Let us embrace those of other faiths, but not at the expense of our own great tradition.
By Viju Sidhwani, M.D.
Dear Readers, I am pleased to publish Viju ji's post today on our blog. Dr. Viju Sidhwani, 32, is a physiatrist and interventional pain specialist in New York City. I am very thankful to the editors at
Hinduism Today for the permissions to reprint this article. Since we are not too far from Diwali, this is a good time to read on what may very well repeat this year in New York city!
Ever since we were young we attended the annual Diwali mela at South
Street Seaport. Each year our family drove in to downtown Manhattan from
the surrounding suburbs. Breathing in the panoramic views of the Big
Apple, with the backdrop of a glorious sunset, we knew an evening of
live dance performances, puppet shows and a display of exquisite
fireworks bursting on a blanket of stars was soon to follow. This was
our idea of Diwali.
This celebration is special to me not only because it is the biggest
Hindu celebration of the year, but also because it is a tradition that
binds me to other Hindu and Sikh youth of the New York area. Nearly
every year I have enjoyed the crowds, delicious food and divine music
that is characteristic of the street fair. However, this year for the
first time I came across a group who prominently identified themselves
as Indian Christian missionaries. They came not for the purpose of
enjoying the mela or for observing the sacredness of the occasion, but
with the intention of converting Hindus and Sikhs to Christianity.
Among the other street vendors, this group set up a table to distribute
Christian literature and free water to passersby. One person among them
brought color-coordinated T-shirts proclaiming that Jesus is the only
one. As the day progressed, the growing number of motivated evangelists
infiltrated the crowds in the streets.
For much of the afternoon I saw them mobbing innocent visitors, foisting
upon them bottled water and literature. I was handed a pamphlet by two
men, one of them asking if I was interested in attaining peace. I
accepted the literature and briefly perused it before asking them why
they were preaching Christianity at a Diwali mela. One of the men rudely
responded that America is a free country and that he had the right to
freedom of speech. His counterpart cited the technicality that Diwali
was over three weeks away and arrogantly added that his presence was not
disturbing anyone because this was a community event open to everyone. I
eventually told one of them that I was very happy being Hindu, to which
he replied, “I’m here to offer you something better.” Turned off and
insulted, I ended the conversation, indicating to them that their
presence was unwarranted and their aggressive propagation of
Christianity on such a noble occasion was impolite and indecent.
The competitive antagonism brought by the missionaries detracted from
our festive celebration of the festival of lights as they made efforts
to persuade members of our community to attend church and eventually
convert to Christianity. Coerced conversion of faith is fundamentally
offensive to the benevolent and peaceful dharmic traditions. While we as
a unified community are pluralistic in our beliefs and encourage
diversity amongst ourselves, we cannot welcome people who alienate us
from our native ancestry and intend to annihilate a tradition that is
thousands of years old.
We cannot continue to be so accepting of other schools of thought that
we compromise the principles that allow our own people to flourish and
our own faith to be nourished. Hindu and Sikh American youth need the
opportunity to explore our culture and beliefs and to enjoy our
festivals without facing intimidation by those who wish to lure them
toward a belief system that does not accept our tradition’s antiquity,
greatness and accepting nature.
On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, let us propagate the true spirit
of love and embrace our brothers and sisters, be they of different
faiths, on the condition that we are venerated to a degree that is
commensurate with our benevolent outlook of love and acceptance for all.
