uponGod with form or without form; He is infinite, omnipresent,omnipotent and omniscient. If we like, we can worship Him in theform of Mother Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Sun, Moon, Stars, Oceans,Rivers, Mountains, Intelligence, Memory, Learning, Valour; infact, anything that inspires us to make our life noble, sweet andsublime. We are also taught by our religious Sadhus that we shouldrespect others' ways of worship and prayers. We should be good,helpful and noble in our conduct towards all, irrespective of theircaste, creed or colour. Under such enlightening teachings of theSadhus, we-ordinary Hindus-define this to be the substance of "religion". Anything contrary to this is not religion at all. OurHindu Sadhus and we ordinary Hindus came to

Believe

that everyother religion also should be teaching the same thing.

2.

I humbly submit, Sirs, that this

Belief

needs to beexamined; to closely see whether it conforms to the facts of life oris not supported by facts of life. As it stands today,

every Religionhas 3 aspects:

a) Relationship between man and Godb) Relationship between man and other persons of the sameReligion

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c) Relationship between man and persons of otherReligions.

3.

I wanted to understand why there are inter-religious wars;why Partition of India took place at all. After the Partition of Indiain 1947, I undertook a study of Islam and Christianity.For this study, I did not like to go through second-hand orthird-hand opinions and writings of different persons, howevergreat they may be considered to be. I collected the standard textsof the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible. There are standard Englisheditions of the Holy Bible which are available anywhere in theworld. For standard English translation of the Holy Quran, Iprocured the following books:a) Oxford University Press Publication: "The Koran" byA.J.Arberryb) 50 Volumes of the Sacred Books of the East, Edited byMax Muller, first published by Oxford University Press in1900, now published in India by Motilal Banarsidas, undersponsorship of UNESCO; Volumes 6 & 9 of these SacredBooks deal with Holy Quran.c) The Holy Quran with Arabic Text and Englishtranslation by Marmaduke Pickthal, published by KitabBhawan, 1214, Kalan Mahal, Daryaganj, New Delhi - 110001.All the 3 translations of the Holy Quran tell us the samething. I am enclosing some Extracts from the Oxford UniversityPress Publication of the Holy Quran. Similarly, I procured and readstandard commentaries on the Holy Bible written by a number of reputed Christian Scholars.

4.

I came to the conclusion, which can be verified by anyone,that in respect of aspect 'c' of Religion (relationship between manand persons of other Religions),

Islam and Christianity

do not

teach respect or even tolerance for the followers or worship-methods of other Religions

. In simple language, they teach hatredand war against followers of other Religions,

particularly againstfollowers of Hindu religion. They teach that people of otherreligions are condemned and wretched ones whose Religions haveto be destroyed and removed from the surface of the earth, who